CHAPTER TEN
“You seem a little off,” Gabe said as he and Krystal and Ellen showered.
“Yeah, you good?” Ellen asked.
“Um...I can say I’m good, yeah,” Krystal replied.
“You seem a little stoned,” Gabe said.
“I’m not,” she replied, coming back to herself a little. “I mean, I am a little stoned still, but I’m just...that was kind of overwhelming. In a good way. I’m just...processing. I’ve never been handled like that.”
“Really?” he asked.
“Yeah. I mean...so...successfully. Jesus. I want you to scream at me now,” she whispered.
He chuckled. “Wow, really?”
“Yes. I think it will make me come so fucking hard, and if you can put me in cuffs…”
“You like it rough, huh?”
“Duh. And yes.”
“I’m pretty interested in seeing that, too,” Ellen murmured. “That shit was seriously hot. I almost started masturbating when you hit her.”
“I wasn’t-was that too much?” Krystal asked suddenly.
“No, it was fine,” Gabe replied. “I’ve been a little weird about this kind of stuff, but...I don’t know. Now it’s fine. It doesn’t bother me at all, it’s just fucking hot.”
“Okay, good. Because you are incredible at that. You are a fucking savant at this domination stuff. Like fuuuuuck that was incredible.” She began to say something else, but stopped herself and instead got a big, almost goofy grin on her face.
“Oh man...I can’t fucking wait to see you dominate Liz.
Like, that’s going to be insanely sexy.”
“Yeah…” Ellen murmured. “I am going to jack off to that.”
Krystal snorted. “That sounds so weird.”
Ellen rolled her eyes and finished washing her hair, then gave up the shower to Gabe. “I know it’s supposed to be ‘jilling off’ but that just sounds so fucking stupid.” She looked at him. “Does it weird you out if I say jacking off?”
“No,” he replied.
“Okay, cool. Some guys get weird about that...I’m so goddamned glad that you’re so reasonable.
Like I want you to be able to voice your concerns and desires, but I’m also glad that you aren’t so...
sensitive. Like, fuck, guys give women so much shit for being overly emotional, but too many of them will flip a goddamned table over the smallest shit.
” She yawned. “Shit, okay, I’m crashing out. I need to sleep.”
“Yeah, and so do you,” Krystal said. “You’ve got a cougar to absolutely destroy tomorrow.”
“I doubt it’s going to be the destroying kind of sex,” Gabe replied as he finished washing up and let Krystal get in the water.
“What kind do you think it’ll be?” Ellen asked as she got out and started drying off.
“The slow, safe, loving kind,” he replied.
“That’s so hot,” Krystal said.
“I think it’s closer to sweet,” Gabe replied.
“Which is hot,” Krystal said, and Ellen nodded.
“Oh yeah, big time.”
“I guess we’ll find out.”
Gabe started drying off.
…
“You can absolutely do this,” Gabe muttered to himself as he pulled onto Sadie’s street.
He’d been grateful to crash out along with the others almost immediately out of the shower, as he’d awoken the next morning feeling rested and ready to face the day.
The day being a date day with Sadie.
He wanted to do this right, and they’d spoken about it a few times. Ultimately, she told him the kinds of things she liked and asked him to put the day together and treat her. And then when they got back to the house, (or perhaps before if she was feeling particularly frisky), she’d treat him.
And that was pretty fine by him.
Now he was at her house. Shit.
He could handle this. He could absolutely handle this. He wasn’t even sure why he was freaking out because he did genuinely believe he could handle this.
Probably just anxiety problems, but what else was new?
Gabe got out and walked up to the front door. He wished this had been happening even one month later, preferably two, because it would make for such a more pleasant atmosphere. It was cold and gray out. But at least it wasn’t icy or snowy.
He knocked on the door. Sadie opened it almost immediately. She stood there in a pair of bluejeans, a sweater, and some boots.
“Gabe,” she said.
“Sadie,” he replied.
“I hope this is okay–” they both began to say at the same time, looking down at themselves. They stopped, looked up, laughed.
“You look really hot,” Gabe said, the first to break the silence that settled.
“I feel a bit dowdy, but I’ve got a t-shirt on under this, because I imagine we’re going somewhere indoors. But if we aren’t, that’s okay!” she replied, clearly just as anxious as he was. “Also you look really, really handsome, Gabe.”
He chuckled awkwardly. “Thank you. Uh...you ready to go?”
“Yes. I’m ready for my date.”
He offered his hand after she came out and locked the door, and they held hands as they walked the short distance to his car.
“So,” Sadie said as they settled into their seats and he got them going, “where will you be taking me today?”
“The mall.”
“Ooh. Nostalgic.”
“I figured it might be, and also I have a couple of intended destinations, but also it’s packed with enough stores and stuff that we could easily find other places to go.
Sort of a nice middle ground between a free day and a planned day.
” When she didn’t say anything, he glanced over at her.
She was smiling a strange smile at him. “What?”
“I’m just so happy that you’re taking this seriously, and so effectively, too,” she replied.
“Oh.”
“That isn’t to say I didn’t think you would take it seriously, but...well, you know how dating is for young people now. It’s less that I’m happy you’re choosing to do it and more than I’m grateful I get to experience an honest-to-goodness date again with a perfect ten.”
