Another paradox began to manifest itself in Jessica's relationship with Mike. Even as she was comfortable being  under his thumb, the sense of support and fixed identity the relationship supplied her with as well as the outfits Mike had bought for her, especially  the cheongsams, that made her look more like an adult and less of a kid resulted in her increasingly coming out of her shell and becoming more self assertive and confident. Her evolving intellect, which seemed to be more incisive with every passing month, also helped spur that increasing sense of pride. But when she felt weak, she could retreat to the assurance of Mike's guidance and love. Knowing that there was a fallback for her, even when he was restraining her physically and doing what he wanted to her, lent her a foundation from which to put herself out there more. She felt grounded now.

Being a dominant requires a great deal of self control. The idea that BDSM is little more than "beat me, whip me and tell me you love me," as the joke had it, is to underestimate it because it is actually quite a bit more complex and nuanced than that. Mike knew when to pull back and not let himself get so out there with his demands that she would be frightened off. He strove for a balance of interests within the relationship so as to minimize potential conflicts and make Jessica feel more secure about what was occurring between them. On the other hand, she could give herself totally to him and he validated her worth as a human being first and as his fucktoy slave second.

Being tied up put Jessica in touch not just with her innate need to submit, but it eroticized her woman's sense of vulnerability and it provided a thrilling sense of danger and tension to her and Mike's sexual encounters. They weren't just doing  the old, "hop on, get off, fall sleep" routine of too many couples. Yet, even with all that, she felt safe that he would keep her from being exposed to seriously negative consequences. For  example, after all the trips they had made to the abandoned mansion so that they could be alone for some outdoor fun, Mike stopped taking her there because he felt he had pushed his luck there enough.

He had helped her deal with her shame of her legs and, when spring came and the weather warmed up and Mike had her wear shorter skirts to school, she was more or less fine with it and gave the skinniness of her legs little thought as she went through her day.

The collar  was also typical Mike. Was it a sign she was his slave or was it just a feminine accessory? For  Mike and Jessica, the collar represented something that silently spoke as to who was the owner and who was the owned. For her classmates, teachers and parents, it was just a typical choker because of the little heart attached to the o-ring. While Mike would have preferred to dispense with the bullshit so he could have Jessica naked on a leash in public, the ambiguity of the collar also had its attraction for them.

What's more, Mike was hankering to do some gigs and decided to make his group an Iron Maiden tribute band and he wanted to call it "Be Maiden or be Dead" after the Maiden song, "Be Quick or be Dead." He came up with a plan whereby they would do gigs at park recreation buildings or American Legion halls over the summer, though that wasn't going to be a cheap proposition and they would have to put  a fair amount of time into promoting themselves. If they planned it right, he believed, they could at least break even and have some fun in the bargain.

Mike first started with the band itself. They were going to have to get a bigger p.a. system, a lighting rig and some stage effects, probably just fog machines, have somebody run sound and lights and do the necessary things backstage while they were playing and, of course, they would have to bring in security. Plus they would also be competing with SoCal's very busy entertainment scene for punters,  though Mike was honest with himself in that if 50 people would show up to each gig  they could call it a victory. The things they would have going for themselves was free parking, cheap entrance fees and they would be all ages. Mike also wanted the shows taped and planned to try to bring in college film students to do that for them for free.

Mike talked to his dad about all this and he agreed to finance what would be a rudimentary lighting setup and a couple of wedge monitors so Travis could hear himself over the  din of the band's backline. Jessica's father got them two p.a. columns for Travis' vocals and power amps for them as well as a mixing board..This all would be Jessica's combined birthday and Christmas present for that year. They already had microphones and stands, though they had to also get amplifiers for the mics. They were going to have to pay whoever mixed the sound, and Mike thought he could teach Kurt to do it, too. The good thing is that they weren't going to have to pump THAT much volume in what would be small, or relatively small, rooms, so that would help keep feedback from being a huge issue and they wouldn't  have to invest in a bigger rig. Mike bought two hand held fog machines, which aren't that expensive, plus fluid for them. He also got half a dozen rolls of duct tape.

