Taking Yes - Pt. 2

 

Chapter 2 Tags: M/f, shrinking, light impact play, light public play, discussions of bondage and submission

Taking Yes for an Answer - Pt. 2

“I’ll try most things once, of course.”  Evalyn stirred sugar into her coffee.  “The novelty is a selling point.  Experiencing the world a few inches shorter.  Maybe a few feet, if you can manage that.”

Will leaned in to be heard without raising his voice.  The Lily was crowded tonight, bodies packed shoulder to shoulder around the bar.  “I can manage.  There isn’t really a limit.  However small you want, I can give it to you.”  He looked down at his hands.  “So is that what interests you?  Shrinking, so you can say you did it?”

“Partly?  It’s vulnerable-making, that’s another thing I like.  Reminds me a little bit of getting tied up.”  Evalyn’s expression grew wistful.  “What I’ve got a problem with, is this whole get-out-of-jail free card you’re giving me.  If I decide to fight it I go back to normal?”

Will shook his head. “I wouldn’t describe it like that.”

“Well, what then?  Because from what you’re saying… well okay, like with rope.  If you were tying me up, it would be no fun if I could slip out of your knots anytime I wanted.  Or say it’s a more conventional scene, and you tried to throw me to the floor and pin me?  No offense, but that wouldn’t end well for you.”  She snorted.  “Like.  I’ve probably got three inches and twenty pounds on you, big man.  So how am I supposed to appreciate being, you know, small, if I can stop it any time?  How am I supposed to respect you?  I mean come on Will!  Give me something to work with here!”

“You don’t get to play submissive very often, do you?”

“No,” she replied at once.  “But I fail to see how that’s related.”

“Hm.”  Will paused, collecting his thoughts.  At the door, Mr. Black was showing his ID.  Lyra followed a half-step behind, wearing kitsune ears and a sleeveless dress that showed off the numerous burn marks on her arm.  She looked pleased.

“So.  There are ropes.  The physical ones, that tie you down.  But those aren’t nearly as important as the ropes in your mind.”

Evalyn hit him.  Not full force, but hard enough to make his shoulder ache.  “No sceneing in social areas,” Steven barked from the other end of the bar.

“Sorry hun,” Evalyn called back.  “It’s a rule we made.  Whenever he gets too metaphysical I get to punch him.”

“That is true,” Will confirmed, rubbing his arm.  He turned to her, lowering his voice.  “Though when we negotiated that, I didn’t take into account how freaking strong you are.  Or your lack of mercy.”

“And that’s what I meant about keeping up.”  Evalyn gave him a vicious smile, then softened a little.  “If it’s too much you can say so.  I’ll ease off.”

“No, it’s fine.  But, wait.  That, right there.  That’s what I’m trying to say.  You’ve hit plenty of people in this room.  Probably a whole lot harder.”

Evalyn grew starry-eyed.  “Oh yes.  Much, much harder.” 

“And how many of them wanted to be hit?”

“Uh, exactly all of them, duh.  See, we grown-ups have this concept called ‘assault and battery.’”

“And if someone told you to stop….”

“I’d stop.”  Evalyn pursed her lips, a single lock of silver-blonde hair falling over her eyes.  “Oh.”

He nodded.  “That’s what made me think you don’t sub much.  Mind if I take a blind shot at psychoanalyzing you?”

Evalyn cracked her knuckles menacingly.  “Go for it.”

“I can already sense your interest in this.  It’s a resonance, a feeling-without-feeling that I get when….” 

She raised her fist.

“What I mean is, I can tell my thing’s going to work on you.  I don’t think you’ll have a problem saying yes.  Stipulating you make the conscious choice to say it.”

“Stipulating.”

“I think your problem will be choosing to stop.  Finding a place where you’re willing to tap out, and go back to normal size.  Because I think to you, that’s going to feel like giving up.  Like admitting you’ve lost.”

Evalyn stared at him, nostrils flaring angrily.  For once, she was speechless.

“What’s up, my dudes?”  Black slapped a friendly hand on Will’s shoulder, and grinned owlishly at Evalyn.  “Damn, you must be losing your touch, E.  It’s almost nine o’clock.  I woulda thought you’d have some lucky victim down on their knees by now.”

“Not in the mood for it tonight.”  Evalyn wasn’t smiling.  “Anyway it’s too crowded.  A girl like me needs room to maneuver.  What are the two of you planning for the evening?”

Lyra wrapped both her arms around Mr. Black’s forearm, pulling herself bodily against him.  “Oh, not much.  I’m getting collared tonight.”

Will gave a low whistle.  “That’s heavy stuff.  Didn’t you just meet yesterday?”

“What can I say?  When you know, you know.  It just feels right.”

Black scratched the back of his neck, looking sheepish.  “She saw it on the internet.”

Will and Evalyn exchanged a look.

“What?” Black and Lyra said in unison.

