“That certainly sounds like some evening,” Mistress Piper said amusingly as Colleen finished telling her about her previous conversation with Justin and JC. “When you see Justin again, please let him know how truly sorry I am. My only intention was to get him out of his own head for a bit.”

“I will, Mistress,” Colleen replied. “I think talking it out helped, at least I hope so.”

“Did it help you in any way?”

“I think a bit, yes Mistress. I always try to explain my feelings to JC, which I don’t mind doing, but it was nice to have someone who just understood. Even if he didn’t understand why, he understood the experience.”

“Do you think it would be beneficial for Josh to understand the experience?” Mistress Piper asked.

“In theory, probably Mistress, but I don’t think that’s something he’s interested in doing so I don’t want to push him. He’s been incredibly sweet and accommodating and open…I don’t want to push things too far too soon.”

“He’s certainly a curious learner. After your Miami trip, he’s been very diligent about making sure he knows exactly what he’s doing before he tries anything with you.”

“Mistress, I can’t thank you enough for working with him…for literally everything you have done for me.”

“Of course, my little Leena,” Mistress Piper smiled. “My goal has always been to give you the pleasure you desire so I’m happy to do that for you.”

“I am beyond appreciative of that Mistress but…doesn’t that defeat the purpose? If you eventually teach JC all the things you do to me…?”

“No, it completes my purpose for you. I’m not Mistress Raina; you’re mine to take care of while you’re here but you aren’t my possession. So many people come here because they can’t get the type of sexual gratification they want in their daily lives. I consider it a win when someone genuinely doesn’t need my help anymore.”

“That day isn’t any time soon, Mistress,” Colleen said, grabbing Mistress Piper’s hand.

“I know,” Mistress Piper said, patting her hand reassuringly, “but it’s coming and I couldn’t be happier for you. I’ll do everything I can to make it as smooth a transition as possible when both of you are ready.”

“That’s just it, Mistress. This all sounds great in theory but there is a giant difference between role playing things here with you and at home with my boyfriend. We sit down and discuss everything beforehand.”

“You feel you can’t sit down and talk to Josh?”

“It’s not that I can’t, Mistress, it's just…as I said, I don’t want to push him.”

“Look at Justin. He’s gotten to a point he doesn’t feel comfortable telling his own wife what he wants sexually. If it wasn’t for how his experience with me affected him negatively afterwards, I’d expect him to walk through my door any second.”

“There’s just…I’ve accumulated so many different thoughts and fantasies over the years, Mistress. I feel like maybe, for now, it’s good to just enjoy what he’s comfortable with. I don’t want to be demanding.”

“It’s not demanding to express what you want. Besides, think of it from his perspective: he’s going to do things slowly and carefully because he doesn’t know your limits with this. He may know how far he can go with being physically aggressive but he definitely doesn’t mentally. The thing you need to decide is how far you want to take this.”

“I don’t understand, Mistress.”

“Your limits with me might be different than your limits with Josh. You might be inclined to give him more power over you, work that dynamic into your actual relationship.”

Colleen hadn’t thought about that and definitely wasn’t even sure how she’d feel about it being a more regular thing. It was how she liked her sex, not her life. Yet, imagining JC telling her what to cook every night had a very weird appeal to it. “I’ll have to really think that over, Mistress.”

“As well you should,” Mistress Piper told her. “In the meantime, what is your mood for tonight?”

“I, ummm, I’ve been thinking a lot about Justin, Mistress,” Colleen confessed hesitantly. “I mean, not specifically him but what you did to him.”

“Did that turn you on?” Mistress Piper asked slyly.

“Yes Mistress.”

“You want me to do that to you?”

“Very much so, Mistress. Except, maybe with a different ending. Don’t want JC to have any flashbacks later when I tell him,” Colleen tittered.

“Would you rather just show him?”

“I’m not sure what you mean, Mistress.”

“I mean, Mistress Raina’s not the only one who can make sure you two have fun at home.”