He then left notices on a couple of local university communications department bulletin boards looking for the aforementioned film students to shoot their shows, footage Mike would let them use to practice doing music videos with.

By the end of April, Mike had everything lined up on a technical basis. Now they would need to learn and rehearse about 30 Maiden songs so that they would have enough flexibillity to take requests from the audience. The band started rehearsing every other day and they hoped to be ready by the end of the school year. One thing that complicated this, though, was that Mike wanted them to do the 13 minute long "Rime of the Ancient Mariner." He had them divide it up into sections so that they could also continue to learn other tunes instead of getting bogged down for one song. By the time they were able to put "Rime" together into a cohesive whole, two weeks had passed. The good thing was that they had also learned six other songs in that time and had them nailed dead on.        

Jessica and Mike's one year anniversary came in May and went. Mike wasn't able to take her out because he was too busy with his schoolwork, he was out of money and he needed the time to keep pushing the band along. Jessica was fine with that since she was looking forward to the shows and saw how hard Mike was working putting everything together. Mike was able to rent a rec hall not far from his and Jessica's homes and he printed up flyers announcing it. The pressure of the upcoming gig caused the band to work longer and more assiduously and by the beginning of June they had their song list completed and then they came up with a set list and rehearsed the bejesus out of it.

Moreover, it turned out that Kurt was an apt student with regard to learning how to mix sound. Everybody in the band would hump equipment, put it together and tear it down afterward. Their security was a bar bouncer Mike hired for $60 plus a case of beer and he was supposed to be there for four hours. Kurt would take the money at the door before he mixed sound. They bought several cases of coke and some paper cups to sell for a dollar a crack, Dennis and Matt's girlfriends doing the honors there.

Somehow through all  this, Mike and Jessica kept their schoolwork up to date and Jessica appeared headed for another 4.0 semester while Mike thoght he could pull at least a B average even though his heart was more with the band than school.

The school year went into the history books in mid-June and a week later , the band and their entourage were in a little rec hall, one that MIGHT be able to hold 50 people, and loading in. Jessica was on the two foot high stage crawling around connecting cables and arranging their guitars while the rest of the band humped the heavy equipment on to the stage. Mike and Kurt did a once over after they appeared to be done. The linoleum floor of the rec hall necessitated Dennis turning down so that their sound didn't become just mud. They all  tuned up and did the soundcheck, running through parts of their set list. An hour later, people started showing up and to Mike's disbelief, it might be a sellout. In a bad economy where youth unemployment was at near historic highs, restless kids looking for something to do decided to spend an evening with a teenage cover band doing Iron Maiden tunes at $5 bucks a pop. They all went into a nearby bathroom to change, Jessica donning her leather  goddess outfit, and they waited for 7 p.m. to come. By 6:30 p.m, the bouncer closed the door after sticking a "Sold Out" sign on the outside of it. They cut ticket sales off at 40 so that everyone could have some elbow room and thus would be less likely to cause fights.

The lights were turned out and the band members took the stage, Matt lowering Jessica on her stool. Kurt kicked on the lights after doing the usual "(name of the town) are you ready?" schtick, "Be Maiden or be Dead!" and they launched into "Aces High," several of the punters bending themselves over the stage and headbanging furiously while Travis slapped their hands as he roamed around trying to get everybody involved. The crowd gave Mike and Jessica the thumbs up when they traded solos and a lot of the guys were pointing at her as she banged her head while holding the rhythm and harmony parts together, earning enthusiastic applause as they brought the tune to a close.

