Bullied (18+)

 

Chapter 24: Unwell, but Happy.

 

“Wait a sec,” I requested before we passed the bathroom.

“Gotta go?” As awkward of a question that may have been, Adam looked confused.

To be honest, I didn’t have to relieve myself, but I really needed to clean up before I sat down on any furniture. And I wasn’t about to tell him that I had his foamy mess to deal with before much more leaked out.

So to keep this simple, I said, “Yeah, and like, now.”

Straight into the bathroom I went, and closed the door right behind me. I knew he’d fully seen me before, and this was his doing, but for the sake of privacy -- I had to draw the line somewhere.

That reminded me… I turned to give the doorknob a quick inspection of its lock. I didn’t see the little push button, turnkey, or even those traditional slidebars. It was just a regular doorknob.

Through the door, I called: “Adam?”

In a muffled response, I heard: “I’m here.” I pulled the door open and looked out towards him. “What’s up?”

Cringing in an awkward moment of silence, I wondered, ’How am I going to ask this?’

Then I thought of a good cover for my question and started to explain. “Not that I would regularly lock you out, but if I don’t want someone like your father accidentally seeing anymore of me naked than he already has --”

“He what?” Not having thought my plan out fully, I closed my big mouth shut. “You told me about last night, but you had a shirt -- oh boy, just a shirt, yeah... and I know just a few minutes ago, it sounded like Mom --”

“Eh, Adam?” To me, it sounded like he might’ve started to get the picture, but I wanted to get things taken care of down there before this stuff dried up in my golden tuft down there. “Sorry, but I kinda need to use the bathroom for a reason, so can I know how to lock the door?”

“...Didn’t I show you before?” In response to that, I closed my eyes and shook my head. “I’m sorry, I thought I did.”

And I sighed out, “I don’t know, you might’ve.” In all honesty, having my lids softly closed and leaving me in the dark felt good. Nice and cool against the burning in my eyes. “I’ll blame the lack of sleep if I forgot.”

“You’re still sick.” That sounded like a statement, but I still nodded to confirm his assessment.

Thinking about that, I wondered, ’Why isn’t he sick?’ He was changing too, so it didn’t make sense to me how he was getting out of this suffering. Not that I wanted him to be harmed, but I also wished to understand what was going on.

“I’ll ask Mom about -- okay, sorry. Bathroom first.” Once said, I felt glad he had gone right back to the matter at hand without my saying something again. As he began his instructions, he demonstrated with his hand in the air on an imaginary doorknob. “Hold the doorknob, push the whole knob in. You’ll see and feel the knob give a little, and when it does, go and give it a twist to the right.”

Before I closed the door, I leaned forward to give him a quick peck on the cheek and said, “Thank you.”

Then I shut the door, gave the pushing a try and locked it, and heard a muffled: “All cool?”

“Yeah, got it.” And once I had, I turned my attention back to the reason for being here in the first place.

Everything below the waist was stripped off. I took a peek at the inside of the boxers I borrowed from Adam for any trace of a streak. Luckily, not yet, and once I finished up here, I didn’t believe I would have had to worry about leaving a mark.

Moving on, I walked my bare ass to the toilet, but stopped. I was tender, and I hadn’t washed my hands yet, so I hit the sink before anything. With these hands having instantly dried off on their own, I turned and lifted the lid off the toilet-seat, and sat my butt down. As if I had already gone, I tore off strips of toilet paper and reached down under to wipe away whatever I could.

That didn’t feel very pleasant. Then again, reminded myself how I was sore, and despite how soft the squares were, these happened to be literally dry sheets of paper.

...On second thought, ’Maybe I should check and make sure I’m okay?’ I didn’t know how much abuse my womanhood could take.

After I got up from the toilet and flushed, I had almost propped up my foot on the seat. I thought better over doing that and turned to utilizing the side of the bathtub.

One foot up on the tub’s edge later, I bowed and leaned down to take a closer look at what I had between my legs. I immediately winced at the sight, but not because I looked bad.

There were a few tiny torn pieces of the paper I used to clean up in my fair bush. And that disgusted me.

