Random futa things

by Jokiba

Just as the title says pure smut

58. A Simple Life

A Simple Life

Grimbous

Summary:

A slice of life romance about a soft man and a gently dominant futa.

Notes:

Author's Note: Before I begin this serial I need to give thanks and give warning. The thanks I give to my incredible supporters. One of whom made the suggestion that became the seed of this story and all of whom helped me create these characters and this world. World building really was a team effort on this one and a hell of a lot of fun.

The warning I give to you. My goal with this story is for it to be a pure slice of life where we simply peek into the day to day life of our main character. A plot might happen or it might not. While this is an 18 erotica and there will be plenty of smut in the long term it is also a slow burner as I wish to take some time getting know our characters and setting. For the smutty stuff you can expect a submissive twinkish man interacting with a gentle domme of a futanari woman.

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter Text

Blood, brains and bowels spatter across wet cobblestones as the last of the orc goons is bisected from crown to crotch by the mighty cleave of the warrior's shining axe. Not ten feet away the corrupt prince whose treachery had caused so much death and strife slowly backs away with his hands out in front of him in surrender. His wide terrified eyes dart around in search of an escape but there was nowhere for him to flee. Behind him was the high stone wall that encircled the city. To his left stood the kingdom's most notorious burglar-assassin Super Ninja. To his right awaited the judgment of the Order of Justice's famous fighting nun Sister Mary Motherfucking Massblaster. Straight ahead stood the magnificent armored tower of power known simply as Lady Ara who was flicking the ichor of his last bodyguard from her weapon. And behind her stood a new member of this adventuring party that had ruined his plans at every turn who wore the robes of a spellcaster.

This new one was a mystery to the prince. The arrival of a wizard in the city was always a topic that would have spread like wildfire among the city's underworld and elite alike, both worlds that the prince was extremely well connected in. But this 'Avery', as his companions had called him, seemed to have simply sprung from the aether. He stood out from the others by virtue of his sex. He was the first male member the prince had ever heard of to team up with the infamous Mayhems. Most puzzling of all though was how the mage had stood in place as the battle raged around him flapping through his spell book. He had not cast one spell or made one offensive move despite the urging of his companions. In the prince's always calculating mind the mystery mage represented his last thread of hope.

"You there." The prince calls out over the hiss of the cold steady rain. "Wizard."

"M-m-me?"

"Careful Avery." Lady Ara's voice echoes from her mithril helm. "He's a devil this one is."

"I am a man." The prince says. "Just like you Avery. Free me from this and you will have wealth you could not even dream of. A tower of your own. A seat at my side!"

Super Ninja, Sister Mary Motherfucking Massblaster, and Lady Ara all look back to see their new companion's reaction. Avery looks around at them and shakes his head no. After rustling around in his book for a few frantic seconds he says. "I-I-I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"It's alright Avery. We got this." Ara's voice rings as she strides forward to approach with the villain. The other two close in from either side. "I tried to warn you Prince. Didn't I try to warn you?"

The prince snorts and glowers into the darkness behind Lady Ara's eye slit. "Do I at least get to see the fucking whore who RUINED EVERYTHING! Look me in the eyes you BITCH!" As he screams and shakes his fists in impotent rage a strand falls down over his face from his normally perfect hair. Though her face was hidden by her helm he knew she was smiling, and that drove him mad.

"What was it you said to me? Last time we met. You said something to me. In front of the whole council. Remember?"

"Lick my ass?" Asks Super Ninja.

"No. That wasn't it."

"Bite my balls?" Asks Sister Mary Motherfucking Massblaster.

"No, no. Getting closer though." The warrior taps her chin plate. "What was it again?"

The prince's eyes narrow as he seethes. The Mayhem's penchant for humiliating their enemies was well known, little did he ever suspect that he would be on the recieving end of it. Standing up as tall as he could he says venomously. "Suck my dick."

"That's it!" The metal fingers of Ara's gauntlet snaps. "Suck my dick. Ahhh, good times."

His eyes flitting between the three he sees no hint of mercy in any of them. The wizard Avery tentatively approaches to stand nearby clearly uncomfortable with everything that was happening. Staring into the wizard's blue eyes the prince plays his very last card…and begs for his life. "Please good Sir. Spare me. Don't let them kill me."

"Wh-wh-what? Me? Ummm…"

"Don't worry Avery." Ara pats his shoulder. "We have no intention on killing him…as long as he gives us what we want."

"What do you want?" The prince seizes on the moment. "Anything. Anything!"

"The location of your patron." Ara says firmly. "We know you are just a pawn. Where is the dragon's lair?"

"I don't know what you are…"

"Kill him Ninja."

"Wait!" The prince screams as Super Ninja's dagger was already on the way to his jugular. The blade stops just short, so close that the sharp tip nips at his skin. He shudders in terror at the razor close call. "She'll kill me." He whispers.

"If we don't first." Lady Ara says gravely, her words clearly not an idle threat. "Or your father once we hand you over to him."

"Please…"

"Save your forked tongue for others who can bear it." Ara says. "I tire of it."

She could not see it but just behind and beside the imposing and commanding Lady Ara the purple clad wizard Avery gawps up at her with open admiration, seemingly oblivious to the life and death drama playing out in front of him. With a blade at his throat and his last thread of hope oblivious to his predicament the prince surrenders.

"I'll tell you."

"Good boy." Lady Ara pats his cheek with her armored hand. "But first…"

"First?"

"First…I'm gonna watch you suck our dick."

The prince's face screws up in puzzlement. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Ara says. "The answer to whether you can see my face is no. You can suck…my…dick."

The prince looks left and right. Super Ninja and Sister Mary Motherfucking Massblaster wore devilish smiles and Avery continued to be totally distracted. "I…I will not suck the dick of a…commoner!"

"Your funeral."

"WAIT!" He yelps as cold steel begins to bite the tender flesh of his neck. "Wait. Please." He looks to the nun. "Is th-th-this justice?"

"With all the pain you've caused?" Sister Mary Motherfucking Massblaster spits on him as her fist tightens around her warhammer. "No. It is far too merciful."

The prince swallows hard and looks back to Lady Ara. "Y-you don't even have a dick."

"But he does." She nods toward the wizard.

"Huh?" Avery blinks his eyes and shakes his head as he suddenly realizes everyone was looking his way.

"Did…did you just bring him so that I could…?"

"Nah." Ara says. "But it's an opportunity I'm not going to pass up." Looming half a foot taller than the sniveling prince she commands. "On…your…knees!"

The prince closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, then slowly lowers himself until the knees of his fine silk hosiery are wet by the bloody puddles on the cobblestone. Trying to maintain whatever shred of dignity that he could he looks up at the wizard Avery boldly and opens his mouth wide.

"Wh-What…is h-happening?" The wizard mutters, his whole face turning a bright red.

"He's gonna suck your cock." Lady Ara says. "Whip it out."

"Wh-what!?" Avery exclaims. "Wh-what k-kind of game is this?"

"The fun kind." Laughs Super Ninja. "Come on man, whip it out. We want to see him suck you off."

"Whip…it…? Suck…me…?"

"Let's see that wizard's staff." Giggles Sister Mary Motherfucking Massblaster. "A little birdie told me that it's a mighty staff indeed."

The three adventurers laugh as the wizard's blush darkens a few more shades of rose. Meanwhile the handsome prince waits, his lips wide and waiting.

"Come on. Do it. Let's show this bastard what Mayhem's all about." Ara urges the mage. "Besides, it'd be so fucking hot."

"Y-You think…it w-would be…hot!? Here? Now?"

"Hell yeah I do!" She says. "So hot."

"Me too!" Says Super Ninja.

"Soooo hot!" Says Sister Mary Motherfucking Massblaster.

"Shit." The armored leader says. "I'd be so worked up…I'd probably even peel out of this suit and let you fuck me."

"Me too!"

"Count me in!"

"R-r-really!?" The wizard gasps. "A-a-all of you!?"

"Yes. Really."

"Consider this your initiation." Super Ninja says.

"Initiation?"

"Come on. Be one of us Avery. Let him suck your cock." Says Sister Mary Motherfucking Massblaster. "We won't tell a soul."

"It's your call Sprout." Ara says. "What are you going to do?"

I look around to the other faces of the people sitting at the dice and paper strewn table. All of them are smiling brightly and looking at me expectantly. Olivia aka Super Ninja, Charlotte aka Sister Mary Motherfucking Massblaster, Winona aka Lady Ara, with Liam behind the game master's screen with his mouth hanging open as he awaited my answer. Three of them were, at best, acquaintances from back in my high school days and this overbearing Winona woman was a total stranger to me, and an non-islander to boot. I'd been hooked up with this group by my best pal and ex-girlfriend Kayla who assured me that I'd fit in well with these four. She said that these four were cool and that all I had to do is show up, play a game, and have a good time. Nobody would expect me to carry a conversation or get into awkward in depth personal stuff. Despite her assurances it took every ounce of courage I had and a whole lot of pep talks from my supportive grandpa to show up here tonight. I had typed out the text to say that I couldn't make it tonight and nearly sent it at least a dozen times. But in the end I showed up. It's not so easy for me to make friends after all. In fact it was one of the hardest things in the world.

It would have been a heck of a lot easier though had this outsider not been invited. The moment I walked in she'd been on me. Calling me 'Sprout', a tease about my diminutive size no doubt. Telling me to sit beside her. Telling me to use her 'lucky' dice. Comparing my stats and numbers to hers. Laughing at things I would say that weren't even jokes. Explaining all about this odd game and regaling me with strange stories of their 'adventures' as if I had clue what she was talking about. And saying what 'she would do' if she was in my place as if I was too stupid to figure it out. She kept talking to me and prodding me and making me so nervous that I couldn't even think straight. I hadn't even figured out how we were supposed to win this stupid game! I decided that the rest of the group wasn't too bad but that I really didn't like this Winona. She was just another bully in sheep's clothing. She sure was pretty though. Really…really…pretty.

I really don't know what got into me. This was so against my character. I should have made for the door right there and then. Leave it to good old 'Kinky Kayla' to link me up with a group of weirdos like this. But here I was and here they were. Looking around at the eager faces staring at me and waiting for me to do something, especially the vibrant bespectacled hazel eyes peering at me from my immediate left, I feel compelled…to go along. I didn't want to stand out and be different. I didn't want to be the one to spoil their fun. I didn't want to embarrass Kayla for not being cool, like they were. I didn't want to let anyone down.

The wooden kitchen chair squeaks loudly across the laminate floor as I rise to my feet. The anticipation is thick in the air as they all waited to see what I did next. After a long deep breath, my heart pounding like a taiko drum, I nod…then start to zip down my fly. Around the table four sets of eyes widen.

"What are you doing!?" Winona exclaims, staring at my open fly that was only a couple of feet away from her.

"Um. You said…um…"

Liam claps his mouth closed and waves his hands. "Woah, woah, woah! Dude! Time out!"

"I-I-I…I thought…"

The whole table explodes into laughter. All of them pointing and laughing at me!

"Oh my God!" Laughs Olivia. "Were you actually going to…pffft!"

"Talk about getting into character!" Howls Charlotte.

"It's not that I'm not flattered, but…duuuude!" Liam roars.

"Easy there Sprout." Chuckles Winona with a slap to my back. "Keep it sheathed."

My face burning and my hands shaking I zip my fly back and turn toward the bully who had set me up. "Are you h-h-h-happy now?"

Winona pretends to be surprised. "Me!? What?"

I grab my back pack and spin away from the group before they could see the tears in my eyes or my trembling bottom lip and make for the front door. Scooping up my shoes from the rack I don't even put them on.

"Wait! Avery." My tormentor calls after me. "It's cool. We didn't mean to…"

I slam the door behind me and I run. In stocking feet I run as fast as I can.

"And that was the most humiliating moment of my life." I say as I stare up at the ceiling of the psychotherapists office. "That was two years ago. Thankfully they've all moved on since. Olivia and Liam graduated from college and moved to the mainland to continue their studies. Charlotte and her boyfriend moved to San Fransisco for work. And Winona's family left the island when their permit ran out, thank goodness." I grumble through a clenched jaw. "Not before she dated Kayla though. One last fuck you on the way out I guess. I didn't even know the woman! Why would she torment me like that Doc? Why?" I sigh. "And why did she have to be so…beautiful."

A heavy silence hangs in the air.

"I am SO sorry about that Avery." The closing of the door announces the therapist's return. "I had to take that call. It was an emergency." He says as he settles into his chair at my side. "Now, where were we?"

"My most embarrassing moment." I whisper.

"That's right." He says. "You wanted to talk about that?"

"Not really."

"Oh…are you sure?"

"It was n-nothing."

"It was something." He says gently but firmly. "Or you wouldn't have brought it up. It's okay to open up Avery. It's okay let me in. You are safe here."

"Mmm." I mumble. "My brothers locked me outside of the house once. That's all."

"Ah, brothers." He says as if he understood.

"Yeah, brothers. This is a really nice office." I say as I look around. "I like the art. It's so nice."

"Well thank you. My wife chose most of it."

"She's got excellent taste."

"Well I'll tell her you said so." He says. "And I'll tell you that you are changing the subject again."

"Um…m-may I go now?"

"Nobody is keeping you here Avery." He says warmly. "But your Grandpa spent good money for you to be here. Why don't we talk about your brothers."

"No thank you."

"Alright. And how's work going Avery?"

"Um…I'd like to leave now please."

"Alright Avery. If that is what you want." He says. "This the last appointment that we have booked. I'll see you again I hope?"

"No." I shake my head. "There are people who really need you. Like that emergency call. I hope they're okay. Are they okay?"

"They'll be fine Avery." He says. "And what about you? I feel like I barely know you even now."

"I'm okay." I let out great sigh, thankful to finally be at the end of this last session that I promised that I would attend. "Grandpa just worries about me. He's a worrier."

"Well it's a shame you won't be back." He says. "You were always a high point in my week."

I giggle. "Thank you Sir. For everything."

He chuckles and shakes his head. "That smile of yours could brighten a moonless night."

My smile grows at the praise.

"Take care of yourself Avery Beckett." He says as we both rise and shake hands. "If you ever need to talk again I am sure we can find an opening for you. Don't hesitate to call."

"Yes Sir." I say even though I had no intention of ever coming back here. "Goodbye."

With my therapy sessions behind me I walk out of there feeling fifty pounds lighter. My grandpa had meant well but this sort of thing just wasn't for me. He couldn't understand how introverts like me didn't need friends or company or companionship to be happy. People like me…if there even were other people like me…just needed to be alone.

Chapter 2: Lucky Day

Chapter Text

Calm. Still. Silence. Peace.

Taking in a long breath of fresh island air through my nose I savor the rich fragrance of fir and spruce. I hold the rejuvenating energy inside of me for a few long seconds before slowly letting it back out through my mouth. Slowly I open my eyes to behold the majesty of my lifelong home anew.

From my hidden sanctuary nestled among the great green giants of the old growth forest on an outcrop halfway up the mountain ridge I could see nearly the entirety of the west facing 'fin' of Ehkolie Island upon which the town of Haven Point sat looking out toward the endless blue Pacific beyond. Being able to see the peninsula from this vantage point it really did resemble the long pectoral fin of the island's namesake. Ehkolie meant whale in one of the local aboriginal languages and if it was true that from above, if you sort of squinted and cocked your head the island looked like a titanic cresting humpback whale. The 'head', which faced north toward Canada, was the highest point. A ridge of mountains gradually dipped southward to end in a pair of rocky islets that made up the 'tail'. A peninsula sprouted out from the main landmass on both the ocean and the strait side, this more habitable west one in front of me and the impassably craggy east 'fin' that pointed in toward the Oregon coast. The island even had a caldera lake crowning the head as a 'blowhole'. For all of my 23 years on Earth I had lived on the back of this mighty leviathan. It was a home like no other and one that I loved dearly. At least when I was out here by myself.

I focus upon the community in the distance. The morning sun just now cresting over the peak behind me had withdrawn the blanket of shadow and to give the whole of Haven Point a cozy amber glow. Even from way out here the town's eclectic history could be seen in it's hodgepodge of style and architecture. Hugging the port at the peninsula's tip are the stone grays and ruddy brick browns of 'Old Town', the original 19th Century settlement of English, French, and Spanish pilgrims that had grown up around the seminary of an isolationist and now extinct Protestant sect. Encircling this core area were the black roofs and tree lined streets of 'Midtown', built during the town's gradual growth through the 20th Century as the seminary steadily transitioned from a religious school to a liberal arts college. And then there was the gleaming white steel and dark shining glass of 'New Town', the product of the swift growth of these past fifteen years that came after the influx of investment stemming from the college's branching out into cutting edge green technology that had so transformed our once sleepy island. The old coal plant now stood inert as a monument to obsolesce as a unique convergence of tide, wind, sun and geothermal had more than taken it's place. From the quaint historic center to the sprawling college at it's heart to the space age fringe, it all meant people. And people was where all of my problems began and ended.

From the corner of my eye a flash of azure interrupts my reverie. A moment later a familiar faint shrill chirp catches my ear. The moment I was here for had arrived!

I scramble as quietly as I could to where I had my scuffed up old DSLR camera already waiting on a tripod. I take the cap off of the brand new telephoto lens that had cost me an entire month's pay. I adjust the settings for exposure, shutter speed, and depth of field then swiftly look through the branches in the direction I had heard it. My eyes dart about the foliage looking for any sign of telltale color or movement. In the brief silence there is a sudden flutter and streak of baby blue. I gasp despite myself as I spot him land to perch proudly at the very tip of the branch of a Sitka Spruce. The branch hung out over the very gap in the canopy through which I was able enjoy such amazing vistas of my hometown. The steady distance, the warm light, the regal posing, with Haven Point positioned as a backdrop…it was PERFECT!

As the striking Mountain Bluebird obliviously goes about his business the snapping clicks of my shutter comes in furious rapid fire bursts. Moment like these did not last long and I had to make the most of it. My right finger feathering the shutter button, my right thumb zipping through various settings, and my left hand twisting this way and that on the lens I milk all that I could from the scant seconds this beautiful avian graces me with. Less than a minute later he flits off to disappear into the dense old forest.

I spring to my feet and leap into the air, my fist pumping with joy. "YES!" I cheer. "Yes! I got it." I call out into the woods. "Thank you!"

For the next few minutes I pace around my camp looking through my shots and bursting at the seams with joyful energy. These were some of my best photos ever. I could not wait to show grandpa what I'd gotten. Knowing that it wasn't going to get any better than this today I decide to head for home early. Besides, I had some hungry mouths waiting on me. I roll up my little pup tent and pack away my gear into my backpack and the saddlebags of my banged up old dirt bike. I was saving up for a new one but that lens had set me back a good ways, not that I was complaining!

Looking back to the overhanging branch I nod to myself. "This is my lucky day."

I rip down the slope via the winding trails and back roads that criss-crossed the area and before long I find myself back on the single highway that mostly ringed the island, the steep slopes of the north and northeast made a fully connected loop impossible. On my rattling Honda I had to open it right up to attain anything approaching highway speed. The road was predictably quiet with just a research van from the college out of town and a couple of folk from the villages heading into Haven Point for work or shopping. I slow as I approach the T-intersection of where the island highway met the road out onto the Haven Point peninsula. The closer I get the slower I get until at last I kill the engine to coast up the dirt and gravel entrance of the abandoned boarded up garage that overlooked the junction. I didn't want to scare anyone.

I glide to a stop along the south side of the main building and park my bike. Removing my helmet I leave it hanging on the handlebars and head around to the rear of the building. In behind was a large asphalt pad that had seen better days. Weeds and thistles grew up through the spider webbing cracks and entire chunks had come loose at the edges. A row of rusted junkers lined back and beyond the lot itself was tall grass and shrubs under the shadow of the looming forest that surrounded the property on three sides.

"Hello?" I call out as I set my backpack down on concrete step of the garage's back door.

Almost instantly two tabby ears pop up over the grass and a pair of green eyes lock onto me. A moment later out trots a sleek brown and black feline followed close behind by a quartet of similarly striped kittens. A few seconds after that comes the tiny bumbling orange one.

"Hey Mama. Hey babies." I say as I sit down and dig the three cans of cat food I'd brought along from my pack. "Let's see what's on the menu today. Chicken and liver, salmon and liver, and…beef and liver." I giggle. "I sure hope you guys like liver." All six of them are purring and rubbing against my legs as I spoon out six little mounds of squish, Mama getting a bit more than the rest. The small orange one's pile I have to protect from the others to ensure he got his share. I tickle at his fuzzy orange back with my fingertips as I whisper. "I'm glad to see you again." Mama had already lost one of her litter, the other orange one she'd had, and I worried that this little apricot sweetie would be the next to go.

Fishing out my own breakfast I open the granola bar and much away with the rest of them. Excitedly I tell them about my morning and my wonderful minute with the beautiful bluebird. I explain to them at length on just how perfect the warm morning light was, lighting up my subject from directly behind me, and how incredible it was to see the details that I could catch with my expensive new lens. I then show them my pictures with no small amount of pride. "There he is. In all his glory." I scratch Mama behind an ear and chuckle. "Please don't make supper out him. He was a very nice fellow. And I hope he lets me shoot him again." One of the kittens bumps my hand and chaws at my pinkie. I giggle and rustle it's tiny head. "You want a picture too, huh?"

I put on a close angle lens and snap a few pics for the family as they play and wrestle. The final one I include myself with them, holding the camera high above my head to shoot down to catch the kitties on the ground around me. I look at the last photo and see a happy man staring back at me. My big blue eye's glimmered with the photographer's high that I was still coming down from and that bright smile that I got so many compliments on was actually a genuine one this time. If my dirty blonde hair hadn't have looked so greasy from camping and having my helmet on I might have kept it. As it was it is trashed without a second thought.

I show the litter the photos I'd taken of them and I think they liked them. Looking around at the happy bundles of fur all around me I smile and say softly. "I love you all."

Just then Mama's head snaps up and she looks off toward the road. Without a noise she turns and makes for the cover the nearest grassy border at a swift trot. Sensing danger and with the food all gobbled up anyway her children hurry along behind her, the orange one straggling as usual. I was confused for a moment, until I hear the deep rumble of an engine and the crackle of gravel under tire followed by a Willy Nelson twang coming from a radio. I scramble to hide the empty cans and get ready to go. It was probably just some berry pickers but I wasn't really one to wait around for chit-chat.

I keep my head down and cinch up my pack as a dusty brown pick up comes to a stop just beyond the building, it's box was piled high and strapped securely down. A bright orange tarp covered the load. I shoulder my pack and make for my bike, doing what I can to avoid eye contact. When I spot the rifle and shotgun held in a back window gun rack of the vehicle my pace picks up. The driver steps out and the door slams.

"Hey. You're on my property white boy." Comes a woman's stern voice, not unfriendly just…stern. There was something in the deep, rich tone and firm confidence that was…very…very…familiar. Despite myself I stop. "Just so ya know. God damn this place is in rough…" Her words catch a moment before she squeals. "Oh my God! Kittens!!! Ha ha ha!"

That voice! That laugh! No. It couldn't be. She left over a year ago. Outsiders never come back to the island once they leave. It couldn't be her. It just couldn't be. My eyes needing to confirm what my ears already knew I raise my gaze to look at this ghost of my past. The moment I see spot those familiar black rimmed glasses and vibrant hazel eyes the truth hits me like a bullet from one of those guns. Winona!

Despite her dating my friend Kayla in the weeks following that humiliating night I had managed to avoid Winona like the plague. Until now. When I had arrived at that ill-fated game those years ago Winona had already been there in her seat, and she had remained seated the whole time I was there. Seeing her now it strikes me how tall she was! At nearly six foot she stood at least six inches taller than me. She had let her long, ruler straight, shiny black hair continue to grow so that it now hung down to touch her butt. She was neither small breasted nor particularly busty but I saw now that her sitting during our first meeting had also hidden from me a full, plump behind. She had on baggy denim overalls, thick soled work boots, and a snug white t shirt through the thin fabric of which I could just make out a blue sports bra. Hardly the height of fashion and a heck of a lot different from the nicely dressed lady I encountered two years ago. Yet despite this, and despite the gnawing dread growing in my gut, I had to admit that she was every bit as beautiful as I remembered her. It was such a shame that a soul so cruel could be wrapped in a facade so lovely.

"Ha ha ha!" She laughs and points at the retreating cat family. "Look at the runt! Look at it! Ha ha ha ha! Oh my God! The place might be a dump…but I already love it!"

She glances my way for an instant, then does a double take. She cocks her head as her smile fades. "Do I know you?"

I shake my head no and turn to go.

"Hold on."

I freeze, rooted to the spot despite my mind screaming at me to RUN. Praying with all of my heart to a God that I didn't even believe in that she wouldn't remember me I turn back to face her.

She pushes her glasses higher up her nose and her eyes narrow as she studies me closely. My heart sinks as her eyes widen again with a twinkle of recognition. "Sprout?"

Chapter 3: Second First Impression

Chapter Text

"It is you!" She marches toward me, her arms out wide. I back up a step but find myself up against the wall of the building. "Holy shit. Avery." She says, stopping just a couple of feet away and effectively cornering me. I actually have to tilt my head upward to look at her face to face. At a shrimpy 5 foot 4 I was used to this of course, just usually not with women. "Small island, eh. Hello!"

"Um…hi." I say with as much confidence as I could muster. I swallow hard. "I-I should get to…"

"I like your bike Sprout. There must be all kinds of trails around here, eh?" She says in an upbeat tone. "I saw a tent pokin out of your bags. Were you camping out here?"

"N-no. I mean, yes." I take a deep breath and start again. "Not here I mean. I w-was…taking p-pictures…" I swallow. "…of birds."

"A shutterbug, huh? That is so cool."

"It is?"

"Hell yeah." She says. "Get any good ones?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Sweet. You'll have to show me your stuff sometime." Why was she acting like we were friends? "And how's Kayla?" She asks. "I haven't talked to her much since I left."

"Um…good."

"Can't wait to see her again." She places her hands on her hips and smiles. "The group still talks about you ya know. We still play online sometimes." Shaking her head she chuckles. "You might have only been there for half a game but you certainly left an impression. Ha!"

"Yeah." I say as I feel my chest tighten. As if my humiliation in the moment wasn't enough now I learn that I was a running joke to these people. Assholes! All of them. I glance to the corner of the building, considering just making a break for it, but I had to say something. I glare back at the towering bully and screw my courage up to tell her off. Before I can say anything though she speaks first.

"Did you stick with it? The game? Got a local group? If ya need a player…"

"N-no." I shake my head. "I don't play."

"I guess not." She says, her tone softening. "Hey. I just wanted to apologize for that night. We all do. We did a piss poor job of explaining things to you and we could have done a way better job making you feel welcome. We weren't laughing at you, it was just the situation, ya know? I tried to tell you back then but I could never find you. And Kayla was no help." She looks me square in the eyes. "I am sorry Avery."

"Uh…"

She claps my shoulder. Stepping back she looks off toward grass. "So are those your cats or something?"

"Um, no." I say, still reeling from the apology. Was it genuine? Did she just say it so this wouldn't be so awkward? Was she messing with me? Did she want something? For two years I had built up this character in my mind of a sly bully. For two years I had heard the groups mocking laughter echoing in my memory. Was this apology just to get me to put my guard down so that she could set me up for something else? Or…was it possible that I misread what had happened. The therapist had mentioned to me that I had a pattern of too hastily cutting people out of my life if I felt like my pride had been hurt. Was this one of those times? How could I know? "Th-They're wild kitties."

"It looked like you got close to them?"

"Um, yeah." I say. "They're used to me. I come out here. I…I b-bring them food sometimes."

"Aw." She grins. "That's sweet." Her eyes begin to pan around to inspect the building, the line of half salvaged vehicles, and just the lot in general. "Now that I'm livin here I can take over doing that."

"What? You're living here?" I whisper as my heart quietly breaks.

