He hums as we make ourselves comfortable in the booth.
“Have you ever danced on stage?” I ask him, more than happy with the visual I’m giving myself with that idea.
“There’ve been some drunken employer-employee bets. But I’m afraid to say I’m not very gifted in the dance department.”
Ah shucks, that’s a shame. My mind gets torn away from the idea of a stripping Gil as Dean walks back from the bar with drinks in his hands.
“This has a different vibe than Tempest,” I say to no-one in particular.
“It has. People who come here know what they’re doing. Most people don’t just stumble into a BDSM establishment. We don’t advertise. It’s all word-of-mouth advertisement. And you don’t hear about it if you’re not the intended person for it. While Tempest has people just walk in who’re looking to have a drink and a good time or are looking for an easy lay.”
“You’d assume people would go to the BDSM establishment if it’s an easy lay they’re after,” I say thinking out loud.
Gil shakes his head as he takes the drink Dean is handing to him and takes a sip.
“There’s supposed to be a certain level of trust between two people if they want to come over here. Sure, sometimes there’s strangers here that meet. But they’re like minded most of the time. People who come here are conscious of what they’re doing and what they’re looking for. Tempest has a lot of people who just like to go out and see where the night will take them.”
I understand what he’s saying but I just haven’t ever thought about it before, like so many things in my life I hadn’t been directly involved in. I take a sip of the drink that Dean has picked out for me. It’s something sweet mixed with coke and I like the taste of it. I smack my lips to get every last drop of the taste. Jonah catches me in the act and stares at my lips, and seeing him do so excites me.
“How the hell did you end up with a BDSM establishment at such a young age?” I blurt out, because if I’m honest it’s a question that’s been on my mind ever since he told me he owns this place.
There’s laughter all around the table.
“My parents set this place up thirty years ago. They were deep into the lifestyle and set up something along the lines of what you thought this was going to be. I’ve heard some crazy shit that has gone on over here.”
He twirls his drink as he seems lost in thought for a moment. “I don’t know any better than this being normal. I grew up around here. Which, looking back on it, might not be the healthiest environment for a child. But I never noticed, my little brother and sister never noticed. And while there are more than a few screws loose in both my parents’ heads, they are the most loving parents you can imagine. The main thing I learned from being around all these sex-loving nutjobs is acceptance. Anything and everything goes here, as long as boundaries are respected.”
“I thought it was more about pushing boundaries.”
Gil nods as he looks down at his drink, his brows furrowed.
“Pushing, not breaking. Bobby at the front door has worked here in security for over five years and he’s only had to work once. Someone who didn’t understand what goes on here thought we were some kind of brothel and thought he could make demands. Which is a hard no, so we threw him out. We like to keep Bobby around just to be sure though. Anyway, my parents wanted to retire after twenty five years of running this business. I was just out of school, had studied business, had no real job prospects and I took the chance,” shrugging his shoulders like it was no big deal.
I actually have to admit it seems like a smart choice to make in terms of career, and if this is all you know, it only seems natural. I bet none of the children in pre-school ever said they wanted to be the owner of a BDSM establishment when they grew up though.
“But you couldn’t wait to make certain changes,” Jonah says as he looks at the people dancing on the floor. “How many days did it take you to change the name again?”
Dean chuckles, obviously knowing the story as Gil answers the question with a smile so wide, it almost has to hurt.
“Two days. I couldn’t get someone here sooner to take the old lettering on the front of the building down.” Gil lets himself slide down in the booth and scratches the back of his head with his hand. “Before I took over, the bar was called Roosters. Way back in the day my parents wanted to call this establishment Cocks, but they had all sorts of trouble getting the proper permits with a name like that. So they settled for Roosters instead and I’ve always hated the name. Other than it being the tackiest name I’ve ever heard, I really, really hate all birds.”
That makes me laugh out loud. It’s nice of him that he took over from his parents and admirable that he wasn’t afraid to push his own mark on the establishment. Sitting down and talking about Dominium has taken away most of the happy anxiety I had before I came over. In a way it really is like going to the fair. It’s about meeting like-minded people who accept each other for who and what they are. The people meeting in Dominium just have a certain sexual edge to them.
“And there’s back rooms as well?” I ask, remembering the little bits I’ve heard Gil tell me before.
“There’s rooms in the back as well. I’ll show you in a bit.”
There’s a twinkle in his eyes as he tells me, that matches the twinkle of the little silver nose ring he has. Hearing about exploring the back rooms excite me, and I down my drink. I can’t wait to see everything there is to discover.
We walk into a hallway with doors on both sides. Apparently back rooms literally means back rooms. Some are open, some are closed, but all are painted a nice dark color. “All doors can be closed from the inside with a lock you can get at the bar. Our bartenders are trained to notice if the people who are asking for a lock are really into what they’re doing. It’s not just pouring drinks over here when you’re working the bar. We’ve got a lot of regulars from who we know what they’re up to. But we want to take care of everyone that walks in here. Because of the activities most people do over here, we don’t have cameras. So we’re looking out for our patrons in any way we can.”
Dean puts an arm around me as he takes me along through the hallway. We look into one of the rooms and in this one I see a little of what I expected to see in the whole establishment. There’s a bed with black sheets on it and all kinds of toys through the room. There’s a cross bolted to the wall that I read about in fifty shades but haven’t actually seen in real life before.
“Another big part of running Dominium is hygiene. Everything gets cleaned and sterilized after use.”
Well have you ever, that’s a part I wouldn’t have thought of for a second. It’s also another job I don’t imagine any of the preschoolers had as an ambition.
As Gil really tells me anything and everything there is to it when it comes to Dominium, Dean strokes his hand over my ribs and his thumb touches my boob a little. It makes my body come alive and it’s like we’re doing something naughty, while it’s just an innocent touch to my side. It’s exciting. I’ve always been the good girl when it comes to the bedroom. Not because I don’t want to experiment, but it just never happened. Which in most relationships I had, had led to boredom sneaking in. But now that I’m firmly not in a relationship, I feel like all possibilities are open. And if my experience with Dean last weekend is anything to go by, there are all sorts of wonderful things to explore. It’s a huge turn on that my new friends are so open to it. I feel the acceptance Gil has been talking about earlier and it opens up all sorts of doors. Now that we’re literally opening doors, I see all the things I’m missing out on.