Immediately after that discovery, I went straight for their bathroom closet and nabbed a beige colored washcloth off of their second or third shelf from the top. Taking that cloth to the sink, I turned the faucet warmly on.

A quick scrub of a wet cloth and a deposit of said cloth in the hamper later, I was back to doing a Captain Morgan pose on the side of the tub. I delicately traced my two first fingers along my vulva just to feel if I was hurting both on the inside and outside.

Closing my eyes again, I nodded to no one, but confirmed for myself that I really needed Adam to lay off of me for awhile. And I needed to protect myself from Grandma, her Shade, and any other demon that wanted a piece of me.

“How?” I quietly asked myself. When I had actually tried to strike, I discovered that duplicate of Grandma Satan couldn’t be touched.

At least, I had believed that to be the case. I was still in the dark about what had happened after Helen crushed that insect. I hadn’t actually seen a bug, but I was made aware of the black mess on her hand.

This was a farfetched suspicion, but I wondered, ’Did she smack Grandma?’ Believing in that was a wish fulfillment. She already had a heart of gold, but for her to have done that, it would have made Helen a saint.

In an instant after that thought, I yanked my hand out and away from between my legs as if I burnt myself. However innocent my intentions had been, having her in my thoughts while touching myself felt really damning.

Dressed back up, I figured if I turned the doorknob to the left it would unlock. I was right, and I left the bathroom to rejoin Adam in the hallway.

He smiled and asked: “Ready to Rock’n’Roll?”

With a tiny laugh and grin, I said, “Yeah.”

We walked out into the kitchen together, then passed the stove towards the dining room table. There were two of the family already seated who patiently awaited us. And one of those two was a really huge guy.

At long last, I got a good full look at the big and bearded bear called Denis.

His disheveled short hair made me think of someone who either sweated a lot or he greased his hair and the wind had mussed it. I would be intimidated by his size and appearance if he hadn’t a huge and warm smile spread across his face as he ogled the long awaited dinner.

I was proudly delighted and amused by his reaction to the meal.

When Helen took note of us, she did a double-take at the sight of Adam’s stricken face. “Ah, Adam, Clem, what happened?”

The truth: “I hit him.”

“I see that.” Her and me both shifted our gaze to Adam waving it off as if it were nothing. “I take it you two just settled a difference the old fashioned way?”

Adam shrugged and said, “I deserved it for this morning…” He purposefully left the rest unsaid and I was glad for the unfinished conclusion.

It was already difficult to explain our situation to his mom, and I didn’t want to find out how his dad would’ve responded to the full event of today. Helen had shown me she was distraught with what she thought had been her son raping me.

The longer those demons controlled my life, the worse our image appeared being together. I had to fight back.

Helen turned to face me and stated: “Maybe we should have picked up more bandages while we were out.” I responded with a silent wince, but like her son, she waved it off. “Don’t worry yourself about it. The man will take his medicine and get better. Wontcha!?”

The man himself looked at his mom and nodded with a certain vow: “I’ll grow up.”

“Good ta hear. You two ready for a dish?” She took the liberty to cut into the expansive block with a rigid spatula and scoop a helping of lasagna onto each available plate. As sides, I noted she had added broccoli and string green beans.

The later was a nice touch, but the broccoli would definitely cause some of us to build up unwanted gas. At least a lot more than the stringy fiber we were about to eat.

I know I would bloat.

Denis had taken one glance at Adam and clapped him on the back -- which might have left a bigger impression than the one I had streaked across his face. “Could have been worse. Your mom had me by the neck and --”

“-- you passed out. I know. Mom’s arm locks are to be feared.” Adam must have heard that one a lot from the tone of his voice.

Helen raised a fist and slapped the long head of her firm bicep.

The three of them made me smile.

Since she had taken the duty to dish out our lasagna, I assisted with the two containers that held the green sides. Both men thanked us before we selected which full plates would be ours.

From one of the bottom cupboards, I caught Denis with a big black bottle of wine. I didn’t know what kind it was until he poured out a red into glasses.

I wasn’t sure if red wine went well with this dinner, but I wouldn’t protest. What Adam’s parents drank was their business. I would be content with a glass of water.

To make sure Denis didn’t waste wine on me, I asked: “Mind if I just have water?”

