[sarahsarah]

Chapter 9 – Dream or Reality

The sunlight falling over my face caused me to awake the next morning. I groaned as I nuzzled delicately into the soft skin under my head. I deeply breathed in Mia’s scent and sighed contentedly. I could tell by her measured breathing that she was still asleep; I didn’t mind as I was more than happy to just lay in the protective circle of her arms, the arms I couldn’t believe I had missed so much.

Eventually, she began to stir and I opened my eyes to smile up into her sleepy sapphire eyes. She returned the smile and planted a soft kiss on my forehead. “Good morning,” I said happily.
“Good morning Lien. How are you feeling today?” Mia asked me and I could see that she was trying to judge my mood before I even answered.
“I’m great Mistress. I don’t think I’ve ever slept better,” I answered with complete honesty.
“That’s good,” she said before lowering her lips to mine in a soft kiss.

After the kiss, I lay my head back onto her shoulder and took a look over the room. I felt my eyes widen as I took in the peach coloured walls and ornate furniture. I had almost forgotten that she had taken me into her bedroom the night before. I bit my lips tensely, trying to decide how to ask what I needed desperately to know. I eventually gave up attempting to beat around the bush to find a polite phrase so bluntly asked, “Why did you bring me in here? I thought you said that you didn’t bring slaves into your bedroom.”

Mia shifted slightly so I could easily meet her eyes. “That’s easy Lien. You’re special to me and I needed you to know that.” I could feel the honesty in her words and they wrapped me in warmth as my heart purred. I smiled brightly. She returned my smile for a moment before her eyes locked onto the collar around my neck. She reached out her hand and gently fingered the leather band that marked me as hers. “While you wear this, you belong to me, but you are also my lover. That means that when you are good, you will share my bed. Do you understand?”

I nodded, “I think so,” I said as I tried to think through the meaning behind her words. “Does that mean that when you have to punish me, I won’t get to sleep with you?”
She chuckled lightly. “It depends how badly you have behaved. However, when you misbehave, you will not sleep in this bed. Whether I choose to share the other bed with you, or leave you chained to it to sleep alone, will depend entirely on you my pet.”
“Oh,” I thought it over, “I wouldn’t like that.”

She smirked. “That’s what would make it an effective punishment Lien.” I didn’t really have an answer to that as I knew she was completely right. After a moment she laughed and pulled me into her arms. I let myself melt into her embrace again as we just held each other for a long time, each lost in our own thoughts. Eventually Mia broke the blissful silence. “What time do you need to leave?”

“I need to be gone by 10 Mistress. I need to go home to shower and change before I meet my manager.” I sighed and sat up.
Mia turned to look at her alarm clock next to the bed. “That gives us nearly an hour. Would you like to eat before you leave Lien?”
I turned back to her with a mischievous grin, “Only if it’s you Mistress.”
Mia let out a choked laugh. “You’re awful,” she replied and I could see the desire filling her eyes when they met mine.
I shrugged, “I know, but you love it Mistress.”
Her eyes turned serious for a second. “You can call me by my name when we’re in this bed, even with the collar on.”
I sobered immediately. “Thank you Mia,” I said as I closed the distance between us.

Just before my lips met hers, she stopped me with a hand on my collar. “You do still need to obey me though.”
“I know,” I whispered, “So may I kiss you now?” Mia didn’t even bother with an answer and simply fused her lips with mine in a heated kiss. We spent the next 45 minutes simply devouring every single inch of one another.

After I hurriedly dressed, I met Mia in the hallway. I shuffled my feet slowly, trying to delay the inevitability of leaving the safety that I felt within her house. She noticed this and pulled me into her arms; I gratefully returned the hug. “I’ll make sure to call you later Lien,” she spoke softly when she pulled back.

“Thank you,” I said smiling. She leaned down and planted a light kiss on me. The tenderness of her lips sliding softly against mine made my head spin and I didn’t notice her unbuckling the collar as we kissed. When she eventually pulled away from me, the leather slid from my skin as well causing me to shudder. I suddenly felt heavier as my everyday worries and stress seemed to filter back into my mind for the first time in over a day.

