I’d invited him back to my place every Sunday, and I hadn’t asked him to keep sex out of it, and yet he hadn’t made the first move past some pretty heavy kissing, and that was never while we were actually in bed.
And I knew he’d awakened with a hard-on every morning because I’d felt it, but he never mentioned it and seemed to completely ignore it.
I texted him early Thursday. I have a picnic blanket in my backpack. Any chance you can go to Mooyah before you pick me up, and then we can go to the park and eat? I want two cheddar bacon burgers, a ton of fries, and a cookie dough shake.
Perfect. It’s beautiful outside. Do I need to bring anything besides food, drinks, and a ton of napkins?
Not that I can think of.
It was the middle of February and still chilly, but there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and I needed to feel the sun on my skin.
We spread the blanket, took our seats, and Dementor divided the food between us. He’d bought a half-dozen of the same kind of burger so there’d be no confusion. Also because he really likes bacon.
“I had a dual reason for eating lunch in the park.” I told him.
“You want to talk?”
“Am I that easy to read?”
He gave me an affectionate smile. “You’ve been thinking of how to word whatever it is since you got on the back of my bike.”
“Neither of us have brought up the whole sex thing. I love sleeping with you, but it’s possible I’m ready to take the next step.”
“When you’re sure, let me know. Until then, I’m happy being your friend and spending time with you.”
I took a breath and blew it out. I didn’t want this to sound like an ultimatum, because it wasn’t, but I could understand why it might sound like one. Still, I had to say it. “I need sex. I haven’t had any in three and a half weeks. If we’re going to stay platonic, I’ll probably go to Atlanta this weekend, but I’ll be home in time for our evening together Sunday.”
“I didn’t ask you to stop.”
“No, you didn’t, and I’m sure you’ve continued as you were, which is fine.”
“Not quite as often as I was. I didn’t want to show up smelling of sex, so I’ve curtailed it a little. A dozen times a week instead of three or more times a day.”
It wasn’t a punch to the gut, though it still stung a little. “Are you trying to make it easier for me to run off and fuck someone else?”
He shrugged. “Is it working?”
Yes, but I still had to ask. “A dozen times a week? Really?”
“I’m fairly certain you aren’t asking for details.”
I shook my head. “No. I don’t want details. We aren’t an item. I have no right to dictate that part of your life.”
“Not at the present time, but I want to be clear that once we’re an item, you’ll have a say. I’ve never cheated on anyone and I never will. If I make you a promise, I’ll keep it.”
I believed him, but I was disappointed that he didn’t jump on the chance to use and abuse me the next time he slept over. I understood his point, though. I hadn’t used clear and concise wording, and that’s what he wanted to hear from me before he let us go to the next level. He was clearly telling me he wasn’t someone who’d sit and wait forever — he was getting his dick wet a dozen times a week, after all. However, he was letting me know he was waiting for me. On his terms and not mine, but that’s who he is and I wouldn’t change a thing about him.
But I had to poke the bear a little more anyway. “So, you want me to go to Atlanta and let someone give me an intense scene?”
“Will you be safe?”
“Yeah. I can text someone and see if they have plans. If they don’t, we can set something up so he’ll work me over. Even Aaron trusts him. If he’s busy, there are two more trustworthy Doms I can contact.”
“Then while I may not want you to, I’m glad you have that outlet. When you’re ready for it to be me, we’ll talk, but until then, neither of us is obligated to abstain.”
“We have a home match next weekend. Like, nine days from now. Do you think you can get off work and come?” I hadn’t intended to invite him, but he was making me fall in love with him and I wanted him to be there.
“Probably. I’ll need to talk to Bobcat to be sure we have someone who can fill in, but I should be able to.”
Dementor
The team has a home match about once a month, and they traveled out of town at about the same frequency, so she had a match roughly every second or third weekend. They’d be traveling to Texas for a three-day tournament in March, and I’d been hoping for an invitation, though I wasn’t clear on whether significant others routinely traveled with them, or if it was a team bonding thing when they went out of town.
The invitation to her home match gave me hope she might want me to come to Texas. Swinging it so I had the entire weekend off would be tough, but a few of the new prospects had really stepped up and were showing promise, so perhaps one of them would be ready by then.
Sunday, I took her to one of the fanciest steakhouses in town. I got the thirty-five ounce tomahawk steak, and she ordered crab legs and a lobster tail, and both of us were in gastric heaven. I scented a human man on her, and a decent amount of bruising, but I didn’t mention it. If she needed to sow some wild oats while she figured her shit out, I could give her a few months.
Beyond that, I might have to sit back and regroup. For now, I understood a little of where her mind was and why she needed space. I was glad she was no longer pushing me away, and the intimacy of our Sunday nights meant a lot.
“Do you want me to pick you up and take you to your match Saturday? That way we’ll be in one car for the after party, and you can drink without worry of having to drive home.” Most shapeshifters have a hard time getting drunk, but the birds are the exception.
“I’ll have a shitload of cookies and brownies, so it’ll have to be in your truck and not your bike.”
“Why are you taking so much food?”
“Everyone has something they’re good at that they do for the team. Someone handles our website, someone else does our bookkeeping and pays the bills, someone else deals with the ticketing company and makes sure that’s set up right. I can cook. About half of what I take will be sold in the concession stand, the rest gets put in the locker room so we can carb up before we go out, and to help us recover afterwards. Adrenaline and mad dashes and tons of endorphins from the hits we take eat up glucose reserves and make you feel like you’re about to starve.”
“The truck’s no problem. I look forward to buying your goodies at the concession stand.”
She opened her mouth to say something and closed it with a grin. “I was going to say you don’t have to pay for my goodies, but then I realized how that sounds.” She shrugged. “It’s true, you don’t. I’ll put together a care package for you, but I didn’t think you were that big of a fan of sweets.”
“Are you kidding? Bears love honey. I can take or leave chocolate, but anything honey flavored or caramel flavored and I’m all over it.”
Once again, I held her while we fell asleep and awoke with her spooned against me. My cock was always rock hard when I awakened, but I willed it soft with the promises of a sweetbutt’s ass in a few hours. I cooked breakfast while she showered, we ate together, and then I followed her until she turned off and I kept going to the apartment complex, but I stopped and bought a dozen steak biscuits and a half-dozen egg and cheese biscuits.