“Not at all, but if it is because you are worried -- it’s far, far too early for anything to influence your little seed.” I thought that was a funny way to talk about my pregnancy, but then again, I was still in the twenty-four hours of conception. This really was an unbelievable truth for them to take, despite my knowing.

I assured them that it was just because, “I’m good with water rather than juices or -- the like.”

Both the men looked at me funny, but it was Helen that asked: “No juice?”

“Vitamin capsules are what I take instead of, well, any vitamin rich drinks.” I also wasn’t a fan of the added sugar and more that juice carried with it. I had no desire to gain unwanted weight.

But in a few months or more, I supposed I would be getting a belly and extra layer of cushion around my body. I gave Helen a look over her outstanding figure and wondered, ’How does she do it?’

To get my mind off of the future, I returned my attention to the amusing present.

Adam appeared eager to try the red. I just hoped that stuff wouldn’t cause trouble later.

Okay, that was thinking ahead. I wanted to be here and experience the now. This was my first dinner with the family.

The parents sat at the ends of the table. Adam and I would sit across from each other. Once seated -- and after a moment of thankful grace -- we dug into our meals. I finally had a chance to eat.

And one look down at my plate told me all I needed to know: I wasn’t hungry. Even the glass of water had no appeal to me. It disturbed me that I had no hankering for a single bite or sip of anything. By now, I should’ve experienced a harsh thirst at the very least.

Rather than not having a craving for food or water, I felt sickened by the thought of ingesting any of it. The very idea caused my stomach to turn.

It didn’t take me long to figure out that I’d become ill if I tried to eat. Just having imagined -- with the sight and smell -- a taste of a single bite had caused me to gag. At the moment, I believed it to be psychosomatic.

I wondered in thought, ’Why now? I didn’t have this reaction when I was cooking. Was it because I had intended to enjoy the meal?’

I would not accept it that I couldn’t eat or drink something! I just had to find out what would appear tasty. Or I could demand an answer from Grandma what the deal was. She had to understand that if the child in me needed to grow, then sustenance was a must.

Plus I bet a part of me being tired was the lack of nourishment. Before I tossed my cookies this morning, I managed to stomach the deli meat for a little while. I wondered, ’Why was that? What is the difference between the meats and this dish?’

Both had been cooked, but one was cold while this was hot. I hadn’t felt nauseous before the cooking, so it was possible the oily grease from the lasagna might be the culprit. But that hadn’t excused the water.

...I didn’t know, and wondering about it was going nowhere.

I scanned the table and family; they relished their meals and savored the bites in an almost comical manner. They helped me smile again, but I couldn’t be happy about my condition. I had changed too much.

I was close to not feeling human anymore.

“-- you could hollow out two halves of a crystal, fill it with water, then seal it back up.” I caught that Denis had been speaking to me and I had only just started to listen. “Glorious sweet crystals.”

To be frank, I admitted I had missed something. “I’m sorry?”

“Rock candy. It’s essentially recrystallized sugar with some drops of flavor.” He gave me a big grin before he continued. “You know what a Tootsie Pop is?”

I knew what that was and made him aware of that. “A lollipop with the chocolate in the center.”

“Exactly. Just use the same method with rock candy, but why stop with chocolate or bubblegum? We could sprinkle the shaft with sweet and sour to give the candy a Warhead-like taste.” From his talk, I was either under the impression that Denis worked at a candy store or business. It was that or he really enjoyed sweets.

In wonder, I thought, ’Maybe both?’

In any case, I got the concept of the conversation he had told me earlier. “Why not make the sticks edible?”

Denis’s eyes lit up. “Oh yeah! I had thought about that too, but wasn’t sure on what to use. I could Pocky them --”

“Hun, we spoke about that ‘afore.” Helen waved a menacing fork at him. “You can’t call it Pocky. Somebody owns that. Some company with pockets a million times deeper than yours and more lawyers than you’ve got hairs.”

“I don’t have to call it Pocky,” Denis said, waving expansively. “Their patent on chocolate-covered cookie sticks expired decades ago, and all they own is the brand name. I just have to come up with a new name.”

