5 Fancy Pansy

Diane jumped up on the couch to discover her hard nipples aching through the fabric of her shirt.

"It.... felt so real...". Her right hand cupped her breast but the phone's ringtone cut off any further thought.

Everything sucks by Vaultboy. She let it ring for a while to enjoy the relatable part.

Everything really sucked recently.

The name she'd raised her phone to see was none other than Josh. It was already past five o'clock which meant that the graduation ceremony was long over. She'd return on a later date to pick up her diploma.

"I could have sworn I put this on silent". A mild frown formed on her lips. She'd been on the brink of finally beating the crap out of that strange man.

But the fact that he'd not seemed mistaken when he called her MaryJane-

Could it mean she'd used an alias in the past before meeting that man? But she'd been with Josh since her second year in high school.

Had she cheated on him? Was their car accident really just that?

Diane sighed while massaging her temples. "Maybe I'm just overthinking things".

Her phone rang again. A glance at the caller ID made her gulp.

Josh.

Ignoring him while awake would be weird.

"Why did you move out? And Gwen won't tell me your new address, I just wanna talk babe!"

She could tell he'd been frowning over the phone.

"Okay.... let's meet up". The party would start around eight so she still had four hours to eat lunch and talk it out with Josh then make it there after nine.

"Finally!". He sighed. "You're not usually this distant. Just text me your location and I'll pick you up".

"Nice try, but I'll text you the location of the restaurant. Meet up by half past six". She ended the call at those words before getting ready to take a soak.

By six o'clock her stomach started grumbling for food. After some deliberation, she chose a red knee-high sleeveless dress with a little split at both sides.

Gwen always said she had a nice figure and regardless of never working out, her tummy was always as flat as a board.

The dress uncomfortably hugged her hips. Usually, she'd have worn three-quarter length cargo shorts with a baggy top while going out with Josh, but she'd planned to go directly to the party after.

There wasn't much that could be done for her straight dark hair so she just let it rest on her shoulders. With a short glance at the mirror, she put on some nude lipstick, eyeliner and mascara before leaving.

Her first impression on stepping into the restaurant google had suggested was.

'Nah, this looks expensive'.

Chandeliers and a mini fountain weren't a good sign. Would Josh think she'd chosen an overly expensive place on purpose to milk him dry?

She was about to turn and leave when a waiter walked up to her with a glass of wine. "Excuse me miss, the gentleman over there sends his greetings". His head gestures to their left and Diane managed to catch a glimpse of Josh.

He looked a bit different than usual. For starters, his hair was slicked back from what used to be its natural disheveled mess. And for the first time, she couldn't read his expression.

She gave him a small smile and nodded. "Thank you, I will be right over." He nodded before walking away towards another table.

Lazily taking the seat adjacent to him, she took a sip from her wine glass. "So sweet". She held back tears after sipping a few drops. It was ironic how she wanted to cry because Josh had ordered something that probably costs the same as her rent.

Her days of living the highlife were over.

"I know you like sweet stuff". His eyes scanned around the restaurant. "This isn't usually your style, luckily - I'd searched about the place before coming in with shorts and a shirt". He gave a boyish smile before scanning her face. "I won't want to embarrass you".

"Josh-".

A waitress appeared with her menu. "What can I get for you today?".

Diane blinked twice. "Can I have a bottle of water please?"

"Of course. Anything else?"

"No, thank you."

"We'll have two servings of fried rice with salad, three sticks of suya, two servings of grilled chicken, more of your signature wine, and the blueberry parfait for her". Josh dropped the menu. "Ohh, and two bottles of water". The waitress nodded before walking away.

Diane stared at the menu for a few seconds. Why the hell did fried rice cost that much?

Even a mere bottle of water was $30?!

The cost of everything he mentioned was equal to the cost of their signature wine.

"I'm really not hungry-". Her stomach betrayed her with a growl crying 'bring the food!'.

Josh shot a teasing brow up. "I can tell".

There was silence between them for a few more seconds before he once again broke the silence. "Are you seeing someone else?". His voice came out soft and almost hurt.

There was no way she could say tell him about those dreams.

And from the way he'd cared about her, he'd probably have proposed to her after graduation. Ending a relationship and rejecting a public proposal were two different things. The latter was more reasonable and she wished not for him to suffer any public embarrassment nor to stir up enmity between them.

"I'm not". She sighed.

"Am I not good enough for you or have you just grown bored of us?". His tone was solemn and his eyes expectant.

"No, Josh!", She shook her head vigorously. "You're perfect - In fact, you're too good for me". For some reason, her heart didn't ache as much as before. She couldn't tell him she'd lost all interest in him.

He'd become like an older brother to her over the years.

"Then what did I do wrong? Don't you like ordering me around anymore? Am I that undesirable?". There was a pain in his eyes.

Diane's face was filled with embarrassment at the thought of their past. They were a dom-sub duo and Josh was always the sub.

He let her tie him up, whip him, handcuff him, tease him and he'd even bark if she asked him to when they were alone. Although they'd been four years apart in age, he acted like the younger one in private.

In public, he was the tough, responsible son of a businessman who demanded the utmost respect.

"You're not undesirable". she sighed. "I don't want you to think that I'm ungrateful when I say this - as I promise to return every dime you spent on training me. But, I really don't have any feelings for-". She trailed off when the waitress appeared with a food trolley.

After taking her time to offload each of their orders, she silently took her to leave.

"Don't finish that sentence, it'll break my heart".