"Yep!" She says. "Ever since we had to leave we've been trying to get back here. We all loved this place. Quiet, safe, clean. A slice of paradise." Pulling keys from a deep pocket of her overalls she nods toward the building. "And this little gem was our ticket in."

"Oh?"

"Thanks to a shrewd bit of negotiating between our Rez and the Ehkolie council we got to slide around all the state level nonsense." She knocks on the sun faded plywood covering a window as she approaches the back door. "My Dad HATES the Federal government, but it sure did us a solid this time. This island is locked up tighter than a vault!"

She wasn't kidding. Thanks to the island's weird history we had ended up as a quasi-independent territory of the United States. At one point near the turn of the 20th Century the island had been simultaneous claimed by America, Canada, Mexico, and even France while at the same time both Washington and Oregon bickered over which state we would belong to once we were brought into the fold. All the while the independent minded and deeply religious locals wanted nothing to do with any of them. In the end a multi-lateral treaty was reached whereby we would be generally overseen by the American federal government until the residents of the island themselves decided which way to go. In their short-sightedness none of the parties bothered to include a deadline by which the decision had to be made. It was that oversight that had allowed us to enjoy our unique status to this day. Every year for well over a century on the first of September the people of Ehkolie Island took great pride in marching down to the Assembly building to vote for our own independence. A whole festival had grown up around it. And because we weren't officially a state it complicated all sorts of inter-state stuff as well. For good and for bad we were in America but not of America. Just getting onto the island if you weren't a student or tourist was tricky enough, but if her family was actually buying property that means they'd been granted resident status. Which means…she was here to stay.

Grabbing the padlock that secured the back door Winona starts looking through her ring of keys. "Let's hope it looks better on the inside, huh?"

"Uh, yeah." I say, still standing in the same spot that she'd left me.

I try to concentrate but I was still dealing with the loss of my cat family. It was the strangest feeling. On the one hand I was happy that they would have someone here for them full time. But on the other hand…it hurt not to be needed anymore. And I was already mourning the loss. Mama had been a secret friend, someone that I could come talk to and hang out with when things got to be too much in town. With people here…I'm not sure I'd have the courage to come see her anymore. Her or her kittens.

"Um…they…they like c-canned food." I stutter.

"Huh?" She looks over at me. "Oh, the cats you mean."

"Yeah." I nod. "And they…they like to sleep in the old cars. You should be c-careful when-when starting…cars out h-h-here."

"Avery, calm down. It's cool. I'll be careful, okay?"

I take a huge, gulping breath and let it out in a gasp. "And…you have to watch the orange one. The others will eat his food if you let them."

She glances back over her shoulder to the forested slope. "It's survival of the fittest for feral cats. He might not be suited to live wild."

"What?"

"If he can't make it on his own, well…" She shrugs. "…I guess we'll see."

"No!" I hurry up to her. "Please. I-I'll come out and feed him. If it's too much bother for you. You can't let him d-d-die!"

Winona pauses, looking at me in that way that so many people did when I would try to make my thoughts known. She thought I was weird…just like the rest of the island. Reaching out she places her hand on my shoulder. "I meant that we'll see if I have to take him in or not." She says with surprising warmth. "I'm not going to let him croak Avery. I love cats."

"Oh." I say, feeling awfully embarrassed by my outburst. "Um, good. Sorry."

"You're really worried about them, aren't you?"

"Yeah." I look down to my feet and add quietly. "They're my friends."

I await the laughter or scoffing that such honesty always invited. What I get instead…is understanding.

"That is awesome." She says as she unlocks the padlock. "Well I'll keep an eye on them for you, okay? I promise. And feel free to swing by and visit them anytime."

The tension in my chest begins to ease. "Thank you…Winona."

"You can call me Winnie if you like." She says, pulling the lock from the door to slip it into her pocket. Reaching out she cautiously pushes the creaky door open, her hazel eyes wide with anticipation. "I feel like I'm Lady Ara going into a dungeon. Hee hee!" She looks at me from the corner of her eye and motions in. "Come on Sprout. Let's check it out."

"I…I should r-really get…" I mumble as Winona steps into the building. "…going."

It falls silent as I am left alone behind the old garage. I look to my right where my bike waited just around the corner to whisk me away from here. I look to my left and the open door where Winona had just beckoned me to follow her. On my left shoulder I could hear the raspy voice of my grandpa telling me to take a chance. To show some faith in someone and put myself out there. On my right shoulder I hear the cruel chortling of my brothers daring me to go make a fool of myself like I always did so they could laugh at my inevitable misfortune. Should I run and stay safe? Or do I follow the beautiful newcomer and see where it lead? I just didn't know.

Suddenly a hand darts out of the doorway to grab me by the collar and haul me inside. "Come on!"

Chapter 4: Casa Winona

Chapter Text

Dragged inside unexpectedly, and with my pack throwing my balance off, I stumble through and right into Winona. Still having control of me she shoves me back again to pin me against the door frame. Once she was sure I was steady on my feet again her arm relaxes. All of this she does with one arm and without even looking my way. Her eyes wide and searching the darkness before her she lets go of my collar and smooths it out again with a few pats across my chest. Beyond the slice of light coming in from the open door there was nothing in front of us but blackness and vague ghostly shapes within it. The building was boarded up tight.

The building I pay no notice to as I gawk up at Winona still shaken by the power and brazenness she'd just shown. Not only was she bigger than me but the way she'd just manhandled me and my pack with such ease let me know that she had a sort of tomboy strength that equaled or even surpassed my own! I feel rightfully disrespected and offended by the rude treatment. Who did she think she was mauling me like that!? I'd had my damn fill of that shit growing up with two big brothers and an older sister, to say nothing of the bullies of my school years. But mostly I feel…really…really…really…aroused??? Huh!?

Lit by just the door behind us her long straight hair shone like glossy black silk down her long graceful back. From my perspective beside, below and behind the smooth tan skin and strong features of her face stood out in contrast between her onyx hair and the deep darkness beyond. Facing the inky unknown before her there was no trepidation, only anticipation. In that instant she looked so powerful and brave and I could easily imagine hers as the face hidden within the helm of Lady Ara.

"I-I should g-go." I mumble again.

"If you're gonna go, go." She dismisses me with a wave. "I'll see ya around Sprout."

"Um." I look to my right to the bright outdoors but my feet do not move.

"Great." She smiles when she sees that I was staying. "I need a witness."

"W-witness?" I cheep in an embarrassing voice cracking high note. "Ahem. Witness?"

"Yeah." She says. "A neutral party to see the state of the place when we took possession, ya know? In case we have to go to court."

"Court!?"

"This whole thing was a rush job. To push the paperwork through Dad had to buy this place sight unseen. I'm just hoping we didn't get fucked too hard here."

"Fucked?"

"Ya know. Screwed. Dicked. Bent over without any lube." She quips. "Without even giving us the courtesy of a safeword."

"Safeword?"

"Already?" She smirks. "Why Avery, I barely know you." As I stand blushing she reaches over to the switches on the wall opposite the doorway from me. "They said we ought to have power."

There is a click followed by an electrical tick-tick-tick-a-tack-bzzzz of a bank of old fashioned fluorescent lights flickering to life. Spreading out before us are the two dust covered automotive bays that made up the southern half of the building. Except for a belly height half wall that separated the bays the whole area was one big space. The concrete brick walls that I had leaned against so many times from the outside had the same drab white paint though far less sun faded on the inside. Above us heavy steel beams ran across the ceiling. The smooth surface of the polished concrete floor was only interrupted by an old steel vehicle lift smack in the center of the near bay. The big metal bay doors that faced out toward the T-intersection and the town's peninsula had their windows boarded from the outside and the glass was pristine on this side. Around the outer walls were empty benches and shelves along with some basic equipment such as a lathe, battery charger, engine hoist and air compressor. Along the central half wall was an jack stands, drain pans, and a host of other things. Every last item looked…well used, to put it charitably, and at least a few decades old. This whole place was a time capsule to a bygone era. The calendar with the bikini babe on it from 2001 was just the cherry on top.

Whoever built this place originally had built it to last. Except for the dust and age of the equipment the place looked like it closed yesterday. There was no obvious leaks or cracks or anything that looked seriously amiss. The 1950's looking facade outside might be faded and cracking but someone had clearly taken care that the inside was maintained.

"Oh my God." Winona whispers. "I think I'm gonna nut."

"What?" I titter.

"Look at this place Sprout!" She says, a contagious excitement shining through every word. "This is even better than the pictures! Wow!" She hurries out into the first bay with her hands on her head in disbelief of what she was seeing. "Ohhh. Dad is gonna be so happy. Holy shit. Holy shit! This is amazing." Even though this had nothing to do with me I was smiling. With all of the secondhand giddiness that I was getting off of the buoyant Winona it was impossible not to. "If even half this stuff works…" Her words trail off as she is overwhelmed by the moment.

"I always wondered what it looked like on the inside." I mutter quietly, starting to feel more comfortable.

Her head snaps to look at the two doors on the north wall. "Come on." She says with long, quick strides in that direction. Setting down my backpack on the near work bench I follow along. She goes through her keys and finds the right one to open the first door. Inside we find a nearly empty storage room. A stack of three mismatched tires the only thing inside besides the shelving.

After a brief perusal we move to the next door which I knew would lead out into the front desk area. Racks and posters of different oil and parts companies line the near and back wall. To our left were the big front windows and main door where the general public would come in and out of and to our right was the service counter. At the far end was a washroom. Behind the counter we find old order pads and receipt books and half a dozen ashtrays. There was a phone jack, a spot for a computer, and a small strong box. The latter Winona opens up to find empty. Behind the counter was another door.

Winona stops and places her hand on the door with a smile. "Here it is. Home sweet home."

"Home?" I say with growing courage. "You're going to live here?"

"All mine." She sighs happily. "My first place of my own." She looks tests the door to find it locked and starts going through the keys again. "The suite isn't big enough for all of us so Mom and Dad are renting in town." She turns the lock and pauses a moment to acknowledge this milestone in her life. "This is it."

The door swings open and Winona flicks on the light. The bare suite was small, just a bachelor pad, with only a closet and a basic washroom leading off of it. The main room would have to act as bedroom, living room and dining room combined. In the northeast corner was a tiny kitchenette that consisted of a counter, two cupboards, sink, mini-fridge, toaster over, and hotplate. Like in the garage bays most of this stuff looked like it might have been as old as Winona and I put together. A single window, boarded of course, faced out the back to look over the pad where I had just fed the cats. It wasn't much. Except for the industrial looking ceiling it could almost pass for a basic hotel room, one from the 70's at least. But Winona couldn't have been happier.

"The bed will go here. My book shelf here." She says as she rushes about the room. "Johnny goes here." She slaps the brick wall. "Computer here." She points to a spot near the 'kitchen'. She hurries to the fridge and cupboards to check them out. "Ha! It comes with a mug." She shows me a cup that had the logo of the old video store that used to serve our town. "A coat of paint, maybe some drapes and a few feminine touches…" She nods approvingly as she looks around. "…this is okay. This will do nicely." Spinning back toward me, her arms out wide, she asks. "Whadya think Sprout?"

Lifted by Winona's excitement at having a place of her own, something I had yet to experience myself, the space around me transforms before my eyes as I look at the dingy room again through new eyes. Through the filter of my imagination I start to picture what it could become with a little care and attention. I could see the natural light pouring in through the window, nice new curtains on either side of it. I see the whole room brightened with a fresh coat of paint and a big area rug right in the middle. I see posters, houseplants, a shelf of books, a spice rack over the counter and a kettle steaming on the hotplate.

"It's wonderful!" I smile and clap. "A real palace. Casa Winona."

Her eyes widen. "Yes. Yes Sprout! Casa Winona! Ha ha ha! I love it."

I giggle happily.

She looks around her shaking her head, still not quite believing her good fortune. "Dreams will come true here. I can FEEL it. Can't you just feel it?" She looks back to me. "Hey, I know you have to get going but…if you've got a minute I sure could use a hand unloading the truck."

With a big goofy grin I say. "I have a minute."

Chapter 5: Moving In

Chapter Text

The next thing I knew I was in a headlock! With my cheek pressed hard against her soft tit I feel not a hard knuckled noogie to my skull that I was used to in this position but a playful rustle of my hair. "Ah, you little legend." She lets me go, leaving me flustered and reeling. "Kayla always said you were a sweetheart. I owe ya one Sprout."

"Um…that's okay." I say with a flattered laugh.

"Come on." She says. "Let's get'er done before my folks show up."

As I follow along behind her back through the building I touch my cheek that had just touched her breast and admire her wide hips and big plump butt. She called me a legend. I didn't even know what to do with that. Nobody had called me a legend before. Seeing her here, now, was so different than when I had first met her. Back then she'd been more muted, better behaved. I realize now that she had her public face on then and that this rough around the edges woman that I was meeting now was closer to the real Winona. I don't know if it was because we were alone or simply the excitement of all that was happening in her life right now made polite niceties impossible, either way I was glad to see it.

As she lowers the tailgate of her truck she says. "If you're done staring at my ass we can start hauling."

"Eeep!" She hoists out an overstuffed garbage bag full of what I was guessing was blankets and towels and jams it into my body. My cheeks rapidly warming I hurry away. She caught me checking her out! How embarrassing. Leave it to me to meet a cool girl and then instantly screw it up by perving on her. Maybe sticking around had been a mistake. Winona carries a small nightstand in one hand and a lamp in the other and follows in behind me. When we get to the suite I ask. "Where should I put it."

"Right there in the corner." She says. As I set it down she says. "No, a little to the left."

I slide it to the left and look back. "Here?" What I see is Winona with her arms crossed checking out MY behind!

My blush deepens as she winks at me and says. "Perfect."

With that she heads back out the door. I stand a moment…then hurry along to catch up. "S-so…you and your parents are going to run a garage?"

"Yep." She says. "Dad and I are mechanics. Mom's an accountant, part time." This time when we reach the truck Winona unfastens the ropes and the tarp that had been securing the load.

"That's really cool."

"It's alright." She says in an upbeat manner that told me that it was more than just 'alright'. "I like working with my hands."

"Cool."

"What do you do for work Sprout?"

"Me?" I shuffle uncomfortably. "Nuthin."

She gives me a look. "You don't work? Parents rich or something?"

"Oh! No!" I say. "I mean, I don't have a career, like you. I just…I just have a job. D-down at the grocery. Just for now until I…um…" My words fail me, mostly because I had nothing to say. The truth was I worked at the local grocery store full stop. I was comfortable there and had no concrete intention of ever moving on. But I hated to confess that as people would always look down on me for lacking ambition. "Until I figure things out."

"You like it?"

"It's alright." I echo her previous sentiment.

"Nice." She says as she moves around to the other side to pull the tarp and ropes away. What is revealed is a tightly packed jumble of stuff. I could see a table, a chair, a bed frame, a mattress, a desk broken down into pieces, a bookshelf, and a bevy of boxes, bags and smaller items, an entire material life distilled down to the essentials. From one of her deep pockets she pulls out some work gloves and offers them to me. I take them and put them on. They were loose and the fingertips too long. Goodness, even her hands were bigger than mine. She claps her hands. "Alright, let's do this."

I clap my hands. "Let's do it."

She chuckles and shakes her head. For the next hour Winona and I haul her possessions into the suite, taking the smaller stuff individually and working as team to move the larger items. With her taking lead and me following that lead we actually work quite efficiently together unlike the normal dithering of other moves I'd helped with over my life. As we haul we talk about inanities like the weather, the cats, and how her long drive from her reservation to the coast was. It was wonderful.

We set down her narrow single person mattress and lean it against the wall. "So you come from a reservation?"

"Yeah."

"That means you're an Indian?"

She had just been turning to head toward the door when she stops and slowly looks back at me over her shoulder. "What did you just call me?"

My eyes bug out, my heart seizes, and in an instant I was hyperventilating. "I-I-I…uh…"

"Indian? You think I'm from India?"

"N-native?" I scramble for a better word. "Indigen…mmmm!"

"Excuse me!?" She turns to face me. Walking forward she backs me into the corner of the room and looms large over me.

"I-I-I'm sorry! I…I…I'm sorry."

Her chin rises, her chest puffs forward, and she stretches to her full imposing height. "I…am…LAKOTA!"

"I'm sorry! I-I-I didn't mean…" I huff. "I didn't mean…oh no…"

Her proud bearing cracks into a burst of laughter. Giving my chest two hard pats she laughs. "Dude, I'm fucking with you."

"Huh?"

"Yeah I'm an Indian. What the hell else would I be?"

I turn my face away from her and whisper. "I'm sorry. I-I-I should go."

Her laughter fades when she sees how shaken I am. Her hand comes to rest on my shoulder. "Avery, chill. It's cool. It's all cool." Her eyes narrow and her head tilts slightly to the side as she studies me closely. "You okay Sprout?"

I nod rapidly though my fast, shallow breathes give my nerves away. Try as I might I could not pretend to be okay. "Sorry." I whisper.

She takes a step back…and smiles. "Let's take a break. Can you stick around a little more? We're almost done."

If not for that warm smile I would have run for the door. As it was…I nod. "I can stick around."

"Awesome." She says. Spinning the one dining chair that she owned around she points to it. "Take a load off Sprout." Walking to the kitchen she pulls out the one mug and inspects the inside. "This looks mostly clean." Turning the tap nothing comes out. "Shit." She puts the mug on the counter. "Hold on. I have some water in the truck." Again she points to the chair. "Sit. You take it easy. I'll just be a sec."

As she leaves the room I sheepishly walk forward and take the seat. My hands clasped together I close my eyes and concentrate on slowing my breathing. God that had been so embarrassing. Despite how nice she was being she must think me a basket case by now. I was really starting to like her too. Why oh why did people have to be so hard?

A minute later she is walking back in with a big bottle of water in one hand and a tube in the other. The tube she sets on the edge of the mattress. Walking to me she says. "Put out your hands." I look at her, confused, but I do as she asks. She opens the bottle and dumps a little bit of water into my palms. "Splash your face." I hesitate again as I look down at my wet hands before bringing them to my face. I scrub my face then look back up at her. She passes me the bottle. "Feel better?"

"Uh…yeah." I say.

"Drink." She motions me. I take a sip and swallow. With the water cooling on my face and my throat quenched I really was starting to feel better again. She takes the bottle back and has a long, chugging drink herself. "Ahhhh." She passes me back the bottle.

As I sit quietly, holding the bottle in both of my hands, Winona starts digging around in a box. She soon finds some tape then from the tube pulls out a rolled up poster. On the north wall she unrolls it to reveal a black and white poster of Johnny Cash flipping the bird straight at the camera. I giggle at the unexpected rudeness of the picture.

"Why is he so mad?"

"Who knows." Winona says as she smooths it out and tapes it at the corners. "I like to think he's sayin 'fuck you' to the haters."

"Yeah, I think so too." I take another drink. Swallowing hard I muster my courage. "Sometimes I…I get nervous…around people…that I don't know well. Sometimes it gets too much." I even surprise myself with that over-sharing confession, but I felt that she deserved an explanation for her kindness. "Sorry about that Winona."

"It's cool Avery." She strolls over to lean back and rest her back against the wall. She takes off her glasses and slides them in the front pocket of her overalls. "We've all got our shit to deal with, right?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah." She takes the bottle from me again for another drink.

"Lakota." I say softly just to feel the new word in my mouth.

"That's me."

"I never knew a Lakota before. It sounds…cool."

"I think so." She says. "And I think you're pretty cool for a white boy."

I shake my head. "I'm really not."

With a chuckle and a little slap to my shoulder she quips. "Dude, you are never gonna get any pussy with an attitude like that."

"Pfff."

"Be proud of who you are Sprout." She nods to the poster. "And fuck the haters."

"Fuck the haters." I say with an unintentionally girlish titter.

"Ha ha!" She gives me a rough shake. "Ready Sprout?"

I nod eagerly and pull the work gloves back on. "I'm ready."

She lifts me to my feet and swats my bum. "Then lets gooo!"

Before I even knew what was happening I was running back to the truck and laughing like an idiot the whole way. I might have felt silly had Winona not been right behind me doing the same thing.

Chapter 6: It Had To Be a Dream

Chapter Text

Moving with upbeat energy it doesn't take long before Winona and I have the truck bed emptied out. While it was only a truck load it was already enough to make the small suite look mostly full.

"Damn this one's heavy." I say as I set down the last box. "What's in it?"

"Hm?" She looks over. "Oh, game books."

"Heavy game books." I say. "Is that all?"

"Nah. There's some more delicate things in the cab. I'll get them later." Winona says as she drags her stout wooden dresser into the closet. "I can't thank you enough Avery."

"I…I can go get them." I offer. "I'll be careful."

She looks at me a moment then shrugs. "Well thanks again. It's unlocked."

"I'm on it!" I say, grateful for this excuse to hang around a bit longer.

As I walk back out to her truck my is mind abuzz with a feeling I hadn't felt in a very long time. Winona wasn't at all what I though she was. She was kind. She was funny. And oh my goodness was she sexy! I had been so wrong about her. It made me wonder how many other things I might have been wrong about? I open the passenger door of the truck to find the seat and floor carefully stacked with a computer, a monitor, and two boxes. Deciding the tower was the most valuable thing here I choose it first and carefully carry it back to the suite.

When I get back Winona was pulling clothes from out of a bag and either hanging them in the closet or folding them up to put the items in the dresser. Spinning around with a long sleeveless blue dress hanging from a hanger in her hand she holds it up to her body and asks. "What do you think?"

I set down the computer on the table. Walking closer I say. "It's wonderful."

"Ya think?" She says looking down on it. "I'm not sure blue is my color." Flipping the dress around she reaches out and holds against me! Holding the hanger near my collar bone so that it draped down over my body she looks me up and down. "Now on you…pa-pow! Blue is definitely your thing. Those eyes of yours just pop."

I giggle and blush furiously. "Pa-pow?"

"Pa-pow." She says, turning back to hang the dress in the closet.

I hurry back to the truck feeling ever more jubilant. I liked this girl. I really liked her. Everything was going so well, I just prayed I didn't screw this up. I could hear my grandpa's voice echo through my memory. 'Start small. Don't come on too strong. Just be yourself Avery.' That was easy for him to say. Everybody liked grandpa.

Next I carry her monitor in and then the first box. On my way out for what I knew would be my last trip I try to think of excuses to stay out here longer. Unfortunately nothing had come to mind by the time I return and place the last item down.

"That's everything." I say as I remove the gloves she'd lent me.

"You're the best Sprout." She says. "Thanks!"

I stand nearby as she continues to put clothes away trying to think of something charming to say. As she pulls out a couple of t shirts a little puff of bright pink catches my eye. Reaching down I lift the item which turns out to be one of those sets of novelty handcuffs.

"And what is this?"

She turns to look at me. Her eyes go wide and this time it is her cheeks that darken. "Hey! Give me that!"

I let out squeal and dart for the far side of the room. "Ha ha ha! What are you? A cop in your spare time?" As I turn back around I am shocked to find her right on my tail! "EEEE!"

"You little snoop!"

Her hand snaps out to grab my wrist in a tight grip. I switch the cuffs to my other hand and try to pull it away but she grabs that wrist as well. The next thing I knew she was pressing me back against the wall. I start to resist her, stopping her from pinning me, and for a moment we stand in a back and forth test of strength. Not wanting to be shown up by a girl, and hoping to impress her with a little manly bravado, I put my all into it and press forward. Winona hazel eyes lock onto mine. My advancing arms are halted and begin to shake. Then, slowly and steadily, Winona forces my wrists back against the wall behind me. I struggle and twist but I was going nowhere. Winona was stronger than me! Genuinely, truly, stronger than me! She steps in, looming over me and staring down into me as she physically dominates me in a way I'd only experienced with male bullies before.

I stare up at her in humbled awe as the fastest god damned erection I'd ever sprung comes to full mast in my tight jeans.

Slowly her right hand slides up my arm to pluck the cuffs from my hand. "Thank you." She says, then turns to return to the dresser to toss them into her top drawer.

I stand against the wall, still shook and wildly aroused by what had just happened. When my wits return I think quickly and grab the water bottle to hold it in a way to conceal my rock hard pecker.

"Uh…wh-what do you do with those?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." She quips. How right she was!

I am nearly startled out of my boots when suddenly there comes a booming. "Hey kid!" Filling the doorway was what might have been the largest human being I had ever seen with my own two eyes. The man had to be peeking over six and half foot tall but it was his thick stature that truly made him such a behemoth. One of his stout legs probably weighed as much as my whole damn body! His bright hazel eyes and distinctive high cheekbones left no doubt who this man was.

"Hey Pops." Winona hurries to the man for a warm hug. "Did you see this place?"

"I saw it!" He says. "I told you this was meant to be."

"You're right Pops, as usual."

"And who is this?" He looks to me.

"This is my friend Avery."

Friend? She called me friend!

"Ahem." I step forward and offer my hand for a shake. Thankfully the sight of the giant Dad had my over-eager pecker in a full and swift retreat. "G-good to meet you sir."

He steps through, filling the room with his presence. His size was intimidating as hell but the friendly smile on his face put a lot that to ease. He towers over me and his huge mitt completely encompasses my comparatively slender, pale hand as we shake. "Don't tell me. You play these funny games of hers too." He looks to his daughter. "You geeks are everywhere!"

"Yeah we are." Winona states proudly, slipping back on her glasses as if to emphasize her nerdiness.

"You unloaded the truck already."

"With Avery's help."

"Ahh." He slaps my shoulder in that same rough but friendly way that Winona had…only a hell of a lot stronger! "There's a true gentleman."

"H-happy to help sir."

"Ha ha ha!" His laughter bellows through the whole garage. "Enough of that sir business. Call me Amos, Avery."

"Yes sir…I mean, Amos."

"For the help I'll give you ten percent off your first tune up. Just the labor mind you."

"Pop!"

"Fine! Fifteen percent."

"God you're cheap!" Winona says. "Avery said he's got to get going." She takes my arm and whispers. "Come on." As Amos starts to poke around Winona leads me back out to my bike, pausing so that I could grab my pack along the way. "We've got a lot to do yet today and I know you do too."

"Yeah." I say. "I work in a few hours." I glance toward the hired cube van parked alongside Winona's truck. "He's nice."

"Oh he's nice alright." She rolls her eyes. "One look at you and my Mom'll be even nicer." When she sees my curious look she explains. "They're hoping I hook up with one of the rich white or asian boys from the college. They're not even coy about it, they just talk about it in the open." She lets out a huff. "Parents!"

"Oh." I say. "I'm not rich…or in college."

"And that is none of their business." She says. "Hey, really, thanks Sprout."

"Yeah."

"And don't worry. Those cats aren't going to starve while I'm around. I promised, and I keep my promises."

"Thank you." I didn't want to say goodbye. In fact it was the last thing in the world I wanted to do right now. I smack my dry lips and rub my fingers against my clammy palms. "Hey…uh…Winona…uhhh…"

Stepping closer she reaches out and softly rests a hand on my chest. "Avery. Before you ask me what I think you're going to ask me…" She pauses, searching for the right words. Oh no! She was blowing me off! Why did I ever think a woman like her would be interested in a guy like me! She just wanted help unloading. Of course she did. Why else would she be nice to me? I am such an idiot! Taking a deep breath then letting it out in a puff she says. "Whoo. This is always so awkward."

"It's okay." I say, already berating myself for my presumption that kindness equaled interest. "I'll just go."

"Wait." She says. "Just…talk to Kayla first, okay?"

"Kayla?"

"Before you ask me what I think you were about to ask me, and I DO want you to ask me, talk to Kayla. Just…talk to Kayla." Winona says, rather mysteriously. "You'll understand why later."

"O…kayyy?"

She grins a beaming, beautiful grin and pats my chest. "See you around?"

"Y-yeah. You bet."

I watch her every step of the way as she strides back to disappear around the back the garage, captivated by her long swooshing black hair and smoothly swaying hips. In a daze I shoulder my back, put on my helmet, and kick my bike into life. As I coast down the drive and back onto the highway for town I begin to question whether that had even happened. That had been a dream. It had to be dream! Right? Right!? With glance behind me I see the two trucks parked along side the old garage. Nope, it was real.