“Rock Candy, Tootsie Pop, and now Pocky.” The tone in her voice sounded a little blue. “Ya need to be more careful and learn ta use descriptors that are not plastered in big bold letters across multi-billion dollar companies.” Helen waved a fork at Denis before she stabbed and stole a bite of lasagna from his plate.

“Hey!” Denis stared in shock at Helen’s bold grab from his plate as she lost control and guffawed with her husband’s share of the lasagna still in her mouth. She quickly covered her mouth to keep some decency in check.

Meanwhile, I shook my head and leaned towards Adam to whisper: “Are they always like this during dinner?” Adam -- unable to speak just yet with his own mouthful -- waved both his hands at his parents in presentation.

Swallowing hard, he nearly exclaimed, “Just during dinner? They’re always like this!” He let out an exasperated sigh before he dug back into his lasagna.

I had to face away from the two. I covered my mouth behind my hand in an attempt to keep my laughter contained.

Adam had looked between the three of us before he smiled at me. I supposed he must be used to this sort of behavior from his parents, but found amusement in it once he noticed my joy.

“Clem? Something wrong?” A look back to Helen showed me her attention was on my full plate.

I shook my head and told her the honest truth. “I’m not hungry.”

“I know being sick can do that to ya. Even so, ya have to eat something.” What she said was true, but I knew the result of eating my cooking would be disastrous.

Before I attempted to steel myself for a bite, Adam stood up and mentioned: “We have some bread? Ah, like the last time, eating something bland might be better than --”

“Ah, the spices, ya, right. Good call!” Helen smacked her forehead and shook her head. “That kind of mix in your tum won’t end well and I’m sure you don’t wanna end up sleeping on a toilet seat all night.”

“Did that once or twenty times. Also slept standing, too. Had to use the dresser in the suite as a pillow… It was crowded.” Denis explained his experience and I had to wonder what he had been in to be squeezed into a suite so crowded that the floor would have been unavailable. “I’ve lost count of how many business conventions I’ve attended.” That answered my silent question.

While I had learned a thing or two about Denis, Adam had brought over a saucer of bread and set it down by my dinner plate. He asked: “Butter?”

“Thanks. I’m good.” I smiled and lifted a slice of bread to nibble on for everyone to be reassured I was eating something. The texture felt funny and the bread’s taste was off from what I was used to. I took a look at the slice. “What kind of bread is this?”

“Ah, oh!” I saw Adam turn to face his mom with a smirk.

I wasn’t sure if he did that in mockery or had some unspoken history with his mom about the issue with this bread. In hope, I took his expression as evidence for the latter guess and awaited to hear what he had to say on the matter.

“I guess, yeah…” My shoulders and expression dropped tiredly to show him I was patiently listening for him to answer. When he looked back at me, he laughed a little at my reaction and gave up the details. “We freeze our bread as soon as we bring it home.”

My mouth hung open for a few seconds -- with the slice of bread keeping my open gawp concealed from Adam’s family -- as I stared at them. Then I said, “Why?”

Denis was the one to explain. “Keeps it fresh longer. Not too many living organisms, like microbes, like the cold. Frozen environments are tough places for anything to survive in.” He spoke up with a higher volume as he grew excited about the subject. “Might live longer. We don’t die of old age, but due to degenerative diseases. The cold can preserve the body and make whatever unseen little critters in us take a hike someplace warmer.”

Helen sniffed at that informal explanation and said, “Ya, so could a really hot spot. That’s why we cook our food to purify it.”

“We’d die before getting close to that temperature.” As Denis said that, I thought of myself as perhaps the only living human who might possibly have gone to someplace like that.

...And I probably could’ve been the only being on this world who could grow that hot to kill.

“Ah, Clem?” Hearing Adam call me that felt wrong. I was used to Helen referring to me as that.

But from Adam, I had an electric tingle run up my spine when he called me Clem. It made me feel like my naughty alter-ego. With him standing by me, I looked up over the crust at him as I kept the slice of bread up over my lips.

Not only in a sexual way, but I was also happily excited when he had at last referred to me as a girl. I couldn’t explain the reason why.

To have someone I loved seeing me this way gave me joy.

