Great Dana

Here she was in the life she had envisioned for herself since her early twenties. Dana was where she wanted to be. She had finished her Master’s, simultaneously earning a significant promotion at work. Now instead of being supervised, she was a supervisor. With her healthy salary, she had moved the neighborhood that she knew was right for her. Space. Trees. Her condominium was swanky but refined, reflecting what she wanted to see in herself. It was nestled in a neighborhood that pretended it wasn’t in the city. It offered the best of what she wanted and like her, it stubbornly insisted on being an exception. She liked this, but also liked that had a place to park. Her new car was funky but practical. Her possessions and fashion reflected her taste for earth tones while somehow appearing shiny. She cultivated warmth, surrounding herself in what made her feel strong and alive, all while appearing cool and collected.
Dana loved her home. She loved the quaintness of her neighborhood, adjacent to the center of the city, but not in the noisy midst of it. This quarter of the city was self-sufficient and had the air of being a small but sophisticated town. People were healthy, attractive, and either relatively wealthy or on the cusp of being so. She’d see her neighbors on the nearby jogging trail. This still being the city, she could say hello to them without having to know them or interrupt her jog to talk with them. Her new home was the city-dweller’s illusion of suburban life. It was her.
The actual living space was quite reinforcing. For as gorgeous as the neighborhood was, for as fun as zipping about in her new car was, Dana found excuses to stay home. Her neighbors were just fine, but she liked to keep them at a comfortable distance. The nearby bars and restaurants were classy and elegant, but she increasingly preferred drinking and dining in. Now that she found herself surrounded but what she thought she wanted in a neighborhood, she felt little draw towards it. Whatever draw would’ve been there took second place to how much she loved relaxing at home.
This dismayed her somewhat. She wasn’t sure if she really liked her space that much or if she was becoming asocial and reclusive. Coldness around others had seemed to develop in recent years. She had her friends, but she didn’t spend much time with them. They were like seasonal decorations in her life. Her family was more or less a constant, but they lived far enough away to not feel real to her. She passed some weekends with her occasional boyfriend. He was convenient, which was enough.
Her boyfriend wasn’t enough, though. In some ways, he was too much. She kind of hated listening to him talk. He was more needy than she liked. In contrast with what women’s magazines told her was likely, he was the one yearning for a commitment. She just wanted him to lick her pussy, flip her over, and pound her from behind. After that, he could go. She appreciated what he gave her. She liked the way his cock felt. She even liked its taste. He didn’t fit her the way she wanted, though. Not physically, but existentially. She wanted a loyal servant, but she didn’t want to have to give anything emotionally to him at all. How was this hard to find in a guy?
The idea came to her on a jog. Nothing about it was licentious, at first. She saw an attractive woman about her age approaching her. The woman wore the same curve-hugging tights she wore; the kind that everyone knew were more about showing off than about feeling comfortable. The woman jogged with a large, muscular dog. It was some kind of mastiff mix. Dana didn’t know much about dog breeds, but she knew this dog didn’t seem like the fitting jogging companion.
Fitting or not, the image stayed with her. Watching a sexy young professional stride along with her living status symbol made Dana crave that. What a perfect compliment to her suburban-but-urban fantasy! A large, stately dog. It would be needy, but not in the same way as a man. Its neediness would be endearing, not embarrassing. The dog would be loyal. It would be respectful by the default of not being able to be disrespectful. She wouldn’t have to convince it of its status as the only one.
She took a few days to convince herself that her new home could accommodate a big, furry roommate. After doing some research, she found a rescue that catered to huge dogs that had outgrown their homes. Most of the dogs were adult Great Danes. Perfect. She wouldn’t have to deal with raising a puppy. Instead, she could have a full-grown beast to lounge around with her and to join her as she hit the trail. She could accessorize with what she believed she had been missing.
The adoption process wasn’t exactly a touching affair. She prepped by purchasing the necessary dog gear at a high-end pet boutique. While browsing there, she blushed when she caught herself thinking about using one of the rubber toys to get off. She forgot about that moment at the rescue, when the sight of a group of muscular Danes caught her. It charged her with a sensation of power rather than any feeling of empathy.