I wiggled my toes against his sides. “Will you pass me the scrubber?”
Rory grabbed the scrubby thing on a stick we had bought at the natural food store, and I used it to clean my back as Rory removed his glasses, set them on the tile, and splashed his face with water.
God, I loved bath time.
“I had another thought about Asher,” Rory said, wiping the water away from his eyes.
“What’s that?”
We’d been talking about Asher in the evenings. After Ava was off to bed and once Rory finally got his head out of his work, we’d lie in bed together and unload our feelings.
We both agreed that we wanted to see more of him. Rory wanted me to pursue my new desires just as much as I was feeling drawn to explore them. And knowing that Rory was turned on, too, made it a lot easier to indulge.
“It probably goes without saying,” Rory continued. “But let’s make sure we only schedule time with Asher when Ava is already going to be with Colleen.” He splashed some water across his chest, then sunk a little lower into the tub, sending a gentle wave in my direction. “I wouldn’t want anything to interfere with our time with her.”
I nodded. “Exactly.”
“That said,” Rory continued, “I don’t see any reason we can’t see him regularly, if Asher is game.”
“Regularly?” I asked, tilting my head.
“I’d like that,” Rory said confidently. “Wouldn’t you?”
I fumbled with the soap for a minute. “I suppose so, but…”
“If we can make a commitment,” Rory said, “then we can make sure we treat Asher correctly. He’s younger than us and less established in his life. Not to mention, you and I are in a dedicated relationship. We’ll be fine no matter what. But Asher is much more vulnerable.” He nodded to himself, as though confirming again that he felt this way. “It’s up to us to make sure his time is considered.”
My heart fluttered in my chest. Hearing Rory describe Asher in that way struck a chord. It was like when he was restraining Asher’s arms and allowing me to play with him.
Asher was already in our hands. We just had to acknowledge it so that we could do right by him.
“A commitment,” I repeated. “Like regular dates? Clear expectations?” I thought carefully, trying to picture the kind of relationship Rory was talking about. “Would we tell other people we were seeing him?”
“I suppose some of that would depend on Asher,” Rory answered. “I wouldn’t want to hide anything, but I don’t necessarily need to get telling people about it, either. Especially if we’re limiting things mainly to the bedroom.”
“With some occasional dinners and dates,” I said.
Rory nodded with a grunt.
I pictured the kind of situation he was talking about, and a thrill shot up my spine. It would mean I would not only get a chance to explore these new feelings, I’d be able to do so with the man I loved by my side, enjoying every minute of it. And it also would mean we got to spend more time with Asher. I was getting used to that spark of excitement he brought with him, and to those tender moments we shared, too.
I had trouble seeing myself as someone who could truly take charge in the bedroom. Maybe it was just the fact that I couldn’t see myself as a provider, the same way Rory had always cared for me. He was the rock I could always rely on, just like he had been when I was a twenty-five-year-old myself, fluttering around and uncertain about my purpose.
But with my rock, I knew that anything was possible.
“Another date?” I said. “I can ask him if he’s free next weekend?”
“Excellent,” Rory agreed, then slid down in the tub a little more. His knees bent as his thighs rode up against me, and water splashed against his beard. “Let’s see what trouble he gets us into this time.”
ASHER
Okay, maybe Lilith’s take on the whole daddies situation was more accurate than I was willing to admit. Because when I looked at Franklin, I felt all dopey and shit, like my stomach was going to turn somersaults.
Just keep it cool, I told myself. You’re a guest star at best, and don’t forget it.
I was in the garage behind the shop. Franklin and Clark were sorting through comics while I installed a new fan in the window. I tightened the last screw, then hopped off the ladder while Clark held a stack of comics in the air.
“All late ‘80s,” he said. “With the others?”
“The costumes are so amazing in that era,” Franklin muttered to himself, tapping his fingers against his lips. “No bother. Yes! With the others is fine.”
My chest swelled with pride as I looked on the garage. Like the shed, I’d managed to get it all nicely organized and packed away. Some tables and repurposed shelving held Franklin’s backstock in a way that was accessible, and fans and proper ventilation meant the comics weren’t getting damp and moldy over the Seattle seasons.
Mostly, though, I just felt proud looking at Franklin. His employees loved him. They laughed at all his dorky jokes and seemed to genuinely look up to him. Franklin and Clark were holding a long conversation about different alien worlds while they worked, all from movies and comic books that I had never heard of. You’d think it would have been boring, but when Franklin jumped around and got all excited, I felt like I had won the fucking lottery.
How’d a couple of good men like Franklin and Rory get mixed up with someone like me?
I’d almost forgotten people could be nice. Daryl was about as bad an influence as there could be, and the people he surrounded us with in Los Angeles were mean as shit. They might kick you in the balls for a laugh, but they’d never shoot the shit about something like an alien planet.
Franklin, though, he couldn’t hurt another person if he tried.
Not even with those big hands…
“What about you?” Clark asked, pulling me from the fantasy before it could even get started.
I pushed my hand through my hair, then hopped off the ladder. “What about me?”
“Have you been to a con before?” Clark asked. “Or will next weekend be your first?”
I shook my head. “Haven’t been.”
Franklin stepped forward, stroking his beard. “This isn’t actually a con, not in the proper sense. It’s more like a regional industry showcase. We’ll be setting up the booth for a distributer who specializes in tabletop games.”
I cracked my knuckles, then glanced to Clark. “Like he said.”
Franklin chuckled. “There is a promise of more work, though, and plenty of cons around the region.”
“You know,” I said, glancing around the garage. “If we moved a few of the things from your shed out here, we could use the shed as a proper workspace. There’s enough room in the garage now…”
“The rest of your hoard!” Clark said, animated by the idea. “I want to see it.”
Franklin looked a little bashful as he waved his hand in the air. “It’s nothing, nothing at all.”
I scoffed. “I don’t understand half the shit Franklin is keeping around, but I know it’s pretty damn cool.”
“Maybe,” Franklin said with a quick nod. “It would be nice to have a workspace where you could spread stuff out, cut the wood for the booth and all that.” He fluttered his hand over his mouth, then nodded again. “And Rory will be pleased if his tools get some use.”