Chapter Eight
An hour later, Aaron had settled down a bit, but he still wanted Amber.
He always did.
But the tease and denial were so fun! He didn’t want that to end, either.
He’d managed to not obsess over it though as they munched on the pizza he’d ordered and watched one of their favorite shows in the living room. They were between episodes when Amber said, “We should probably talk about that thing with James.”
Aaron nearly spit out the sip of water he’d just put in his mouth. He managed to choke it down, but only barely.
“What do you mean?”
Part of him expected her to pull the plug on the whole thing. He wasn’t sure how comfortable she was with his cuckolding fantasies. There was a little voice inside him that said she’d never go along with it.
Of course, that was okay. He’d never try to force her into anything!
There was another part of him that thought she might reveal the entire scenario with James was made up. Not that she wanted to lie to him. But she knew how powerful those fantasies of his were. Was she just playing along to set the mood? Was it all just naughty, fun roleplay?
Even if that was the case—and none of it was real—he’d be grateful that she’d at least gone along with the fantasy.
Neither of those options turned out to be the case, though.
What Amber actually said shocked him to his core.
“Are you sure you’d be okay if I actually went out with James? You know, on that lunch date?”
Aaron’s diaper tightened again as he grew hard. He filled his mouth with a gulp of water, buying a precious few seconds for him to gather his thoughts.
Instinct nearly had him on his feet, jumping around the room, shouting excitedly about how not only would he not mind, but it would be one of the most exciting moments of his life and he prayed that simple lunch date led to so much more and…
But he managed to not overreact, instead offering a simple, “It wouldn’t bother me a bit.”
The smile that split his lips probably gave her a hint of how excited he actually was, though.
And the smile Amber returned reached her blue eyes, leaving Aaron mesmerized by their sparkle. “What if it…led somewhere?”
Again, he forced himself to rein in his reaction.
She wasn’t just asking about the sexy fun that might happen. There was something deeper to this.
He put his plate of pizza on the nearby ottoman and scooted closer on the sectional, a little embarrassed by the crinkle of his diaper during this serious moment.
“It doesn’t bother me a bit. Because I know how strong our bond is.
This is just…sexy fun. But us?” He paused and looked deeply into her eyes.
“We’re forever. And something like a date…
” That smirk he’d been fighting hard to suppress won the battle and rose to the surface.
“…or possibly more…is just part of our adventure. Something we’ll always remember and talk about.
But it doesn’t define us. Our love is deeper than that. ”
She nodded. “That’s sort of how I see it, too.” There was another pause before she said, “What if it turned into like a…boyfriend thing?”
Oh shit! Were they really having this conversation? It was like a moment out of his dreams!
“You can have a bunch of boyfriends,” he told her. “But you’ll always only have one husband.”
A glow on her cheeks accompanied the satisfied look in her eyes.
Aaron thought the conversation might continue to the point where she announced she was, in fact, going on a date with James during their vacation.
But it ended there. At least for the night. As always, he had hopes it would continue eventually.
They kept eating and about an hour and a half later, went to bed.
As worked up as Aaron still was from the tease and denial, along with that conversation, it took him a while to fall asleep. But eventually he drifted off.
***
The following day started off routinely enough—except for the fact that Aaron woke up in a diaper. His bladder was killing him and he wanted to use the garment, but despite the time he’d spent in it, those old familiar doubts and what-ifs came to mind.
What if the guys at the station knew?
You’re a grown man! Act like it. This is ridiculous.
What if Amber secretly hates it and she’s only doing all this to appease you?
So, he snuck quietly from the bed, went into their bathroom, did what he needed to do, and then headed straight into the attached walk-in closet where he slid out of the bulky garment and into gray boxer-briefs.
“Where’d your little diaper go, sweet pea?” Amber asked thirty minutes later upon waking up.
Standing in the kitchen, Aaron just shrugged, handed her the cup of coffee he’d made for her, and said, “Figured I can’t be Little forever. We have stuff to do.”
Amber’s eyes twinkled but there was some firmness in her tone when she said, “Mommies decide when little boys can wear big boy undies. Not babies.”
Aaron waited a few seconds, thinking she’d laugh, but she never did. Finally, he swallowed the lump in his throat and said, “Yes, ma’am.”
She seemed satisfied by that answer and the matter was dropped.
As the morning went on, there were several times Aaron felt panic rising from deep within him.
He had no clue what was triggering it, either.
Memories of yesterday’s fire kept springing to mind, along with remnants of other blazes he’d battled in the past. Each time, though, he was able to fight off the impending attack.
