Storytime with Skye

The BDSM Club and the Childhood Best Friends with NYT bestselling author Lexi Blake

Skye Warren

Join New York Times bestselling author Skye Warren each week as she crafts a new story with one of her author guests!

About Lexi Blake:

New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband and three kids. Since starting her publishing journey in 2010, she’s sold over three million copies of her books. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance that she found success. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings.

And if you enjoy this episode, you'll love Live Love Spy by Lexi Blake.

You can find all the books here: https://www.lexiblake.net.

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Want to learn more about Skye Warren's books? Find her books at www.skyewarren.com/books.

Welcome to Story Time with Skye. I'm your host, New York Times bestselling author, Skye Waring. Every week, I tell a brand new story based on the heroes, heroines, and meet cutes that you want to see. I'm your host, Skye Waring, and thanks for tuning in to Story Time with Skye. To help me craft a hilarious, steamy, and ultimately romantic story with a guaranteed happily ever after. So pour a glass of something fun. Welcome to the story. Hello, everyone. Welcome back to story time with Sky. I'm Sky. And I have an incredible guest with me today. We're going to come up with something really fun and probably a little kinky, but we'll see how it goes. So my guest is Lexi Blake and she, I'm sure you've like never heard of her. She has not written incredibly huge, 80 some romances that you love, but if you haven't, let me tell you, she is the New York times bestselling author, Lexi Blake. Who lives in North Texas with her husband and three kiddos. Since starting her publishing journey in 2010, she's sold over 3 million copies of her books, which is a lot of millions. And she began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. I did not know that about you. It wasn't until she started writing romance that she found She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings. Hi, Lexi. Hi. How are you doing? I'm great. So both Lexi and I just got back from one of the best weekends ever. Yes. The latest and greatest final chapter of Book Bonanza. The most amazing weekend and I'm still a little loopy from it. So I think that will make this fun. It will make it fun. And we're going to tell a story today and it's going to be from scratch and it's going to be a surprise to everyone, including Is that how it is for you anyway, though? Are you, you're a panther. I generally like to know, um, like three things. I like to know where I'm beginning. I like to know where the dark moment is going to be. And then I like to know how I'm going to get out of it. But those, those other, those last two often change some somewhere in the middle. Right. Right. Best of intentions. And then, so, okay. We do have three elements for our story, but they are not those three elements. Okay. So we actually got. The hero, the heroine and like a meet cute setup type. And then we can do whatever we want within that. So I'm going to tell you one and you can tell me real quick if you've written one or not. So the heroine is a florist. Okay. I have not written a florist. No, we just watched a florist with it ends with us. I'm sure she'll be a different, a different florist. Then the hero is her childhood best friend. Okay. I've written many childhood best friend books. Nice. Sometimes we give a hero like a job or something like that, but this time it's open. He's just her childhood best friend. Okay. And then the way that they meet, like it had to be, it had to be for you. Cause so some of these are Like reader, listener suggestions and some of these are like, I pick it for the author because I want to do it with them. And so that's what I picked. They meet at a BDSM. Okay. Perfect. Are they surprised? Because I feel like we need them to be surprised. I would love for them to be surprised. To me at the, like, they did not know that this was going on in either one of their lives. They, I love that. I love that. And they can be shocked. They can both be shocked. For different reasons even. So why is she shocked? What is she doing here? Is she delivering flowers for the BDSM event? I mean, it's a possibility, but I feel like they would have worn her right. Like, but like, it could be delivering flowers to her friends, coloring ceremony, right. And maybe, but does she know, but then it wouldn't be. Okay. Here's the question. Do we want her to be a BDSM like virgin? Like she is not, she is new to the lifestyle and he is not. I own the club. I do enjoy it. The, the woman being a BDSM version. And I think I like the idea of her bringing the flowers. And the question is only how much does she know before she's there? Well, yeah, yes. Cause I mean, her friend is like, okay, it's going to be a little weird, but I think this is, you know, it's going to be a little weird, but I think you could actually make, I mean, this is huge club. This could be a great client for you. Okay. So she can even be kind of like a newer florist. So she maybe. Maybe I don't, I don't know if this is true or not, but maybe a really experienced event florist has probably seen some stuff, you know what I mean? They've dealt with like a Brian Ziller too, or, and, and so, so maybe they'd be a little bit more pro about this, but she's like, she just loves the flowers. She's here to do this maybe. And she's not as prepared with like the venues and the guests and the things like that. So she is. Okay. She's like, but it's my friend. Of course it's her friend. She's got to do it too as well. How long has it been since she saw the, uh, the hero? Do we think? I mean, if we're going for a surprise element, I feel like it's been, it's been a minute. You know what I mean? Maybe they were a high school boyfriend and, or like, like they were really close in high school. Then it went to college. I mean, we could do where it's like a friends to lovers and he hasn't told her he's a Don cause he doesn't think that she Yes. No, that would be interesting. Do you write friends to lovers? Yeah, you do. I feel like I don't because I kind of struggle with like the conflict of it. And I feel it's hard. I can tell you why I write friends to lovers. I met my husband when I was 12 years old. Okay. Okay. So, I mean, like it, it is very familiar to me. It's even, it's kind of odd for me sometimes to think about like, Rich and I have been through everything together. Like, like there's so little, a part of my life that didn't include him. So. It can be hard. You have to explain why, why they didn't get together back then. Like, why we didn't get together back then was because I was dumb. But you were also a little girl. When did you actually get together? We didn't get together until I was what we were both. Um, because we were the same age. Uh, we didn't get together until we were in college about 2 years. We were almost 21. Okay. So, yeah, there was like, like, there's, there was a reason in that case. And so my husband and I have also been together a long, long time. And so I do think it's funny. Sometimes I was 17 when I started dating. We met when I was 14. Though we weren't close at all. So that's partly why we didn't start dating. And so it is kind of funny, like you, like the whole idea of meeting someone as like a 30 or 40 year old woman and being like, yeah, let's dive in. I know. I like, and I write that, obviously I write that more often than I write friends to lovers and in some ways it's easier because you can, those conflicts are, can be immediate and right there. And this long, slow burn, I feel like I have gotten into. With some of my, the kids characters from my main series, I'm ready to get back to that. They just meet and don't know each other. Yeah. I think next gen can be really tricky like that. Next gen in particular, because also their parents weren't that bad. You never realize as an author how you lean on terrible parenting as a backstory. And all of a sudden you can't do that because we write happily ever after is not happily until the author needs a bad backstory. I know. I know. Okay. So let's try friends to lovers because I think it'd be interesting and you can do it. You know how to do it. So, uh, Then we'll see how it goes, but okay. So, so they were not only childhood best friends, but they've been best friends all the way through nonstop and he has been super Dom. He loves it completely in the lifestyle Dom, Dom, Dom, Dom, Dom. And she doesn't know. I like that. She doesn't know because it's part of, I think, why they can't be together. He hasn't told her for some reason. I think there has to be. You think that he's scared that she can't handle that part of of what he needs. