Chapter 25
Cece
“I know I’m technically supposed to have a job because people ask about that all the time, but my skill set is…interesting.” I wasn’t sure how to explain it but Master laughed.
Shaking his head, he set down his fork and looked like he thought I was adorable. “You got into Bible college, didn’t you?”
He really could read my mind.
“Yes.” Grandma had thought being a preacher might be a good path for me, but I couldn’t explain why it wouldn’t work well enough to talk her out of it. “Um, taking the Bible class at the co-op too many times backfired.”
She’d meant well.
“Do you have some kind of religious degree, pretty boy?” It was a good question, but thankfully one I could shake my head at. “Okay, tell me the story.”
Since we were both almost done with dinner, story time made sense.
“I didn’t do anything ridiculous. Grandma just started getting sick about that time, so she decided I should stay home to help around the house.
” I was pretty sure she’d been looking for a reason to make me stay home, but I didn’t fight it very hard.
“I talked her into letting me do some of the classes online.”
Thankfully that hadn’t seemed too dangerous to her and I hadn’t gone to Bible college in person.
“I focused on the basic classes like English, and it took me a while, but I’ve almost got my associate’s.
She died before I could finish the last couple of classes and then there was just so many other things to do, it got shoved to the bottom of the list.” And I was at the point where everyone had started asking me what I wanted to focus on for my bachelor’s and I hadn’t known enough about the real world to pick.
“Okay, my first questions are going to be asking if you want a job and if you want to finish your associate’s degree?” Master didn’t look like he had an opinion but he had a very good blank face.
“What do you think?” He’d been an adult longer than I had…in age and in experience…so it seemed like a good starting point.
Oh.
He raised his eyebrow and just studied me.
“Um, do you think about your dessert…um…yes…that’s the end of my question.” With more practice I was going to stop doing that.
Well, he laughed, so maybe it’d been a good distraction?
“Conversational detour for just a moment.” He was trying not to smile but it wasn’t easy.
He thought I was cute even when I thought I just wasn’t that good at being a real person.
“Let’s try a few options. You can call me Leo.
I discourage that with work and other friends, but I wouldn’t mind it coming from you.
We could also do something like sweetheart or baby. I think that could be funny.”
“Are you a Leo or are you just being a Leo for me?” I wasn’t even going to entertain the baby idea.
That would just be weird and I’d end up looking even more awkward than I did already.
“I don’t want to make you wince or react negatively every time I talk to you in public.
That would give people the wrong impression. ”
I’d rather look weird than have it seem like he didn’t want me around.
No.
“I don’t know how to answer that question.
” He looked like he was trying to, though, so I was patient.
He poked at the last remaining bites of cheesecake on his plate for a few moments before he shrugged.
“I don’t feel like a Leo when it comes to shortening my name like it’s trendy. But it’s not offensive.”
That was a good starting point, right?
Okay.
I was smart.
I knew a lot of weird facts.
“You said your family was Italian, so what if we used Leo as a short nickname for lion. The Italian word for lion is leone and I think lion suits you very well.” He was also strong as a lion too. “You’d be my lion when we were out in public.”
Guarding me from real people because they were weird.
“Do you speak Italian?” Master’s head cocked. “Was the guy who taught that at the co-op hot too?”
Ugh.
“Let’s stay focused on your in-public name and not get distracted by silly things. But yes, I should put being able to speak Italian on my resume.” That was a much better thing to focus on. “I might need help figuring out what else should go on a resume.”
“We’re going to circle back to that job thing eventually.” Master shook his head but I didn’t want to know what he was thinking. “Okay, besides you being highly intelligent when you’re motivated to learn, I think you also have wonderful ideas.”
Whew.
“Thank you, Leo.” My lion. “Oh, that didn’t come out weird at all.”
Master grinned as he reached across the table and took my hand. “Then we’re set with my name in public.”
“A lot of subs online talked about struggling with that, so it’s not just me.” I was pretty sure I was reminding both of us that it wasn’t out of the ordinary, but Master didn’t seem to think it was odd.
“Names are hard. Other people have to label us before anyone knows the kind of people we’ll turn out to be.
Sometimes they’re idiots and sometimes they just do their best but it’s not quite right.
I don’t see anything wrong with tweaking that as you get older to make it fit.
” Master was very confident about that, but he was confident about everything.
Still, I liked that way of looking at it.
“Well, my label does not fit.” It could’ve been worse from what my grandmother said, but I wasn’t sure who I could trust anymore. My parents were so tuned out it was possible they hadn’t named me at all. “So we need to put that on our to-do list too.”
Master nodded and was back to his confident expression. “I’ve been thinking about that.”
Good.
I had the best Master.
“Thank you, Leo.” Ha. I did it again. “What have you been thinking?”
“That you’re adorable and that I’m ready to go home and have some private time with you.” Master smirked when something about his tone sent a shiver through me. “Let’s head home and curl up together as we finish this conversation.”
Yay.
“I think that’s a very good plan.” Especially if it came with naked cuddles of some sort. “Private time should always come at the end of a date.”
“At the end of a very good date.” Leo seemed pleased about that but his smirk made me shiver again. “You have clothes for the other house so I can confidently keep you longer and we had a wonderful meal with great conversation.”
We’d mostly played something close to Twenty-Questions to get to know each other in practical ways but those were important too. Knowing his birthday, favorite pasta shape, and the types of sauce he liked were very important details.