He leaned down by my long ear and whispered: “Are you okay?”

Settled down, I whispered back. “I can’t eat.”

With the fully grown couple still debating on which was better to live in -- hot or cold climates -- their son offered a hand for me to either take or hand over my slice of bread. This time, I chose to guess the former rather than the later. I set the bread down on my plate and stood up with his assistance.

I turned to address an apology to the parents. “I’m sorry. I just don’t feel well enough to eat right now. Is it okay if I be excused?”

“Ahm, sure.” Helen was concerned by the look on her face. “Listen, do ya wanna go see a doctor?”

“I did and -- I’m in the middle of deciding if I want to find a new doctor. The one I met -- I didn’t like him very much.” The memory of that windbag made my stomach curdle.

Over what had been said there, and all that had happened yesterday, I believed he was the reason I might be implicated in arson!

“Do ya want to meet mine? She’s a good lady that has been around here for years and years.” Helen glanced away from me for a moment and added: “She was my doc when I first moved here. That was twenty odd-some years ago.”

When she mentioned having moved here, I had to wonder if that meant she was within or out of the country before coming here. I was still lost trying to figure her out.

Her accent was mixed with our East Coast and I couldn’t quite place where she may have originated from. I could have asked; maybe I would someday, but tonight I would have had to focus my concern on what I could do about nourishment.

“Ah yeah, Clem, do ya wanna go out tonight since yer under the weather?” I’d forgotten about having asked Helen for us to go and shop for clothes -- like underwear -- and do a little window shopping for a ring, but I had expected that tomorrow.

“I’d like to have Adam with us, but I think it would be best to do that tomorrow.” The reasoning behind that was because I didn’t know my current size.

As a boy, I didn’t have much trouble figuring out what to grab, but I knew women devoted a lot of time into the proper styles of underwear for effect. Good examples were those awesome push-up bras… They were kinda a mystery to me, but maybe that was why I’d enjoyed Erin having one on at some point during our relationship. I was a fan of her legs, but she had distracted me from those long and sleek limbs with her fashionably affected busty look.

Then she stopped wearing them when it had become difficult to hold a conversation without my eyes wandering down below her collar. Now that I had thought about it… I caught myself glancing down on Helen and saw she was more well endowed than Erin ever dreamed she could be.

“Clem, ya look like you’re about to get some shuteye while on yer feet. Did ya get any rest after -- ya know, when Adam came home?” My eyes drifted back up to meet and lock with Helen’s.

“I did, but it wasn’t --” I lightly shrugged and kept quiet about the disturbance I’d had. “Not really restful.” I kept my eyes on her, but felt tempted to look at Adam since my sleep had been disturbed by more than just him.

If I had glanced his way, she might have had an impression of what had transpired in the bedroom not too long ago. It wouldn’t be good if Helen were to mistakenly admonish Adam after I had already dealt my hand on him.

This was so damn difficult to truly explain that her son wasn’t at fault for these sexual assaults. I absolutely had to put a stop to those Hellions before anymore happened between us.

“How about we plan to pay my doc a visit.” My serious thoughts were interrupted, and I listened to Helen. “No real appointment, just a chat and see if she’s willing to have a look atcha. Only if she has the time to spare. If not, we’ll schedule one. Then we can go shopping. Sound good?” I smiled and accepted the proposal with a nod.

“If you’re going out to shop, we could use some more towels. They keep disappearing from the bathroom.” I shifted my gaze to Denis and wondered about that. Adam had recently come out of there with a towel and I’d had no issues finding any after I showered. So I gave the big burly man a confused look before he kindly responded with a chuckle: “For my size. I know you pipsqueaks have your own towelettes. I need a man-sized towel that can reach all the way around me.”

The laughing giant here had brought me back to thinking about clothes. Adam had mentioned before that I’d probably gain weight; even though he likely was joking, I didn’t doubt it. Not to mention when I would grow that dome belly, I’d have to find a fitted pair of shirt and pants in that scenario.

A shock went through me as I thought of myself being pregnant. Really, fully, with child.

Before, I had taken the thought as just that: a thought. I never absorbed the reality of being a girl with a baby… Not until Adam stopped referring to me as Clint.

