When One Day We are Gone Ch. 06

"I'm sorry about the picnic," Cassie said, "Though, it's still partially intact if you're hungry."

"We brought some extra," Quinn replied, holding up a basket. "We're good at this end."

Billie invited them to sit, and they began to talk, Ally keeping in the background as Quinn took charge of the conversation. Morgan asked the newcomers what they did for a living, and Quinn answered for both of them while Ally set out a little cheese board and some crackers.

"I spend a lot of time in court," Quinn said.

"But never been convicted?" Morgan shot back.

"Not yet. Too cunning," Quinn replied, enjoying the banter.

Ally looked up. "Quinn's a lawyer," she said, "As you could probably tell from his love of speaking."

"Ally's a biomechanical realignment specialist," Quinn countered.

"What on earth is that?" asked Billie.

Ally shook her head, "I'm a physiotherapist. I help people feel better. Sometimes it's intensely painful," she continued, shooting a look at Quinn, "But they feel better in the end."

Billie piped up, "Morgan's a motivational speaker."

Quinn's face brightened. "Really?" he said, "And what do you speak about?"

"Oh, team bonding. Committing to your goals," Morgan replied, looking at Cassie, "Helping people to change their lives."

Quinn nodded, turning to Billie. "And how about you?"

Billie smiled that particular smile of hers and Cassie braced herself.

"Oh, I'm no good at any of that. I'm a housewife."

Quinn nodded his head. "The hardest job of them all. I just deal with conflict for a few hours a day, and in a strictly controlled setting. It's a lot easier."

It was the way that he had smoothly sidestepped the barbed remark that impressed Cassie. Billie seemed pleased also.

"You bet," she said, "Come four o'clock on a Thursday after sports practice, it's the law of the jungle. And we haven't gotten anywhere near puberty yet."

Billie turned to Morgan. "But I make sure it's all straightened out by the time the wife gets home."

"What kind of law?" Morgan interjected, ignoring Billie.

"Criminal," Quinn replied, "Rapes, assault, robbery. I had a murder last year, which was quite a lot to deal with. Generally though, domestic situations."

"Family law?"

"Yes, that too."

"What do you think about this new legislation? The Staunton proposals?"

Quinn went quiet, which took Cassie by surprise. Ally noticed it too.

"I'm not a fan," he said at last.

Morgan cocked her head to one side. Cassie couldn't get a good indication of her feelings. "You don't think strengthening family law is a good thing?"

Quinn seemed to choose his words carefully. "The proposed laws go further than that, though, which is the problem. The wording incorporates subtle overreaches that actively constrain rather than protect."

Morgan's expression had changed too, regarding Quinn coolly. Cassie felt like she should intervene.

"Such as? What would be an example?" Morgan pressed.

"Domestic violence provisions, for one thing. The proposed changes outlaw any form of bodily harm to a spouse or partner, beyond the general assault provisions in existing law. Harm inflicted, even with consent, would automatically be a criminal act if this was passed."

"I don't see the harm," Morgan replied.

"For you, maybe not, but there are people for whom the idea of their partners going to prison for administering consensual hard contact is heartbreaking."

Quinn shifted uneasily, but continued, "And then there are the clarifications around the family unit, that may be more relevant to your own situation, the rights of the child, also the rights of the parents in case of divorce, if...."

Quinn waved his hand, but Morgan shrugged. "Oh, we're okay in that regard. As far as the law is concerned, we're in a marital relationship where we both conceived our daughter together, in the traditional manner. My egg, Billie's sperm, technically man and wife."

Billie looked suddenly uncomfortable, and Cassie hastily interjected with, "I'm sure the legislation will be fine. It can be amended, right? I'm sure we can all get along."

Quinn was grinning at Morgan. "Oh," he replied, "I have a feeling we'll get along famously."

---

After they had packed up, Billie took Cassie's sons back home with Hope for a playdate, piling everyone into her vehicle. Cassie waved at the four-wheel-drive as Billie backed them out. There was something incongruous about the beast of a vehicle, still dirty from its last offroad adventure, and Billie with her manicured pink nails on the steering wheel. Morgan was sitting in the passenger seat, her long silvery wet hair tied up in a tight bun, laughing at something one of the kids had said in the back. Cassie's twins were sat at each side, with Hope sandwiched in the middle, a buffer zone of feminine decorum between the antics of her sons.

"They're a nice family," Ally said.

