Actions Have Consequences Vol 1 and 2
Marci stood in the middle of the floor nervously waiting for the music
to start and picturing herself doing her routine.
"And bend knees, and turn, and shake hips on the way up."
There was good reason for that feeling; she had only had five days to
practice the dance routine and learn to apply her makeup in a more
seductive manner. She only had five days to practice the dance routine
for, up until two weeks previously, Marci was Doug. She knew that she
only had at most fourteen days left as being Marci, and she was
grateful for that.
The last fourteen days had been hell, all because of a bet he had
believed was done in jest. She hated how her wife had been treating
her. She hated how tired she was for she had had no rest other than
sleep. What she hated most, however, was that she actually liked some
of it; she liked feeling pretty and she liked it when Helen showed
genuine kindness to her as Marci, although that seemed to be getting
less and less each day. Marci also liked that she did not feel the need
to hide her feelings; she did not need to be so reserved with her
emotions as when she was Doug.
She looked over her outfit to make sure it was perfect. Marci lifted
the heel of her foot and turned her ankle to inspect her black ankle
boots. They had clunky 3" heels, were cute and she liked how the heels
made her legs look. She looked up her legs and saw how smooth the
fishnet stockings made them look. She felt them with her hands and
enjoyed the softness of her legs. Marci saw the red acrylic nails. They
along with the rings and bracelet she had on made them look so
feminine. Marci's hand made it to the hem of the dress, a simple black
satin shift dress. It flowed over her body, giving her movement a more
graceful look. Then she felt the garter belt; it made her feel even
more feminine, and she knew her look was designed to please others.
Marci's hands reached her crotch. There was no budge there from a penis
- the prosthetic vagina was doing a great job at making it disappear.
Marci's eyes wandered up to her breasts, she was used to seeing them by
now and was pleased with how her cleavage looked. Marci then looked at
the batwing sleeves around the middle of her biceps. She knew with them
connecting to the side of the dress leaving her shoulder bare that they
are purely for decorative reasons and that they add to making her
movements more graceful.
Finally, without a mirror, Marci hoped that she had put enough spray in
her hair to keep her pixie hairstyle just right while dancing. It would
be a shame if it got messed up for it did look good when the highlights
were in the right place.
Doug might not want to be doing this dance, but he wanted to do it the
best he could. He took pride in doing a job well, so it is not worth it
to him to give anything less than his best. His wife wanted this so he
was going to give it to her. She would have to pay for it later, when
he was not her sissy slave, but for now he had to do his best.
***********
Helen sat there waiting to play the music. She had almost called this
show off so many times in the past days and was still thinking of doing
so. She would, if Marci would just behave a little better. She had been
fighting being a sissy for the past fourteen days, so Helen was doing
this to teach Marci a lesson. She was making her sissy slave perform
out of spite. She knew it, but told herself it would also help with the
lesson, to justify doing this to her husband.
Last night it was almost over, but Marci just had to correct Helen,
which got under Helen's skin and made her furious. She regretted what
she did after the bachelorette party, but Marci got her so mad. Marci
should have known full well that it was not just a threat.
'How could I know that John was going to call and see if Doug changed
his mind?' she thought. 'Doug should have not told John he was not
going to the wedding. It does not matter that I told Doug the next time
he talked to John he would be saying that.'
She was shocked when Janet checked up on her before the party, to see
if she was okay. Janet was concerned, for she was under the assumption
that Helen's marriage to Doug was falling apart. The biggest reason for
her concern was that the breakup of Doug and Helen might steal some of
the thunder on her wedding day. In fact, she was kind of happy that
Helen and Doug were having some issues. Helen could do so much better
than Doug. He was only a teacher and Janet was the type that was more
concerned about what car a man drove than the man inside the car.
Janet was right to have concerns, but Helen did not know. She believed
that after Doug learned his lessons, he would understand what she did
and that he would even forgive her when she went too far. He would be
happy that he had learned the lesson.
Helen had gone too far that night; after the bachelorette party, she
had flirted some with Carl, the new Best Man. Doug was originally to
have been the Best Man, but she threatened to have him put on a nice
dress at the end of reception after all the formal parts were over. It
was an empty threat, but Doug had called John to say he had to back out
of being the Best Man as he would be unable to make it to the ceremony
part of the wedding. He gave some excuse they both knew was lame.
Janet had mentioned that Carl was newly single when she introduced them
while meeting up with the bachelor party. Helen had wanted to see Doug
there instead. Her pain made her think of a way to get back at Doug
for acting up. Her plan was she would flirt with Carl to teach Doug a
lesson. She was going to tease her sissy slave about a real man wanting
her, and she wanting him. She was going to make sure that Doug knew
nothing serious happen, but also have him know that some flirting did
take place.
The flirting went like most of her plans those these past two weeks; it
backfired in her face. No wonder Carl was newly single, everything must
be about him. He did not listen to her like Doug did. He did not show
any interest in her as a person, like Doug did. Carl only cared about
her looks. He then had the nerve to say that he could treat her better
than Doug, for he was a better man than him.
That was the final straw. She told him that Doug might not be perfect
but he was a better man on his worse day than Carl was on his best.
Carl did not take it seriously, he assumed it was her just being upset
about her marriage being almost over.
On her way home Helen could not believe the nerve of Carl. She also
could not believe that for a second she did think about how nice it
would be to have Carl for a night and that Cindy had told her about how
if she kept Doug as Marci she could have any man she wanted. She only
really wanted one man, but was so mad at him right then!
**********
When Helen got home she went to look for Marci, and found her sleeping
in the 'servant quarters.' Marci was not actually sleeping, she just
acted like that to avoid dealing with her. Her anger melted away for
this was the first time she had seen Marci without makeup and restful
in 2 weeks. She felt sad about what had been happening, but it was
Doug's fault. He was fighting her at every step. Doug needed to learn
his lesson. She decided not to wake Doug up from his slumber, she would
just go to sleep, and end it the next day at breakfast. She was
resolved about her plan to end it.
Of course this time, like all the other times, she did not execute
ending Doug's servitude to her. The door creaked as she left the room.
Marci acted like she woke up and saw Mistress. He hated that he had to
think of her as his Mistress rather than his wife. He asked her what
she wanted and how her night had been?
She turned around and her anger over Doug saying he was not going to
the wedding came back. She told him to explain exactly why he told John
that he would not be showing up? Doug's reply was short.