“As long as I’m not being used as a pawn in a power play by you on my boyfriend, I would be  interested in trying this, Mistress.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it. Think of this more as a collaboration.” 

“Well, JC does like to collaborate, Mistress,” Colleen chuckled.

“Shhhh,” Mistress Piper said, placing a single finger on Colleen’s lips. “Enough talking. Time to obey, pretty Leena,” Mistress Piper grinned, moving her hand away a few inches and snapping her fingers. Leena fell instantly silent and waited for Mistress Piper to tell her what to do.

The following Friday evening, Colleen pulled up to JC’s house as always, weekend bag in tow. While she certainly still liked having her own space, she was spending increasingly less time there. Some clothes had already migrated over to JC’s permanently along with a few pieces of jewelry. She wasn’t ready for that next step of moving in together but she was starting to get resentful every time she had to pay her mortgage. Once parked, Colleen pulled out her phone, quickly typed a message and went to wait at the front door until she got a reply.

Meanwhile, JC had just thrown some green beans into boiling water when his phone buzzed. He quickly pulled up the message and was surprised when he saw a text from Piper. They had exchanged numbers a while back so he could see if she was available whenever he was in to see Mistress Raina to give him some pointers with Colleen. She’d never reached out to him first before.

P: Josh, my motives aren’t the same as Mistress Raina’s but two can certainly play at this game. Leena already consented to all this so enjoy your weekend.

JC looked at the message in confusion, trying to figure out exactly what Piper meant when the doorbell rang. Colleen smiled as he opened the door and he greeted her with a distracted kiss, still looking at his phone. “Everything ok?” Colleen asked.

“Yeah…yeah,” JC said, heading back to the kitchen. “Just, uh, I got a weird text from Piper just now.”

“Really?” Colleen questioned as she shut the front door and dropped her bag. “What’s weird about it?”

“Well, to start, that she texted me at all.”

“I thought you two were talking?” Colleen said as she kicked her shoes off and removed her blouse.

“We are but it’s normally about coordinating schedules.”

“Oh, well, um, what did it…say?” Colleen got out as she pulled her skirt down her hips and let it pool around her feet on the floor.

“She said two can play at this game and that you consented to it so obviously I’m missing something,” JC said, turning down the water on the beans. Colleen didn’t reply so JC turned back towards her to see Colleen’s bra falling down her arms onto the floor. His mouth was agape as he watched her panties go next, leaving her standing naked in his entranceway.

JC practically ran over to Colleen and put a hand on her waist while he tipped her head to look at him with the other. Her glassy eyes looked back at him and JC suppressed a moan at how docile she looked. “You ok?” he asked tentatively.

“Yes Master,” came her reply. This time the moan did escape JC’s lips as he finally understood Piper’s text. After their playtime in Miami, he’d been tentative about how far to really go with Colleen, just trying little things here and there. He’d expressed to Piper how much he’d wanted to really explore Colleen’s fully submissive side, how he wanted some time with Leena. Apparently, Piper must have decided they were both ready for that.

“Upstairs. Now,” JC growled.

“Yes Master,” Leena answered then turned to head up the stairs. JC ran back to the kitchen and cut the heat on the green beans, not even caring that they would go to waste. He then proceeded up the stairs as well, full of wonderfully wicked ideas of what to do to his girlfriend all weekend.

It was nearly noon the next day when JC heard his doorbell chime. He ignored it as he was far too busy with Leena to care. Then the knocking started. JC gritted his teeth, rummaging through his desk drawers in search of some AirPods, not wanting the noise to distract Leena from the video she was watching.

“Someone’s…at…the door,” Leena managed to say.

“I know, Babe. I’ll take care of it,” JC told her, finding an old set of headphones that would do the trick. He plugged them into the jax of his laptop and found they still worked. “Don’t go anywhere,” JC grinned as he slipped them over Leena’s ears, kissed her cheek and quickly went for the door.

The knocking persisted as the door bell began to ring incessantly again as well. “This had better be an evacuation call,” JC thought as he checked the screen for the door monitor. Seeing the figure making all the racket confirmed it wasn’t that kind of emergency.

