Page 54 of Kissing Kayley
“No, I’m not,” I said. “My… Sir and I are still figuring out what, exactly, I am.”
“How ’bout Miss DeeDee?” Georgie asked.
A chorus of cheers echoed through the giggle and I couldn’t help but smile.
“I like that,” I said. “Miss DeeDee it is.”
“You comin’ in?” Georgie asked as she moved toward the ball pit.
“Am I allowed to even though I’m not a Little?”
“If you’re just here to play an’ not be bossy, yeah! Anyone can play as long as they play nice.” She jumped in and disappeared below the colorful sea of balls before emerging, laughing. “Come on in!”
More calls echoed among the giggle, urging me to jump in. After looking back to the woman in charge, who smiled and gave me an encouraging nod, I climbed up and jumped in.
Twenty minutes later, I found myself engaged in a playful chase through the jungle gym sets, an informal game of tag that had everyone laughing.
I finally tapped out and retreated to the far side of the room to collapse and rest by the shoe cubby. I thought I was in shape but they had me beat.
The woman in charge walked over, smiling. “Have fun?”
“Yeah. I see why that’s a blast. Thanks for letting me join in.”
“Except in certain circumstances, as long as everyone’s playing as an equal—unless they’re in a relationship with that person—anyone can play. Even Tops need to let off some steam and laugh.”
“I have a hard time picturing Derek”–something suddenly occurred to me—“or do I have to call himMasterDerek?”
“I heard you state you’re not a Little, but also heard you refer to your partner as Sir, so may I ask if you’re a submissive?”
I considered it. “Like I said, that’s what we’re here to figure out.”
She smiled, no judgment in her tone or expression. “While in your situation Master Derek wouldn’t kick you out over it, around here the default protocol is for Littles, service and other submissives who live here under his protection, and even some staff to use the honorific out of respect. As long as you and your partner are okay with you using that title for him, of course. If not, then it would be you or your partner’s responsibility to address that directly with Master Derek, should it become aproblem. That’s simply a matter of respecting the protocols here and having clear communication with Master Derek. You calling him ‘Master’ in this particular situation is the same as someone using a title like ‘reverend’ or ‘doctor’. If you use the title ‘Master’ with him, he doesn’t assume you are in a dynamic with him, or that he could—or will—randomly order you around outside of any circumstance other than as his role as owner of the Ranch. Does that make sense?”
Well, of course that analogy made perfect sense to me. Duh.
Not that I was supposed to—or could—tell herwhyit made perfect sense to me. “Yes, that makes sense. Thank you for explaining…” I paused, my attention drawn to the giggle as another round of cheers erupted. Looking back to the monitor, I grinned. “I still can’t picture Master Derek swimming in a ball pit.”
She shrugged. “This is a sanctuary in more ways than one. We don’t judge, as long as people obey the rules and are respectful of and courteous to others. There’s no law that says a Top can’t play on a jungle gym just for the fun of it and not because they’re playing with their Little.”
I wondered if Vic would want to take a turn running around in here and had a feeling I’d get a quip from him about already surviving the Quantico obstacle training course.
I wished I could plop on my professional hat for a few minutes and have a more in-depth discussion with the woman about the psychology behind this, but the door opened and Vic walked in.
I pulled on my shoes and stood. “Thank you,” I said to the woman. “I appreciate your time.”
“No problem.”
Vic surveyed the play area. “You look like you had fun.”
“I did?—”
“Bye, Miss DeeDee!” a chorus erupted from various places in the room.
I waved. “Good-bye!” I headed to the door.
“Miss DeeDee?” Vic asked once the door swung shut behind us. Amusement colored his tone. “Did you go Top on me without warning?”
“No. They asked me my name and could tell I didn’t like it, so they suggested they call me Miss DeeDee.”