Cassie nodded. "Yeah."

They pulled away, Sam waving from the back window, as Billie navigated around the potholes. The vehicle summed up their life, the give-and-take between the two people in the front. Morgan had accepted that beneath the lipstick and the dresses, the person she'd married needed to be free to maintain connections with the other side of her personality. Billie was allowed her four-wheel-drive and her fishing trips that didn't involve fishing, and to watch football at the bar sometimes with the guys and in return Morgan had a homemaker who was more than happy to bring up their daughter, go to the parent teacher association, volunteer at the school fete and the hundred other little things that mothers were expected to do. It was hard for Cassie to think that somewhere there might be someone who believed they weren't fit to be parents, if what Quinn said was right.

"I'm glad you let us meet them," Quinn said.

Cassie frowned. "Huh?"

"Bridging your worlds."

"Oh, that's a little dramatic, Quinn. Though I thought there were going to be fireworks at the start there."

"No," Quinn replied, shaking his head, "I think Morgan's terrific. I would love to see her in action in a courtroom if these laws ever came through. I'd represent her for free. We should catch up again."

"Fine," Ally replied, "But you might want to have a backup topic of conversation. The law stuff can be a bit wearing for us laypeople."

"It's important, though," Quinn interjected. "If it passed, you'd be locked up for what you do to me."

"No, I'd just switch to mental torture. It doesn't leave marks."

"That's not the point."

"Maybe it is, maybe you worry too much."

Quinn wanted to go again, but Ally had turned away. She looked back at Quinn over her shoulder, hesitant.

"So that's the waterfall Alena mentioned in her letter?" she asked.

Quinn wrapped his arms around her waist. "Yes," he said.

"Will you take me up there, too?"

Cassie could hear the wistful tone in her voice.

"One day, I promise," Quinn replied softly, "But not today. I'm not ready to revisit it, not yet. But one day."

Quinn released her. "We should probably get all this stowed," he muttered as he went to collect the picnic basket and blanket.

He turned to Cassie, raising an eyebrow, a half-smile on his face, and replied, "So, what do you think? Did we pass?"

"Pass what?"

Quinn laughed. "Pass for normal."

"You are normal."

"We can maintain the façade, I think we've proven that. Do you think we could progress to a backyard barbeque next?" Quinn said, appearing to be enjoying himself, "That is, if you want deviants in your home."

Ally wrapped her arms around him and gave him a peck on the cheek, saying, "Now you're just baiting the nice lady."

"I'm sorry," he grinned.

Ally paused, waiting, her demeanour suddenly serious. "Sorry, what?" she asked, crisply.

At once, Quinn straightened up and his eyes dropped to the ground. His smile faded.

"I'm sorry, Mistress."

Ally gave him a quick squeeze, "That's better worm. Why don't you go to the picnic rug? Your betters have business to discuss."

She released Quinn and he walked back over to the rug, as ordered, and assumed a kneeling posture.

"That's a bit of a progression," Cassie said, "Turning him into a submissive in a public place."

"We've been working on public obedience. It's a thing of mine, and to give him credit, he's taken quite well to it," Ally replied, "I picked him up from work the other day and he was cock of the walk showing his new girlfriend off around the office. It was an important moment for him. Yet, by the time we'd taken the elevator to the lobby, I had him dropped totally into sub mode."

She clicked her fingers. "Just like that."

"It's a sign of trust," Cassie replied, watching how Quinn bowed his head slightly, keeping his eyes on a point in front of him, careful to maintain his slave pose without looking to the casual observer as if he was kneeling because his Mistress had commanded him to.

"Let's see about trust. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah," Cassie nodded, "Mine just arrived, she's in the white car."

Cassie nodded towards the far end of the carpark. "This is a big step for him, Ally. Are you sure about this? Alena never went this far."

"I know. There's a part of me that's finally happy to have one up on her."

"But is that why you're doing this?"

"Competing with a ghost?" Ally laughed, "Yeah, look, I'm aware. But no, I don't think so. Alena was good, but she was also navigating by intuition. There is a discipline to all this that she lacked. A submissive must be prepared to do whatever his Mistress asks him to, regardless of how he feels about it, if it gives her pleasure. It's about trust."

"Is this going to give you pleasure?"

"Oh Cassie, if he gets through with this without safewording, we are in a whole new world."

Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she spoke.

"It's just going to be real crowded in there," Cassie mused, "Everyone needs to be commanded to silence. Let's hope we don't get interrupted."

