Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Bex still couldn't get over how different the US was to the UK. Everything felt so much bigger , and people were forthright in a way she wasn't entirely used to.

And surely, retail assistants couldn't be that happy all of the time.

It had been an adjustment, moving across continents for work, and six months after she'd started in her new role, she'd decided she needed time off. Not too long, she had work to do. But a weekend off wouldn't hurt. She shouldn't even be working on the weekend.

She needed some fun.

Back home, she'd just go to the club her best friend Riley ran, play with one of the willing subs she knew, but here she wasn't sure which clubs would be welcoming of queer participants, and so she'd abstained this whole while.

But her hands were itching to hold a flogger, and to have some pretty girl on her knees, and so she'd done her research, and applied to spend a weekend at Rawhide Ranch. It was queer-friendly, all-inclusive, and they had a dungeon on-site!

She'd needed to have references, and Riley had written on her behalf, and she'd been delighted when her application had been accepted. Work had been somewhat grumpy about her booking the Friday off for travel, but when she said she was going to stay on a ranch and take the time to explore their beautiful state, they'd softened. They didn't need to know that she'd be exploring their state from the inside of a dungeon.

But the Ranch itself did look beautiful on the website, and as Bex drove through the gates, she was delighted to see that it had not been photoshopped. The long driveway was lined with trees, and for the first time since she'd moved to the States, Bex allowed herself to breathe. She'd always been a green space girl, spending half her childhood clambering around in the woods near her home and exploring the South Downs. Despite her new home being close to Yellowstone National Park, she'd yet to take the time to appreciate the majesty of the landscape.

As she drove along, Bex vowed to take some time to explore the grounds of Rawhide Ranch. This break needed to be about more than just sex. There was so much that was missing from her current life. She'd always been a bit of a workaholic, but the last six months she knew she'd taken it to ridiculous levels. The adjustment to her new home had taken her longer than she'd expected and she'd found herself living for brief calls with friends from home.

Drawing up to the lodge, Bex's eyebrows raised all the way to her hairline. It was huge , with a wide porch stretching the entire length of the main building. People sat, relaxing in the sunshine, and Bex was struck by how peaceful the whole place seemed.

Grabbing her suitcase from the trunk of the car, she began to wheel it up the driveway only to have a real-life cowboy practically leap down the steps to the porch and land in front of her. She gave a slight gasp only to have the man tip his hat to her.

"Sorry if I startled you. Welcome to Rawhide Ranch. I'm Dax and I'll be happy to park your car and bring your luggage inside. You can just relax and go on in."

A bit flustered, Bex released the handle of her suitcase and passed Dax the keys. "Um, thank you."

Another tip of his hat and a smile proceeded Dax's, "You're welcome," before he deposited the luggage back into the trunk and slid behind the wheel of her car.

Deciding the man wasn't likely to steal her belongings, Bex took a deep breath and climbed the steps of the porch and entered through the huge double doors.

"Hi there!" said a woman with mermaid-colored hair at the check-in desk to the left as she crossed the lobby. "You must be Bex. I'm Luna. Welcome to Rawhide!"

Bex leaned on the wooden counter and smiled. "That's me. Do you need to check my ID?"

"Yes please." Luna talked her through checking in and then waved over a First Nations man in t-shirt and jeans. He nodded at her, and signed quickly, before turning and smiling at Bex.

"I'm sorry," Bex said, "I only know a little BSL, and I know that's different from ASL." He shook his head and smiled reassuringly.

"No worries, Moses can also lip read. He'll take your luggage, and show you to your suite," said Luna. "I really hope you enjoy your stay!"

About to state that Dax had taken possession of her suitcase, movement had her glancing to the left to see the luggage being passed to Moses. She certainly couldn't claim her reception was lacking. "Thanks," said Bex.

She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting from Rawhide Ranch—something with less polish, slightly more raw, perhaps—but as they took the elevator to the second floor, she realized just how beautiful the building was.