"I simply followed your instructions," he said and gave her that grin -
the grin which she knew meant he was thinking, 'Your actions have
consequences.' She had barred him from saying that to her, yet he had
still found a way to convey the message. That set her off, for he had
followed her instructions and it did not go how she planned. She did
not know that John was calling after she left for the party.
"Since you will not be going to the wedding," she had said, "I had to
find someone to keep me company." and she told him about flirting with
Carl; how Carl was back on the dating scene again, and it would be nice
to spend some time around a real man. She looked to see if that got a
reaction out of her sissy. It did not, and that got her even madder as
she was now seeing Doug as Marci again!
Doug did not blink upon hearing it. This was because he knows this is
over soon, and that he would never have to call her Mistress ever
again. He would never have to listen to her at all any more, as it
would be the beginning of her being out of his life for evermore. It
pained him for he still loved her, or more correctly, how she used to
be.
He still cared for her, and wanted the best for her. He thought that
Carl was too materialistic, too vain to be good for Helen. Then he
quickly thought that the new Helen might want someone like Carl so his
response was simply, "I hope you enjoy spending time with Carl at the
wedding, Mistress."
She was so frustrated at his reactions she just wished Marci sweet
sissy dreams. Marci's response got under her skin even more, for it was
just, "See you at breakfast, Mistress."
That irked her even further, for it was painful that Marci did not
return her wishes of good will.
*********
Helen hit 'play' and "Black Magic" by Little Mix began. Marci sang
along in sync. Helen had to give Marci credit for giving her best in
trying to do any of the tasks she gave her. Marci actually had a smile
on her face while doing the dance routine. It felt good that he was
nailing the moves and also that Helen was giving him her old smile. For
that short time while dancing Marci actually forgot about the last two
weeks; she was free to express herself.
Helen was enjoying each moment of watching the dance, but not for the
reason she had been told. Cindy had said it would humiliate her sissy,
but Helen was enjoying it for Doug was doing his best for her. She was
seeing him as Doug again now, and realized that he always did his best
for her.
It got to the lap dance part of the routine. That actually made both of
them hot. Helen was thinking about how she just wanted to tear all the
clothes off Doug and fuck him - ride him and have him do her half off
the bed so he hit the G-spot just right. She then thought about the
advice about how a sissy should not have sex as it would set back the
hard work she had done. She would need to resist her urges.
She was doing a great job of resisting her desires for carnal pleasure,
until the end, when Doug walked seductively around her, gently touching
her chest and whispering in her ear the last line of the song.
Damn the advice Cindy, her mentor in making Doug a sissy for 30 days,
had given her. She needed some, plus it was clearly not working how
they had planned, so Doug would have to learn his lesson another way.
Helen kissed Marci. Doug flinched back for he did not want to get in
trouble for kissing Mistress without permission. Helen followed up and
kept on kissing her sissy. She whispered in Doug's ear, "I am going to
have what is mine."
That turned Doug on and for the first time with positive emotions
replied, "Yes Mistress."
Helen was now seeing him as both Marci and Doug, that Marci was just a
role he was playing. That turned her on even more because of what Doug
was doing for her.
'He is amazing for doing this,' she thought. 'How can this be the same
man who tormented Cindy?'
They made their way up to the bedroom, kissing each other and their
hands exploring the curves of their bodies. When they made it to the
bedroom, Helen pushed Marci onto the bed, where she started kissing
Marci's neck. That made Marci squirm and Helen enjoyed it.
They started to strip each other during the foreplay. Marci was lost in
the moment, not understanding why she was so embracing of the new
feelings she was having. Why was she relishing being not be the
aggressor? She did not care, she was just embracing it all.
Helen pulled off Marci's lace panties and saw the prosthetic vagina.
She ripped that off also, wanting the cock which was hidden underneath.
As soon as she could she licked the head. Marci got hard that quickly,
it actually hurt a little. Once Marci was fully erect Helen jumped on
her to ride her. The lips of Helen's pussy were like a vice on Marci's
cock. Helen did most of the work and they both wanted her to. They
were about to cum but Helen did not want it to end so soon and got off
Marci's cock.
Marci so wanted to cum! Helen had told her not to play with herself, so
she had not had an orgasm for two weeks. It was all built up and Marci
desperately needed release. She leaped on Helen and started to kiss her
while fingering her pussy. Marci could feel Helen's juices on her
finger and pulled them to her lips and licked it. That made Helen want
her even more. Helen commanded her sissy to take her now.
Marci willfully obeyed and started to fuck Helen. She had Helen's ass
on the edge of the bed. That made it so she was hitting Helen's G-spot
at the right angle to maximize her pleasure. Helen was ready to get her
orgasm and told Marci to call her name.
Marci called out, "Helen." That made Helen's orgasm more intense; she
actually squirted all over Marci's crotch as she hit it. Marci came
also; she had never felt such a release for the sex was great. Her cock
had never pulsed and pumped as much as it did then. Marci had the added
pleasure of knowing that her period of servitude was over with her
calling out Helen's name. This was because Helen had made an edict
that the next time she allowed Marci to call her Helen, Marci would not
be her slave anymore.
They lay together enjoying the afterglow and the silence. When they did
talk they used as few words as possible. Words would have ruined this
moment for they were on different pages. Doug was free from being a
sissy in his eyes, and Helen thought how sweet her Marci was, being
that her sissy slave was finally behaving. 'Cindy's wrong,' she
thought, 'the carrot works so much better than the stick.'
**********
Doug finally got up to take a shower, for even with enjoying feeling
close to Helen, he wanted to get rid of all of trace of Marci. He
already had the vagina off, now it was time to get the hip enhancers
and breasts forms off. He kissed Helen on the forehead and excused
himself from the bed.
As Doug headed to the bathroom, Helen was enjoying the moment. She
thought about giving her sissy slave another carrot and did so.
"You're sleeping in here tonight, Doug," she called.
Doug got a huge smile on his face and in his soul - it was great
hearing his wife say his name again. To him that was yet another sign
that it was finally over, for another decree Helen had made was that
she would not use the name Doug towards him until he was not her sissy
slave anymore.
"I was planning on it, Mistress," he replied in a playful manner
Helen was in bliss and not paying attention and therefore did not see
Doug grab some boxer shorts and a t-shirt to sleep in on his way to
take a shower. He was in a great mood from the sex and having his
burden lifted from him. The mood was so good that he did not care about
the talk that Helen and he were going to have, about how she had
treated him. He knew there was a very good chance that they would work
things out for he felt connected to her again. In some ways even more
so for he had a rudimentary understanding of being a woman now. He was
so high off the good vibes he had that he was admitting to himself the
things he had liked about being a sissy.