Ally laughed, "Why, look at you, Mistress Grace, are you getting cold feet yourself?"

Cassie gave the other woman a look, knowing that Ally was daring her now, pulling her into her games. She was a highly-experienced dominant; it wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility that she was trying to work out how much control she could exert over Cassie as well, just for her own curiosity. Mistress Candice could be trying to kill two birds with one stone.

Morgan had said it, just before she had launched herself effortlessly into freefall, hanging in the air like an angel above the spray of the waterfall: the secret is to commit.

"Mistress Candice, I am more than willing to assist you in today's exercise," Cassie replied, grinning broadly.

Ally nodded in reply. "Let the wild rumpus start!"

They parted ways, Ally returning to the kneeling submissive on the rug while Cassie made her way to the far end of the deserted carpark, to the white car. She went around to the passenger side and got in without asking for permission.

"Hello Vicki," she said.

Victoria nodded in greeting but didn't speak. Her hands were wrapped around the steering wheel.

"Ready to go?" Cassie asked.

"I guess so."

"You don't seem sure. Isn't this what you wanted?"

"I... uh... it's all very...."

"Real?"

"Uh, yes."

"That's the point. I want you to walk in there and sit in the furthest stall. Next to the toilet roll holder, there is a hole, stuffed with toilet paper. I want you to unplug it."

"And then what?"

"Wait. See what comes through the hole from the next stall."

"And if nothing comes through?"

"We wait and if nothing comes through, then we're done. If something does come through, then what?"

"I guess I need to, uh...."

"You need to suck the cock you're presented with," Cassie replied, "You're going to feel a man's penis in your mouth and you're going to pleasure him until he cums. It's up to you whether you swallow or spit it into the toilet. Proper sluts would swallow."

Victoria reacted to the word; she didn't like being called a slut.

Cassie took her hand and patted it gently.

"That's what you are, Vicki. Today, you're going to be a slut for me. You've left your husband at home to suck a stranger's cock in a public toilet. That's what only a slut would do, isn't it?"

Victoria eyed her nervously.

"Or you could go home and suck your husband's cock instead, it's up to you. But you asked me to help you with the idea of cheating, and this is a good a way as any to experience a man, a stranger. I'll be with you in the stall, you're not on your own," Cassie smiled, encouragingly, "And you're all locked up tight, aren't you, so you're very safe."

At the mention of being locked, one of Victoria's hands strayed to the crotch of her jeans, her palm rubbing against the fabric and over the shiny metal cup beneath, locked in place over her pussy.

"This is a big step. There are more steps to come, if you choose to take this one. Are you ready?"

Victoria's hand didn't leave her imprisoned crotch. Cassie could see her conflict, the easy way that Cassie had made her aroused just by mentioning the chastity belt after a week of denial, the fear of engaging in a sex act with a stranger, and something more, the reason she had driven out to meet Cassie by the lake: the need.

"When you're ready, just open the door."

"How long do we wait for, if no-one comes?"

"Fifteen minutes."

Victoria took a deep breath and then opened her door. Cassie got out too and met the other woman in front of the car.

"Fifteen minutes isn't long," Victoria said, "And I trust you."

Cassie rewarded the pretty younger woman with a smile and pointed her towards the toilet block. She could guess how Victoria had rationalised it: a quarter of an hour would probably be too quick, so therefore Cassie was just testing her to see if she would go into the stall and wait. There was a part of Victoria that doubted very much whether she would need to do anything else.

Across the park, at the water's edge, Ally would be having the same conversation, Cassie knew, except her reasons were different. Convincing her submissive to use a glory hole in a public toilet would require Quinn to take a massive leap of faith. Not only was it public submission, but it was public sex. More than that, he wouldn't know who was on the other side. Ally was stretching his gender norms, asking him to submit to her command and potentially receive oral from a man on the other side of the partition wall.

Alena had never tested Quinn like this. Cassie had to admit it, Ally was playing with her submissive lover at the highest level.

They entered the toilet block, passing by the wash basins and into the back, walking down the row of empty unisex stalls. The two at the end were their destination. Cassie began to feel the buzz of nerves in her stomach. She held the door open of the last stall, taking a quick look around to make sure they alone, and followed Victoria inside. She messaged Ally; it was time to play.

Victoria closed the toilet lid and dropped onto the seat, looking warily around the enclosed space. Cassie leaned against the door.