“And I got to have my first date all the way through to the end.” That was amazing actually and I was starting to see why some people liked dates.
He even paid for the date and I hadn’t needed to apologize to the waiter for any drama.
“This is weird.” Sitting in the front was strange. “I think I belong in the back in my seat.”
Master hummed as his gaze flicked to the rearview mirror before he reached out to take my hand. “I thought about putting you back there but I wasn’t sure if I should. This was supposed to be our date and I thought that might mean vanilla seating arrangements.”
Did it?
“I don’t have enough dating experience to know one way or the other.” Did I have opinions?
Before I could figure that out, Master squeezed my hand. “Did you date girls before you started to become more focused on other things?”
“Kind of.” It depended on what he meant by dates. “I went out in group activities with girls a few times. That was basically all that the religious families allowed before it was more marriage focused than Grandma would allow.”
Master’s eyes flashed wide before he got them under control. “Really?”
I couldn’t help laughing. “I do not have any girls pining away for me if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“I was really hoping you hadn’t accidentally ended up married and hadn’t realized it.” Master shrugged. “It’s probably not a rational fear.”
I wasn’t so sure?
“Well, Grandma thought that was crazy, so she wouldn’t let me ask any of those girls out, but the other families that weren’t religious had kids the wrong age or were just weird.” Even Grandma hadn’t liked them. “So I didn’t have that many options or ways to meet people.”
“Well, it just left more firsts for me.” Master shrugged as I tried to decide if I could laugh or not. “I should be sorry you didn’t have more opportunities for that kind of stuff but I’m not. I like being your first everything.”
“It just means you own me even more thoroughly.” It was nice to know that’d all been for a reason. “I was frustrated before because it felt like I was failing but I was just meant for something more special than losing my virginity behind the Food Lion even if they did have a lot of privacy.”
“Good grief.” Master squeezed my hand before taking a deep breath. “You were always more special than a grocery store hookup.”
“Thank you, Master.” Patting his hand, I couldn’t help bouncing around in my seat. “I was meant for swings and doll seats and lots of attention.”
I would never have gotten any of that from anyone else.
“You were meant for me.” Master shrugged as he pulled up to the house. “There’s no other way to look at it.”
“I agree and you’re going to do a good job at helping me with things like naming me and helping me figure out a job.” Adults needed those. “So I’m ready to hear your thoughts on those important matters.”
Master laughed as he turned off the car. “Then we will address those important matters.”
Good because I wanted a direction in life…the internet said that would make me feel more grounded. Master had definitely helped, but he had to work sometimes. That meant I needed other things that made me feel important.
“I’m all ears.” And then I was going to be all his. “Should we have our discussion naked on the bed?”
Hmm.
His laugh as he climbed out of the vehicle said I needed to work on my delivery.
As he opened my door, he gave me a kiss and a smirk. “Do you think you could remember why we were supposed to be talking if we tried to do it naked?”
Maybe?
“I think it would be very memorable.” Yes, that was a much better answer. “Master.”
That had him taking a kiss that time and helping me out of the car.
“Is that better?” He wrapped his arms around me as I nodded. “I think we did very well at spending vanilla time together in public.”
“I wish it were easier to spend nonvanilla time together in public.” That would’ve made going on dates with Master much easier.
“What would you have done if no one would’ve noticed anything odd about our behavior?” Taking my hand, Master shut the SUV and locked it as he took me into the house. “How would it look if we were living in a dirty book world where we can make the rules?”
Oh, he had a good imagination.
“Sitting on your lap for dinner would obviously be the first thing we should change.” Having to sit on the other side of the table was terrible…but Master hadn’t been sure I could keep my hands to myself if we sat on the same side in a booth.
Sometimes having a smart Master was frustrating.
“I think that’s a wonderful change.” He kissed my head as he locked the door. “We could do that here for meals if you’d like that.”
“Is that something other subs do or would it just be an us thing?” I couldn’t remember seeing that online.
“I know of other subs who kneel for dinner or have other specific things related to their submission, but I don’t think I know anyone specifically.
” Giving me his thinking frown, Master swung my hand as we went upstairs.
“I know a couple in an age play relationship where the sub has a highchair in the kitchen for when he’s little but that’s not the same. ”
And it didn’t seem like something Master wanted to do with his doll but that was probably because it’d require too much moving.
“What do you think about lap-sitting meals?” I thought he’d like it, but I asked anyway once we got to the bed and he stripped off my shirt. “Your opinion matters too.”
“Because we both have limits.” My smiling Master gave me a quick kiss before he hopped me up on the bed to take my shoes off. “I think we’d need to make sure I could hold you safely in the chairs in the kitchen.”
Oh, he had interesting worries.
He tipped me back onto the bed to take my pants off before I could tell him that, though. “Maybe a chair with one sturdy arm so I can use that to steady you?”
That was smart.
“Curved to fit your back, maybe.” Frowning, he laid my pants on the end of the bed before peeling down my still boring undies. “Yes, we can make that work. I’m just going to need someone to build it for me.”
As my underwear joined the clothes pile, he flicked my cock to make it bounce and leaned over to brush his lips against mine. “I don’t have the right tools for that, but I do have the right skills to use my sexy boy as inspiration.”
I liked being inspiration…and I was going to like naked cuddle time too.