Harriet's Arrangement

Comfortable

The week before Lily's wedding, the three friends and their respective partners met for dinner. It would be the first time Tom had met George, but Harriet and Lily had managed to arrange a double date once before, so he had met Adam already. Harriet had told Tom that she had shared her story with the girls, and he'd been pleased. It was something he'd known she had needed to do for some time, but hadn't pushed her into it at all – knowing all too well that it was simply one of those things you had to be ready for. She hadn't even told him before she'd actually done the deed, unsure whether or not she would bottle at the last minute.

She and the girls had spoken more about it all over the past couple of weeks – she and Eva particularly, and those conversations focussed mostly around Harriet and Tom, as opposed to Malcolm, who Harriet still avoided naming or indeed talking about unless she absolutely had to. Having the girls know about it all made all the difference in how she felt around them: they didn't need to dig into more detail than was necessary, and Harriet was glad that Eva and Lily both seemed to share, or at least respect, that sentiment. When it came to Eva, though, the subject of Tom was another matter entirely, and it seemed to Harriet that this was something Eva circled back to every time the two of them spoke – and Harriet didn't mind at all, and was enjoying having a confident with whom she could be open about such things.

Eva had shyly admitted that she and George liked to play, but only occasionally, and that they were what she referred to as 'switches' – something Harriet had read about, and a situation in which she knew either partner could be the top or bottom. Harriet could imagine Eva as a dominatrix – traits that frequently came through in the way she handled day-to-day conversation, and the way she managed to command a room in, Harriet supposed, a rather lawyer-like way. Eva clarified, as Harriet had suspected, that this play was something that in their world stayed solely in the bedroom and was hardly ever triggered by any real world actions.

"You and Tom sound pretty hardcore," Eva had said, admiringly, "Does he seriously pull you up on stuff and follow through with actual punishments?"

Harriet had blushed a little, but it had been a phone conversation and she'd been relieved that Eva couldn't see her. "Well... yeah," Harriet had said, "It's kind of hard to explain. I mean, it doesn't literally dominate everything in our relationship – no pun intended. We can still have proper conversations if there's something bothering me – he's made that clear right from the start, says he'll never discipline me for something that's a genuine problem with our relationship."

"Discipline you," Eva had repeated, quietly, "That's kind of hot, you know."

Harriet had laughed. "Yes," she'd said, "I know."

Eva had laughed too. "So... so what does he... discipline you for?"

Harriet had squirmed a little. "He hates it if I flirt with anyone," she'd said, "And he hates it when I'm self-effacing. He doesn't like me being rude or bratty –"

"Bratty?" Eva had said, laughing, "You're the least bratty person I know."

"You'd be surprised how my behaviour changes under the gaze of someone like Tom," Harriet had said, "I've been known to feel like stamping my foot on occasion."

Eva had squealed with laughter. "Hattie!"
"God, I'm so glad we can talk about this," Harriet had said, once they'd both stopped laughing. From there the conversation segued in other directions, but it was a natural end to the topic, not an awkward one. It wasn't something she discussed quite so freely with Lily – who was much less open to less mainstream types of relationship, and although she was clearly intrigued by Harriet and Tom's relationship, was also a little uncomfortable with it.

This evening, with Adam and George, Tom had turned up the charm to maximum, and already had the two men engrossed in conversation, one hand lightly resting on Harriet's leg while she chatted to the girls. Harriet was happy, relaxed and pleased that this meeting had finally happened. Eva and George seemed to be in a good place, and Lily and Adam were about as in love as she'd ever seen them – two lovebirds ready for the wedding of their dreams in a week's time. Tom would be attending the evening reception at the wedding, and George would be bringing his and Eva's two daughters in time for the ceremony, while Eva and Harriet would be with Lily from the day before. This dinner was partly an attempt to ensure Tom knew at least one other wedding guest before the day itself.