"Travis greeted the crowd and then pointed to one of them, saying, "watch out for that guy, he's the Wrathchild!" the kids cheering as soon as they heard Dennis's bass line and  they pounded the crap out of it,  the audience headbanging their approval and pumping their fists before the band sequed into "Children of the Damned," a relatively slow song that showed off Travis' vocal power to fine effect, Mike running over next to Jessica to do the harmony guitar part before Jessica broke out some mad tapping. They shifted into "Hallowed by Thy Name" and then "22 Acacia Avenue," Jessica scratching out the intro riff before it suddenly went into overdrive and then slowed into a surging midtemp section while Travis belted out the lyrics to this tribute to a whorehouse. Next up was "Somewhere in Time,  which began with a slow harmony guitar part before it changed into a faster tempo, Jessica doing the first solo, marked by some divebomb tremolo work, before her and Mike traded off solos and then into a harmony part before taking it home.

Travis then just simply called out, "Rime of the Ancient Mariner!" and they went   headlong into it as the stage filled with fog and Dennis carried the band on his bottom end with fierce, propulsive fingerwork before it slowed, Dennis playing a hypnotic bassline while Mike used his volume control to produce the violin effects in that part of the song. Travis whispered over them into the mic repeating the poetry of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who wrote the book the song is inspired by. When Dennis began playing a faster line, Travis came back in with lots of lung power over the stuttering riffing of his compatriots before it went into the final section, Mike tossing in  a wah pedal solo and then he and Jessica hooked up again for more  tasty harmonies and then  just slammed the shit out of the beat until the end.

Travis, after noting, "that was a 13 minute song. You think we're tired yet? Fuck no! This one is dedicated  to the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, "Where...Eagles...Dare!" They put  "The Trooper" with it in quick succession. Travis then introduced the band. "On lead and rhythm guitars, Mr. Maximum Leader, Mike Alyea! On lead and rhythm guitars, out of a wheelchair and in your face, Jessica Hamada! On bass, a man that is always hitting bottom, Dennis Portola!" And clubbing things with sticks, he can never stop beating it, Matt Seery!" Mike then stepped to the front of the stage, "and on lead vocals, a guy who just won't shut the fuck up, Travis Hickock!" Mike counted it off and they charged into "Number of the Beast" and then galloped along to "Run to the Hills," the small crowd singing along on the chorus. The little rec hall was also now a steambath and all five musicians were sweating profusely. On the good side, the audience was buying more cokes and they would be all gone by the end of the show. "Two Minutes to Midnight "was up now and sweat was spraying off the headbangers near the stage. "This is our final song of the night," Travis announced. "Be  Quick or be Dead!" and they blazed through it, Travis letting loose some epic screams and then they left the stage, Kurt flashing the lights on and off asking for an encore and the audience didn't have to be asked very hard, as they hooted and hollered for more.

The members all walked out on stage again. "Thank you for being so great to us tonight.!" Mike then started playing the opening riff for "Sanctuary," which they lit up but good, before doing a kick ass version of "Die With Your Boots On" and then sauntering offstage again. This was just more crowd bait since the punters knew that they wouldn't be stupid enough to end it for good without doing Maiden's theme song. After a short interlude and more calls for an encore, they came back on and did "Phantom of the Opera," which had another of Maiden's trademark harmony sections in it, before the curtain went down with "Iron Maiden," which provoked more profuse headbanging by the crowd, which sang along to the chorus. After the little funky bass and drum breakdown in it, Travis went and put Jessica on her shoulders as he sang the next verse and chorus that closed the tune out and then ran offstage with her, propping her on the edge of it.

"God, I need to change so bad," Jessica lamented, her leathers soaked through with sweat and her hair matted toward the front. The lights were turned on and Jessica quickly found herself surrounded by some of the audience praising her for her performance and her looks. A couple even wanted their pictures taken with her even though she thought she looked horrendous.

They tore everything down and headed home. The band, after paying the security guy, rental on  the truck that carried their equipment, the rental on the hall and paying Kurt, lost a little money, but not  enough  to keep them from wanting to do another show like that again. They stopped at Mike's house to offload all the equipment and once that was done, Mike and Jessica snuck into the hallway bathroom and showered together, Mike snagging a folding chair from out of the garage unbeknownst to his parents so that Jessica could sit while the water ran over her little naked body. After they dried off, they went to his bedroom and closed the door. They changed into their street clothes and then Mike dropped her off at home on the way back to returning the truck.

