Chapter 20

Rachel and Cat had scheduled the talks to happen after lunch. There were two: a short one that Rachel was delivering about the event itself; and a second on self-safety and negotiation that Cat was going to give.

Everything had gone smoothly, and as most people had ignored the protesters outside, it seemed like they'd packed up and left just before 1 pm. Rachel assumed it must be fairly difficult to protest things when no one was paying you any attention. Seemed like it'd be a waste of time for everyone involved.

But as 1 pm loomed, she began to feel nervous. She had plenty of experience pitching ideas to people one on one, even in a small group, and she knew that she could be persuasive, but this was a whole other beast.

Standing on the stage, looking out over the hall, Rachel thought she might throw up. Everything she'd planned, everything she'd prepared all seemed to float out of her head and disappear into thin air.

"Ahem." The microphone squeaked loudly and the speakers made some kind of groan. Rachel winced. If she'd hoped to not have everyone's attention, the noise had put a stop to that. "Thank you so much for coming out today. The Littles' Market by the Sea is the culmination of a lot of hard work, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention my co-conspirator Cat—who's going to talk to you in a little bit—Tel, Rose and everyone here at the hall, and Emma over on the collar booth, who's helped with a lot of the logistics of today."

She paused, a sea of faces looking up at her. "We came up with this idea because when I was starting out on the kink scene, there were a ton of Little events, but most of them felt very geared toward straight communities. And that's fine, but I wanted to create a space that was inclusive and friendly, and where my friends would feel welcome. I'm beyond delighted with all of the amazing creators, designers and vendors who are here with us today—make sure you check out each stall! There's something for everyone. And thank you to all of you; you've made this more successful than we ever planned."

There was a rapturous round of applause, that was more embarrassing than anything else, and a couple of whoops from the Stuffie Hospital London table.

"Enough from me, let me hand over to our very own Cat, who's going to talk us through self-safety and negotiation!"

Isla was waiting for her at the foot of the stage stairs, and Rach kissed her, hard.

"Remind me that speeches are my nightmare and that I never ever want to do one again."

Isla laughed. "I mean, I can, but you did pretty damn well up there. I'm proud of you, babygirl."

Rachel smiled and dropped her voice. "Thank you, Daddy."

Isla beamed at her use of ‘Daddy' and held out her hand. "Daniel's agreed to cover the stall again for a bit, so I can walk you round the hall. Fancy a stroll?"

Tel was leaning by the door to the entrance. "All good, Rach, I've got the entrance."

"Then yes," said Rachel. "I'd really like that."

There were so many things to see, some of which caught her attention, and others less so. Isla was particularly taken by some of the furniture designs that Morgan had out on her stall, but Rachel couldn't help but keep sneaking glances at where Brooke had an array of sex toys displayed.

Isla caught her looking and laughed. "Got something particular in mind?"

Rachel didn't know when she'd been more embarrassed. "What? No! I mean, maybe, but we really don't have to…"

"No no," said Isla, "you're not getting out of it that easily. Let's go have a look."

Brooke was a big woman, with her hair piled up high on her head. She looked more serious than Rachel expected, and she would have walked past if Isla hadn't been dragging her over.

"Hey there," Brooke said. Her voice quiet and softer than Rach expected. "Are you looking for something in particular?"

"I'm just browsing, but I think my girlfriend had something in mind?"

Rachel glared at Isla and then blushed.

"I have a catalogue, if it's easier to look through that, and point things out, rather than speaking it out loud for the world to hear," said Brooke gently.

Rach nodded vigorously.

She liked the fact that there were a range of toys on the table. Some were phallic—your standard dildos and strap ons and plugs—but there were clit stimulators and nipple suckers, and a silicone grinding mat that had space for a vibrator to slip inside.

"Lots of choices," said Isla. She was standing behind Rachel, looking over her shoulder at the catalogue, and when she spoke, she leaned until her mouth grazed Rachel's ear.

It made it very hard to concentrate on anything.

"Lots of things to play with, babygirl. Which ones do you like?"

Rachel flicked through some more of the pages, and then turned back to the page with the straps. "I know you have one, but I'd like it if we could find one that made you feel extra good for you too."

Brooke came over and had peek at the page they were looking at. "Oh, I've got a couple of those models with me, if you'd like to take a look?"

"Whatever my girl wants," said Isla, but Rachel nudged her.

"It's not just for me; I want your input too. Especially since, well, you know…"

Isla did know, Rachel knew that. And she also knew that her girlfriend was likely just teasing her, but she felt all flustered and embarrassed, and as if she was doing it all wrong.

"Hey, hey, hey," said Isla, taking Rachel in her arms. "Chin up, princess. What's going on?"

Rachel blinked rapidly, her eyes burning. "I want us to choose it together. I don't want to be demanding about what we use."

Isla brushed Rach's hair from her face and kissed her sweetly. "Oh darling, the reason I said that we'll get whatever you want, is because if you're interested in trying it, I'd love to make that happen for you. I didn't mean for you to feel like I was phoning it in. Hey Brooke," she said, "Can we come and sit behind the booth, or to the side? Look at your stock a little more privately?"

"Of course," said Brooke, and brought out a screen that looked like it belonged to a DD DM. "Why don't I pop them behind this, so you can have a look and not feel completely exposed."

She had a fair selection of various buzzy, double-ended straps, ones that would fit into a harness really comfortably and could be used to fill up both Rachel and Isla. They picked one in a pale lilac, and Brooke popped it into its box and gave them a discreet bag to take it home in. She didn't exactly tell them to enjoy, but the twinkle in her smile implied the sentiment.

"I'll put this behind the stall, and go take over from Daniel," said Isla. "And we can use that later tonight…"

Rachel had a veritable skip in her step as she walked away. It'd be the perfect way to end what was turning out to be a pretty successful day.