Page 8 of Any Which Way

Fingers dancing over the implements, I choose my final toy of the night.

Nearly two feet long and polished red, the fiberglass cane has a thick rubber handle for easy gripping.

Brynn might love it for the heavy thud as it lands against her body. Different from most rattan canes, it’s sturdy and packs a wallop. But what I love most are the beautiful marks it leaves behind.

“Nine tonight, Brynn. Do you know why?”

“One for every time I spoke poorly about myself in front of you since I last promised I wouldn’t do it, Mistress.”

I smile at her response despite knowing she can’t see my face. It’s an improvement over the last time we were here. And that time had been an improvement on the time before. Lightly, I drag the black tip of the cane over her body. Preparing her without letting her know exactly when I’ll strike.

“That’s right, Brynn. You aresoworthy of the love that you attract. You are beautiful exactly as you are. Look at everyone watching you. I’m sure they can all see it. Now focus on Kai and count out loud for me. When we’re done here, we’ll go home and take care of that aching backside before we handle the other ache that’s low and deep in your belly. You feel it, don’t you? The acheyou know will only go away when one of the two of us is buried deep inside you?”

Despite her loose and pliant body now closely resembling a ragdoll, Brynn manages to nod.

And with that, I land the first of the last nine strikes across the middle of both of her cheeks. Immediately, Brynn bucks against the restraints, and I’m glad I had the wherewithal to cuff her to the bench.

“One!” she screams.

The next two come in quick succession—one to the top and bottom of where the first fell.

We continue with four and five, her voice breaking as the tears begin to flow.

Brynn’s voice is hoarse on the next. “Six!”

Her ass is gloriously red. Striped like a candy cane I want to take between my teeth and bite. I already can’t wait to watch as the bruises change, a kaleidoscope of colors only for the sacred few to see.

“Three more, baby. Remember this feeling next time you want to talk badly about yourself. Here we go.”

I lay them over her ass one right after the next, my cane staying in place until the last number leaves her lips on nothing more than a sobbed, “Nine.”

With tender touches, I massage Brynn’s thighs, watching as the last dregs of adrenaline leave her body. I uncap a bottle of soothing lotion, preparing to provide a small bit of aftercare before we leave the club for the short drive home, but Kai stops me at the last moment.

“Go give her the words she needs to hear. I’ve got this.”

Quickly, I drop my forehead to his. “I don’t know how, but I think I manage to fall in love with you more every day.”

We work in tandem. Kai massages Brynn’s wrists and ankles as he uncuffs each one before tending to her tender backside.Finally, he finishes by clasping her bodysuit and covering her with a warm blanket. The entire time, I shower Brynn with words of affirmation and kisses over every inch of her tear-stained face, instilling in her even a fraction of the beauty I see in her each and every day.

And when we fall asleep in a pile of limbs hours later, all of us are sated, our bodies heavy and well used from expressing love. I can’t help but let my mind wander to what exactly is about to change, excited to see the version of both of my partners that will bloom over the next few weeks, and even more excited to love them into the next season of their lives.

The last time I found myself standing outside the large brick building of a club before it opened to the general public, I had been nineteen, recently lost my dad’s credit card, and was desperate to find it before I had to face the consequences of not only losing it, but also of drinking underage with money meant foremergencies.

Now, as I stand outside Glittering Vices, hat pulled low on my brow while trying to psyche myself up to go inside for my first Body Liberation workshop, I almost find this to be more nerve wracking.

Finally, knowing it’ll be even more awkward if I’m late, I walk to the door. It’s not uncommon for me to see the front of Glittering Vices unlit during the daytime with Eleri’s tea shop right next door. Still, when I reach the front and am greeted by a pixie of a human with hot pink hair who ushers me inside after checking my name against a clipboard, I can’t help but feel like I’ve intruded on some secret society and that, just maybe, I shouldn’t be here.

I don’t have time to further second guess myself before another employee appears out of nowhere, pointing to a staircase tucked into the corner of the club. Following their instruction, I take the stairs until I’m on the second level of the club. I walk down the narrow hallway past what seems to be a small workroom. A single white feather floats out of the room and into the hallway, and I don’t know if it’s a good or bad omen of what’s to come.

Laughter swirls into the hallway from the last door, and I reluctantly walk into the room to find three people already in the open space. The first I recognize as Ryan, the owner of the club as well as the building Eleri rents that happens to be part of the same complex next door. And while the other two people are strangers, I have a sneaking suspicion that when Ryan McKenzie is at the helm, people never stay strangers for long.

“Hi there,” Ryan greets me. “We’re waiting on one more, and then, we’ll get started.”

It’s less than five minutes later when we do just that. Myself and three other students stare ahead at Ryan as she eagerly looks us over with a glimmer in her blue eyes that speaks of nothing but trouble for the four of us at her mercy.

“I’m proud of each of you for showing up tonight for your first class. While I might have grown up with Glittering Vices as my backdrop, I know how difficult it can be to step outside of your comfort zone, to put yourself out there. And tonight, each of you took a step toward doing just that. Over the next few months, we’re going to get to know one another. But perhaps even more exciting and more importantly, you’re going to hopefully walk away with a deeper understanding of yourself, as well. You’re going to learn Burlesque is a vehicle for both physicalandmental transformation. We’re going to highlight the things you might currently see as flaws in ways that might seem scary at first. I’m going to teach you to convey emotionwith your bodies through props and movement. And when we put all the pieces of a performance together, it’s going to create magic that’s downright alchemic.”

We take a few moments to introduce ourselves to the group, and it’s just as painful and awkward as I remember it being during every group project ever assigned to me throughout my academic tenure. Even knowing that I can choose to never perform outside the walls of this classroom is of little consolation when it dawns on me that these strangers will be seeing me in a way exactly zero people have ever seen before.

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