In the bathroom Doug got the medical solvent out to remove his breasts.
As he peeled them off he felt less self-conscious. He did not have to
worry about how they looked. He had found it odd that just having fake
breasts had made him so concerned about how they were seen by others,
that he had needed to have them covered or exposed the right amount for
the situation - how a woman shows her breasts says a lot about her, he
realized.
He then got to removing the hip enhancers. He did like how they had
made the dress fall and make him sway as he walked. He had also liked
the wiggle they added to his walk. He did not want the wiggle all the
time but he would miss it a little.
Taking off the makeup was no big deal; he had been doing it every night
for the past two weeks. He liked knowing that he would never be forced
to wear it again but he also had to admit that he had enjoyed how it
had enhanced his facial features. He also found himself wondering if
he could just comb his hair back for the next week as the highlights
faded away.
He turned on the water to take the shower. He looked at all the shower
gels his wife had in the master bathroom. He thought to himself that in
the future he would have to try some of them for the fragrance, they
were just so wonderful. He then saw the bubble bath and thought that he
would certainly be taking one of those again when he feels stressed
out, they were just so relaxing. This shower , however, was not about
relaxing, it was about getting clean and being a man again. Doug wanted
to smell like a man again so he went with his Old Spice sports body
wash.
The water felt good as it splashed all over him. This was a man's
shower he was taking, not to relax. It was just about cleaning, nothing
more. He got out of the shower and dried himself off.
Helen was looking at the doorway when Doug came back in. Her feeling of
bliss evaporated when she saw her sissy in boxers and a t-shirt. She
could not believe the nerve of Doug, changing and defying her.
'Cindy was right about the stick, after all,' she thought. 'I was nice
to Marci and she just walked all over me. Well, I'll put a stop to this
right now.'
In an angry voice Helen said, "And just what do you think you're
doing, little girl? Now march right back into that bathroom and come
out dressed like a proper sissy!"
Doug went to laugh for he took what she said as a joke. Then the tone
of her voice told him otherwise. He got defensive and replied back,
"I'm not your sissy anymore, Dear. You had me say your name and you
also called me Doug."
Helen was confused for she had completely forgotten giving those edicts
to Doug. Talking down to him she said as much. Cindy had told her to
make Doug defend all his actions. The reason Cindy gave was so he had
to think. The real reason, the one she kept from Helen, was so he had
to react all the time instead of being able to think about what was
next. If Helen knew the real reasons behind all of Cindy's advice she
would have been appalled at what she had done.
Doug shook his head - what was wrong with her? He did not think of her
as his wife for she was acting strangely again and he had to protect
himself from knowing someone close to him was hurting him.
"Here is why," he said. "You said the next time I was allowed to call
you Helen and you called me Doug I would no longer be your sissy slave.
Both those things have happened, so it's over. We'll be talking about
this tomorrow so let's not ruin this great night we had with a fight
and just go to sleep."
********
Helen was furious for she felt that Doug was trying to weasel his way
out of being her sissy. How could he use what she had said in the heat
of the moment against her? That was not fair. She tried to explain to
him that what she said in the heat of the moment did not count. Doug
stayed calm for he had kept his word and now did not have to listen to
her if he did not want to. His reply was, "You gave your word, so it
does count. I kept mine, so I expect the same from the person who is my
wife."
She could not believe that he was trying to make her keep her word. She
was upset that he was calling her a hypocrite. She did not mean it to
be over now, she needed to make sure that Doug learned his lesson -
that he could not treat poor Cindy like he had, making her cry by
demeaning her and then asking for her to be replaced as his teacher's
aide. What did he have against her?
She was frustrated for he had painted her into a corner. The
frustration grew after the facade about the last two weeks was
destroyed. She told him that she was still in charge and he had to
listen to her until the end of his service. He said he never had to
listen to her, he made the decision, to so he could keep his word. Doug
made sure Helen knew that she made the decisions for the actions, and
he made the decision to follow her orders; and that they were going to
have to talk about her attitude. She told him they would talk when she
was ready. He fired back that it had better be soon or else they would
not talk about it at all, and that they would be done if she was not
ready to by the next morning.
Then a worse thought came to Helen. She thought, 'I'll just hit him.'
It was so horrible for she did not think of it in anger - she felt for
a second it was her right to hit him, that she had that right, for she
owned him. That he was beneath her. That thought actually made her
sick. Doug saw her response to it and was concerned for how the
coloring went from her face so quickly.
He asked her if she was feeling okay, for along with losing her
coloring she got a blank look on her face. He had not liked her actions
over the past three weeks, and his affection for her was lessened.
That did not mean he had stopped caring for her - in fact, he cared for
her more now than ever. Her sudden change in attitude was a sign to him
that something was seriously wrong with her.
Helen's dull expression came from her casually thinking about hitting
the man she loved. That thought along with what Doug had been saying
opened up the floodgates of what had truly transpired those past two
weeks. She had treated Doug like he was nothing and tortured him to do
her will. He had so much integrity he kept the word he had given her
and she felt even sicker when she realized that she used that integrity
against him. Her actions had been based on the notion of 'the ends
justifying the means'. She was about to start seeing the consequences
of those actions.
She answered Doug with a quick and soft "Yeah."
She got out of bed and put on her dress and heels. Doug was troubled on
hearing that half hearted response and seeing her act erratically. She
went to leave the room and he asked her where she was going.
"Out," she muttered uncertainly. With the lack of confidence in her
answer, Doug did not take it as her trying to show she did not have to
answer him, he could tell that she was feeling lost for some reason.
Was his wife having a mental breakdown, and should he do more to stop
it? Should he have not worried about keeping his word about the bet and
more worried about the word he gave to take care of her when they got
married? He followed her out of the room and asked her to stay.
She did not respond, for she was light years away. She was only
thinking about how to make amends what she had done. What was the next
course of action to take? Who could she turn to for help. That was the
worst part - she had no one but Cindy to turn to. She could not tell
her friends about this situation and Doug, well, why would he help? He
had been wronged by her. She now knew she was going to Cindy's.
