Page 42 of Kissing Kayley
He snorted. “Only an idiot of a man doesn’t welcome the help of toys in keeping his lady satisfied.” He retrieved the class schedule and settled onto the bed again. “Let’s see what’s going on today.”
I read it over his shoulder. “Ooh, there’s a rope class,” I said, pointing. “We could do that and then have dinner, right?”
He nodded. “Is that something you want to try?”
“I wouldn’t have said so if I didn’t want to.” I poked him in the arm. “Just like you insist on making sure I’m okay, I promise I won’t lie and say I want something that I don’t.”
“Fair enough, baby.” He glanced at the clock. “We’ve got over two hours before it starts. Ideas on what to do until then?”
I started to reply but I yawned, making him laugh. “Maybe another nap?” I said. “God, I feel like such a wussy.”
I thought that’d make him laugh, but instead he cupped my hand against his thigh. “Hey, yesterday was stressful for a bunch of reasons. This is a completely normal response. I don’t mind catching up on my sleep, either.”
I felt a little guilty considering he had done alotmore driving than was originally scheduled.
“Then how about a nap?”
He set the schedule on the nightstand. “Sounds like a great idea.”
CHAPTER 16
Victor
We weren’t the first ones in the classroom up on the second floor. There was a couple, a man and a woman, who I quickly sussed were our instructors, and another couple, two men.
Kayley opted to wear a sports bra and leggings, because the description had said clothing was optional for the rope bottoms.
Tucker, the male instructor and the rope rigger leading the class, and his wife, Jaimie, were friendly and welcoming. They looked vaguely familiar, and then I realized they were the couple we’d watched scene in the Dungeon. They quickly set us up with our own bundles of dark purple jute rope precut in various lengths before telling us to pick wherever we wanted to sit. Several groups of snap-together MMA mats were placed around the room at comfortable distances from each other. On each mat someone had placed a pair of rope scissors.
By the time class started, there was a total of twelve students, but only six of us were partnered to each other, while the rest had paired up for class and would take turns tying each other.
“Let’s cover safety first,” Tucker said as Jaimie stripped down to a sports bra and thong next to him. “No neck ropes today, and definitely no suspension techniques. Remember, any idiot can buy five dollars’ worth of rope at a hardware store and accidentally kill someone in just a couple of minutes, so safety is a priority. People think rope is ‘safe’ but it’s actually one of the most dangerous activities for that very reason. Personally, we classify any ropework as ‘edge play’ due to how dangerous it can be. Never leave your bottom unattended and tied up.” He held up a pair of the scissors. “You have rope scissors. You will keep them within reach at all times, and if in doubt, use them. Never tie, even basics, without them within reach…”
He spent fifteen minutes going over more safety issues, including basic rope tie safety, using Jaimie to demonstrate. There were plenty of safety considerations I’d never thought of, like rope placement in relation to various nerves, using more wraps of rope to spread out and reduce pressure on vulnerable areas, and more. I thought they’d exaggerated the dangers at the beginning, until they started explaining how even a basic tie improperly placed could quickly cause harm.
Since today’s class wasn’t covering suspension, he soon started with the demo and lesson.
Over the next two hours, we worked our way through single- and double-column ties used in a variety of ways. Honestly, I was surprised when I looked up and realized our two hours were up.
I think Kayley was disappointed to see class end, too.
“What’s the pouty lip for, sweetheart?” I asked as she helped me coil what was now our rope.
“That went way too fast. But you know what?
“What, baby?”
“I now trust and respect you even more than I did before for knowing you need training and caution, and not just blindlybarging forward without keeping my safety at the front of your mind.”
I laughed. “Not like safety and anticipation and mitigation of dangers are a key component of myliteraljob or anything.”
She lightly swatted my arm, laughing. “Take the compliment. And I guess you could call that another green flag.”
“Green flag?”
“Yeah, instead of a red one.” She sighed. “That’s something I wish more of my clients learned how to recognize before they stumbled into bad relationships, and I’m left helping them pick up the pieces.”
Tucker walked over. “What you just practiced, you can safely do that in your room, if you want. Or, if you aren’t sure, you can always go down to the Dungeon and do it there while a DM supervises. Just remember the safety rules.”
