14.)

Eventually the timer went off and Blossom and I returned to the beach house. I didn't really see a difference in my skin, but Blossom assured me it took a few hours. I changed back into some real clothes and Blossom did the same. The mood had certainly deteriorated, and I felt at fault for that as well. I wondered how far it was to the grocery store: I could get some blueberries.

"Wanna go out for dinner?" Blossom asked. "There's a town up the road. They have some good seafood stuff. Do you like seafood?"

"Shellfish," I said. "Not fish fish."

"Well you're in luck, they have fantastic shrimp, and lobster, and oysters and other stuff."

Boys had this notion that oysters were an aphrodisiac, and the amount of times Blossom had been taken out to get oysters for dinner in the hopes that it would make her put out was beyond the number of fingers she had to count on. Stupid boys, anyway – if she was going on a date, she was planning to have sex, come on now.

So it was a little amusing that she was the one suggesting this place to Mia Moore - not because she wouldn't sleep with Mia, because given the chance she absolutely would, but because it was such an innocent suggestion this time.

"You've baked me cake and scones and fed me for the past two days so this one is on me."

"If you're sure..." I didn't like someone else paying for my meals, but I knew how expensive seafood could be. Maybe it was best if I just let her do it, just this once. And if we went into town... "Could we stop at a grocery store? I can pick up some blueberries and eggs and stuff." She was almost out of yeast, too.

"We sure can stop at the grocery store, as long as you're a good girl and don't try to sneak things into the cart when I'm not looking~"

This was an experimental response. Not about diapers, not even strictly about the whole kink thing; it was just some playful teasing to see how much Mia could handle before she got in her own way. Blossom was nothing if not persistent.

I gave Blossom a bit of a look. Classic teasing. But... well, it was kind of nice. I didn't want to discourage her, so I stuck out my tongue. Playful, right? I hope she saw it as playful... but I wasn't a little kid, even if I liked pretending sometimes. All those mannerisms? They probably looked stupid on me.

"Let's just get going," I muttered, trying not to think about it.

"You're so stinking cute."

Blossom screwed up her nose into a crinkly faced smile, but she let things go from there and began to systematically close windows and lock up the beach house. She held the front door open as she slipped into some chunky heeled sandals and waited for Mia to step outside.

The town was only a ten minute's drive away. If I had the energy, I could probably walk there and back in just a few hours. That was good to know. It wasn't a huge town, but it had a handful of restaurants and a shopping center. A big looming grocery store was the biggest building in the square.

Blossom pulled into the unpaved parking lot of a large shack. It had signs in the windows advertising different fish things, and a big wooden display near the front door. No neon lights, nothing flashy. If it wasn't for the handful of cars, I would have assumed it was closed.

"So one thing to know - this is the best seafood place I've ever been to. They only take cash, they only do seafood, fries, and coleslaw, and they don't accept tips. But their stuff is always super fresh and yummy and high quality. I'll order for you - no fish, but everything else okay?"

Blossom had a system; she was pansexual and high-femme, so both the boys that wanted to date her, and the kinds of girls that wanted to date her usually wanted to be in control. Ergo, she would usually let them order, and that meant having a stable of venues under her belt where she liked most of the menu. Ordering for herself, let alone for someone else? That was a rare delight for Blossom.

I didn't expect anything fancy, and the place sure lived up to that expectation. The tables were wooden and old, and most of the seats were either benches or hard wood chairs. There was no sense of decorum and it was weirdly loud for such a small restaurant. Blossom and I sat by a window that looked out at the beach, though it was far enough in the distance that it wouldn't really be called a "view".

"Thanks for this," I smiled. I couldn't say I honestly trusted Blossom in entirety, but she was sure working her way there.

"Thanks for hanging out with me," Blossom said. "I know a big part of you probably wants to run far away from my tall and leggy ass, so I appreciate you giving me a chance even if I come across like a hopeless fangirl half the time."

As she talked, Blossom filled out a paper order form from a pad attached to the menu and checked several boxes before tearing it off and taking it up to the counter. She was back a few moments later and sat back down. In her summer dress, with her fancy heels and designer purse, the bottle-blonde cheerleader stood out like a sore thumb in this place, but nobody said anything about it. Honestly, it seemed like people were content to mind their own business.

"No, I uh... I don't really get to talk about my story stuff. Or uh... any of that stuff. So it's nice to talk to you about it." We had a lot of Academy Works discussions already and it felt a lot like the weekend had tilted us into private talks. Maybe that was why I asked: "So you've never told anyone? Like, friends or...?"

"Never once. And I mean, I have other kinks, and a lot of the people I date or sleep with have their own things. But this one... has always felt pretty private to me. Like I couldn't trust anyone with it, which I'm sure is a feeling you know. The munches have been nice, but you know the way I compartmentalize the circles of my life, so the people I know from them would never know where I went to school or anything."

"I never thought about that..." She kept everything in her life separate. I was probably the first thing that intersected two different spheres. Of course, when she had to choose, she would put me in the same camp as those people at the munch. That way, she could still talk to me about Academy Works. But I already knew too much. I knew where she went to school. I knew about her family. I almost felt guilty for ruining her system, and guiltier still for complaining about her ignoring me. Of course she ignored me. I'd ignore me too, if I was in her shoes.

"Other kinks, hm?" I asked, tilting my head with a smile. "Do tell." I knew about her mind control thing; we talked about that in the car. But I didn't see how she would be able to do that in real life, and she was talking about people she actually slept with.