Her neck was a little sore from the headbanging she did during the gig and she was a little worn out generally besides, so she called it a night.

The next morning, Mike came to get her, ordering her to dress in jean shorts, barefoot and with a blouse tied off just under breasts. They went back to his place to watch the video of the gig with the guys who shot it. Mike definitely knew how he wanted the show filmed and the kids who did it didn't do half bad, especially given their inexperience behind the camera. One thing Jessica definitely didn't like, though, was the post-show footage of her with members of the audience because she hated the way her hair was so out of kilter and she was sweating, too. Mike remonstrated her, saying that it would have been more of a surprise that, given the environment and that they had played just short of two hours, if she wasn't covered in sweat. He also pointed out the two guys who wanted to be photographed with her despite that.

Mike had the two budding film makers burn copies of the concert for him and the other band members and Jessica showed it to her dad, who appeared to be impressed. He wanted to show it to his buddy Tony at work, too, and so he took it with him to his job. "Jesus Carl, and I'm not just saying this to kiss your ass, but those are some fuckin' talented kids there. Pretty much all of them could play professionally right now. That singer is just ridiculous," he said. Carl was astonished at that evaluation. "Are you serious?" "Here is how serious I am: you know that street fair we're sponsoring? I want to get your kid's band to play in the concert that's being held. I wouldn't want to have to follow them, though." "Yeah, that actually happened the last time they did one of those sort of things. After they played, people began leaving a few minutes into the next band's set." Carl revealed. "I wouldn't doubt it. So let's talk to your daughter and get them booked, shall we?" Actually, her boyfriend runs that operation," Carl explained. "That's the other guitar  player, right? Okay, give me his number and let's get this thing rolling" Tony initiated.

"Hi Mike? This is Tony. I believe we net earlier this year at Carl's place." "Hi. What's up?" Mike answered tentatively, trying to recall who "Tony" was. "Hey look, our company is sponsoring a street fair in L.A. and we want you guys to play it." "You know we're basically an Iron Maiden tribute band, right?" Mike retorted. "Yeah, Carl showed me the dvd of your gig from the other night. You guys really destroyed and that's why I'm making you this offer." "What's the money like and what kind of support will we get?" Mike asked. "Unfortunately, there is no money for the bands. The fair organizers figure the exposure you get is worth more than what anyone would be willing to pay you anyway. and they provide the stage, p.a., sound mixing and all that crap." What kind of security are we talking here?" "A lot of off duty LAPD and private companies will be providing most of the immediate security and they have the L.A. sheriffs available to  them if they need it." "What is our time slot and the length of the show?" "That is still liquid. You guys are pretty likely to blow off the stage anyone who comes after you unless they get Motorhead or Armored Saint or something. I can get back to you on that." "Cool. Hit me back ASAP. We would, though, like to do our full show, of course. But we'll accept an hour exclusive of encores and we have to be allowed to do up to two encores if we so wish. Deal?" "Yeah, that will probably be doable." "Sounds good Tony. Talk to you later." "Bye Mike." 

"Wow Carl. I was impressed by this kid before just chatting about gear and stuff, but he's really very coolheaded." "Considering he's dating my daughter, I'm glad to hear that, Tony," Carl replied.

"So who was that baby?" Jessica asked. "You know a guy who's a friend of your  dad's named Tony?" Mike asked. "You've met him sweety. On New Year's, remember? We talked to him for a while." "Well, whoever he is, he just asked us to play an L.A. Street Fair. It won't pay anything, but it'll sort of be like the gig we did at that park, except with thousands of people rather than hundreds."  "Wow honey, that's great!" Jessica bubbled. "So should we wear  kevlar on stage?" Dennis laughed. "Yeah, no shit, huh?" Mike agreed. "Anyway, he's going to phone us back to give us a time slot and order of appearance." "Cool," Dennis reacted.

