Past - They really are in that business

"They really are in that business, you know," he said with a charming smile. "I've met them."

"You mean those couples in the movie?" Regina blurted out. But after realizing the situation she was in, she calmed her voice before continuing "Are they good at the thing they were doing?"

"Actually, yes," he said. "They're not very glamorous, but, yes, they are good at that."

With a dumbstruck face, Regina had no idea what to say next, it suddenly occurred to her that she has started a conversation about S/M with one of the most gorgeously looking man at the party. Thin, tan, intelligent-looking. He wore the loose, elegant suit as though it were no big deal, and those wonderful, big brown eyes were sexy, friendly, and cool enough to make any girl fall in love with him on her first sight.

'Oh, my goodness' She thought.

In front of her stood a man in his mid-thirties, rich looking, beautiful and straight, or she thought. She had never felt gawky and somewhat sweaty and tongue-tied like that before. But still, she didn't take her eyes off him. Which he had the good manners to accept as a compliment. And continued chatting, pleasantly and intelligently. They went out to the balcony and sat on a stone balustrade overlooking the bay. And pretty soon she was telling him about her college life and what she was actually interested in. The man seemed smart and well-read as well as seemed to know everything about medieval architecture. Not that she really cared about medieval architecture, but she was sure that he'd picked up on how she was an incredible sucker for the expertise of any kind.

Regina thought he was a terrific man, she was charmed and flattered and he was certainly the oldest and classiest person who had ever shown any romantic interest in her. She thought that maybe she actually liked him, too, but in truth, she was so infatuated and turned on, first by the s/m movie and then by the man in front of her. She really wanted him to take her home with him.

While Regina was lost in her thoughts, the man put his hand on her arm and took a deep breath.

'Oh my god, it's finally happening.' She thought wildly.

"Look," But instead of sliding his hand somewhere down, he said, "you're pretty and very bright and I like you, but that's not why I've been talking to you for the last hour. The thing is, I have got something much more serious in mind." He stopped after saying that much and started looking at her eyes.

"Huh?!" Regina had no idea where he was going with that so with a curious face she looked at him.

"I want you to be my slave," he said.

"What?! Huh?! Slave?!" After saying that she just stared at him for a minute while carefully considering whether there was any chance she hadn't heard him correctly. But the man had a clear voice and her hearing was also fine, so there was really no mistaking what he'd said.

'Oh. My. God.' She thought before sliding off the balustrade. "It's been nice talking to you," she stammered. 'Damn, he seemed so fantastic, and it turns out he's just sick.'

"Hear me out," The man said. He seemed so unflustered that she found herself stopping and turning to him again. "Look," he said again, patiently, "we were watching an outrageously tacky and stupid movie in there and you could have mopped the floor with those jeans." His matter-of-fact gaze rested on her hips a heartbeat longer than it needed to, she thought.

"So," he continued, "I don't think you're nearly as shocked and scandalized as you'd like to think you are. After all, it's not as though you haven't thought about these things before. And at some length, I bet. In fact, my guess is that you've been jerking off to S/M porn in your quiet times. But I don't think you've ever done more than watch and jerked off. Which is a shame. Because I think you'd be good at the real thing. I'm good at the real thing."

Regina was almost fourteen when she started watching s/m porn so he was dead-on right. S/M porn was one of her secrets. She didn't understand why she liked it, but she knew it was important to her. It seemed to occupy a space in her head next door to the more typical romantic passions or crushes on actors and rock stars or even some professors.

Suddenly Regina felt very frightened and exposed. The romantic feelings she had been talking to him before the conversation had taken this disquieting turn.

"Enough about me, let's talk about you. So you must have got good at it hanging with those people in that movie?" Unable to find anything to say and change the topic, she blurted whatever came into her mind first.

"I hang with a much better class of pervert. Well, they're richer, anyway, and they're a lot prettier. But you're right, in a way. I do respect those guys from the movie. It takes passion to act out your fantasy when you're going to look so graceless. I'm good at spotting passion-sincerity, maybe. I spotted you." Without any embarrassment, he told her as he reached into his pocket, found a piece of scrap paper, scribbled something on it before handing her over and leaving.

Just as he left, Regina immediately opened that piece of paper to look at what he had written inside.

"Nathan." She blurted out the name written on the paper, "Is this his address?!"