“Nothing,” Will and Evalyn replied.

“No, really.”  Black leaned down, looking earnest.  “You can tell us.  Do you think it’s a bad idea?”

Evalyn waved her hand dismissively.  “It’s none of my business.  Anyway, you’re interrupting us.”

Mr. Black stared at the two of them.  It was almost possible to see the gears working in his head.  “Wait.  Are the two of you… negotiating a scene?”  When no one responded, Black laughed, and slapped the bar with both hands.  “No shit.  You’re going to let this dude shrink you, huh?  I never figured you for a sub, E.”

“You wouldn’t.  I only play that role around people I respect.”

Lyra laughed, and Will flushed.  “I’m flattered,” he said.

“We’re still negotiating.”

“No E, you need to help me wrap my head around this.  I’m getting serious does-not-compute vibes. You’re literally the scariest dom in the scene.  It’s blowing my mind that this is something you’d even entertain, like you’re shaking my entire world-view.  But forget about me for a minute.”

“Yep.”

“You’re not, like, worried about people losing respect for you?  What about your reputation?”

“What about my reputation?” Evalyn said mildly.  She looked down at Lyra, her face expressionless.  “Is playing submissive inherently shameful?”

The man looked surprised.  Abruptly, he grabbed Lyra arm, and pulled her away.  “Come on, toy.  Let’s give the weirdos a little space.  Enjoy being a munchkin, E.”

“Ta.”

Will watched them go.  “You get off on antagonizing him, huh.”

“I get off on antagonizing, full stop.  With Black it’s more… hm.  You ever see a Harlem Globetrotters game?”

“No.  But I take your point.  It’s not exactly competitive.”

“He just disappoints me, is all.  He really ought to know better.  Playing a dominant is about more than strutting around like a big leather peacock.  ‘Dom’ is a word that describes us.  It doesn’t define us.” 

“Do I get to hit you when you get metaphysical, too?”

Evalyn gave him a wolfish grin.  “Anyway like I said, it’s their business, not mine.”

“So let’s talk about our business.”

“Let’s.”  She poured another cup of coffee from the carafe on the bar.  “Did you get a chance to read the Yes-No-Maybe list I sent?”

Will took the offered cup.  “I did.  Assuming you got mine too?  I think we agree on a lot, in principle.  You saw I’m not much for rope or handcuffs though?”

“Not a problem.”

“Good.  Just, restraints are hard when you’re going to keep shrinking out of them.  I prefer… more direct means.”  He smirked, setting the flat of his palm down on the bar.  Pressing.

She raised an eyebrow.  “I… see.  You have to admit though, there’s something about the texture of a good hemp rope against bare skin.  But it’s.  You know.  A means to an end.  And that end is….”

“Being less.”

Evalyn sipped her coffee.  “I wouldn’t phrase it that way.  But you aren’t far off.  It’s having something taken from me.  Knowing that I can’t have it back, no matter how hard I struggle.  That struggling will only make it worse.”

“So that’s why it bothers you, that you can make it stop at any time.”

“Uh-huh.  Submission is about willful suspension of disbelief.  And you haven’t made a believer out of me yet.”

Will shrugged.  “So.  Let’s go back to rope.  Put yourself in that head-space for me, okay?  That moment, when you’re with a skilled rigger, and you’re just about to be tied.”

The larger woman narrowed her eyes.  “Fine.  Give me a second.”  She took a very deep breath, stretching her arms over her head.  She rolled her sinuous neck from side to side, ending by shaking the tension out of her wrists.  “Go on.”

“Now.  I want you to imagine there’s an exceptionally brutal scene coming.  You’ve been waiting for it all week.  Once things start, you have no idea how it will go.  Only, it’s going to be rough.”

Evalyn’s face softened in a grin.  “Perfect.”

“Your rigger tells you to cross your arms behind your back, palms out.”  He held out his hand to her.  She complied, placing her larger hand in his.  “Now imagine it.  The scratch of hemp on your skin.  The very first moment it slides against you.”

With the tips of his fingernails, he brushed the back of Evalyn’s wrist.  The woman shivered, and closed her eyes.

“You imagining it?”

“Yes,” she said distantly.

“How does it make you feel?”

She thought.  “Nervous.  Giddy.  A little safe, I suppose.”  She licked her lips.  “Small.”

His nails slid further up her arm, scratching gently as he went.  “Now, imagine the rope looping around your waist.  The last moment, before the first knot is tied.  Before you’re trapped.  Can you imagine… tearing yourself out?  Fleeing from the room?  Putting on your coat, and going home?”

Evalyn laughed, but didn’t open her eyes.  “I wouldn’t, though.”

“And that,” he said.  “Is how I know you’ll stay small for me.  Stipulating.”

“Do it, Will.”

His hand stopped just beneath her elbow.  “Right now?”