"Well look Dennis, Jessica and I are going to the beach, why don't you phone up Melissa and we'll make a double date out of it? "She's working today, so I think I'll just go home. Thanks anyway, man." "Okay dude, see ya later." Later."

After watching Dennis leave, Mike turned to Jessica. "Fucktoy will remove her panties and bra." "Yes Master," she obeyed. That left Jessica in just her tied off blouse and jean shorts with nothing underneath. He put her in his car and they went to the beach, which was hellishly crowded. Mike could see the outline of her boobs through her blouse and her nipples, too, as the sun went through the material. Jessica knew that her blouse would be just about transparent in the bright sun but didn't dare object. She still had the nipple rings attached and they were keeping her nipples erect, the chain contained by the knot in  the bottom of the blouse.

They finally found a parking space, but it was a couple of blocks east of the beach proper. So as he pushed her wheelchair on the sidewalk, guys and some girls were looking at her boobs. Jessica couldn't help but notice the obvious stares and it made her blush as well as excited. "Does fucktoy like so many people looking at her tits?" Mike leered. "To be honest Master, it's embarrassing." "Oh really? Is fucktoy not proud of her boobs?" Mike teased "It's not that  Master. Your little Asian fucktoy is just not used to having them out where everyone can see them." "Fucktoy will understand that Master is proud of his possession and so he likes to show it off." "Thank you Master. Your little Asian fucktoy is proud to be owned by Master, but she is worried what others will think." "Fucktoy will no longer worry about the trivial opinions of others and will concern herself solely with those held by her Master," he commanded. "Yes Master."

He  rolled her up the ramp to the pier and Jessica received more stares. Reflexively, Jessica moved to cover her chest with her arms. "Fucktoy will keep her hands and elbows on the arms of her chair," he insisted. "Yes Master." Mike's cock was stone hard while he was teasing his slave like this. They made their way down the length of the pier until the end. There was nobody next to them, but there were men fishing on either side of the pier. "Fucktoy will now bare her breasts to the ocean," Mike declared. "Master," she blurted. "That is one swat, fucktoy. Now fucktoy will get her tits out and expose them until I count to three." "Yes Master." Jessica unbuttoned her blouse and pulled the sides of it apart, exposing her tits to the ocean. "1-2-3" Mike rather quickly said and she hastily shoved her sweater puppets back into her blouse and buttoned it up. "That's a good fucktoy. Now how did fucktoy feel about it?" "The breeze on your little Asian fucktoy's breasts felt really good, but she was so nervous." "Did being nervous make it more fun fucktoy?" Mike interrogated. Jessica giggled and admitted, "yes Master." "Fucktoy wll also remind her Master that she is due for one swat after we leave the beach. Does fucktoy understand? "Yes Master. Thank you Master." "What are you thanking me for, fucktoy?" "Master's little Asian fucktoy is thanking him for correcting her behavior so that she is better able to serve him." "Fucktoy is correct."

As they walked down the strand, men and boys continued to ogle Jessica's tits. In Mike's mind, he was thinking, "look what I get to suck, grab and bind and you can't! Hahahahaha!" Then he just had a thought and he couldn't believe that he hadn't the same idea before. He announced to Jessica, "the sun is quite strong today and your Master does not wish to see his fucktoy's beautiful skin damaged by it. So we will go now." "Thank you Master," she said.

As they were pulling out of the par king lot, Jessica turned to Mike and said, "Master, your little Asian fucktoy has one swat coming to her." "Thank you for reminding me, fucktoy. If I forget to apply the swat before you go home today fucktoy will remind me again so that she may receive her due correction." "Yes Master. Thank you Master."

