A Weekend in Parts - Sunday

So on Sunday we were much better rested and I think in good spirits. I believe we rectified the mistake of leaving him unsatisfied with more sex. Sex and messing about in the van just makes me want to laugh and laugh. I can't do it without thinking "If the van is a-rockin'..."

So we had a slow start to the morning and eventually got into the house and cleaned up and sorted and the plan was to make this roast meal. Luckily, R has two ovens so we started the potatoes in one, which had to be at one temperature, and did the beef in the other which needed to be at another. At this point I texted Ms.Woo because I'd had these sublime roast potatoes at her place last week and I thought nothing could be better than replicating them. Although ours came out close, they still weren't as good! The beef was under way and the next step was Yorkshire puddings. We had bought a Yorkshire pudding pan at Tesco and I'd looked up various recipes. We settled on the Jamie Oliver proportions and gave it a go.

What can I say? I love making Yorkshire pudding!! It's like kitchen chemistry live! The trick is to heat the oil in the pan in advance of adding the batter, then it cooks and grows up the sides into the all familiar shape. They came out perfect! I was so so so excited.

Heathrow and I wanted to do the roast for R because R is so kind and generous with his house. It really is a special friendship that the two of them have and I think they're both lucky in that. So we made R stay out of the kitchen while we got everything ready and set up the dining table. Eventually it was all prepared and we sat down for a lovely and filling meal. Heathrow cleaned up and I chatted with R and eventually there was about thirty minutes to go before we were all taking off for the Peer Rope event.

I ran upstairs and did a quick wash and put on my gym kit under my jeans and a top and Heathrow was knocking on the door telling me we had to go. We were bringing A as well who had arrived while I was upstairs so we all jumped into R's car and off we went. It took about an hour and a half or so to get there and we were about twenty minutes early and the door opened about thirty minutes late which was a shame. The car park was full of cars and people waiting but the weather was cold so everyone stayed in their cars mostly.

Eventually we got in to what was a completely different sort of space. This one was fairly large with distinct rooms and areas. Heathrow and I ended up putting our stuff with some people he knew in a corner by the stage in the main room. I recognized some people from IC and tried to spot others. As Heathrow is one of the better ropers, and it's his main motivation for attending such things, he was keen to get started and asked if I wanted to tie.

Like it was a question. We discussed briefly what sort of tie it would be. I asked him how compliant he wanted me to be- as in a tie the bottom can either be completely compliant or they can be combative and I have seen Heathrow do both, though we haven't pursued too much towards the combative scale. He said he desired about a medium level and off we went.

He started with his standard chest harness with arms folded behind back which is a foundation tie for any number of ties after. I noted that he was making it particularly tight. Tighter than he had probably ever made it before. Not that I minded really, because I like challenging situations. He was also answering questions from some observers, and some people had just asked if they could watch, which was all fine as it's sort of the point of this particular event- rope learning and teaching and trying. Like I said, Heathrow is probably one of the best there, so he draws attention (even if he doesn't notice it). Once that was complete he asked me which was my stronger arm and proceeded to attach a lead to the opposite side. Then we got onto the main floor which was made of wood and I realized too late that my feet in socks had zero traction on the floor. So we had a bit of a play with him pulling me along and around while I tried to resist, but I kept sliding- all the tension being on and through the harness.

After some of that he went back to his kit bag and grabbed his suspension gear which is a strap that goes around the suspension rig with a series of carabiner clips attached to a larger clip on the strap. I knew I had asked for a suspension but I was suddenly very nervous. Not only because I was still concerned that I couldn't actually do it (or the rope wouldn't hold me or it would be too painful, or what have you) but also it was in front of a huge number of people who were all watching. He maintained close contact to me, and was observing me carefully. "Are you nervous?" he asked. And I said that I was. "You said you wanted to do it." he said and I agreed that I did. And that was all that was said in regards to it. But I knew that he was looking out for me and even though I was still nervous, I trusted him completely.

Under the rig, he connected the side tie up to one of the carabiners and started additional bands on my thigh and leg on my left leg. When that was complete he tensioned the harness and pulled my leg up through a second carabiner. See, that's the way the rope works. Once you are attached, it's all like a pulley. The rope pulls and the body follows. So now I was balanced on one leg, with one leg up and he let me get a bit comfortable with that and was constantly interacting with me the whole time, then he started tying my other leg and I could see these thin ropes connecting my body to these metal clips and I suddenly had this fear that it just wasn't going to work. I think I said something about how I didn't see how these little ropes were going to hold me which I think was slightly cheeky. And he checked in with me and made sure that I understood that I needed to communicate clearly with him if anything at all felt funny or bad. I said I would, and I completely understood and just like that he pulled the last bit of rope through the carabiner and my foot flew off the ground and my body twisted and fell into position. Because I was connected from my arm (like the picture above actually, which was the first one I sent him), as my foot came up, my body rolled and I think I squeaked out an "Oh shit!!" as it all fell into place. Once the body is up, the individual connection points are tensioned and positioned to place the body in the final tie.