"Ha ha ha!" I cry out in joy and open the throttle wide.

Chapter 7: Buttercup

Chapter Text

With the fresh ocean air coming in from the west blowing in my face I zip back into town in record time. Before heading for home I take my planned detour through a drive-thru and make for the harbor with the warm bag of fast food precariously balanced at my crotch. I glide smoothly through the wide tidy lanes of gleaming New Town, putter through the cozy avenues of charming Midtown, and finally snake through the narrow cobbled lanes of historic Old Town until at last I am rolling up to the Haven Point harbor at the end of the peninsula. I park my bike and with my lunch in hand I practically skip my way across the docks.

I can hear the tinkling of my grandpa's keyboard as I approach his old trawler turned houseboat. As I round around the front of it there he sits near the gangway to his home. With his long white hair, scruffy face, bare feet, fraying straw hat, well worn shorts, and unbuttoned demin shirt a newcomer to the island might have thought him a bum, and they wouldn't have been too far off. How he actually made a living even I didn't know. He sort of did everything and nothing. He'd sell oddball trinkets to the students and tourists one day, be busking the next, then be helping another one of the boats out here with repairs the next. Whatever he did it worked as he never seemed to be wanting despite living on his own terms.

The moment he sees me, as he always did while he was playing, he stops his current song dead to break into a rousing and rasping rendition of My Little Buttercup from the movie Three Amigos. It never failed to bring a smile to my face. Buttercup was his nickname for me due to the bright blond hair I had as a child and though my locks had darkened over the years the moniker had stuck, at least for grandpa. As he serenades my blond hair and blue eyes I come to sit on the empty folding lawn chair he kept beside him. On the little table between us I set out his burger and fries then unwrap the first of my two fish burgers and tuck in. The wonderfully silly ditty at an end he draws out the final "…I looooove youuuu."

I giggle and say. "Love you too Grandpa."

From the tacky turtle shaped ashtray sitting on the end of his keyboard he nabs the awaiting lit cigarette to take a long draw. For years I begged him to give up that dirty habit but he insisted that the smoke gave his voice 'seasoning'. I loved this man, I loved this man more than anybody else in the world, but that one habit of his I detested with all of my heart. I could hear the wheeze in his regular breathing now and the rattle in his cough but I had resigned myself to this simply being a battle I could not win. The bright eyesore of an ashtray was pure grandpa, his whole boat was furnished with other such garish knick-knacks that he had picked up over the years. An eccentric to his core he had actually been 'normal' once, a hard working fisherman until the fisheries collapse in the early 2000's, but in all of my lifetime he had always marched to his own beat.

After another puff he munches a few of his fries then starts to play Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, my most favorite song of all. As he plays he talks.

"Did you get that bluebird you were after?"

Patting my backpack I say. "I sure did."

"Well…let me see."

I put down my sandwich and dig out the camera he had given me a couple years ago. I flip past the pictures of Mama and her litter to the shots of the azure avian. I tilt the screen so that he could see them and, as I go through them, I impress myself when I see that they were even better than I remembered.

"You've got the eye. I always said that about you. You got the eye."

"It's more patience and luck than anything."

"Well you've got those too." He says. "I know how long you've worked for those. I'm proud of you Avery."

"Thank you." I smile bashfully. Turning the camera off I put it away and resume eating my lunch while I listen to the slow, somber tune. "Hey Grandpa."

"Yeah?"

"Can…you play something else?"

"Oh?"

I sit up tall. "I'm in a really good mood today."

"Heyyy! Good mood music coming right up." With that he transitions from the sonata to an upbeat Alley Cat. I laugh as I munch and bounce along to the tune. With a glance over to me he gently prods. "It must have been the bluebird of happiness."

I chew and swallow, the silly smile on my face not going away. "I…I met…a girl. Or, met her again I guess."

"A girl?" His whole demeanor brightens.

"Remember that role playing game I went to a few years back?"

"Yeah."

"It's her."

He looks at me surprised, though his playing continues smoothly. "The girl that embarrassed you?"

"I was wrong Grandpa. I was so wrong. It wasn't at all like I remember."

"Hmm." He hums, remembering back. "I seem to remember someone telling you it might be that way. A wise old skipper if I recall."

I giggle and hide my face in my sandwich wrapper. "It's nothing though. We just met. I helped her a little. It's nothing."

He chuckles. "I see." Continuing to loop the simple tune he plays on. "Pretty?"

"Ohhh Grandpa!" I swoon back. "She's the most beautiful girl the world!"

He laughs a hearty laugh that turns into a cough. With a phlegmy spit into the water and a shake of his head he says. "What have I told you?"

"I know, I know. Start small. Go slow. Let her get to know you." I say. "But Grandpa…this girl, she's different."

"Oh?"

"She's funny and kind and smart and strong and a little nerdy and….ohhhhh so beautiful."

"Slow down Buttercup."

"She's…perfect."

He plays a for a few bars just looking at me from the corner of his eye then says warmly. "I met a girl just like that once." His dancing fingers switching to a breezy As Time Goes By. "Ended up marrying her."

Stretching out my legs I stare up at the lazily circling gulls and happy blue sky. "She wants me to ask her out."

"Oh really?"

I nod, my smile only getting bigger. "I wasn't even going to ask her, not yet anyway. I'm not that brave. But she said she wanted me to ask. She wanted me to! I think she likes me too Grandpa."

"So? Did you?"

I sigh. "I've got to talk to Kayla first."

"Kayla!?" He laughs. "Didn't you tell me that they were a thing once?"

"Yeah."

"After you and Kayla was a thing?"

"Yeah."

"Kid, I might have only had but one woman in my life but even I know that talking to exes about exes is a bad idea."

"Kayla's cool." I say.

"If you say so." He says. "So, is it one of the students or…?"

"No. She's a mechanic. Her and her Dad are opening the old garage up at the junction."

"Oh! The native lass?"

I look at him surprised. "Yeah."

"Yeah, her and her parents came in on the morning ferry." He says. "I met Amos a few times at the coffee shop the first time they were through. Real nice guy."

"You saw her then? In the pickup truck."

"Yes Avery." He chuckles. "I saw her. In the pickup truck."

"Isn't she…beautiful?"

He looks at me as the romantic old tune floats through the air around us, a smile of understanding on his weathered face. "She is lovely my Buttercup."

Chapter 8: The Roomie

Chapter Text

We chat and enjoy the music awhile as I finish up my lunch. When I could wait no longer I give my grandpa a kiss to his stubbly cheek. "Gotta go."

"Have a good day at work." He says.

"I will."

"And Avery." He stops his playing to turn to me. Reaching out he cups his hand behind my neck and smiles. "You just be yourself with that girl, okay? Put your best foot forward but you don't need to pretend that you're something you're not. If she can't see the good man that you are then she doesn't deserve you."

I smile back. "Thank you Grandpa."

"You'll sweep her off her feet." He says with that same unshakable faith in me that he always had. Where he got it from I will never know. He pats my cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too."

We hug. As he sits back and starts in on the burger I brought him I shoulder my pack and hurry off back down the dock. Back on my bike I zip home for a shower and a change before my shift. I already knew my good day was about to take a sour turn when I see my roommate's car parked in its spot. I park beside it and pull the camping gear from out of my saddlebags then up to our third floor apartment to see what was going on this time.

I hear a familiar video game soundtrack coming from the living room the moment walk in and kick off my hiking shoes. I walk around the corner to find my roomie Brayden kicked back with a controller in his hands resting on his pudgy belly. He was still in his work clothes and the place reeked of weed.

"Hey man." He says.

"Hi." I reply. "Um…aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"Ah, they fired me."

"What?"

"That bitch Lily said I was skimming from the till. Manager backed her up and claimed they got me on the camera. Those two always had it out for me."

"Oh. Um…did you?"

"No! Fuck you dude. You think I would do that?"

"N-no. O-of course not."

"Fucking fat bitch. She was probably the one stealing."

"Yeah. Probably." I say. "Maybe if you weren't late so many times…"

He flashes me an angry glare. "Don't fucking nag me right now dude. I've had a shit day and I am NOT in the mood."

"Sorry."

"You know I got that bipolar. I can't help that shit."

"Yeah. Sorry." I say quietly. "Um…that therapist I went to…"

"I told you that I don't need no fuckin therapy. Jesus."

"Sorry." I say again. "Sooo…um…"

"Calm your tits Avie." He says, using the name that only my siblings still called me. I hated that shortening of my name, it sounded childish to my ear, but him being a long time friend of my brothers it was all he had ever known me as. "Rent isn't due for a week. I'll get something else before then. No problem."

"Yeah."

"We'll figure something out, we always do don't we?"

"Yeah." I mumble. Unfortunately us 'figuring something out' usually meant me covering the difference.

I hurry on to my room where I unpack. I crack the window and roll out the sleeping bag and tent to they can air out and the rest of it I put away in their proper places in my neat and tidy room. I look around at the photos of my beloved island that lined the walls already thinking about where the friendly bluebird was going to go once I had a chance to get a few prints printed. Those thoughts don't last long however as others invade my mind. Thoughts of the tall beautiful hazel eyed woman that had pinned me against the wall. Ohhhh. Despite the excitement of my perfect wildlife shots all I could think about was…when would I see her again? I wished I had remembered to get her number. But Kayla would have it and I had to talk to her anyway…though I really didn't know why.

I give my head a shake and look at the clock. I didn't have time to daydream right now. Grabbing fresh socks and underwear along with my crisp white collared shirt and black trousers I hurry into the washroom for a very quick but thorough shower. When washing my junk I give my cock a few extra strokes as I remember Winona, but only a few. Just a few were enough to get me to half mast though. My goodness she had me worked up! I might have done more but didn't have time for a proper fap session right now and Winona certainly deserved a proper session. Besides, I kinda liked denying myself sometimes so that I could savor that pent up energy and make it feel extra good when I did bust my nut.

I brush my hair and teeth then shave, even though I barely needed it, and follow it up with my usuals suite of cleansers, lotions, and a touch of cologne. My weak effete features and naturally slender physique might not have given me much to work with but I took pride in making the most of what I had. If I'd been a girl I would have done makeup, pedicures, day spa facials, the works! There was nothing like looking good to feel good. Even if nobody noticed but myself.

I get dressed and give myself a good once over. I was looking rather dapper, for now. At least until I put on the ugly green apron that I had to wear at the store. I head back to my room to put on a belt and grab my phone and keys then on to the kitchen to grab my…

"Hey, uh, Brayden?" I say as I dig through the fridge.

"Mmm?"

"Did you see a container in here. It had rice, broccolli and some chicken and beans in it."

"Oh yeah. I snarfed that down when I got home."

I look to the sink to see the empty container atop the other dirty dishes. "That was my supper."

"Sorry man. I didn't know you were saving it special." He says. "I was starvin. You shoulda said something. Or left a note."

I sigh and swing the fridge door closed.. "I'll just get something at the store."

"While you're there we're out of frozen pizza." He says. "Maybe some soda?"

"Brayden…"

"Yeah?"

"Nothin."

I put on my shiny black work shoes, slip into a light jacket, and grab my helmet. I am about to leave when my soft heart stops me. I pop my head back into the living room where my roommate still sat slumped in the exact position as when I'd walked in. "Hey. I'm…I'm sorry you lost your job Brayden."

"Pfff." He scoffs. "Better off without it. Fuckin bitch Lily."

"I hope your day gets better."

"I don't see how."

"Sometimes good things happen when you least expect it."

"Ha! Sure Avie, whatever you say."

"I-I'll see you later."

"Yep, see ya." At last he moves, leaning forward so that he could concentrate on a difficult opponent. "Come on you fucker, let's do this." An instant later. "FUCK! Fuckin dude's got hacks! There's no way he could have…"

I leave my roommate cursing and head off for work.

Chapter 9: Oh Brother

Chapter Text

My day takes another annoying turn as I arrive at work to find out that I had been rescheduled tomorrow to work the morning instead of the afternoon thanks to someone calling in sick.

"You know I wouldn't give you the turnaround if I could help it." My manager Brenda tells me. When I, as I always do, agree to the last minute change she is all smiles. "You are a lifesaver Avery. I won't forget this." I'd heard that before.

While not happy about it nothing was going to spoil my good mood today. With an extra pep in my step and a cheerful note in my voice I breeze through my closing shift. To my surprise I sleep like a rock that night. No tossing and turning, no bad dreams, no sweats or terrors, nothing! Just a rock solid six and half hours of oblivious slumber before my alarm rouses me again. I felt like a million bucks. A shower, shave, and a good grooming later and I am on my way straight back to the store again for opening in much the same mood.

The hung over cashier gripes about my morning cheerfulness but I just giggle and go about my work. It is about noon when my mind irresistibly is drawn into the thing it had been orbiting all morning. Winona. What prompted this return was the women's nylons that I was hanging on the rack. I always enjoyed stocking these items and my mind always wandered when I did so. The stockinged legs, all smooth and silky and posed so nicely, looked so pretty and so sexy. Taking the next one from the box my fingers brush the long shapely legs on the package. I smile as I think back to how Winona had held that lovely sleeveless dress up against me to see how I looked in it. She told me I looked good. She said that blue was my color. That the dress made my eyes pop. Pa-pow! She had said. I liked how she said that. I giggle at the naughty thoughts burbling up in my mind. Was she only speaking about the color, or was it the fine feminine garment that she thought looked so good on me? What would she say…if she saw me in these?

"Hey pussy." Comes a blunt voice.

I drop the nylons and scramble to pick it up again. I turn to see a familiar burly bearded man with hair the same color as mine. "J-Jack! Wh-what are you d-d-doing here?"

"Duh-duh-duh." My eldest brother mocks my stutter. "Shopping." He motions to this cart. "What do you think dummy?"

"Right." I say, focusing extra hard to control my vocal tick. "Of course."

He looks at what is in my hands and lets out a laugh that echoes through the store. Immediately I blush as I knew why he was laughing. With my eyes I plead with him not to go there, but of course he does. He couldn't help himself. "Maybe those'll fit you better than Mom's, eh? Ha ha ha!"

My face burns as I turn away from him and hang the nylons on the peg. "I'm just stocking them. It's my j-j…rrrr…It's my job!"

"Probably the best part of this shitty job, eh?" He elbows me. "You try them on sometimes in the back? I bet you do."

"No!" I stew then try to ignore him and carry on stocking.

When I was a teen he and Joshua, the middle brother, had come home early from school to catch me wearing Mom's nylons, panties and bra. It was the only time I'd done it but I had never lived it down since. Their cruelty that day stood out as the worst of a very long list of things they had ever done to me. Taping my arms tight to my sides so that I could not move them they tossed me out in the front yard and went back inside, locking the door behind them. They laughed at me through the front window as I struggled to get to my feet. They laughed even harder when a few of the neighbor kids walked by and saw me. I hid tucked away in a bush for over an hour before my sister got home from college and freed me, not without a few chuckles of her own though. But the worst part…I got into as much trouble as they did after Mom got home from work.

Not even my great morning the day before could save me from the wretched feelings washing over me now. I knew that Jack thought that he was just being funny. But it wasn't funny to me. It was no use. I couldn't ignore him. Angrily I grab the cart of stock and make for the store room. I wanted to get off of the floor and find a place to hide before I did or said something stupid. Or, more likely, cried like a little bitch.

"Hold on Avie." Jack stops me. "Lauren and I are having a get together tomorrow. Barbecue, some tunes, watch the game at the end. I'm picking up snacks for it now. You and Kayla should come by. We'd love to see you."

"I-I-I'll think about it."

"I know you. That means no." He steps in. I flinch as he reaches for me, thankfully he was only patting my back. "Come on. Get out of your shell little brother. Live a little. Come mingle and make some friends."

"We'll see."

"Yeah right." He says. "Come on. Lauren says that she never sees you. It's like you're trying to cut us out of your life or something." He gives me a shake. "Bring Kayla. We'll talk you up buddy. Get you right back in there with her." He chuckles. "How you ever let that sweet piece of chocolate friend-zone you like that I'll never know."

"She's my f-friend." I whisper. "We're friends. That's it."

"You are such a pussy." He nudges me. "Speaking of Kayla. Remember that dike she went out with after you."

The blood rushes from my face. I felt as if I were falling. "Yeah?"

"She's back in town." He says. "She's up at the old garage I hear. Her and her busted ass old truck. I guess her Dad somehow weaseled them back onto the island." He leans in. "They're letting anybody in nowadays. You know what I mean?" He says that last part in a low voice so it doesn't carry too far. "So you better grab Kayla before she slips in there again. Come on Avie, it'll be fun. Anytime after noon is cool."

I turn back toward my brother, my fists clenched at my sides. "I don't want to come to your p-p-p-…" I snort in frustration. "…your party!"

"Okay, geez. Don't blow a gasket Avie. Just don't say I never did anything nice for ya."

"You're not nice!" I seethe. "Lauren's nice but you're not nice at all! You're n-nasty!" He looks stunned at my outburst, not half as stunned as I was though. Letting my anger carry me I continue. "That woman's name is Winona and she is a very nice lady."

"A lady!?" He scoffs. "A dog lady maybe. Woof!"

"D-d-d-d-don't y-y-you…!"

"Duh-duh-duh."

With a mind of its own my right fist swings. With all of my strength I let loose the very first punch I had ever thrown in anger. It's target, the side of my big brother's fat, ugly, empty head. Unfortunately, Jack being the natural fighter and ruffian that he was, traits that he inherited from our biological father, instinctively pulls his head back so that my fist whiffs by harmlessly in front of him. He looks at me in disbelief.

"Avie! Did you just…?"

"Get out of here!" I say, my hands shaking with impotent rage as snooping eyes begin to peer down the ends of the aisle at us. "Leave me alone Jack."

"You know this Winona?" Slowly an evil grin spreads on his face. He jabs a finger into my chest. "You like her! Ha!"

"I never…I only just…shut up!" I am breathing fast and shallow. I can't think straight. Too many thoughts. Too many feelings. When things got bad like this, especially when my brothers were involved, I never knew what to say or how to say it. No matter what I did I always just made things worse. I wanted this to end. I just wanted to get away. To the forest. To Mama and her kittens. To Grandpa's boat. Anywhere but here.

"Ha ha ha!" He chortles. "It's true! She's like twice your size pip-squeak! Ha ha ha!"

"S-s-stop."

"Well shit, bring her to the party then. We'll give her a good old islander welcome."

Near my wits end at the mere thought of him talking to Winona I try to hit his broad chest, a strike he easily slaps away. "G-g-go away Jack. Just go away!" I whimper, on the verge of tears. "Go awayyy."

He rises up to loom over me. "One time I can let go. But try to hit me twice? You know that's not going to fly Avie."

"W-wait." I plead. "I'm at work."

"Nighty-night time little brother."

"No!" I cry as he reaches out for me. "Not here!"

He puts his hands on me. The next thing I knew I was staring up at the ceiling of the manager's office.

Chapter 10: Customer Service

Chapter Text

Closing my eyes I let out a long embarrassed sigh. I didn't even bother to ask what happened. I already knew. Jack's signature sleeper hold and I were hardly strangers. When I open my eyes again I see Brenda knelt over me.

"Oh good. You're up."

Sitting up I rub my neck then with her help I get up to sit in the nearby chair. Except for a few cobwebs I was uninjured. I'd seen Jack do this to others and the moment the person was out he would lay them down as gently as one would a baby. My pride was wounded but I'd experienced worse.

"You okay?"

I nod.

"Those brothers of yours." She shakes her head. "I was going to ban him but…I heard that you threw the first punch?"

I nod.

"You Avery?" She says. "That is not like you."

"I'm sorry." I mutter.

"Listen Avery. I'm sympathetic but you guys can't bring your family stuff in here, okay? This is a business not a wrestling gym. You have to keep that stuff out of here."

"It won't happen again."

"If you need to leave early, I guess we can go short handed until 4." I could tell by her tone that this was not her preferred option.

I shake my head, my eyes avoiding hers, and say flatly. "I'm okay."

"Thanks Avery." She pats my knee. "Why don't you take your coffee break now."

"Thank you."

I walk to the staff room and sit in the corner where I quietly stew. What was I thinking? Throwing a punch at my brother!? I couldn't fight my way out of a wet paper bag, never mind taking on someone like Jack. Even worse than that though…I betrayed both who I am and who I wanted to be. I'm not the kind of guy who fights. I despised violence. The last thing, the very last thing, that I wanted to become in my time on Earth was a man like Jack or Joshua…or our father.

Numb to the world I return to my duties and like a robot go through the motions. There was no spring in my step now or cheer in my voice. Head down and quietly I go about my work with as little interaction as possible, more and more tempted with each passing minute to take Brenda up on getting off early.

"Why so glum Sprout?"

"Winona!"

My head snaps up to see her coming down the aisle toward me. Today her hair was tied in two long braids that she had draped down the front of her shoulders. She wore an untucked over-sized Seahawks jersey, baggy jeans, white sneakers and dangling from here ears were slender silver longsword earrings. The hanging medieval swords were like something Lady Ara would have wielded, and they framed her long graceful neck beautifully. She had just a touch of make up on. Her pinker lips and cheeks and subtly dusky hued eye lids bringing back memories of the night I first met her. Her glasses magnified her eyes just a little to make her big hazel peepers shine all the brighter. The outfit wasn't anything special but to my eyes she looked divine.

She pushes her cart closer to park it close by then walks around to greet me brightly. "Hey Avery."

"Hi Winona."

"Look at you! In your cute apron." She gives me the once over with her eyes taking note of the trim fit and sharp creases of my clothes and my perfectly combed hair. "Looking spiff my dude."

She noticed! "Th-thank you." I blush. "I-I like your braids."

"Thanks!" She self-consciously strokes down the right one in a loose grip.

"When you saw me before I-I was a little funky after camping." I say. "I'm not usually like that."

She winks. "Nothing wrong with a little funky between friends."

"Y-Yeah."

Looking around she says. "I was never in here much in our first stint. Mom did all the shopping."

"Oh, uh, yeah." I say. "Well it's the only proper grocery on the island."

"Now that I'm on my own you'll be seeing me down here pretty regularly." She says, her words lifting my mood. "You must see everyone passing through here."

"Pretty much."

"Hey, do you have time for a little customer service?" Then with a smirk. "Could you service me Avery?"

"Pfff!" I titter like a school girl. "Yeah! Sure. What do you need?"

"What don't I need?" She chuckles. "All I've got at home is a half eaten pizza and some hot sauce packets. Let's get me stocked up." She then says more sheepishly. "Hopefully at a reasonable price?"

"I got you." I say with confidence. With a deadbeat roommate, a picky fashion sense, and an expensive hobby stretching a dollar was something I could do. "First of all, those have got to go." I point to the smattering of name brand goods already in her cart. "There is better and there is cheaper."

"Alright! Let's start with a clean slate." She says as she turns the cart around. I come along to walk beside her as she begins to return the items to the shelves. "I am in your hands Sprout. Teach me the ways of the shopper."

Over the next half hour I guide Winona around the store. I take her around the outside wall to get her set up with the essentials. Eggs, milk, bread, some veg and meat; the stuff that would keep her belly full. Truly the novice that she claimed to be I have to direct her to look for the best expiration dates and not simply grab whatever was right up front. She is particularly pleased when I pop behind the meat counter to find some freshly wrapped packs stewing beef that were on sale but not due to hit the floor until later in the day. Then, as we snake up and down the aisles, we turn to some basic supplies and condiments that every household ought to have. I explain which products you could go cheap on and which ones were worth the extra money to buy the name brands. She nods a lot and asks the odd question but mostly she listens. As a naturally quiet guy I wasn't accustomed to carrying a conversation like this but in this environment, on this topic, and with this listener it was easy! I am honestly not sure how much she was taking in but it didn't matter as we were both enjoying the journey.

I can confidently say it was the best half hour I had ever spent at work. The best by a long shot. Two parts in particular shone out from the rest.

"Tea?" Winona says dubiously.

"Sure. Everyone needs some tea for the morning or those cold drafty nights or when company drops by."

"Mmm, it is pretty drafty up there." She says with a poorly hidden smile. "And I do hope to have company visiting. So…what's the best kind?"

"Well, most people go with a basic black tea. Earl Grey or English Breakfast, that sort of thing. This one's our best seller." I point.

"Which one would you get?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. Which one's good."

"Well…" I hesitate. "…I actually like Chai. This one or this one or…"

"Which is your favorite?"

"Um." I glance over at her. She wasn't even looking at the teas, she was looking straight at me! I swallow nervously. "Th-this one." I take down the orange and black box from the top shelf. "I-It's a little pricey but…"

"Sold." She grabs it and puts it in the cart.

"With some milk and h-honey…it's really…n-nice."

"I can't wait to try it." She looks right down into my eyes. "On some cool drafty morning with some warm company perhaps?" I blush furiously as she carries on without me. "And where's the honey?"

Hurrying to catch up I wave her to follow me a little further down the aisle. The second bit that touched me was how she asked about which food the kitties liked then went ahead and took an entire flat of it. I could see that Mama and her family were in good hands.

As we shop I notice my coworkers watching us and whispering among themselves with coy smiles. Seeing that only made me walk a little taller. I was darned proud to be seen with my new…friend.

Too soon her groceries are rung in. I take over bagging for her and carefully reload her cart as she pays. "Need a hand out with this?" I ask hopefully.

"Yes." She says happily. "I would like that."

The cashier rolls his eyes thankfully doesn't say a word. Taking control of the cart I follow her out into the parking lot. Our back and forth chat, which had flowed so freely in the store, dries up as we quietly load the back of her truck with the groceries.

As the final bag is set inside the box I say. "Winona." While at that exact same instant she says. "Avery."

"Yes?" We both say as one. Then laugh at the awkwardness.

"You first." She says.

"Um…" I hesitate. Truth was…I didn't even know what I was about to say. I just didn't want this time between us to end. Grasping for something, anything, I blurt out. "S-So is the garage open yet or…?"

"Nah." She says, clearly disappointed. "It's gonna take a bit go get all set up. Next week at the absolute earliest."

"R-Right. Of course." I stammer. "Wh-what were you g-gonna say?"

"Um…" She stammers herself. "Am I…are you…?" She lets out a sigh. "I just wanted to thank you, again. You keep helping me out and I haven't done anything for you."

"It's okay." I say. "I'm happy to help."

"I'll make it up to you. I promise."

"N-No b-bother."

"Have you…have you talked to Kayla?"

"No." I say. "I had to do some running around yesterday then I worked last night and then again this morning…"

"Yeah, yeah. Of course. You're a busy guy." She shrugs. "I should really touch base with her soon."

"I meant to t-t-talk to her."

"Sure man. No biggie." She says. "I shouldn't keep you."

"Yeah." I say. "I've got to get back to work."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

There is about a ten second silence where we both just look at each other. Each of us waiting expectantly for the other to say something.

"Okay, see you around Avery."

"See you." I say softly.

God damn it Avery…SAY SOMETHING! FUCKING SAY SOMETHING!!! Instead I just watch paralyzed as she walks for the cab of her truck. Gripping the handle of the cart tightly I slowly turn back for the store like the coward that I was. My brother called me a pussy. How right he…

"Hey Sprout."

"Yeah?" I spin back around.

"I was…thinking…I dunno." She takes a deep breath and grips at her long braid nervously. "I was thinking of trying to get a game together. I've never GMed but I thought I might give it a try. Maybe put up an ad at the college and try to get an in person group together. What do you think?"

"Y-You'd be a great GM."

"Thanks!" She says. "Hey, I know you don't play but…"

"I-I-I'd like to try again." I grasp onto this lifeline with both hands.

"Great." She smiles a smile that lights up this whole island. "Maybe you could swing by sometime. We could roll up a character for you. I've got all the books and dice and stuff." She nods at the load of groceries. "And I've got tea."

I giggle. "Yes! I'd love to make a character with you."

"When?"

"Huh?"

"When?"