My hand shook while it instinctively came to cover over my abdomen. I took in a ragged breath and turned to face Adam. He’d told me how unready he was for this and I had said the same, but I only now truly realized how afraid I was. And that imagery had not included all those issues that I still had to solve: my missing dad and whether I’d be transformed anymore into something inhuman.

“Clem, do you want to head back to bed?” Adam asked. I honestly had not wanted to be in bed because I felt like that was where I’d been for most of my stay here.

“No,” I said. And tried to say, “I’ve slept enough --”

“Nah-ah!” Helen refused to believe what I had said. I knew I lied, but I suppose she also was well aware I needed real sleep. “Tell ya what, give us a minute or so an’ we’ll go out for some fresh air?”

“...Why?” I was genuinely lost on that suggestion.

“Ya took a nice nap on the way back from the store, remembah?” I had to admit that was true and nodded. “You, me, and whoever wants ta drive around the neighborhood, ‘kay?”

“Oh… okay.” I looked back at Adam’s parents and said, “Sorry about -- this.” I gestured at myself as indication of my unknown condition. Then I smiled at them. “I’m happy you like the meal.”

“We’ll enjoy it for you. Hope you get better soon.” Denis smiled back at me as he stood and passed by to grab another plate full of the lasagna.

“Ah, we’re gonna save some for her, aren’t we, Hun.” That didn’t sound like Helen had asked Denis, but rather made that a firm statement.

I stood and watched as Denis slumped with disappointment. While he’d gathered the plate that had been meant for me, he also collected the pan to prepare for cold storage. I hoped to have the stomach for it later.

Adam’s hand slipped around my waist and directed me away from the table so I wouldn’t be in his dad’s way. I had to bite back a laugh when I saw Denis suck in his stomach. He didn’t have a big gut, but he was built like an overgrown bear.

Or better yet, a bear that had the look of a black leather vested biker.

But the thought of the Jungle Book’s Baloo popped in my head. With Denis hands full, I half expected him to start singing and twirling the food in the air as he maneuvered around the dining room into the kitchen.

After tonight, I was totally convinced that I really enjoyed being around his family.

Between being with my dad and Adam, I’d smiled and laughed more times in these past few days than I had in months… Maybe years if I considered the comparisons between this family’s good natured joy against the reasons I formerly would find or create amusement at the misfortunate expense of others.

Besides what malicious “fun” I once found at school, Dad wasn’t a cheerful guy to play games with at home. He wasn’t really approachable either. At least, not without something for us to discuss.

Just a few days ago, I’d thought my dad did a good job at raising me on his own. Now that I saw how well off Adam was, I questioned the true quality of my upbringing.

Once we were in the hall, Adam leaned in to whisper: “Clint, are you really okay?”

With that name, I stopped dead in my tracks and pleaded: “Please, could you keep calling me Clem?”

“Ah… yeah. Sure, Clem.” I didn’t show it to him, but I smiled down at the floor when he said my name. Then he repeated his question. “Are you okay, Clem?”

“Yes… and no.” I was really torn up about who I was and would want to be. Where I would go and what I would do once I got there. I wondered, ’If I do find my dad and am capable of going back to live with him as his son again, would I want to?’

“Do you want me to stay with you? I can let them know to pack my dinner up too.” I smiled more with an affection for Adam before I faced him to nod. I did want him with me. “Okay. I’ll be back.”

He slipped away while I walked further and into his room. I took a look down at myself and felt foolish about the thought I’d put into getting dressed for dinner. I supposed it had been a nice impression, but it didn’t feel like I’d had a very successful date with Adam’s parents. It was mostly fun and I did learn a thing or two about Denis. Also how Adam’s parents behaved around each other.

“Okay, maybe it was a success.” A little laugh later and I slid up onto all fours to crawl on his bed.

I laid under the covers for a few minutes, wondering what was holding Adam up.

A thought did occur to me that he might have to do dishes.

Then there was the fact that he did actually eat and might be getting cleaned up before he joined me.

...There had always been the possibility Adam was stuck in another conversation about being responsible for me. I hoped that wasn’t the scenario being played out out there.

