CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
Gabe felt strangely calm as he drove slowly through the city.
Kim had been gone when he had awoken, but she’d said she would before they had gone to sleep. She had work and had to wake at an unreasonable hour to make sure she was ready in time. It had been a quiet morning as he’d prepared for the day ahead.
One thought kept nagging at him as he showered and dressed and got ready. It was still there, buzzing around his head like an irritating gnat.
Next time around, he was going to have to break this up a bit more.
Or maybe he’d be prepared by then. Maybe, this time next year, he’d have enough social and physical endurance that he could get through this without an issue.
Somehow, though, he doubted it. Gabe knew that he was better about this kind of stuff these days, but he also had some kind of vague sense that he had a hard limit.
You could move the needle, but only so much before the resistance became too much and pushed back.
Maybe he could break it up into chunks of three?
Three days on, one day off? That would probably work.
Although fuck, if he kept up, he was going to lose the entire month of February.
And, dear God, that wasn’t even considering their birthdays.
They didn’t have any until June...although he didn’t actually know Kim’s birthday.
Shit, another thing to figure out.
Gabe realized he’d been driving for a little too long, then glanced at his GPS.
“Shit,” he muttered, pulling off the main road and into someone’s driveway. He’d missed his turn off because he hadn’t been paying attention. He got turned around and continued homing in on Stacy’s place. “Three more days, three more days,” he muttered.
Today with Stacy. Tomorrow with Em and Abby. Then his final day with everyone. Was it everyone? Well, with most of the women in his life.
What did they have planned? He was genuinely curious.
No time to think about that. He pulled into Stacy’s driveway.
He didn’t even have time to put it in park before the front door opened up and out came Stacy, looking...
damn good. She had on a pair of bluejeans that sat very nicely on her hips, a blue shirt beneath a white coat, a red scarf, and a little white beanie that looked more cute than practical.
She seemed to be beaming as she walked out and got in.
“Hello,” she said brightly.
“Hi. You look...really fucking nice,” he replied.
She’d applied some makeup expertly enough that he couldn’t tell if it was a lot or a little. Regardless, it really highlighted her features. It really made her eyes pop. That and the way her bright blonde hair hung seemed to be doing a lot for him.
“Thank you! You look quite handsome yourself,” she replied, studying him.
He’d dressed up a little for this one. He’d even put on some slacks.
Gabe wondered how long it would take before he really felt like he’d learned how to properly dress up. He was still just doing what they told him looked good.
“Thanks.” He started driving. “How you doing? How are things going?”
They hadn’t hardly talked since the last time, and they hadn’t had another sexual encounter yet. He was intending to fix that today.
And she’d already told him that, now that they’d all gotten tested, she didn’t have a problem going bareback.
“Good! Still busy with the charity, which is a good problem to have. Well...right now it is, because we’re so busy.
But, I finally managed to hire someone else, which is helping ease the workload.
I’m considering hiring a second person to help, but it’s always balancing the budget, making sure we’re maximizing our spending so that it helps the most amount of people...
but I’m kind of tired of thinking about my work for now. What about you?”
He chuckled. “Well...I, uh, invited another woman into my home.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Seriously? After you have, what is it, five girlfr-wives at home?!”
“Yeah. It was a little unexpected. We used to be roommates, had a little bit of chemistry back then, reunited at a party, discovered the chemistry was not just still there, but more powerful than ever.”
“Huh...what’s she like?”
“She’s...fiery. Slim, fit, she used to box.”
“Interesting. So, another tomboy?”
“Basically, yeah. We just had the conversation yesterday.”
“Oh wow. Man, you must have a rock solid relationship if you can bring a new girlfriend home in the middle of Valentine’s Week.”
“Uh...actually, that’s a good point. Yeah. Actually, technically it happened twice.”
“Gabe!”
He chuckled awkwardly. “Well, my landlady, Sadie? She decided she wants to make it official. Although not to the same degree as the others. We’re more...dating casually, while being heavily emotionally invested.”
“That...is such a strange relationship. Um, not that I’m judging!”
“It’s all right. You’re right, it is a strange relationship. But it’s what makes sense. I mean, you and I have a strange relationship.”
“Yeah, but I feel like it’s not that uncommon. We’re basically friends with benefits who have a rather specific sexual dynamic.”
“Speaking of which…”
“Oh! Right! So, I want you to take me to your house this time. And I want you to record it. And I want your wives to be watching, but like, not obviously? Like they’re hidden. Like in a closet, maybe? Or the bathroom? I guess I haven’t seen your house…”
“It’s doable,” he replied, considering it. “Well...probably. Also, are you sure about all of this? You seemed extremely hesitant the last time we spoke of this.”
“I am.” She seemed confident, at least. “I’ve done a lot of thinking since we hooked up...
but more a lot of feeling. And then thinking about those feelings.
For a little bit, I was kind of in a bad place.
I was so horny and satisfied by what we did.
Just...it was amazing. The more time went on, the more I realized how much I liked it.
But at first, I kind of felt guilty for liking it so much.
After a bit, I thought about what Chloe or even you might say to me.
And you guys would tell me: stop feeling bad for enjoying yourself.
No one got hurt, everyone had fun. You can safely reproduce this with the same results.
Fucking enjoy yourself. So, I am! And that led me to realizing other things that made me horny. Like being watched.”
“Oh. Well, that’s damn good,” he replied. “They’re going to be so happy. Both in your sexual exploration and that they get to watch a really hot chick fuck me.”