"Um…uh…maybe…next weeee…"

"I'm free tonight."

"Yes!" I gasp loudly. Composing myself a moment I say again more calmly. "Yeah. I'd like that."

"Awesome." She says with a little hop. "See you tonight."

"See you tonight."

Winona hops into her truck and is soon roaring away. I turn and head back into the store to finish my shift, my skipping feet barely even touching the ground.

Chapter 11: Friendly Advice

Chapter Text

The moment I was done work I am tearing across town straight for Kayla's place. Cutting through alleys and weaving through traffic I make record time to her quaint eco-friendly neighborhood in New Town. As gas powered vehicles were not allowed within the walls I park in the lot by the gates then grab one of the whisper quiet electric scooters that were lined up there and continue on my way.

Silently I whiz along the winding teflon smooth road and marvel, as I always did, at how this area that had been scrubby bushland less than a decade ago had been completely transformed into an environmentalist's paradise. The area consisted of a large central complex for shops and shared services surrounded by dozens of identical white pod houses spread out across a rolling green park. The place was dotted with decorative planting, community gardens, courts for tennis and volleyball, and idyllic little ponds but what really stood out were the houses themselves. The way that each pod was made up of two attached symmetrical domes with the top of each dome covered with a circle of black solar panels and a small wind turbine at the peak it made them look like a pair of breasts complete with nipple pasties and spinning tassels. It was literally a land of boobs with the central building as the great big set of knockers to rule them all. Officially the neighborhood was simply called 'The Meadow' but we locals had given it the moniker 'The Tits'.

It had been over a week since I'd been to see Kayla and now that I was here I am glad that I had. I always had a good time with her. She didn't understand me, few did, but she had this easy way about her that allowed people to just be themselves. I had known her since grade school and she was one of the few I had allowed to get close. While she was kind, fun and understanding I was well aware that it had always an uneven friendship between us. For Kayla, being the social butterfly that she was, I was simply one of a bevy of close relationships that she had. Whereas myself, being the loner that I was, Kayla was the closest thing to a best friend that I had outside my grandpa.

As I glide through the Tits I wonder again what I was even doing here. Why did Winona want me to talk to Kayla before asking her out on a date? The three of us did share a potentially awkward connection as both Winona and I had dated Kayla in the past but I knew Kayla well enough to know that this would be no issue for her. Known to her friends as 'Kinky Kayla' she was what might be politely called promiscuous.

It was her unique combination of having a caring spirit and a free and open attitude toward sex that gave me the opportunity to trade in my V card, because goodness knows I was never going to have the confidence to do it on my own. Thanks to her matchmaking I had lost my virginity to Lauren, the woman who later went on to marry my big brother Jack. A bit weird to be sure but this was a small island after all. During our senior year Kayla and I messed around ourselves a bit and then, a few years later, we even gave the boyfriend-girlfriend thing a try. The spark just wasn't there though and the truth was that our 'relationship' was simply one of convenience during a moment when Kayla had little else going on. Basically during that time we carried on being good pals just with sex involved. We lasted close to a year but things eventually crumbled as Kayla, never one to be nailed down for too long, wanted to explore new sexual opportunities with other men and women. She offered to involve me but I was not comfortable with that and so we called it off then on good terms. After playing the field awhile her next quasi-serious partner was Winona, a coupling that lasted less than six months.

I roll up to her pod and park the scooter at one of the nearby charging stations. As I walk around Kayla's EV and approach her front door I can hear the bass of Taylor Swift's You Need to Calm Down pumping on the inside. Knowing the routine I step up to the door and stand without knocking or ringing a bell. A few seconds later I hear inside the pod's computer voice interrupt the music to announce. "There is somebody at the door Kayla."

"Music off Babe." Comes my friends muffled voice. "Open the door."

The tunes cease and the door clicks and slowly swings open. A wave of hot humid air washes over me and inside I see my friend on a yoga mat in soaked skin tight gray leggings, which showed off her nice legs and tight butt wonderfully, and a sports bra. Her sumptuous brown skin shone with a heavy layer of sweat and her naturally voluminous curly hair was wilted from the heat. Glancing over her shoulder she sees me then spins on a heel to hurry forward.

"Avery!"

"Hi Kayla." I smile then look to the ceiling. "Hello Babe."

"Hello Mr. Beckett." Comes the pod's AI.

Kayla and I hug despite her damp state. "Just in time." She says. "I'm about ready to melt. Whooo!" She waves me outside. "Babe, environment to normal."

"Yes Kayla." Answers the computer after which comes the immediate hum of venting fans.

After grabbing a glass water bottle and a small towel she comes out to join me, the pair of us sitting on her front step with the door wide open behind us. Letting so much heat just escape to the outside didn't seem very environmentally conscious to me, but what the heck did I know about this stuff.

She leans her shoulder into mine as she quenches her thirst. "Ahhh. What's up pal?"

"Um…Jack and Lauren are having a party tomorrow. They were wondering if we wanted to come."

"Ewww!" Kayla's expression scrunches up like she just bit into a lemon. "How about, fuck no!"

I giggle at the expected reaction. "There will be barbecue."

"I think I'm vegetarian that day." She quips then as naturally as breathing she provides me an easy escape. "How about we do a movie instead? You can tell him we already had it planned. I can invite a few people over. We can have a little party of our own."

Still giggling I say. "I already said no."

"Good."

I sigh. "I…I tried to punch him today."

"You…you what!?" She turns to me. "No way! Are you serious?"

I nod, fully ashamed of myself. "Yeah."

"Ha ha!" She gives me a shake. "YES! It's about time! I hope you…"

"I missed."

"Oh."

"And then it was nighty-night time. Right there in the store."

"God damn it." She pats my knee. "Fucking asshole."

"Yeah." I take a deep breath. "But forget about him. I'm actually here to talk to you about something else."

Daubing the sweat from her brow she asks. "What's on your mind pal?"

My chest lifts and my voice brightens. "Winona."

"Winona?" She looks at me, in general puzzled but even more so when she sees my grin. "Winona Crow?"

"Crow? Is that her last name?" She had a bird for a last name? Cool!

"If we're talking about the Winnie that I think we're talking about, then…yes?" She says. "Why are you thinking about her?"

"She's back on the island."

"No way. I hadn't heard that."

"She just got back yesterday." I say. "I helped her move in."

"You helped her…?" She waves her hands. "Woah, woah, woah. Hold up. What is going on? Are we talking about the same girl that you specifically told me to keep away from you? The same one that you told me you hated?"

"I never HATED her."

"Avery!"

I laugh. "I got to talk to her a little and…she's…not actually that bad."

"Not that bad, huh?"

"In fact…I kinda like her."

"Oh boy." She says.

"I'm…thinking about asking her out…on a date."

"Ohhhh boy."

"She wants me to ask her out!" I hasten to add. "But…she wants me to talk to you about it first. I don't know why."

I look to her expectantly. She stares back at me for a few seconds, seemingly at a loss, until a look of realization gleams in her brown eyes.

"Ohhhh no!" She shakes her head side to side. "No way."

"What?"

"I am not doing her dirty work for her." She laughs. "That cheeky bitch! Ha ha ha!"

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"She swore me to secrecy." She continues to chuckle. "What the heck is Winnie playing at?"

"Secrecy?"

"You are having me on. Are you serious right now?"

Clutching my hands together I say. "Um…yeah. I-I-Is that okay?"

"Avery." She turns to face me directly and takes me by the shoulders. "I like her. As a friend she is great. She's nerdy and rough around the edges, but I like her. She's fun to hang out with. Great in the sack. But I've known you a lot longer. And I care about you Avery." She peers into my eyes. "Take my advice my friend…and run."

My heart drops. "Run?"

"Run." She says again more firmly. "I never told you about Winnie because you didn't want to hear about her. There was a reason she and I didn't last too long."

"Oh?"

"So many reasons actually. Where to start? She is jealous. She is possessive. A bit obsessive. She acts tough but on the inside she is as fragile as glass. Maybe a tad too desperate for love or something. For reasons that are her own she doesn't date very often, but when she does yikes. Clingy! Not an attractive look." She says. "She has these sappy, romantic notions of soul-mates and 'the One' and all that stuff. She's not chill like us Avery. Not at all. Stuck in the old ways she is, mainland ways. I mean, she comes from South Dakota. Ya know?"

"No."

"Did you know that she tried to give me a promise ring after just a couple of months? Can you believe that? A promise ring, nowadays?"

"Oh." What was wrong with promise rings?

"And envious!" She continues. "Now that I think about it…shit! She might only be going after you to get something that I once had. I wouldn't put it past her. That's probably why she sent you to me. Rub it in a little." With another shake of her head she says. "I told her what a good lover you were, yeah, I bet that's exactly what she's doing." I blush at the compliment. Kayla had always told me that, though I knew it just her trying to boost my confidence. "Yeah. Yeah. Banging the blond pretty boy so that I can't hold it over her. I bet that's it." She nods to herself.

"That d-doesn't sound like…her."

"You did catch her eye on that game night. She used to ask about you."

"I did? She did?"

"Listen Avery." Gripping my shoulders she leans in. "Either she's going after you just to assuage her competitive ego or she's going to try to chain you down. Either way, it's not good."

My shoulders sag. "Oh."

"Besides, she is…erm…a lot to handle. In the bedroom. A LOT to handle." She says. "Kind of selfish and domineering. I could barely hold my own with her. You wouldn't stand a chance." She smiles warmly as she rubs my back. "You're a soft boy Avery. She'd chew you up and spit you out."

"But…I like her. I think she's beautiful. I think she's nice."

"She is certainly a one of a kind. I'll give you that." Seeing my crestfallen disappointment Kayla pulls me into a hug. "Hey pal. There are plenty of fish in the sea. This one's not for you."

"Yeah."

"I'm pretty impressed that you were willing to ask her out though. That's a big step for you."

"Yeah."

She tilts her head and searches my expression. "Hey, if you're ever feeling that itch, for a little feminine companionship, you know the invite is always there."

I shake my head. "No. I'm okay."

"I could hook you up." She offers. "I met this shy, sweet little thing at the college last week. Real nice girl. You two would be absolutely adorable together."

"N-no thank you." Looking up the slope toward the island's center I sigh. "I-I'm supposed to meet her tonight. To make a character."

"Do you want me to call her for you? Get you out of it?"

"No, I'll do it." I say sadly. Looking down at my work clothes I only now realize that I hadn't even bothered to take off the apron before I shot out of there. "I-I should get going."

"Sure Avery." She says. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm good."

"Call me if you're interested in the movie idea."

"I will Kayla."

We get up and say our goodbyes. Kayla heads back into the house. "Babe, continue the music."

"Yes Kayla." A moment later the tunes start again.

As I walk down her drive I am lost in a sea of thoughts. I had been so looking forward to sharing my excitement but now I just felt confused. That had not gone the way I thought it would. And I'm pretty certain it wasn't what Winona had expected either. Kayla's heart seemed to be in the right place but…I was so confused.

"Hey Avery."

I turn. "Yeah."

"If you do end up asking her out just…uh…erm." She struggles to think of exactly what to say. "Keep an open mind and…bring lube. Okay?" She gives me a weird sort of sympathetic grimace and repeats. "Just bring lube." With that she heads back inside and closes the door behind her.

Now I was even more confused!

Chapter 12: Do You Believe in Magic?

Chapter Text

Despite Kayla's warning an hour later I am standing in front of the bathroom mirror obsessing over every little detail of my appearance to make myself look as good as I could before heading over to Winona's. There were three reasons why I disregarded my friend's well intentioned advice. First, this wasn't a date. We were simply making a character for a game. Second, the way Kayla had described Winona as 'going after' me in some spiteful way just didn't fit what had actually happened. It had been a purely chance encounter that we met the way we did yesterday. There could have been no plan or ulterior motive in us bumping into each other how we did. Finally, deep down in my gut…this just felt right. It felt natural. I felt good on the inside about going to see her again. And according to grandpa that was the most important thing.

That said I would definitely keep my guard up. I trusted Kayla's opinion and even I had to admit that it was a little weird that Winona had sent me to our mutual ex first before agreeing to go out with me.

I smooth out my tight blue jeans. I straighten my black belt that was a perfect match for the leather shoes I'd be wearing tonight. I make sure yet again that my gray t shirt under layer didn't clash with the gray of plaid flannel over shirt. I tease at my hair for the millionth time even though I knew it was all going get flattened once I put on my helmet. Once I was absolutely satisfied with how I looked I finish it all off with a little spritz of cologne.

I walk out into the living room to the quiet side-eye glare of my roommate as he plays he plays his game. I had forgotten to bring home the pizza and soda he asked for and he was not impressed that he was going to have to head out to get his own supper. Doing my best to ignore I cross the room to stick my head through the curtains to look out our third floor balcony window.

"Oh no." I mutter to myself.

In the brief time I'd been getting ready the weather had turned. It was now blustery, the sky was overcast and far in the distance I could see an ominous bank of dark clouds hovering over the Pacific. I knew our local patterns well enough to know what a storm bearing down on Ehkolie looked like. I hurry for my phone and call grandpa.

"Hey kid." He answer brightly.

"Grandpa. There's a storm coming."

"I noticed." He chuckles. "I'm all tied off and battened down matey."

"Do you need any help or…"

"I'm okay Buttercup." He says, the warmth of his voice flowing through the phone. "It's not supposed to be that bad."

"Okay." I say, his confidence alleviating my worry. If there was anybody who knew how to handle the conditions around here it was my grandpa.

"Hey. I still have a few things to do here." He says. "But thanks for checkin up on your old gramps. You're a good boy Avery."

"I love you Grandpa."

"Love you too."

I hang up to see Brayden making gagging motions at my sappy goodbye. On this though nobody could make me feel bad. My grandpa was the best.

I look the clock and swear under my breath. "Hey…B-Brayden, could I borrow your car?"

"Why?"

"I-I need to g-go out later. Just a c-couple of hours at most."

"Nah. Sorry dude. I've got to go out and pick up my supper." He looks right at me. "Thanks to you."

I sigh. Looking back outside I try to guesstimate the storm's arrival. If I was going to go to Winona's on my bike I would either have to leave soon or drive through the storm show up soaked to the bone. We'd never set up an exact time but my plan had been to show up at 8:05. Early enough to give us an hour or two to make the character, late enough that I knew she'd have eaten her supper and so that I had an easy excuse for cutting out at tasteful hour and not overstaying my welcome, and the ':05' so that it didn't look like I was timing my arrival for the exact minute, even though I was. This darn storm had completely upended my plans.

Maybe I should just cancel. I consider that for a moment but after my brief talk with grandpa I had 'the wind in my sails', as he would say, and I didn't want to squander that momentum. In the end I decide that it had to be now. I could handle getting drenched on the way home but I wanted to look my best for my arrival. I hurry to grab my backpack and into it I stuff my goggles, rain gear, a pad of paper and a few pencils. I hadn't even eaten yet but to heck with it. My belly could wait.

Helmet, jacket, and shoes on I am soon out the door and speeding eastward out of town. Giddy with an excitement far in excess of what making a game character deserved. As I approach the T intersection I could see from aways out that Winona's truck wasn't there and the whole garage looked dark and dead. Damn it. I'd come way too early. Now what?

Having come all this way I follow through just to make sure. If she wasn't home I'd head back into town and figure things out from there. I roll up and park my bike close to the building. Taking off my helmet I smooth my hair in the mirror then make my way around back. The moment I round the corner I see her suite window was also dark.

"Shoot!" I kick the dust.

"Bang!" Comes a voice from nowhere.

"Huh?" I spin around looking for the source until quiet laughter draws my eyes upward. There she was, Winona, or her face anyway, peering down at me from over the side of the room. Her chin rested on the back of one of her hands directly on the roof just above the door, her other hand pointed at me with a finger gun, and her two long braids hanging down over the edge like Rapunzel's locks. I hold my heart. "You got me."

She blows across the tip of her finger like an wild west gunslinger. "I never miss."

"I-I didn't think you were home."

"Truck's in the bay." She gets to her feet and dusts herself off. She was back in comfy t shirt and overalls. "I didn't think you'd be so early."

"Sorry."

"It's cool." She says. "I was wondering if you'd bother with the weather."

"Oh, uh, I-I've rode in worse. It's no biggie."

"Sure." She smiles and waves me up. "Come on. Ladder's over there."

I put down my pack and helmet and walk around to the side opposite the drive to see the ladder. I scoot up the ladder and climb up onto the flat roof. The center was recessed from the border and in the middle sat a broken down old table, a couple of ratty kitchen chairs, and what looked like a driving green mat of fake grass. Standing at the western edge of the roof she beckons me closer.

"Check out this view." She says.

Coming up beside her I look out over the peninsula, the town, and vast ocean and threatening clouds beyond. It was a sight similar to the one I'd camped at yesterday, not quite as breathtaking but definitely one worth pausing for.

"Wow."

"Reminds me of home." She says softly. "The clouds rolling in over the plains. It looked like the world went on forever." Glancing over at me then back to the West again. "You ever been to the Black Hills Sprout?"

"No."

"There's magic there." She says. "Real magic. I feel it here too."

"Do Lakota…believe in magic?"

She chuckles. "I'm just talking for myself here."

"Sorry."

"Do you believe in magic Avery?"

I look up at her, struck once more by her regal beauty as she gazed off into the distance. "Um…n-not really."

"Hmm."

We fall silent and let the cool moist wind caress our faces as we behold the grandeur before us. Flashes of lightning flicker along the dark bank of clouds and the low rumble of thunder shakes the sky.

She turns and pats my shoulder. "Come on. Let's roll some dice." She walks for the ladder with me tagging along just behind her. "You eat yet?"

"Oh, um, that's okay."

"Have you?"

"N-No, but…"

"Great!" She says as she starts to climb down the ladder. "You make the salad and I'll fry the chops." Her head suddenly pops back up over the edge. "You aren't vegan or anything are you?"

"No." I smile. "I love pork chops."

"Great." We get to the ground and Winona pulls down the ladder and takes it inside. I scoop up my pack and helmet and follow. "You want to visit the cats first?"

"Nah." I say. "Mama will have them in a safe place for the storm."

"Smart Mama." She pushes the locking latch open and uses the chain and starts to roll open one of the bay doors. "Grab your bike. Might as well keep it dry."

"Oh! Thank you."

"No sweat my dude." She lets go the chain and wipes her hands against her overalls. "Park it anywhere. Close up and lock up when you're done. I'll see you in there."

"Yeah, sure."

I watch her go more smitten with her than ever. Winona sure had a wonderful way of making someone feel welcome. It was in the simple things, the way she spoke and laughed and smiled with such honest warmth. We barely knew each other yet she was treating me like an old friend. I don't know why given the drama of our first meeting but with her I felt…safe. I was barely even stuttering!

Chapter 13: An Evening of Fantasy

Chapter Text

As I bring my bike into the garage I notice a number of extra tools and equipment now lined the walls of the bays. The place had been dusted and swept and the old bikini babe calendar had been replaced with a new one showing a proud buck. Once I figure out how to work it I close the bay door and latch it as I'd been told. I leave my pack, jacket and helmet with my bike. Taking a moment to make myself presentable I grab the paper and pencils before heading to Winona's suite. The door had been left open for me.

In the day and a half I'd been away the place had transformed from piles of boxes and furniture parts into a cozy home. To my immediate right was a shoe rack and coat hanger. Beyond that the tiny kitchen was not stocked with at least a basic level of supplies, most of which I helped to choose earlier in the day. At the back wall past the kitchen was the tall bookshelf I'd helped carry in now packed bottom to top with game books, miniature figurines, a glass vase full of dice of every imaginable color, and other such things related to her hobby. Goodness, she was really into this stuff! Along the back wall was the window and beside that her computer desk. Winona's bed was pushed right into the southwest corner with her nightstand and lamp near the open side. Next along that wall was her Johnny Cash poster, then her closet with her dresser inside, and finally the washroom off to my left. Her little dining table sat in the open near the kitchen with only one matching chair, though she had rolled her computer chair over to sit across from it. The center of the room stretching to the space to my immediate had a large rectangular rug but was otherwise left strangely empty.

"I'll be getting a love seat and TV for there." Washing her hands at the kitchen sink Winona had noticed me looking at the vacant spot. "Dad and I are taking a trip to Portland tomorrow."

"Nice." I close the door behind my and slip out of my shoes, careful to place them in the shoe rack of course. "The place looks great."

"Yeah." She says, drying her hands. "A little bare bones but it's coming along. You want some tea? I've got the kettle on."

"Yes please!"

"I thought you might." Taking an apron from off of a wall hanger she tosses it to me. I fumble the catch and quickly scoop it up off the ground and put it on. She grins as she watches me tie it around my slender waist. "I do love a man in an apron."

"Pfff." I titter, thinking it a joke.

"I'm serious." She says matter of factly. "Very sexy."

"Oh!"

Kneeling down she starts to take food from out of her half-sized fridge and put it on the counter. I approach and wash my hands. She stands up beside me, shoulder to shoulder she towered over me. Her counter space was limited, especially with the kettle and hotplate sharing real estate with where we'd be chopping and preparing, but she sets things out as best she could.

"There's a bowl up there. Knives in that drawer." She pulls out a cutting board. "There ya go."

"I'm on it boss."

"Heh."

I get the bowl and a knife and ready the veggies I needed.

"So?" She peers over at me from the corner of her eye. "Get a chance to talk to Kayla?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. I did."

"And?"

"Um…" I hesitate, unsure of what to say. I didn't want to lie but neither did I want to tell her that our mutual friend said some not very nice things about her. I did not like stirring drama up between people I cared about and I liked hurting people's feelings even less.

After an awkward silence she sighs. "It's cool Avery."

"Sh-She didn't tell me anything." I choose a little white fib to smooth it all out. "She said you were great to have as a friend and fun to be around but I told her not to tell me anything else."

She looks at me. "You did?"

"I-I don't think friends should talk about each other behind their backs." I say truthfully, then add in very soft tone. "Besides. I-I'd like to get to know you…myself a-and make my own mind up."

She looks down at me for a long moment. Feeling nervous under her gaze I busy myself with washing and chopping the lettuce. "That's…that's really cool Avery." She says at last. As I continue to put the salad together she takes a moment to go to the computer and get some background music playing.

"I don't have internet yet." She says as a sappy country ballad begins to play. "We'll have to make due with what I've got saved."

"That's okay. This is nice."

She returns to my side. Unwrapping the chops she lays them out on a plate. "And how is Kayla?"

"She's great. Living in the Tits now. She's single again."

She laughs. "Offered you a booty call?"

"The invite was there." I giggle.

"Good old Kayla." Reaching past me she grabs a few seasonings. "She always had a soft spot for you."

"She was talking about doing a movie night party tomorrow." I say. "If you're interested."

The salt shaker in her hand pauses…then continues to shake. "Yeah! I'd love to go to a party with you Sprout."

"W-W-With me!?" I stammer. My intention had only been to inform Winona about the gathering, not ask her to accompany me to it. I'd barely been here fifteen minutes and I'd just asked Winona out, by accident! And she said yes!

"Dad and I ought to be back in plenty of time." She says. "What's the movie?"

"I-I-I d-d-don't kn-kn…"

"Hey." She places a hand on my back and leans down to look at my face. "What's up?"

I snort, angry at myself for stuttering so badly, and shake my head. "N-N-Nothing."

"Okay." She looks me in the eyes…and smiles. Soooo beautiful! Very softly she rubs my back. "Breathe Avery. Just breathe."

I gulp in a deep shuddering breath and slowly let it again. "I'm sorry."

"You really don't have to be. It's cool." Just then the kettle comes to a full boil and clicks off. Taking a mug from the cupboard she plonks a tea bag into it and pours it near full. She places it on the table to steep then returns to my side and continues seasoning the meat with a smoky smelling mesquite rub. "Are you worried that it will be awkward for you? Being there with me?"

"N-No." I whisper.

"It will be for me." She admits. "That girl broke my damn heart. I thought we had something."

"Oh! W-We don't have to…g-go there."

"Nah, it's cool." She says. "I'm over it. I didn't understand Kayla like I do now. I've grown a lot since the last time I was here. Or I've tried at least."

"That's…good."

"Yeah."

I am struck with how far her effortless warmth, her easy kindness, and her vulnerable honesty had gone in soothing my jangled nerves. She was everything I hoped she'd be and so much more. Here I was hanging out with the most gorgeous girl on the island. Sharing a meal with her. And we already had a first date planned! By gosh I was one lucky fella. In a comfortable lull we continue our preparation for a few minutes as the music softly plays while outside the whoosh and rattle of the approaching storm was just picking up.

With growing confidence I say. "Hey, what song is this?"

"Mmm?" She tilts her head. "Feels So Right."

"It's nice. Great harmony."

"Yeah. Alabama's awesome."

"Are they your favorite?"

She smirks and with her head motions back to the opposite wall. "What do you think?"

Peeking back over my shoulder I see Johnny giving me the finger. "Oh. Ha! I should have guessed." She was just setting the chops into the pan to sizzle when I announce with a flourish of my knife. "Salad's finished."

"Already?" She says and nudges her hip into mine. "Damn you're fast Sprout."

"At making salads at least."

"You're all done and here I'm just getting cookin. Typical man."

"Pfff." I snicker. "Is there anything else I can do?"

"I got this." She nods to the bookshelf. "Why don't you grab the Character Manual. Take a look. Try to get some ideas of what you want to play."

I rinse and dry my hands. After adding milk and honey to my tea and tossing the bag I go the bookshelf and peruse the spines. "So many books! All of these are for Fables of Fantasy?"

"Most of them. I've got almost every book from all three editions of FoF there."

"Wow." Focusing on the shelf with the black and blue color palette that I recognized from my half a game I scan across until I find the well worn copy of the Character Manual. I slide it out from the rest. "I don't know what I'm doing."

"Just take a browse. See what inspires you." She says. "Last time you got a premade and were thrown in right at a big moment. Actually building a character, getting a feel for them, and starting from scratch will teach you so much more about the game."

Sitting at the table I place the book in front of me and admire the artwork of a band of heroes sneaking toward a monster's lair full of glittering treasure. I was so nervous and confused on my first try that it had been a miserable experience but Winona's enthusiasm and this evocative art did stir the spirit of fun inside of me. I open the cover and begin to slowly leaf through one page at a time.

"So I can choose anything in this book?"

"You bet." She says as she shuffles the pan back and forth over the hotplate. The mouthwatering aroma of sizzling smoky pork mingles with the spice of the chai. Safe inside this cozy room while outside the wind howled I sip my hot tea and scan the words and pictures. "If you've got ideas not in there I'm sure there are options from the other supplements that'll work. Or we can just improvise."

"Improvise?"

"I am the Game Master after all. My world, my rules."

"Your world, your rules." I repeat. "So I can just…do anything?"

"Within reason, sure! It's a fantasy game. You ought to be able to play whatever your imagination can come up with."

"Fantasy?" I whisper as the image of a fair princess in a flowing blue gown with a delicate silver tiara upon her brow catches my eye.

"Yeah." She says. "Make a fantasy YOU to live in my fantasy world."

I run my fingers lightly across the pretty art. "A fantasy…me?"

Chapter 14: Rolling Up a Character

Chapter Text

As Winona fries the meat I sit silently sipping my tea and flipping through the pages as ideas began to swirl. A fantasy me. But what kind of person was that? I startle as suddenly two hands are on my shoulders and I could feel the brush of my host's breasts against the back of my head.

"So what are you thinking Sprout?"

"I…think I'd like to try a mage again." I say, trying to maintain my concentration with her so close. "I never even got to cast a spell last time."

"Awesome." She says. "Got a race in mind?"

"Elf." I say without hesitation. "They're…they're cool looking."

'Cool looking' glossed over the many things I liked about that race. They were long-lived, wise, noble, nature loving, a bit mysterious, and they cared about things like beauty and tranquility. And best of all, they were all sooooo pretty!

