I looked at Lisa who just shrugged, though I could see the edge of her mouth twitching where she wanted to laugh at my surprise. I then looked over to Mike.

“Leah’s transgender.”

What was so refreshing was that he said it exactly as he may have said 'the sky is blue.' Something clicked in me then. Lisa had never been judgemental, but I am ashamed to say it took her many years to pull the bigot out of me.

Whatever problems our kids had, I was the go-to person for solutions, not that Lisa was a slouch when it came to taking action. She was the go-to person for emotional support. One of our son’s friends had spent a fortnight with us one summer, all I knew at first was that he had issues with his parents. The issue was he didn’t know how to come out to them.

All through our relationship, Lisa had been teaching me, her silent wisdom in the background. She accepted people for who they were, not what and slowly she passed this on to me. We sorted out a solution for our son’s friend, we offered him a permanent bed at ours on condition he met with his parents before the end of that summer. We invited them around for dinner and he told them.

There were tears and shouting and more crying. He was with us another week before his father came around and they sat down together and started to talk it through. By the end of that summer, many bridges had been rebuilt. Thanks mainly to Lisa, that family is now a unit once again.

That is one of the most frustrating things about the whole Mitch affair; if Lisa had felt she could talk to me like she did about other people’s problems, then we may not have had the issues that we did. For my part, if I had been more open and accepting, then Lisa may have felt happier to do so.

I feel I am far better now and treat people for who they are. The difference between Lisa and me is her reaction to statements like Mike’s feel more like, “So, why are you telling me? What difference does it make?” Lisa is almost disinterested, but that is unfair to her as she was always absolutely fascinated by everyone. For me, it is akin to being surprised that someone was blonde when I was expecting a brunette and I’m sure that showed.

The penny that dropped was that through all our reading on the internet (excluding the obvious trolls and fakes), the overall feeling was that of acceptance. The great thing about this, I found, was that providing you were polite, people were more than happy to talk and answer your questions. Even after where Lisa had dragged me, I found myself becoming even more open and accepting as we explored and I put this down to the welcoming nature of everyone I have met and spoken to.

It must have been clear to Mike that I was thinking over what he had said as he cocked his head and furrowed his eyebrows.

“At the end of the day, Leah’s a woman. Perhaps I spoke out of order, but she has never had any qualms about telling anyone in the club.”

Mike’s comment threw me more than his previous one and left me confused. I held up my hand as I replied, “Of course she is. She’s beautiful and so generous to share her time with Sarah, to teach me.” I went on to explain some of my thoughts before finishing, “add to that, I'm probably also having a bit of information overload.”

“Ah! Okay, sorry,” said Mike. “Some people aren’t very accepting and we don’t tolerate any type of discrimination here.”

The conversation moved on, talking about some of the sights we were seeing, the different dynamics and how different people were reacting differently to others. There was a lot of people-watching, some Dominants, like Mike, carried themselves with an air of confidence and authority, but were not brash. Others strutted around the club like peacocks, puffing themselves up, looking down on submissives, even lifting the chins of some or admonishing others that did not appear to be theirs.

Mike explained that some Masters and Mistresses were of the opinion that their submissives should defer to all Dominants in the absence of other instructions. He also said, they sometimes were happy to share their submissives and use others. He made it clear that it was all optional and members knew what side of the line people stood or to ask if they didn’t.

As we were talking, a thought occurred and was almost immediately answered, where was Mike’s sub? As I was thinking this, Mike stood to greet someone coming across the club, they kissed and Mike introduced us to Matthew. They had been together as long as Lisa and I but had always fully embraced the lifestyle. As we were talking, a stranger sat next to Lisa, or rather the stranger.

“Hello again.”

“Hello, Sir,” Lisa replied confidently now that she knew the background to their previous meeting.

“Lisa let me introduce Steve. Steve, it is my honour to properly introduce my beloved wife and sub, Lisa,” I said and smiled.

Lisa pulled me over and kissed my cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered and I saw a tear in her eye. I was having my eyes opened, wide, about how much it meant to Lisa for me to accept this new role in her life.

“I just wanted to pop over and offer my apologies for earlier. I understand Mike and Peter have already explained, but it still doesn’t mean I don’t feel a bit crappy for it.”