Doug asked her again to stay. He did not want her to drive in the state
of mind she was in. She was pulling herself together again, so she
said, "I need to go out, I have things to do." Doug could tell that she
was keeping yet something else from him.
He showed his disdain for that and said, "Fine, just remember tomorrow
morning we talk about how you have been or else we don't talk about it
at all, we both just move on from what we had."
She stopped and looked at him. She now was seeing the price of one of
the checks she had written with her actions towards him. Her marriage
seemed for all purposes over. She pulled herself together and, hiding
the pain, said, "I will be back by tomorrow morning. Trust me I need to
do some things, nothing major. I love you Doug."
His reply was just a simple goodbye. That hurt Helen, but she knew she
deserved it. Doug had still been saying, 'I love you' while she had him
as a sissy and she had not returned any of them. He quit saying it one
day and she had asked him why. He said he would not lie to his
Mistress. She just thought that he was acting out to get back at her,
and that he would get over it once he had learned his lesson. Helen was
not facing Doug so he did not see the tears in her eyes from her
awareness of this consequence of her action.
That lesson, why. It had to be a misunderstanding, a mistake between
Cindy and Doug. It had never made sense to her but now she just did not
believe whatever transpired had been how Cindy had explained it.
*********
It was close to midnight on Saturday and Cindy was at home waiting for
Helen to call. It was fine for she had nothing better to do and also
her plans on getting back at Doug were working out better than she
could have ever have dreamed. She had just wanted to start a fight
between Helen and Doug and she got something so much better - she got
Helen to go along with humiliating her own husband. Oh, he needed a
lesson and Helen had bought that.
Cindy was a master manipulator and was doing so with Helen. She used
Helen's kindness and caring to her advantage. She told Helen that Doug
had called her stupid and said she needed to worry about her body for
she was only good for being a stripper. She smiled for she knew her
tears were what sold that lie. It did help that those words were said,
but they had been said by her.
Cindy telling Lucy Bell that she was stupid and she had better worry
about her body for her only future line of work would be stripping was
what had caused the events to start. Cindy was the teacher's aide in
Doug's classroom. She hated it, he always told her what to do and
corrected her when he thought she was wrong. What gave him the right to
do so? She also had a teaching degree, she just had not pass the state
exam to get her teaching certificate. So what? She felt that she knows
more about teaching than Doug.
She still could not believe that Doug had called her to the side and
scolded her about trying to toughen up Lucy. He needed to stop coddling
those kids.
Then he went and got her replaced. He deserved to be degraded and put
in a dress for he was not hard on those kids, he was too passive.
Cindy was an opportunist so she inquired to see how far Helen would go
to teach Doug a lesson. This happened over a period of time and she
also manipulated the situations. When she did see Doug, at the few
social events they all attended, she would go to Helen rightwards and
lie about Doug still being mean to her. She would then plead with Helen
not confront her husband or to do anything yet. She would always bring
up how Doug needed to see what it was like to be a woman.
Cindy felt good about herself while recalling how well it was working.
She actually had Helen believing the punishment was her own idea, that
the seed of it had not been planted in her psyche by Cindy and that the
trick of having Doug lose the bet was also Helen's idea. She was so
gullible back then, Cindy thought.
She felt that this was working out good for Helen also. She was now
going to have a faithful servant at home and be able to do whatever she
wanted. Why should not Helen be able to spend more time out with Cindy,
or have a man if she wanted one? She knew that Helen was enjoying this
new freedom and lack of responsibilities and that Helen was becoming
the superior woman that all women could be and was proud of her.
Cindy believed if she played this right, Helen would either make Doug
stay her sissy slave or leave him if he said no. 'The way this is going
it could be even better,' she thought. 'Helen will keep Doug as Marci
and then one day just leave him, a husk of the man he used to be.'
*********
Cindy heard a knock on her apartment door. It was a strange sound to
her for nobody ever came over to visit. She saw Helen and noticed she
was in some distress. Helen came in and while sitting down lit up a
cigarette. Helen recoiled looking at it for it reminded her of yet
another rooster which was coming home to roost. That was just mean of
her, having Doug smoke those dainty feminine Virginia Slim brand
cigarettes.
Cindy was concerned, something major was going wrong with her plan. Was
Helen backing out? That was fine, the damage was done to Doug. She
could still manage to salvage her friendship with Helen; just use her
tears and sob story of 'no-one understands me.'
Had Doug stood up to her? She thought that Doug going along with this
had just proved her point about him being weak so it couldn't be that.
She had been able to plant that thought into Helen head and make her
think she was doing Doug good by taking charge.
Helen told Cindy it was over. Cindy started to use her tears and tell
the lie about how mean Doug had been to her. Cindy made a mistake this
time - instead of saying Doug had called her stupid she said idiot.
Helen caught it and remembered how many times Cindy said she will never
forget those words Doug had said. Helen got mad when she became aware
of the lie. She wanted to give Cindy some more rope to hang herself so
she used one of Cindy's own tricks against her - deception.
'This is perfect,' Helen thought, 'I can use my anger against her.'
Trying to sound mad at Doug and at the same time comforting to Cindy,
she said, "I know, I am so mad at him for saying that and also about
how you could only be a stripper. That's why we're teaching him this
lesson. I want him to pay for saying that!"
Cindy was not thinking about making that first mistake in her lie. She
was concentrating on getting Helen to be more like her, to be the
superior woman that all women were. She did not see the trap and walked
right into it.
She agreed and then, out of the blue, Helen furiously called her a
cunt. She tore into her about lying about what happened. Cindy needed
to think on her feet and dance around this one. She was confident that
she would be able to pull it off. She went for the nuclear option, the
last resort, and lied about Doug hitting on her.
Helen did not believe it for one second. It made her hate herself for
hearing Cindy lie reminded her that she had never given Doug the
benefit of the doubt. If she was not feeling so bad about being what
she has became, she would have been laughing in Cindy's face. 'Cindy
actually believes that I would think Doug, the man who takes pride in
his loyalty, integrity and keeping his word would ever cheat on me,'
she thought.
Then it registered with Helen why Cindy was under that assumption.
Helen had believed all the other lies about Doug that had been told to
her, why would this be any different? She speculated why it is
different now. She did not figure out it was because her illusions of
the last 2 weeks were shattered.
Cindy took the look of disbelief on Helen's face as a sign she was
buying it. Cindy knew that once you build distrust between two people
it was easy to make them see the worse in the other. She apologized for
not being truthful but did not want to hurt Helen. She then saw this as
her chance to give Helen her manifesto on Female Superiority.