"Nice." She says. Leaning down over me, her chest now right alongside my head, she reaches out and flips back a few pages to the elf section. "There's some sweet options for elf casters. Right here." She points and taps the page. "Magic boon is a must have. A free power and drain resistance across the board on casting. One of the most broken combos in the game."

"Broken?" I read the entry, but it was the one above it that catches my eye. "Oh!" I say. "This one gets you a pet! Ha ha ha!"

"Nature? Eh. The bonuses are meh and familiars kinda suck." She says. "In combat they're more a liability than anything. Besides, that's more for Rangers and Druids."

"Oh. Okay. I-I'll take Magic then."

"Hold on Sprout." She looks at me from the side. "Do you really want a familiar?"

"Um…kinda."

"Then take it." She pats my shoulder and returns to check on the pork chops. "This is your character Avery. Whatever you think will be fun to play, that's what's important."

As the music plays, the meat sizzles, and the escalating storm rattles the big bay doors out in the garage I pull my pad of paper closer and start jotting things down. My fantasy me was an elf, a mage, and had the Nature boon. To complement the boon I choose Nature as my 'Guiding Principle' as well. I really liked the idea of being a nurturer of all things green and natural. Without even rolling a single dice a foggy image begins to form in my mind of this person who was me but not me. It was only now dawning on me how deep this game went. The first time I'd played it I was trying to understand it as a board game but as I read the sumptuous descriptions and ogle the exquisite art and imagine my fantasy self's place in this magical world it fires up an appreciation of what this game could be and why it evoked such excitement from people like Olivia, Charlotte, Liam, and Winona.

"How's it going?" Winona sets down two plates, each one loaded with one thick pork chop and a heap of glossy dressed salad.

"Oh, um, good I think."

She drags the other chair around the table to sit at my side instead of across from me. I go to pull the book and paper away but Winona says to leave it. After she gets us some cutlery and drinks she sits at my side and starts munching away at her salad as she peruses what I'd written down with a surprisingly intense interest. I take my knife and fork and begin nibbling myself.

"Mmm." She swallows. "A nature wizard? Never seen anybody play one before."

"I-Is that okay?"

"It's unique. It's awesome." She slices off a bit of pork and chomps it down. "So tell me about him." She asks through her chewing. "Or her."

"Or her?" I whisper.

"Yeah." She says as she sits back, pushing her glasses up her nose in that charming way she had. "Don't worry about the rules or the numbers right now. Just tell me who they are."

"Sh-She…" I smile, emboldened by Winona's interest. "She lives in a forest. She looks after it."

"Oh nice. We can work with that."

"She lives there with her whole family."

"Okay. Is it like an estate or kingdom or what are you thinking?"

I think a bit as chew on some tasty pork. "No. They're just simple country elves." I say. "Simple and happy. They tend the forest."

Winona nods. "Alright. Married? Kids?"

"No." I say. "I think she had to stay pure so that she can talk to the unicorns."

"Uh…okay. Where'd you get that from?"

"Don't unicorns only approach virgins or something?"

She shrugs. "Sure Sprout, they do now. Anything else?"

"Um. My Grandma is a wizard too." I say. "She is very wise and she taught me everything. I love her very much." She looks at me with a funny smile. "What?"

"You slipped into first person." She nudges my arm. "I think you're gonna be a natural at FoF."

I grin and mutter bashfully. "I hope so. This all sounds so fun."

"It's only the best game ever." She says with an infectious enthusiasm. She suddenly gets up and hurries to the shelves where she fishes out three ten-sided dice from the rest then returns. She places them on the paper. "Green for nature okay?"

"Oh! They're so pretty." I say, admiring the creamy jade hued polyhedrals.

"You like them?" She says. "They're yours."

"What? Really!?"

"I've got tons of 'em and you'll need a set anyway." She says. "I'll find the others in this set later. This is all you need for now though. Come on, let's roll some dice!"

"Okay!" Hurriedly I chew down the food I had in my mouth and wipe my hands on my apron.

Winona briefly explains the five key stats, each of which were split between an 'active' aspect and a 'passive' aspect. "So, like, in Physical for example. Active would be feats of strength or effect how hard you hit while passive determines how tough you are and how well you can resist poison or disease or what have you. In general Active aspects are more offensive and Passive more defensive. Get it?"

"Um…no."

She grins. "Don't worry about it. Just roll and we'll figure it out. It'll all become clear as we go." As I take the two dice she indicates that I start with and begin to rattle them in my hand she then tells me about the dizzyingly complex system of deciding the numbers that at character creation ranged from 30 to 80 out of 100. "It's easy. Each stat starts at 30. You then roll a percentile, divide it by 2, round down, and add it to that. The third d10 is the Fable dice which we'll roll at the end. Got it?"

I laugh and shake my head. "Nope."

"Just roll the damn dice." She chuckles. "And don't worry too much if it's low. There are things you can do to boost bad stats."

"Okay." I let the dice go. Both of us lean in as they tumble across the table to land on…oh no. "Zero?" I say as I stare at the twin zeroes looking back up at me. "I got zero. That's really bad, isn't it?"

Winona, her eyes wide and her jaw hanging open, gawks at the dice. "Avery! That's not zero, that's 100! Your very first roll was the best roll you can get!"

"Oh." I smile. "Cool."

"I've NEVER gotten a hundred at creation!" She says, a hint of jealousy coming through. "Beginner's luck or what. Wow. Okay, well, write that number down and roll four more times."

I write down the 100 and roll again. "69. Heh!"

"Ha!" She guffaws before doing a double take. "No, that's a 96. 96! Get OUT of here!" She shoves me nearly off of my chair!

With a humongous smile I rub my shoulder then write the number down. While she is still marveling over that one I roll the next. "87."

"Stop it!" She cries as I laugh and quickly write it down. "The other players will think I'm playing favorites!"

"I can't help it." I say ebulliently. "I guess I'm just lucky." As I tempt fate with those words I let go the next roll. "2."

"2!? Ha ha ha!" Winona shakes me by the shoulders, to which I giggle wildly. "Talk about hot and cold. You are a walking, talking min-max machine."

Pretending to be perturbed by the roll for affect I grumble as I jot down the low number. "Last one." I say as I rattle the die in my hand…and let them tumble from my fingers. "93!"

"NO!!!" Winona leaps from her chair and begins pacing about the room. "You did NOT just roll that! That did NOT just happen!"

With a big bratty grin I proudly write down my last stat. "Not too bad, eh?"

"Not bad! Not bad!" She comes back to the table to look over the numbers. "I have never seen a legit character with such good stats. They're even better than Ara's!"

I sit there happy as could be as Winona, partly in awe and partly vexed, goes on about the number's I'd rolled. She even takes a picture of the array to text them to her gaming friends. Our half eaten pork chops were getting cold and our salad was getting soggy, but neither of us cared. When she finally settles down she takes her seat again and pushes her plate to the side. "I just love making characters."

"Me too." I say, more excited because she was excited than anything to do with dice if I was honest.

"Alright. The 2 you can dump in Physical, Agility, or Charm." She says as she turns the pages to the stat section. "The 100 hundred you definitely want to put into Mental, the 96 probably in Spirit."

"Um." I skim the different entries. "I think…I think I'd like to put the 100 in Charm."

"No way dude. Mage's never use that stat in combat. Trust me on this one."

I read the entries again and shake my head. "It's my character. I want it in charm." I say. "I don't want be in combat that much anyway."

"Not in combat that much?"

Then with an impish smirk I quip. "Besides, I've got lots of good stats to choose from."

"You little shit." She chuckles. "Rub it in why don't ya. Alright. She's your baby."

Taking Winona's advice I dump the 2 into Physical, on my own inspiration I put the 100 into Charm, then the 96 in Mental, the 93 in Spirit, and the 87 in Agility. The numbers are calculated for final scores of 31 Physical, 73 Agility, 78 Mental, 76 Spirit, and a 'perfect' 80 for Charm. For the Active-Passive numbers she explains that I use the main stats as a base then add one roll of the 'Fable' dice to the one I wanted my character to be better at.

"As an Elf you get to double the Fable roll for one of Agility-Active, Agility-Passive, Mental-Active, or Charm-Active." Winona says. "You'll definitely want Mental-Active so that your spells hit harder."

"Charm-Active it is." I say, to which she smiles and rolls her eyes.

"Fine. Go ahead then."

Going down the line I roll a 1 for Physical-Passive, an 8 for Agility-Passive, a 6 for Mental-Active, a 5 for Spirit-Passive, and finally for Charm-Active… "10!" I bounce in my chair. "I got a 10!"

"No…fucking…way!" She slumps back, her hands on her head as she looks at the dice in disbelief. "No way!"

"A-And I get to double it b-because of the Elf thing! He he he!" I titter uncontrollably as I scrawl down the result. "Charm-Active…100."

"In all my years I have never, EVER, seen a 100 at creation." Winona was flabbergasted. "Avery! You are going to literally be the most beautiful mortal woman in the world!"

Chapter 15: Getting Into Character

Chapter Text

My class, race, and stats determined we move on to the finer details. As we nibble a bit at our suppers Winona guides me through choosing my skills and spells. I just loved the way she shone with the energy of a true geek. In sharing her hobby I could glimpse that same joy, that same passion, as when I got that perfect shot of the bluebird. And it was a wonderful thing to witness. Time and again I would go against her experienced recommendations and each time she would support my decision.

"Are you sure about this Sprout?" She says as she looks over my finished list of spells. "You have literally zero offense here."

"She's not a warrior." I say. "She's a protector, a problem solver, and a pacifist."

"You sure you don't want to look at Bard or Priest?"

"Mmm" I shake my head. "She's a mage like her Grandma."

"Well she sounds lovely." Winona says. "She'll just have to get…creative sometimes. We'll make it work Avery."

A flash of lightning brightens the window and just a moment later a boom of thunder rattles the building. The storm was right on top of us now and neither of us had given it any thought. If anything the violent weather outside only enhanced our isolated location to insulate our private get together from any potential interruption. Out here it was just her and I tucked away in this cozy little suite.

"Have you thought about your familiar?"

"Yeah." I say. "It says I can have a bird."

"Yep."

"Well, I thought I might choose…a crow."

Her left brow rises. "Cheeky."

I giggle. "Crows are clever and industrious and…"

"And you're buttering up the GM." She says. "I respect the hustle."

"It's not that!" I plead my innocence, though the truth was she was onto me.

"So that's most of the crunchy stuff." She says. "What about a description. What's she look like?"

"She's pretty."

Winona chuckles. "Yeah, I know that much. Tell me more Avery. Try to imagine her, to picture her, what do you see?"

The lens of my mind's eye turns and the foggy image of this peaceful wizard that Winona and I had poured so much attention into slowly begins to come into focus. I could almost see her now, standing in her forest home in that same flowing gown and tiara as that beautiful princess I saw near the front of the book.

"She's…she's small." I whisper. "Slight of build."

"With a 31 Physical that makes sense."

"Her features are delicate. Delicate as a daisy." I say, my eyes focused on some far away fantasy realm. "Her ears are pointed, her eyebrows a bit slanted. She's got big eyes, long lashes."

"Very elvish. Good stuff. Keep going."

"She's…" The words catch in my throat as old fears begin to swell.

"Go ahead Avery."

"She's…"

Winona waits a few seconds then places a hand lightly upon my shoulder. "What's her skin color?"

"Fair." I say.

"Her hair?"

"B-Blonde."

"Eyes?"

"Blue."

Again the brow raises. "Go on."

"She…" I say softly. "She looks after herself. Her hair is cut short for an elf." I let out a laugh. "A really cute style."

"Cute?"

I nod. "And she is perfumed. She smells of…of…lilac."

"Mmm, sounds nice."

"Yes. She likes nice things. Long gowns, elegant jewelry, nothing over the top or tacky or crass."

"A real lady, huh?"

"Yes!" I smile. "I am a lady. Is there make-up in this world?"

She tilts her head. "Yeah. Of course."

"I wear it." I say as the ravishing elf maiden that I was creating now stared back at me as if in a mirror. "Not enough to look tawdry but…enough to look her best."

"And is her name Avery?"

"PFFFT!" I cover my face as a fit of embarrassed giggles come burbling out of me. "This isn't me! It's just a character!"

"Uh huh." She says dubiously, a big grin spreading on her face. "I've got an idea." She says as she takes my hand. "Come on Sprout."

"Where are we…?" I mumble as Winona leads me toward her closet. "What are you…?"

Taking a familiar sleeveless blue dress from off of a hanger she says. "A little character building exercise, before you choose a name."

"Oh!" I wave my hands. "No, no, no. I can't…"

Grabbing my arms she pushes them up over my head. With a firm look she commands. "Stay."

I nod and stay right like I am.

She gives the dress a gentle flick to straighten it out then bunches it up in her hands. I stand frozen as she steps in…and slips the garment down over my raised arms. The long dress tumbles down over my clothed body. Being sized for her the dress was much too large for me, going all the way down to brush to top of my feet. Winona tilts her head as she looks me up and down. After smoothing out a few folds and wrinkles she walks around behind me to zip up the zipper that ran up my back. As I feel the bust of the dress cinch around my chest my breathe begins to quicken.

She strides back around to the front, checking me out all along the way. Looking down into my eyes she says. "Pa-pow."

"Hah." I let out a gasp, a scared smile upon my face.

"Mm hm." She nods. "Hmmm, a belt. Yes." She spins and hurries into the washroom, quickly returning with the cloth belt from a green bathrobe that she had hanging in there. With a deft flip she whips it around my body and ties it off. She then twists it so that the knot sat at my left hip. With the belt on the loosely hanging dress now had shape. "Avery!" She exclaims as her hands tighten along the sides of my slender body. "How you got hips like that? A boy's got no damn business havin hips like that. God damn."

I titter self-consciously. Nobody had ever complimented my hips before.

With a shake of her head she returns to the task at hand. She snaps her fingers. "Spell book, components."

"Huh?"

Taking my arms, which were still over my head, she brings them down to my sides. "Don't move."

Off she goes again, this time to the bookshelf. There she grabs the biggest, thickest tome that she could find and a leather dice bag. With these items she returns. The book she hands to me, I hold it both hands against my chest, and the pouch she ties to the right side of my belt. "Ha ha! Yes. Now she's coming together."

I just smile…and smile…and smile some more. I couldn't help myself.

Standing back she taps her chin. "Let's see…hmm." Taking a hair brush she steps close and starts to brush my hair! Unable to move or even make a noise I just stare up at her as she changes my hair style from perfectly smooth to teased and tussled. "There she is." She puts the brush down. Opening a jewelry box on her dresser she glances back at me. "What kind of jewelry do you wear?"

"Wh-what?"

"Jewelry." She says. "What kind?"

"A…A…A tiara." I whisper.

"Mmm, I don't have one of those." She says. "But I do have…this." Reaching up into a box on the closet's upper shelf she produces a white plastic hair hand. She returns to me, readies my hair with a few combs of her fingers, then guides the band over my forehead and into my hair until the teeth dig in to keep it in place. "That'll have to do."

I just stand there gawping at her, unable to grasp what was happening here, as she gives me another once over. With a quirky grin she brings a finger to my chin to close my open mouth.

"Stand straight." She says softly. "You are a lady, remember?"

Without even thinking about it my back straightens, my chin lowers, and my feet edge closer together as I stand with what I imagined was the poise of an elf.

"Atta girl." She says warmly.

Atta…GIRL!? Ohhhhh. Words cannot describe the joy I am feeling.

"Necklace? Bracelet? Rings?"

I nod.

From the jewelry box she produces a slender gold chain with a pendant in the shape of feather, a plastic green bracelet, and a ring with a central square sapphire surrounded my tiny diamonds. The ring looked antique, probably some sort of inheritance or hand-me-down. The ring she slides onto the index finger of my right hand. The bracelet she places on my left arm, halfway up my forearm instead of my wrist to give it a sort of fantasy feel. And the pendant she leans close to slip the chair around my slender neck. I savor the warmth and smell of her body as she does so.

Taking a backward step she evaluates her handiwork. "Almost perfect." She smiles. "But not quite there." Grabbing a cream colored, soft sided, rectangular case from her dresser she takes my hand. "Come on."

She takes me to her bed! There she lays me down on top of the soft blankets.

"Wh-wh-what are you d-doing?"

Winona waggles the case before setting it beside me. "You said she wore makeup"

"What!?" I protest, half talking and half giggling like a crazy person. "He he he! N-n-no! He he he! I c-can't!"

She slips the book from my hand and sets it to the side then takes one of her many pillows and lays it over my pelvis. "Quit squirming Sprout." She laughs as she straddles me and sits down on the pillow, trapping me beneath her! "This is happening. GM says so."

"I can't! Ha ha ha ha!" I cover my face with my hands. "I c-c-can't!"

Winona grabs my wrists and with humbling strength forces them down to my sides. Tightening her knees into me she pins my arms against my flanks. She then lets her full weight settle down onto me. My body held, my arms immobilized, something inside of me takes over…and I go very, very still.

She smiles and pats my chest. "That's better. Good girl." Straddling me as if she were riding me she sits up tall, looking like a sexy giantess to this overwhelmed viewer. She straightens her glasses and makes herself comfortable. Placing the cosmetics bag on my belly she zips it open and begins to rummage around. "Let's see. Elf. Nature. Mage. Yeah, I think I can do something with that."

So many emotions were whizzing around my skull at once that I didn't even know what to think right now. I only knew two things for sure. I was happy. And I was thankful that the pillow was there between us. I don't think I had ever been harder in my life!

Chapter 16: Revelation and Transformation

Chapter Text

Beyond blinking I don't move one single muscle. I worried that, like dropping a pebble into still water, it would take just the smallest of disturbances to ruin what was happening right now. Even my breathing, taken in long and slow breaths, I try to make as minimal as possible. Winona seemed oblivious to the effect she was having on me as she happily pulled the different pigments and instruments from her cosmetics bag. But for me there was a lot going on right now.

This kind, beautiful, wonderful woman with the easy laugh had invited me into her home, fed me, and guided me into her beloved hobby without ever teasing me or making me feel bad about my silliness and stuttering. She also took control of me and manhandled me in ways that had only happened to me in my hottest and sweatiest of wet dreams. Unlike the brothers and bullies of my youth she over powered me to control, not to hurt or humiliate. And it made ALL the difference. It was the main reason for the raging boner hidden beneath the pillow. And finally, and most significantly, she was…dressing me like a girl. Something I'd had urges to do since my early teens but had been bullied out of me by my mom, my brothers, my sister, and, hell…everybody! It's not that I was a girl or even wanted to be a girl, it was more the freedom to play with the idea that had my heart so lifted. And now here it was happening. It was happening and I had no say in the matter, which meant I couldn't chicken out.

Quietly, placidly, I lay staring up the larger woman crushing on her like I hadn't since my first puppy love. Taking a bit of creamy white moisturizer on the tips of her fingers she swipes it across me cheeks and forehead then begin to work it gently rub it into my skin.

"What I wouldn't do for pores like yours."

Her fingers felt so warm and nice as they ran across my face. After the moisturizer is well worked in and my skin ready there comes another paste, the primer I think. This too she rubs all across my face to form a base layer upon which she would paint my feminine mask.

"Your skin tone's lighter than mine." She says a she smooths it all out. "But no worries, I can work with this."

Sitting up tall she closes up a couple of things and opens up others. After daubing a little cool goo on my cheeks, chin and forehead she the uses a wide brush to paint it out evenly. The bristles of the soft brush make me giggle.

She smiles and says. "Stay still you. And stop smiling. You're making dimples." This makes me giggle more but soon I force myself to hold a neutral expression. She boops my nose with the tip of her brush. "Good girl."

Something new is then dabbed very carefully along the ultra-tender flesh below my lower lashes and with her pinky she oh so attentively spreads it out. I just lay and stare up at her bewitched by her focused hazel eyes. Every so often she would glance up to make eye contact and hold it for a few seconds as I absolutely melt. She moves on to the next thing. Using a big fluffy brush she pats it in some powder.

"Close your eyes Sprout." I do so and soon I feel the supple bristles caressing my skin. "So Kayla says you're bi."

I swallow. "Yeah."

"Ever been with a guy before?"

"I've…fooled around a little."

"Nothing serious?"

"I-I tried once but…it didn't work out." That ill-fated relationship had been with a guy Kayla hooked me up with named Eddie. We gave it a go for a few weeks but quickly ran into the classic problem of both being bottoms. Eddie dropped me pretty quick once he realized we weren't compatible.

"Mmm." Her weight shifts. There is a click of something being closed and the rustle of other things being readied. This was turning into quite the process! "Do you like getting pegged?"

I open my eyes. "Wh-What?"

"Pegged." She says as casually as anything as she swirls yet another brush into some blush. "Kayla ever bend you over?"

I shake my head no.

"A booty like yours? I don't know how she could resist." She chuckles, then pauses. "Does talking about this make you uncomfortable?"

I shake my head no again. The only thing uncomfortable right now was the aching boner in my pants. She wanted to peg me!?

"Good." She swirls the blush on the apple of my left cheek then fades it out straight back toward my temple. "Here's the thing Avery. The thing you need to know about me." She refreshes the brush and switches to begin working on the right side. "I've got a penis."

As if on cue the mellow country song that had been playing fades to an end and the wind and rain outside hits a lull leaving the room in momentary silence. I look up at her wondering what kind of joke she was trying to tell me right now. After a long tense quiet the next song plays and the storm howls once more.

"What?"

Finishing up the blush she sits up. "I was hoping Kayla would tell you. Or least get you ready."

"What…what do you mean p-penis?"

"A dick. A cock. A pecker." She says as she readies a slender pencil like brush, holding it like a pencil. Leaning down, her left arm across my chest, she concentrates as she brushes the tool through my narrow eyebrows. "My elders say that I am winkte, a two-spirit."

"Two-spirit?"

"I don't know if it's a mutation or a condition or what but, yeah. I'm kinda special that way." With a finger she smooths out my brow. "If you could keep this just between us I'd appreciate it."

"Why…are you telling me?"

Moving to my other brow she says. "I could be wrong but…I think we're getting along."

"We are." I whisper.

"I think you're cool Avery." She takes a long, deep breath then says. "I think you're really, really,…really, really cool."

"I-I think you are too!"

Her smile warms my heart. "Yeah. Well, I thought I'd just get that out there." Her hand stops and she looks into my eyes. "I don't want to scare you away Avery."

I stare up into her eyes utterly entranced yet still struggling with what she had said. Was she messing with me? Was this a part of her fantasy? A part of her character? Why would she say that? She looked so earnest and so…vulnerable.

"If you don't believe me…"

"I believe you." I hear my own voice say softly. "I-I'm not…afraid."

She lets out a sigh and her body noticeably relaxes. Tilting her head she says in a gentle yet cheerful tone. "Good." Pushing her glasses back up to the top of her nose and bringing a palate of eyeshadow colors from the bed up onto my chest she says. "Close your eyes." I do so. "Green with gold highlights work for you? I thought that would look pretty elvish."

"Elvish? Oh, right. Y-Yeah. Sounds good."

She falls quiet as she works on my eyes. Brushing, daubing, and dabbing from my brow down to the bottom of the socket and from inner corner to the outer. I smile when I feel the pencil like instrument she was running along the top and bottom of the seam of my lids give me that cute little flare at the corners like I'd seen so many women wear.

"You look beautiful." She says. "Just wait until you see her."

Opening my eyes I grin a beaming, bashful grin.

"Gorgeous." She says. Next comes the weird contraption that curls my lashes followed my mascara. I adored how careful and attentive she was as she made me look like my elf maiden character. Somehow, someway, Winona had just dropped the mother of all bombs by telling me about her private parts and yet…it didn't matter. It didn't matter one tiny bit. I didn't give a damn what was between her legs. I mean…it excited me, sure. But deep down it just didn't matter. She literally could have turned into a slavering werewolf on top of me and I would have just lay here continuing to soak up her attention. I don't know how she managed that. Maybe…maybe she was right. Maybe magic was real.

With a deft touch she applies highlighter at my inner eyes, down my slender nose, across my fine cheek bones, and around my brows. Then, at last, she finishes me off with a pretty pink lip gloss. After a close once over she gives a nod and sits up looking rather proud of the transformation she'd performed.

"Wow." She says as she clicks the cases closed and returns the caps to other things. "Wow! Now that is a 100 Charm."

"Wh-what's it look like?"

"A whole new you."

I giggle and for the first time begin to squirm impatiently. "C-C-Can I see?"

"You got it Sprout." Putting the cosmetics away she tosses the bag to the side. She gets up off of me and removes the pillow, a lingering of her eyes and a smirk at the side of her mouth telling me that my secret erection was not so secret anymore. She doesn't say a word though. Pulling me to my feet she gives me back my 'spell book' and straightens everything out. "Close your eyes." Needless to say I do so. Taking my hand in hers as if I were royalty she leads me across the room toward the washroom. "Walk like a lady. That's it. That's it! Good girl."

As I stride with a feminine flair, Winona holding my hand and guiding my steps, I am near ready to leap out of my skin with anticipation. Into the washroom we go and I hear the click of the light come on. She takes me by the shoulders and turns me to face the mirror above the sink. Standing behind me she leans down over my shoulder and whispers into my ear. "Okay Avery. Open your eyes."

Chapter 17: Dream Girl

Chapter Text

What I see when I open my eyes leaves me stunned. This…woman staring back at me was somebody I had never seen before and yet so familiar as to be etched into my permanent memory. I knew I was looking into a mirror yet to my disbelieving eyes I believed that I must have been looking at a screen displaying some long lost twin sister of mine. Despite the tiny, dingy washroom, despite the harsh white light, and despite the make shift nature of my outfit the maiden before me truly was something from out of a fantasy. It was then I realized that I had her before. In my dreams.

I was so pretty! My slender jaw and finely tapered chin that looked weak for a man looked elegant as a lady. My long neck, shallow chest, and narrow shoulders that made me look so wimpy as a man now looked delicate and refined. My slim waist and willowy limbs that showed my manly weakness My big, bright blue eyes that made me seem naive or even a simpleton as a man now shone with a charming innocence as a fair maiden. My wispy blond hair that came down to about my mid-neck now held back in a hair band was adorable. And, upon seeing myself with fresh eyes, for the very first time I now saw why people always made such a big deal about my smile. It really did light up a room just like Grandpa said it did. Even the little hints of my masculinity, the faint Adam's apple and the slight V taper from my pits down to my hips, somehow only worked to give me a hint of the mysterious.

And the makeup, wow! It didn't conceal or plaster, it simply smoothed and accentuated. My pale skin was flawless. The bones of my cheek were highlighted subtly and tastefully. The pink gloss made my pouting lips look oh so smoochable. And what she had done to my eyes was phenomenal! My lashes were darkened and longer, calling even more attention to my baby blues. And around them the sparkling green and gold eyeshadow truly gave my face a mystical appearance. I really liked the little flares at the corners of my eyes and at the tips of my eyebrows that made me look elvish.

I stood speechless. I had dreamed of this day but never had the bravery to do it myself. And what I saw exceeded even my dreams.

"You like it?"

I nod as I fight back my tears.

"Me too." She whispers. "You are very beautiful Avery."

My bottom lip begins to quiver as my eyes go glossy. The sniffles and snorts passing in and out of my nostrils were at odds with the beautiful lady that I was.

"It's okay." Wrapping her strong arms around me from behind she simultaneously pins my arms to my sides and my wrists to the book upon my chest. Had this been one of my brothers I would have panicked at being held helpless but in her arms it felt…nice. Gripping tightly she squeezes me hard. "It's okay Avery."

Struggling to speak I let out a gasp. "Th-This is the n-nicest…thing…anybody…"

"Hey. We're just having some fun here. Right?"

"Yeah." I nod.

She then laughs "Don't cry Avery, you'll mess up all of my hard work." Putting her cheek to mine, her chin resting on my shoulder, she smiles and hugs me hard. "I didn't realize what an effect this would have on you. You sure you're okay?"

I smile and nod. "I've always wanted…to do this." I whisper. "But I was too…a-a-afraid."