I took a deep breath and met Mia’s eyes. “I had a really nice time,” I said awkwardly.
She smiled at me. “I did too, Lien. I hope your meeting goes well.”
“Thanks. I... umm... I guess I’ll see you later then.” I shifted anxiously as I wasn’t certain how to act in this moment.
Mia notices and understood my awkwardness and she closed the distance between us again to place a chaste kiss on my lips, before nudging me towards the door. “Be safe Lien. I will call you tonight!”

The second our lips met I relaxed. I offered one last thank you before walking out the door and getting into my car. Seeing her standing in the doorway watching me, I smiled and waved. She waved back and I put the car into gear before driving home. The entire time I drove home, showered and changed, I let myself thing about Mia and the amazing time we had spent together.

I still couldn’t believe everything had happened in such a short amount of time, and how willingly I had responded to it. However, I decided to just go with it and I’d finally found something outside of my attempted music career that made me truly happy, maybe for the first time since the time in the sorority, and certainly since my parent’s divorce. It was a terrifying though and especially given how everything could go wrong. I knew what Mia was capable of, even if she didn’t seem like that now. It could always come crashing back to the forefront and then what would I do.

I tried not to let myself dwell on it and I decided that I just needed to let things happen, and not try to over analyse everything, causing myself to freak out and run away. I was done running. After I got out of the shower, I checked my phone for the first time since Saturday evening. I had a few texts from Danny, my ex boyfriend and still friend, asking to hang out. After we broke up, it took a few months, but we did eventually become good friends. After I’d left the sorority he was the person who helped me to land somewhat on my feet and was nearly always there for me. He was probably the only real friend I had in California. I shot a quick message to apologise for not answering, and to let him know I had a hell of a lot to tell him about my crazy weekend.

My phone buzzed a minute later and I picked it up to check. ‘Glad you aren’t dead. Dinner tonight? You can tell me all about it!’
I sent him a message telling him I’d get the pizza and be at his by seven. While I was waiting for his response, a message came in from an unknown number. I quickly opened it and read it to myself... ‘Hey, it’s Mia. I swiped your number off your phone yesterday while you were tied up with other things I just wanted to make sure you got my number. Call you later.’
I immediately text back with: ‘Tied up? Which time was that?
Only about 20 seconds later it buzzed again. ‘When you were suspended over the stool’
I responded: ‘Right, you were gone for quite a while.’
Mia: ‘Well, you needed to be punished.’
Me: I know I’ll talk to you later. I need to go before I’m late. Thanks again Mia.
Mia: You’re welcome.

I smiled and saved her number in my contact list. After typing the M and I, I was very tempted to type out Mistress but eventually left it at just Mia. I had to hurry after that but I did make it to the coffee shop just about on time to meet my manager. Susanne was waiting for me when I arrived. She’d gotten us a table on the patio and had already ordered her coffee. She looked up as I approached the table with a big smile.

“Super, you’re right on time Lien. I have some great news for you,” she said, getting right down to business. I always appreciated that, no need for the small talk.
“Hey Susanne, what’s up?” I asked as I took the seat next to her.
She grinned. “Well, first thing this morning, I got a call from Robert Hargreaves from Ocean Records. He said that he was very happy with your work at his party on Saturday and he wants you to come in for a meeting this afternoon!”
A massive grin spread across my face. “Amazing, what time?”
“2:30”
“Awesome,” I replied as I felt the excitement build within me.

Susanne and I discussed the possibilities of what he wanted to talk to me about while we ate. It wasn’t until after out plates were cleared away that she asked the question I had been hoping to avoid throughout our meal. “So... how was the party Lien? I mean, I know you clearly did an excellent job but what was it like?”

I immediately blushed and looked away. “It, was, you know, well it was interesting,” I answered giving nothing away with my vagueness.
“Are you blushing?” I heard the surprise in her voice as I wasn’t usually the one to be embarrassed.
I cleared my throat. “You aren’t getting the juicy details, but let’s just say, I may have run into somebody I knew from my time in college and we spent the weekend together.”
She gasped. “Oh my god Lien, who was it? Was she? Did you?” She broke off, obviously unable to find the right words.

I sighed and finally met her eyes. “Look Susanne, I like you, but I’m not going into any more details right now.”
She coughed to cover her momentary lack of professionalism. “Of course Lien, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude. It’s none of my business.”
“It’s OK,” I assured her, knowing if the roles were reversed I’d have been probing for details myself.
“Thanks,” she said as she paid the bill. We chatted for a bit longer about work before parting ways.

