The Wedding Gown · Part 1 (1/2)
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Cindy and Mark made quite a couple. They both knew their strengths, and they used them to full advantage. Cindy was a former college cheerleader. She was extraordinarily beautiful and graceful, and she knew that could have had any man she wanted. Mark was a wealthy, intelligent and successful accountant, and he knew that he could have any woman he wanted.
After six months of dating, Mark was convinced that Cindy was the woman for him, and he asked her to marry him. Cindy had grown to love Mark, and she immediately accepted. A few weeks into their engagement, Mark resolved himself to tell Cindy about his predilection for bondage and domination, and he planned a special evening for them. After an elegant dinner and an evening at the opera, Mark’s limousine driver took them back to Mark’s house in the hills.
Cindy often spent the night at Mark’s house. Mark had given Cindy her own bedroom and attached bath at his place, and while she kept her clothes and toiletries there, she usually ended up in Mark’s bed. Mark expected that tonight would be no different, and he planned to surprise her with some mild bondage in his four-poster bed.
It was late when they arrived at Mark’s house, but he poured drinks for the two of them nonetheless. The extra alcohol caused Cindy’s world to move in slow motion. Mark hoped that the alcohol would lower her inhibitions, and make his revelation easier to accept.
They went to the bedroom, and Mark helped Cindy out of her clothes. Once she was naked, Cindy threw herself onto the bed landing spread eagle in the center. Mark wasted no time in joining her. He crawled on to the bed and straddled Cindy. He placed his hands on either side of her head, and he moved his fingers through her silken hair. He nuzzled her neck and told her that he wanted to tie her to the bed and perform unspeakably erotic acts with her. The alcohol in Cindy’s system agreed, and Mark captured Cindy’s wrists in thick leather cuffs that had Mark had previously hidden under the mattress.
Once her wrists were secured, Mark produced a harness that he buckled around Cindy’s head. The confusion in Cindy’s eyes was obscured by the harness’s padded blindfold, and her pouty lips made questioning sounds as they wrapped around the integrated 2 ½ inch ballgag. In a matter of minutes, Cindy was stretched to her limits, and Mark was free to do as he pleased with her.
She tugged at the restraints, and she strained to break free, but she had no chance. Mark was like a kid in a candy store. He had his way with Cindy as she bucked, moaned and writhed. Eventually, they both collapsed in a heap of perspiration soaked sheets. When Mark removed the harness and cuffs, Cindy was unusually quiet, and they both drifted off to sleep.
In the morning, Mark found himself alone in his bed. After showering and dressing, he called Cindy hoping that she enjoyed the previous evening. The conversation was short. Cindy was so shaken up from the evening before that she called off the wedding. Mark hung up the phone devastated while on the other end, Cindy was confused and conflicted.
Cindy was embarrassed that her body reacted so strongly to being under Mark’s control. Her connection with Mark the night before was more intense than anything she had ever experienced. She longed to give herself completely to him forever. Yet, she was scared by her feelings. She was concerned that Mark didn’t respect her and that he was only using her as an object for his sexual gratification.
Over the next few days, her ego won out over her feelings of love, lust and submission. Ultimately, Cindy thought, her good looks would get her any man she wanted. She was convinced that she could easily find another wealthy accountant like Mark. As smart as they were, men like Mark tended to think with more than just their brains.
Mark gave Cindy a week before he made a move to reunite. He pulled out all the stops – flowers, candy, jewelry, and clothing, but nothing worked. Cindy wouldn’t return his calls, and she wouldn’t accept his gifts. Eventually, he arranged to have a new Mercedes delivered to the office where she worked as a receptionist.
Finally, Mark had broken the ice. Cindy was amazed that he would buy her a new car, and her materialism convinced her to set aside her concerns. After all, she did like to be spoiled. After an upscale dinner and an evening at the theater, Mark proposed for a second time, and Cindy accepted on the condition that Mark would never take her against her will.
Just saying it made Cindy wet.
Mark agreed, but reminded Cindy that he didn’t take her against her will. He asked and she accepted.
“Well, it was just so overwhelming,” Cindy answered.
“I’m not saying I would never do something like that again,” she explained. “I just want to be fully informed before it happens.”
“So… you might agree to letting me take control, as long as you know what is going to happen?” Mark asked gingerly.
“Sure, if I know what is going to happen,” Cindy answered directly.
“You set it up, and if I agree, we can do it.”