She nodded, eyes squeezed shut.  “I just need to know it’s real.  That this isn’t a trick.”

Will sighed.  Then closed his hand around her forearm.  “Okay.  I’m going to go slow.  You’re already doing everything you need for me.  Just focus on that feeling.  Wanting to be smaller.  I’m going to reach out, and take hold of it.  This might feel a little strange.”

Evalyn whimpered.

“Okay?” he asked.

She nodded emphatically.

“I’m about to push.  Tell me if it’s too much.”

The taller woman shrank, letting out a long, dark moan.  A few heads turned toward the two of them, as Evalyn sank down on the bar stool, her sleeves subtly creeping down her muscular forearms.  At the other end of the bar, Steven looked up from serving another patron.  “No sceneing in social areas.”

“Sorry.”  Will relaxed his grip, and Evalyn’s eyes fluttered open.  She blinked, looking around the room in wonder.  “Doing okay?”

“What? Yeah!” Evalyn laughed.  “That was amazing!”  She looked down at her hands, and tugged at her oversized t-shirt, slipping her bra back into place.  She grinned at him, then looked around the room in wonder.  “Okay!  Fuck, I believe you.  That was… wow.  How small did you make me?”

He peered at her.  “You’re just a little shorter than me.  If I had to guess, you’re around five nine.”

She looked up from examining her coffee cup, testing its weight as she swung it back and forth in the air.  “Seriously?  Four little inches is all it takes to make everything so different?”

Will spread his hands.  “So you want to go back to normal?  Want to tap out?”

“Are you kidding?  I want to go again!”  She grabbed his arm with both hands, pulling him fiercely.  Even with the lost inches, she was clearly still stronger.  “Let’s go get in line for some scene space.”

“Woah, hold on.  We still need to talk.  Am I going to make you the shortest girl in the room?  Half my size?  Small enough to fit in the palm of my hand….”

She tugged on his wrist.  “Yes, yes, and then yes.”

“…And we haven’t mentioned safe words, or aftercare….”

“My safe word is ‘Red,’ and I like Peanut Butter Oreos.”  She hesitated, studying his face.  “These are important questions, Will.  But you know as well as I do that we can explore most of it as we go.  This feels like you’re trying to talk me out of it.  Why won’t you take yes for an answer?”

Will frowned, staring off into the middle distance.  “Habit, I guess.  I’m accustomed to curiosity about what I do.  It’s rare anyone wants to try it.  Even more rare when someone’s genuinely excited.”  He laughed darkly.  “This much enthusiasm is a lot to take in.”

“Right.  I’m enthusiastic.  That’s a good thing, isn’t it?  I know what I want, and I know how to ask for it.  So man up and make me tiny already.”

He glared, saying nothing.

The smaller woman grinned at him wickedly.  Slowly she leaned in, pressing her shoulder against his chest.  When the bartender turned his back, she slipped her hand along his inner thigh, gave him a squeeze.  “It would be easy right now, wouldn’t it?  To take hold of, what, ‘my desire to be small?’   I have so much of that right now.”  She nuzzled him, lips brushing his throat as she spoke.  “Please Will?  It felt so good.  I want more.  I know you want it, too.”

Very deliberately, he reached down and grasped her hand.  Pulled it off his thigh.  “No sceneing in social areas,” he growled. 

She watched him pull away, her expression confused.  “Will, are you okay?”

“Yeah.  Or, well, maybe not.  Just, do me a favor?  Let’s sleep on this.”

She sat up straight, suddenly much more serious in her baggy clothes.  “I come on too strong sometimes.  Sorry.  I meant everything I said, though.”

He nodded, and took a deep breath.  “And I’m sorry for shutting you down.  You’re right.  I… do want this.  At least I think so.  Let’s talk tomorrow.  If we both still, you know.  Then we’ll figure it out.”  He turned to leave.

“Um.”  She caught his hand, looking embarrassed.  “How do I turn this off?”  She gestured down at her smaller form.

Will smiled sadly.  “Easy.  Just think about those Peanut Butter Oreos.”

By the time he was out the door, she was herself again.  Evalyn readjusted her heels, slipping them back into their proper place, then scowled down at her empty coffee cup.  “Did you clock all that?” she asked, when Steven came by with a fresh pot.

“Enough, I think.  You okay?”

She bit her thumbnail, thought about it.  “Sort of pent up.  Kind of want to break something.  I think I’m going to go home, though.  Just.”  She let out a frustrated sigh.  “What’s his problem?  I get being cautious, and like, I know I’m a lot?  But that doesn’t excuse just walking out on me.”

“Yeah, it’s bullshit.”  Someone at the other end of the bar made a motion, and Steven held up a finger, telling them to wait.  “Want to know something?  Off the record?”

“Sure.”

Steven leaned in conspiratorially.  “As far as I know, no person Will shrunk has ever wanted to do it twice.”