“Thank you, Sir,” Lisa replied, “Once P had told me, I fully understood. Thank you for taking the time, I honestly think it will help.”

“You’re welcome,” he said and patted Lisa’s hand, “it really was a pleasure meeting you.”

As Steve finished, Leah and Sarah walked up to the table. Sarah looked around at Leah and they exchanged a few words and with a smile and a kiss, Sarah came to our side of the table.

“Excuse me, Sir,” Sarah said to me, “may I borrow Lisa?”

I glanced over at Leah and then Lisa before saying that she could. She then had a chat with Steve and his wife joined them. The three of them walked toward the bar, arm in arm, with Lisa in the middle. While they were at bar Leah sat in Lisa’s chair.

“Hello, again,” she said.

“Hi, thank you for sharing your time with Sarah.”

“Honey, it’s a pleasure. Mike explained briefly that you have serious reservations about punishments. If Sarah and I can help in any way, we would be more than happy. Lisa’s delightful and has such a succulent… I’m sorry.”

“Yes, she does and it’s all mine.” We both chuckled.

Our subs came over with drinks and then retreated to the bar again. It did make me smile watching as they all got animated in their discussion.

“Given how Peter’s sub was ready to tear me a new one, I’m not sure it’s a good idea for me to let mine socialise with her and Sarah at the same time, unsupervised,” Steve said with a laugh.

Leah’s eye lit up as she said, “Oh, give her to me, please! I’ll quite happily teach her not to be naughty.”

Steve looked around Leah to me, “Watch this one Peter, she has a bit of a fetish for cute arses, especially spanking them.” This caused everyone at the table to start laughing, which in turn got the attention of our partners at the bar.

“Hmm, I had noticed a couple of things,” I said and smiled at Leah.

“I’m not opposed to demonstrating on Dominants as well as to them, a cute arse is a cute arse, after all.”

She laughed at her comment and then her face went serious. She put her hand on mine and looked me in the eye for a second or two before asking, “Was everything okay Peter?”

“What do you mean?”

“In the room, when I was spanking Sarah. There were a couple of times you looked, I don’t know, upset perhaps? Angry? But also concerned.”

I was trying to think what it was Leah meant then it came to me, “Ah! 'Slut,' that and 'whore,' they’re a couple of words I detest being thrown about. In the right context, fine, but probably because of their correct meaning, I find them very degrading when they aren’t used properly. Sorry.”

“Oh sweetheart, you have nothing to be sorry about. Those are your feelings about the words and you can never be wrong about how something makes you feel. However, you can choose not to be offended by a bunch of letters though.”

I took a deep breath and explained a little about Mitch, limited to him prowling and telling me that Lisa was his slut.

“And that just compounds your feelings?” said Leah, squeezing my hand.

“Yeah.”

Mike spoke up, "You will hear them both a lot, along with all sorts of other things that you will find derogatory. The thing is, this lifestyle is different things for everyone involved. For some, it is sadomasochism, the SM. Some it is dominance and submission, the D and S and yet others it is bondage and discipline and every combination of all of these and none at all. Some get off on pain, others on humiliation; for some, it is as simple as having someone submit to them or giving themselves over.

“We’re not here to sit in judgement, what is it the God-squad say? Don’t judge, lest ye be judged. So long as we remember rule one, what does it matter?”

Leah had not moved her hand and when I looked back to her, she was smiling at me. "Let me tell you a little about Sarah.

“I only ever call her slut during a scene, but I use it two ways; as an adjective and as a proper noun. Sarah gets off on pain and the common term for that is a pain-slut, lower case, adjective.

“Do you have any pet names for Lisa?” I nodded and Leah continued, "During a scene, I will call Sarah, Pet and Slut. The latter, again, reflecting her liking of pain. During a scene, Sarah gets off on the names because we have chosen them together. She gets off on being reminded that she’s a pain-slut. I use all of that along with a bunch of other things to build a story around the scene.

“I hate to tell you this, Peter, it’s no easy thing keeping everything fresh and new. But you must always do what you can to keep Lisa on her toes. She reminds me a bit of Sarah, I think that’s why Steve is so worried; leaving his wife with two brats.” Leah laughed.

“Just to correct you, Leah,” Steve said, “my sub is well trained, I have no worries about your wayward sub.” They both laughed.