A month passed, and Mark continued to shower Cindy with attention and gifts. Cindy began to wonder why she had called off the wedding in the first place. She had seriously misjudged Mark. He seemed genuinely in love with her, and to her disappointment he didn’t ask to tie her up again. Writing off the bondage play as a passing phase, she was happy to resume planning their wedding, and she announced that she would be looking for wedding gowns the next weekend.
When Mark heard that she was going to shop for wedding gowns, he insisted that she visit “Bonds of Love,” a shop owned by one of his clients, André Martel. André was a French fashion designer, and his wedding gowns were notoriously expensive. André offered to give Cindy any wedding gown she wanted. It would be André’s wedding gift to them in recognition of Mark’s years of service to his client.
The following weekend, Mark and Cindy drove to André’s shop to pick out a wedding gown. The building was a gray and green warehouse located in an industrial section of town near the airport. Cindy was wholly unimpressed until they were buzzed into the lobby. Upon opening the heavy door and stepping inside, they were surrounded by a display of twelve different styles of wedding gowns arrayed along the four walls of the lobby. The gowns, however, were not hanging on inanimate mannequins. They were modeled by twelve young models.
Cindy and Mark were immediately greeted by André who entered the lobby from an interior door. André smiled broadly and shook Mark’s hand. Then André delicately held Cindy by her shoulders and regarded her from head to toe.
“Mark is one lucky man to have captured the heart of such a beautiful woman,” he said in a thick French accent.
“Why, thank you,” Cindy replied, suddenly blushing. “And he is one lucky man to have a friend like you. I can’t thank you enough for your incredible gift.”
André led the couple to a love seat in the center of the lobby. He called for his assistant to get them all some drinks. Over the next hour, he introduced Mark and Cindy to the models and their dresses one by one. When the parade of models came to an end, Cindy had narrowed her choices down to two dresses.
André dismissed the other ten models, and helped Cindy decide between the two wedding gowns. Cindy asked the price of each, and André insisted that cost should not be a factor. After pressing him for an answer, Cindy learned that one cost $35,000 and the other $50,000.
She was stunned. She asked him how he could afford such an expensive gift. André replied that all of the dresses that she had seen that day sold for more than $30,000, but he added that the mark-up in his business was significant. He explained that one reason his dresses cost so much is that they are custom fit to each bride.
“But every dress shop requires you to come in for fittings. In fact, they often have a final fitting the day before the wedding,” Cindy noted somewhat suspiciously.
“True,” replied André.
“But look at these women,” he said gesturing toward the two remaining models.
“There isn’t a seam, wrinkle or bump that isn’t where it was designed to be,” André said proudly.
“That’s what sets us apart from the rest, and people of means are willing to pay for it. Our dresses are manufactured specifically for each bride’s body based on exacting measurements. Unlike the others, human error is not a part of our process. Everything is laser measured and computer controlled.”
André continued to explain that his dresses do not come in standard sizes. Each dress was made to order. Each bride would be measured and the dress would be made based on the exact measurements. The bride typically would attend a fitting the day before the wedding, but alterations are rarely required unless the bride would have a dramatic weight change.
André added that some brides travel thousands of miles to have one of his dresses. With the measurements that are made, packaging can be custom manufactured specifically for the dress to avoid any wrinkles or other deformities.
“So, have you decided?” André asked.
“Well, if cost is truly not a factor, I will take the gown with the corset and gloves,” Cindy said smiling.
“Then, that is the one you shall have,” André replied.
“Mark, you were right. Your young lady does have expensive taste.”
He immediately dismissed the remaining models, and helped Cindy to her feet.
“Again,” Cindy said. “Thank you so much for doing this for us,” she concluded, giving André a hug.
As Cindy began to turn toward the door, André reached out for her hand and explained that they were not finished yet. She needed to be measured so that they could manufacture the dress. He escorted the couple to a counter at the back of the lobby where there was some paperwork and a pen.
André picked up the first of two pre-printed forms, and he filled in the details regarding the dress. André handed the second form to Cindy for her to read and sign. The form was several pages long and had “Liability Release” printed at the top of the first page. The print was surprisingly small except for portions requiring answers from Cindy.
Cindy found some of the questions unusual for a dress shop. She certainly understood why she needed to identify allergies. But, why did they need to know whether she was claustrophobic? She turned to André and asked him whether the legal forms were really necessary.
“My dear,” André said condescendingly. “This represents the first day of the rest of your life. You should really take it seriously. You should completely read the forms so that you can make an intelligent decision.”
Cindy was mildly offended by the tone André took. She looked to Mark for some support, but he just shrugged.
