Chapter 17
Palmer
“I like being able to make you happy and...and to follow the simple directions you’re giving.” Ferris was having to think too much about how to answer which made me even more proud of what he was giving me.
“Thank you for letting me know.” I had to remind myself that touching him at the moment would not help the situation. “It makes me more confident in giving you orders.”
His head jerked and he swallowed like his mouth was dry. “You like giving orders but you wouldn’t like it if it was making me feel negatively.”
“That’s correct.” He was processing enough to understand that, so it seemed like we weren’t too deep into some kind of panic attack-like state. “Right now, watching you in the shower is also going to make me feel very good and I’m looking forward to that.”
Blinking a few times, something seemed to catch his attention. “Shower scenes are common in a variety of different types of pornography. There must be a reason for that.”
“You’ve got a point but all I can think of is apes and then cavemen somehow deciding that wet skin is more attractive.
” My overthinking his comment had him giving me a faint smile.
“Most of those kinds of things go back to fertility but there’s no way that someone who got trapped in the rain or fell into a pond was more fertile or virile. ”
The odd conversation had the spinning in his mind slowing to a more manageable pace because his breathing was more even and his shoulders had relaxed again. “You’re right. That can’t be the basis but maybe it’s something about cleanliness? That also comes up in religious doctrine too.”
Sliding my legs to the side of the bed, I stood up and waited for him to follow. “That’s interesting. I hadn’t connected the two but they’re both activities that invoke strong emotions in people.”
Distractions were also good at helping those strong emotions fade.
Ferris hadn’t even seemed to notice getting off the bed as we walked over to the bathroom. “We go to waterparks and pools at rates that probably connect to this somehow.”
“We mix water with everything that gets an emotional reaction from us.” That was actually kind of weird. “Oh, we even have those spas were people float in pods that look like an alien is giving birth to them. I don’t know what they’re actually doing but I saw a commercial for it.”
Actually laughing, Ferris shook his head as I opened the glass door and turned on the shower. The large rectangular space was big enough for both of us, but I was wishing it had two heads at the moment. “Wasn’t there an old movie about pod people? Maybe that was where they came from?”
“Oh.” Scrunching up my face got another laugh from him. “Now that commercial falls into the horror movie category and I’m never going to be able to see it the same way.”
My drama was overplayed enough that he knew he could enjoy my reaction. “We could do that for our next date and research to see if there’s any water connection with them.”
I faked a shiver as his smile widened. “I can’t decide if watching that kind of stuff with you would make it more or less scary. On one hand I like the idea of tracking it logically but I’d have to pay really close attention to do that.”
Pretending to consider it seriously, he stepped in the shower as steam quickly started to build. “I think we have to do some research on that to see what the outcome would be.”
“Oh no. I’m not falling for that.” Shaking my head, I closed the door and went over to grab him a washcloth and a towel from the linen cabinet by the sink. “Con me into something else. That sounds stressful.”
“Not a big horror movie guy?” Ferris eased back into his relaxed side as he slowly turned under the spray. “I never saw the draw of them.”
“Me neither.” Real life was stressful enough. I didn’t need to torture myself on top of that. “I’d rather watch a documentary.”
Placing his towel on the bar attached to the shower door, I stepped in, making sure to give him plenty of room. Thankfully, it was a generous size and I didn’t have to worry about crowding him.
“What about documentaries based on stressful or frightening situations?” Ferris smiled and stepped out of the spray to trade me for it as I handed him his washcloth. “Those don’t feel the same as horror movies to me.”
“Me neither.” Thinking about it, I rinsed off quickly before stepping back and reaching over to grab the bodywash on the shelf at the back for him. “The intent matters and probably a lot of the artistic elements.”
As he poured out some onto his washcloth, he nodded slowly. “I kind of like how obvious they are, though. I don’t have to guess about what point they’re trying to get across.”
“That’s understandable.” I made sure to keep a neutral expression as he handed me the soap and studied my face.
“It’s why I don’t do a lot of those psychological thrillers.
I like factual shows most of all, but if I’m going to see something at the movies, I do something ridiculous like a movie that’s nothing but explosions and car chases. ”
He smiled like I was cute but it faded quickly. “Those can be loud, though.”