"Well you don't have to be afraid here my friend." She gives me a bolstering shake before letting me go. "You just be you Sprout. You just be you." She pats my back. "Besides, what does Johnny say?"

"Fuck the haters?"

"Ha! Atta girl." She nods proudly. "Fuck the haters."

My glimmering eyes dewy but not leaking I am somehow able to quell the upsurge in emotions enough to keep the happy tears at bay.

"Whose a pretty girl?"

I giggle uproariously and stand taller. "Me."

"Whose a sexy girl?"

"Me!" I waggle my hips back and forth. "Me!"

Stepping back and looking me up and down Winona nods approvingly. "Mmm. I'll say you are. Daddy like!"

"PFFFT!" I squeal. "Daddy!?"

She chuckles. "Would you prefer Mommy?"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"I just want to tie you up in a pretty little bow and hide you in my sock drawer." She says. "God damn."

"He he he he!"

"Look at you." She says as she pulls me back to her side to look at the pair us through the mirror. "Look at us! The cosplay potential is off the charts! I am totally dragging you to a Con."

"A Con? C-Cosplay?"

"Yeah man. Comic Con, Gen Con, Dragon Con, something." She says. "Me as Urbosa, you as Link…yeah. Hell yeah! We'd be amazing."

"I don't know what any of that means." I laugh. "But I'm in!"

"Atta girl!"

"He he he!"

"Although…" Her eyes pan down to the boner pressing through the three layers of clothes. "…we'll have to lock that thing up or something. Down girl!"

I blush so hard it even comes through the makeup. "S-Sorry." I peep.

"Ha ha! Don't be Sprout." She shakes me. "I'm just busting your balls."

Carefully setting the book down on the toilet lid I stand and preen for the mirror, entranced both by my own beauty as well as this wonderful woman who brought it out. Winona just stands smiling, content to watch me take the moment in and feed off of my happy energy for a few minutes. I giggle and prance and pose and curtsie and make smoochie faces and do all of the cute things that girls got to do before finally spinning to face my tall friend. She looks down at me, her hands on her hips, and waits to hear what I had to say. Instead of talking though…I step forward and throw my arms around her. I rest my head on her chest and hug her as tightly as I could.

"Oh!" She says in surprise, her body tensing a moment. Soon though she relaxes and hugs me back.

My eyes squeezed shut I say with all of my heart. "Thank you!"

She strokes my back. "I'm glad you're happy Sprout."

After a moment the embrace parts leaving both a bit awkward at the premature display of affection.

"Ahem." She says, breaking the silence. "So, have you thought about a name?"

"Name?"

"For your character you nut!" She laughs. "We're building a character, remember?"

"Oh yeah." I chirp. "I almost forgot."

"What a guy." She shakes her head. "Here, look." She turns me back toward the mirror and points out toward it. "Use your imagination." I nod. "Imagine your ears pointed, your eyes a bit larger."

"Yes."

"You are a century old, maybe older. You live in a forest. You live high up among the trees. This is your home. You protect this forest and you protect your family." She says with that old gaming passion returning to her eyes. "Your grandma is the Grand Mage of the whole area and you are her apprentice. Can you see it?"

"Yes!"

"At your hip, the components to craft your potent magic. There on the pedestal, the spellbook that contains the secret incantations and formulas of your profession."

"Cool."

She comes around behind me, gripping my shoulders, and leans in so her head overs beside mine. "At your shoulder your trusty crow familiar. Can you see it?"

I nod enthusiastically. "Yes. I can!" With Winona's help I really could. My face was sharper in feature. The band on my head was a beautiful tiara. The ring on my finger had an elegant timelessness, the band on my forearm now glowed with magic. The robes I wore now a fine silk. And the light over top the mirror was now sunlight streaming in through a window in my treetop house which I could now see all around me. And on my shoulder a glossy black crow. A familiar. A wizard's best friend.

"Speak your name Mage." The Game Master says softly. "Look into the mirror and speak your name."

Chapter 18: Solo Session

Chapter Text

I gaze into the pretty blue eyes of the woman staring back at me. "I am…Althea!"

"Althea. I like it." Says my Game Master at my shoulder. "She looks like an Althea."

"And you are Touka!"

"Me?"

"I mean, my familiar. That sits on this shoulder. Touka the crow."

"Althea and Touka." She nods. "Very nice."

With a big, bright smile I say impishly. "Thank you Daddy."

Whatever she was about to say catches in her throat as she stops dead and gives me a surprised look. "What did you call me?"

"He he he. Would you prefer Mommy?" I parrot back her quip.

"The nerve!"

"Ha ha ha! You called yourself that just a minute ago." I cover my face, careful not to mess up the make up, and blush. "I was just following your lead."

"YOU…are going to be trouble." She points at me through the mirror. "You might look all sweet and innocent, but you are trouble." She swats my ass. "The cute ones always are."

I sputter and burble with happy giggles.

Shaking her head yet again she chuckles along with me. "You are too much Avery."

She turns me around and holds me by the shoulders as she looks me over intently. Quietly I stare back at her with a lust like I had never felt before. I wanted her. I wanted her so bad! My shameful boner was more likely to tear through the layers of clothes than subside at this rate. What she does next does not help things!

She pushes me back until my butt hits the sink counter, moving with me as she does. Letting go of my left shoulder she reaches her hand up along side my neck. The skin of her fingertips does not actually touch mine though they are so close that they tickle at the short hairs at the back of my neck sending shivers down my spine. Her hand glides slowly back across the side of my neck, following the line of my jaw, her long fingers brushing my flesh more lightly than a feather. Held in place more from being mesmerized than by the firm grip on my right shoulder I stand perfectly still. Once at the front her hand very slowly snakes down my chest, her eyes following her hand as it goes. Her palm rubs along the soft fabric of the robe she had dressed me in. Her hand continues down past my chest and to my stomach and then continues on! Just past my belly button along the left side she pauses and gives a soft rub. If her hand had been on the other side she would have been rubbing my achingly hard cock.

I tremble. My tiny breaths coming fast and shallow. As the rain hammers the roof and the low music continues to play we stand like this for a long, quiet moment.

"My God you are beautiful." She says so quietly I wonder if they'd actually been spoken aloud as her eyes pan up and down and across my face.

"Oh!"

"I've forgotten something." She says in a voice like warmed honey. "The finishing touch."

"Wh-Wha-What?"

"Your perfume." She says. "You said Althea was perfumed."

"Oh…" I swallow. "…yeah."

Stepping into me she gets so close so that her breasts touched my chest. She leans in and for a second I thought I was bout to be kissed! At the very last instant though she veers off to the side. Her cheek alongside mine, her hot breath washing over my ear, she whispers. "Hold still."

Winona stands right where she is and reaches behind me, her arms to either side of me, and opens the medicine cabinet. The warmth of her larger body surrounds me. As she rustles through the cabinet to find the perfume I feel something else touching me. Another part of her body. Something long and thick and heavy resting directly over the full stretch of my erection. I flex my dick to push against it…and it doesn't even budge. Not only did Winona have a penis, she was big. She was really big! I could feel her smooth cheek move against mine it was so close. She was smiling.

She had a more neutral look to her as she steps back again though her hazel eyes still shone. Taking the little heart shaped perfume bottle she puts a dash on her pinky and dabs the floral scent on each side of my neck just below and behind my earlobes. She closes the bottle and sets it to the side. After wiping her pinky she leans in once more and sniffs.

"That's better." She says. "Not lilac. But we can use our imagination. Can't we?"

The moment her eyes meet mine I pull my gaze away. The feelings were just too intense for me to deal with. I give her a nervous nod.

"Look me in the eyes Avery."

I shake my head, afraid that I would break down if I did as she asked.

Her voice goes even softer. "Please?"

Slowly, tentatively, I raise my eyes until I am peering through the lenses of her glasses and into the beautiful hazel eyes beyond them.

"Thank you." She smiles.

My breath begins to quicken and unconsciously I begin to shuffle and fidget. It was too much. Too much connection all at once. I loved everything about what was happening right now but some bullied and battered instinct inside of me was sending out signals to flee.

Her gaze holding mine she says. "Don't look away. You're okay."

I nod as I fight back the anxiety. "S-S-S-Sorry…"

"Shhh." Laying a hand over my chest she says in a soft, soothing tone. "Calm. Calm. Calm. Breathe. It's okay Avery. Everything is okay."

Like some spell in this game of hers her words are a balm on anxious soul. Gradually my breath slows and my body goes still. Staring deeply into the dark depths of her eyes I stand in awe. A boom of thunder shakes the world and I barely even hear it.

"Better?" She asks.

I nod.

"Use your words."

I swallow and let out a shuddering breath. "I'm okay."

"Good girl." She smiles.

We continue to gaze and I continue to calm. The longer we stared, the longer eye to eye contact is held, the more I became comfortable with it. Two, maybe three, minutes later I am at peace.

"There we go." She says at last. "I knew you could do it."

"How?" I say in a hushed tone.

"My brother had anxiety. And he was shy like you." She pats my chest and pulls away. "Not as cute though."

I giggle.

"So?" She says. "What do you think? Of Althea?"

Turning around I look at myself again in the mirror. "I think she's wonderful."

"So do I." She says. "Do you…do you wanna play?"

"Play?"

"Fables of Fantasy." She says. "A little solo session. You could be my very first player."

I liked the sound of being her first anything. I nod. "Yeah! Sounds fun."

Winona turns and offers me her elbow. "Milady?" I laugh and take her arm like a fine lady accompanying her Prince Charming. "That's it. Move like her. Talk like her. Think like her."

I move with an exaggerated feminine gracefulness. Well as graceful as I could get sporting full wood at least. My voice raises an octave. "Like this?"

"Just like that." She says. "You're doing great Sprout."

I raise my nose with elvish haughtiness. "My name is Althea thank you very much."

"Begging your pardon boss." She cackles in a crow like squawk. "Caw!"

I laugh. This was so silly! I loved it.

She nuzzles against her shoulder like a bird preening it's feathers. "So what are we doin today boss?"

"Uh…" I look toward my character sheet.

"Don't worry about about the numbers or the rules." Winona whispers. "Just…go with the flow."

"Right." I say, then dip back into character. "Well Touka, I think today we travel."

"Caw!" Winona crows excitedly. "Finally! I get so bored inside our tower. Where are we going boss? To visit your Grandma? To explore the woods for danger? To shop in town? We could do anything."

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"Very well." I say. "Then there is someone I must see."

Winona gives me a look, curious where I was going with this improvisation. "Who?"

"You'll see."

"Keepin secrets from me boss?"

"Just this one." I say. Walking around the room I stop by the washroom to take up my spell book again and continue on.

"Tell me! Tell me!" Winona crows. "Where are we going? You can't keep secrets from your familiar. Where?"

"A castle."

"Which castle?"

"You'll see."

"Squaw!" Touka fluffs and shakes his head in frustration. "Who are we seeing boss? Who!? Who!?"

"You sound like an owl." I laugh.

"CAW!"

"Okay, okay. We are going to see…" I glance over at the Game Master from the corner of my eye. "…Lady Ara."

This stops Winona in her tracks. Standing tall she raises a brow. "Lady Ara? Of the Mayhems?"

"The one and only."

"Er…are you sure about that boss?"

"I wish to offer the lady my services." I say. "Her former mage hadn't the heart for adventure."

"You sure that's a good idea boss?" Winona as Touka says, seemingly genuinely concerned about me. "She is a dangerous woman."

"And a valuable ally." I reply. "Come along Touka. I think I know the way."

"Alriiight." Touka trills. "You're the boss."

Chapter 19: Time to Play

Chapter Text

I stand alone out in the dark customer service area of the old garage. The boards over the big front windows had been removed that day and I could now look out into the sheer blackness of the night. The only thing I could see through the sheets of rain streaming over the windows is the glow of Haven Point spread out in the distance, though the occasional flash of lightning briefly lights everything up in split second glimpses. The worst of the storm had already passed over on its way to the mainland but it wasn't done with our little island quite yet.

I felt like at any moment this dream of a night was about to be snatched away from me. I wanted to savor every moment we had. So instead of using this quiet moment to reflect on the wonderful things that had just happened inside that suite this evening I instead try to get into character like Winona had told me to. We were about to play a Fables of Fantasy scene and I didn't want to mess it up, again.

Remembering well the instructions I'd been given I focus on inhabiting my role. I run my hands down my slender body and think about that pretty girl's face I had seen in the mirror. I was Althea. I was an elf. I was a mage. And I was a beautiful woman. I imagine myself with pointed ears and pert little breasts, which makes me smile. At my one hip were my components. On the other my spell book, the book held in a purse that Winona had lent me to act as my satchel. I, Althea, had found my way to the fearsome Lady Ara's secret castle and used a charm spell to get past the guards at her gate. My opening had been brief so I had been forced to leave my loyal crow familiar Touka behind in the dark forest that surrounded this place. Poor Touka. He must be worried sick about me. He had been warning me that this was a bad idea every step of our journey here but, for better or for worse, I was determined to meet this faceless warrior. Once inside I convinced the servant who greeted me to take a short letter that I had written pleading for an audience to his Lady. And now I stood outside the grand double doors of the hero's audience chamber waiting to see what the response would be.

I was abuzz with both excitement and trepidation. Excitement because I could not wait to play this game with Winona. The trepidation had surprised me and seemed to stem from this role I was playing. I could actually feel some of Althea's fear reaching up through the veil of fantasy. Wild.

"You may enter." Comes an authoritative voice from within the suite. It was time to play. Oh what fun!

The great iron doors groan and creak then yawn open through some magic that the waifish young wizard could not detect. The great room within was lit with only two low flickering braziers of dim red flames whose illumination could not even reach the walls making it appear as if the area stretched on forever into an endless inky blackness. Sitting upon a high throne in the full suit of plated armor that she was never seen without Lady Ara looks down upon the tiny elf woman who had so brazenly connived her way into the mighty adventurer's inner sanctum.

Entering the room as tentatively as a mouse crossing a kitchen floor when it didn't know where the household cat was the lithe blonde pads carefully forward to approach the throne. With every ounce of courage she had the wizard comes to stand between the two braziers and reveal herself to the Lady of the castle.

"Who is this welp who seeks an audience with me?" Echoes a powerful voice from within the mithril helm. "SPEAK!"

Althea the mage shudders in fear. "B-b-begging your p-p-pardon m-m-m-m-…"

Winona raises her hand for me to stop. Leaning forward so that the two flickering candles she had on either side of her computer chair illuminated her face she whispers out of character. "It's just a game Avery. Calm."

I take a long deep breath and nod. "Can…can I try again?"

"Of course." She gives a nod then leans back, wrapping herself up in her character as she does.

Althea the mage shudders but covers it with a polite curtsy. "Begging your p-pardon milady."

"If you waste my time you'll be begging for your life!" Snaps the warrior. "Speak swiftly elf."

"Oh!" The mage peeps. "O-of course! Um…I w-wished to offer you my services."

There is a moment's silence before a ringing laugh fills the air. "Ha ha ha! You? Offer YOUR services to ME? HA HA HA HA! This must be a joke. Do you know who I am?"

"Lady Ara of the Mayhems." Althea says bravely. "I am a w-wiz…"

Gripping her knees with her gauntleted hands Ara leans forward. "Did Super Ninja put you up to this?"

Althea swallows hard. "N-no milady. I-I come on my own."

"Indeed." She replies, clearly unconvinced.

"Yes. I am a mage and I…um…I heard that your last wizard…um…ran away and…um…um…"

The helmed head tilts as Ara takes a closer look at the struggling mage. "My, you are a pretty one. Aren't you?"

"Huh?" The elf maiden blushes and bows her head bashfully. "Th-thank you milady."

"Ninja does know my tastes well."

"Your…tastes?"

"My tastes in whores."

"Whores!?"

There is a clack of metal on metal as the armored hand strokes the armored chin. "Or perhaps you were sent by one of my enemies. Mmm?"

"No!" Althea shakes her head. "N-nobody sent me. I am not an ene…"

"Yes. Somebody who thinks I would be so foolish that I would drop my guard for such an obvious trap."

"I'm not a trap."

"Aren't you?" She says, the amusement of her laughter long gone in her hard tone. "I think you are. What better way to get me out of my armor than send a little harlot like you?"

"N-no. It's not like that!"

"I can see by the light of those flames that you are indeed gifted with the arcane." She says. "But barely more than an apprentice in power level. What could a mage of your ability possibly offer somebody like me? Why take such a risk as to charm your way past my guards? What is your game here, elf? Who are you with? Who are you really?"

"Ummm…"

"Choose your words carefully mage. Your life hangs in the balance."

"I…I…I…"

I look away and shake my head in frustration. "I'm screwing this up."

"No Avery." The hard voice of Ara is now the warm tone of Winona. "You're doing fine. Keep going."

"Wh-why are you acting like this? Althea just wants to be friends."

"It's not me Sprout. It's Lady Ara. I am playing her true to her character." She says. "It's my job as the Fable Master to play things true to themselves. To make a convincing world. Your decisions have consequences in this game. Touka did try to warn you, remember?"

"Yeah but…but Ara hates me. I didn't even do anything."

"Ara does not know you." She explains. "Put yourself in her boots. Some unknown elf who can barely cast beginner spells shows up at her doorstep offering her services. Anybody would be suspicious. And Ara has far more reasons to be suspicious than most."

"Mmm. That makes sense."

"She's trying to rattle Althea to get to the truth. She's trying to figure her out."

"Oh." I say. "So…what am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to win?"

"That's an answer I can't give you. That's for you to decide. Althea is your character. Use what you know about your character and Ara's character. And even if things end poorly, as long as you survive, the game goes on. Fables of Fantasy isn't about winning and losing or clearing every obstacle, it's about the story we tell together. Okay?"

I let out a breath, feeling a bit foolish myself now. "Okay."

"And listen. Lady Ara is a bad-ass bitch with a reputation to maintain, but deep down she is also a hero. Just don't do anything foolish, and for goodness sake don't try to cast any spells at her, and Althea should be fine." She smiles and brushes my cheek with her fingers. "After all of our hard work I'm not just gonna kill her in her first encounter if I can possibly help it. Okay?"

"Thank you Winona."

"You're doing great Sprout. Really. I mean it."

"You too. You're…very convincing."

"Thanks!" She says brightly. "Having fun?"

I nod.

"You want to keep playing?"

"Yes please."

"Alright then. Get ready."

As Winona sits back and reimmerses herself into the fantasy world I reflect on her words. Use what I know. What did I know? I had a familiar that couldn't reach me. I had a family who didn't know where I was. I had a connection to nature but I was cut off from that too inside of this castle. I couldn't cast spells if I wanted to live through the next few minutes. I had nothing to offer in terms of power or riches or influence. And my naive ass certainly couldn't hope to match the experienced Ara in any sort of contest of brawn or brain. What was left!? Here I thought it'd be cute to come offer Ara my services. Oh what a situation I'd gotten myself into.

As I think about myself in this costume and the details I had written down on my character sheet I find only two things on which I could grasp. The first was that perfect 100 in my Charm-Active. With that score Althea would be the most beautiful mortal woman in the world Winona had said. The second thing I cling to was that word woman. Althea wasn't me. She wasn't held back by my limitations. She was objectively as smoking hot as it was possible to be in this game. And she had wiles, feminine wiles, through which to harness this hotness. It was then I remembered a third thing. A throw away comment by Ara. 'Ninja does know my tastes well' she had said. It sounded like Althea was exactly Lady Ara's cup of tea. Perhaps my hope for a connection was not yet lost.

Chapter 20: That Kind of Girl

Chapter Text

The stunning elven maiden Althea bows her head, her hands clasped down in front of her, and says in a small meek voice. "My apologies Lady Ara. You have seen through my deception. I was a silly girl thinking I might fool one so mighty as yourself."

The armored warrior high upon her throne is silent as she looks down upon the timid mage. "Continue."

Althea smooths her satiny emerald green robes and shifts nervously. She glances up, her large eyes defying the light of the red flames to shine through as azure. She bats her eyes and lowers her head once more. "I come from a wooded vale to the west of here where my family stands vigilant against the powers of darkness." She swallows nervously, her words not longer stuttering but the tremor of her voice gave away her fear. "Perhaps you've heard of my grandmother. The archmage Shaeladrine."

"I have." Echoes Ara's majestic voice.

"I am her apprentice."

"That is well and good, but what has that to do with me?"

"Ahem. Yes." Althea says. "Well you see, great Lady, a new evil now stirs at our borders and old alliances have eroded. We are in need of new bonds of friendship with those who stand against the dark forces as we do. Your deeds of bravery and heroism are known throughout the land. I have come in hopes of planting the seeds of alliance."

Winona looks at me curiously for a long moment then whispers. "Where are you getting all of this from?"

"I'm j-just…making it up." I say. "I'm using my imagination."

"Mmm. You're good at this. I can't wait to read your back story." She says. "Just, you might want to clear this stuff with your Fable Master next time."

"Sorry." I smile guiltily.

"It's okay." She winks. "Let's keep going."

Lady Ara within her metal shell is a mystery to the young wizard. Occasionally peeking up she sees only the unmoving form. Within the eye lit of the helm there is a blackness that even her keen elvish sight could not penetrate.

"So you come in hopes of allying your people to me and, by extension, The Mayhems." Ara says coldly.

"Yes great Lady." The elf bows demurely.

"I see the benefit to you." She leans in, an elbow on her knee. "What do I get out of it?"

"You would have our friendship and…"

"Friendship?" Ara scoffs. "How many times have I heard this offer? Look around you, mage. How many of these so called friends do you see here?"

"Um…"

"I care not for politics or alliances or the concerns of far off elves." She says. "And I have no need for new friends."

"But…"

"You think me a hero but you are wrong." The Lady sits back, hands upon the elaborate armrests. "I am an adventurer. Doing good is good business."

Althea's face flinches as she tries to hide her disappointment. "I see."

"So I ask again. What do I get out of this…alliance?"

Althea swallows hard and her slender hands grip tightly at her sides. After a deep breath she takes a half a step forward and states. "You get…me."

The helmet tilts a few degrees to the right. "You?"

"I have done my research, like any good wizard ought to." Althea says. "And I have learned about your tastes in…wh-whores."

"Oh?"

"And I-I have learned…" Althea runs her delicate fingers up her body and over her breasts suggestively. "…that you like women like me."

I stand five feet in front of Winona running my hands up and down my body while my body bends and sways seductively. The rich vanilla of the scented candles fill the air, their flickering light throwing dancing shadows behind me. My heart drums in my ears as I embrace my inner femininity and try as best as I knew how to make my beauty and sexuality work for me. I felt silly and stupid and sexy and powerful, all at once. If she laughed at me right now…I would be destroyed. Utterly destroyed. Yet I held true to my courage and my character and danced for Winona.

She sits unmoving in her computer chair and watches me.

Althea with the effortless grace of her noble race sways in ways tantalizing and provocative. While elegant the mage's movements were halting and unsure, those of a neophyte in the art of attraction, which somehow made it all the more attractive and genuine.

"What do you think you are doing little elf girl?"

"My name is Althea great Lady." The mage whispers as she slides her hands back to grab her own ass while lifting her chest to display her pert bosom. "And I am yours if you wish it."

In a voice as cold and hard as mithril she asks. "Why?"

Continuing to dance Althea answers. "I am the fey speaker of my clan. As such I must never know the touch of an elven man so that the unicorns will come to me. I shall never have a mate. I shall never bear children. To our line…I am a dead end branch." She says, her voice as bright and fragile as a buttercup. "I was the only one we could spare to offer to your…appetites."

Winona points at me. "You are teasing me."

"Mmmm." I smile and bite my lower lip and bat my big blue eyes. "Am I?"

"Daddy doesn't like a tease."

"I wouldn't tease you…Daddy." My voice is as high and lilting as Althea's. "I'm a good girl."

I couldn't believe the words coming out of my mouth. My lust had gotten the better of my good judgment.

"You nasty…little…slut." Lady Ara growls, more curious than offended. "You trade your body for favors? You are a whore."

"Yes." Althea whispers, both shame and desire coming through her soft tone. "A whore. A virgin whore."

"Ha!"

"This was the other reason I offer myself. A life of chastity…would be unbearable for me. I have wants…needs…passions which must be…fed. Passions I cannot speak aloud to my family."

"Shameless!"

"I am."

"On your knees, whore."

Althea stops her writhing and lowers herself to the floor so that she was on her hands and knees. "Please great Lady. Please accept our offer."

"He he he. Ohhh, so needy. So eager." Ara chuckles. "You offer yourself as if it is a sacrifice…but you want this. You want this more than anything."

"I want this." Althea whispers, her cheeks pink with humiliation. "I wish to be your…little elf girl."

"Does your body ache to be touched?"

"Yes."

"Those little titties just begging to be sucked?"

"Yes."

"Is your tight elf pussy wet for me?"

"Yes." Althea nods. "Yes!"

"Mmm." Ara considers. "Perhaps a small taste, before I make my decision."

Althea raises her head and peers up at the warrior. "Taste me."

As our eyes meet and my lust touches hers the fantasy world melts away around us. Suddenly it was just me and her and this tiny candle lit suite at the back of this isolated garage. Without a word needing to be spoken we both knew the Fables of Fantasy game was over and a new game had begun.

"If you are messing with me Avery…you need to cut it out right now." Winona says in a hushed voice, her hazel eyes burning in the reflected candlelight. I could see now, even through the folds of her loose overalls, that her cock was just as hard as my own. Hard and huge! My dance had worked, in both worlds.

My voice small and meek I confess the truth in my heart. "I want you Winona."

"Oh Sprout." In a tone wracked by doubt she says. "We just met."

"I know."

"I don't…I don't sleep with anybody the first night. Ever. I'm not that kind of girl." She says apologetically. "I'm not like Kayla."

I nod, disappointed but totally understanding.

"Not like you either I guess." She sighs, disappointed in herself. "Or anybody nowadays it seems."

"No, it's o-okay."

"I get too…attached. You see?" She says, her warm voice wavering with vulnerability. "I don't trust myself." She looks me in the eyes. "I don't want to get hurt again Avery."

"I-I understand."

"It's not that I don't…want… I…" She clenches her fists for a moment and stops to gather her thoughts. "Just…I want to be sure first." Her voice goes even softer. "I want to be sure…that you could be the one." She shakes her head. "We're going too fast."

"Okay." I nod. "I d-didn't mean to…m-make you uncomfortable. I'm s-s-sorry Winona."

"Oh Sprout. You didn't do anything wrong." She says with a small but growing smile. "You look soooo beautiful."

I sit back, hands on my knees, and take a long breath. Slipping the purse from my shoulder I push it away. "I-I'll go get ch-changed."

"Wait." Winona says right back. "Just…wait."

I look at her. "Winona?"

She sits quietly for a long minute, just staring at me kneeling in front of her, after which I watch as a change washes over her. She sits up taller. Her shoulders square and her breasts high. Her eyes braver and bolder. She slips her glasses off and sets them to the side. In a firm, yet still somehow touchingly tender, tone she says. "Call me Daddy again Avery. I liked that. I want to hear you say it again."

"Um…are you…sure?"

"You heard me baby girl." She fixes me with her hazel gaze. "Call me Daddy."

Chapter 21: Good Girl

Chapter Text

"Daddy." I whisper.

"You want me?" Winona says. "You say you want me?"

I nod.

Though she tries to disguise it a host of emotions were flitting across her regal features. Playfulness, stern control, arousal, and a dash of doubt reveal themselves in tiny glimpses along with who knows what other feelings. I could see that she didn't quite know what to do with me, but she was going to do something.

"D-Do you want me?" I ask, keeping my voice soft.

"Of course I do!" She laughs. "Sexy kitten like you. Who wouldn't?"

"He he he." She called me a sexy kitten!

"The real question is, do you deserve me?" She says. "Well. Do you?"

I shake my head no. "No Daddy."

"Oh? Why not?"

"I-I'm a silly person." I say. "And you're…you're perfect."

Her brows raise. "Perfect?"

I nod. "I don't deserve someone as good as you Winona."