He snorted. “Sadie, what? I am not a perfect ten.”
“For me you are. You’re very handsome, and in such a unique way. You’re a writer. You’re kind and respectful without being a carpet about it.”
“A carpet?” he asked, laughing a little.
“I think the term you have nowadays is ‘simp’…? Right?”
“Ah. Yes. I’m really, really glad I never went down that road.”
“What causes it? Or is it as obvious as it seems?”
He thought about it for a moment, then sighed.
“Basically. It’s desperation more than anything, and a desperation I actually have a very strong sympathy for.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, there is a sort of fetish market for it.
Men who love simping and groveling, women who loved to be simped for and groveled before. But that’s not the same thing.”
“All right, then. There were similar men in my youth, I imagine there always have been. And I certainly feel a certain amount of sympathy, too. I just wish I could explain without hurting their feelings that I just...am so not into that. And it’s not like I need a ‘manly man’.
Really, I just want a man who meets me halfway.
Treats me with respect, generally takes charge of a situation if I desire it, which I often do, admittedly, but will still listen to me.
It seems there’s no middle ground these days. ”
“That’s painfully true,” Gabe muttered.
“Right. But you have all these great qualities and I genuinely feel very lucky to have snagged your affections.”
He laughed awkwardly. “I feel the same way. But...the whole ‘five other girlfriends’ thing isn’t a detriment at all?”
“Oh no! It’s wonderful!” Sadie replied with genuine enthusiasm.
“I have so many new friends and they’re so interesting and fun!
And, well, to be frank: I think I’m kind of past wanting a real relationship at this point.
Perhaps I’m wrong, I’m not locking the door on that, but I am closing it.
You offer me exactly what I want, I believe.
An attractive, kind, fun...skilled young man who chats me up and comes over to pound me into screaming orgasms once or twice a month. ”
He chuckled. “Well, that sounds about in line with what I want, so yeah. Also, I want to say that I am really happy to do so and I see this as a fucking amazing experience. You are so awesome and sexy.”
She laughed and shook her head. He saw she was blushing now. “It’s...nice to be told that. Especially at this age. It’s a bit difficult spending years hearing about how women are basically ‘expired’ after thirty.”
Gabe’s face darkened. “That’s always been such a fucked up take.
Like if you aren’t into women past a certain age, whatever.
Although Jesus Christ how fucking out of it are these guys who are convinced a thirty year old is old and ugly?
I mean I used to think it was kind of hyperbolic, like a joke of an extreme view?
But over the past five years I’ve been hearing that shit unironically. ”
“It’s a symptom, I think,” Sadie murmured sadly. “Our obsession with beauty and attraction. No one’s obligated to be attracted to anyone else, but people really need to know how to just shut up.”
“That they do,” he muttered, pulling into the parking lot of the mall. It felt like the universe was smiling on him because again it wasn’t even half full. He found a parking space not far from the food gallery. “You hungry?”
“I could do with a light meal,” she replied.
“Awesome. Let’s head inside and get something to eat and officially begin this date.”
…
The last remnants of Gabe’s anxieties about today evaporated before their light meal was even over.
He realized the deck was kind of stacked in his favor.
The only way he could screw this up was on purpose, for the most part.
Really what he had to watch out for was that he didn’t get careless with doing things he wanted to do more than she did simply because he knew she’d forgive him if he did.
As they started walking for their first destination, he took her hand again and laced their fingers together. She gave it a little squeeze that sent a disproportionately powerful thrill of lust pulsing through him.
Although he had once hooked up with a cougar twenty years older than him when he’d slept with Isabella, this was definitely different. That had been more sexual. Sensual, to be sure, but almost purely sexual.
With Sadie, it was a lot closer to a boyfriend-girlfriend interaction.
Which was putting him in a weird place, though not a bad one. More like an ‘I cannot fucking believe I’m doing this’ kind of place.
In a way, she really gave him the impression of one of the women he was dating, but twenty or so years older. Which made for curious interactions.
There was something that was bugging him, though.
“So it occurs to me that this is basically a copy of our soft date not too long ago,” he said as they kept walking through the large thoroughfare.
“That had occurred to me, too,” Sadie replied. “And I’m happy with that.”
“Okay, good. I guess in all the...everything that’s going on, I kind of forgot that I’d already taken you to the mall…”
“If you’ll remember, I took you to the mall, and that soft date was indeed a very soft date. We hit a bookstore and the food court and then left. Honestly, I see this as sort of a part two to it.”
“A hard date?”
She snorted. “Yes, I suppose. Don’t worry, Gabe, I’m happy. Honestly, just being around you is date enough for me.”
“Wow. You like me that much?”
“Gabe,” she whispered harshly, looking at him, “you are a little thick.”
He chuckled. “More like...hedging my bets.”
“You should stop that. It isn’t making anyone happy.”
“...yeah, I guess you’ve got a point. And I feel the same way about you.”
“I noticed,” she murmured, making him laugh again. “You still haven’t told me where we’re going.”
“Right here.”
He brought them to a halt before a large arcade.
“Interesting,” she said, and they walked inside.