It's an experience to be suspended. It's not like normal bondage where you still have control or leverage. You have nothing in the air. I could arch and extend my body within the confines of the stretch of the rope, but that was all. And then there's the swinging and spinning. Not that it happens quickly (well, it can if you're pulled or pushed) but it's the loss of solidity of the ground. It was really amazing. And what made it particularly special for me is that it was with Heathrow, and we have this connection and thing between us. It wasn't just anyone- it wasn't just 'doing it' and for me that raised the mental level of the experience. I don't think it would have been the same with anyone else. I'm so glad that we did it- that he shared that with me, that I asked for it. It was amazing.

And it didn't end there. After probably five minutes or so suspended I started to feel the ever so slight tingle in my arm which meant it was slowly restricting the blood flow. Given what happened with the photographer, I was not going to make the mistake again of not saying anything, and I'd promised I would. So I told Heathrow that I figured I had a minute left before we'd start to have to undo it and that's basically what happened. He started to bring me down, first with one leg to regain balance and take pressure off, and then each of the tie points was released. The rope on the rest of my body was undone until it was just the harness and he dragged me back out onto the main floor (still slipping in my socks) and we tussled and flew about as he undid the harness piece by piece. I remember laughing and that he was trying to tickle me and spinning about and ducking down to the floor and him pinning me. At the end, only my hands were tied behind my back and he connected that to a loop around my neck which made me arch back and we slowly calmed things down and breathed together and centered and then somehow with a twist and a flick the rope just fell off.

It was amazing.

And a number of people came up to me to tell me that it looked amazing- though I take zero credit for that. It's Heathrow. He's that good. Though I think... the fact that we do connect, and have a level of intimacy to our engagement adds to the scene. I watched him later, tie another girl, and I noticed it wasn't the same as how he is with me. And I've seen him tie R which is completely different to how it is with me. And that's fine. I don't mind that he ties other people. It's a joy to watch as much as it is to participate. And it doesn't make me feel weird or insecure- I mean, that's what he did before we met, so that's just part of who he is.

I got asked to be tied by another very good rope top soon after and ended up with a fetching blue karada (my arms were free) with Celtic knots which matched my clothes which was cool. And later that got added to and I was tied down to a chair for a bit while watching a different suspension taking place.

Later than that, I was used as a demo bunny while Heathrow was teaching two different people the ways of his initial harness and that was fun as well. M, who was tying me, also tried a couple of other quick ties. And then it was time to go back! It was all rather quick actually. R drove us back and A, who had driven down with us, drove back with his partner A2, to R's and we hung out there for a bit once we all got back snacking on chocolate and tea.

Exhausted again, Heathrow and I made to go back to the van and A and A2 left around the same time. It was our last night and Heathrow had work in the morning. There had been some discussion of the best way to get me to the train in the morning after peak time- R had offered to drive me, but I didn't want to put him out in any way. Heathrow said he'd drop me on his way to work. We had our last night together and this time I made sure that he got to come because I wanted to make sure he got to sleep. Which he did, though I don't think I slept very well.

The morning came too soon with a loud alarm and we cuddled and snuggled and messed around a little bit before we got ourselves sorted and on the road. He dropped me at the station, I got the train no problem and was home in not too long where I checked my email and then proceeded to completely crash for five hours before heading out to meet some friends for dinner.

It was a really good weekend.

In some ways it's strange to me to spend that much time with someone- in relatively close proximity and not get bored or annoyed or bothered. It was extremely comfortable mixed with lots of fun. And not just the sex and fooling around or even the rope. But the Thai meal, the cooking the roast and the Yorkshire puddings- all of it was just extremely pleasant and comfortable and nice and also fun and exciting and thrilling at the same time.

But again I don't know when we're meeting up again. And I know we aren't dating. So it's a little bit confusing. It's not a problem yet- this lack of knowing, though it's hard for me because it is not at all my normal way of doing things. I guess it just speaks to how comfortable I feel about Heathrow and with Heathrow, that this lack of decision and planning doesn't really bother me. I guarantee that with any of my past interests, this very thing would have put me into a complete tizzy. So we'll see what happens I guess. I know what happens for me is that when someone interests me in this way, I am not interested in other people. It doesn't matter if we're dating or not because it's all about how I feel. On the plus side, when I thought about Mr.Aloof yesterday, I was pleased to note that there wasn't anything I felt I missed from him. My attention and interests are refocused. This is no small thing, and it is a good thing. I don't know what's going to happen in the future, but I'm pretty happy with the now.