"Oh, there's a bunch. I had a thing for girls worshiping my feet for a while, but then guys got all mixed up in it and it got weird and I kinda drifted from that. But a lot of stuff like... dehumanizing stuff, petplay, dollplay, that kinda thing. I love latex, too, but I don't really get to indulge that – again, guys tend to make it weird. Oh, I've done a lot of impact play, floggers, whips..."

As she recounted, Blossom marked them off on her fingers, like she was going down a numbered list. It was a kinda endearing mannerism for the rather sophisticated girl.

"And then there's the basics: restraints, wax, power exchange, pegging... just the usual suspects."

"Right, the usual suspects." I rolled my eyes. She was such a slut. For a brief moment, I wanted to make fun of her. I wanted to tie her actions in with a lack of self-respect or immorality. I wanted to blame her for the kind of disrespect women get from men in this country. But I didn't, because there was nothing wrong with being a slut. My instinct to hurt her was paradoxical and innately human, because – to be honest – I kind of wished I was more like her.

"I think kinks are an inevitable part of exposure to many partners and experiences; everyone has their kinks, and it's becoming more and more socially acceptable to share them. So people do. When I first got to high school and I was popular for the first time, I was so shook by the stuff people talked about. Like the first time a boy talked about anal, I was so squeamish about the whole thing. But it's all just another way to feel good. That's all this is, it's all any of this is. It's a way to feel good, to feel complete, to feel seen, or whatever else."

Blossom smiled and looked over at the counter to see if she could see their food order coming yet or not. Nothing yet.

"So then why not tell people about this kink?" I asked, motioning to the both of us, to our table, to the abstract concept that brought us together. "It's just another way to feel good, right?" I wasn't trying to trap her in a corner, but I was curious what her answer would be.

"Because I don't tell people about my other kinks unless they've already told me. You're an exception, honestly, because if Miss Wax-my-Tits and Mister Peg-my-Ass told me about their kinks, I'd tell them I was into that, but I wouldn't tell them the other stuff. It's all about circles, Mia. The fact I've told you like half of my kinks is pretty rare."

And why be so secretive at all when she'd been so positive about it? Well, though Blossom was sex positive and kink positive, not everybody else was. Until society caught up, she'd have to have limits.

"Good point..." I tapped my cheek in thought. I never really thought about other "kinks" I had, but I suppose a lot of what I wrote about in Academy Works transcended the basic ageplay thing. Mind control, hypnosis, spanking. Even just dominance and submission. I mean, the whole point of the Academies was obedience, not "make adults into babies".

"To be honest though, I think I'd be too scared to do any of my kinks with someone else." Just then, a waiter came by and dropped off a few rolls of bread at our table. I quieted down until he left. "I'd probably just do whatever they liked."

"And what if that person's desire was to do what you liked? Would you indulge them?"

Blossom picked up a bread roll, still warm and steaming, and moved it to a plate in front of her along with a pat of butter.

"Or what if that person was some hot cheerleader type who's touched herself to stuff you've written about, and would probably be down to reenact pretty much anything you've written? Not naming any names, of course."

Grinning, Blossom took a bite of the bread.

The first question was compelling, but ultimately pointless. Doing what I liked was just a cop out. After all, that's what I was doing, wasn't it? I would do what someone else wanted to avoid doing what I wanted.

The second question though pushed her hypothetical too far. I rolled my eyes and gave Blossom that look she gave me earlier: you're being difficult.

"I don't care if you get off to my writing; I figure most people have. That's kind of the point of smut, right? But that's not the same as actually doing it in real life. Actually, most of what I write about isn't even possible." Sorry Blossom, pink hypno milk and magic markers that make you dumber aren't real.

"It depends on the kind of play, doesn't it?" Blossom asked. "If we're talking purely physical play without emotion or scene-setting or role-play, then yeah a lot of it just comes down to the basics. And I know some stuff isn't going to translate well to real life, but given I don't have any experience with any of it, all I can really do is speculate, right? I'm just saying, I'm open to the idea of a lot of things. A lot."

A staff member approached and Blossom hushed as a large basket of shrimp and lobster and crawfish, peppered with oysters and scallops, sitting on a far too large bed of thick cut french fries, was slid into the middle of the table. As quickly as he appeared, the man left, and Blossom beamed at the food. She hoped Mia liked this.

I couldn't tell if she was being serious. She wasn't, obviously. I mean, of course she wasn't! But her insistence... the barrage of jokes... but that's what they were. Jokes.

I started with the scallops, which were incredible. The shrimp was great too, but Blossom had to open up the lobster for me. Honestly, I had never had lobster before, and it seemed like too much work for how it tasted, but it was still really good.

All the while, while we ate, I thought about what she said. Roleplaying could supplement some of the less plausible things, right? Was that how that worked? But even so, I wouldn't actually want to do any of it. I was thinking about Nana giving Ai an enema in Academy I, and a shiver ran up my spine. Things in stories weren't the same as things in real life. Things we found hot in fiction weren't exactly the same when they became reality.

While eating, Blossom took some time to admire Mia. The way she ate, the way her eyes went wide when she liked something, the self-conscious way she'd turn in on herself when she thought someone was looking over their way, and the shy way she would steal glances up at Blossom in return. She was so curious what the other girl was thinking, but Mia was a steel trap. Blossom didn't let it get to her.

"You're starting to tan, you know; it looks amazing already. It won't last more than a week or so, but next weekend we'll do it again, and we'll build it up. You're gonna look so hot, Mia Moore."

Although she'd let the topic shift, Blossom was still thinking about the stories, about kinks, about fucking around with Mia...

Mia was having trouble writing, right?

Maybe Blossom could help inspire her.