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Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

Faith and Mandi were having lunch in the Italian restaurant. "Tay's got the day off, and wanted to join us," Mandi said. "Is that okay with you? I know you said you were keen to make more friends."

Faith nodded. Tay had been a whirlwind of fun when she'd met them on Friday, and they'd clicked instantly.

They came and joined them when Faith and Mandi sat down, flouncing in wearing a leather vest and a floral skirt. "What do you think?" they asked, twirling on the spot.

Mandi rolled her eyes and waved at them to sit down, but Faith grinned. "It looks great; a fantastic blend of two different fabrics."

"Of course, you're an artist, aren't you? Well, if you say it looks good, and you have an eye for art, then that practically makes me a fashionista!" They clambered onto one of the chairs, and sat, half on, half off.

"ADHDers," said Mandi, with a giggle.

Tay stuck their tongue out at her. "The 'tism speaks!"

Faith giggled at the two of them. They both appeared to be in some kind of Middle headspace, not quite Little, but not quite Big.

"Speaking of art," said Mandi, "how did you like the paints I popped into the picnic basket for you? I managed to get Amelia to sneak them over to Tay for you."

"The paints were great—as was the picnic, by the way," said Faith. "So delicious."

"I am very good at picnics," agreed Tay. "Chef Guilia lets me deal with all of the ones ordered from our kitchen. It makes a change from pasta."

"Yes yes," said Mandi, waving her hand at Tay. "You're a culinary genius, we know. Did you get to use the paints?"

Faith flushed a deep red and the two Littles looked at her curiously.

"Does painting usually evoke that response in people?" asked Tay out the corner of their mouth to Mandi, deliberately hamming it up.

Mandi giggled. "Definitely not, I think Faith might be hiding something from us."

"I mean, I am," said Faith. "But I can't talk to you guys about it if you're in Middle-space. That'd be too weird."

There was an imperceptible shift, and Mandi and Tay nodded. "We can be Big," said Mandi, smiling. "Remember where we met?"

"Definitely," agreed Tay.

"Okay then. Well, Bex came up with an idea for a scene, using the paint." She paused and looked at them. "Are you sure…?"

"Just get on with it!" said Tay impatiently.

"Tay!" said Mandi. "It might be private."

"I want to tell you, it's just it's quite…" Faith's voice trailed off, and she smiled in remembrance.

"That's a happy face if ever I saw one," said Tay, grabbing a piece of garlic bread and taking a bite.

"You have no idea," said Faith, shifting on her chair and leaning forward. "Okay, so she found this branch—from an aspen, because they have these heart-shaped leaves—and then she organized for them to cover one of the private playrooms in plastic sheets, and then she used the branch as a flogger."

"How do the paints come into it, though?" asked Mandi.

Faith blushed. "We covered the branch and leaves in paint, and she used my back as a canvas."

Both Tay and Mandi looked at her, open mouthed.

"I did say it was something for Bigs."

They rushed to reassure her.

"I mean, it sounds like it'd be sensory hell for me," said Mandi, shuddering. "The branch might be okay, but the paint? Absolutely not."

Tay looked thoughtful. "I don't think I'd want paint, but you could do something similar with food. Maybe with ice cream!"

Mandi looked at her. "Chef Guilia's ice cream?"

"You never know," said Tay, pulling a face at her friend. "But yeah, what an amazing idea! You literally became the art."

"Right?" said Faith. "And Bex calls me rainbow girl now, which is just…" She smiled and sighed happily. "Just the best."

"It's a shame photos aren't allowed," said Tay. "Because I bet that looked incredible ."

"We got official permission," said Faith. "Bex was allowed to take some photos, but only on my phone, and with no indication of where we were. It's just of my back, really—she cut the bulk of my bum out of the pictures—so would you guys like to see?"

" Would we?" asked Tay. "I mean, I certainly would!"

"It's just your back?" asked Mandi. "Because I don't know how comfortable I'd be seeing someone other than my Amelia naked from the front."

"It's all from the back," Faith reassured her.

"Then it's fine," said Mandi. "And I'm glad because I want to see!"

Faith dug her phone out of her pocket and selected her favorite of the photos. The two of them poured over it, making it larger and exclaiming at the patterns.

"There's such a great contrast with the lines of paint from the twigs, and the pretty heart and half-heart shapes from the leaves," said Mandi. "And this photo looks seriously good—you look like you belong in an art gallery."

"I do belong in an art gallery," said Faith. "It's just that I've never been the art myself before. I'm used to making the art."

"I get that," said Tay. "I'm great at cooking, but food play in a kink scene is a completely different vibe altogether."

Faith and Mandi stared at them.

"What?" they asked defensively. "I'm not always in Little space, and I had a thriving sex life before I came to Rawhide." They muttered something else about ice cream under their voice that Faith didn't quite catch, but Chef Guilia made homemade ice cream, and she guessed the chef might explain somewhat why Tay had food play on the brain. "Anyway, back to you, and how ridiculously cute you and Bex are."

Mandi reached over and held Faith's hand. "You really like her, don't you?"

"Yes. I just don't know how she does it. She sees me, all of me." She looked at Mandi. "When we first met, I was sad because I was lonely, and I felt completely unseen. You and Amelia saw me and took me out for food and somehow became my friends. Without you both, I'd never have gotten here. But that was the first time I ever felt like someone saw me. And now?" Her eyes filled with tears. "Now I have Bex."

"Have you told her this?" asked Tay, unusually quiet. "Because sometimes, if you wait too long to tell someone how you feel about them, it can be too late."

"I don't think it's ever too late," said Mandi, but Tay shrugged her comment off.

"I still think you should say something."

"I have, and she has too. It's scary, feeling this intensely so quickly, but we're going to date. She's offered to drive me home today, instead of me having to take a cab and bus, and I've taken her up on that. It'll be nice to hang out with her in a completely neutral setting—not a dungeon, or a bedroom, or on a picnic blanket by a lake."

"Yeah," said Mandi. "It's how someone is in the everyday that I like the most." She grinned at Tay. "Like how you're always chaotic, but always kind. And how Amelia's firmness is rooted in love. It's made me come out of my shell more."

"Yes," agreed Tay. "You were absolutely terrified of your own shadow when you first arrived. And look at you now, making new friends, sassing me… Even Ralphie says that you look happier."

"I am," she said. "And I just know, Faith, that Bex is going to be the same for you. I just know it."

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