“Justin,” JC said as he flung the door open. “What the hell is going on?” For Justin to just come by unannounced was practically unheard of. JC knew instantly something was wrong.

“I tried to talk to Jess. It did not go well,” Justin told him flatly.

“Fuck,” JC breathed, running a hand through his hair. “Come in. What do you want to drink?”

“You got any beer?” Justin asked as JC crossed to the kitchen, shutting the door behind him.

“Nah, let me crack open a Malbec,” JC offered, retreating to his dining room to grab a bottle. Justin started towards the kitchen when he felt something snag his sneaker. He looked down and found the strap of a bra hooked around his toe. He removed it and noticed several other articles of clothing strewn on the floor.

“Hey, C, if I’m interrupting something, I can…” Justin started as JC came back into the kitchen.

“It’s ok. It’s not the best timing but it’s ok,” JC wanted to reassure him, grabbing the corkscrew from a drawer. “Just wish you had called first.”

“I did,” Justin told him as he joined him. “I called the whole way over. When I got here and saw the cars, I figured you were home.”

“Sorry, I was in my office,” JC said, not realizing he’d left his phone in the bedroom or how long he’d been away from it. He tapped his Apple Watch and realized he’d forgotten to take it off last night and had run out of battery. JC quickly thought of Leena and assessed she’d be ok for a few minutes longer. “So what happened?”

“Mom and Paul are in town and wanted to take the boys to Legoland. Perfect, no kids, house to ourselves…as soon as they leave, Jess is on the phone with her producing partners, then she calls Beverly to catch up, then she calls her mother and I’m just like, “Hi, I’m right here. I’d like to spend time with you!” So after she gets done with her mother, I grab the phone out of her hand and I kiss her. You know, like really kiss her.”

“Ok, not seeing the problem so far,” JC said, grabbing wine glasses for them both.

“She shoved me away. She fucking put her hands on my chest and shoved me away from her. She grabbed back the phone and just yelled “What the fuck has gotten into you?!” and stormed off.”

JC tried to keep an even face. He didn’t know if Justin realized it or not but it was eerily similar to when they had shared their ill fated kiss. Justin was still hanging onto that resentment, JC could only imagine the emotions he was dealing with now.

“So, I’m pissed, right? So I follow her and I’m like “No, what the fuck has gotten into you cuz it certainly hasn’t been me lately!”.”

“Oh Justin,” JC shook his head.

“I know, I know, but I was fucking pissed except she took it as me accusing her of cheating, which I absolutely wasn’t. Now, of course, she dredges up New Orleans and any other time she feels I was inappropriate. I mean, shit from years ago that I’m hearing about for the first time. She’s going on and on and finally I get fed up and just yell, “Well, maybe if you’d let me fuck you like I want to, I wouldn’t feel the need to do any of that other stuff!”.”

JC drew in a biting breath of air. “Oh, that’s bad. That’s fucking bad.”

“Yeah…yeah, it was,” Justin admitted, his tone softening. “All I wanted to do was talk to her, to be with her and I don’t even know how it blew up into this. It’s so rare we get time to ourselves and it just felt like she was avoiding me once we were alone.”

“Justin, first, apologize, then call a marriage counselor. You guys are well past this just being a sex issue.”

Justin sighed, “Yeah, I know. How the fuck did we get here?” Justin wondered aloud.

“I don’t know but that’s what the marriage counselor is for.” JC looked up towards the stairs, knowing he had to go check on Leena soon. “What can I do in the meantime?”

“Fuck if I know,” JC gave a sad chuckle. “She kicked me out of my own fucking house. Fatone gets in today and we were gonna meet up for a drink but now…”

“I can’t decide if hanging out with Joey is the best or worst idea given the situation,” JC thought out loud. “Sure, you’ll blow off some steam but you two can definitely get into a lot of trouble together.”

“Contrary to my wife’s belief, I know how to control myself.”

“Actually, hanging out with Joey might be a great idea right now,” JC realized. “He’s been in your position, he’d probably have some great advice, honestly.”

