I used the key she'd given me to let myself into her apartment. The blue and orange clouds just above the buildings obscured the setting sun.

I took out my toys one by one from my briefcase and set them on the table, where she'd see them. The slipper, good for warming her up, but with enough bite to remind her to watch her manners. The thin wooden paddle, which she'd be getting today, for various infractions. The tawse, all three tails hungering for her, capable of roasting a disobedient girl thoroughly. Finally, a thin cane, which was new, and which I hoped to introduce her to that evening. I'd spent an hour practicing on cushions and reading up on technique.

We'd met on the Internet a couple of months previously. We'd just clicked, instantly and persuasively. In a fortnight we met for lunch. In a month I was cordially invited to her home. She advised me that, since her floors were so cold, I'd best bring a pair of slippers to keep warm. It was like something in a story or a dream.

Ever since then, we met every week, sometimes here, sometimes at my home, solely to enact our burning fantasies upon our eager, tender bodies. We felt like children.

Now she entered, and seeing me under the glow of her stair light, her face fell. "We have to talk"

---

I was numbed. She met someone else online. He was somewhat older than yours truly, and he had a wealth of experience in the relevant area. Furthermore, he had wealth, plain and simple. Finally, he had wasted no time in bedding her.

Karen, after thinking it over, had decided to trade up. He was a candidate for marriage, she told me. He knew just how to treat her. Ours was just a fling.

I was too shocked to be angry. In a funny voice I found myself congratulating her. I slid my toys back into their suitcase, and as I closed it, the locks snapped shut with a click. That suitcase would live in the back of my wardrobe for a long time, unopened.

Then, not even bothering with a farewell kiss, I walked to the door, feeling slightly dizzy, trying to hold back a traitor tear. I was no stranger to breakups, but this was the most sudden.

"One more thing" she called from behind me. I spun around. "Your key"

I took it from my pocket, and managed to drop it. I stooped, picked it up and deposited it on the coffee table. "Don't worry," I managed to say, "I didn't make any copies."

Then I was outside, the door closing behind me. I heard her pick up the phone and start to dial. No prizes for guessing who she was calling.

As I reached my car, I could hear the autumn leaves rustle in the gutters and I saw the first dim stars appear in the sky. I never saw her again.

(Copyright 2010)