CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
“You know, I thought I was going to have to calm you down, but you’re pretty calm,” Krystal murmured as she drove them through the dark city.
“Uh...yeah,” he managed.
She laughed and glanced over at him. “You okay? You hit your head when I wasn’t looking?”
“No, just...wow, do you look fucking good,” he murmured.
She laughed again, looking very pleased with herself. “Glad I still remember how to goth out.”
Gabe didn’t really have a response. He just kept staring at her as she drove his car.
Her outfit was similar to Chloe’s when she’d gone hard.
Fishnet along her legs and arms. A short black dress that did a lot to showcase her big, pale tits.
Black lipstick, heavy mascara, her red, red hair crafted into a messy-yet-sexy turmoil.
And, as if it was a cherry on top, she was still wearing her GABE’S GIRL choker.
“I was gonna wear heels, but this isn’t really the place for that,” she said. “I know how much you like tall girls.”
“I do like tall girls,” he murmured. An idea suddenly occurred to him. “Holy shit, I need to have a gothed out threesome with you and Chloe.”
“That’s on the table, I’m sure.”
“It would be amazing...how’s that going, by the way?”
“Me and Chloe? It’s going, slowly but surely.
We’ve been hanging out, and she’s been...
trying. Little stuff. Sitting really close to me.
Holding my hand. Giving and getting massages.
I think what probably broke the biggest barrier are two things.
The first being sometimes we sleep in the same bed, and naked to boot, when I find myself in your bed instead of Liz’s.
I’ve woken more than once with her spooning me.
She has awesome tits. The second thing is that we both regularly see each other fuck.
I was showering last week and she needed one and asked if she could join and we just showered and chatted. ”
“This is all pretty awesome.”
“I sure think so. But it’s also a fine line to walk.
Don’t want to pressure her, make her uncomfortable.
I’m moving at the pace she sets, and occasionally very, very gently, I offer her the opportunity to go a little further.
That being said, one of the few things I do actually feel very confident about is my ability to woo bi-curious women. ”
“Do you think it’s actually going to happen?”
Krystal was silent for a thoughtful moment.
“I think it’s going to happen at least once, and probably in the next month, maybe two.
I think she’ll decide to give it a go. I’m going to recommend a full-contact threesome with you, so that she’ll feel, you know, more comfortable.
We’ll fool around and I’ll go down on her.
If she wants, and she’ll probably want to at least try, she’ll go down on me. After that, though? Hard to say.”
“That’s a pretty precise prediction.”
“Like I said, I have experience breaking in bi-curious girls.”
She turned onto another road. They were closer to the edge of town now. Gabe could see some old factories and warehouses around, and not a lot else. It was honestly how he’d imagined a place where a rave took place might look.
“So, this isn’t going to be, like, a rave rave.
While I was looking this up, I unlocked a bunch of memories of doing raves through my teens and twenties, and...
I have to admit, I finally get it. What people mean when they talk about how you mellow out in your thirties.
I’m thirty four, and I...am tired. And chill.
I used to want to go out all the time, but not anymore.
I’m basically partied out. Maybe that’ll change in my forties, but for now, I want to be a couch potato.
” She paused. “Is it ever weird that me and Ellen are like a decade older than you?”
“No,” he replied. “Is it weird that I’m a decade younger?”
“No, not really. There are times where I kinda notice, but they’re rare.
Also hard to describe, before you ask. It’s...
I guess...fuck, I don’t even know how to describe it.
There’s just something about you and Chloe and Holly that sometimes shouts ‘I’m in my twenties’.
Not in a bad way. I think it’s something you need to be in your thirties to understand or even see. ”
“What about Liz?”
“Liz...is in a league of her own. Liz kinda feels like a woman without an age somehow. She doesn’t seem like she’s in her twenties, she sure as shit doesn’t seem like she’s in her teens, I dunno. Hard to describe there, too.”
“Yeah, I can see that at least. I wonder how weird it is for Sadie…”
She laughed. “It’s probably awesome. I mean how would you feel if you were divorced and fifty and then you suddenly had a really hot chick half your age gagging for your cock?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, that makes sense. Although I wouldn’t describe myself as really hot.”
“That’s how Sadie sees you. That’s how we see you,” she replied.
There was a finality in her tone as she pulled off the poorly-lit road into a parking lot in front of what seemed to be an old warehouse.
There were about fifty cars already parked.
Gabe knew enough not to argue with her by now, not about this.
Maybe that was what they were intending.
Not because they didn’t want him to argue, but because they wanted him to, at the very least, feel neutral about himself.
He had to admit, he’d definitely shifted perspective somewhat since getting with Ellen. He’d always assumed he wasn’t much to look at. His girlfriends before Ellen felt lucky rather than earned. But here was overwhelming evidence that he was at the very least above average.
