Some light shopping.

One of the neat things about dating my new friend, Dean, is how she's at a juncture in her life where she's breaking barriers and opening herself up to things she's sought, desired, fantasized about for some time. She has that in common with the Schoolteacher, but unlike her, Dean doesn't have an uberconservative "real life" that would be endangered if, say, someone saw her nekkid ass on FetLife. This, with her own go-gettedness, seems to give Dean a vigour as she pursues her more prurient interests.

And I seem to be the kind of guy that such women enjoy dating. I can handle that.

Before stopping for a nibble in the Gaybourhood recently, we rubbed elbows among this city's sensual, leather elite during Northbound Leather's latest meet&greet social. I had picked up an an excellent leather shirt and Top-standard-issue officer's cap during last visit at one, and many has been the time I've smiled to myself while spotting Northbound's wares in sex shops and during fetish events while travelling in the States. Having this glorious temple to kinkdom in one's home city is a lot of fun.

Dean made a beeline for the corsets, and selected a very sexy black leather halter that framed her 36Ds sensually. Followed by a black (it's always black with Dean) waist cincher, she made happy smiles for the rest of the night.

Me, I was in nirvana. I wasn't really planning on shopping for myself... oopsie. Northbound is one of those places where you'd never expect a "bargain basement" vibe; it's simply too elegant, too upscale, too sophisticated. But between sips of wine, winks with Dean, and glances at our staffperson in the sexy PVC nurse uniform, this particular meet&greet included irresistable, almost below-wholesale opportunities to get some goodies:

o A pair of unforgiving, 5mm thick, 40mm wide, solid aluminum, bolt-secured collars later, and I was hunting for pairs of ankle and wrist restraints to match. Oh, how these will feel after I remove them from the freezer! Some forgivable scratches and pits. Standard retail? $350 Canadian.

o A 7.5cm wide, jaw-raising black leather collar with triple D-rings, perfect for affixing wrists just at the neck, also 5mm thick, and complete with padlock and keys to secure with. A little wear, as though it has been affixed to a wall display or secured on a mannequin. At least $90 CA.

o A deliciously ominous head harness featuring a studded, 25mm wide, 3cm deep open-mouth tube gag made from leather-covered aluminum. I would have been happier had the gag been wide enough to slide some cock through, but this is suitable for pouring liquids with a funnel. The leather needs some moisturizing, but nothing more than standard care would call for. Regularly $140 CA.

o And the two most unique finds of the evening, definitely from the "so inexpensive, how could you go wrong?" category: a pair of gas masks. The first is clearly from US or NATO military surplus: a black latex rubber, pig-jowled beast with goggle eyes, the sort of thing you'd expect to see your friendly neighbourhood riot police to be wearing. The second is much sleeker: a black rubber MSA full-face respirator with bold aluminum faceplate framing, probably intended for safety while working with chemicals or other caustic substances. Both masks lack filter canisters or tubing, but that's easily amended. In conservative doses with a willing partner, I imagine that a little smoke would make for a fun scene, and when I'm not being kinky, now I'm ready for a casual chat with the World Trade Organization. $70 CA each.

I'm due to review a toychest soon, so it was fun to pick up some new items to fill it with. I spent just under $150 Canadian on all of these fun and bizarre trinkets. I am a happy kinkster.