Toni

When I stepped out of the elevator, the wind from the open balcony doors nearly knocked me over. Fighting off the blowing curtains was a task in itself as I pushed them closed as quickly as I could. Leaning against the door and shivered. The doors must have been open all night as cold as it was in the common area.

Pushing my messy hair away from my face, I headed for the stairs and slipped on something near the dinning room table.

"What the fu—" I glanced down in disgust. Kneeling down, I picked up the shirt I'd bought Janet as a gift a week ago. It was wet, and badly stained with food stuck to it. "What the fuck happened here?" I said aloud.

I threw the shirt back down onto the mess of dishes, broken champagne glasses and old food. With a sick feeling in my stomach, I looked towards the stairs.

Fear washed over me quickly and I thought my heart would explode.

"Toni..." I said quietly to myself. "you could just leave right now girl. You can turn around and walk right out of here." I paced for a moment. I needed to decide what to do. "Fuck this, I'm leaving. I don't even wanna know."

As I turned to leave, my phone started to ring in my hands and I nearly dropped it while trying to answer it in a hurry.

"Hello?" I whispered.

"Ms. Braxton, it's Chase, I know that you wanted me to send up room service but I thought you should know, Ms. Jackson already called for breakfast. Did you want me to send up more?"

"How long ago did she order the food?" I asked.

"It was brought up about 15 minutes ago."

I glanced towards the upstairs suddenly hearing the faint sound of Janet's laughter. "Um no Chase, she seems to have beat me to it. Thank you though."

While heading up the stairs, I did my best to be quiet but still walked as quickly as I could. The double doors to Janet's room were wide open and I could feel a cool breeze of the ocean drifting through the hallway. So I stood there for a moment and just listened.

Stepping into the bedroom cautiously, I slowly walked until Janet was just in my view. She was sitting there in an oversized sweater, wrapped in a blanket, smiling and sipping from a small tea mug. She reached out in front of her, grabbed a strawberry from her plate and bit into it savoring the flavor.

"Would you ever give it up? This "lifestyle"?" She asked making quotations with her fingers.

Dahlia's laugh echoed through the room. I glanced over the bed. The covers were all twisted, hanging off the sides of the mattress and almost touching the floor. There was no doubt in my mind that they had been together last night. I blinked away my tears and returned my focus to Janet.

"Why do you have to say it that way? You don't think that what I do is a real way of life?" Dahlia asked with raised eyebrows.

"I mean I guess but can one truly be happy, keyword there is truly, be happy with controlling everything and everyone around them at all times?"

"See that's where you're mistaken. My subs have just as much control over me as I do them." Dahlia replied.

"How is that even possible?" I studied Janet's body language and the way she looked in her direction. It was the same way used to look at me.

Dahlia continued. "People always just assume that because I'm a Dom that means all the power is in my hands."

Dahlia has never allowed me to ask any questions about her but sounded so open and willing to talk to Janet. "Think about it, I wouldn't have my sub if she didn't choose to submit to me in the first place. A true Dom is nothing without her sub. Just because I give orders and sometimes punish doesn't mean anything."

I wished I could see Dahlia's face because the look Janet gave her my knees weak. She wanted her. Dahlia spoke again.

"At times a sub will disobey me because she wants me to punish her. Who is in control in that case, me or her... and if I go too far, and she says her safe word, she ends our scene and shuts the whole thing down, in turn taking away my control and I lose my sub all at the same time. I need them more than they need me." She finally finished.

Janet was hanging on to her every word, listening attentively as she grazed the collar of her shirt.

"I guess I never thought of that way." Janet said. "Thats all very interesting but you never answered my question..."

"What was your question again?" Dahlia teased and squealed as Janet threw her half eaten strawberry in her direction. "I'm kidding. Yes, I would give it up but only for the right reason."

"And what would be the right reason?" Janet asked curiously.

"Depends..." Dahlia replied with a shrug.

"Depends on what?" Janet eyes gazed upward as Dahlia finally came into my view. Janet moved over, giving her room to join her in the chair. They snuggled up close together.

"That depends on you." She finally answered.

Janet got up rested against the balcony rails. She folded her arms across her chest and shivered. Grabbing the blanket, Dahlia joined her, wrapping the blanket around them as she held her close.

I didn't realize that I was now standing in plain sight as their conversation drew me closer to the doors.

"Listen Jan," Dahlia said. "I know that you have a lot of stuff to think about and I don't want to complicate things even more for you."

Janet slightly turned her head towards her. "It's too late for that Ryan. Last night was... amazing and I'm feeling things that I didn't know was there before."

Janet's words pierced like a sword and I clenched my chest. She was catching feelings for her. I'd almost missed the fact that she'd called her Ryan.

"I'm not asking you to choose Janet. I just want one date. I just want the chance to show you that there is more to me than just Dahlia."

Janet leaned her head back against her shoulder, closed her eyes and kissed her. I was standing at the door's threshold now. She opened her eyes and jumped startled by my presence. Dahlia seemed equally as surprised to see me.

"Toni?" Janet said. "I told you I didn't want to see you." Dahlia glanced at Janet noticing that she had put some distance between them. She seemed hurt by it.

Tears started to swell in my eyes as I glared at Dahlia. "You don't want to see me but you spend the night with her?" I snapped.