Of course, Amber noticed.
She noticed everything.
“Are you okay?”
“Oh yeah. Sorry. Just lost in thought,” he lied.
He hated being dishonest to her, but there was no reason to worry her. She probably didn’t believe him, anyway. She didn’t press him, though.
Later that day, when they found themselves at their local big chain wholesale club, it was getting harder and harder to fight the ever-encroaching anxiety.
There was just something about the space with its high ceiling, loud echo, and all those people milling about and blocking the aisles as they shopped or stopped for free samples of various foods being offered.
Just take it easy, Aaron. Breathe in. Breathe out. Focus on Amber. You’ll be home soon.
He wasn’t sure if being home would help all that much, but it had to be better than here. This place was driving him crazy today for some reason!
The final straw was when an alarm sounded somewhere. It was one of those high-pitched ones that beeps really fast, probably ringing because someone accidentally removed a tablet or laptop from the display stand or something.
Just a security thing to prevent shoplifting.
But it was enough to feed that creeping panic attack, giving it all the fuel and power it needed to finally overpower him.
Aaron’s heart was beating so rapidly that it felt as if it might thump right out of his chest. His forehead grew glossy as a sheen of sweat covered it. With his hands shaking so badly, he instantly had to drop the tub of protein powder he’d just grabbed from the shelf.
“Honey.” Amber’s voice was quiet and calm. “You’re pale. Are you okay?”
She casually picked up the tub and placed it gently in their cart.
Looking into her eyes, Aaron tried to speak, but all he could do was nod.
A small measure of comfort took the sharpest edge off the attack when he felt her hand on his. “Come on.”
She led them to a secluded little alcove near the spot where they conducted free hearing tests. There wasn’t anyone around there right now, and the testing booth door was open.
“Step in there. It’s sound proof.”
“We can’t just—”
“Come on, honey.”
Aaron couldn’t talk right then even if he’d wanted to protest further. So, he followed dutifully as Amber led him into the padded little room and closed the door.
“Is it too claustrophobic in here?” she asked.
After a few deep breaths, he managed to answer, “No. It’s…nice.”
The sound-blocking padding was working wonders for his anxiety. It was so small, too, that it felt manageable and controllable. And having his wife so close to him, holding his hand as they sat on the bench that lined one of the walls seemed to be just what he needed.
During the next five minutes, he half expected one of the employees to open the door and tell them to leave, but they must not have been conducting hearing tests that day, or they were at lunch, because no one ever came.
“We can go now,” he said.
Amber studied him for a moment. She must have believed him because she said, “Okay.”
Their cart was right where they’d left it, and as she started pushing it, she asked, “Do we need to go home?”
“Nah. I’m good.”
Throwing a glance over her shoulder, she pressed, “Are you sure?”
“Promise.”
They came to the blood pressure machine near the pharmacy. “Let’s check it,” Amber said.
Aaron almost told her there was no reason to bother, since he knew it was going to be high. But he figured the safest thing was to actually see the numbers, that way he’d know if he needed to get to a hospital. He’d responded to enough medical calls before to know the effects of runaway BP.
So, he sat down, slid his arm in the cuff, and hit the start button. A hum sounded and the cuff started to tighten around his muscular arm. Sure enough, the number was sky high.
“Damn,” he muttered.
“I bet we can get it down,” Amber said. “Let’s try again.”
“But—”
“Just trust me.”
With a sigh and a shrug, Aaron hit the start button and the machine hummed once again.
He wondered what Amber was up to as she leaned down and moved her lips to his left ear, but he had his answer just a few seconds later.
“Mommy is going to put you in a diaper, sweetie. No more big boy pants for you this week. And if you’re a good boy, I’ll let you make stickies in your pampers. Would you like that, baby?”
It was pure bliss as he felt Amber’s warm breath accompanying her whispers. Closing his eyes, he pictured what she was saying, a state of euphoria settling over him.
“Mommy is going to feed you bottles and give you your passy. And lots of diaper pats on that cute padded booty.”
The machine beeped and Aaron opened his eyes. The number that greeted him wasn’t perfect, but it was a world better than it had been.
“Hey! That worked!”
Amber’s giggle was cute. After kissing the side of his head, she said, “Come on. Let’s finish shopping. I’m going to make good on those promises when we get home. I wasn’t just saying all that to trick you.”
Aaron slid his arm out, stood up, and eagerly followed his wife.
He was definitely relaxed now. But his mind was racing.
Just what would this vacation bring?