When I got back into my car, I checked the time and saw that I had just over an hour to get to the meeting. Knowing the traffic around here I knew it would be tight. I had to head immediately over to the record label, if I wanted to have any hope of being on time. As I struggled through the traffic, I felt nerves dance down my spine. This meeting could be the most important in my life and I had no idea what I was to expect when I ended up face to face with Robert Hargreaves again. Had no idea if he knew I went home with Mia, or if he didn’t, I knew I would have a hard time not picturing the things I saw in his house and the look in those blue eyes as Mia watched me from the stage. I cursed myself as I got damp thinking over the memories that were flooding back into my mind. I plugged my phone into the car, hoping the music would calm me down. It had the desired effect and I felt steady by the time I parked my car in the underground garage before heading into the building.

The record company’s offices were on the 49th floor of a towering skyscraper downtown. I headed to the elevator and felt the butterflies stirring within my stomach. I forced myself to try and ignore them as I rode up in an overcrowded elevator. It stopped several times to let other people off before finally stopping at my destination. When we reached that floor, I squeezed out and moved over to the glass doors showing the Ocean logo. The receptionist looked up and smiled at me when I walked in.

I crossed the lobby to her and introduced myself. “Hi I’m Lien Yu. I’ve got an appointment with Robert Hargreaves in...” I looked quickly at my watch, “In 5 minutes.” I looked back to the woman and smiled lightly.
She looked down at her computer briefly before looking back to me with a smile. “Sure, if you want to take a seat, he’ll be with you shortly.”
“Thanks,” I said before moving over to the couches arranged along the wall. I surreptitiously took deep breaths to calm myself as I waited. I didn’t want my nerves to show.

I didn’t have to wait long before an overly energetic and bubbly brunette came hurrying into the lobby. She looked over towards me with a grin. “Is it Lien? Robert is ready to see you.” I smiled and stood up, moving quickly to follow her through the labyrinth of offices surrounding me before we finally stopped outside a door. She knocked quickly before sticking her head inside, “Robert, Lien is here for you.”

The enthusiastic girl gestured me inside. The office was fairly large, with a wall made entirely out of glass offering an outstanding and expansive view of the city. Robert was stood beside his desk as I entered and he had a beaming smile. “Lien, I’m so glad you could come to see me.”
“Of course, you have a fantastic office,” I stated as I crossed the room to shake his outstretched hand.
“Thank you, could I get you anything? A coffee or coke maybe?” he asked as he motioned for me to sit in one of the comfy looking chairs facing his desk.
“Hmm, sure, coffee would be great.”
He looked back to his assistant who was still hovering in the doorway. “Jenny, would you mind getting us two coffees?”
“No problem,” she chirped before heading out of the room.

Robert sat back behind his desk and smiled at me. “So, I wanted to thank you again. You really exceeded my expectations for the party. The set you delivered was astounding.”
“You’re very welcome sir. I really appreciated the opportunity,” I replied, trying desperately to read his expressions.
“Did you enjoy the party?” he asked, and my fears were immediately confirmed at the twinkle I saw in his eyes. He clearly knew that I had gone home with Mia.
I felt the blush creep up my cheeks and I swallowed hard against my desire to squirm or even run away. “I had a great time,” I replied, relieved that my voice seemed to have come out measured and calm.

He chuckled lightly. “I’m very glad.” I couldn’t tell if he wanted to say anything else about the party as Jenny was back with our coffee. “Thank you Jenny,” he told her as she left, closing the door behind her. I took a sip of the coffee and waited for him to continue. After drinking from his cup, he set it down and turned back to me. “As much as I would love to gossip about my party, I didn’t actually ask for this meeting to discuss my personal ventures. I understand that you have been working as a freelance DJ for a while now. Is my understanding correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
He nodded, expecting the answer. “What are you looking for professionally?”
I sat up a bit in my chair. “Well, actually I’d love to produce music. I really enjoy my work as a DJ but I really want to make music.”
He smiled. “Excellent. I’m glad to see that Miss Close was correct about you.”
“What did she say?” I asked, honestly curious to know how much my new mistress had said about me.