“Do everything you can for her, worship the ground she walks on and then lift her onto a pedestal. But also, be a bastard, deny her orgasms, keep her on edge, don’t let her know what’s coming next or when she will be. Smack her arse, even if it’s just love-taps as you walk past, but do try to put her over your knee and give her a little more; even if it’s just every so often.

“If slut and whore don’t work for you, don’t use them, it’s no one’s business, but yours. Just as what others do, is none of your business. Obviously, within rule one.

“One thing that you might like to think of is choosing a harsher pet name that you can use to admonish Lisa and use during punishments. When we are in public, especially the vanilla world, I keep it simple, Miss. That way Sarah knows that she has done something wrong and something is coming later. Then I have to tell her off for grinning too much.”

Leah was watching me and gauging my reaction as she spoke, “Never crush her spirit, but don’t be scared to pin her underfoot.”

She paused to let her last words sink in before she continued, “Do all of this for her, do it out of your love and devotion for her and for the love and devotion she has for you. It is so apparent that you adore each other, it’s beautiful.”

Leah smiled at me as she finished and took her hand away. I took hold of it as she did and lifted it to my mouth. I kissed the back of her hand and while still holding it said, “Thank you, I’m surrounded by so many wise women. Though, my thanks go to all of you and your partners. Not only have you spared your time for us and your wisdom and experiences; you’ve made me feel so welcome.”

I felt hands on my shoulders that slid down over my torso and then a kiss to my ear. “Us,” Lisa said. “Made us feel welcome,” she clarified.

I looked at Lisa and raised an eyebrow. “Oops, made us feel welcome, Sir. Sorry.”

“Yes, my bad. Made us both feel welcome,” I said to everyone.

“Excuse me, slut, do you not show deference to your betters?”

I looked up and someone was standing in front of Steve’s wife and Sarah. Steve’s wife had taken a step back with her head down, but Sarah was upright with her shoulders back looking him straight in the eye. As I had looked up and taken all this in, Leah and Steve were up on their feet and next to their partners almost as he had finished speaking to them. At the same time as each other, Lisa pushed down on my shoulders, while I reached up and grabbed her wrist.

“To her betters, yes, if she sees them,” Leah said.

I glanced at Mike, who smiled and nodded that it was okay.

“Let me explain the etiquette here, as it is obviously different from your other clubs. Here everyone is a human first and their lifestyle role second. Here you address someone’s Dominant before addressing their submissive. If you’re not sure then assume that they are not a sub, you’ll soon be directed to the right person. Better to be polite and wrong.”

Leah went on to explain more about the club and how things worked ending with the antagonist apologising to her and Sarah and then Steve and his wife.

When they sat down again, Steve’s wife sat on his lap and he was holding her close. Sarah was standing behind Leah, chatting with Lisa and Matthew. She had her hand on Leah’s shoulder, just like Lisa did mine. I overheard a little of their conversation and it was about the club and different aspects of submission, before moving on to work and family.

Much like around the rest of our table the conversation moved from subject to subject, much the same as any group of friends at any bar. What I had not realised, but which made perfect sense when I found out, was that Leah, Mike and Steve were all members of the club’s board of directors. Something else was that the so-called dominant that Leah had spoken with was one that had agreed with Steve during his induction interview.

As we talked more, Matthew went for a few cushions and he and Sarah knelt at Mike and Leah’s feet. Lisa was offered one, but when she looked to me, I pushed my chair back and she sat on my lap. It would be a while before I was comfortable with her kneeling and then longer for her to do it in front of anyone else.

“I know you are only practising Friday night through to Sunday night,” Mike said addressing Lisa and me, “but, once a month, on the second Wednesday we have a demonstration evening. The demos range from between thirty minutes and two and a half hours and cover all aspects of the lifestyle. If nothing else, I recommend you take full advantage of your guest membership, so you are as fully informed about us as a club, as possible.

“The next event is on next Wednesday week and is an introduction to Shibari.” Mike looked at us to see if we knew what he meant.

“We did come across the word, it’s rope bondage?” I sighed, which got a concerned look from Lisa.