It was getting late in the afternoon now and Mike knew he didn't have much time for more fun with Jessica. Stopping at a supermarket that they didn't ordinarily frequent, he pushed Jessica into the store and picked up a small container of their favorite ice cream. He  then drove them back to his place, where he carried her up to his bedroom and kicked the piece of scrap wood that he was now using as a doorstop under the door. "Fucktoy will now get naked," he barked. She immediately complied. His mom was out with her friends and would be back soon, but not THAT soon. "Fucktoy will lay on her stomach," he said. She rolled over and then felt Mike's hard slap on her ass. She yelped and then endured the temporary sting. Now her ass had just a little heat on it as the pain faded. "Thank you Master," she uttered. "Fucktoy will now lay on her back," Mike ordered. "Fucktoy will remain still. If she wriggles or causes anything to fall on my bed or to the floor she shall be given five swats for making a mess in Master's bed," he warned her. 'Yes Master," she committed.

With that, he scooped a tablespoon full of ice cream out of the container and placed it on her belly. Jessica emitted an "eek!" but tried to contain her movement so as to not knock the piece of ice cream off of her. Mike stood there and watched as it began to melt. "Master, God, that's so cold!" "Yes fucktoy, ice cream generally is," he laughed. Mike then leaned down and ate the scoop of ice cream off of her. "Mmm, your Mater didn't think it was possible, but his fucktoy has become even more delicious" he teased. Then he dug out several more large fragments of ice cream and placed them on her breasts and then rubbed some of it into her nipples. She let out a shriek as the cold hit the sensitive nerve endings of her nipples. He then scooped more on to her cleavage. The ice cream began to melt and drip on her. Mike leaned over, put some more ice cream in his mouth, and then sucked on her left nipple, causing her to jump, which made a piece on her right boob slide off of her and on to his bed. "Well, that's five swats, fucktoy." "Sorry Master," she whimpered. After picking up the stray ice cream and tossing it in his waste basket, he bent over again and licked and sucked the remaining ice cream off of her. "Mmmm, I don't know when I've enjoyed ice cream more," he critiqued.

"Fucktoy will now spread her legs," he demanded. Jessica did so and braced herself for the feeling of ice cream hitting her most sensitive area. He inserted a finger inside of her. "Oooh, fucktoy is wet. Is fucktoy enjoying this? Or is she looking forward to the spanking/" Mike wondered humorously. Mike really dug into the ice cream container and heaped a big lump of the frigid confection on her vulva and then smeared it on to her clit. She wriggled and giggled and the ice cream fell between her legs and on to Mike 's bed. "Well, that's ten now, fucktoy. Fucktoy obviously needs to focus on self control." Mike picked up the spilled ice cream and chucked it into the trash can. He put a wad of ice cream in his mouth and ten started sucking on her clit. Jessica squealed as the cold surrounded her love button, causing more giggling and squirming. Her clit and Mike's mouth, though, began to warm up and it wasn't long before she began to moan. However, he still wanted to have some more fun with the ice cream.

He pulled his head away from her clit and ordered Jessica to turn over on to her stomach again. He removed more ice cream from the container and dropped it on to the middle of her back and quickly ate it off of her as she giggled and writhed. "Okay, is fucktoy ready for her correction/" he asked. "Yes Master," she said, bracing herself. His first strike was little more than a mild pat. The  second one was stronger, but still a weak slap. However, he was just getting warmed up, as he came down hard on the third stroke, causing her to yelp. Then five quick, hard slaps turned her ass a nice shade of red and then two slowly paced forceful impacts and her ordeal was over. Well, the spanking anyway. With her ass stinging and hot now, Mike  reached for the spoon and again and plopped a big dollop of ice cream on her left butt cheek. She jumped just a little, but it actually felt kinda good to her. Mike let it melt a bit and subsequently licked it off of her. Then he heard the garage door opening."Shit!" he blurted and Jessica scrambled for her clothes. Fortunately,  his mom dawdled downstairs before coming up and that allowed her time to get modest again, her  bra and panties where they should be, and for Mike to be able  to pull the doorstop away and grab a guitar  as he heard her footsteps come up the stairs. "Hey honey, can you help me with the groceries?" she asked. "Hi Jessica! How are you sweety!" "Hi Mrs. Alyea! I'm doing great!" Mike went downstairs with his mother while Jessica's ass ached and parts of her felt sticky.

Once the groceries were put away, Mike came up and got Jessica and took her home.