“You’ve got that look on your face,” Krystal murmured as she parked.
“What look?”
“That look like you got hold of a thought and you don’t like how it tastes.”
He laughed. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Well, all right. I’ve always felt ugly. But my current situation kinda proves that isn’t true.”
She snorted. “Kinda?...sorry. Continue.”
He laughed. “I guess, I don’t really understand what happened. What bridged the gap? Did I go from unattractive to attractive? Or was I always attractive? But that can’t be true, right? Otherwise I’d have dated a lot more. I just don’t get it.”
Krystal lost her smile, then pursed her lips, looking vaguely uncomfortable.
Finally, she let out a small sigh. “So, Gabe...things aren’t really so black and white.
Boys want the world to-and girls do this too, to be clear, it’s just that a lot of boys seem to think it more-to be one or the other.
Cut and dry. A switch that’s either up or down, on or off.
But the reality of the world is that it’s more like a spectrum… ”
She hesitated, then rolled her eyes. “Okay, in truth the world is a chaotic fucking mess, but this works well enough. You can’t really lump huge swaths of people into monoliths, but you can notice trends and tendencies.
While yes, there are a lot of vapid women out there who obsess only over physical appearance, and they often tend to come paired with, frankly, ridiculous standards, for the most part, women’s attraction to men is a lot more...
malleable. But one big factor that a lot of guys seem to struggle with is that, on average, most women are more naturally twigged to what guys have going on under the hood. ”
“That does seem true,” he murmured. Then frowned. “Except when it doesn’t. Like the whole ‘not being able to spot a massive douchebag’ thing.”
“Right, that’s...a whole other issue. That’s a Trojan Horse.
Confidence covers a lot of rot and decay.
And arrogance can be easily mistaken for confidence.
But something we are really dialed into is desperation.
And this comes in a few different flavors.
Honestly, this is where black and white thinking hurts men a lot.
Too many guys seem to think they have to basically trip over themselves worshiping any woman that gives them a chance.
And yeah, there’s some chicks who are into that, and unless you have a rather specific dynamic going on, where both of you are happy, then those women are to be avoided.
They will use you and then throw you away the moment you become annoying.
But honestly, simping is a turnoff for most women...
but this is getting off-track. I can’t imagine simping was your problem. ”
“I don’t think so,” he replied, briefly searching through his memories. “Maybe sometimes, if I was really scared she was going to leave me.”
“I’m really glad you feel so secure in our relationships.
It makes everything so much easier. But your problem, I think, stems from the fact that...
women just generally don’t hit on men. They’re so subtle about it and guys are so prone to missing it that it’s like a worldwide joke.
Women think looking at a man for half a second longer than normal is a massive neon sign that she’s into him and men could get invited over and asked to sleep naked in bed together and still miss the fact that she wanted to fuck.
And both of these things are true, to varying degrees.
I’m going to guess that you didn’t really go after women much. ”
“No, not really.”
“That was honestly the biggest roadblock in your life. Not that you aren’t jacked, or rich, or tall enough, or a perfect ten. Just that you don’t try, and...okay, I love you, so I’m hoping you’ll take this in a good way…”
“I will. I trust you not to insult me.”
She relaxed and smiled. “Thank you. In the beginning, you did kind of have a faint vibe of desperation. Or...no, not really desperation, that isn’t right.
Oh! I know what it is now. A lack of self respect.
It’s this vibe of ‘I’m an ugly piece of shit and I don’t deserve you, but I hope you’ll take pity on me’.
And few women actually want to give guys pity fucks.
It’s just...depressing. And women are pretty twigged to that, too. Because of what it’ll mean.”
“What will it mean?”
“It’ll mean that if they get into a relationship with you, they’ll always be having to reassure you that you aren’t ugly, and that they aren’t thinking about other dudes, and a million other things. I mean, everyone has insecurities, but Christ, it is...exhausting.”
“I imagine you have personal experience.”
“I do, actually. Boys and girls. But...does that help? All of it? Any of it? None of it?”
He laughed softly. “It helps, Krystal. All of it. Thank you. Now, let’s stop derailing our Valentine’s Day with sadness and enjoy ourselves.”
“That sounds like an excellent plan. Also, please tell me that our date day ends up with us getting fucking bombed.”
“Well, our date day ends with you getting bombed, and me getting kinda stoned. I still have responsibilities tomorrow. And the day after that, and the day after that…”
“Right. God, you’ve still got four more, huh?”
“Five.”
“I mean, yeah, technically, but that final day is going to be for you. And...ho boy,” she gave him a feral grin, “you are going to fucking love it.”
“I’m pretty curious.”
“You’ll have to remain curious. Now, come on!”