Helen was appalled at hearing Cindy spew her dogma on the genders,
explaining that women were allowed to lie, cheat and steal to get what
they want for they were better than men. That deception against men and
the women who live accepting the patriarchal system is fine. They
denied the truth so they did not deserve to be treated with respect.
Cindy rambled on and Helen saw how much of a hypocrite she had been to
Doug.
The only good that came from Cindy's propaganda was Helen started to
see why she had believed in what she was doing; she had allowed Cindy
to cloud her judgment and breakdown the communication between her
husband and herself. The hope she had that it was not damaged beyond
repair was small.
Cindy was still giving her sermon, when Helen got up to leave, She had
had enough and knew that she was not staying. Cindy asked her where she
thought she was going and Helen said, "Anywhere that you are not, you
crazy bitch!"
Cindy had not seen this revolt coming and was upset that Helen had
broken one of the rules, she had just given: Never degrade another
superior woman. To Cindy, that only meant one thing - Helen was not
superior yet, she still followed men. That meant she had to take
drastic measures and was going to. Cindy slapped Helen to show her who
was in charge.
That was the biggest mistake Cindy made that night. Being slapped
brought back to Helen her wanting to slap Doug. To think that she even
would want to do so enraged Helen, and the instigator was right in
front of her.
Cindy's slap was to sting in order to reset the pecking order; Helen's
was to draw blood. She slapped Cindy so hard she did draw some blood.
Right after Cindy recovered from what happened, she cowered in fear and
started to grovel for mercy.
Helen had mixed emotions about what she had just done. She knew she had
been hit first but still did not like that she had resorted to
violence, that was not her nature. She was finding out that too much of
what she had been doing in life for a while was against her nature. She
did like that she was able to put Cindy in her place, even if it was
just temporary. She looked at Cindy and said, "Never contact me again,
never contact my husband again, never acknowledge that we have ever
even knew you. You will leave us alone, for we are out of your web of
deception."
Cindy lied to herself when she mentally agreed to the terms which Helen
had issued. She told herself that they were not worth her time anyway,
she had many other friends. The truth was that she agreed for she knew
that they had realized what she really was and they were repulsed by
her.
********
Meanwhile, whilst Helen was away Doug went on to removing the acrylic
nails. He was so happy that they would be gone. They did look pretty
but made everything so hard to do. He was getting better at typing with
them but still they needed to go. As he wrapped the aluminum foil
around the acetone soaked cotton balls on his fingernails, he thought
about how much he liked pretty stuff now. In fact, he always did but
had never admitted it to himself before.
After he had all of his fingers wrapped, he order a pizza from
Domino's, the only delivery place still open. He also got some hot
wings. He knew he was going to binge eat, but did not care. He had not
had any fatty foods in fourteen days and he wants to indulge himself,
plus he was going to work out the next day. He would keep that up, for
he was feeling fitter as each day passed by.
He did utter 'Motherfucker' when he realized that he did not have his
wallet. "No big deal" he thought, he would just take the money out of
the pink woman's wallet that was in the purse he had been ordered to
use. He calmly thought that he would have to find out where his wallet
was.
The pizza arrived and he still had the foil on his fingertips but that
was no big deal to him either. He paid the delivery man and told him to
keep the change. He then took the foils and rest of the nails off. He
washed his hands thoroughly to get the acetone off of them, then sat
down and ate.
*********
As Doug was finishing eating his feast, Helen came home. She saw that
the dining room light was on so she went in there to tell Doug why the
past two weeks had happened. He looked up when she walked in and was
happy to see she looked better. She did look antsy, but that was not
his concern. She greeted him pensively with a "Hi." He return the
greeting in a cordial manner and returned to the last couple of bites
of pizza. She waited for him to say something and finally cautiously
said, "I'm back."
"I noticed," Doug replied, looking up at her. "Where's my wallet?"
Helen could not grasp that Doug was so uncaring about where she went
and was only concerned about his wallet. It hurt her and she said, "I
leave here upset and all you have to say is 'hi and where's your
wallet?' You said we have to talk."
Doug looked at her and mistook her trying to comprehend his attitude
for her needling him for a fight. He was not going to take the bait, he
would not stoop to her level. In an almost bureaucratic manner he
responded, "Yes, that's all I have to say. I need my wallet for when I
go out, I am not using that purse. I know we have to talk but I do not
wish to until tomorrow morning. We could have talked tonight but you
put whatever you had to do in front of us needing to talk. I know your
priorities."
"I had to see Cindy, it was important," Helen replied. "It was about
what happened with us tonight."
Doug sneered upon hearing that name. Cindy had come over a couple of
times while he was Marci. He had to hid in the servants quarters but
Helen and Cindy talked loud enough walking by it to let him know that
Cindy knew what was going on and also implied that she had seen
pictures. Helen was about to tell him more, but she got cut off by him.
"I don't care where you went, I should have figured you went to talk to
her. Was it to gloat about me dancing for you? Or better yet to gloat
about how you actually made me think you still had some feeling for me
by having sex with me? Never mind those questions, I don't want to
know. I know she knows about Marci, I know you told her and all those
times you implied it. Do you think I'm stupid? Don't answer that for I
know the answer. Instead of trying to torture me more, just tell me
where is my goddamn wallet!"
"Cindy is a bitch and...." Helen said but Doug cut her off again.
"Where is my wallet? Never mind, you won't even answer that question.
You will not listen to me so I will just buy a new one. I have
everything I need from it anyways. Plus it was a present from you so I
don't really want it now." With that, he got up and left.
She begged him to wait and hear her out. He kept on walking and just
turned around to mention they would talk the next day. He promised that
he would be calmer than he was right then, and he was sorry that he
swore. Helen started to cry but he just kept on walking.
Helen pulled herself together to go up to bed. She went to go to their
bedroom but saw a nightgown and a change of clothes on the banister.
She knew better than to go into their bedroom so she went to the spare
bedroom. She cringed at seeing the sign on the door. She went to take
it down, but thought better of it. Everything she had done for a long
time had been the wrong course of action, so it was better to do
nothing.
The only reason Doug was able to fall asleep so quickly was that he was
drained from being a sissy slave. Helen could not get any sleep she was
restless and when she finally got to a restful state the alarm went
off. She looked and wondered why the hell did it go off at five AM,
before remembering it would have taken Doug a long time to get ready
for the day. 'OMG, he could hardly have rested any in the last two
weeks,' she thought. 'It's amazing that he didn't snap at me and read
me the riot act.' Then she thought, 'That's what's going to happen
today.'
