Play Practice

When I first started play practice I really had no one to play with. My roommate Michael volunteered as a play subject, but he had a girlfriend so no sex .I set up some ropes inside my drop ceiling. My favorite play was to suspend his arms up over his head and blindfold him. That way I could have access all around and he had no idea what was coming, and I could feel like an invisible force.

It wasn’t really a mental thing, purely physical, touching, pinching, hitting and stroking, trying out all my toys and seeing what they did and how they felt. I used to like dropping spoonfuls of cold pudding on a blindfolded sub. It feels really weird. And you can lick it off or scoop it up and feed it to them. I am sure you can use non-fat Greek yogurt or soy pudding if you choose. Remember the pudding – I have a pudding story to share later.

Eventually Michael took his play in a different direction: he liked to cross dress and masturbate. Our play would be talking about what he did and helping him procure the props he needed. He would set an elaborate scene for himself, lighting candles, choosing music, setting up a mirror to watch himself. He would dress in stockings, panties and heels. It was like he was taking himself on a romantic date. We would talk about it but I never watched and I moved on to find other play dates.

How It all Began for Me

It all began back in the mid 90’s. My friend told me there was a place in the city where you could go and get spanked! He was talking about the Vault in New York City.

I had been a long time fan of a good spanking – when I was young, around 10, the neighbor girl and I would get naked in the woods and spank each other with branches. When I was around 12 I asked my sister to spank me ( she said ew! Do something bad and Dad will do it )so I was very excited to hear this news.

I’m not really sure what I expected but thinking about it now brings up a funny idea – a dominatrix “strip club”. The domme( stripper-natrix?) Would wear whatever they pleased and dance for their own enjoyment. Per the choice of each Domme,  Patrons can either stuff dollars ( very politely) into her shoes or boots, or stack money in a neat, organized pile. Or for the truly Hard-core a hollowed out skull A lap dance would be reversed, with the patron being put over a lap for a good spanking!

But I digress…

I heard about a fetish store in Montclair, NJ called Dressing for Pleasure. Here I cheated and Googled some info –

 “Dressing For Pleasure sells bondage gear, fetish wear, sex toys, leather, latex, corsets, shoes and boots, and lingerie. We stock restraints, collars, clamps, harnesses, paddles, whips, floggers, handcuffs, BDSM toys, violet wands, furniture and more .“

The store was owned by Constance Slater**, author of Kaleidoscope: Sex, Healing and S &M, a petite lady in her 60’s dressed in a flowing black robe, with short copper hair. She was very kind and helpful, non-intimidating. I left my first shopping trip with wrist restraints, a flogger, the book “Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns”, and some sexy PVC clothing  (totally chosen because it was the most budget-friendly and because I like shiny things.

I was living in horse country so I stopped by a tack shop for an assortment of riding crops in various lengths. I had a lot of studying to do.

** Around 2007, Constance retired and sold the shop. I believe she has some type of publishing company. The couple who bought the place began having play parties in the basement and the complaints from local merchants turned  into a public discussion about kink,  prostitution, sex clubs and discrimination. The shop closed soon after. I would imagine now most people order their equipment online and a brick and mortar store would have difficulty staying in business.