Twenty-Seven Evelyn
We fell asleep soon after in one another's arms, both exhausted. Our scene took a lot out of me. Not as much mentally, but physically, I was utterly drained.
Relatively thirsty in the middle of the night, I reached my hand out to the nightstand, realizing I’d finished the glass before falling asleep.
With a groan, I slid off the bed, clutching onto the headboard as my legs nearly gave out beneath me.
I cursed under my breath, my body aching with every shift of my weight.
Even my arms felt sore from gripping the ropes so tightly.
Lowering myself down to my knees, the soreness felt more bearable. Vanessa kept filtered water and glasses in her mini fridge, so I only had to move a few meters.
As Vanessa shifted slightly in her sleep, I kept still, not daring to move until I was sure she wouldn't wake up.
She had said I could wake her anytime, but she looked too serene to be disturbed.
Besides, being sore from some fingering was embarrassing.
She stopped moving, leaving the room completely silent other than the peaceful sound of her breathing.
Seeing it as the only possible method, I began crawling toward the fridge. With the pressure split between my arms and legs, the ache subsided at the cost of my dignity.
I tried to stay as quiet as possible, stifling strained whimpers as my bare knees dragged across the hard floor. I was still completely naked from the very activities that left me in this condition.
I couldn't remember the last time I was on my hands and knees, let alone while bare. Even with no one watching, it was demeaning.
"Evelyn, what are you doing?"
I gasped, caught off guard. Frozen in place, I glanced up to see Vanessa's silhouette sitting up in bed.
"Why are you crawling around my room at three in the morning as if you're possessed?" she demanded.
"I was just getting water. I didn't mean to wake you," I stammered, sitting down in the middle of the room, trying to cover as much of myself as possible with my hands.
"On your hands and knees? What is wrong with you?" She switched on the nightlight, leaving me even more exposed.
"I can't walk," I admitted bashfully.
"Then why didn't you wake me up as I’d instructed?" she asked, getting out of bed and walking toward me, opening her dresser to grab me one of her shirts.
"Because I was able to do it myself. I was perfectly fine until you scared me."
"Here, honey." She handed it to me, sensing my discomfort.
I put it on quickly, watching her fill up my glass and place it on the nightstand. I just wanted to go back to bed, but there was no way I was crawling in front of Vanessa. Unless she asked me to, I'd rather sleep on the cold, hard floor.
She knelt down next to me, her previous mix of confusion and annoyance replaced with concern. "What hurts? Talk to me."
I held back a sigh of humiliation. "Nothing. My body is just tired. It didn't have enough time to recover yet, that's all," I assured her. I also wasn’t used to penetration, but she didn't need to know that.
"Is there anything else you need right now?" she asked, snaking an arm around my waist.
"No, I just want to sleep," I chuckled at her care.
"If you say so," she whispered, lifting me up. "But I am going to be playing nurse on you now, darling."
I rolled my eyes, trying to dismiss the ridiculous images her wording brought to mind. "Vanessa, don't. People just get sore after penetration sometimes," I groaned as she placed me onto my back.
"Well they usually shouldn’t. And I don't like being told what to do, Evelyn."
"Are you going to punish me for that?"
"Do you want to lose your ability to sit on top of already not being able to walk?"
"No, Vanessa."
"Good choice. Is it okay if I check how swollen you are?"
I flushed, absolutely not wanting this type of attention over something so minor. Still, I nodded, just wanting this moment to end.
"Spread your legs for me," she instructed, reaching over me to grab my phone off the nightstand as if hers wasn't right beside us. She switched on the flashlight, sitting herself at the base of the bed.
"Why did you take my phone?" I asked as she pried my legs further apart.
"To make you more comfortable, sweetheart," she answered, moving back up and handing back my phone.
Glancing at the lock screen, a portion of a sarcastic text was revealed.
Meghan: Job Offer Info, as you requested ;)...
My heart skipped a beat. Although sent earlier, the message was shown when Vanessa was holding my phone. There was no way she hadn't read it.
"The irritation and swelling are minimal, so your discomfort should subside by the morning," Vanessa shared, taking it upon herself to pull the shirt back over my goosebump-covered thighs for me.
Relief rushed through me at her lack of a reaction. Then again, the message didn’t confirm I was the one who wanted the job. Actually, I didn't want the job, so there was nothing that text revealed.