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Like, she is a white picket fence. And without understanding that a lot goes on behind that white picket fence, like, like he's got right. So she, so it could be that he's a couple years older. So then maybe he does start developing sooner does start having experiences sooner figures out what he wants sooner. And she, that could hurt her feelings. So that could be like something that just made it so that, Oh, this is why we didn't just like jump together right away. I do think there needs to be some sort of like formative, like intense reason why he's like, this is, I know for sure. This is not for her. Like she could see something and be shocked and say it. And he just takes that to mean something. I want it to be a little bigger than that. Just because. I don't know. I mean, look, we just talked about leaning on bad parents. Her father was used to get a little physical with her mom, and it was terrifying to her and he doesn't he worries that she won't see the difference. Absolutely, or maybe even, or she's even said how, you know, or, or he struggles with the difference. Okay, you know what I mean? Like, like, he is doing this. Because he needs it, but maybe doesn't even feel all the way great about it because part of him has always loved her and would like to just be able to cherish her. And he's not he is not reconciling the fact that what she may be set at 16 or 17, or even 20 years old, what she said about, you know, I could never do that. I need tenderness. I need softness. He doesn't that can change in a couple of years because your perspective change your needs change. You get to the point where you can say, you know. I can, a little rough sex is not the same thing. That's, it's not abuse. It's as long as it's consensual, it's fine. Right. Did you ever read, this is like such an all direct, but I feel like you might have Laura can sell the shadow and the star. No, I don't remember that when I've read Laura can sell, but I don't remember that title. So in that one, the hero was actually abused as a child. He was rescued. And so he has a really dark view of sex in general, not just like rough sex, just sex in general. And he decides who he's going to marry. He actually wants to marry his essentially kind of like his foster sister. I mean, he's fully grown right now. He's fully grown, super hot, but like not having sex. And he wants to sort of marry his foster sister because he wants to save her from what he sees as like the ugliness of sex, have a chaste relationship. And then separately there's this girl, he like cannot help. But like fall into sex with basically they're just like tumble, tumble, tumble, tumble, tumble. And he doesn't know what to think about that at all. And it's, it's actually an adorable, adorable romance. I love it so much. And he doesn't even realize that you can almost like love someone with sex. Cause just cause he's had a really rough childhood, but I thought I love that book. And I was always struck by that just that he wanted to, he wanted to save women from sex. And he also like almost reached this point with the, with the actual heroine, who is the other girl, not the sister. Who he is like, I can't help it. And he's like, but he's like, he feels guilty. He's like, I know you must hate this, but we're going to do, but if you're going to let me, we're going to do it. So obviously that was also like. A more repressed time period, you know, there wasn't like a book or a movie available to do some things. Our hero is more aware of the fact that so it could be the heroine's father, but it even could be the heroes. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Maybe he, maybe that is what he grew up with. And he still, there's, there's a little part of him that still worries that that part will come out, especially if he. If we want to do the, the big bad Dom who doesn't love his subs and has the contract and like, he keeps it cold because he's worried if he ever runs high, he'll turn into a stat. Right, right. He's like, the only way I'm able to sort of keep control in a situation like that is the fact that it doesn't really mean much to me. But he knows if he ever touches her, it would be different. He doesn't know how because they haven't done it, but he knows it would be different. Maybe at this point, maybe she's even realized, Hey, I like him. We're super close. He's clearly sexing around. Maybe it could be us. Maybe she's sort of like floated the idea and he's turned her down. And so, okay. It feels like we're going into almost a little bit of a grumpy sunshine too, whereas he's, he's grumpy. She's like, Oh my gosh, now I understand a little more. I can do this. Hello. Right. Definitely. Like good girl, tortured, dark, bad boy. Okay. I like that. Okay. So maybe she's not even, we can even do it where she's not like, ah, shocked about the BDSM club. She knows it's a BDSM club. Okay. She's never been, if you've never been. Your eyes will widen when you walk in, no matter what books you've read. I even wonder if, like, if, like, maybe she even was, like, taken to the venue, like, to just sort of, like, because that'll happen sometimes. Oh, yeah, but to see it, like, empty. She's like, oh, I'm going to do this here. I'm going to do this here. But when you're there and you see things that you have never seen in. Regular society. I'm not even, I mean, definitely like naked bodies. That's definitely part of it, but not even only that, just like dynamics, you know, like a woman casually walking around and a guy's on a leash or something. And you're just kind of like, do I stare? Do I not stare? What's the right, what's the right thing to do? You know, so yeah, that was a from experience moment because, um, yeah, yeah. Not that late, like it's still pretty early in my writer career. I did a signing at a BDSM, what was it, convention. And I was just like, I have not seen a lot of things here. Yes. It can be a little, it can be a little surprising when you, you know, you think that you are, because I, I have done a BDSM convention too. When you think that you're like the, like, almost like I'm the baddest bitch in the room. I've written all this stuff. Oh, whoa, whoa. Exactly. Exactly. You're like, that doesn't freak me out. And then like, you see it and you're like, I wait, wait, I've only seen it on the paper with the words and that's not the same thing. And okay. So yeah, she goes, there is like, okay, this is shocking, but I gotta do a florist thing. I guess when does she actually see him? When does she actually see him? Does she set up flowers? He's supposed to help her carry the man shock. No, I almost want, I almost want her to have stayed. Because she's curious, oh, and to have him walk out on the stage and he's like, her jaw just drops. Like, like, she sees him from afar and it's like, oh, my that man. Oh, now I'm, I'm beginning to understand this whole thing. He walks out, he is, he is just working with authority and she's like, okay, I could do that. And then she looks at his face and he starts to talk. And she just goes. I don't know what his name is, and it's probably not going to be this, but Tom, like, like, can't do Tom. It was my grandma. We're not doing Tom. We're not doing Tom. It can't be. We have a better name, but like, kind of stands there completely and utterly shocked. Why is he on the stage though? Because my 1st thought would be introducing. He's going to do the coloring ceremony. Oh, he's going to like, he's going to actually like, sort of officiate. Exactly. And I think we almost view it like, like, this is like, he can even say we would have to call it like, I don't know. What's the name of our club? What's the name of our club? The name of our club, where are we in the country to, oh, my gosh, I got to get deep. I got to get deep. Well, I mean, like, if we're in, you're both, you and I are both in Texas in Texas. So, you know, what if we were in Austin? Have you had