No one else spoke, but I felt strangely comfortable with these strangers. “It just seems that every new thing that we come across, I stiffen up… Behave, Young Lady!” I said, waggling a finger at Lisa who was sniggering. “I stiffen up, getting nervous that I’ll screw it up and then I think this is something else that I am withholding from you.”

Lisa pulled me close and kissed me softly on the lips and whispered, “Don’t fret, Sir, but… you are going to have to get me home soon.”

“Before you rush off,” Mike said with a grin, “really consider coming to the demo, just phone the reception and let them know.” He then stood up and offered me his hand.

I took it and thanked him, then I offered my hand to Matthew after making sure this was okay with Mike. I shook Steve’s hand and kissed his wife’s cheek, thanking both of them too. Then Sarah walked up to me and offered me a hug as well as her cheek.

“Thank you, Sarah, we do appreciate it.”

“I know, Lisa told me. Now you make sure you bring her back, it’ll be nice not to be the only one in trouble every time I’m here.” She went to embrace Lisa, who I noticed had been round thanking everyone.

“Come here, you!” said Leah, as she pulled me into a tight hug. She kissed my cheek and then whispered, “Relax, you are doing fine. There is no rush, there is only one rule, number one. Take your time, Lisa will be fine.” She gave me another kiss and winked and the smile she had was one of the warmest I had seen.

Lisa slipped her arm through mine as Leah finished, “Excuse me, ma’am, do I have to fight you for him? You will lose, ma’am.”

Leah put her hand on Lisa’s cheek, “So precious,” she said with a smile.

“It’s been a real pleasure meeting both of you,” Mike reiterated. He glanced around the others at the table, before continuing, “We look forward to seeing you again.”

I saw Steve’s wife tugging his sleeve and then saying something to him, “Oh yes,” he said, “There’s a munch on Sunday, all members are welcome. It’s at Prince’s Park, I’ll email you the details.”

As we were walking away, I heard Steve say, “Interesting couple. I reckon they could easily be switches.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure about that,” replied Leah, “I could see Lisa being like Sarah.”

I didn’t hear any more after this. We signed out at reception and headed back to the car. Lisa was gripping my arm and skipping along next to me. When I opened the door for her, Lisa threw her arms around my neck and pulled me down for a kiss. After she had finished sucking on my soul, she did not loosen her grip.

A tear rolled down her cheek as she said, “Thank you, P! I know a lot of things that happened tonight made you uncomfortable. Thank you for at least trying, maybe we can try again another time, but I do…”

I had rubbed the tear off her cheek with my thumb. Instead of sucking it off, I pushed my thumb into her mouth. Her head dipped as she sucked on it and ran her tongue around the end of it, but she did not lose eye contact with me.

“Good girl,” I said softly.

One of the few things I had learned about Lisa was that in the right mood, at the right time, she responded very positively to this praise. Sucking my thumb was something she had done before. It was only when she had done it tonight that I realised the significance of it to Lisa. The irony of it is that since before we were a couple, I would brush tears from her cheek with my thumb and suck it myself.

“Now, stop waffling, especially if you intend to carry on making assumptions! Get in the car and we can talk about it more on the way home.”

“Yes, Sir,” she said, holding onto my hand after she had pulled my thumb from her mouth and giving it a final kiss before getting into the car.

I walked around to the driver’s side, climbed in and leant over and kissed Lisa’s cheek before putting on my belt, pressing start and setting off. Lisa put her hand on my leg and lay her head on my shoulder and for the first mile or so, we didn’t speak.

“Did you enjoy tonight?” I asked

“It had its ups and downs,” she replied being a little coy.

“Go on.”

“I was dead nervous about going in, but Mike was just lovely. I was pissed at Steve and to be honest, I wasn’t too happy with you and Mike, even after you explained.” She patted my leg before continuing, “It’s okay, Honey…” I coughed, “sorry, Sir.” She squeezed my leg. "As the evening went on and I thought more about it, I did understand."

“Leah and Sarah were a delight!”

“I thought you liked them. Yes, they were nice, but everyone was. I do see the attraction, they are like a pair of cogs. Individually, they are beautiful and interesting and turn with ease. Together there is twice the beauty and intelligence, but they also drive each other on.

“Did you enjoy helping them?”

Lisa’s head was still on my shoulder, so I looked into my rear-view mirror to see her reaction.

Her eyes flicked about as she answered, “Yes.”

