“Ow! Go easy, will you! I can’t breathe…!”

“Oh, don’t be a wuss! You want to look attractive for the ‘do’ tonight, don’t you?”

“Yes, but I like breathing as well…”

Ellie was complaining bitterly as Cassie pulled hard on the cords on the white corset that she was struggling to fit her into.

Finally satisfied, Cassie inspected her work. Ellie just panted, heavily.

“Satisfied?”, Ellie gasped.

“Not quite. You need to be proud and hold your head up.”

To Ellie’s amazement, Cassie then started fitting something round her neck. Also in white, it made it so she had to hold her head straight. Suddenly, Ellie heard a click behind her…

“What the hell? Have you just locked this damn thing on me? Take it off, now!”

“Come on. You look amazing. That’s what posture collars are for. They also have other uses…”

Cassie suddenly clipped a white leash onto the collar’s metal ring.

“There. Now you’re ready…”

Ellie saw red.

“You bitch!”, she cried, belting Cassie as hard as she could. Stunned, Cassie landed with a thump on the floor, blood already dripping from a split lip.

Ellie dug around in Cassie’s clutch purse and found the key to the collar. Unlocking it, she threw it at Cassie. She then stormed into the kitchen for a knife…

After some sawing, she had cut through the cords on the corset and ripped that off as well. This also got thrown at Cassie.

She then stomped into the bedroom and emerged wearing jeans and a crop top, with a leather jacket over the top. Throwing a set of keys at Cassie, who was now crying openly, she stepped over her and left the flat, slamming the door behind her as she did so…

Cassie was devastated. She’d read her girlfriend all wrong. She thought she liked that sort of thing. She looked at the clothes lying around her and sobbed uncontrollably. She then picked up the keys, realising that Ellie had left her…

The clothing had been in white because she was going to ask Ellie to marry her. She had been so sure that Ellie was the one for her. How had she got it so wrong…?

Down the road, Ellie was also crying, but she was seething as well. How the hell could Cassie have treated her like that? What the hell had she been playing at? God, she needed a drink…

Luckily enough, she hadn’t started moving her ‘stuff’ into Cassie’s yet, she had just had the keys, which she’d thrown back at Cassie as she left, so her flat was still waiting for her. She just needed a quick drink to calm herself first…

Spotting a welcome looking Micro Bar down the road, she headed in. The tall blonde behind the bar looked up.

“Sorry love, we’re booked for a private event tonight…”, she started to say, then her voice tailed off. “Oh, it’s you. Come on in, we’re almost ready.”

By sheer chance, Ellie had walked into the bar that Cassie was going to take her to…

She then saw the sign… ‘Happy Engagement, Cassie and Ellie’.

She snorted.

“Like that’s going to happen, now”, she said. “Give me a large whisky.”

Ellie proceeded to get rather drunk…

Cassie never turned up. Ellie couldn’t have cared less.

Some of their friends walked in, tried to find out what was going on, then left. The ‘event’ obviously wasn’t happening, and the mood Ellie was in she didn’t want to talk to anyone.

Before she got too maudlin, Ellie ordered a taxi and went back to her own flat, and the Micro Bar just packed everything away again, the barmaid thinking about Ellie and wondering what went wrong…

No-one saw Cassie or Ellie for days. Each stayed at home, wrapped up in their own thoughts. Cassie tried to phone Ellie, to apologise, but Ellie had blocked her number. Emails went unanswered. Eventually, they both went on with life, as usual.

The hate between them was strong; stronger, in fact, that the love before had been. Every time Cassie walked into a room where Ellie already was, Ellie would make her excuses and walk out. She even said, once that she couldn’t stand to be in the same room with her.

Ellie felt she was the one that had been wronged; after all, it was almost like Cassie had assaulted her. At the same time, Cassie felt Ellie was massively overreacting.

One night, however, she found out how Ellie had really felt that night…

She had just undressed, ready for bed, when someone came up behind her. Before she knew what was happening, she’d been pushed against the dressing table. Something was then wrapped around her waist…

The black corset was tightened. It was only when the person behind her started hauling on the cords that she realised it was at least one size too small, maybe even two…

“Stop… please…”, she said, gasping.

The person ignored her, not saying anything.

She tied off the corset, trapping Cassie in it. Then, the collar came out…

Also in black, this collar was rather special. It had an ‘over the mouth’ cover built into it.

Cassie tried to call out, but her ‘captor’ was too quick for her, and the corset clamped her mouth shut. She started humming with fear as the collar was fastened shut. Then came the click…

Ellie stepped in front of Cassie and clipped a black leash to the collar. She was dressed from head to foot in leather, a true dominatrix in every sense.

Looking down on Cassie, she said, “You seemed to have forgotten who wears the trousers in this relationship, assuming I let you keep having it. That won’t happen again, will it…?”

Cassie shook her whole upper body from side to side, as her new collar wouldn’t let her shake her head.

“Good. If you behave yourself tonight, I might unlock your collar. Anyway, I’m going to take you to a proper club to show you off…”

Cassie’s eyes went wide as Ellie towed her out of the door of the flat…