come up with a plan for the weekend. She wasn’t all that happy with what she came up with, but it was the best she could do on such short notice.
There was no way she could go all weekend with a mask on. She knew that. On the other hand, she was afraid if she told Simon who she was before the weekend started, he wouldn’t take her to the conference. Her plan, therefore, was to practice with her mask on and then take it off and reveal who she was before the demo.
It wasn’t a foolproof plan—hell, she didn’t even think it was a very good plan. Unfortunately, it was the only plan she had. At least she was driving herself, as it would’ve been horribly awkward to be in the car for two hours wearing a mask. As it was, she planned to put the mask on right before she got to the conference site.
The other concern she had was her voice. She had racked her brain, trying to think of a way to disguise it, and had come up empty. She did the next best thing. She wrote a quick note, explaining that she had lost her voice. She assured Simon in the note that she wasn’t sick and she wasn’t contagious. She told him she thought it was allergies.
She couldn’t shake the feeling, however, that everything was getting ready to blow up in her face. That no matter what she did, it wasn’t going to be enough and Simon was going to be pissed as hell when he found out.
She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, willing the miles to pass faster, but at the same time hoping she never got there. Her phone rang, and she put it on speaker, tickled to have something to keep her mind off the impending conference.
“Hello?” she asked.
“Hey, Lynne.” It was Abby.
Lynne had called her earlier in the day, but had to leave a message. “Hey, Abby.”
“What’s going on?” Abby asked.
“We have a long weekend break this weekend,” Lynne explained. “I’m going to a BDSM conference. With Simon.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone. She really hoped she wasn’t on speaker and Nathaniel hadn’t just heard that.
“Does he know who you are?” Abby finally asked.
“I’m telling him this weekend. Probably tonight, after we practice.”
Abby gave a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. It’s about time. But why after you practice?”
“Yeah, I know it’s time. If I can just get through the next few hours, I think we’ll be okay. And I want to do the practice first because I’m afraid if he knows it’s Lynne and not Faye, he’ll go easy on me.”
“Simon is a good guy. I’m sure he’ll understand why you did what you did.”
Lynne couldn’t help but think that Abby was only saying that to make her feel better. She still feared Simon’s response once he found out the truth.
“I know he is,” Lynne said. “I just wonder how much he’ll be willing to accept, you know?”
“Don’t sell him short. He may surprise you.”
Or he might react the exact way she thought he was going to. But she kept that to herself. They chatted a bit more about the kids, her classes, and their plans for when school ended. Though Lynne felt momentarily better, as soon as Abby disconnected, she was right back to where she was before the phone call.
An hour later, she pulled into the parking lot of the conference site, mask firmly in place before she prepared to exit the vehicle. Abby had mentioned that she and Nathaniel had been to this place twice. Lynne drove past a large stone building to the overnight facilities toward the back.
She wasn’t sure about the sleeping arrangements, and she almost went to the front desk. But she realized she had never given Simon her last name. She doubted they would reserve a room under the name Faye with no last name. On a whim she checked her phone and smiled when she saw there was a message from Simon.
Faye,
When you arrive, call me. I’ll come down to the lobby to take you to our room.
—Simon
All the breath in her body left with one big whoosh. She guessed that took care of the sleeping arrangements. From the sound of things, she’d be sharing a room with Simon. Definitely a good idea that she was going to tell him the truth tonight. And still, her body trembled at the thought of it.
She typed out a short text to Simon, letting him know that she had arrived and was waiting in the lobby. The woman at the front desk asked if she could help. Lynne shook her head no, not wanting to speak since she wasn’t going to talk in front of Simon. Yet at least.
Please let this weekend go well.
Please let this weekend go well.
Please let this weekend go well.
Maybe if she said it enough, it would actually happen.
She didn’t have to wait too long for the elevator to ping with Simon’s arrival. The doors slid open, and he walked out, looking entirely too handsome. How was it he could look so good? Maybe the car ride had revitalized him, but all it’d done to her was drain her. Of course, Simon had probably gotten a full night’s sleep the night before.
Plus he wasn’t carrying a bunch of guilt like she was. She firmly believed it was the guilt that made her feel so bad. Partially anyway.
“Hello, Faye,” Simon said, holding out his hand.
She took that as a sign that she was not to kneel before him just yet.
He picked up her overnight bag. “Come with me. I’ve already checked in and got the room ready.”
The room where she’d be sleeping with Simon.
He must have seen her reaction to the fact that they were sharing a room. “Don’t worry. I requested a suite, so there are two bedrooms.”
She smiled and nodded. At her silence, Simon tilted his head. Lynne took that moment to hand him the note she had written. He read it, then looked at her strangely.
“You can’t talk?” he asked, and she shook her head. “You can’t talk and you insist on wearing a mask. I can’t tell if that makes you mysterious and alluring or something else entirely.”
She was glad she’d decided to tell him the truth tonight. From his tone, it was clear he wouldn’t be too happy if she kept the mask on and didn’t talk all weekend. She pushed aside any remaining unease and told herself to focus on what would happen after she told him.
It would only be the two of them, and once she confessed everything, they’d have the entire weekend to catch up. Surely, after they practiced for the demo, he’d see that she, Lynne, was everything he wanted.
No matter what happened, by the time they went to bed tonight, there would be no secrets between them. There was comfort in that. Even if he didn’t take it well, she could rest and not feel guilty.
Simon waved at the woman at the front desk and said to Lynne, “Let’s go upstairs.”
She followed along silently, noticing that a large group had just arrived and was checking in. She was glad Simon had already taken care of everything.
He didn’t say anything, not as they walked to the elevators, not while they were in the elevators, and not as they walked down the hall toward the room he’d secured. It wasn’t like him to hold back, and suddenly the twinge of unease she’d experienced in the car but managed to ignore became more pronounced.
He took her bag into a large bedroom, and only after he set it down did he address her. “I’m sure you’d like some time to refresh yourself and get settled. I thought we could talk a bit after, but I guess we can’t do that with your voice the way it is.”
Nope, he was not happy at all. He wasn’t exactly mad, but rather, his emotions seemed to lie someplace in the middle. She wanted to tell him she was sorry. That he just had to wait a few more measly hours and everything would make sense.
But she couldn’t. Not yet. Not until they’d at least practiced the demo.
The practice demo? What time were they scheduled to do it? And where would it happen? She almost asked him, but stopped herself before she could give herself away with her voice.
Her question must have been obvious, because Simon said, “You’ll find our schedule for the rest of today on your nights