Austin? I love Austin. I mean, you might call it like, you know, you can always use like, like the ones, like my personal club sanctum, or you've got those that, that feel like. You know, hidden places, but you can also call them things like the rodeo. It's not my 1st, like, clever that some of them have very clever, kitschy, funny names. It just depends on what you want, how you want it to feel the. Is there anything about Austin, this is not about Austin where I was to say, I just like, what about like velvet change chains? How's that? That's good. I like it. It's not about Austin, but I couldn't, my brain couldn't go there. My brain was like, things about Austin are like Tex Mex. Yeah, exactly. And that wasn't that helpful to me. And barbecue. And there's like, there's like hiking. There's a college, but we don't want to call it the Longhorn. No, the Longhorn. Oh, no. What's his name? Is it Evo? Bevo, yeah, isn't that his, isn't that his name? Bevo's lair. Bevo's lair. Okay, no, no, we're gonna give him, we're gonna give him a real one. It's velvet chains. Okay, so he's gonna like, velvetly chain her, and, and so yeah, this, these other people, and he's gonna go up and officiate, and I guess, I mean, I don't know. Oh, I don't actually know how people do this. Like, are they are they dressed up? Because I really want him to be hot. You know what I mean? In this moment? I don't know. I think they would be in like, absolutely. We're all in our best bet where and we're going to I mean, what if they did it like, like a themed almost wedding? We're I don't know. We're going to have a few scenes before we get to the actual coloring. And that's the point in time where he can, when the next, when the scene starts, that's 1 of the reasons that she's still there. She wants to check and make sure everything's okay. And he's like, so you're the florist. Oh, wow. Right, right, right. So he goes up, I want him to be just like wearing leather and just like shirtless and as ripped as humanly possible. Like he wanted to look as fast as he could. This man does not eat carbs. He has never eaten a carb in his life. And she, yeah, he starts speaking. She like dies 12 times. He's like, okay, now seems, and So the question is, does he try to get her out? Like, does he try? What, what does he do? Oh, I think he would. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, she finds herself all of a sudden outside of the club. What if they do this? What if they do this? What if they actually have the full ceremony? It can be as long as it needs to be, but it's a little bit short and sweet because from the reader's perspective, because she's just busy dying, maybe he even spots her. You know what I mean? Just to add to the tension of the moment, but either way, and then they say, okay, well, everyone go off and do your scenes, your, you know, your, your scenes. And then we have some thing planned for the end. So there is still like a wrap up, but it's not the bow thing. Okay. Like maybe it's like, Oh, a primal play thing through the forest or something like that with a nice, you know, hiking from Austin and so we should be on the tourist guide. Really? I'm tourists. You know what I mean? Like, anyway, he sees her, he's like out. Out and he's telling himself he's doing it for her protection, but of course, he's doing it to protect himself because he's now seeing him for who he really is. And she's like, I have a friend here and. I was the florist and I'm allowed to be here and. You know, maybe her friend even convinced her, like, get a little band, you know, do the, do whatever is necessary so you can play. And then her friend is like, I'm not going to play. I'm just going to watch. And she's like, just, just do it. So you have the option. And so she's like, able to play. Of course. Now. Okay. She's like a lost little lamb. All the other doms are like circling and he's like, and he's like, absolutely not. You are out. Yeah, yeah. Toxic her ass out. And then she's got one way to get back in. And only one way that I see. And that is to tell them if you, it's okay. I understand. You don't want me here. I've got another club I can go to. If he thinks she's going to explore. Right, right, right, right, right. I was actually thinking, he might not even succeed in kicking her out. Because he doesn't really have the authority. I mean, kind of it's like, if he had a real good reason. But she is like the florist and a friend of the couple. And so I think she'll be like, what's up? You don't want to play with me. That's fine. That guy over there. I'm going to go play with him. She can be like lying. Like, she doesn't want to play with him. But she's just like, yeah, he asked me for my number. He asked me to play with him later and I'm going to do it. So, like, don't worry because they still have just a friendship. Like, he currently has no right to be possessive. Yeah, or even if you can even say that, like, yes, I want to say you have tried this before and you said, no, and I accepted that. So what is the point with this behavior? Yeah. Almost like. Oh, when he turned her down, he could have been like, I see you like a little sister. Yeah. And she could be like, um, rude. You don't want your little sister camping your style. Well, don't worry. I am older now and I'm going to have a good time. And he obviously is going to lose his mind. But how far is it going to go? Like, is she going to even get to chat up another guy? Is he going to like, not even allow that to happen? Is he going to be like, if you want to see something, I'll show you how it works. Oh, I think, well, what I would love, I don't know how fast we get into this. This is beginning to feel like one night, and at the end of the night they're together. Like a 1 night novella, you know, almost like, this is a short if some guy, 1 of the doms is like, okay, we're going to do, we're going to do some impact. We're going to do some spanking scene. You've never been spanked before. You're interested. Let's go get her. Or an impact placing gets her on the cross. She's turned away from him and he comes in and is like, no, the guy is like, you don't touch her. Okay, so this other Dom already tapped her for that. He was already chatting her up when this guy didn't see because he was busy, like, preparing for the ceremony and he's like, okay, like, we're gonna, you know, like, strap you up. And of course he was, this was mine. He's like, no way are you doing it? Only protective, only protective. I just have to make sure it's like, not too hard. Like, she's totally new, but then he gets into it because he can see her. He can read her body. Like, internally, he's like, she's just another sub. She's just another sub. You know how to do this. And so he's, he sees her getting into it and that's when he's like, holy shit. Like, holy shit, because, I mean, it's. It's like, it's a service thing. It's like, oh, I do this because. I I need it, but also because the other person needs it and now I can see that she needs it. Absolutely. And she can even like, he can even somebody, he can have like, we want to see or no diversion racket. We can have the, like his best friend, Dom, like do his voice. Cause she can't see him. Like, say, why do you think you need this? As he uses the, you know, flogger or whatever. And she tells him. I'm stressed all day. This is the first time I felt like, like she verbalizes to him why she feels like I need to explore this. This feels right to me. But you know how, you know how this is not a one one night thing though. I do think that's a peril of childhood or like friends to lovers because there's like less, but he's extra grumpy, right? Like he's not just a little grumpy, like especially depending on how we play like that past, that makes him feel like this is wrong or whatever. So maybe she actually. Prize out for, you know, relief really, but like also her stress, you know what I mean? like it's a it's a good cry, but it's also still crying and He who has been spanking her or flagging her and knows the rules All the rules you would you would Take her down carefully. You would give her aftercare. You would, whatever, especially for someone new. He has, he gets the emotions get too much for him and he actually just like puts it down and walks up and leads her to up to, yeah. And he, like, in a way he knows he'll be, she'll be taken care of, you know what I mean? You know, she's, she's, but