“Wow, that made me feel like a pet.” I smirked at the thought of him taking care of me, but didn’t dwell on it.

“Pet?” I wondered if fate had decided to delay Adam long enough for him to show up right at the moment I said that about myself. He closed the door blindly behind himself while he looked at me curiously. “What were you talking about?”

I felt a little heat glow hot around my face and shrugged shyly in response. “Nothing. Just thinking out loud.”

“Ah, yeah, I got that, but it was what you were thinking about that has me interested. What makes you feel like a pet?” When I caught his look, I then knew he was worried about how he was treating me.

“I -- really, it is nothing. You haven’t --” I was about to say he had done nothing wrong, but to him, he believed in what recently had happened was his doing. I sighed and sunk my head back deeply into the soft pillow to stare up at the ceiling. “Adam, I’m confused. I’ll likely be rambling about a few things to myself so I can find out if my thoughts are crazy or not.”

“Mom does that, but she’d prefer if one of us were around her to hear it. Sometimes crazy can make sense to the crazy and be missed, but, heh, not when someone else is around to witness it.” I glanced back at him as he tore his shirt off. “So do you think you can try telling me what you were thinking about?”

I kept quiet for a second before I spoke. “Your parents are loading a heavy burden on your shoulders. Me. I simply reflected how it felt like you were being taught to take responsibility for a new pet.”

“Ahhh… Well, isn’t that the whole point for kids to receive and raise pets? Get them, used to the big job? Ya know?” I had not thought of it like that, but Adam did make sense. I nodded to give him his due credit for making a valid point. “But you’re not a pet.” Then he shrugged and said, “Not unless you want to be.”

“Huh?” He just shrugged again before removing his pants. “Hey, I told you my thoughts. You could share yours too.”

He paused on one leg, then slowly began to remove it again as he straightened back up. “Ahm, Clem? You’ve been someone in charge for quite awhile. I mean, back in school and all.” I knew what he meant and nodded. He sighed nervously and shook his head. “I don’t know if I can say it.”

“That embarrassing or offensive?” I wasn’t sure, but I hoped he could give me a clue.

“Maybe both.” When he approached the bed, he just sat on the edge with his bare back to me. “I, ahm… Clem? It’s kinda… I’m sorry, but it was a turn on when I took advantage of you.”

He said it. In a way, I understood what he meant, but I also didn’t feel good about it either. That was something my old self used to feel when someone was down on their luck.

A powertrip.

Once again, I heard his regret and apology for what he had done. “I’m sorry. I won’t be doing anything like that to you. Never… never again.”

I reached over and laid a heated hand on the middle of his back for reassurance. “Not unless I want you to.” Then I quickly added: “That’s not an invitation.” I felt the his back muscles twitch from his small and silent laugh. “Heh, yeah, you have to wait.”

He turned around, faced me, and said, “I will.”

With the both of us smiling, he leaned down as I rose up to meet each other’s lips. We held our kiss for a moment, nibbled and played a bit, and finally deepened our passionate affection for each other a little longer. If I could, I would have invited him to do some more with me, but I really was hurting and didn’t want to be aggravated further.

When we broke our kiss, he slipped under the covers with me and reached to pull me against him. I surrendered that much and laid onto his side.

“You’re dressed?” He sounded curiously confused about my being clothed.

“Yeah, remember? Your mom wanted to take me for a drive.” Once I reminded him, I caught he had rolled his head back with a groan. “What?”

“Forgot -- I was out there, they talked, got me packing and cleaning, and…” He faced me and sighed: “I just wanted to crawl back in bed with you, that’s all.”

To comfort him, I placed soft kiss on his lips, and again. And again, until he responded with his own.

If he could restrain himself and love me like this for the rest of our lives, then despite my fears of what was to come, I wouldn’t mind the idea of giving this fiery child of ours a sibling. I was sure his parents could give us a few pointers on how to raise multiple children.

Right now, I savored his clean scent... And an interesting citrus aroma.

Detergent. I could tell that he had taken care of the dishes.

It might have been a good idea to tell him that wasn’t a good thing for his skin as the design was meant to erode soils, whereas soap was meant to collect and be rinsed off. Maybe some other time, like when we weren’t liplocked in bed...