Chapter 5

Marie followed Leo's car to his condo a short distance away. The complex was quaint and quiet. When they arrived, Leo's mother was already waiting for them. She was a fine-boned woman with shiny graying hair and skin that matched Leo's.

"There's my yeled. How did that risotto turn out?"

Leo blushed slightly. "Fine, ima. I've got your bag, too."

"Aren't you going to introduce your chaverah?"

"Right." He cleared his throat. "This is Marie. Marie, this is my mom, Edden."

"It's nice to meet you," Marie said.

"Likewise. Sorry to interrupt your date. I promised my friends that I'd make Kugel and it never turns out quite right if I don't use this dish."

"It's alright."

Leo emerged with the bag he had brought in for lunch the day before. "Tell the Clynes I said hi."

"Of course!" Edden gave him a fond pat on the cheek. "Thank you for taking good care of my baking dishes, yakiri. Have fun on the rest of your date!"

The woman sauntered away energetically, leaving Leo to explain all the Hebrew. He nervously cleared his throat again.

"Anyway, you mentioned you wanted to see where I live. Do you want to come in?"

"If you don't mind. I don't want to impose."

"Not at all."

Marie couldn't have said what she expected, but it wasn't quite what she got. The walls were a deep green, highlighting the brown leather couch and warm wooden coffee table. There was a large bookshelf on the wall next to a computer desk that faced a large window. The light carpet of the living room transitioned into a gray tile in the small kitchen and the entire space smelled of cedar and vanilla – much like Leo himself.

"Welcome to my tiny bachelor pad," Leo said.

"It's lovely. Very comfortable."

"Thanks. The IT office is pretty sterile, so I thought this would be a nice change. Can I get you anything? A drink maybe?"

"Water would be nice, thank you."

Leo procured two glasses of cool water while Marie looked over his collection of books. There were some tomes that looked like antiques and others that were clearly computer manuals, a good amount of fiction, and plenty of non-fiction that ranged in topics from history to philosophy to cookbooks.

"Find anything that interests you?"

Marie jumped slightly, not realizing how close he was. "I'm looking more into what interests you. You have quite the collection."

"I do my best to be well-rounded." He handed her the glass and gracefully deposited himself on the couch, gesturing beside him. "Make yourself comfortable."

Marie perched on the far end of the couch, unable to meet Leo's eyes. "Forgive me, I… feel a bit shy suddenly."

He put his own glass on the table and reached for hers to do the same. Every motion was slow and measured, giving her ample time to pull away. With her hand between his, he gently started to rub her palm.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Trying to get you to relax. You seem more at ease when there's physical reassurance."

Marie couldn't help but smile a little at that. "Seventeen: what do you think makes you so intuitive? This is twice now that you knew exactly what I needed."

She could tell he was smiling even though she was focused on their hands. "Probably being the middle brother. My parents divorced when I was eight so I learned how to read people. I learned how to anticipate people's needs too since Bron was only three at the time. It wasn't the best time of my life, but I can say it made me into a better man than I might have been."

"I think you're a very good man." Marie stilled his hands with her other one.

"I do my best. Can I ask you a difficult question?"

With a steadying squeeze of their hands she replied, "Okay."

"Did someone hurt you? Sometimes, it's almost as if you're recovering from a trauma."

"No," she answered, perhaps too fast. "Not a trauma. I'm just careful. My last few relationships haven't ended the best and… you seem too good to be true. Maybe I'm afraid."

He pulled one hand from their shared grasp and brushed her hair behind her ear. She could feel his gaze, soft and intense at the same time.

"I can't promise I won't hurt you, but I'll try very hard not to."

"That's all I could ask for. Promises are fragile." There was a long moment of contemplative silence. "Who is your best friend? Tell me about them?"

"I have two. Chris is a friend from high school and Bernadette I met when I worked at a coffee shop in college. We don't see each other as often as we'd like, but we're still pretty close. Eighteen: what's your love language?"

"What's a love language?"

"It's how you show affection. There are five: spending time, giving gifts, physical touch, doing services, and words of affirmation. I primarily spend time with people."

Marie knew – of course she knew – but how to say it without giving herself away? "I like to do things for people. I try to be helpful when I can and I was raised to be obedient." She laughed. "It sounds very old fashioned when I say it that way."

"A little but I understand what you mean."

"If you could change something about yourself, what would it be?"