he also, like, he breaks the rules. He does it wrong and it's like, just a sign of how fucked up he is him, who probably has been like, The ultimate rule follower, in fact, enforces the rules on everyone. It's just like, obviously you play the right way with the rules because it doesn't mean anything. Yes, and everybody in the club is like, well, what just happened? Yeah, because also he could have really intense scenes all the time. And he's like, cool, super cool about it. And this was like a relatively light scene. And so for him to like, lose his mind over it, they're, they're like, obviously something just happened. So, okay, they comfort her, and get her home, but obviously, I mean, no matter how much comfort she gets, she's still distraught, because this is not some random guy, this is her best friend. And maybe she's, she starts to regret a little bit, like, oh crap, like, maybe we did ruin the friendship, you know what I mean? Like, And so then what, what, who makes the first move? I think it's her because I think he's watching this feels what if she goes to him, his office and basically says, let's forget that last night ever happened. Okay, we've got, you know, we've got this, like, reunion or something coming up that we were going to go to together. Yeah, maybe it's even like a destination thing. They've always been each other's plus 1. And, you know, he's like, I don't think it's a good idea and you really want to throw this away. I'm never going to ask this of you again. My question is, does she know it was him at this point? I think so. Like, I think, because I think I would love that emotional, like pain of her watch or of her knowing he's walking away. You know what I mean? Okay. That we like mess if, if she never knows, like, what if the friend starts it, but he finishes it a little bit, you know what I mean? What if, because the thing is this guy, this random Dom doesn't actually know her. Right. So you can be kind of generic. Yeah. But then all of a sudden they were very specific questions. Right. Then he can step close and say, you know, murmur something maybe that's only for her ears about. Something that actually bothers her and she both know that they have had this big experience and she's basically telling him, like, does she go in with like bravado and say, you know, I mean, it was nice, but, and it really opened some doors for me and I thank you for that. Right? I think she has to write to kind of last to save face for her. And even for him, like, she doesn't think he's actually into early, like, not like, in a way, she, how is she going to justify that? He left in her own head. She's going to say. He was probably disgusted by spanking what he feels like is his little sister. Yeah. Like he, he didn't have a good time. That's not how guys would have a good time. And it could be interesting if he takes this, her whole, I'm never going to ask you for anything again. I like, I understand. I got what I needed to out of the experience and now it's done now in her head. That just means she's going to go find another club and keep exploring, but she's going to give him the space. But in his head, he's like, Oh, thank. She now knows it's not for her. She now knows. She's going to want him to tell her to tell him that I want her to say oh, but see I think it'd be great for her to reveal it to him when he doesn't think it's happening You know, like, they go, she actually explores like, she actually does and good for her. Because I really 1 of the things that really bothers me when I'm reading a romance is, is the, you know, the heroin just giving up all of her hopes and dreams and everything because. One man told her, no, right. Right. Right. Well, I think she, I mean, she's not as, unless it's a historical romance and that man is the king and then she should probably do that or right. Well, I think she's had sex before. So she kind of, this was totally different. So, yeah, she goes to another club and unsatisfying sex and realizes this might be the thing that is missing for me personally. Right. Right, right, right. Okay. So she's, she goes to another club or maybe just like goes to that club, maybe on a night. She's like, okay, listen, he didn't like it. Cause we have this like friendship, almost like sibling relationship, at least in his mind. I'm going to respect. The boundaries, I'm going to respect the fact that he is his club first. And let's see, the thing is, I kind of don't want to bring in another club just because. I want like the same people to be around. One of them could call him. Exactly. He doesn't play on Fridays. He's got his like rugby team on Fridays. She cheered him on plenty of times, but not every single time. And this time she's like, oh, I have a date, something. And then he's like, I love that. Right. So she goes to the club and obviously he, he gets a call from the Dom who's like, and I want the Dom to like play with him. You know what I mean? Because I want him to be like, Hey, there's something you might want to know. And, and of course the guy's been trying to play it off. Like, I don't care. I don't care about anyone. And he would not believe the sub who was here tonight. Right. He's like, they're all the same. Oh, they are all the same. Really? This one and then reveals who it is. And obviously, like, I don't know if he probably just like, then he drops his rugby and yeah, exactly. He's like, no, it's like, and, and I'm off. Right. Right. And I think there, maybe I sort of like the idea of her being of her rec, like, again, I don't want, I like what you're saying that she doesn't, she's not like, I'm going to turn away from media in general, because he said no, but I also like her acknowledging that maybe part of why she was. Able to do that scary thing in front of people and so new and all this stuff is because he was there. Yeah. Part of her knew that he would never let anything happen to her and that she trusts him and that also it's a really intimate thing and she can be intimate with them even if it wasn't like sex per se. Yeah. And so now suddenly she's faced with strangers essential and it's like, oh. Yeah. So maybe she kind of had some plans like, yeah, I'm going to do that. Maybe some more. Right. Cause why not walk in a little deeper? And she's like, Oh, maybe she's like pulling back. It's not again, it's not that she never would do it. Like if you look, we all can get into things that we think are going to be terrific. Have to have to readjust our expectations, right? She's like, I might need a little more time on this thing, but he doesn't know that he comes in all hot and bothered. And like, how dare you, you need to get out of here. And she's going to really push back and give him a hard time. Like, whoa, I am a grown woman. You were not here. So, like, it shouldn't bother you. And. And you've never, oh, what would be really nice is if he's a guy like, I like that he's taken off guard. So he's going to be a little more honest. I mean, he was off guard before too, but he's taken off guard again. And she's like, you never cared when I had sex before. And then he could actually let it spill. I cared every single fucking time. Yeah. Like I stayed up, you know, maybe they actually like are, I don't know, I don't know where they live, like. Almost like close to each other. I stayed up every night and had to watch some bastard, kiss him, kiss you, and watch him go in and leave in like 30 fucking minutes as if that could have possibly been enough to satisfy you. And just. Yeah, so he's got that little bit of little. I like the idea of him watching to make sure she's okay. And maybe he's even run off a couple of them when he found out they didn't have good intentions. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I think he'd run off whoever he could just maybe he's run off a lot of them. I just I don't know. I mean, because that's the thing. He's like, I'm not good enough for you. But also what guy is like, right? Like what guy? Is he gonna be like, I rubber stamp him for you? Yes, he's good enough. Like, no, no one is gonna be good enough, but maybe the one who he knows is like the blandest man in the world. I know the blandest world, care of her, you know? But that's still different than like theoretically he can, he can approve that, but in real life. Improving that I think so. I think he gives away a little bit that he wants to have sex with her and that leads them to she's like, I was just curious. It felt good. I wanted to try more. He's like, okay. Okay, do we maybe go into an aftercare room to have this argument like, away from and then we. We almost bang a little bit, like, oh, yeah, they were public before, so I want them in private. Now it goes to a private room, which I feel like almost maybe it should be like, she's not at the level where you can be taken into private rooms. And he's like, fuck off and they're like, okay, just let him let, you know, he gets special dispensation for being like, super dumb and they go into the room and they, yeah, they're arguing and then it turns into, like. Yeah, it sucks. Let's turn into angry sex. Yeah, I like, I like a little bit of, of, you know, we've reached this point where the tension's either going to be walk away or have sex. And he can't quite walk away. We get to the point of, you know, do I, am I supposed to not have sex for the rest of my life? So you think that no one can harm me, blah, blah. Am I supposed to be in this little, you know, or did you put me in this little glass case? I'm not a doll. I'm, I'm, you know, I'm a woman. I have my own needs. If you won't meet them, I will go find someone who will slam the door. Right later, even if she doesn't even assume like, oh, you won't meet them as much as she's like, like, I just want to try things out and he is like, none of them can satisfy you. And she's like, what does that even mean? No, man can satisfy you. And he's like, and he's like, no, he doesn't want to admit it. But it's like, ultimately, the answer is I can and he then proceeds to prove it. So. They have this sex, like, how much, how much kinkiness is in the sex? I mean, it's sort of a little bit kinky, just on the basis of the, the anger part. Where they, and where they are. I mean, we could even start with, like, you want to get spanked? I'll spank you. Like, like, she's tossing crap his way. And he's sitting there going, you know, we are still in a club and I am still a dom and you are still a sub and she's also probably dressed up maybe been like, like got a little makeover. I like the idea of him saying, you know, 1 more time. I've given you to say it 1 more time and you're going to be over my knee and there's nothing I can do about it. And then she does. And then he realizes how like unbelievably aroused she is and he can't stop himself. Right. And I also think I want this one to be like, just like a really like playful, sexy spanking versus like a cathartic, you know, moment. So they just, you know, he just spanks her and then makes her calm and then they have sex. And I think it can be like liking, like he could be like, I'm gonna tie your hands up. I'm going to do whatever, or, or just like. Hold you down or just like you follow the order of like, stay here or something like that. So it's just, they're testing it, but he is able to see how much it impacts her. Yeah. Okay. So it's the best sex he's ever had. And I think the room thing could be interesting too, just because he's had, he's probably had a million girls in this room. And to really have that direct one to one comparison, uh, It never meant anything like this. Yeah. Like, how can he walk back into that room and not see her there? Right. So the question now is why does he still pull back? Because obviously he needs to pull back. So I think he needs to give her real aftercare because otherwise he's just kind of a douche at this point. If you were to not, you know what I mean? Like, so he, Does it for real and maybe like extra good to kind of make up for it and kind of like talks her through her feelings and I think this can be a positive moment of like, especially because we just had some angry sex with like, we get to actually see what positive side their friendship has between like, they're able to really get in deep in a way she couldn't with a rainbow because, and maybe he even, she's able to guess, or he opens up a little bit about why he is so secretive about this part of his life. Right. And it can come out a little bit. I don't know how much we want it to, but I feel like you come out a little bit. And so she's like, I understand, but he's still, I guess, I think. I mean, I guess there's multiple ways we could play it. We can play it. Like, we're going to keep playing together. Because this seems to be working out for both of us and this way I can make sure that you're safe and all that are we keeping it to the club, keeping it to the club, keeping it up. You know what? I didn't get into is I actually, but you had mentioned it and it made me think of it. I think they almost like. Did they start a business together or something like they, because the thing is, if you're best friends with someone and you barely see them, it's like, how do you say best friends with, you know, like, there's got to be some place that they're like, already seeing each other all the time. So they say, we'll keep it to the club, but they're, they're already, they either start up, they either run a business together. Maybe, or he, what can he do that's in any way related to being a florist? Like. Does he own a hotel and that they're the florists or something where they would run into each other. So then it's going to happen accidentally outside the club. I feel like, again, that can just be a little bit more playful, but also raising the stakes. Like he can get her in the, um, well, it's a hotel. So what do we want? Like penthouse suite where she's just going to like put this giant thing. And he's like, they're accidentally on purpose. Like he thinks it's an accident. Of course he knows her schedule and that she would be there and he just had to see her and then they do it like he ties her to the bed that kind of thing. Yes, in the penthouse like crazy. It could be also be the kind of hotel where I mean where it's okay to be clear a very fancy hotel very upscale, but part of the mini bar in the back in a black box is the adult. So, I mean, you know, he's running these hotels. So maybe there is, maybe there is a little kink aspect to them, right? Just hospitality. You know what I mean? That's right. Well, you know, some of his friends from, you know, because in, in BDSM world, all clubs are connected and they all like. Run whatever businesses we are working on. So, you know, maybe he has friends coming in later on, or people he's doing business with, and he knows they're in the lifestyle. So he has hotels that have had those things. I don't, I don't think they, I don't think they were hotels. But I could be wrong. I also could have stumbled into a gang hotel by myself, like on business, you know, totally possible, but regardless it's there, he's able to use it and they go deeper, but now that stakes are raised more and more places are becoming ruined for him. He can't go back to the club. He can't he's it's in his own hotel. Okay. So what if it's that his dad was bad? And so maybe it was like her parents were like sort of surrogate parents a little bad, like Yeah, come over whenever we'll feed you, we've got you. And so he still does that. So for like 4th of July, whatever, like next door, but he ran to her house for comfort. Like that was, that was where his, his, his whole family idea of this beautiful family. Right. And so it's tense because what the heck. And I mean, like her dad, not knowing that he's, I mean, he doesn't mean this in this way, but her dad, like, has a long talk about, I'm worried about her. I'm this, and I know that you will protect her. You have always been there and you have all and what he's really trying to say is what is going on? Like, he's tiptoeing around this sub, this idea of get off your. Ass and marry my daughter, it's obvious you 2 are meant to be together. That's not how he's going to take it, right? I was going to do a discovery thing. However, I like your thing. I think it could be like, I want her to just settle down with a nice guy and. The dad's like, you would be great if it were you. And of course this guy's like, I'm not a nice guy. So I've got to break things off. You know what I mean? Yes. Cause he doesn't just care about her. He cares about parents and the whole family. He tries to break things off. She's like hurt. First of all, maybe like he knows the buttons to push. She's maybe not going to buy the little sister thing anymore. That shit has sailed. But what if he, but he does