“Yeah, and you see how his marriage went,” Justin huffed. “I’ll think about it. I texted my mom to ask her to let me know when they’re headed back with the boys. I wanna make sure I see them before I head out, either to see Joey or to a hotel for the night.”

“Not to be crude but don’t you have like eight bedrooms? Can't you go sleep in the east wing if you want to get away?”

Justin shot him a look. “It’s six but point made. I’ll see what the temperature is when I get home.” Justin made a loud sigh. “How big a bouquet of flowers do I need to get?”

“Flowers ain’t gonna fix this, J,” JC told him.

“What do you and Colleen do when you fight?”

“So far we’ve only had one major blow up and, you know, we both owned our parts to it and talked it out. It’s dating though, so we hadn’t spoken for like two or three weeks between the actual fight and starting to work it out.”

“Jesus, that long?”

“Yeah, I, uh, I had a lot of shit I needed to figure out first. In the end, she didn’t want me apologizing just to make things better. If it’s gonna work, you gotta put the work in, you know?”

“You two make it seem so effortless though,” Justin pointed out.

“Justin, I’ve told you before, you can’t compare our ten months to your fifteen years. Our lives, our relationships are so vastly different. Plus, you’ve got kids in the mix, that adds a whole other layer to it.”

“Where is Colleen, by the way?” Justin finally asked, feeling like he would have seen her by now.

“She’s tied up at the moment,” JC said matter of factly.

Justin raised an eyebrow. “Literally or figuratively?” he questioned. When JC didn’t answer immediately, his eyes grew wide as he knew it was the former. 

Before JC could even react, Justin took off running, heading for the stairs and taking two of them at a time. “Justin! No!” JC yelled, chasing him. He was hitting the treadmill hard starting tomorrow he vowed as he lingered too far behind the younger man to catch him.

Justin ran straight to JC’s office as that’s where he mentioned he had been. Justin threw open the door and stopped dead in his tracks, his breath suddenly caught in his throat. “Holy fuck,” he said, trying to register what he was seeing.

JC stepped his body in front of Justin and pulled the door back shut. “Self control, my ass,” JC chided him. “What the hell were you thinking?!”

“I was thinking you had her tied to the wall or something, not…”

“How do you tie somebody to a wall?”

“I don’t know! I just didn’t think she’d be so…”

“Naked?”

“Vulnerable. You’ve got her tied spread eagle to your office chair, for God’s sake! That’s like, shit, I don’t even know what to call that.”

“You can call it forgetting you ever saw it. With any luck, she didn’t notice you.”

“How the hell could she not have…” Justin stopped himself, finally realizing what he had walked in on. “Nooooo…JC, what the hell are you doing?”

“Something she asked for and that’s all you need to worry about. Now get downstairs,” JC ordered, trying to calm his temper.

“What? Now you think you can just boss everybody around?” Justin tried to joke.

“It’s my fucking house so, yes, I do. Go downstairs before this is the second house you’re thrown out of today.” JC saw the instant hurt on Justin’s face at his last remark and realized he’d taken it a step too far. “Justin, please, just give me a couple minutes, ok?”

Justin reluctantly headed back to the kitchen, turning as he heard JC open and quickly shut the door to his office. He poured himself more wine and plopped on the love seat, trying to process everything. He should have known better, fuck, he did know better but for some reason he just thought Colleen would be sitting with some handcuffs on…and clothed. With JC, nothing was ever that innocent.

“She’ll be down in a few minutes,” JC said as he came down the stairs, grabbing his wine from the kitchen as well and sitting on the couch. “You wanna explain yourself?”

“I don’t know, I just, I thought I’d be funny and bust her chops a little bit, like we did to each other back in the day. I didn’t think it would be quite that…intense.”

“Well, you interrupted something pretty intense. Piper sent her over all primed and ready so I’ve been taking advantage, so to speak.”

“That seems like a lot of advantage.”