Helen wanted to just go right now and pick up her things later. She did
not want to face the consequences of her actions. She knew that she had
to, however; she owed Doug that much. He deserved to be able to say his
piece to her, no matter how much it would hurt her. The worse part was
the knowledge that the pain would be coming from her own actions.
Helen got up, for she knew that she would just toss and turn waiting
for Doug to tell her how he felt about her. She turned on the light and
saw the effeminate prison she had made for her husband. It makes her
uneasy to think that she made him sleep here. She looked at the desk
and saw the journal which she made Doug keep. She never did get around
to reading it when Doug was her slave.
She picked it up and started to read it in order to try to understand
how Doug felt about what she did. She had meant to read it every day
but was always too mad to. Helen had been irritated at how Doug had not
acted exactly how she hoped and had needed to think about tweaking her
strategies on dealing with him.
She half expected to find the journal empty. She was disappointed in
herself when she saw that it was not. How could she have doubted that
her loving husband would go back on his word - could it have been
vanity because it was not working as well as she thought or was it
arrogance that he would not be able to write down how he was feeling?
Helen relearned much of what Cindy's manipulations made her forget
about her husband and also saw some new facets of his personalities.
The journal made her feel good about herself in the beginning for it
showed her how devoted and trustful her Doug was. She was proud of him
for taking it so seriously and he had actually wanted to learn whatever
lesson she thought he needed to.
The good feeling faded when she saw his love for her fade with each
passing day. He started to doubt that this was about a lesson, that he
doubted himself for ever trusting Helen. She cried when she read the
passage where he went from 'love her' to 'loved her' and asked himself
if Mistress had ever loved him. She had driven him away.
She was shocked to learn that he liked it some of the time. Before she
got to his explanation she went with what Cindy said. "He will like it,
for the attention you give him is the only attention he will get."
Then, while reading his theory, she felt stupid for thinking that Cindy
could be right about anything. She did not know how bottled up he felt
and loved the feeling of being free. She enjoyed the fact that at first
she had given it to him.
Helen actually did laugh when reading his pondering about women's
clothing. His analytical side showed so much there, saying that women's
clothes are much more fun, or they are more of an extension of her
personality while men's clothes are more about being purely functional.
If he put that much time and effort into thinking about the difference,
he needed to be freer, and just accept stuff more often. She was
shocked at him admitting he liked being pretty sometimes, but she could
comprehend his rationale behind it. It was a way for him do some
peacocking. She thought it was sweet how he talked about when she was
nice, he enjoyed serving her then for it made her happy.
Helen gushed over him for a moment thinking, 'Even at the end he was
concerned about my happiness.' Then, she crashed back to reality when
she remembered that at no time during this did she deserve to be happy,
or was she concerned about his happiness. It was a little comfort that
at least she knew once in awhile when it was happening. Like when she
stopped him from sucking on that dildo for her. It had not felt right
to her for she knew she was taking advantage of him. She tried to break
him to learn a lesson he did not need to learn, and he cared enough
that she was happy that he went along as much as he could.
Her eyes opened when she read about how freeing it was for Doug, that
he felt more in touch with his emotions, for he was able to show them.
It was nice to not feel like he had to keep a barrier between his
emotions and how he reacted. Then she shook her head in disbelief for
he became analytical in processing how to bring this over to everyday
life.
She felt dumb when she saw that he had done this to keep his word, that
she never really had any power over him. She was so wrapped up in what
Cindy had sold her, that she did not see that he knew a couple of days
in, that this was way more than what she lead him to believe. She felt
like a fool when Doug was able to predict what was coming. She got mad
that he did not end it there. 'How dare he not stand up to me when I
need a swift kick in my ass?' she thought. Her anger quickly became
internalized when she read that he did so in the limited ways he could
and still keep his word. He kept on trying to get the message across
that her 'actions would have consequences.' Did she listen? No, she
punished him for not agreeing with her. She had not even tried to
listen to the reasoning behind his message. The worst was when Doug
started to not put things past her, like wanting another man.
After reading and soaking in all the information in the journal Helen
looked at the time: Eight AM. 'Oh shit,' she thought, 'I wanted to make
Doug breakfast today, so at least the last gesture I did for him was
one of giving him something and not belittling him.' She added to this
to the list of ways she had pushed her husband away.
**********
In a rush, Helen headed towards the kitchen to start breakfast; as she
hit the door the aroma of nutmeg, vanilla and cinnamon hit her nose.
Seeing Doug already up and making French toasts stopped her in her
tracks. She loved his French toast and she could not believe how
wonderful her husband was. He knew how to get the perfect crispness to
smoothness ratio. She requested only one.
"Of what?" He asked her. She laughed and said French toast. He looked
at her and told she could make her own if she wanted some.
She was shocked for he was making French toast so how hard was it to
make one more slice? The revelation of why he said 'no' hit her when
she started to think what she action she should take to retaliate
against his disobedience. She meekly said, "I understand."
As Doug was cooking, he told her that he had drawn up something that
she should read before they talk. It was about the terms and conditions
which he wanted for them to have a discussion. They would have one
either way but her response to it would determine the topics of the
discussion.
She started to read it and agreed to the terms right away. Doug told
her to read the entire letter before agreeing to it as he did not want
her to claim afterwards that he had tricked her into agreeing to
something more than she bargained for.
That made her feel low, for she knew that he was referring to the bet,
especially how she made it for more than what she had lead him to
believe it was for. She read the letter in full.
Helen,
We will talk after you read and give your response to the terms and
conditions in this letter. If you agree, then I want to try to work on
getting back to what we had before this happened. If not, I want to
start the division of assets in the most amiable manner possible.
Feel free to ask any question you have about the terms and conditions,
and I will freely answer them. This is only for your understanding, for
these terms and conditions are non-negotiable. They are the bare
minimum of what I need from you to see if you are able to be who you
used to be.