His smile widened. “She actually told me quite a lot about you when she was trying to convince me to hear your music. She told me about your time running a music group back in college and how you single-handedly produced the entire performance for the groups winning performance. She told me about your dream to move to LA to produce music. She told me that you spent 90% of your free time in college working on music demos and mixes. My curiosity was certainly peaked, so I agreed to visit the club to listen to one of your sets. Now here we are,” he finished with a gesture to indicate his office and our meeting.

“Thank you for giving me a chance,” I said, unsure exactly where this conversation was leading.
He ignored my thanks. “So, I asked you here to discuss some opportunities we have available.”
“What kinds of opportunities?” I asked, trying to contain my sudden excitement. Was this actually really happening? My nerves and emotions were suddenly shooting everywhere.

“After your performance at the party over the weekend, I would like to offer you a position with our label. I think its right up your alley. We’d like you to DJ two nights a week in Oceania, the new club we’re opening at the end of the month, and we’d like you to work with one of our struggling artists to see if you can help him revive his sound for our audiences.”

“Oh. My. God! That’s absolutely amazing!” I almost shouted, feeling my voice get higher as the excitement bubbled over within me.

Robert laughed. “So is that a yes?” I instinctively paused. I knew I needed to talk this over with my manager and make sure I didn’t get screwed over in the contract process. Robert saw my hesitation and saved me from needing to drive up my excuse to delay. “I know that you need to go over the contract with your manager. We are prepared to offer you a good salary and benefits. I believe that you will be pleased with this deal, so, assuming that your manager agrees with the fine print, are you interested?”

I let a huge smile cross my face. “Yes, of course I’m interested,” I answered honestly.
“That’s wonderful. I’ll have Jenny fax your manager the contract immediately, and unofficially, welcome to Ocean Records Lien,” he stated with a huge grin as he held out his hand again for me to shake.
I jumped to my feet, and immediately gripped his hand, may be slightly too hard. “Thank you so much Robert.”
“You’re very welcome,” he responded as I moved towards the door.

I called Susanne the second I got back in my car. She was excited and told me to come into her office so we could look over the contract together. I agreed and immediately pulled back into the hell of city traffic. I didn’t mind so much this time as I was still experiencing the phenomenal high of being offered my dream job. When I walked into Susanne’s office 45 minutes later, she was doing her happy dance around her desk. I laughed.

“I take it that it’s good then?” I asked when it became apparent that she hadn’t noticed me arrive.
She jerked to a stop and shot a grin at me. “It’s better. Once you sing this contract, you’ll certainly be able to move out of that crappy little place you call home and find something much, much better.”
“Really?” I asked in shock.
“Look for yourself,” she stated as she held out the contract to me. I momentarily forgot how to breathe when I saw the number written down under salary.
“Oh my god and holy hell. Is this serious?!” I gasped out after a minute.
“Yep, they must really have liked you,” she said with a grin.

“I guess so. Is there anything in here that I need to be concerned about?” I asked, trying to focus on the practicalities before I let the reality of my situation overwhelm me, still expecting something to be wrong.
“Nope, it’s all completely above board. All I can recommend is that you sign it. It’s what we’ve both been working towards for two years,” she said patiently. I grinned and reached for a pen.

My first thought when I walked out of my managers office was that I couldn’t wait to tell Mia my news. I pulled out my phone and called her. It rang twice before she picked it up.
“This is Mia close,” she answered professionally and almost a little distracted.
I smiled the second I heard her voice. “Hello, this is Lien Yu,” I answered, unable to keep the mocking tone out of my voice.
“Lien!” she said, and I could almost hear the smile in her voice.
“Hey, are you busy right now?” I asked, hoping I wasn’t interrupting anything important.
“No, not busy at all. What’s up?” She asked.

“Well, I know you said you’d call later, but I was wondering if you’d let me take you to a celebratory dinner?” I was bursting to tell her the news, but I managed not to blurt it out as once, and I was proud of my restraint.
“Sure, what are we celebrating?”