Her suite, as well, was far larger than she'd been expecting, and there were O-rings at different heights on the four-poster bed. That was a detail she very much appreciated.

After she thanked Moses and he'd left, Bex flomped onto the couch. As a business consultant, she rarely had time just to sit and chill, and she'd been spending so much time getting up to speed on the way that the business worked, her evenings had been spent at home on her own, working on project analysis or writing reports.

It was only now, sitting in her suite on her own, that Bex realized she'd actually failed to make any friends in the last six months. The only person she wanted to tell about this gorgeous place was her best friend Riley, and Riley was all too busy shacked up with Wendy. Wendy was the mother of one of Riley's ex-girlfriends, and since they'd connected at Christmas, Riley had basically been incommunicado.

It was wonderful to know her friend was head over heels in love, but it didn't make Bex feel any less lonely.

She fiddled with her phone for a moment, tempted to check her emails, and then put it down firmly. No. This was to be a work-free zone, and she was here to have fun.

There had been a menu for all the different eateries on the table by the door, and Bex jumped up to go get it. Scanning the list, her eyes fell upon the Italian restaurant. Homemade pasta, it said at the top, and her mouth watered. Nothing could lift her spirits like some really good food.

Grabbing her keycard, she headed to the elevator.

The restaurant was pretty quiet when she got there, though it was only 11 a.m., so that probably explained it. Bex took the table offered by the host and looked over the menu.

"Is it your first time here?" a server asked with a smile.

"Yes," she said. "I really fancy some pasta."

One of the chefs had been walking past—at least, Bex assumed they were a chef, due to the white coat—and they stopped when they heard what Bex said and reversed in a comical fashion.

"I'm sorry, did I hear someone say they fancy some pasta?"

Bex grinned. "That'd be me."

"Step aside, Billy," said the chef to the host, and then pulled up a chair and sat down opposite Bex. "Pastaio Tay at your service. Pasta-maker extraordinaire! They/them pronouns. Talk to me; what are you thinking?"

"She/her," replied Bex. "And I was hoping for filled pasta—I saw you had a couple of different ravioli dishes."

"Ah yes," said Tay. "Ravioli, my specialty. Are you veggie?"

"No," said Bex, laughing. Tay's energy was full chaotic queer, and it made her feel more at home. Brighton, where she'd grown up, had a loud and vibrant queer community, and whilst Billings was very accepting, it didn't have Brighton's laissez-faire attitude towards gender and aesthetic. Tay would have fit right in. They had a multi-colored mullet and couldn't seem to sit still on the chair they'd chosen for even a moment.

"In that case, may I suggest the ravioli di carne? It's my great-grandmother's recipe and is to die for—even if I say so myself."

"Ravioli di carne it is," said Bex, not even looking down at the menu to see what that was. "Would you recommend having it with butter and sage, or with a tomato sauce."

Tay nodded approvingly. "A woman who knows her pasta! Very good, you may eat here again. I always serve it with sugo, a tomato sauce. That suit you?"

"Whatever the chef recommends," said Bex.

"Oh, I'm the pastaio; our chef is Chef Guilia." The rueful smile Tay made spoke volumes; there was clearly something between them and this Chef Guilia.

"Whatever the pastaio recommends then," amended Bex. "Thanks so much, Tay."

They got up to leave, and then stopped and waved over two women who'd just entered. "Mandi! Come meet Bex!"

But it wasn't Mandi who drew Bex's attention, it was the woman standing next to her. There was nothing extraordinary about her at all. Mousy brown hair, medium build, standard height. Nothing to make her stand out whatsoever, but as she walked over to the table, Bex couldn't keep her eyes off her.

"This is Bex," said Tay. "She's got good taste in pasta and was going to eat on her own, so y'all should sit together."

"Bex might want to be on her own," said Mandi. "You can't just force her to sit with strangers."

"That's okay," said Bex, standing up suddenly. She pulled out a chair for the brunette woman and smiled at her. "I'd love it if you could join me."