“Sure! This is a Training Collar. I’ve had it for about two months now.”
“What’s a Training Collar?” I asked, suddenly insatiably curious. I was familiar with protection collars but had no idea there were other types.
“It is what it says,” she answered, perfect confidence in her voice. “It’s to symbolize that I’m in slave training. Victoria gave it to me as an upgrade from my Collar of Consideration.
“Collar… of… Collar of Consideration?” I asked dumbly, suddenly feeling overwhelmed.
“That’s right. Victoria gave me my Collar of Consideration shortly after we met, and we discussed the types of things we’d both like out of a relationship. Accepting it was symbolic of us trying out our Dom/sub relationship. If something didn’t feel right, either of us could walk away at any time.
“So things worked out, then,” I said, not bothering to hide my fascination.
“Yes, sir.”
I gave her a weird look, and she giggled.
“I’m just playing. But yeah, once we both decided to go forward with the relationship, Victoria gave me this Training Collar.”
“Slave training…?” I asked, feeling the curiosity within me intensify. My mind was suddenly swimming with all kinds of questions for her — questions that I had been too embarrassed to ask Adam.
She nodded, a smile pulling at her lips. Then she splayed her fingers and began ticking them off. “Yep. Slave position training, preference training, play training, skill training, and insight training.”
My mind was buzzing. That sounded like a lot — and totally different than what me and Adam did in the bedroom.
Lily was watching my face carefully. “Not everyone does it the way we do it. It’s just… I’m the type of submissive that needs structure. That’s why I’m a submissive in the first place — that sense of structure gives me a sense of control. I’m an anxious person. Pleasing my Dom and knowing that I’ve done everything the right way makes me happier than I ever thought I could be.”
I felt my heart pulse and wondered if my heartbeat was beating in time with her’s. “I can relate,” I said.
It felt like I had just discovered a treasure chest of answers to questions that I didn’t know I had.
“What do you and your Dom do, if you don’t mind me asking? It’s always good to hear about what other partners are up to.”
I suddenly felt inadequate, like I was so vanilla that I was a vanilla bean. “Well, we haven’t done… all that.” I admitted. “So, what we do will probably seem lame to you.”
“I guarantee it wouldn’t be lame. Whatever works for you is the way you should do it.”
“I guess we do a lot of sensation play,” I started, bringing my finger to the corner of my mouth. “I like blindfolds. I like being bound.”
“Ah, a classic Rope Bunny!” she said with a bright smile.
My mouth twitched upwards as I felt her acceptance course through me. “Adam likes learning different types of knots, ways to tie me up. Right now, he’s looking for someone to talk to about getting a custom bed made.”
“He sounds like a Rigger,” she said.
“A what?”
“A Rigger. Someone in the kink community that does that kind of stuff. Always looking for new ways to build stuff to explore desires.”
“Huh. I guess he does do that.”
“If you’re looking to get a custom bed made, Fenwick would be the person to talk to.”
Having to talk to a new person? Someone who wasn’t Lily? That sounded scary. I’d rather wait until Adam was back and let him do the talking.
“I’ll let Adam know,” I said.
My eyes went back down to her collar. I felt a rush of… of something course through me as I examined it. I was suddenly possessed by the urge of wanting to know how that felt on my skin.
...as long as it didn’t choke me.
“You want to know more about collars?” She asked. “I see you checking mine out.”
I nodded, happy that I didn’t have to ask.
“Well, like I told you about before, there’s the Collar of Consideration. That’s essentially when you’re in the interviewing stage — trying stuff out. It seems like you and your Dom are well past that, though,” she said, eyeing my left hand.
“Oh, yeah, we’re engaged.”
“Wonderful! Did you know some people in the community use a type of collar to symbolize that they’re married? It holds the same weight as a wedding band.”
“Uh… no, I didn’t,” I admitted, feeling stupider and stupider by the second.
“Yes, yes, they’re called Permanent Collars,” she said. “If you look around the room, you might be able to see a few…”
I scanned the crowd.
“You’ll be looking for an unbroken silver ring around the neck. Usually, there’s a smaller ring attached to it at the front.”
Sure enough, I could pick out three or four strangers with that type of collar.
“And that means… they’re married?”
“It means they have a relationship that’s like marriage. You see that a lot with the 24/7’ers.”
“And 24/7’ers are…?”
“Partners that are always in D/s. Day and night, twenty-four seven.”
For a moment, my mind grazed over what it might be like with Adam as a 24/7 Dom. He’d tell me what to do, and I wouldn’t have to think about anything. I’d know how to please Adam, and that would be all I’d have to worry about.
All of the expectations of my life would be laid out, and I’d know exactly what the rules and boundaries of everything were.
The thought was tempting, and I could feel my anxiety shrivel at the idea. Pleasing Adam, cherishing him, treating him like a god made me feel stronger and happier than I ever had.
But, I knew I was too bossy to ever pull that off.
“I see you thinking about it,” Lily said with a glint in her eye.
“Oh yeah, I thought about it,” I admitted. “But I’m a Bossy Bottom — I can’t ever be a real slave.”
“Bossy Bottom?” she asked, swirling her neat whiskey around in circles. “You seem more mature than that. I bet you’re more of a Power Bottom.”
“Power