1. You will get mental health counseling. 2. You will explain why. 3.
You will destroy any and all pictures you have taken of me since the
beginning of me paying off the bet. You will tell me any and all people
you showed or shared those pictures with. I reserve the right to look
at your e-mails to see if you sent any pictures until the time you have
destroyed them. 4. You will repay $4,235 from the joint bank account
which you used for the last fourteen days. The payments will be at
$105.87 for 60 months. This loan is at 10.15% APR. There is an itemized
list attached to the letter to show how I came to this amount. The APR
is high for you have bad credit with me. 5. You will repay $700 which
was taken out of my account at your convenience at the introductory
rate of 23.99% APR. Think of it as a credit card payment, so after 6
months the APR will go up. Again, there is an itemized list attached to
the letter to show how I came to this amount. 6. While we are working
on trying to repair the damage done to our relationship, you will be
staying in the guest room which you converted to the servant quarters.
I will be staying in the other guest room we have. At a time in the
future, we will decide if we can both go back to our bedroom. 7. You
will tell all of our friends who have been affected by this all about
what has happened. You will tell the truth. You will run it past me
before you tell others. I want it to be truthful but at the same time
other people do not need to know the details. 8. Failure to comply to
any and all of these conditions leads to the immediate ending of us
working on trying to repair our relationship
This is the base I need to know that you are serious about fixing what
we have. That is, of course, if you want to. If not, please do not
waste our time with questions.
Doug
Helen had one main concern, the mental help. She felt she did not need
it and was insulted that Doug would think she did. She brought up the
issue. He asked her rhetorically if she found it normal to be so cruel
to someone. Then he started to talk about the Stanford Prison
Experiment. She knew full well what he was talking about, so she
stopped him and agreed. He then informed her that he would also be
getting mental help, and if any or both of the counselors suggest
couple therapy then they would be getting that also. She agreed.
They talked a little more about the agreement and he quieted any
concerns Helen had. She even laughed over the answer of why she had to
pay for the room remodeling which he planned. His answer was simple:
pink and purple, the colors she had the room painted. He did not laugh
then went on to explain that they would settle on a different color
pattern.
Before they moved on to talk about what had happened, she brought up
what she had to tell their friends. She did not want them to know, but
understood that it was not right for them to have low opinions of Doug
because of what she had wanted him to do. While she was musing about
what to say, Doug asked her if he could give input. She happily agreed
to it; 'He can do anything he wants,' she thought.
Working together brought out the best in both of them. It brought a
smile to Doug face, knowing that Helen still had that sweet person she
was in her core; he wanted to be with that person. Moments like that
when they were on the same page was why he wanted to work on their
relationship. He knew there is a great chance for he would not find
someone with whom he meshed with as well as the old Helen.
They were able to come up with a vague statement which was truthful and
honest enough, yet did not give away any details. Most people would
accept it at face value, the others would just want more details to
spread gossip. Helen knew it was going to be hard to say for it showed
her in a bad light. She also felt it was hard to say for Doug also bore
some of the blame in what had occurred. She felt it was a little unjust
to him, but she understood that Doug saw that he had made some mistakes
which lead to her taking her actions which she then took too far. The
misunderstanding which came from a lie, could have been stopped if both
of them were more open about what they knew.
They finished coming to a mutual understanding of the terms and
conditions when Helen saw the dirty dishes from breakfast. She offered
to do them while they took a little break from talking. Doug said fine
and went to light up a Virginia Slim cigarette. Helen did not want to
see him smoke those, it was another reminder of how wrong she had been.
She offered him a Camel Light and as he took it, he smiled and thanked
her.
She put the dishes in the dishwashers and pressed the button to turn it
on. Nothing happened. She frowned again for she knew why. She had made
Doug unplug it so he could not use it as Marci. She went to ask Doug to
plug it back in but she stopped herself for it meant he would have to
move it. She just took the dishes out and did them by hand. She thought
to herself that from now on she would do all the dishes by hand to have
a consistent reminder of how she had been. She wanted to make sure she
never again did what she had done to him, and she would keep her word
on that.
As she rejoined Doug to talk about what had happened, she looked at him
with concern and said, "Of course I do." He had no idea what she was
talking about so asked her and she said, "Love you."
"Then why don't you say it?" Doug replied. She said she just did. He
said he meant all three words at once. It had hurt him that he had not
heard her say 'I love you' in a while. He was not going to admit it for
fear she might use it against him. She had been using the withholding
of those words as a weapon against him.
She tried to reassures him by responding, "You know that I do."
He could not hold in his anger anymore; she was coming over as being
nonchalant to him and he had to let some of the pent up rage come out.
"Don't tell me what I know! How should I know you love me? Is it from
how you've treated me the past two weeks? Is it from you planning the
past two weeks for months beforehand and behind my back? The worst was
how distant you became from me - you went from treating me as your
loving husband to a plaything. Every time I said 'I love you' and you
did not return it was a shot to my soul. When you would laugh at me
saying it, it made my feelings for you seem insignificant. You really
do not know the damage which was done to our relationship and how much
you have changed."
Helen did not know how to respond. Surely he knew she loved him, that
this started out because she loved him and wanted to make sure he did
not turn out like some other men. She had been trying to help him.
Helen looked Doug in his eyes and told him that she loved him. That was
why she felt so bad now, she had pushed away the man she loved and lost
him. She could not understand why Doug would even want to try to work
on their relationship after how she had treated him, he no longer loved
her and was not sure of her love for him.
Doug gave the sweetest reply to her inquiries.
He stressed that while he could not love who she was now, when she
showed a glimpse of who she used to be, he had the same feeling of love
for her as ever. He was unsure, explaining that her withholding her
love by actions and words made him feel insecure about what they had.
Lastly he was not going to throw away ten great years with the woman
who was his perfect complement over mistakes both of them had made.
He kept on saying that both of them had made mistakes, for he was wise
enough to know that if they had communicated better, this would have
never happened. If he was more open, this would not have happened. He
did not know why it happened, but had a feeling it was about Cindy
also.
Her doubts were more about herself than him. She explained that she did
not feel worthy of him giving her a second chance. His response was
that it was not him giving her a second chance, but them giving
themselves a second chance. She went on to ask about what if it did
not work out. He reassured her it was worth having the regret of trying
and failing than not to try and always have the lingering wonder linger
of 'what if'.
***********
Helen composed herself and started to try to tell Doug why she had made
him a sissy. She told the story of Cindy coming to her in tears with
that first lie and asked Doug if he knew why Cindy would do that. Doug
knew right away for those words were the reasons he got Cindy removed
from his classroom. It was Cindy calling a student stupid and only good
for being a stripper. Helen was mortified when she heard the truth.