She snorted. “I’m not a really hot chick.”
“You so are.”
“Holy shit, shut up.” She rolled her eyes, then twisted her lips, as if considering something.
“I might still be weird about the sex stuff. I wouldn’t even mention it, but you seem weirdly good at being able to not just pick up emotions, but parse them.
So I could easily envision you picking up on my actual discomfort among all the pretend discomfort I’m acting out.
And I just wanted to say that, as awkward as I am, I will stop things if it’s freaking me out too much. We’ve got a safe word for a reason.”
“Noted.”
Gabe glanced at her as they began idling at a stoplight.
“What?” she asked.
“Just...I find it interesting. I think almost every woman I’ve been with has felt the need to, in some form or another, reassure me like you just did. I’m not...sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Like, if I need to maybe adjust something? I don’t know, this shit is so hard sometimes.”
“It’s a good thing, Gabe,” Stacy replied with the casual ease of someone who was extremely confident in their assertion.
“Sex is a complicated subject in general. It’s more complicated by the fact that too many sexual encounters are underlined by...
implication, I guess you could say. Of how it could go, at any moment.
I have to face the reality that if you and I were alone together and having sex and I wanted to stop, you could pretty easily just overpower me and physically make me. ”
“Yeah, I mean, that’s a pretty uncomfortable reality and most people don’t want to talk about it.”
“Exactly, and I think that’s where the disparity comes in.
For men, it might occur to them every now and then, but for the most part, they don’t think about it at all.
For women? A lot of us think about it all the time.
I mean, a one night stand for a guy is risking...
not much, realistically. I mean, if he’s being smart.
” She paused, twisted her lips. “Okay, that isn’t fair.
Though statistically unlikely, men do risk a false accusation.
Although the frequency with which that happens is apparently far lower than most men think, and even when it does happen, the amount of men the ‘justice’ system just straight up lets off the hook is fucking insane.
But whatever. Women risk being physically assaulted or literally dying.
Which happens apparently a lot more than most men think. God, what is it with that?”
“I think it’s...just their emotions. I mean, traditionally, most humans suck with percentages and statistics.
But something I learned the hard way is that humans are all about their feelings even more than most people realize.
It’s ironic that so many people who have the opinion that ‘facts don’t care about your feelings’ are so prone to literally ignoring a fact if it doesn’t match up with their feelings.
But I think it’s that combined with our perception of danger.
We hear something really awful happen once or twice, and assume it’s lurking around every corner for a little while.
And if it’s something specific to you, even if it’s not specific to you it just feels like it is, it sticks harder. ”
“That...makes sense,” she admitted. “Ugh, anyway. Got off track. You are emotionally intelligent. That much has become clear. So you’re likely keyed in to this particular fact of life, and you’re overcompensating for it.
The thing is, that’s probably a good thing.
I’d rather you overcompensate for making me feel safe than under.
In other words: take it as a good sign. You’re on the right path, stay the course. ”
“Oh. Well, okay then. Also...we’re here.”
“Finally get to see where ‘here’ is,” Stacy muttered, leaning forward as he pulled into the parking lot and began looking for a place to park. “Oh. I’ve been here before, though it’s been a long time. They have good steak, from what I remember.”
“I’m looking forward to finally trying lobster,” Gabe replied as he parked.
“...wait, you’ve never had lobster?” she asked.
“Okay, I probably have. But the thing is, I sure don’t remember having any. And even if I did, I sure don’t remember what it tastes like.”
“All right, but two things.”
“I’m listening.”
“One, make sure you get something else. Like, crab, maybe. Because you’re going to be disappointed. Lobster is not as good as people make it out to be. Second thing: I’m paying. Don’t argue. I have more money, so it makes sense.”
“Okay.”
Stacy looked like she’d been ready for a fight, but she slowly relaxed. “Glad that didn’t turn into an argument.”
“I’m a lot easier to get along with than that, Stacy. Come on.”
…
Stacy was right.
The lobster sucked.
He’d eaten it, but it hadn’t been good. And he believed that he’d gotten his hands on properly cooked lobster, too. It just...didn’t taste that good. The crab, on the other hand, tasted awesome. And he’d finished it and the baked potato he’d gotten easily.
They had been at the restaurant for nearly three hours now. She had a lot of questions for him, and he had a lot of stories to tell.
Somewhere along the way, they’d begun having a secondary conversation entirely through text. He wondered how ridiculous they looked, picking up their phones again and again, clearly texting each other despite being literally at the same table.
He also didn’t care, because this was a fun conversation.
You ready to go? I want to get started.
Gabe grinned. He’d definitely finished digesting, and he was getting pretty horny for her.
Stacy was kind of awkward at flirting, but it didn’t really matter.
She was very attractive and he was already attracted to her plenty, and he knew they were going to have sex today.
So the flirting was really just a fun bonus, it didn’t have to be amazing.
All that mattered was that he had the attention of a really hot woman.
They had already paid the bill. Well, she had. All they had to do was…
“Let’s head out,” Gabe said, rising to his feet.
Stacy stood up as well, and from the way she nearly tripped getting out from between the chair and the table, he had the idea that she was as horny as he was.
They walked outside, both of them trying to act natural, and probably failing.
Both of them acting like they weren’t so horny it was hard to walk.
Gabe made himself rein it in. He had to get them home.
As he got behind the wheel, he couldn’t help but smile.
This was about to get very fun for both of them.