"Topless," she said.

Victoria baulked. "What?"

"He may cum on your tits. So, unless you want to go back to your husband wearing semen across your t-shirt...?"

For a long moment, Victoria didn't move. Cassie could see that she had approached her limit, contemplating the very real possibility that she was about to be used for a stranger's pleasure.

"This is no-attachment sex, Vicki, quick and easy. You get what you want, he gets what he wants."

"I don't though."

"What do you mean?"

Victoria looked down. "I don't get...."

Her voice trailed off, obviously struggling.

"That's why we're doing this, though, why I put you into denial. The next step would be to allow another man to penetrate you. That's the point of no return, when you have someone else inside you. All of this is just academic up until that point, isn't it?"

"I suppose."

'Isn't it?" Cassie repeated, more firmly this time. Victoria looked up at her.

"Yes, Mrs. Hayes."

Victoria was slipping into her passive, submissive mindset, the one that Cassie had seen Victoria drop into in their early video sessions, before ever meeting face-to-face, where the younger woman had confessed to wanting to step outside her marriage. It had twisted Cassie's guts at the time, given how Damian was cheating on her, inspiring Cassie into a new direction with the other woman's counselling sessions. It felt like the right time to push Victoria just a little further.

"Let's not use my surname here, Vicki. How about we pick a different one? How about Grace?"

"Uh, okay, sure Mrs. Grace."

Cassie felt a tingle inside her, bending the seated woman's will to hers, just a little.

"Not married, how about just Miss?"

Cassie waited, excitement bubbling in her. Victoria, the married woman with a respectable job and a loving husband, now sitting waiting to perform a sex act on a stranger, looked up with doe eyes.

"Yes Miss Grace," she breathed.

"Good girl, Vicki," Cassie whispered, feeling the illicit thrill of making the younger woman obey, "Good girl. Now, how about that top?"

Victoria stared down at her chest, as if contemplating her attire for the first time. She hesitated a moment and then began to pull the t-shirt over her head, leaving her sitting in just a bra.

"Do you feel like you should do all of it?" Cassie prodded.

The younger woman reached behind her back robotically and unclasped her bra, letting it fall into her lap.

"Yes, Miss Grace."

Cassie contemplated the topless woman, the smooth curves of her breasts, the little lost look on her pretty face.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"I don't know. I don't really... feel."

"Are you going to suck that cock for me?"

There was a vacancy in Victoria's expression, pushed now far outside her comfort zone.

"Yes, Miss Grace," she murmured, as if in a dream.

Cassie leaned forward and cupped the topless woman's chin.

"Good girl. I promise, as your reward, I'm going to unlock you after we're done. Would you like that?"

The sudden prospect of release brought a flush to the young woman's cheeks.

"Very much, Miss Grace," she said with sudden passion.

Cassie smiled. "I thought you might."

Just then, footsteps appeared, coming closer. Victoria tensed. Cassie indicated the hole in the wall wadded with toilet paper and the seated woman seemed to panic. Cassie stroked her cheek, smiling down at her encouragingly. She nodded. Slowly, Victoria tugged the wadding out of the hole and waited. Cassie retreated to her position against the door to observe.

Next door, the stall door banged closed and Victoria jumped in her seat. There was a rattle of a belt buckle and then silence. Victoria's eyes were locked on the hole in the partition wall, seemingly fascinated by it and dreading it. The seconds passed by but nothing happened. Victoria's eyes darted up to her mentor. Cassie just smiled back, calmly, patiently, but she had begun to wonder what was happening in the next stall. Perhaps it was a random stranger, just using the stall for its intended purpose. No, she chided herself, Ally would not have been so inept. She would have lined Quinn up to go straight in after she'd seen Cassie lead Victoria through the door. Even though Quinn would have been staring at the ground, Ally would have been watching. Cassie just had to trust in her accomplice's meticulous planning.

Then she thought of Quinn, next door, with his trousers undone. His Mistress had sent him in to use a glory hole, giving him no further information. Quinn wouldn't know who was on the other side of the partition and Cassie leaped to the intuition that Quinn would assume the person waiting to service him was a man. This was Ally's test, making her submissive prove his devotion by submitting to something that was not remotely in his nature. As he'd told Cassie in one of their private counselling sessions, Quinn wasn't interested in men, not even as part of a threesome. It had been his and Alena's hard limit and they had never pushed it.