Vanilla by J.A. Bailey

 
    Vanilla
    “Addy! Please tell me you'll come with me. It might do you some
good to get out and meet new people, not to mention break out of that vanilla
shell of yours...”
    “Vanilla? Now you're
comparing me to a flavouring?”
    “NO! Come on, you know what
I mean. You've been in what, four relationships and had maybe half a dozen
total sexual partners?”
    “What does that have to do
with anything?”
    This was my life. Back and
forth, side to side, with my best friend Loren. She was what I like to call a
sexual deviant. Getting involved with all sorts of things I would never dream
of: suspension, latex, breath play, she even told me one instance where her partner
shoved his entire fist… never mind, I don't even want to think about that.
    We'd been friends since we
were kids. And when we entered high school, she was the first one of us to lose
their virginity. She bragged around school later that she had slept with an
older guy, a real sports fanatic, and that it didn't really hurt because he was
small (from the steroids). I knew otherwise, however, because the girl had been
masturbating since she was eleven and used her curling iron regularly.
    I was, of course, the last
it seemed in my graduating class. It's not like I was religious or anything, or
really thought there was a value to my virginity, I just didn't want to sleep
with anyone. Love or not, I wanted it to be right, and it be the right time and
be fully ready for the experience.
    That experience came quickly
after I started college. Bryan was my first and it seemed we were on the right
track. We’d been dating for two months and when I was ready he was very
encouraging and gentle, not like most experienced boys it seemed with girls.
And, he actually stuck around afterwards, something that shocked me.
    We dated for three months
after that. However, during one of our times together, something happened that
freaked him out, to the point he didn’t want to see me again. (WTH happened?) I
was devastated and heartbroken. While I wouldn’t say I was in love with him, I
had developed feelings for him, but I quickly realized that I was young and
shouldn’t let one guy bring me down. Besides which, there had always been
something missing during our times together. I put it down to our inexperience.
    And here we are today, my
best friend asking me to go to a fetish ball with her. She was right though; I
did need to get out and date new people. Give up the dating sites and bar and
actually meet someone interesting, maybe even another newcomer that really
wasn’t into such things and was coerced to go as well.
    Loren got down on her knees,
clasping her hands in front of her in prayer. “Pretty, please?”
    I sighed. Defeated.
    She got up and jumped for
joy, pulling me in for one of those deep side to side hugs. “This is going to be so much fun! I can’t wait to
dress you and give you a makeover!”
    I held up my hands. “Whoa, whoa, wait a second. I didn’t agree to that. Can’t I
just wear a pair of high heels, jeans and like a black cut up shirt?”
    “You’re joking, right?”
    “No, I’m really not.” What
did you wear to a fetish ball anyway? I pictured myself in a gimp suit and
grimaced.
    “You have to dress the part.
Either as a slave or as a Dominant.”
    “And what if I want
neither?” I certainly couldn’t picture myself as a Dom. Men thought me as quite
outspoken and confident but inside… sometimes I wondered who I really was? But
did that mean I’d have to be a slave? The thought of being at someone else
command made me shudder. It had a slightly odd effect on me too though, a
slight twisting in my stomach.
    “Well, we’ll figure
something out.”
    A week later I was told by
Loren to meet her at a store called Liquid Desires . I arrived a good
fifteen minutes ahead of time and started to look around the store. A few
things caught my eye, but nothing really wowed me in my perusal.
    Loren soon got there and
drilled me on what I saw