Page 87 of Minha Dona

Chapter 32

Helena woke at dawn with a slightly sore head but, more importantly, a sense of certainty that told her that her sober self wasn’t about to contradict what her drunk self had decided.

The answer is still yes.

Caitlin was asleep next to her, curled on her side, her breathing slow and even. The pool house was quiet and the sun had just risen above the horizon.

Helena reached for her phone on the nightstand and typed a message for Juliana.

Message me when you’re awake. Something I’d like to talk to you about.

The reply came faster than she expected. Juliana was a notoriously late sleeper, but apparently not today.

I’m awake. The chickens next door woke me up.

Helena grinned to herself. A definite upside to the pool house was that it was screened from the house next door by the garden wall, whereas in the upper floor bedroom that Juliana was in she would have had direct line-of-sight to their chicken run… guests often only made the mistake of sleeping with their windows open on the first night. She typed back:

Can you meet me? The beach. Ten minutes.

Her reply was instant:

Of course, on my way.

Helena slipped out of bed, pulled on shorts and a t-shirt, and walked barefoot through the garden. The neighbourhood was silent… the main house dark, everyone else still asleep, the pool still with the inflatable unicorn forlornly marooned on one side. She took the path through the trees to the beach and emerged onto the sand as the sky was noticeably lightening moment-by-moment.

Juliana was already there, standing at the water’s edge in an oversized t-shirt and sleep shorts, her curls even wilder than usual from bed. Her arms were crossed against the early morning cool. She looked younger in the dawn light, Helena thought, less composed and more like the twenty-three-year-old she actually was.

“Morning,” Juliana said.

“Morning.” Helena stopped next to her and they stood for a moment watching the ocean from the empty beach. “How was the party?”

“Good right up until one of the guys started hitting on Mariana.” Juliana smiled. “She handled it.”

“I’m sure she did.” Helena took a few moments to get her words straight. “Caitlin asked me something last night.”

Juliana glanced at her. “What did she ask?”

“She wants to watch. You dominating me. She said she wants to understand that side of me… the side that surrenders.”

Juliana was quiet, looking at the water. Helena let her process. The waves broke gently at their feet, the cool surf washing over their toes and retreating.

“She meant it?” Helena nodded. “Tonight?” Juliana added.

“We didn’t get that far, but I thought tonight. If you’re willing, after the others have gone to bed. The pool house.”

Juliana picked up a shell from the wet sand, turning it around in her fingers. “You want me to dominate you? Properly? In front of your girlfriend?”

“The full thing. Not a show, not a demonstration. The real thing.”

“Complete surrender?”

“Complete surrender.”

Juliana put the shell down and turned to face Helena. The playfulness that was her default had receded, replaced by something much more considered. Helena had seen this version of Juliana before when she took control… she took it seriously, and understood the weight of what she was being asked.

“It feels right,” Juliana said. “Like a parting gift.”

“A parting gift?”