Before moving on, Doug talked about communication. If he had explained
why he had Cindy removed, then this would not have happen. That is why
it is not all Helen's fault. That Helen should have came to him and
asked him after she heard the story from Cindy, this would not have
occurred.
Helen talked about how so many who are like Doug, in their early
thirties, have changed and thought that it might be happening to Doug.
She wanted to teach him the lesson of not mistreating women. She saw
the anger return to his face and quickly added that now she knew
better. She gave examples of his friends who had changed for the worse.
Fiends like John, who had dropped his first wife for the other woman,
who he was now going to marry, and like Walter who always degraded
women at every chance he gets.
She then went on to say that the plan seemed to develop a life of its
own; it just kept on getting more and more. She said after reading the
journal, she saw how it went from teaching him a lesson to mistreatment
of him and that she was sorry.
Doug turn white when he heard that Helen read the journal. How could
she do that? That was his personal writing. She had made him keep it
but lost the right to read it when she said his name. He felt violated,
that she had gone into his mind without his consent!
"You read what?" Doug interrupted in a high voice.
"Your journal," she repeated. Those were his thoughts, he told her.
Helen almost went back into Mistress mode, then stopped herself. He was
right, they were his thoughts and she did not have the right when she
did it. She had betrayed his trust yet again, this time without even
thinking of it.
She explained to him that even with him mad and possibly wanting to
back out of trying to repair their broken relationship, she was happy
that she did. Reading his thoughts had helped her realize what she had
done, how much she had hurt him. She hoped it would help make her a
better person, help her to be who she used to be.
She knew that he was embarrassed about liking some of it. In a
comforting voice she consoled his feelings. It was fine to like it when
it was good, for she did also. Being in control when it was positive
was good for her; it felt like they were as close as ever then. She
suggested they could learn more about the D/S lifestyle and see how
they could do it in a way that was right for both of them. If he did
not want to, that was fine, for she did not ever want to treat him how
she had again.
She also told him she found him cute when dressed and did not see him
as any less of a man for doing so. In fact, if anything she saw him as
even more of a man for he was strong enough to do it. Even dressed how
he was now she liked his legs shaven, for they were nice to touch. She
commented that his hair was nice combed back so he could keep the style
if he wanted. Lastly, she stressed that whether he wanted to dress or
not was up to him, but no matter what he needed to learn to express his
emotions better.
Helen went on to say, she now knew why he was upset with her. She read
something which she should not have and had broken his trust again. She
should have known that she had no right to read the journal, even when
he was her slave. She knew that hurt with the healing process for him.
She was sorry for that, but did not think she would have been open to
his terms on working out what they have had she not read it.
Doug calmed on hearing how those words were delivered to him. He said
he does not know if he wanted to continue with D/S or not, but he was
open to doing some research into it; he had not had time as Marci. He
also said for some reason, he felt that it would not have been the same
as if he did so as Doug. Somehow Helen understood, knowing that it
would have been the same for her if she was Mistress.
Doug told his wife that he was drained now, and needed some sleep. He
also said he hoped that he would not be as moody when he woke up. She
suggested that he slept in the master bedroom but he said no. She then
said the reason was that the other guest bedroom is not ready to be
used, adding that she would get it ready later that day after he woke
up. He agreed to that and thanked her
************
While Doug went to rest, Helen got out her laptop to look up some
information on D/S. She did not know much about the subject, but
figured that if they did go down that path she had better have as much
information as possible. This is because Doug would be trusting her and
she would not only be in charge of what was going on, but also his
mental and physical safety.
She found a cornucopia of sites and started the process of weeding them
out. Any site which had advice which sounded as though it came from
Cindy was instantly closed. If the site dealt too much with sex it she
moved on. Finally she found a site which was professionally done and
had good information about the matter.
She started to devour the information, learning about it being roles
and should be done in time periods called sessions. Play was next, the
activities done during the sessions. It should always be consensual.
There should be good communication about what will happen in a session,
and that neither party had the right to expect the other to do
something which was not agreed upon beforehand.
She found out about limits, and what was always off limits during
sessions. Even if something was agreed upon both parties, either had
the right to not do it; they could use safe words to end the session so
they can talk about what was going on, why something was not feeling
right.
She read about how intense it would be for both of them. It was
important for the Dom to do aftercare for the sub. She knew it must be
more so for Doug for he was almost always in the sub role for the last
two weeks. He must be crashing. That would explain his moodiness and
tiredness, how he had showed his anger by snapping. She would let him
sleep and not wake him until he got up on his own.
It was all making sense to her. She saw why having a sissy felt good
when it did. They both were trusting each other. She realized that if
they were ever to do that again, it would be much better for both of
them.
She shut down the computer knowing that she was going to share all this
with her husband when he woke up. She went upstairs to check on him.
She quietly opened the door and saw him sleeping. He looked so relaxed
and in a deep slumber. She knew she had time to herself so she would do
some shopping to get his favorite meal and come back to start cooking
it.
***********
On the way to the store Helen got a phone call from Janet. The call was
to check up on how Carl and Helen had got along. Hearing that question
made Helen say 'shit!' to herself. She had yet another consequence of
her actions to clean up. She thought that it would be best to do it in
person so told Janet she would swing over to see her on her way to the
store.
Janet took Helen saying she would come over as meaning that it went
great between Carl and Helen. 'Those two will make a great couple,' she
thought and now she would see Helen more often. When she was with Doug,
they would never go to the fancy restaurants which Janet had John went
to. She was a little sad for Doug, but he should not be a mere teacher
if he wanted to keep a woman like Helen.
On the way to Janet's, Helen was nervous. She was going to tell them
something which would put her in a negative light but she knew it was
the right thing to do. She knew it will be hard but if doing the right
thing was easy then everyone would do it.
**********
Doug woke up feeling refreshed, he still felt a little antsy. He took
that for Helen knowing about how he liked some of what happened while
he was a sissy slave. He was learning how to share more about his
feelings but he is not used to people knowing anything like this about
him. With this being something others would find taboo he was nervous
about how Helen will judge him although he hoped his feeling of
nervousness was uncalled for because of how Helen reacted to it.
He felt love for Helen for her reactions. It was her old self. He knew
people changed but their core should remain the same. The changes that
Helen showed were more than superficial ones. It was great to feel her
love and concern for him. It was great seeing her do the right thing.
He also knew that he has to do the right things. He needed to be more
open with her; being stoic to someone you are close to w