JC pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to center himself and find the right words. “Justin, I understand parts of my sexual relationship with Colleen are bringing up a lot of things for you. You saw something you shouldn’t have and all you need to know is everything we do is absolutely consensual, whether I’m in charge or she is. I…I love you but it’s starting to feel like I’m defending rather than explaining with you at this point.”

“I’m sorry, I…I’m just trying to understand,” Justin said, feeling guilty he kept bothering them both about it. Yet every new thing that got disclosed led him to another question. “Did I…with Piper I mean…is that what I looked like?”

“I can’t answer that, Justin. You just seemed kind of, I don’t know, out of it. I mean, I was too so I always just chalked it up to the experience.”

“Hi Justin,” Leena yawned as she came down the stairs. Justin stared at her as she walked over to the couch and laid her head in JC’s lap, his arm reaching over to rub her side. She had no makeup on, her hair pulled up in a lazy ponytail and was wearing one of JC’s t-shirts and what he could only assume was a pair of his boxer briefs. Justin could still see the indents from the rope on her legs and arms.

“Hey…” Justin addressed her skeptically, wondering why she hadn’t verbally eviscerated him yet. For someone who flipped out at the mere mention of being hypnotized a few weeks earlier, she was way too calm for him actually having witnessed it happening on some level. “You ok?”

“Yeah, just…tired,” she said. “Oh, Mistress Piper said to let you know how truly sorry she was and her only intention had been to get you out of your head for a bit.”

“Uh, thanks,” Justin answered awkwardly. “That clears everything right up then.”

“Justin and Jess had a fight,” JC told her. “That’s why he’s grumpy…and here.”

“Oh, that sucks,” she said simply, closing her eyes.

“What the hell? Did you turn her into a cat?” Justin questioned, completely disarmed by Colleen’s change in demeanor from the first time he met her. Colleen snuggled into JC further. “I swear to God, if she starts purring…”

“Leave me alone, I’m fucked up,” Leena whined. “You interrupted our fun.”

“What part of that was fun?” Justin asked.

“The same part of you that knows dangling from your wrists was fun,” Leena smirked, her eyes still closed.

Justin made a face, even though he knew it went unseen. “What the hell were you watching, by the way?” Justin asked, now remembering seeing her wearing headphones and engrossed in something on the laptop in front of her.

“Porn,” she said simply.

Justin shook his head and laughed. “Did I miss this part of dating or did I date the wrong women?”

“Your first couple months with Cameron were pretty interesting,” JC reminded him. “You think I’m open about stuff, that girl once told me, in detail, about playing naughty nurse with you.”

“Yeah, she was…she was fun,” Justin thought back wistfully. “We just didn’t want the same things at the same time.”

“What you wanted was a wife at 26 and that’s what you got, even if you didn’t marry her then.”

“That’s what I thought I wanted, JC. That’s my point. I should have been more like Cameron, like you, and lived some more life before I settled down.”

“Justin, settling down doesn’t equate boring. Look at Chris, he’s got an amazing partner in Karly, he’s a tremendous dad to Nash. They’re always doing fun stuff either together or separately and just…you can tell how happy he is. He didn’t sacrifice a part of himself to be with someone, Karly loves him for who he is. Crazy, off color, pain in the ass with his heart in the right place, Chris.”

“So, is this you settling down, JC?” Justin gestured at Colleen. 

JC smiled down at his girlfriend curled up next to him. “I think…I think it might be.”

“Well shit!” Justin said, shocked by JC’s response. “Are we sure she’s not the one who hypnotized you?”

“Maybe in her own way,” JC chuckled. He tapped Leena’s side and she opened her eyes. “You hungry?” Leena nodded her head. “You know what you want?” Leena smiled and shook her head. “Of course you don’t,” JC smiled back. “I’ll order something for you.” He turned back to Justin. “J? Lunch?”

“Sure. You pick, I’ll pay. Least I can do.”

“I’m not gonna argue with you on that,” JC said back. “Let me grab my phone,” he said, carefully getting up and placing Leena fully on the couch and heading upstairs.