"Thank you, doctor," I teased, making a mental note to let her play nurse on me whenever she wanted.
Unlike the last time I made this joke, a small resemblance of a smile played on her lips.
"Regardless, I'm still going to have you apply some ice," she said, taking pleasure in my growing frown.
"Ice? Again?" I groaned in disbelief.
"Oh please, don't even pretend you didn't enjoy it," she said, sauntering out of the room.
She was back a minute later with a wrapped ice pack. "I’m going to put ice on you for a few minutes," she said, gently laying the ice over me.
"If I knew you were doing this, I would've chosen the wax."
"And if you’d told me you have minimal experience with penetration, I wouldn't have added a third finger," she patronized.
"I'm gay, of course I haven't!"
"Yes, and I apologize for assuming you've taken a strap"—she laughed—"I should have asked, regardless of my personal disinterest in them."
"Hm, it's okay. It felt really good for me.” Being sore was a small price to pay for coming so hard around her fingers. “And I'm glad we are on the same page about straps."
"Oh? You share my disfavor?" She seemed just as surprised by the information as I’d been.
"I don't hate them, but they don’t do much for me. But why don't you like them? You're so... domineering."
She chuckled, squeezing my cheek playfully at the accurate assessment.
"I have no interest in sporting a low-quality piece of plastic; there are far more upscale items to utilize.
" I nodded, thinking back to the fine rope, the sweet champagne, and the new lingerie.
"Besides, sweetheart," she continued, her voice sultry, "I don't need anything else to hold power over you.
Just my mere presence makes you surrender yourself to me, isn't that right, my darling? "
She stroked my hair slowly as she spoke, chuckling when I leaned over to bury my reddening face in her neck.
"Fifteen minutes is up, honey," she murmured after letting me hide against her for a few quiet minutes. “Do you feel ready to get some more rest?" she asked, taking off the ice and pulling me fully up against her.
"Of course I do, it's 3 a.m.," I laughed, rolling my eyes at the seemingly dumb question before realizing she was thinking about my insomnia. "But thank you for looking after me," I added, squeezing her a bit harder as a sort of hug.
"My pleasure. I have a few hours of work in the evening, so I need to be somewhat well-rested for tomorrow, and you could always use more sleep." She shut off the light, laying back down and closing her eyes.
I laid down, but didn't do the same, my mind now thinking about work.
Mentally, I ran through all the tedious things that needed to get done over the weekend, dreading each and every one of my current assignments, hating that once I left Vanessa's I'd need to force myself to sit for hours on end.
The time wasn't the issue as much as how much I detested every second of it.
Maybe internally denying my dislike for my job for the past few months was why it was getting so strong in the span of a few weeks; everything was manageable until I got back from the business trip.
"Evelyn, is the pain keeping you up?"
Vanessa's unexpected question pulled me out of my thoughts. I was so still, thinking she was asleep. The pain was fine and not an issue. As much as I hated to admit it, the ice helped a ton, to the point I'd forgotten all about it.
"No, just thinking," I answered, pulling myself into the present and choosing to focus on the beautiful woman next to me.
She didn't push, instead tracing imaginary lines on my back. It was good because I couldn't talk to her. I could talk to her about so much—but not this.
I woke to my phone ringing and noticed Vanessa was already gone. Grabbing it, I saw it was 10 a.m., so I couldn't really complain. I answered the call from my mom, knowing that if I didn’t, she'd just bombard me with more calls, texts, and probably even a few threats.
"There's going to be a family get-together in a few weeks at your aunt's home, and you're going to be there," she stated.
What happened to ‘hello, how are you?’
"Oh, okay." It was too early to remind her she couldn’t just assume I'd be free whenever she pleased.
"So, um, how are you?" I asked, trying to get this conversation over with.
"What do you want from me now?" she snarled.
She was the weirdest mix of overbearing and overinvolved while somehow still completely disregarding what it meant to play the role of a mother. "Nothing, I was just making small talk."
Opening up my texts, I read them so as not to pay full attention to my mother or take in the inevitable criticism that would soon be coming my way. In doing so, I ended up scrolling mindlessly through the job offer Meghan sent.
"So, you're done being an ungrateful daughter who wants nothing to do with me?" She nearly cackled, thinking she was hilarious.
"If this is about my business trip, I'm sorry—" I said instinctually, though barely sorry.