CHAPTER THIRTY NINE
“I’m still not sure what this actually is,” Gabe murmured as they pulled into a lengthy parking lot not far from a massive lake’s edge.
“Good,” Ellen replied simply. “It’s better if you realize it yourself.”
“You’re so helpful.”
“I am,” she replied in a delighted tone of voice. She pulled into a spot and parked. “Because it feels so much more satisfying when you realize it on your own.”
He thought about that, then sighed. “Fine, yeah. But it’s still kind of annoying.”
“And you like that,” she replied with the same cheerful, teasing tone.
“You think I like being annoyed?”
“I know that you like it when we annoy you. However, I also know that you have a threshold for annoyance. Which is the idea. But it’s best not to annoy you too much when you cannot...satisfy the resulting urges generated by crossing that threshold.”
“What a remarkably wordy way to say you shouldn’t fuck with me too much if I can’t find somewhere to bend you over and fuck you stupid.”
Ellen opened her mouth to respond, faltered, blushed, then rolled her eyes with an annoyed growl. “I have no idea how you do that. How you...get to me.”
“The answer to that is easy.” She pursed her lips, giving him a sour expression. He couldn’t help but laugh. “Not so much fun being annoyed, is it?”
“Not when I can’t dominate you because you aren’t really into it,” she murmured in a vaguely threatening tone.
He tried not to laugh and very nearly failed. “Fair. It’s because you love me so much, and trust and respect me. I wouldn’t be able to bug you like this unless you’d let me in deep, which you have, because of the aforementioned reasons.”
“Whatever, come on. Time for you to learn what awesome thing we’ve brought you to,” she replied.
Gabe had to admit that there was a surprisingly intense satisfaction to needling a six foot five blonde goddess.
Six foot seven tonight.
He was forcefully reminded of that particular fact as he got out of the car and saw her standing again. God, she really was tall. And one thing that he particularly loved seeing since they had begun dating was that she was actually enjoying it.
He’d been a little wary of the thought, worried it might be something he just wanted to believe, but over the past couple of weeks, she seemed to genuinely enjoy it when he or any of the others recognized her tallness.
Before, she had largely just taken it as a compliment, usually awkwardly. But now? She looked pleased.
And with her weight, too. She was even more self-conscious about that, but while he didn’t think she was quite at the same level there, he could tell she was a lot more comfortable with it.
That made him wonder about how he perceived her in this regard.
When they’d first met, she had been noticeably slimmer, but he really did believe she looked better like this.
And at the same time, he did find himself loving how Kim’s or Chloe’s more slender bodies looked.
What caused that? Genetics? On his part or on theirs? Both? Was it because of who Ellen was to him, how their relationship had changed? He imagined it was a complex formula that likely involved all of these reasons and more he hadn’t even considered.
All that really mattered though was that they were happy. She was more comfortable with herself, and he got to be in an amazing relationship with a tall, thick goddess.
“Come along, dear,” she said, and now her tone and her smile were a lot less teasing and a lot more loving.
She took his hand as they met at the back of the car and began walking.
It was clear that there was some kind of festival going on, set up along the lake’s edge.
It took the form of about two dozen tents, all of varying sizes and makes, spread out in a loose string along the shoreline.
At a glance, there seemed to be a couple hundred people already there.
It had a very chill air.
“Has he figured it out yet?”
Gabe found Liz, Krystal, Emily, Abby, and Holly waiting for them up ahead.
“Not yet,” Gabe replied.
“Come on, you don’t hear that?” Chloe asked, approaching with Sadie.
Gabe frowned, then listened. He mostly heard the general murmur of conversation, somehow similar to the sound of power humming on a cold night.
He heard sounds coming from the highway nearby.
He heard, faintly, the whisper of the water lapping against the shoreline.
But he thought that was probably his imagination.
And then he heard it.
“Lo-fi,” he said, and chuckled.
“Yep,” Ellen replied with a smile. “I will forever hear this and think of you now.”
“I think we all will,” Chloe agreed.
“Shit, is this a lo-fi festival?” he asked as the pieces finally snapped together.
There was a general murmur of laughter. “Yes, dear,” Ellen replied. “We brought you here to make you happy. Or at least content.”
“I think I can manage both,” he replied.
“Can I be your arm candy for the night?”
Gabe turned and spied Kim. Good fucking God, was she sexy as a fit goth tomboy.
“Yes,” he replied, opening his arm. She laughed and slipped up against him, looping an arm around his waist as he did the same to her. “But I also want Ellen right now.”