"Just one thing? Probably my handwriting. When I was in elementary, my teachers always complained that they couldn't read my writing. What about you? What would you change about yourself?"

She chuckled. "My confidence. I've never been very confident."

Leo took a moment to count the questions. "Last one! We better make them good."

Marie paused to think. "Tell me something about yourself that you don't usually tell people."

"How personal do you want to get?"

"As personal as you're willing to answer."

Leo thought for a moment, as if choosing his words carefully. "I don't want to scare you with this, but I will be honest. I'm into the BDSM scene. I'm a Dom."

Marie's world narrowed. She pulled her hands away. "You are?"

"Please don't be afraid. It's not something I need but I do enjoy it. I've never even had a real sub, just rope bunnies. Sorry, that's girls who-"

"Who let you tie them up. I know."

That gave Leo pause. "How? Are you..?"

"A sub, yes." Marie stood and stepped back. Leo visibly resisted the urge to stand as well.

"…Then why do you look like you're ready to bolt?"

"I've always had bad luck with Doms. Every single one. I don't want to be someone's plaything in the bedroom and a stranger in the real world. I can't do that anymore."

"That's not what I would want either! That's not how it's supposed to be."

"I… I need to think. No, no I don't." She took a deep breath to counteract her panicked, shallow ones. "If we're going to do this, we need to have a negotiation. A proper one. A contract even."

That was when Leo finally stood. "Marie, we don't have to jump straight into contract talks. We can take it slow."

"I don't want there to be any confusion. The rules are what keep me safe."

"I know." He slowly brushed his hands over her arms. "In a scene, yes, the rules keep you safe. But we're not in a scene. We haven't gotten sexual. Have I done anything to make you think I would force you to do something you didn't want to?"

"No, but…"

"How about this; if things progress sexually, we try vanilla first. If that works out and we want to take it further, we can discuss our limits and negotiate then. Sound good?"

Marie searched his face, looking for anything that might give him away as a liar. He let her study him. His eyes were genuine.

"Okay."

If he noticed that she wasn't completely sure – which he almost certainly did – he made no indication of it.

"What would make you feel most comfortable right now? Do you want to be distracted or would you rather go home?"

Marie knew what she wanted, but swallowed against the urge. "I think I should go home. Minnow is probably wondering where I am."

With little more than an 'alright', Leo walked her back to her car. He held her hand in his, cradling it like something fragile.

"Drive safe. And let me know when you get home?" he requested.

"Of course. Thank you for today. I'm sorry things got weird."

"Don't worry about it." He pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "I'll talk to you later."

***

Marie spent the rest of the day restlessly finding things to keep her hands busy. Her mind was spinning. She couldn't rectify the Leo she had come to know with a Dom in the bedroom. He was kind and funny and easy-going – not exactly the kind of person she could imagine tying her down or spanking her.

"You should meet him," she said to Minnow, who blinked curiously. "You've never been wrong about anyone. I should just have you screen anyone with potential…"

***

At eight o'clock, Marie's phone started ringing.

"How'd it go?" Piper asked, her voice slightly too loud.

"It started out good," Marie replied, looking around at her spotless apartment.

"What do you mean 'started'? It didn't end well? Do I need to hire a hitman?"

"No, no. He's perfect except…"

"What?"

Marie took a deep breath. "I don't like to out people but he's a Dom."

"…You're joking."

"I wish I were."

At that, Piper flew into a frenzy of frustration on Marie's behalf. How could this happen? How dare he be on a vanilla dating app? Why would he keep that from her? Marie found herself defending him.

"It's perfectly within his rights to keep that a secret. It's not the sort of thing you tell random strangers unless you know you're in a safe space. I'm surprised he told me so soon."

Piper finally took a breath. "So what are you going to do now? I mean, it's not like this is your first rodeo."

"I don't know. Like I said, he's perfect except for that. I'm scared but I don't think it's fair to cut him off just for that. He did trust me with that information. I suppose the best I could do is see it through. Do I sound crazy?"

"Crazy in love, maybe. That might be a deal breaker for me, honestly, but you do you, girl."

"I think I'm going to make myself some tea and watch bad movies in my pajamas so I don't have to think about this for a while."

"Ooh take a bubble bath while you're at it! Have a self-care night!"

"Thank you for talking to me. I really appreciate it. I'll see you Monday."

Before getting into her pajamas (she decided to forgo the bubble bath), she checked her phone one last time. There was a simple message from Leo.

*Message me when you feel ready.*