"Oh geez. Don't say that Avery." Leaning forward she reaches out, hesitates, then strokes my hair softly. "You deserve someone good. Everybody does."

"Sorry."

"Here. Say this instead. Say, 'I do deserve you, but good girls need to earn their rewards.'" She pats my head then sits back and resumes her kingly posture. "And show me that pretty smile."

I do smile, simply from the compliment.

"I do deserve you." I say. "But good girls need to earn Daddy's rewards."

"Mmm. Very true." She replies. "And have you been a good girl?"

I nod. "Yes Ma'am."

"Tell me."

"Um…"

"It's okay, take your time."

"Um…" I think. "I…I came up here…even though I was really scared."

"Oh. That is good! Keep going."

"I-I asked you on a date."

"I quite liked that. Go on."

"I-I m-made a salad, a good one, and I stayed real still to get my makeup on."

"You did baby girl." She concurs. "What else?"

"I made a character a-and I think I played her really well."

"You sure did." She says. "Anything else?"

"I-I've…been listening to Daddy Winona. A-And doing what she tells me."

"Yes, you have." She grins. "You like listening to Daddy?"

"Oh yes. Yes I do." I bow my head even lower. "I like it very much."

She tilts her head, looking down at me and pondering what to say next. When I dare to glance up I could see in her eyes that she was having every bit as much fun with this as I was.

"You have been a good girl. I cannot deny it." She says. "And good behavior deserves good rewards."

A tremble of excitement runs through me.

"Ha ha ha!" Winona suddenly laughs. I look up to see her grinning from ear to ear. "Sorry! I suck at this. HA!" She rubs her cheeks and tries to wipe the smile from her face to reassert her hard, dominant expression. "Gah!"

I giggle. "You're doing great."

"Thanks Sprout." She takes a breath. "Alright. Daddy. Daddy. I got this."

I cover my face and laugh some more. "He he he he." She was as new to this stuff as I was! Neither of us had a damned clue as to what we were doing. It only made the shared exploration that much funner. "You got this Daddy. He he he."

"Pfff! Quit laughing! Ha ha ha ha!"

"Sorry!" I snort and titter.

"Okay, okay. Serious."

"Serious. Tee hee hee."

"Totally serious." She huffs. "Okay…I think…"

"PFFF."

"GAH! You laugh and I swear to God I'll spank that lily white ass!"

"Ooo!" I squeal, about to laugh again.

"Don't!" She points a stern finger.

I pout playfully. "Yes Daddy."

After a minute we both tamp down the giggles and start again.

"You have been a good girl." She says. "I suppose you deserve a little something."

"Thank you."

With the fingers of her right hand she makes a beckoning motion. "Come here baby girl."

I crawl toward her.

"That's it. Good girl." I crawl to just in front of her and stop. "Come on now. A bit more. Closer." Confused I look up at her. Any closer and I would be crawling up on the chair. Maybe that's what she wanted. I scooch even closer then suddenly stop as her foot slides forward between me legs so that the toes were pushing along the crack of my ass. "Right there." Pressing her shin tight against my groin she says. "There you go."

"Um." I look up in need of direction. "What…?"

She peers down on me. Her candlelit face full of the quiet confidence of Lady Ara. "That is what you get. Take it or leave it."

"Take it…or leave it?"

She gives a single nod. "I told you. I'm not like other girls. I don't just jump into bed with somebody the moment I see a pretty face." Carefully she pulls the hair band from my hair and flings off to the side. Her fingers begin to pinch and tease at the hair beside my ear. "Tonight the clothes stay on."

"Oh. Um…what am I…supposed to do?"

She smiles. "You wanted me. You got me. A part of me at least." Her smile grows. "Why don't you just…start rubbing that hot pussy." She grinds her shin into my cock. "And let's see what happens." Tenderly she runs her fingers through my hair. "Take my leg." Slowly I wrap my hands around the back of her calf. "That's it. Good girl. Hold on tight. Now lay your head down." Cupping her hand around the back of my head she guides it down so that I rested my cheek against her thigh like a pillow. Against my forehead was the bulge her own hard cock. Her warm tone lowers to whisper. "Show me how much you want me Avery."

"Um."

"Shhhh." She strokes my head like I were a cat resting on her lap as her leg begins to push and ease against my penis, her big toe prodding between my butt cheeks. "Don't be shy. Don't think even about it. Just…feel the good feelings."

Gripping her calf…I begin to slowly thrust forward and back.

"Good girl. There you go. Good girl."

I grind my cock against her leg. Through layers of clothes I stimulate myself. Through underwear, jeans, bathrobe, overalls, and possibly even socks I rub against her shin in slow, steady thrusts.

"Feel good?"

"Mmm." I nod.

"Good." She croons. Gazing down on me she brings her other hand to my shoulder while the other combs through my hair in long, even strokes. "That's it. Rub your pussy. Work that clitty. Show Daddy how much you want her."

"Mmmmm." I moan a soft womanly moan. My undulating body soon finds a natural rhythm. My cock grinds, grinds, grinds, grinds against the layers of cloth.

"I bet you're so wet down there." She caresses my cheek with the backs of her fingers. "Are your panties for me baby girl?"

"Mmmm." I nod truthfully. I'd been so aroused for so long that this stimulation had my dick burbling slick precum as fast as it could.

"I bet you are."

Somewhere in the back mind I am cognizant of what was happening here. This woman I barely knew had dressed me as a girl and now had me humping her leg like some dog in heat. By almost any standard this was a moment of humiliation. But…the way she looked at me…the soft warmth I could see in her hazel eyes…the gentle joy I could see on her beautiful face…this wasn't meant to be demeaning. There was no cruel humor that I could see in that swaddling gaze, only happiness. If anything…I think she respected me more!

Her warm left hand lays across the side of my slender neck. The fingers of her right hand stroke softly through my hair. Against my forehead her thick cock flexes hard and against her soft, fleshy thigh my head nestles. Bringing my hands to behind her knee I pull it hard to my chest, desperate as I was to have as much bodily contact as I could with her. Down below her shin continued to grind, grind, grind, grind.

"Ohhh, you are doing so good baby girl." Winona says, her face as serene as a mountain lake. "So good."

This was so different. So new. Kayla and I had never done anything even close to something like this. I dry hump Winona's leg, rubbing my shaft along the left for awhile before switching to rub along the right. There was no penetration. Besides my underwear my dick had remained completely untouched. And except for occasionally bunting my head against her cock Winona had yet to receive any sexual pleasure from me at all. Yet, somehow, this was easily…EASILY…the hottest thing ever to happen to me.

"Ohhh. Ohhhhhh." I moan as I grind against Winona's leg with growing passion. Fucking her leg with all of the focus and energy I would have given her pussy. "Ohhhhhh."

"Feeling good baby girl?"

"Mmmmmm!" I nod.

"Good. Good. Keep going." She runs fingers down my temple and along my jaw. "Daddy wants to see you cream those panties."

"Ohhhhh!" My lilting voice rises.

"Can you creampie your panties for me?"

"Mmmmm!' I nod.

"There's a good girl." She brings two fingers to touch my eyelids. "Close your eyes. Just like that." Her fingers glide down my nose and over my lips. "Let me see you smile. Good girl."

"Ohhh. Ohhhhhh. Ohhhhh Daddy." I mewl, my grinding now a desperate pumping. "Uh! Uh! Uh! I'm gonna cum."

"Don't hold back baby girl." She whispers. "Show Daddy how good you can bust for her."

Holding her leg firm and still I huff and hump frantically against it.

"Oh! Oh! OHHH!" My lids flare open and the last thing I see are two hazel eyes gazing down into me before… "GNNNNGHHHH!!!" My lithe body bucks and jerks hard as a flood of hot cum fills my shorts. "Ohhhhhhhhh!"

Winona's eyes widen and her smile brightens as she studies my face through the course of my intense orgasm. All the while she continues to stroke and pet and whisper softly. "Good girl. Good girl."

"Hahhhh!" I groan in a high, wavering voice as the hard pulses of my pumping cock slowly ebbs away.

When my climax was complete and I am left trembling and clutching to her leg Winona lowers her foot away from my junk. Winona and I hadn't yet kissed. We'd not even held hands! And here I had just nutted in my pants right in front of her. Post-nut clarity hitting me I suddenly realize how ridiculous I must look. I swallow and go to rise but Winona holds me in place.

"Shhhh." She smiles that warm, comforting smile. "Just relax. Be still. Enjoy the moment Sprout."

"I-I…I made a mess." I whisper.

"Shhhh. Don't even think about that." She rubs my back. "Take a deep breath Avery. Relax. Enjoy. Calm."

Taking a long deep breath I slowly let it out and let my tense body go loose. Settling back against her thigh I rest hunched against her legs, softly petting her calf as I let the hazy afterglow take me.

"There you go." She bends over and puts her arms around me, holding me exactly like I so needed to be held right now. "Good girl."

Chapter 22: Mommy Like!

Chapter Text

With me hunched over and clinging to her leg and Winona leaning down over me with her arms around me to hold me close I tremble for a time before gradually settling into a state of deep calm. The more I stayed like this the more I relaxed and savored the fuzzy afterglow of my orgasm. My shrinking dick, my balls, my whole groin region was a sticky mess with the load I had just shot into my shorts but right now, for as long as Winona wanted to hold me like this, I just didn't care. This moment right now…was wonderful!

I can feel the warmth of her body. The slow, steady rise and fall of her breathing. The smooth texture of her one of her long braids draping down over my wrist. I can smell her floral deodorant mixing with the vanilla of the candles. Gently I rub my fingers against the denim of her overalls, my head pillowed on her soft thigh, and stare at the golden glow of the candle's flame. Outside the storm was waning leaving just the subtle patter of a soft rain against the window. Most of all I feel her strong arms around me.

Nobody had ever held me like this after sex. After cumming I often felt vulnerable and emotional, sometimes even a little sad, and I felt like I had to hurry to return to normal so as not to make the situation even more awkward than it already was. But this silent, unhurried embrace allowed me to feel…safe. Safe to come down from my climax in my own time and in my own way. Time to savor the feelings flowing through me. It was such a simple thing, yet so profound. I don't know if Winona realized what she was doing right now but it was rocking my whole world. I never realized how much I needed to be held like this.

I could have stayed like that forever but eventually her arms relax and she sits up again. In a soft voice she asks. "How ya doin Avery?"

"Good."

"Good."

Lifting my head from her thigh I look up at her in sheepish awe. "That was…d-different."

She looks down at me, a little grin playing about her lips, and for just an instant I worried a mask was about to slip. I worried that Winona was about to reveal her true self and tease me about what had just happened. My worries were for nothing.

"That…was…so…fucking…hot!" She says at last. "Holy shit that was hot Avery. Holy shit!" She bites her finger. "NNNGH!"

I giggle. "Yeah. A little embarrassing though."

"Embarrassing? No way. That was fucking fire. I've never had someone cum with just my leg before. I've never had anyone listen like that before." She says. "That lost puppy look when you busted your load, those cute noises you made…nnngh! Mommy like!" She briefly digs her fingers into my back. "Mommy liiiike."

"Oh!" I blush. "I-It was new for me too. A-And really hot."

"You are a lot of fun Avery." She says. "And fucking SEXY."

"You too." I let out a long contented sigh. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She smiles. "And hey, at least it'll tamp down that boner you've been sporting all night."

"For a little while. He he he." With a smirk I glance up and tease. "Er, creampie my panties?"

"What?"

"Who says that stuff like that? Creampie my panties!? He he he!"

"HA!" She pinches my cheek. "I was making it up as I went. Gimme a break dude."

"I liked it! And…I did it." With a look down to my soggy crotch I cringe. "Ew."

"Big load, huh?"

"Oh yeah." I nod.

"If I asked…would you taste it?"

"Taste…it?"

"Yeah." She tilts her head. "Would you? If Mommy asked reeeeal nice? Just a little bit off your finger?"

I consider a moment, then nod. "Yes Mommy."

"Stop." She says as I begin to reach. "I was just curious."

"Oh."

"Good girl." She says with a pat. "That's a good girl."

"I…I like when you say that stuff." I whisper. "I…really like you…Winona."

"I like you too Avery." She says warmly. "Alright lover boy. On your feet." She grabs me by the shoulders and hoists me up as she stands. My head still swirling from having a beautiful woman physically lift me to my feet Winona cinches onto the back of my neck with both hands and pulls me in stopping with our lips just two inches apart. She stares deep into my eyes, her warm breath washing over my face. I melt in her hands and await the kiss…that never comes. She just holds me there, gazing into my eyes with a cocksure grin. "Go clean up."

"Um…"

She lets me go all at once, nearly causing me to collapse to the floor, then brushes past me on her way to her dresser. "Here. I've got some underwear you can use." Taking a pair of ladies boxer briefs from the drawer she tosses them my way. "You can return them whenever."

I catch the gray garment and look at them. They looked like mens briefs just sexier, shorter in the leg, and more roomy in the hips and ass. Unlike most women's underwear however the fabric was stretched out in the crotch.

"You can wash your knickers in there." She motions to the washroom.

"Knickers?" I titter.

She chuckles and shakes her head. "It's Sioux for creampied panties."

"Ha!"

"Get going." She waves toward the washroom. "Before it dries."

"Um…" I hesitate. "D-Did you want…t-to join me?" My eyes flit to the hard shaft still visible through Winona's pants. "I-I-I could…"

"Nuh uh." She waggles a finger. "I told you, that's all you get tonight." With that same hand she takes a hard grip of her thick cock through the overalls. "I'm not that kind of girl, remember?"

"Oh yeah." I squeak.

She lets it go. "Play your cards right on our date tomorrow…and we'll see what happens." She approaches me and tosses a fresh towel over my head. Momentarily blind I don't see the swat to my butt coming. "Now go on you tease."

"Eeep!" I hop then double-time it toward the washroom.

A few minutes later and I am scrubbing off inside of the tight confines of the stand up shower stall. Using the soaps available I clean the cum from my body and the makeup from my face. The entire time I've got a great big smile plastered on my face. What had just happened out there wasn't something from a fantasy, it was way better. Something I hadn't even imagined before. I'd just dressed as a girl and humped a fully clothed woman's leg to a sticky climax…and I felt AMAZING! Every part of it left me buzzing. It had started as one type of role play and melded into another. And by becoming someone else for a little while I now felt more myself than I ever have…though that made no sense at all. She had let me do things I'd always wanted and things I didn't even know I wanted. It had all been so wild and unexpected and imaginative and fresh and liberating and barrier breaking and FUN. And, unless I was incredibly bad at reading people, I think Winona had as much fun as I did.

Chapter 23: What A Night

Chapter Text

After my shower I towel off my body, comb my hair, and slip into the skin tight underwear Winona had lent me. I cannot help but feel a bit naughty in them. My dick and balls were occupying the space that hers usually filled, though with mine there was some slack in the fabric. They were snug in my butt thanks to me having a plumper tush than most guys. Turning around and getting up on my tip-toes I check my back side out and I had to admit that I was looking pretty good. I definitely had to get myself some of these. Thankfully my shorts had caught most of my load and the inside of my jeans had just needed a bit of daubing off. After my shower they were already dry enough to wear.

When I step back out from the washroom everything was back to normal. The lights were on, the candles snuffed and put away, the music playing, and the game book and dice had been returned to the shelf. Outside the rain had stopped and inside Winona sat at her computer and seemed to be typing in some of my character details into a document. It was surreal, like waking from a strange dream. As if the whole 'good girl' leg humping thing had never happened. In one way it was weird but in another the normalcy of everything put me at ease. Any chance for awkwardness had been nipped in the bud.

She peeks back over her shoulder and smiles. "Better?"

"Yeah." I say.

"Good." She turns back to the screen, straightens her glasses, and taps out a few final details. "I'd like a backstory from you at some point." She spins her chair then rolls it back to the table and place my character down. "Once I get a group together we can arrange to get together for a session zero."

"Um, sure." I nod. "Can't wait."

"It's going to be a tight fit in here." She looks around. "I might have to find another venue."

"Y-You can come to my place. I've got more space." I offer without even thinking. "Oh…uh, but I have a roommate."

"Sweet." She says. "We'll see how it goes. I might take you up on that."

"S-Sure." I couldn't retract the offer now. Brayden would just have to deal.

"Are you going to need a lift back?" She asks. "I know the rain has stopped but…I dunno."

"I'll be fine." I say. "Thank you though."

"Hey, uh…" She pauses and looks around, her eyes settling back onto the computer. "…you wanna watch something before you take off?"

"Sure!" I snatch at any reason to stick around for longer.

"Great." She rolls back to the desk. "Grab us some chips. Up in that cupboard."

"On it." As Winona sets up a show I find the bag of chips but nothing to put them in. I quickly wash out the salad bowl and give it a good dry before dumping the snack in.

"The Bailey Bunch?"

"Pah!" I guffaw. "You watch soap operas?"

"It's a sitcom!" She insists with a laugh.

"I heard it's terrible." I say as I grab the other chair and slide it to sit along beside her.

"It is! And I love it. It's my guilty pleasure I'm hooked." After moving her keyboard she takes the bowl from me and sets it on the desk in front of the screen. "We could watch something else."

"I'm good. I've always been curious if it's really as bad as they say." I snap my fingers. "Drinks! Can I grab a couple of sodas?"

"Absolutely my dude."

I zip to the fridge and return. We crack open our cans and settle in beside each other as the opening beats to the theme song begin.

"Want me to catch you up?" She asks before grabbing four chips at a go and crunching them down.

"Nah. I'll try to figure it out as we go." I say.

I genuinely try to watch for a while but the schlocky melodrama quickly loses me. It didn't matter though. I was enjoying just sitting beside Winona as we nibble and drink and just coexist. As often as I could I would glance over to her just to admire her noble beauty as she watched the silly show with rapt attention. Once she catches me peeking and shoots me a grin. It made me feel good inside. Really good inside. In ways that were new to me. It wasn't long after that when I feel something brush against my hand. In my peripheral I see that her arm had slipped off of the armrest to hang by her side, causing her hand to touch mine. Peering out of the corner of my eye I could see she was blushing! Though her eyes were locked on the screen I knew here attention was down at her side.

Very subtly she nudges the back of my hand with hers. I nudge back. She rubs it lightly, and I rub back. Her fingers play across mine, and mine dance back. The next thing I feel are her fingers sliding in between my index finger and thumb. I shift my hand to open it up for her and her long fingers continue to glide softly over my palm. And then, so very softly…she holds my hand.

She holds my hand?

She holds my hand!

It was such a little thing. Such a simple gesture. So innocent and wholesome. Yet it shook me to my core in the best possible way.

The pair of us sit still and quiet. Though things were happening on the screen I couldn't have said what they were. Working with her hands for a living her hands were neither as smooth nor as supple as mine or Kayla's or even Eddie's, but neither were they abrasive or rough. While my palm was silky her hand was tough and strong and warm, like a sturdy wool blanket to huddle under against the cold. I liked it. I liked it a lot.

The moment only lasts maybe thirty seconds before suddenly her hand yanks away. She grabs some chips with it and munches them down then slaps her knee with a loud laugh.

"HA!" She points at the screen. "Classic Bailey's. Ha ha ha. The big sister's a total psycho by the way."

"Is she?"

"Yeah."

She looks over to me and our eyes meet. As one we smile then look away.

The show finishes and I knew from the cues that Winona was giving me that our time was up. We exchange numbers then I take my pencils and the pad with my character on it and together we approach the door.

"Hey, thanks for coming tonight Sprout." She says softly. "It was fun."

"Yeah." I say.

After I put on my shoes she opens the door for me and I step through into the customer service office. She follows me out. Together we walk back to the garage where clicks on the buzzing fluorescent lights and cranks open the garage bay where my bike was parked. The cool night breeze, fresh and damp from the recent storm, floods into the bay.

I tuck my character and pencils into my back pack. "Oh! I forgot my…knickers." I giggle. "In your washroom."

She waves it off. "Get'em later. Consider them collateral for mine."

"Okay." I forgo the rain gear I'd brought with me and just slip my jacket on.

"You look like such a little bad ass when you're on your bike." She swipes across my chest and straightens the shoulders.

"Bad ass? Me!?"

"Mmm hmm." She nods. "Not as hot as the apron, but close." She takes my helmet and slips it down onto my head and pats the top to set in place.

"And y-you are…so…b-b-beautif-f-f…."

She snaps a light punch into my shoulder. "Get outta here Sprout."

I giggle again. My backpack is shouldered and I mount my bike. I am about to start it up when I pause and look to Winona who stood with her arms crossed just a couple of feet away.

"Whatever happened to Althea?"

Winona grins. "You'll have to wait until we play to find out."

"Aw, come on!"

"Let's just say Lady Ara has found herself a new sidekick."

"Ha ha! Yes!" I lift myself up and come down on the kick starter and my bike snarls to life.

"We should back in town by 4 or 5." She shouts over the engine. "Text me when the party is. I'll pick you up on the way."

I nod as I put the bike into gear and turn on the headlight. "See you tomorrow."

"Be a good boy now." She winks.

"G-G-Good b-b-b…?"

"Get OUTTA here!" With a laugh she gives my ass a stinging swat and sends me shooting out of the garage.

The next thing I know I am ripping down highway for town with the fresh wind in my face. Glancing back over my shoulder I see the long, tall form of Winona standing alone in the open bay of the garage watching me disappear into the dark.

Oh what a night!

Chapter 24: Just One Word

Chapter Text

With the fresh, moist air rejuvenating my body as much as my visit to Winona had done to my spirit I wasn't tired in the slightest. Initially I ride for home but at the last moment I decide not to take the turn and carry on riding right down to the harbor. I simply had to share what happened with someone. Well, parts of what happened. I just hoped he was still awake.

The very first thing I do after parking my bike is to shoot Kayla a text to make sure the movie night idea was on. It was thankfully. My date with Winona was on!

At somewhere between a fast walk and a slow jog I make my way down the docks and find the area surprisingly busy with people tidying up and checking in on their yachts and boats in the wake of the storm. With all of this activity tonight it is no surprise when I round the corner to see the lights of Grandpa's boat on and him leaning over the rail chatting with his neighbor. His grizzled old face wreathed by cigarette smoke lights up like a sunbeam through the clouds the moment he sees me.

"Buttercup!"

His current neighbors, a couple of retirees from California, wave down at me from their vessel in the berth opposite. "Hello Avery."

"H-Hello Mr and Mrs Jackson." I say with a polite smile.

"Come to check on your Gramps?" Asks Mrs Jackson.

"Yes Ma'am." I say. "It was a heck of a storm."

"What a fine young man."

"That's my boy!" Grandpa says as proud as a man could be.

"Permission to come aboard skipper." I say.

"Get on up here kiddo." He says. After a final drag on his smoke he mashes it out and begins to crank down the folding gangway.

The Jackson's say their good nights and head back into their yacht as I wait for the ramp to bump the dock. I scamper up and onto my Grandpa's floating home. We hug and I kiss his scruffy cheek.

"How bad was it?" I ask him.

"Ah, it was nothin." He says. "I ever tell you about the storm of 81?"

I giggle. "Yes Grandpa. Many times."

"Now THAT was a storm!"

As he goes on to recount the harrowing ordeal of he and his crew being out on the water on this very ship during that legendary storm he leads me into down into the main living area of his converted fishing trawler. As always, the place is an immaculate jumble of gaudy kitsch, baubles, knick-knacks and gewgaws. What most would consider clutter to Grandpa these were his treasures. He was no hoarder though. There was no filth or squalor here. Everything was clean and secured in its place. Here and there among the old signs, bright toys, oddball heirlooms and peculiar bric-a-brac were dotted pictures of our family along with photos I had taken of the island over the years.

"See. Not so bad." He says as he shows me around the main deck. On the floor of the galley there was strewn some broken ceramic and a whole drawer full of cutlery and across the hall in his hobby room some books and papers were scattered but other than that he'd made it out unscathed. Without being asked I enter the kitchen and start to gather up forks and spoons. Across from me Grandpa settles into a comfy armchair in the hobby room and tidies up the books. "I'm surprised to see you down here so late."

"I was out and about anyway." I say, unable to hide my smile. "It was no trouble."

"You were out?" He looks across at me. "Eyyy, what's that smile about?"

I laugh. "I was at Winona's."

"Ohhh!" His bushy eyebrows raise. "Miss Perfect?"

"Oh Grandpa!" I swoon back to rest against the cupboards. "She is perfect! She's kind and beautiful and funny and she likes me…and…and…and…oh Grandpa. I've…I've never felt this way before."

He chuckles and stacks a couple of books beside him. "That was fast."

"She invited me up to make a character for a game we're going to play." I say. "And…well, I had the wind in my sails…so I agreed."

He grins. "The wind in your sails."

"I…I asked her out on a date. Tomorrow." I say dreamily. "And she said yes! She said YES! Ahhhhh!"

He leans back with a merry chortle. "Atta boy Avery."

"Tonight we made dinner together and ate and listened to music and watched a show." I say. "And just had the greatest time together."

"Sounds like you've already had your first date."

"Ha ha ha! Sorta I guess." I say. "She calls me Sprout. Sprout! Pfff. He he he."

"That's cute."

"Yeahhh."

"And?"

"And?"

"A first kiss perchance?" He cocks a curious brow. "Mmm?"

I blush and cover my face while shaking my head. "No! It wasn't a date. And…she's not that kind of girl." Needless to say I wasn't going to mention anything about what happened between the music and the show. "She's a lady. A real classy lady."

"Sounds like it." After a short bit of coughing he clears his throat and swallows. "I'm real happy for you."

Turning my head I look through the two doorways to him. "You said with Grandma you knew. You knew right away."

His eyes drift off to where I knew a picture of his dead wife hung on the wall. There was a photo of her in each and every room of the old trawler. "I did indeed." He pats his chest. "It just hit me. It knocked me right up off of my feet and it's never let me down again."

"I think I feel that way Grandpa." I sigh. "It feels…I can't even describe it."

"It's easy to get swept away Buttercup." He says. "You'll know if it's real in time. Just…don't get too attached before you're sure. Take it slow."

"You didn't take it slow." I jibe. "Love at first sight you always said."

"Hey! Don't turn this around on me."

"Didn't you ask Grandma to marry you on your third date?"

"Now that was different! It was different then! Not at all the same." He protests. "Besides, she said no."

"In the end she said yes."

"True."

"I think she's the one Grandpa. I think she's…the One."

"You hearing this Anna?" He says up at the photo of my Grandma with both concern as well as a big grin on his face. "The boy is as hopeless as I was."

I raise my chin and state boldly. "And proud of it!"

We share a good laugh and return to our clean up. As we go we chat and joke and Grandpa tells me the story of his and Grandma's first date.

"So I roll up to her house, my beetle all rodded out. Bell bottoms, beads, suede jacket, fringes and peace symbols galore. I was lookin goooood." I laugh just imagining my Grandpa in his 60's pomp. "I hit the horn a few times and out comes her dad with a Richard Nixon scowl and a Johnny Unitas haircut." I hadn't a clue who Johnny Unitas was but I got the drift. "He comes stomping up to me, face as red as a lobster, and I say 'You must be the Daddio, Daddio. Groovy man.'"

"Ha! Daddio?"

"I was nervous!" He laughs. "I was just trying to keep things…groovy. Ya know?"

"He he he! And were they? Groovy?"

"Ohhhh no." He says. "It was anything but groovy."

I had deposited the cutlery into the sink to clean it later I move around the island counter and out into the attached dining area to grab a broom and dustpan for the broken plate and spot some papers, a calculator and a few pens on the floor beneath the table. There was a proper dining room attached to the main room but Grandpa and I usually ate back here when it was just the two of us. Less fuss and less mess that way.

"So what happened?" I call back over my shoulder.

"He tried to run me off." He says. "Said that no daughter of his would be going out with any longhair."

"Longhair?" I kneel down and gather up the stuff under the table.

"Hippie." He explains. "That was the least of it. He said I was a drug fiend and a sex fiend and an unemployed leech on society. Ha! I was already working the boats at that point. I was probably making more than he was! Ha ha ha!"

