"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes, I've told you I will say something if I start to feel uncomfortable. Please get on with the tie."
Sandy carefully wrapped another round of jute rope around Megan's thigh, further fixing the futomomo in place. This was their first time tying together and although Sandy was a quite seasoned shibari practitioner, she was a bit nervous about getting to tie her crush. She took extra care to make sure the rope was sitting in the right place, creating restriction without being unpleasant.
"At least I hope it won't be unpleasant for her", Sandy mumbled to herself.
"I told you, I'll let you know", Megan laughed.
"So far so good. Let me just tuck away the rope ends - here you go. How do you feel?"
Megan took a few moments to take in all the new sensations. Being tied up was a new experience for her. "I don't know, I think I feel... Constricted? A bit uncomfy? No no, no need to loosen the tie, I'm not hurting!", she was quick to add upon seeing Sandy's hands fly up to the rope.
"Okay, let's do some checks. Can you wiggle your toes?" Sandy talked Megan through a few checks to make sure everything was okay and no nerve damage was silently building somewhere.
"Looks good. Would you like me to move you around a bit? You can also explore on your own if you're more comfortable with that!", Sandy added quickly. Megan just gave her a smile - gawsh, that cute smile of hers! - and placed Sandy's hands on her hip and shoulder.
Ignoring the spike of adrenalin shooting through her, Sandy carefully brought Megan into new positions. She kept close watch of Megan's eyes and talked her through any new manoeuvering she undertook. When pushing Megan's tied leg sideways, spreading her thighs, Sandy perceived a quick flash of hunger in Megan's eyes - but it was gone so fast that Sandy wasn't sure afterwards if it had even been there.
"Concentrate on what you're doing, you're getting ahead of yourself like a lovesick fool!", Sandy scoulded herself in her thoughts. Some of it must have shown on her face, because Megan started to chuckle.
"Are you okay?", Sandy asked again.
"Yeah, all good. But you look like the teacher caught you cheating on a test!"
"What? No! I am just concentrating!"
"Yep. Totally. That's why you're blushing. Come on, let me in on it. What were you thinking about?"
"Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. How do I get out of this one. She's observant as ever. Quick, think!" Sandy's brain went into overdrive.
"I... Ehm... I thought about how this tie would look in a suspension! You know, futos can be tied on both legs and you can use them on the floor and in the air and...", Sandy rambled on technical details about how ties for suspension must be placed very diligently to make sure they're safe.
Megan just laughed. "Okay, so what I'm hearing is you thought about spreading my legs up in the air while I can do nothing to run away?", she teased.
"Damn. There you have it. She sees right through you. So much for hiding your crush." Sandy's face was burning red by now and she knew she couldn't talk herself out of this one. She decided to roll with it. "There goes nothing..."
"Caught me. Well, what do YOU think about this?" she shot back with a grin, locking her eyes to Megan's.
Now it was Megan's turn to turn bright red. "Ehm, I think my little toe is starting to feel a bit numb, can you get me out of the futo please?"
Sandy was back to concentrating on her tying partner immediately, loosening the rope and making sure to check in with Megan constantly. With the rope off her leg, she offered to Megan: "Would you like me to massage your foot a bit?" Megan nodded, still a bit blushing.
"You don't have to agree just because I offer. If you're not comfortable telling me No, we should not be tying together."
"It's all good, don't worry. I will be very clear if I don't like something. But right now, a bit of pampering would be nice", Megan laughed, getting back to her usual cheekyness. They both sat down on the couch and Megan put her leg on Sandy's thighs, inviting her to start massaging. Sandy warmed up her hands a bit, then carefully went to work on Megan's leg and foot.
"This feels sooo nice", Megan purred while laying back on the sofa.
"Yeah, aftercare is an important part of tying together. Making sure we are okay and easing back into reality together. After some ties, your head really isn't in the day-to-day anymore...", Sandy explained.
"I could totally get used to this. Are you offering a massage to all of your rope partners?", Megans asked with a glint of seriousness in her eyes.
"Well yes, aftercare is part of the deal, as I just explained", Sandy laughed. Upon seeing a glimmer of what could be disappointment in Megan's eyes, she quickly added "But I don't tie with just anyone either!" Megan's eyes lit up again.
"Well, I certainly hope I'll make the cut", Megan said in earnest, before cracking a grin and hopping off the couch. "And I also hope your aftercare program includes some ice cream. I could kill for some cookie and cream now. You're coming?"
As if she had to ask.