instead a kind of thing of like, listen, you know, my reputation. And Oh, some girls might have even warned her. Listen, he goes through subs. Like, Oh, yeah. Yeah. You should just be like, don't pin your hopes on him. Start lining up another Dom because we've had a lot of girls get their heart broken. I mean, I'm going to just say, I know that we're in this weird moment in, in romance writing where. We almost either have to be like the darkest of the dark or the lightest of the light. And there's almost nothing in between, but I, one of my favorite things is though, almost the well meaning asshole scene. Do you know what I mean? Like, like he is going to hurt her to save her. Oh yes. Like those scenes where we know, like the heroine doesn't understand, but we know he is saying these things. Because he has to irretrievably break this situation. Yes. And he tries to do it soft, but she's not going to just take that. She's like, no, I feel the intimacy. I care about you. I feel that you care about me. Like we were best friends. Now we know that the sex works. Why wouldn't we give this a shot? She's going to fight for them a little, which means that he's going to have to, he has to go for the kill. Right. And I feel like the kill is what the kill is. You're too sweet. You're, you're flowers and soft things. And, but like in a bad way, like he, he does think that, but he thinks it in a nice way, but he's going to say it like, you are just too inexperienced for me. I like to play rougher. I like a more experienced girl. I like things that, you know, are too far for you. He might even name them like, like what? Like what? I haven't tried everything. That doesn't mean I don't like it. And he could be like, have a fist. She's like, Oh, that, that does seem a little scary. And of course he doesn't. That's not how you'd introduce a thing for real. Right. He's just saying it. Now, just to, if we want to like push it, but in a way that she is verified, it's a verifiable lie that she can come back and be like, now I know what he's doing. He could say, look, I played with someone last night and I know that you can never give me what she gives me. Oh my God. I mean, no, no, it's heartbreaking, but, but here's the thing. Later on, like, this breaks her heart, she walks away, but she knows the sub he's saying he played with, who then says, what? I haven't played, he hasn't played with anyone. You know what I like, too, about this, is this opportunity to do a thing where there's a beautiful sub who's maybe like, perceived as his favorite. Again, super casual, not, he's not actually into her, but she might be like perceived as, again, like the coolest girl subbing the club. She likes him. They play together. And then she might even be the one who warns her away. Like, listen, honey, don't get your hopes up. Like he, almost like the implication can be, if you don't fall for me, it's not going to fall for anyone. And it can set it up as if like, it's going to be the woman villain, which is like so common, but then we're going to flip it. And she's I loved I love this book. This is one of my favorite things to do. Yes. Yes. And so that and so maybe she's crying and she's just like, you know, somehow ends up with you told me everything you told me and I didn't believe it. Right? Right. And she's like, and you can have if you're what he wants, then then he should, he should be with you honestly. And, um, even though I'm heartbroken, like, that's, and she's like, Uh, no, honey, he was not here. He hasn't been here when you're not here. Like, I don't think he would even come back if you never came back. Like, I think it's the club is dead to him if not for you. And, and also he was never like with me and with any girl. And this is obviously something special. I think that she. It's going to first argue. No, no, no. He said all these things. And yes. And, and our, you know, girl's girl can be like, yes. And he is scared of something. She's like, I don't know him well, but I know what a scared man looks like. I mean, she can even sort of call him on it. Like these subs, you know, they want to like blog us and we tell them our deepest, darkest fears and they give us cuddles after, but like, who's doing that to them? You know, they've got deep, dark fears at the, at the end of it. It's almost just a guy. Yeah, who has those same feelings and who sometimes and, you know, he's going to have boundaries too, but it's not considered masculine to talk about them. Right? So I think she, so maybe he's in a dark spot. Maybe he even like, almost like. Goes back to his childhood home, which he has like boarded up and never opened after his dad passed or something or goes to a place that was painful to him and his dad, but in a negative way. And it's just kind of like, because the thing is, he's not planning for his own happily ever after. He's like, she will eventually settle down with a nice guy. And maybe that guy will be with it enough to like, hold her wrist down every once in a while. Maybe not, whatever, but it's not going to be me and I'm not going to be with anyone because I'm not fit for that. I don't even serve and maybe in a way she was his last shot. If he was ever going to be disabuse himself of that notion, it was going to be with her. But the dad said the thing about protecting. He was like, no, I've got to let her go, which means that I am fully committed to a life of. Loneliness. Yeah. Sorrow and pain. And so maybe he's, you know, he has something to drink. He, he like, it's just, it's just wallowing in his own sorrow and then she comes over and she's thought about it. And she's like, well, I know he. Yeah, it seemed pretty believable, but I know he lied about saving that girl. Why would he? If anything, I don't know. She's gonna white knight rescue him. Like, she now knows what he's playing at. And she's not gonna let him pull that card. She's not gonna let this stand. So I think she's gonna go over. He's gonna be, I think he's gonna be belligerent. You know what I mean? Like, no, I already pushed you away. What, what are you doing here? I already told you I slept with someone. She's like, um, I talked to her. You're lying. And he's like, well, that doesn't mean everything else is a lie. Like, you are too innocent for me, which some of it can be the truth. So it sounds like the truth. And, but I have one more thing for the dark moment, actually. I don't know how she's going to get him to your I'm going to leave the problem solving to you, which is hilarious because you were like, I like to figure out how to get out of the problem. That's hilarious because I do not I get myself all the way in as deep as possible and then I'm like, no idea how to get out of this. Okay. So that's what I'm going to do to you and me, but we'll see how it goes. So I want I want them to have. He's at the lowest, he's at the rawest, and he can even tell her. This is why. Look at this bottle of Jim Beam. Look at who I am. I am my father's son. You, you heard the noises. From next door, you know what I am? And she's like, that's not you. And he's like, you've always wanted to believe that, but it's never been true because I'm the one inside my head. And I know that I have like these impulses and urges and things like that, and how much of him is in me. And so they have like, maybe like, in a way, like the roughest sex day with a pod, even though he's, he's maybe careful with her, they still have it rough. Right. And then he wakes up and. Sees her in the light of day. And what does she have on her wrist? She's got bruises. Yeah, she's gonna have bruises. Which, which, I mean those are badge of honor in bds.. Exactly. She would've admired them. Yeah. She might've been freaked out at first, but then someone would've told her, how do you actually feel about it, Uhhuh? And it'd been like, oh, actually I kind of liked them. It reminds me of something. And he's gonna like lose it. He's gonna lose it all the way. That's the dark. Okay. He's in a, in the worst possible place, but I, but I think the one thing I think about this is that when she went to him, she still went to him as his lover, as his lover. Romantic partner and I sort of feel like he needs his childhood friend to save him. Okay, that was it. That's all I had You say that my mind immediately goes to like i've got reference points of I tend to speak in pop culture references What you are saying is that we need