"You have some nerve! Why are you even here?" Janet replied. It was always unnerving to hear Janet raise her voice, because rarely did.

"No!" I yelled. "Why is she here!"

"Toni don't raise your voice at her." Dahlia said.

"Was I talking to you? Don't say shit to me Dahlia! You've done nothing by fuck things up since you walked into my life!"

Dahlia got in my face. "You're talking about me like I'm not even standing here. So I don't need your fucking permission to speak! Be a woman and take responsibility for your part in this Toni. Instead of playing fucking victim like you always do."

"Fuck you!" I yelled, pushing her as hard as I could. Janet quickly came and stood between us.

"Stop it! Grow up and stop acting like children, both of you!" She said holding her hands up to put space between us. She glanced at me. "Toni I want you to leave now."

"Yeah go, you're obviously not wanted here!" Dahlia snapped at me again and pointed her finger towards the door. She walked away putting distance between us again.

"Ryan, that is not helping." Janet said.

"Ryan?" I said confused. "Who the fuck is Ryan?"

"It's her name Toni." Janet answered. She looked at me as if she didn't even know me anymore. "Why did you come here?" She asked again. How could she even ask me that?

"Because baby, I wanted to talk to you. I want to work this out Janet..." I paused. "I want things back to the way they were before this bitch came in and fucked everything up."

Ryan pushed off the railing hard and walked full speed towards me. "I got your bitch!"

Janet rushed to stand in front of her. "Ryan, stop please! Look at me." She continued to look past Janet as she glared at me and I was ready for her to come at me. Janet touched her face bringing her eyes to meet hers. "Can you please calm down?"

"I'm sorry." Ryan nodded. I felt like the stranger in the room. The way Janet talked to her, the way she touched her, it was like they already shared a connection much deeper than ours.

"She's is right, we need to talk, alone."

"But Jan I-," Ryan said, tried to protest.

"I will have Preston come and pick you up." She nodded, walked over to the couch to grab her jacket and brushed passed me. I watched her every move just in case but she disappeared into the hallway.

Janet

I stood there for a moment, just looking at her standing there in front of me. As much as I love her, she'd hurt me too many times. Toni stepped in closer to me and held out her hand.

"No." I said, moving away from her. "You said you wanted to talk, so talk Toni."

She gazed at me, the hurt was very evident in her eyes. "Baby please let me make this right again. I know what I did was wrong but after last night we should be able to call it even right?"

I glared at her and shook my head. "Fuck you Toni." I said turning to walk away but she grabbed me by the arm.

"Janet please, I'm sorry. That was a stupid thing for me to say." She said.

I turned to face her again with tears in my eyes. "Why did you do this Toni? I just don't understand you. You don't want me to be with her but the first chance you got you fuck her behind my back."

"I was afraid. That's why I made that rule. I saw the way she looked at you. I was afraid if you were alone with her, she would take you from me."

I understood her concerns but to blame this all on insecurity was flying with me. "Okay, then why did you sleep with her?" I asked.

"Because I'm destructive and every time I have something good, I fuck it up. I can't give you any other answer than that." She took a seat on the edge of the bed and I just stood there gazing at her.

"Toni I don't know what to do anymore. I'm tired of these games." She was looking down at the floor. "Look at me... you really hurt me and now I don't think that I can do this with you anymore."

"J," She said, her voice cracking as she began to cry. "I'm so sorry baby, I know I messed up. I think that I may have had feelings for Dah-, Ryan, feelings that I never fully understood or got the chance to deal with."

"Are you in love with her?" I asked, afraid of her answer but not for the reason you might think.

"No, of course not." She glanced up at me. "It's you that I love. It's always been you." She stood up and approached me cautiously. "Baby I don't want to lose you. Please give me a chance to make this right again." She pleaded and pulled me into an embrace. "I will do anything."

Being in her arms was very comforting and I allowed myself to fall apart. I was so confused, didn't know what to do. I swear it was like a rollercoaster. Why should I trust her? Could I even get past all of this? What was I going to do about Ryan?

Ryan walked in and I pulled away from Toni quickly. She hesitated and then walked towards the balcony.

"Sorry to interrupt, I forgot my phone." She said brushing past me. I followed her outside.

"Ryan can we talk?"

"Nah I'm good, you guys seem to have worked things out anyway... Congratulations." She said grabbing her phone and walking past me again.

"Ryan." I said her name but she kept walking.

I glanced at Toni. "Stay here, I just need to talk to her."

I ran through the hall trying to catch up to her but m was already down stairs and walking towards the elevator.

I quickly met her there, were she kept her back to me. "Ryan, please don't ignore me."

"I can't believe that I thought last night was real." She scoffed.

"Ryan last night was real."

"I let my guard and allowed myself to be vulnerable with you." She shaking her head.

I approached her from behind, touching her arms and letting my head rest against her back. "Please don't leave like this. I don't want you to be upset with me. I care so deeply for you, you must realize that."

Ryan turned to finally face me. She looked so hurt and all I wanted to do was hold her in my arms.

"Well then leave with me." She pleaded. "Please."

I touched her face and shook my head. "You know that I can't do that. I can't just disregard my relationship. I have to figure that out before anything."

"Your relationship?" She moved my hand away from her face. "You're right... enjoy your relationship, I'll get out of you and Toni's way." She stepped the elevator and I stood there and did nothing but the watch the doors close. I really didn't want her to go.