Sofia turned in front of the mirror again. Not bad, she thought, I don’t look bad. For an old hag. And she laughed at herself.

She had gone to the yoga class, and gone to the park, but then she’d added a quick trip to Victoria’s secret for a new panties and bra set. NOT that I’m assuming we’ll be taking any clothes off, she thought, but just in case.

A knock on the door – she grabbed her purse and opened the door. Lucas. He was wearing nice pants and a dress shirt, looking really – distinguished, she thought, was that the word? Maybe. In any case, she was really glad to see him.

His smile was warm and approving, so she almost danced out the door to him. “I thought we’d go to Benjamin’s,” he said. “They have a decent menu and a nice view of the beach. Does that sound good to you?”

“Absolutely, yes,” she said. He opened the car door for her, tucking her into the car, she thought. He made her feel cared for. Not necessarily like he cared about her, maybe not that way, but like he would take care with her.

They chatted easily on the drive, talking about their activities of the week, the book she was reading, their opinions on social media. He was a good companion, she thought.

As they pulled into the parking lot, he said, “I have a question for you before we go into dinner.”

“Yes?” He had not moved to get out of the car, so Sofia waited, curious.

“If you were my submissive,” he said, ‘I would expect you to wait for me to open your car door,” adding with a grin, “not in some old-fashioned show of courtesy, but as a reminder that you are under my control. Or you would be.”

Sofia felt her breath shorten, and she flushed. Oh, my.

He went on. “I thought we might experiment a bit tonight, if you’re willing. It would give us both a chance to see what it might be like. But no pressure, of course. You aren’t under my control and are perfectly free to say no at any point. What are your thoughts?”

Sofia hesitated, it was hard to think clearly, but she knew she wanted to try it. “Yes, Sir,” she replied, and, realizing what she’d said, she covered her face with one hand. “I’m sorry!” she said, then moved her hand away and added, “That ‘Sir’ just seems to slip out with you. I really am sorry.”

He smiled. “Give me your hand,” he said. Obediently, she offered her hand, palm up. He began to trace the lines, just as he had in the coffee shop before. She trembled.

“I like that you offer yourself to me,” he said. “Whether it’s in the form of respect by calling me Sir, or giving me your hand, or agreeing to try some simple tokens of submission this evening, I appreciate that.”

He released her hand and got out of the car. She waited. It felt very odd waiting for him to open her door. She could appreciate why he used this technique “to remind me of my place,” she thought, and a shiver ran through her.

He helped her out of the car and closed the door. “Good girl,” he said, and she smiled, her heart dancing now. He stood very close to her. “As we go in,” he said, “I’m going to ask you to see if you can move back into a more vanilla frame. Right now, on a scale of 0-10, with 0 being not submissive at all and 10 being at a max, where are you now?”

She thought hard and bit her lip trying to decide before she said “about a four, I think.”

He nodded. “Very good. I’m going to talk about my work as we go in, and ask you to see if you can reduce the level, if you can reclaim your own power more.” And he began telling her a story about something that had happened while he was on retreat. She laughed, and relaxed.

By the time they were seated, when he asked her “O-10 – where are you now? she thought for a moment and said “Maybe a 2.” He nodded, pleased.

They talked about grandchildren and shared work experiences. They ate, lovely food, Sofia thought. It got dark outside as they finished dessert and the beach view disappeared, but the band began playing. “Do you dance?” Lucas asked.

“I do,” Sofia said, “But not very well.” It was some kind of easy listening music, and the last thing she wanted to do was step on his feet.

But when he led her onto the floor and began, she quickly discovered that she could follow him easily. By the end of the song, they were both smiling and he led her back to the table.

The server had brought their bill and as they waited for him to return, Lucas said, “I enjoyed dancing with you.”

‘Thank you,” said Sofia, “You’re very good.”

He laughed, “Any dominant should able to lead.” Then he said, “May I see your hand?”

She offered it, expecting his touch, wondering what would happen next. As he traced the lines on her palm, she felt herself opening to him. “When we get to the car,” he said, “I’d like for you to move back into a more submissive mind-set. Can you do that?”

She nodded, watching him touch her.

“Use your words, please,” he said.

“Yes, Sir,” she said. “I can definitely do that!”

He released her hand “Good girl,” he said. “I’m going to stop at the pier up here. We can get out and walk for a bit – it may be too dark to walk on the beach. But I want to talk about some things I’d like for us to try, either tonight or another time.”

“Yes, Sir,” she said. She was excited and curious and eager to hear what he had in mind.

They parked, and she waited for him to open her door, feeling herself settling in to a mindset that she’d almost forgotten. They walked onto the pier and she noticed that he was right, there was just a sliver of moon and the beach was dark, although there were some people fishing.

They walked all the way out the pier and found a bench in an uncrowded spot. For a few minutes, they just listened to the ocean, and relaxed. Then he said, “I’m going to share some thought I have about how we can explore a relationship together as safely as possible. Are you interested in talking about that?”

Sofia turned her face to look at him, “Yes, Sir,” she said, thinking, “oh, hell, yeah!” Her heart was pounding.

He nodded. “I’ve been thinking about how we can contain this and go slowly enough that we don’t overwhelm each other and carefully enough that if either one of us wants to stop, it won’t be too painful.

He paused and Sofia said, “I think that’s really wise. I appreciate the energy you’re putting into thinking this through.”

Lucas laughed, “You may not always think that, it may drive you crazy at some point. But I’m glad you’re ok with my habits for now anyway.” He held out his hand, palm up, and she placed her hand in his palm up, in what was becoming a familiar ritual. This time, instead of tracing the lines in her palm, he placed his other hand over hers. Sofia swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry.

“For example,” he said, “I think this can be a useful ritual for us. Asking for your hand, whether in words or by gesture, is one way to ask you to step in a submissive mindset. If you give me your hand as you have been doing, palm up, it signals your agreement. If you’re not feeling it, you can give me your hand with the palm down, or not give me your hand at all. What do you think?”

Sofia nodded, licked her lips and said, “Yes, Sir, I think that’s a good idea. I think that would work in a lot of situations.”

He let his hands rest on his knee, still keeping her hand between his. “Good,” he said. “Then there’s a matter of place. My bedroom, for example, is always Dominant space for me. So it would be submissive space for you. Agreed?”

“Yes, Sir,” Sofia said. “That makes sense.”

Lucas sighed. “And I have this fierce urge to ask you if you’d consent to going home with me so I can spank you soundly. But I’m not going to do that, not yet.”

Sofia trembled – wait, what? He wanted to, omg, yes, but what? He wasn’t going to? Why not? She managed to make herself breathe. “But I would like that too, Sir,” she said, trying to make it sound light rather than whiny.

“But I have another idea,” he said.