that willow zander moment where? From buffy the vampire slayer where he basically keeps saying and I still love you Where, where he points out why you are not the evil that you seem to think you are. I don't deserve this. I don't deserve when we were in. When have you hit someone like, outside of a BDSM? I never have I've always been in control. I can't be in control around you. And yet you have. Yeah, I mean, it's, I mean, that could be a logical thing, like, getting out of that, she, it's almost like, I mean, like, in real life, the way to get out of that is a couple of years of therapy, but in romance world, we, we've got to find the, the, like, Logical quick way to get in there, and that is usually putting him in a tense situation where he doesn't do the thing. Like, what if she comes in and she pushes his every button. Yes, every single 1 of them. What if she comes in and she's the brat from hell? All he does all he, he manages to and she's like, I just told you. I slept with your friend. I just told you I didn't, you know, like. And never once did you raise your hand to me. Yeah. You know, for their like roughest sex moment, I wasn't sure where they were having it actually, when I said it, I was like, it almost could be as childhood home, I could be as a current apartment, but I was like, what if it's okay? What if it's his hotel? What if he, what if it's his office? Like he, she goes to him. And so it's still this sort of like manicured space where bruises would be more shocking though, as well. Like she's going to, you know, depending on what time it is, like, you know, someone who works there could see that, you know, like, like it's, it's fully bled into his life. It's not safely contained in the club. But then I, what I almost want is for her to go into the, the house, the house of evil and for him to be forced to follow her there, she's like, I'm here, I'm breaking shit. She's like, what the hell, I'm not going to go, but then I have to go. So I'm going to, just going to go get her out of there. And she's like this plate. Like this guy, your dad, I just drew a mustache on his face. Like, you know, yeah, your best friend, I slept with you. Like just every single thing. And, and, and he's like, he's, he's losing his mind, but it's. It's not even making him angry as much as it's just breaking him down because the, the problem, especially, I think, with men is they're very, very comfortable with feeling anger, right? But what she needs to make him feel is fear and sorrow, which is the, the fear, especially is what was at the core of what. He, do you see what I'm saying? Totally. No, I mean, in the house, having to look at all of this, it could break him down. And he has kept the house as a monument to fear. Really? Yeah. Otherwise he would have sold it. He would have burned it down, whatever. Like it. It's there. That might be a kind of fun thing to do. I mean, obviously can't like have it. They have to be like, not real close neighbors then, but it might be fun to burn it down at the end. Like, maybe, maybe they, um, just they just, Oh, you know what, you know what they have these days. I don't know if you've ever done this. I haven't, you know, the rage rooms. Mm hmm. It's like for anyone who doesn't know, you get, I don't know, some kind of a bat or something and you're put in a room with a bunch of stuff. There's like different options of types of stuff, even maybe, I don't know. It depends on the place. And then you just break it. You just like smack. Okay. What if she meets him there with a bat? Yeah. And he says, well, and he's like, I don't, I don't do that. I'm not going to, I'm not going to break all of this But wait, you told me that that's what you do. What you do is you break things. So I'm, I'm giving you all of this stuff to break, the stuff that broke you, but, but, oh, Big Bad Dom can't even break a plate. Because, yes, exactly. Because, why? Because then he'd be breaking the monument to fear, which he's been holding so preciously all this time. Unlocks that if he unlocks, if he gets past the rage, what's left is that awful sorrow of what could have been. And that's what, in a lot of ways, I think we try to avoid from childhood trauma. The anger feels better than this. Well, I also think, I mean, I think it goes back to him going to what he perceives as going too far with her. Is, is actually the same exact reason I have not done a rager, I'm like, I mean, okay, it's different because I'm not a dom who's like, likes to hurt little subbies, but like, I just say, oh, like, like, I have no desire to do that. But then it's kind of like, well, if you have no desire to do it, you could do it. Right. And I wouldn't want to because I would be, because I don't let my anger out. And I don't know what without even look, it's, it's like really, it's really pushed way, way, way down. And in a way, I think his is too, even though he looks all surly and he does the, like the whippings and stuff like that. He's not whipping them out of anger. He's not angry. He's not angry at that. Right. So it's a, it's almost a way in a, in a weird way to feed that part of himself that he needs to keep him away from what's under the anger, but it's all. Yeah. But it's also so different. So he knows it's different. He knows that like hitting this picture of his dad is going to feel a zillion times different than even hitting. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And, but he's, she's going to go at him to do it. He's going to do it. It's going to, like you said, he's going to do it and do it and do it until everything's in shambles because he's really strong. So, I mean, he's going to last for a while and then all that's going to be left is sorrow and, and some of that fear and, and recognizing it for what it is and recognizing that he has kept this as a, as a monument to fear and that it's now destroyed, you know, even if the house is still here. The, everything it represented has been destroyed. And so the metaphor also being, and he has to realize that it was not like his distance from her, her, her in a way that the, the fear that he was going to hit her was never going to happen. But because of that fear, the distance is what really hurt. And he's got to get rid of that. Yeah, she can even do that. So I guess if, if she comes in, if, as we sign up, we sort of said it, but then we were like, sort of changed it. We were like, Okay. She's starting with the bat, like hit the things with the bat. And so maybe it's like, once he finally like drops the bat and he is just like, he's let it all out. She goes up to him and she's hit me. And he is like horrified, right? Like every cell in his body is horrified. And she's like, you would never, you would never. And I always knew that about you, but you didn't know that about you. But she can even say, but I was a part of this because I mean, I was a part of your childhood. Do you want to destroy all of it? Yeah. It's like, no, I don't. And she's like, then you are, you know, you can take the good parts. Of your childhood, you can take all those good parts and you can move forward and leave the bad stuff here. Yeah, I wonder if it's not at all, or it's not at all, or, um, you know, you don't have to erase your entire childhood because 1 traumatic. Part of was there was 1 traumatic part of it. Yeah, I also think, like, I, what if what if she also admits to him then, you know, you think I don't look back on that with. With fear and with guilt. And he's like, what are you talking about? And she's like, I should have stayed. Yeah. She's like, I should have gone in there and I should have stood up to him and I should have defended you. And he's like, are you kidding me? You're like, you're younger than me. You're tiny. He would have just squashed you. And she's like, I should have tried. You were my best friend. And best friends, that's what best friends do. And that's when he can start to see her more as a three dimensional person, you know, because he wasn't thinking about what she felt over there. And she didn't want to burden him with that guilt before by telling him. But the fact is she felt it. And yeah, and he finally realizes how much he had had limited how he saw her because, you know, he wanted her to be this Christine thing. But now she's a person and a person who, who she loves. Okay. Does he grovel? Are we doing that? I don't think he needs to grovel in