She turned back to the contract and began reading, but she was never very good at understanding such legal language. After a couple paragraphs, she decided that it didn’t really matter what was in the contract. She wanted the dress. So, she initialed where indicated, signed at the bottom of the last page. She then signed the second agreement entitled “Care and Maintenance Contract” without review, and handed the two agreements to André.
With the formalities concluded, the group stepped through the door into the measuring facility, and André closed the door behind them. There was a low hum of machinery, fans and florescent lighting, and they stood in a warehouse facing a large metal structure that was two stories high, one hundred feet wide and at least 100 feet deep.
André explained that the measuring facility was similar to an automated car wash. He directed Cindy to follow the path marked along the floor, enter the machine through the door in front of them, and abide by any instructions given at each station.
“When you are finished, you will be delivered on the other side, and we will be there waiting for you,” he said with a kind smile.
Cindy walked into the enormous edifice and closed the door. She found herself alone in a dimly lit changing room. Almost immediately, an unseen woman’s voice began softly giving instructions.
“Welcome to our measurement and packaging facility. Please remove all of your clothing and place them on the cart to the right. Your clothing will be delivered to the exit station for retrieval after processing. Please remove any jewelry and piercings that may interfere with the equipment’s magnetic and electrostatic properties. For your safety, if you have any metallic implants which you failed to disclose on the Liability Release, please exit the facility through the door behind you and seek an authorized representative to assist you.”
“When you have finished, please follow the markings along the floor to the table near the door in front of you.”
Cindy paused. She peered down the path looking for the table, but she could see nothing but blackness. The lighting was localized to a five foot radius around where she stood.
She wondered what she was getting herself into, but she absolutely loved the wedding gown. It would be rude to turn down André’s gift, she rationalized. And after all, she was getting a $50,000 dress for free.
Cindy slowly removed her high heels, her pantyhose and her pencil skirt, and she found herself naked from the waist down. She smiled as she unbuttoned her silk blouse. The blouse was loosely fitted, but her bra was straining to contain her ample breasts. She had intentionally dressed conservatively to impress Mark’s client while concealing her natural assets to avoid attracting the wrong kind of attention.
Once she was completely nude, she heard a fan begin blowing. The air flow hit her a moment later, and the cold breeze made her nipples harden. She tried to warm herself up, but it was no use. She silently cursed the climate control system and hoped that her condition wouldn’t affect the measurement process.
She padded along the designated path. As she walked, the light behind her dimmed and a light above a table in front of her slowly illuminated. The disembodied female voice spoke to her once more.
“Please observe the protective accessories on the table before you. You will find: a pair of blackout goggles to protect your eyes from the laser measuring device; a paper breathing mask to protect your lungs from the fumes of certain robotic equipment; and a set of ear plugs to protect your hearing from the high pitched sounds generated by some of the machinery. Please take these with you and put them on when instructed.”
Cindy picked up the items and examined them. She never had to wear anything like these when she visited other dressmakers, she thought. She took them with her as she made her way through the door toward the next station.
The door led to a large dark room of indeterminate size. Cindy guessed that this was the largest area within the measuring facility. She could see red and green LED lights that appeared to be quite far away, and she could make out shadows of robotic equipment along what might have been the periphery of the enclosure.
The path on the floor was lit from above. It led to a stainless steel platform in the center of the large open space. The platform was 10 inches tall, and it was surrounded by a circle of red lights embedded in the floor.
“Please proceed to the measuring and packaging platform in the center of the room, and face the yellow light,” the soft female voice directed.
“That’s funny. That’s the second time she mentioned packaging,” Cindy thought.
She wondered whether the machine would manufacture the dress immediately after she was measured. If so, maybe she and Mark could have another drink while they waited for it.
Cindy stepped onto the platform and turned to face a yellow light some distance away.
“Please put on your protective accessories at this time,” the female voice instructed.
Cindy placed the breather over her nose and mouth. She adjusted a small metal frame to match the contour of her nose and another to match the contour of her chin. The paper fabric caused the air to feel stuffy, but she thought it was probably better than the alternative.
Cindy next placed the plugs in her ears. The outer surface of each plug was made of slow reacting foam rubber. One by one, she compressed each plug and inserted it into her ear where the foam expanded to completely seal the cavity, preventing any sound from reaching her eardrums. She looked around the large, dark, empty space in the perfect silence. She suddenly felt scared as a chill ran through her body. The LED lights from the distant robot measuring machines seemed like the eyes of menacing
The Wedding Gown · Part 1 (1/2)
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