“Here Kitty Kitty,” Justin said mockingly as soon as JC was out of earshot. Leena uncurled her body and stretched out across the length of the sofa, kicking her feet up behind her. “Seriously, you doing ok?”

“I’m fucking great,” Leena giggled.

“Is that always what happens with you two?”

“No, this is the first time it’s all about me for the weekend.”

“Don’t you mean it’s all about him?”

“Nope, he asked me what I wanted and I told him. Being submissive is what I want to do and I’m getting a whole weekend to do it.” Leena let out a contented sigh.

“So you were like “Honey, can you tie me up naked and force me to watch porn?”.”

Leena did her best to think about it. “You’ve simplified it but basically yes.”

“Do you have a twin?” Justin nearly pleaded.

“Leave her alone, Justin,” JC told him as he came back downstairs. “I don’t like the idea that I can’t trust you alone with my girlfriend.”

“I didn’t do anything!” Justin protested. He looked at Leena laying languidly on the couch. “Though something tells me I could have if I wanted to.”

“Mmmmm, Joshtin,” Leena smiled.

“That’s enough talking for right now,” JC told her as he came back to the couch, Leena moving back to let him sit.

“What did she just say?” Justin questioned.

“Google it, I’m not giving you any ideas,” JC said, not looking up from his phone. “Chinese?”

“Yeah, sounds good. Beef chow mein for me,” Justin said, reaching for his wallet and pulling out his credit card. “If they have beer, order a six pack.”

“No problem,” JC said, taking Justin’s card and inputting the information after entering him and Leena’s order. He handed the card back, saying “Says about 50 minutes. Feel like hitting the studio in the meantime? I’ve been toying with something I could use your input on.”

“Sure man,” Justin stood up. “Uh, aren’t you forgetting about something?” he gestured at Leena.

“Never,” JC smiled. “Sit up,” he told Leena and she immediately did so. JC turned her face to look at him. “We’re gonna go to the studio and I want you to stay here and take a well deserved nap. When you hear a knock or the doorbell, grab the food, put it on the counter then text me that it’s here and we’ll come back up. Do you understand?” Leena smiled and nodded her head, her eyes already half lidded and looking like she could fall asleep at any second. “Good girl,” JC said, laying her the opposite way on the couch so her head rested on the cushioned arm. “I’ll get you a blanket.”

Justin watched in stunned amazement at what played out in front of him. Leena ever so slightly adjusted her body before completely passing out. Justin noticed the way her body sagged into the cushions, the way her breath became deeper and even. She looked like the definition of relaxed and carefree. He still didn’t understand the sexual component of it but this part, the ability to just let go of all your troubles and worries for a while, this he was jealous of.

“You good?” JC asked him as he returned with a blanket and covered Leena’s body.

“Yeah, just…a lot going on in my brain,” Justin told him, never taking his eyes off Leena. “Is she…I mean, she’s been hypnotized this entire time, hasn’t she?” Justin asked in disbelief, her actions finally making more sense.

“I had to do something quick after you went barging in there. This was the best I could come up with,” JC explained, giving her temple a kiss. “Give me a break, I’m still figuring all this out.”

“You really like this arrangement, don’t you?”

JC smiled at his sleeping girlfriend. “I do. I mean, I don’t want her like this all the time and I would have never thought I’d be anywhere as into this as I am but…she’s just always getting me to see the world differently.”

“She definitely hypnotized you first,” Justin joked.

“Shut up,” JC laughed. “I see a future with her, a very different future than I ever have before and not in some way that I’m compromising who I am for her. Just…different…and good.”

“I’ve never seen you this in love, JC. Shit, I don’t think I even know this kind of love,” Justin shook his head, fighting to not get upset. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had anything close to this type of affection with his wife.

“Hey,” JC said, going over to Justin and putting his arm around his shoulders. “We’ll get you through this. No one is giving up yet.” He gave Justin a squeeze, internally realizing the role reversal their lives had taken as of late. So much was changing for the better in JC’s life, and he knew it was all thanks to the woman currently passed out on his couch.