“And?”

“And it was fun,” Lisa sat up and twisted in her seat to continue, “It was so erotic! If you had told me to bend over the table, you could have taken me there and then.

“I could feel Sarah’s breathing and I swear her heartbeat as I undid her bra. Knowing I caused that reaction in her was a thrill too. When Leah nearly caught me between them, I was both relieved and disappointed, it was like an electric charge between them.

“When I peeled her panties down, she was so aroused; I could see and smell it. I don’t understand why I get so turned on from spanking, but knowing how I am and seeing how wet she was, I’m surprised she lasted until the count of twenty.”

“I don’t know about that, we can explore that more, but it’s incredible that she could hold on for another five strokes after asking to cum. It’s not like Leah rushed them. Something else to explore, huh?”

“Yes please, Sir.

“Sir, P, how did you feel watching that?”

“It was interesting. I’m not making any promises, but it has eased my mind a little. And you know how I feel about aftercare.”

Lisa giggled a little before asking her next question, “Yes, but how did you feel?”

“Do you think I didn’t notice you brushing your hand over my dick? To quote someone dear to me, it was so erotic! But it wasn’t just a beautiful woman exposed and cumming, a large part of it was Leah’s delivery. How she played Sarah like an instrument.”

“How did you feel about Leah and Mike?”

“Erm, fine. I guess I was a little surprised, but no more than say if you came home with different colour hair. You know that 'oh, okay, no big deal' feeling?"

I could see her smile in the mirror. “You are so different from the young man I met at the King’s Head.”

“If not for the beautiful woman I met there, I may well not be so different. Now,” I started, “what were you all talking about at the bar?”

“From what I heard, it wasn’t much different from all of you. There was talk about the lifestyle, of course, but also general getting to know you talk, too. Sarah is so funny and she plays up a lot to get Leah to punish her. She said sometimes her brain is screaming, ‘don’t do it’, but she does it anyway and hears her brain going ‘oh shit, she did it’. Sub or not, she won’t take any shit, but you saw that.”

I nodded, “Yes, it was even funnier after Leah handed that guy his arse, finding out he was messing with the directors of the club.

“Did you hear what was said as we were leaving?" Lisa had not so I repeated it to her.

“You know what switches are, we read about that. You never were clear about how you felt.”

“I think in limited situations, in private, with just the two of us, I wouldn’t be averse to trying some of what you like. If nothing else, a bit like Leah and her flogger, to know what you are feeling.

“Do you know what Leah meant ‘like Sarah?’ I thought you were both branded as brats already.”

“Ooh! You are getting into this! I don’t like the idea of branding, maybe a tattoo,” Lisa said and when I checked in the mirror, she was deadly serious.

“Talk for another day, I think. But is there any more to Sarah than that?”

“Leah and Sarah have been together for about fifteen years. In that time Leah has had two other subs. One came to them because she was homeless after she split with her Dom, the other one came to them out of an abusive relationship. They were both transitory and Leah shared her responsibilities with Sarah and made her head sub, for want of a better title.

“Of course, you also saw what she was like tonight. You know why I stopped you getting up?”

“Oh, you mean when I stopped you going to rip him a new one? Hmm, to quote that special person again, a sub, but not a pushover.” Lisa chuckled at this.

“Did you find out Steve’s wife’s name?”

“Yes, Sir. Please don’t ask me to tell, as I am not allowed to. She can tell other subs on that condition, but Doms must be told by Steve. It’s part of their dynamic, he is effectively controlling who knows her name and not so subtly making a distinction between subs and Doms. From some of the things she said, she is devoted to him and it works for them, but some of what they do would drive you up the wall.

“Sarah told me about Leah’s stance on judging and not getting involved in other people’s business, she also said at some point Leah would tell you and then browbeat you if ever she felt like you didn’t understand and respect it. I think if we do go back, you are going to have to remember that, both of us are.”

“Yes, she did tell me and yes, you’re right, I’m going to have to bite my tongue. I think I’ll be fine, we’ll be fine,” I said as I pulled into our drive.

Thanks to cbears52 and ladyblue69 for proofreading and making sure I'm not talking complete drivel

Thank you to the moderators helping me getting this published

And thank you to everyone that reads, comments and/or votes.

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