I bit my lip. I really wanted to see her face when I told her but I didn’t know if I’d be able to hold it in for much longer if we stayed on the phone. After only the briefest of hesitations I answered. “It’s a surprise. Can I pick you up at 7?”
She laughed, and I knew she could feel my hesitation. “Alright Lien, I’ll see you then.”
“Thanks Mia, I’ll see you later,” I answered before hanging up.

At precisely 7pm, I rang the doorbell at Mia’s house. It opened almost immediately so I knew she’d been waiting near the door for me. I felt my jaw figuratively drop at the sight of her skimpy black dress. I had to swallow hard before I could form my words. “Wow Mia, you look absolutely stunning.”

She smiled sweetly, even as her eyes hungrily took in the curves that my own red dress brought out. “So do you Lien.”
“Thanks, I made a reservation for us,” I said as we moved to the car. I played the ‘gentleman’ and opened her car door for her.
She giggled. “Are you going to tell me what we’re celebrating then?” she asked when I had gotten into the driver’s seat.
I shot her a grin as I started the ignition. “Nope, not yet.”

“Humph,” she pouted, looking out the window. I could see that she wasn’t seriously put out but I reached over to take her hand as I drove down the street. Mia looked down at our clasped hands and smiled. I gently rubbed the back of her hand with my thumb and she sighed dramatically. “Fine Lien, I guess you’re forgiven for being mysterious.”
“Thanks,” I said sarcastically, but I didn’t let go of her hand until we got to the restaurant.

I made light conversation until after we ordered and I smiled inwardly as I saw Mia’s impatience growing with every passing second. Finally after the waiter left, I settled back in my seat, letting my excitement show on my face. “So, tonight we’re celebrating, because I finally landed my dream job.”

“What, wow Lien, that’s amazing. Congratulations!” Mia exclaimed, clearly beaming.
I grinned at her. “Robert called my manager first thing this morning to set up a meeting to offer me the job. But, I have to thank you Mia as this never would have happened if you didn’t ask him to give me a chance.”
Her eyes turned somewhat serious as she met my gaze. “Lien, that isn’t true. You are incredibly talented and gifted and it was only a matter of time before it happened.”

I smiled. “Thank you anyway.” I reached across the table for her hand and she let hers fall into mine. “The last three days have probably been the best of my life and that’s all down to you Mia. Just let me thank you.”
“Alright,” she said, her eyes softening as her beautiful smile softened her features. “So tell me everything. What did he say?”

I laughed and told her everything from my meeting with my manager over lunch all the way through signing the contract. I finally ended my story saying, “Telling you was the first thing on my mind after I had signed. I’m sorry I made you wait but I wanted to see your face when I told you.”

I couldn’t read the look in her eyes when I stopped talking. It took her a minute to reply but when she did, I felt her warmth wrap around my heart again. “Thank you. I’m really glad that you called me. It really means more than you know that I was the first person you wanted to tell.”

I smiled. “You mean a lot to me Mia,” I said softly hoping that she understood all of the things I couldn’t even say to myself yet.
“You mean a lot to me too Lien,” she answered and I knew that she understood it all.

By agreement we turned the conversation to lighter topics. We were halfway through our meal when I heard the buzzing coming from my purse. I pulled it out to see that Danny was calling me. I cursed out loud having completely forgotten that I was supposed to have dinner with him.

“What’s up?” Mia asked with concern evident in her voice.
“It’s Danny. I forgot that I was supposed to have dinner with him tonight,” I explained as I tried to decide if I should answer the call or not.
“Excuse me?” Mia asked with a sharp tone that startled me enough to snap my eyes to hers and I could plainly see the jealousy in her eyes. I forgot that she knew that I’d had a previous mini relationship with him
“Danny is just a friend now,” I immediately told her, trying to calm her. Her eyes softened slightly and I hurriedly continued. The phone call could wait. “Mia, I was going to have dinner with him tonight so I could tell him about us.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I just... I can get really jealous,” she said sounding contrite.
I reached for her hand again. “I know Mia. It’s OK.” I smiled. “You don’t need to worry about Danny for two reasons. Firstly, he definitely has a preference for men now. More importantly though, I am yours.”
I bit back a smirk when I saw the possessiveness flare in her eyes. “Yes, you are.”
“And you are mine,” I said squeezing her fingers to emphasise my words.
Her eyes widened in shock before shifting to another unreadable expression. “Yes I am,” she said softly.