this case. I mean, I think that he's just had this overwhelming emotional experience. Yeah. I don't think that she would need him to grovel. Um, do they even get together in this moment? It seems like I think, well, okay. And this might not be, I think the super sweet thing to do would be she leads him over to the house that she grew up, that she grew up in. They sit down for dinner. He's quiet almost the whole time. And then she looks at her parents and says, I'm going to take him upstairs. Now. He has had a day. We're going to go to sleep. Yes, I don't know where they get together. She's he's like, like, we just destroyed 1 house. This is where we start again, where we started. I mean, the symbolism obviously beautiful. I literally have chills like, she leads him over by the hand. And I also love it because because of like, when I was like, it's the childhood best friend who he needs to save him. And so it's actually platonic. Like, I, I would love for them to cuddle platonically that night because you can't do that with someone you love and want to have sex with, but they've also maybe they've never done it since. They reached maturity because, right. Cause he actually wanted her, but didn't want to all that kind of stuff. Right. So maybe they do that and that he can be this soft. They like, it can be soft. Right. Right. And almost like it pains him at first, the first moment of it, you know what I mean? And then, and then realizes, no, no, no, it actually feels better than anything. And I can lie here and take it. And, you know, but I always think though. You know, even though, like you said, it's going to take years of therapy, I think he's still going to need years of therapy. Right? This is just the idea that I might be able to live with this. Exactly. This is the spark that makes him think. Okay, I can work on this. Yes. And then I think I want her to wake up and he's gone. And she thinks to herself, you know what? I might have lost the lover. But that would be worth it if I got back my friend and if I help my friend in any way. Yes. And then he does a grand gesture. So it's not a grovel. It's just like a grant. I do love a great gesture. Yeah. Which I don't know. He probably just invites her back to the club because we started at the club. And he, no, like, and he's got like, the club is all for her, everything she would want. Okay. He could even say, this is the last time I'm, I will do this as your Dom. And then we'll, you know, blah, blah, blah. And then of course at the end, he's like, but I'll do it as your husband for the rest of my life. Oh, I love it. Okay. I'm glad that you, I love, I love really, I love really sentimental. I love things that made me cry. I know that there are some of who some of my friends who'd be like, oh, do you have to make it so sickly sweet? Yes. No, absolutely. We have earned it. Thank you. So that's perfect. So then 1 more thing is epilogue. Are you, I think you're right. I love, I love it. I love the prologue. I love an epilogue. I want to know the before I want after I want the happiness. Okay. I don't like it when a book ends just okay. And now we're in love. And I think we'd have, like you said, we have earned this joy that comes from the epilogue. Okay. So what's the epilogue? Oh, I think the epilogue is, um, it's we're years later, they've been married and happy for years and Their son wants to introduce them to his new best friend, who's named like Tony or something. And he shows up with a little girl and they're like, Oh, well, we know where this is going. It's like the next door neighbor. Yeah, like I just met her like, like, I just met that. I think this is my new best friend, Tony, and they're expecting a little boy to come running up and it's a cute little girl and, uh, and they're like, okay, all things come full circle. Right, exactly. And I love that. And then the very, very last thing would be a title. Oh, we need a title. Yeah. I mean, the series name is always just going to be, it's going to be bill of chains. It's going to be about the whole club. Everyone is going to, you know what I mean? Probably the people he originally collared are going to have like some sort of like relationship and trouble story on book three. Oh yeah, of course. Of course, we've got to give, we've got to give, um, we've got to give girlfriends a happily ever after because she deserves it. Oh, right. Exactly. She's gonna, she, she is going to be a mentor to a couple of other subs and then she's going to get her own, but titles. What, what are we doing here? There's something about flowers, something about child. And then what about like, Oh no, is it too dark? Ring around the Rosie? Like, That's just how I think of title. Look, Nina always gets on my case. She's like, your titles are never romancing enough on my case. Because my, um, my covers, I never changed my covers. That's that's my thing with Nina, you know, you have to change your coverage and I'm like, I have 104. Books, I can't like. The investment in that is insane. That is a lot. That is a big number. How do you title them, though? You I usually pick, like, a word, um, like, siren or bliss. Or, and then make plays on that. Like, Masters and Mercenaries, all those titles are plays on either James Bond films or thrillers. Like in like spy movies, every one of them. But with this, you want something that says friendship, childhood. I feel like even we said Austin, which is not really a small town, but I feel like we almost did like a slightly smaller town. What do you call, see, I don't do friends, lovers, romances. So I don't even know what they're called. Like unbreakable bonds. Ooh, I like that. Or chains or wanted to tie it into velvet chains. Yes. Unbreakable, unbreakable chains. I like it. And then you can just do like adjective now. Yeah. Yeah. And then you could do like beloved chain or, or, or like a secret one, reluctant chain. Ooh, like you could do a lot with if you change. Okay. Um, so, so we did it. Okay. Now the question is, if a listener enjoyed unbreakable chains, what Book of yours should they begin with? Oh, if they want to read a friends to lovers story and they wanted to have some BDSM in it, I wrote a book called Live, Love, Spy. And it is live love spy. Oh, live love spy. Okay. So it is about literally they, they become like friends in high school and naturally is, is, is want to do in my world. She becomes a spy. He goes into the army. And so we kind of go from there. They, they are on a mission together. Is there a BDSM club involved in that? Okay. Of course, because in my world, all problems are solved. All of the world's problems are solved in BDSM club and all BDSM club owners know each other and they're all intelligence agents. Yes, but I've gotten some reviews. They're like, the insta love just doesn't make logical sense here. I didn't believe it. I'm like, but you did believe that there are 50 BDSM clubs and that all the world, they solve all the world's problems. Yeah. Yeah, that was the stretch. Um, no, like, look, my books are fantasy. There's a lot you have to, like, we're just going to believe that everybody's got a BDSM club and that the CIA is like, yeah, sure. You couldn't go into that BDSM club and find the bomb maker on your cover. Why would you not? I mean, that seems like. It's right. That seems like the ideal way to do it. Okay. So we're going to drop a link to live, love, spy so that you can start there for a friend's lover's romance. And then obviously get hooked on all of Lexi Blake's BDSM club romances. So thank you so much Lexi for doing with this with me. I had a great time. I love seeing how your mind works. Thank you so much for listening to story time with Sky. I hope you enjoyed the story we crafted this week. Please subscribe. So you don't miss a new episode and leave a review so that other listeners can find our show. We always put links for any books we discuss, as well as books by the guest author in the show notes, so you can definitely find something new to read. And, if you want to help choose our romance adventure, be sure to join our Facebook group, Storytime with Skye. That's where we gather suggestions and poll our readers, just like you, to find out what our next story will be. Thank you for being part of the story. Welcome to the story. It's Storytime with Sky. You can fall in love and laugh until you cry. It's Storytime with Sky. It's Storytime with Sky.