“I mean, shit, who the fuck wouldn’t? Goddamn do you stick out like a radiant, golden thumb,” Kim agreed.
Ellen laughed as she came to stand on Gabe’s other side. He looked around and realized that she was right: Ellen was drawing a lot of attention. Actually, now that they were gathering together, they were all drawing a lot of attention.
This...was a pretty fucking cool gift.
This is what Gabe was thinking as he left the parking lot and began walking among the tents, Kim in one arm, Ellen in the other, everyone else following along behind them.
Much about the past four months had seemed ethereal, impossible, dreamlike.
There had been spikes as particularly amazing things happened, but this…
This was different.
What he was experiencing now felt like he had somehow stepped into a game or an anime. A harem anime.
A good harem anime, where it was an actual harem instead of just all arguing and no sex.
He never really understood people who thrived on emotional drama.
“So, Gabe, what do you want to do first?” Ellen asked.
“Yeah, you’re the one in control tonight,” Kim said.
“Um...let’s just walk around. Maybe see if they’re selling food, I’m actually kinda hungry.”
“Oh yeah, I guess we didn’t really do breakfast,” Abby murmured.
“I smell food,” Kim said.
“Let’s find it,” Gabe replied.
They continued walking, moving slowly among the tents, a small crowd unto themselves.
Yeah, people were definitely looking. Just about everyone at least glanced.
Usually it seemed like Ellen drew their attention, and then they realized there was a literal squad of attractive goth girls.
Gabe found himself deeply curious about what they might be thinking, especially given that most people here weren’t dressed all that abnormally.
Kim’s nose soon led them to a trio of foodtrucks that had been lined up not far from the tents.
He spied a taco truck, a pizza truck, and a burger truck.
A pretty damn good spread, as far as festival food went.
Especially considering how good it all smelled.
And as they got closer, he saw that they had that kind of indie vibe that really good foodtrucks had.
They got in line. Gabe ended up getting a pair of tacos, some chips and salsa, refried beans, and a soda. They all ordered, found a nearby tent with tables and chairs that was mostly empty, and gathered there, then dug in.
“Holy fuck, this is amazing,” Emily muttered between bites.
“Yes. I’m impressed,” Sadie murmured after eating some of her burger and fries.
“We need to find these foodtrucks again,” Krystal said.
“I will make a point of it,” Gabe replied.
“So, husband, how you doing?” Chloe asked after a few moments of eating.
“I...actually feel kinda perfect right now.”
She snorted. “How can you be kinda perfect?”
“Shut up.”
“Why don’t you make me?”
“Not at the dinner table,” Sadie said.
“Yes, mother,” Chloe replied, making several of them laugh.
“I feel great right now. Not too hot, not too cold. Satisfying food. Comfortable clothes. Great atmosphere. And I’m surrounded by beautiful women who all like me.”
“And love you,” Holly said.
“Well…” Gabe replied, a little awkwardly.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry,” she murmured.
“I mean, I’d say Abby and I love Gabe at this point, as a friend who we fuck,” Emily replied with an easy shrug.
“I would agree,” Abby said.
“I clearly have been fermenting a major league crush on Gabe ever since we were roommates,” Kim replied.
“So my ‘I love you’ meter is probably at least halfway full by now. Likely more, now that we’ve had amazing sex and we’re actually dating.
Probably like three quarters now. I mean, by now, I at least love you as a friend. ”
“So there,” Holly said.
Gabe laughed. “Yeah, that’s fair. I am insanely lucky.”
“You are, we all are, but you have put in the work,” Ellen replied.
“I’d say so, yeah. But at the same time, I’d also say that the reward to that hard work was definitely disproportionate.”
“You are incapable of not qualifying good things that happen to you, aren’t you?” Chloe asked.
“I think so, yeah. Is it really so bad?”
“It’s...a little annoying.”
“I think it’s a good check.”
“Check for what?” Kim asked.
“Arrogance. Blind spots. I think of it as keeping it real, keeping it grounded. Making sure I don’t get high off myself and my accomplishments and lose the qualities that have allowed me to get into this position in the first place.
I mean, it’s important for me to be sure, but I also don’t want to start taking anyone for granted. ”
“Sometimes, you are thoughtless to a fault,” Liz muttered.
“Thoughtless?” he replied.
“Yeah-wait. Shit! I mean selfless.” She sighed as he and several others began laughing. “I was thinking selfless, but then I also thought thoughtful-you know what I meant!”