Looping back to the conversation we’d touched on before, I decided to try to get more information.
“Have you ever tried the sensory-friendly showings? The ones for parents with babies or people who don’t like loud sounds?” I wasn’t sure how he’d take the question but he didn’t get offended over it.
“No.”
The factual response didn’t give me enough to go on but I tried not to show it as he started running the washcloth over his chest. “Well, on our next date we can pick out a documentary together and maybe get takeout? Or I could cook for you. Which would you prefer?”
Leaning back against the wall, I watched him slowly rub the cloth under his arms as he considered the options. He might’ve been debating food but I was debating how much attention I could give his naked body before he’d think it was confusing.
“I need to know what kind of—” Focusing back on me, he stopped mid-thought and cocked his head at me. “You really do enjoy this.”
The way he gestured to himself and then looked around the shower made it clear what he meant. “Yes.”
I could see his brain working overtime, but he wasn’t as anxious as he’d been before, so I was patient. It took a few moments before something settled in his mind and he stepped back into the spray. This time getting clean wasn’t his goal, though.
Tempting me or maybe rewarding me was.
It was hard to tell but he angled his torso so the water would caress over his chest and made a show of slowly running his hand down the front of his body.
He’d done a lot of amazing research.
Watching his hand caress over his nipples, I made sure the heat I was feeling was obvious on my face and in my erection. “I really like this.”
There was a spark of something in his eyes that said he was enjoying whatever was going through his head too.
I knew I’d read him right when he dragged one soapy hand down his chest and slowly ran it around his caged cock.
My low groan had that spark turning into a flash of pleasure.
He might not understand it but he liked being noticed and he clearly reacted to making me excited.
“You look so good wearing my cage.” His smile peeked out but I knew the reason why. “You make me feel very possessive.”
My desire might confuse him on a regular basis but he appreciated it in some way. “You said you were going to keep me naked for the rest of our date.”
“That’s my plan.” No matter if I could touch him or not, I would thoroughly enjoy the view. “I’m flexible about the rest.”
Relaxing was the goal.
“I want to get to know you more and I want to do something that’s going to be fun or relaxing.” Trying to decide if there was anything else I wanted from our time together, I was distracted enough that I missed when Ferris took a step toward me.
I quickly tuned back in as he held up the cloth. “Yes, boy?”
He knew it was a request for more information. There was no way I was going to assume what he was thinking, but it took him a few seconds to swallow and get the words out. “May I clean you?”
Before I could respond, he looked down at his washcloth. “Do I need to use something else?”
“Oh, no.” We were going to have different levels of sexual hygiene but I hoped I wasn’t going to weird him out. “I love the idea of you washing me with the cloth that you’ve already dragged over your body.”
His soft surprised sound made me smile, but he didn’t overthink it or seem to worry about it as he slowly brought the soapy rag to my chest. “I should have expected that response.”
Was that a dig at himself or the differences between us?
“We’re still getting to know a lot of things about each other, so my answer might not be unexpected but you needed to confirm it anyway.” As he nodded and gently caressed my chest, I kept my hands at my sides. “You like making me happy so touching base about my limits was a good instinct.”
“That’s right.” Bringing his other hand up to my chest, he let out a quiet, pleased sigh. “Reviewing limits during any kind of scene or situation is expected.”
“Correct.” Bringing my arms up to rest my hands behind my head, I opened myself up to him and did my best to look perfectly relaxed.
“Sometimes you’ll be able to tell from my physical reactions what I want or will allow in the moment, but verbally checking in is the gold standard in most situations. ”
As his hands gently stroked over my pecks, he nodded slowly. “Like shifting your arms to make more of your upper body available to me. You were showing me there were more places I could clean, but if I had any questions I would ask so we could confirm limits.”
“Exactly.” The methodical discussion and tone seemed to be helping his headspace, so I kept it up even as I told my dick to calm down. “You might’ve wanted to ask if I thought I needed to be cleaned under my arms or you could’ve asked if I had limits regarding being kissed or licked there.”