Limits Ch. 09

This turned out to be the start of a long drawn out process. They must have tried a dozen dresses on in New Look and then on to Top Shop, French Connection UK and Next. In the end, inevitably, they were back at New Look and the smock dress. Once again Karen tried it on, this time, at Jude's insistence, without the tracksuit bottoms.

"That's the one," Jude said. "You look great."

"It's a bit... girly," Karen said, looking at herself in a full-length mirror.

"And what's wrong with girly?" Jude demanded.

"Well, at twenty nine I'm hardly a teenager any more. Anyway I thought you didn't do girly," Karen protested.

"I don't do girly on me," Jude clarified. "On you, however, that's another matter. I want my sub to be a pretty little femme. Come on, let's pay and we'll get some lunch."

"Shouldn't we get some leggings?" Karen asked.

"Whatever for?"

"Well, this dress, it's a bit short."

"Nonsense, it's just right and it shows off those lovely legs of yours to a tee. If you think I'm going to hide them behind leggings then you've got another think coming."

Jude led Karen over to the tills and, after a short queue, they paid for the dress. They then set off to find some lunch but on the way they passed a shoe shop and there, in the window....

"Those are the ones!" Jude exclaimed.

Karen looked to where Jude was pointing and, indeed, there were a pair of heeled open toe sandals that were the perfect match for the dress. To Karen surprise the heels were low, maybe an inch and a half; certainly not like the ones she had worn last night. Jude went inside and Karen could only follow.

When the assistant had found a pair in the right size Karen was delighted to find how comfortable they were; these were shoes she could wear all day. As soon as Jude saw how well they fitted that was it, they had to be bought and, minutes later, they were back out in the mall with Karen now carrying two bags instead of one. Then, at last, it was time for a café and lunch. However, they had hardly found a table before Jude ordered Karen to go off to the toilets and change.

"Come along now, I didn't spend all that money to have you sitting around in one of my old tracksuits. I'll order omelette and chips for us both, you go and change."

Karen was just about to protest both about being ordered to change and about having no say in what she ate for lunch when she saw the look in Jude's eye and reckoned that obedience was the best option. She went over to the toilets, found a stall and, rather delicately given her distaste at public toilets, changed into her new clothes. As she emerged and was crossing the mall back towards the café area she had a flash of panic about how short the dress was. She had never, ever worn anything so short, well, except maybe the tube dress last night, and the flared smock design meant that there was plenty of room for the air to circulate and the cool breeze around her nether regions was a reminder of her knickerless state. The heels, whilst not high, were pronounced enough to change her walk and she was aware of the swing of her hips and how this made the dress flow around her. It was not that she was dressed as a tart, as she had been last night, but that was at night, this was the daytime and she did feel very naked in this very public place. As ever, just when she was beginning to feel comfortable with Jude she found herself, once more, being pushed just that bit too far.

Feeling more than a shade uncomfortable, she went over to the table and sat down opposite Jude, finding, as she did so, that she had to reach behind her and sweep the hem of her skirt beneath her or she would have been sitting on the seat with her bare bottom.

"You look fabulous," Jude said as she leaned over to kiss her.

This was too much for Karen, far, far too much. She looked about her; it felt as if the whole world were staring at her, as every one in the mall was privy to her nakedness under the dress. Jude seemed to have no feeling for her nervousness, no understanding of how hard it was for her. She just gave out the orders with no thought for Karen's needs or wishes. She understood that she was playing at being a 'slave' but really. She had to put the breaks on.

"Look, Jude, I'm not sure I can do this. Can we stop being Mistress and slave for a minute?"

Jude's immediate reaction was to say 'no', to tell Karen to stop moaning but she was fast finding that she needed a lot of patience with Karen.

"Why, what's up?" she asked, trying, and failing, to keep the frustration out of her voice.

"It's all too much. I mean, you've spent far too much money on me." Karen wasn't sure how to voice her real concerns so she fumbled for and excuse.

"Are you trying to tell me how I should, or should not, spend my money?" Jude sounded quite cross.

"No, of course not, but...." Karen couldn't find the words to state her objections. Of course it wasn't the money, well, not directly, it was the way that Jude had taken over her life, the way that Jude was making every single decision, the way she had become a thing, not a person. In some ways this was worse than the bedroom games, although that was another point that she needed to address, there at least were some limits and, when the games were over, so was the control. This was her life, all of it, and now she couldn't do anything without Jude's say so. It wasn't that the dress was awful; it may have been too short but, she had to admit, it was very pretty and suited her colour. Similarly the shoes were perfect in many ways but, importantly, it didn't feel like her dress, they didn't feel like her shoes and the meal, when it arrived, would not be her meal. She had become Jude's plaything, her doll, her new toy, and no amount of money could make that right; indeed, it just made it worse.

"Look, Jude, I just don't think I can do this 'slave' stuff. I don't think I'm cut out for it. I like you, I really like you but I don't think I can play these games."

"Why? What's wrong?" Jude seemed truly perplexed. "Haven't I looked after you? Haven't I treated you like a princess? What more do you want?"

"I want... I want... I want to choose my own omelette," Karen said but as soon as the words were out she knew that, whilst this meant perfect sense to her it didn't clarify things with Jude in the slightest.

"Choose your own omelette? What in hell is that supposed to mean?" Jude was getting quite angry.

"It means I don't want to be your slave any more," Karen blurted out. "I can't do it, I just can't."

"Well, don't you run hot and cold," Jude said nastily. "I don't seem to recollect too much reluctance when we were in bed this morning, and last night you came so hard you fainted. You had no problems being my slave then."

The waitress chose that moment to deliver the omelettes and Karen blushed deeply at the thought of what she must have just heard.

"So, what would you have chosen seeing as how this omelette isn't good enough for you?" Jude continued as soon as the waitress had gone.

"The omelette is fine," Karen admitted. "It's just what I would have chosen."

"So where's your fucking problem?"

"Please, Jude, please don't be nasty."

For a while the two women just sat there, eyes downcast, wondering what to do next. Karen, for the sake of something to do, poked at her omelette; but it tasted like ashes and she couldn't manage more than a mouthful or two. Jude didn't even bother with that, but just stared at Karen as if she were a monster with two heads.

"Do you know, I really thought we had something special. Sure, it's early days but I've never felt so close to... Dammit woman, what the fuck's the matter with you? Why can't you just..." Jude almost threw her fork down on the plate. "I can't do this either. Come on, I'll run you home."

Jude took out her wallet, found a twenty-pound note and threw it on the table. Then she got up and with a curt 'come on then' led Karen out of the mall and back to the car. They drove all the way back to Jude's house in silence. Jude parked up outside and curtly told Karen to wait in the car. She disappeared inside returning five minutes later with Karen's overnight bag, which she tossed across onto Karen's lap. Karen looked inside, wishing immediately she hadn't.

"It's all there," Jude said, her voice void of emotion.

"I never thought..." Karen started.

"That's it, you never think," Jude snapped and, with the silence still hanging heavy, they drove back to Karen's house where they pulled up outside. Jude didn't say a word as Karen opened the car door and got out.

"Jude, please, I never meant it to end like this," Karen said, turning back to the car with tears in her eyes.

"Fuck off. Just fuck the bloody hell off." And, hardly waiting for Karen to close the passenger door, Jude drove off with a squeal of rubber on tarmac.