Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 103033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
His surprise was clear. “Well, hey. How you doin’, Gael?”
They are nice. You have no reason to act like a moron who can’t form a coherent sentence.
Reese Tenley had a reputation, that was all. I’d seen him and River go at it, with their boy, Shay, as their punching bag. But I’d also seen them do aftercare. Reese, for as sadistic as he was during play, could laugh the loudest and cuddle the hardest.
“Um, hi.” I cleared my throat. “Is this a bad time?”
He shook his head and gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. “Not at all. Have a seat.”
Oh. Right. Okay. I closed the door behind me and walked over to one of the chairs, and I sat down.
“What can I do for you, kid?”
Where did I begin?
Part of me wanted to apologize for having been so difficult. Most recently, I’d been invited to join their Christmas party, and I’d taken the easy way out like I always did. I’d lied and said I wasn’t feeling well.
“I’m trying to overcome some…issues, I guess you can say, and I wanna be a more active member,” I admitted, fumbling over my words. “My plan is to start online, and I’ve been approached by a few Tops, but—something is wrong with my profile. I’m not who they, um, expect or whatever.”
Reese furrowed his brow. “I’m not sure I follow. If there’s a technical error, I’d shoot August a message—his handle is Decoder.”
“Oh, um—no, it’s not that.” God, why could I not speak like a normal adult? “I think my profile is missing some information, because when Tops DM me, it becomes clear that I’m not what they’re looking for, so I’m essentially wondering if you have some advice on what to write.”
He leaned back in his chair, turning pensive. “I see. And what’re they lookin’ for?”
I shrugged, hating the topic so much. “A sub who doesn’t need to lose twenty to thirty pounds, I guess.”
“Uh-huh.” He scrubbed a hand over his jaw, and I worried I’d ticked him off. He looked a little irritated. “You wanna know what sucks about running a community? You can’t be a dictator if you wanna last.”
I tilted my head, confused, ’cause now he was smirking a bit.
He leaned forward again, and he rested his forearms on the desk and crackled his knuckles absently. “Let’s circle back to you starting online. I’m not sure that’s the right move for you, Gael. Because we have, what, four hundred-ish members in our online community?”
I nodded hesitantly.
“And not even half of those come out here for events,” he went on. “I get how the online world appeals to introverts and whoever’s more comfortable talkin’ behind a screen—but that’s also where you get the fuckwits.” He raised a hand slightly. “I’m not sayin’ preferences are wrong. We’re all entitled to those. But people lose their manners on the internet. And if you feel like Tops have been rude or behaved like douchebags, I hope you will change the scenery instead. Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do about online behavior unless they break our policies.”
I understood what he meant. They hadn’t been…douchebags, just maybe…dismissive and quick to cease all communications once they discovered I wasn’t walking around with a six-pack.
“I wouldn’t want you to do anything about them.” I felt the need to clarify. “I’m more thinking, maybe I should add my body type in my profile. But when I talked to Kit about it, he didn’t agree.”
Reese inclined his head. “That’s up to you, of course, but I wouldn’t add anything based on how others act. That’s how we end up with mile-long lists—we think we can weed out the bullshit with three dozen warnings and disclaimers.”
He had a point. I’d seen lots of that too. Walls of text starting with “Before you DM me, read this!”
“What else did Kit say?” he asked curiously.
“He asked me if the body-type thing was part of a fetish,” I replied. “Like, if I’m drawn to bigger men or if I want my body type to be part of the kink dynamic, then it would be good to add it. Otherwise, he was like, you don’t wanna be just your body type.”
Reese nodded. “I agree with him. I understand what you’re trying to do—and I bet it stings to be rejected because of something so dumb. Because of that, I can’t tell you what to do. It’s perfectly natural to wanna shield yourself from those comments, but I really hope you try to connect with members out here instead. Come to events—or the monthly munch. Tops who approach you there already see you. If they want something else—” He shrugged. “They’ll go elsewhere.”
I hated that he was right.
“Online is so comfortable,” I said and made a face.
He chuckled. “Only because you haven’t made the leap yet. Once you have your own gaggle of brat buddies, you’ll use the online forum for what it was intended. To keep in touch with your friends until you see one another at the next event.”