"Must have been scary."

"I was shaking in my in my Birkenstocks, Buttercup, but I stood my ground. Nothin was gonna scare me off. Thankfully Anna came out after a few minutes and cooled things down between us."

"So not a great start, huh?"

"To put it mildly." He says. "Your great grandpa had it out for me after that. He tried so hard to make Anna cast me away. It wasn't until your mother was born that he ever really accepted me. And even then it was more a truce."

"You're lucky Grandma didn't listen to him, huh?"

"There was no chance of that." He says softly, followed by a long pause. "Once it gets going…there's nothing on this world that can stop true love Buttercup. Not one single thing."

I smile. It always warmed my heart to hear him talk like this. I put the papers up on the table and go to reach for one of the pens when something stops me. Something I'd just caught the scantest of glimpses of. In those papers I'd just put up…there was a word that caught my eye. I'd seen it so quick I couldn't be sure if I saw it at all, yet it snagged at my attention like a fish hook. Just one single word that stood out of place among the rest. Not an everyday kind of word. A serious word. A technical word. A very, very bad word.

As Grandpa goes on to tell me about the dance he took Grandma to I silently stand and look down at the pile of papers. My hand cold, my fingers trembling, I slowly turn the folded top paper, a medical form of some sort, so that it faced me properly. My eyes scan for the word I thought I saw, all the while praying I'd seen it wrong. Right away I find it again. It sits there, ugly and nasty, standing out from the rest as if the letters themselves were a malignant black tumor upon the page. And as I read it again…carcinoma…my whole world shatters around me.

Chapter 25: Shattered

Chapter Text

"No." I gasp.

Grandpa stops mid-sentence. "Buttercup?"

"No!" I shake my head. "No, no, no, no, no!" The room around me starts to swirl and spin. "No, no, no, no, no!"

"Avery!" Grandpa hurries into the room. "What's wrong…" He stops dead in his tracks when he sees the paper in my hands.

I look to him. "C-C-Carcinoma?"

"Aw, my boy." He says softly.

"That m-means cancer." I say between short, hard breaths. "Th-Th-That means c-c-cancer!"

He approaches and gently removes the paper from my hand. "You weren't supposed to see that."

"That means cancer Grandpa. That means cancer!" His anguished expression blurs as tears fill my eyes. "Wh-Who is this f-for?" I ask, hoping beyond hope.

The look of sadness and worry on his face gave me the answer. "I'm sorry Avery."

"Y-Y-You can't have cancer. You can't. You can't."

"Come here."

Grandpa pulls me into a hug and the moment my face touches his shirt I begin to sob. Wrapping my arms around him I grab the back of his shirt with both hands and I hold him with all of my strength. He holds me back in a warm embrace.

"It's not true." I blubber.

"I'm sorry Avery. It is." He kisses my head. "I never meant you to find out like this. I'm so sorry."

"But it's c-c-curable…right?" I plead as if he could decide such things. "You'll get better, won't you Grandpa?"

"There are treatments." He says. "If I decide to pursue them."

"If?" I push off of him. "If!?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"Haven't decided yet!?" I couldn't believe my ears. "What's there to decide!? You get cured! You get well! You fight!"

He looks at my, love and hurt in his eyes as he sees my suffering. "Buttercup. It can't be cured. Only treated. It's too far along now."

"No." I whimper, fat tears rolling down my cheeks as I shake my head in denial. "Noooo."

"Avery…I've had a good life. A full life."

"Don't say that." I weep. "Pleeease."

"I couldn't have asked for anything more."

"Stop."

He looks off to the corner where the picture of his beloved Anna was hung. "I think it's poetic. To leave the same way that she did. Hers pancreatic, mine in the lungs, but the same disease." He then says at a hush. "My Anna is waiting for me."

My grief swings to a sudden rage. "It's not poetic! It's stupid! And you're stupid!"

"Avery…"

"She's not waiting for you! She's dead! She doesn't exist anymore!" I shout. "B-But I'm here, now. I'm real. And so are you! And…and…I-I need you!"

"Buttercup…"

I snatch the pack of cigarettes from his pocket. Opening them I yank the bundle from the pack and tear the whole lot in two. "These are stupid!" In a cloud of dried tobacco I hurl the pack to the floor. Mashing the cigarettes further I stamp on them again and again. "I hate them! I hate them! I hate them!"

Grandpa knew me well. Better than my own mother. After my outburst he waits a few moments for the heat to fade before speaking again, softly and calmly. "We don't get to live forever my boy, as much as we might want it."

"It's not fair." I whisper, then mewl as the sadness overtakes me again. "Mmmm." Weakly I reach out my hand. Grandpa takes it and holds it in a firm grip.

"I was going to tell you. When the time was right." He says. "You'll be the only person I tell, until I can't hide it anymore."

"Why?"

"I don't want the fuss."

"You're not a fuss!"

"There will be a fuss. Trust me." He smiles. "I'll take care of everything. You'll get the boat Avery." Looking around him he says. "She's a reliable old girl. If you don't keep her I'm sure you can get a good…"

"I don't want your boat!" I say. "I want you!"

"I know my boy. I know." He says with sympathy. "I'm not dieing tomorrow. We've still got some time."

"How long?"

He pauses, then says. "Three years, maybe."

"Three years!?" He might as well have said three seconds.

"Maybe longer with chemo and radiation." He says. "But there is no guarantee with them except for the illness and side effects that they bring. I don't know if I'm strong enough to live my last years like that." He says. "I want the sea air and a good deck beneath my feet. I want to sail off on my own terms."

"You have to try Grandpa. You have to." I squeeze his hand. "You have to live."

"My boy. I have been blessed with every good thing this world has to offer. I've had adventure and laughter, so much laughter. I lived the life I wanted. I walked my own path. I've watched a family grow. I've had true love." He cups my cheek with his weathered hand. "And 23 years ago I had the most pure and beautiful soul come into my life and watched as it blossomed into a beautiful man. I am so, so proud of you Buttercup."

My lip trembling, tears flowing freely, my heart shattered into a million pieces, I beg. "Don't s-say that. You're g-gonna be alright. You're gonna be okay."

"Avery…"

"Y-You're gonna get that treatment. They'll make you better." My arms fall limply to my sides, my head bows low, and I whisper. "I…can't lose you Grandpa."

Again he steps in and wraps his arms around me. As I break down a second time he holds me close and just lets me cry.

Pain, agony, despair. These words didn't even come close to describing my suffering. He was so much more than my Grandpa. He was my Dad, my best friend, my confidant, my mentor and my hero. He was the one I could always turn to. The one that always made everything alright. He formed the very bedrock of everything that I was. Without him…nothing mattered.

Chapter 26: A Journey Worth Taking

Chapter Text

Keeping me safe in his arms Grandpa leads me out into the living room and sits me down beside him on the sofa. There he lets me cry until I'd cried myself out, which took awhile. My emotions kept swinging wildly between despair, grief, anger and stubborn denial. It was the strangest thing mourning for the living. My Grandpa was right here, holding me as I clutched to him, but for some part of me it was like he was already gone. A living ghost. That was so unfair. Unfair to him and unfair to us. He was still alive! I couldn't waste what time we had acting like he wasn't. Gradually the crazy ups an downs level off to a constant state of somber sadness. Only as the tears began to run out did I realize how selfish I was being. Here he was the one comforting me even though he was the one with terminal cancer.

Sitting up I look at him and touch his cheek. It was warm against my cold fingers. He smiles, his own eyes twinkling with tears that hadn't spilled. Using his sleeve like a handkerchief he daubs my wet cheeks dry.

"I love you Grandpa."

"And I love you my Buttercup."

With a sniffle and a wipe I clear my throat. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for." He says. "I cried just like you did when I found out about Anna. It's good to cry."

I take a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I…I think you should get the treatments."

His smile remains though now mixed with melancholy. "I will think about it."

"But…"

"I will think about it." He says again more firmly.

"Okay." I say. "I'll…I'll be here for you. If you need anything…ANYTHING…"

"I know my boy. I know." He kisses my head. "You must be thirsty. Why don't you go grab us a couple of beers?"

I nod and hurry to the fridge for a couple of cold cans. We crack them open and butt cans, as we always did, then I take my sip and he takes his swig.

"I-I-I'll…"

"Avery." He puts a hand on my shoulder. "Slow down."

I nod, take a breath, take a sip, and start again. "I'll come around more. I promise."

"See here? This is part of the fuss I was talking about." He says. "You come around lots, not that I'm complaining or nothin. You don't need to change anything."

"Well I'll be here more." I insist. "As much as I can."

"Avery…"

"I can check on you everyday after work. It's not even a five minute ride."

"Avery…"

"I-I'll cancel my date tomorrow."

"What? You will not! Not on my account at least."

"I want to spend my time with you." I say. "I want to be with you. I want to help."

"No, no, no." He shakes his head. "You keep living your life Buttercup. That's what you can do for me. More than anything I want that."

"But…"

"We've got some time Buttercup." He squeezes my shoulder. "And I want to hear what happens with your Miss Perfect. Before I sail off I need to know if she's The One or not."

"We'll go another time." I say. "It's not important."

"No. You go this time. It is important." He says. "Some opportunities never come around again. One seized moment can change the course of a whole life."

"It's just a date."

"It's the first line of a new chapter." He says. "Better to make it a good one."

"Grandpa…life's not a story."

"Oh my boy, you are so wrong about that." His smile warms. "It is THE story. A comedy, a drama, a tragedy all in one. With a dash of poetry mixed in if we're lucky." Looking into my eyes he says. "You go and you sweep that lady off her feet." He lays his hand on my chest. "You show her the real you. And if your souls were meant for each other…it'll click." He winks. "Maybe it already has."

A part of me wanted to resist, to insist that I would be here at his side every precious minute of every precious day until the end. But another part of me could not deny the truth in his words. In my bones I could feel there was something special going on. Though I'd only met her Winona had added something to my life that I hadn't even realized I was missing. I adored every moment I had with my Grandpa. I loved him more than everything else in this world put together. He made me everything that I was. But I could feel an irresistible pull toward the person I would become. Whether it was heeding his wisdom or a selfish desire to be with her, I agree.

"Okay." I nod. "I'll go."

"Atta boy." He clinks my beer with his. "Here's to swimmin with bare naked women!"

"Pff!" I giggle. "Grandpa!"

He chuckles and raises a real toast. "Here's to the ladies that make this journey worth takin."

"And to true love." I raise my beer toward my Grandma's picture.

"To true love." He smiles up at his one and only.

We drink.

The remainder of the night Grandpa and I talk and laugh and cry a bit more, but just a bit. We even get the cleaning up done along the way. The hurt of the terrible news is still there, but muted by a fresh zest for this treasured time we shared.

Total lightweight that I am the moment the beer was offered we both knew I'd be spending the night which was just fine by us. The guest room, a room I knew all so well from a thousand weekend sleepovers and summer stays, was always made and ready for company. As I undress and brush my teeth I reflect on this monumental day. From the humiliation of my brother's visit at work to Winona surprising me later to Kayla's confusing advice to my joyous and liberating evening with a new friend followed by the agony of discovering Grandpa's condition and concluding in this cozy togetherness it had been a day like no other. For such an unprecedented day though, it ends as countless others had before.

Just like when I was little Grandpa tucks me in, kisses my head, and serenades me with a softly whispered version of My Little Buttercup. I gaze up at my hero, that familiar head and shoulders silhouetted by the hall light streaming through the door. In the shadow I could not see the wear of years on his face or see the extra white on his scruffy cheeks and chin. It could have been ten years ago, or even twenty, until a wheezing cough brings me back to the present. As he croons to the final "I loooove youuuu" my heart is breaking and overflowing at the same time.

He kisses my head again. "Good night my Buttercup."

"Good night Grandpa." I whisper.

He rises and walks to the door. There he pauses to look back at me…then steps through and closes the door. In the darkened room I close my eyes and let the gentle rock of the water lull me to sleep.

Chapter 27: Big Date

Chapter Text

The next day is a strange one. Despite Grandpa's assurances and pep talks the shock of the news could not be shaken off so quickly. After breakfast we have an emotional and lingering farewell as I resisted leaving. I was suddenly keenly aware of the fragility of life and of how precious every minute with a loved one actually was. Irrational as it was I felt like I might never see him again once I stepped off of this boat.

"Go." He says at last with a warm smile. "I will see you later."

"I-I could call in sick. We could…"

"Avery. Go." He says as he pats my cheek in his weathered hand. "Live. And cheer up! I ain't going anywhere yet."

"Okay." I hug him. I hug him as if it was our last. "I love you Grandpa."

"And I you my Buttercup." He hugs me back. "Now get out of here before you're late for work!"

I sleepwalk through the first part of my day. Home. Shower. Dress. Work. The world was drab. Food was bland. Music soulless. My actions on automatic as my thoughts return again and again and again to things like mortality, cancer, and the loss of the best person who ever lived. All color and flavor and vibrancy had been drained from the world until…her.

I am alone in the break room at work half heartedly nibbling at my lunch when I check my phone for any messages. Waiting for me were four texts from my new friend. The first one simply read "Help!" which made me sit up in my chair as if I might run from the room to rush to the aid of a damsel. The next two are photos of loveseats sitting in the showroom of some furniture store. The first one is a real classy looking muted blue with a high back and low wooden arms. The second was a thick and puffy one with wide cushioned arms in a dazzling design of bold criss-crossing colors. I could see by the pictures that both items were heavily discounted with the classy one a bit more than the other. "I can't choose! Which would look better?" reads the final text, which I see had been sent just ten minutes ago.

Dropping my sandwich on the table my thumbs tap out my reply as my mouth curls into its first smile of the day. "Still there?"

A few moments later my heart leaps as a reply comes back. "Yeah. Dad's trying to haggle with the guy. It is so embarrassing!" A few seconds later. "They're both super comfortable and both a great price."

"Nice!"

"So Mr. Photographer? Which one?"

"Photography isn't interior design!" I reply with a laughing emoji.

"You know colors and shit. C'mon, hurry."

I don't have to think about it long. For almost any other person and in any other space I would have suggested the blue one. But Winona's suite was already a hodge-podge of design so I felt she might as well lean into the aesthetic. The bright and brash one fit the bill. Besides, those thick cushions looked so darn comfy. My smile grows as the image of Winona and I curled up together on it flashes through my mind.

"The second one."

"You sure?"

"Trust me."

"Alright. It's on you though if I don't like it once it's in there."

"And if you do like it?"

"Head pats from Mommy."

I giggle. Head pats!? Mommy!? What a silly woman. I loved it! I reply with a rofl emoji.

"So when am I picking you up?"

The party! Distracted as I had been with Grandpa I'd almost forgotten about it. After a few quick texts with Kayla I come back. "Movie's at 9. K says people can start showing up anytime after 7:30."

"Let's call it 8. Where's your place."

I send her the address. "Sorta between Old Town and Midtown."

"Gotcha." She replies. "Gotta go. Dad is on this poor guy's last nerve. LOL"

"LOL! Okay."

"Stay awesome Sprout. See you at 8."

"Can't wait!"

I swoon back in the chair. Taking a big, hearty bite of lunch I munch away as I scroll back and read the exchange over three more times. The head pat quip makes me giggle again but what really touched me was the fact that she came to me in the first place. I was flattered she trusted my judgment like she did. She would likely have that loveseat for years to come and my bit of input helped to decide on it. For as long as she had it there would be a little touch of me in her home. I liked that. The rest of my break I am as light as a feather. I eat and think back on the weird and wonderful night that she and I had shared and wonder what the night ahead would bring. The only thing I knew for sure was that with Winona it would be interesting. GAH! I felt like I might burst with impatience. Eight o'clock could not come soon enough.

Although only a brief reprieve before the gravity of my Grandpa's condition brings me back down again it was a much needed one. A breath of fresh clean air before returning the gray realm of death and choking cigarette smoke. When I do come back down I feel guilty. So guilty. Guilty at my joy and laughter and guilty about choosing to spend my night with her instead of with Grandpa. How could I have fun at a time like this? How selfish was I? How could I not spend this time with him? He who gave so much. How dare I think about myself right now. I consider, yet again, canceling but I knew Grandpa would not accept it. The date was going to happen. A piece of me rejoices at being able to see Winona again, and that happiness loops right back into guilt again. Fucking cancer. Oh how I loathed it.

The rest of my day is roller-coaster of romantic excitement and premature mourning. I was a mess. I couldn't live like this. Despite my misgivings I was looking forward to the party more and more as the hours passed. It would be a distraction if nothing else. An hour before Winona was set to arrive though I am in my darkest place yet. The phone is in my hands, my thumb trembling over the call button so that I could call it all off. And in this darkest hour, as always, my shining hero swoops in out of nowhere.

The phone rings in my hands. It was Grandpa. I hurry to answer.

"Grandpa! Is everything okay?"

"A-Okay Buttercup." He says in a cheerful voice. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"N-No. No problem."

"Your date still on?"

"Yeah. Soon." I say. "But if you want…"

"Atta boy!" He says. "Atta boy Avery! You just be yourself now. Be your BEST self and you'll sweep her off her feet. You are a damn good man Avery and any woman would be lucky to have you."

"Grandpa!" I groan, embarrassed at the praise.

"I believe in you Avery. You're the best. Go get her tiger."

"Grandpaaa!"

"Take it from an old fisherman. You're a catch."

I laugh despite myself. "Stop!"

"Never." He chuckles. "Hey, the Jackson's are having a get together tonight. It'll mostly be cookin good food, drinkin better wine, and sharin tall stories. Oughta be fun."

"Oh. You're going?"

"Yeah I'm going. Why wouldn't I?" He says. "I just wanted to warn you in case you swung by and I was gone. I know how you worry."

"Thank you."

There's a pause before he says. "How you doin kiddo?"

"Um…fine."

"Avery?"

"It's…It's tough. It's really tough."

"I know. It's still fresh. Things will get better." He says. "After your date if you need to talk, about anything, come find me. You know where I'll be."

"I'll be okay." I say. "You have fun at the party. Don't worry about me."

"Hey! That's what I was going to say." We laugh. "See you tomorrow?"

"You can count on it Grandpa."

We say our goodbyes and I hang up the phone, a great weight lifted from my shoulders. Knowing that Grandpa was out there having a good time, knowing that he was still living his life, released me from the chains of guilt. Which was probably exactly why he called. I loved that man so much.

I leap from my bed and hurry to get ready. Every hair in place and smelling like a million bucks I dress in a dapper set of black trousers, white collared shirt, and a snug fitting blue vest. I consider a jacket but I kinda liked the vest look so I leave it at that. Looking as good as it was possible to make myself, without makeup at least, I am in the living room pacing back and forth as the clock neared eight.

"I thought you weren't going." Brayden says without looking up from the screen. He was talking about my brother's party of course which he had just returned from a bit ago. Brayden had his faults but thankfully booze was not one of them. He was a weed guy. When the liquor really started to flow Brayden usually headed for the exit. Had he been a drinker our cohabitation would not have lasted nearly so long. "It's getting pretty rowdy over there, just so you know."

"I-I'm not going there."

"Big date or something?"

"Y-Yeah." I say. "She'll be here s-soon."

"Fuck yeah dude! Good for you. Wait. A chick's coming here?" He gripes. "Avie, I'm in my boxers here!"

"She's just picking me up. I don't think she's c-coming in."

"She's picking you up?" He chuckles as he gets up and heads to his room. With out closing the door his slips back into the jeans he had worn the party. "Beta move my man."

"What?"

"You're supposed to pick her up!"

"On my b-bike?"

"I dunno." He shrugs. "But trust me, chicks might talk a lot of understanding bullshit but they notice that sort of thing. You're down a strike before the first pitch." He walks back out and resumes his game. "So is she hot?"

"Uh…I…I guess."

"You guess?"

"Yes." I say. "She is hot."

"Hot as Kayla?" He asks.

"Uh…yeah."

"Fuck! This I've gotta see. Kayla is so fiiiine. I'd tap that shit in a SECOND. How you ever banged both Lauren and Kayla I will never know. Way out of your league. Now this chick? You got that sweet, shy, innocent act working for ya huh?"

"I-I-I dunno." Just then the buzzer buzzes. "That's her!" I say excitedly.

To my surprise Brayden springs from the sofa and makes for the intercom. "Come on up." He says through the mic before pressing the button to allow entry.

"Brayden!"

"What?" He says. "I just want to meet her."

"I-I-If you s-say anything t-t-to…"

"Don't worry Avie." He winks. "I am an awesome wingman."

Chapter 28: So Cool

Chapter Text

I stand at the door wiping my clammy hands against my pants as I wait for Winona to arrive. Beside me my roommate Brayden checks his breath and combs his hair with his fingers. After just a minute there comes a knock at the door and in an instant I open it.

"Oh!" Winona startles at the too sudden opening.

I stand there in the open doorway with my jaw hanging open. She…is…GORGEOUS!

Her already stunning face is brightened and accentuated with that same tasteful touch of makeup that she had done me up with the night before. Her big hazel eyes dazzled framed within the hazy darker colors around them. Her striking bone structure was highlighted even more with blush. And her lips sparkled a dusky pink. Her long, sleek black hair hung down her back and on her head she wore a flat-topped black felt bolero hat. The black of the bolero, worn so that it was higher at the front than the back, gave a background for her glimmering jade earrings to sparkle. Around the base of the hat was a band of beautifully intricate native beadwork of white with designs of red, black and green. That same beadwork adorned the suede jacket she wore, coming over the shoulders and down the chest in two inch wide strips. The jacket she wore open to reveal a frilly low cut teal top that stopped just short of cleavage and let just a peek of her midriff to show. The open collar brought attention to her elegant neck, around which she wore a familiar gold chain and feather pendant. Across her body was a slender strap for the small leather purse at her hip. A long sandy tan skirt hung to her ankles and while it shouldn't have worked with the rest somehow it did, the tan matching wonderfully with the light suede of the jacket. Peaking out from the hem were the tapered tips of brown leather boots.

She looked so COOL! It was a style completely her own yet not unique just for the sake of it. It was fashionable yet not trendy, bad ass yet feminine. It showed a pride of culture with a modern flair. A smaller woman could not have pulled it off but Winona with her statuesque figure made it look spectacular. Suddenly my simple vest, shirt, and trousers attire seemed positively bland by comparison. Not that she seemed to mind. As her eyes were panning up and down my figure she briefly nibbles her bottom lip with overt attraction.

"Hi." She says, a touch of nerves coming through in her soft yet tense tone. "You look good."

"Uh…th-thank you. Y-You look…amazing."

We gaze into each other's eyes…and suddenly I am floating on air.

"Winona?" Brayden's voice shatters the moment. "Oh my God. It is you."

"Oh no. I thought that was your shit box parked down there." Winona replies. "How ya doing Brayden?"

"Y-You know each other?" I look back and forth between them.

"Uh, yeah. Unfortunately." Brayden says. "She was my mechanic. Couple years ago."

"I did one job for you."

"Which you and your Dad fucked me on."

"Replacing a head gasket isn't cheap. I told you that."

"It cost me more than the car did!"

"It was literally what we quoted, dumb ass." She replies then looks at me. "He thought he could bargain us down after the work was done." Then with a smirk she adds. "The President himself couldn't talk my Dad out of a dollar owed."

"THIS is your date Avery?"

"Uh…"

"Damn right." She states boldly. Just then her right hand, which had been hidden behind her back until now, comes around to thrust a huge bouquet of flowers into my arms.

"Oh!" I look down to see a dozen big and bright sunflowers looking back up at me. Intermixed with the massive yellow blooms were a sprinkling of small delicate blue daisies. The whole lot was wrapped around the sides in shiny, crinkly green paper. I stand there a moment staring at this most unexpected gift. Nobody had EVER given me flowers before!

"It…reminded me of you. With the blue and yellow and…pretty…um…" As quickly as they appeared they disappear again as Winona snatches them back from me. "Stupid idea." She shakes her head. "I'll get rid of them."

"No!" I exclaim, reaching out for them. "No, I…I love them." She passes them back and I take them to cradle in my arms. "I love them. They're beautiful." I look up at her with a smile and say from the bottom of my heart. "Thank you."

She smiles back and I swear I see the color in her cheeks darken just a little.

"She's bringing you flowers now." Chuckles Brayden. "I think I know who wears the pants with you two."

"You really know how to ruin a moment, huh?" Winona says to him. "Asshole."

"Bitch."

"Dick."

"Cunt."

"B-B-Be nice to her B-B-Brayden."

"Don't worry Sprout." Winona says. "I can handle myself."

"Sprout!?" Brayden laughs. "Oh my God dude."

Trying my best to block my roommate out I touch the tender yellow petals with my fingertips. It was so, so, so very pretty. What a wonderful present.

"Let me get a vase for these." I say. "Please come in."

"Thank you." Winona steps in with a brazen grin to my roomie. He rolls his eyes and returns to his dent in the sofa.

I lead Winona through the small kitchen to the dining area where I lay the bouquet on the table then return to the kitchen to start looking for something to put them in. Winona looks around and peeks out the window. "Nice view."

"Yeah." I say. "Not as nice as yours though."

"Catch the game tonight Winona?" Interjects Brayden who was already starting up his game system.

"Game?"

"Ducks were playing."

"Oregon? Lame." She scoffs. "I'm a Huskers gal myself."

"Nebraska!? You ain't from around here, are ya?"

"Don't watch much college actually. Seahawks are my team."

"Go hawks."

"Go hawks."

Here I was trying starting my most anticipated date of all time and Brayden is there being rude, talking sports and making himself a general nuisance. Good wingman my butt.

"This is all I could find." I say as I start filling a water pitcher from the tap. "I'll get a vase for them though." I return to the table and carefully unwrap the bouquet and place it in the pitcher at the center of the table. I space out and arrange the flowers just so. "There we go."

Winona is smiling. "I'm glad you like them."

"Should we g-get going?"

"Don't you want to show me around first?"

"Not much to see." Brayden says. "Hey Winona, you play Warzone?"

"Nope." She says, still watching me preen my flowers. "Shooters are boring."

"Pfft. Who doesn't like shooters?"

I look up. "I don't!"

"Well you're both weird."

Winona and I laugh. "Come on." I say. "This is the living room." I open the curtains. "Balcony. Sometimes I grow herbs out here but I didn't this year."

"That's nice."

"You should grow weed."

Both Winona and I ignore Brayden's quip as we walk across his sight line, much to his annoyance. "Hallway. Washroom. That's Brayden's room and that one's mine."

"Oh?" Stepping forward Winona pushes the door to my room open to peer inside. I reach past her to turn on the light. "Oh!" Her eyes wide she pans across my walls taking in all the myriad landscapes and wildlife. "Woooah! Did you take all of these?"

"Yeah." I say. "Well, most of them."

She walks in with me right behind. Only now do I see the cool braid that went down the center of her back, framed by the rest of her cascade of obsidian hair.

"If you two are banging leave the door open." Calls Brayden.

"Brayden!" I exclaim. "I am so sorry Wi…"

"Maybe we will." Winona was already calling back. "You might learn a thing or two."

"Pfff. Yeah right!"

"I'm sorry about him." I say in low voice.

"No worries dude." She says unfazed, still admiring my work. "Avery. These are really good!"

"Thank you." I blush. "Hey. W-W-Wanna see a bluebird? I got the shot that day we met."

"Yeah! Totally." As I sit at my computer and call up the folder she continues to look around. "Hello? What's this? Ohhhh no!"

"What is it?" I look up.

Winona had taken up the framed picture I kept on my dresser and held it in both hands. That one wasn't taken by me but my Mom, back when I was just five and still had my bright 'buttercup' hair. It showed me on Grandpa's lap with a fishing rod beside us on the aft deck of his boat. Though I could not see the picture I knew it by heart. Grandpa, still with some blond in his hair, had a huge, proud smile as I sat squinting against the sun mid-giggle while pointing out at something on the water. There was something, some X factor I could not quite put my finger on, caught in that instant that showed our familial resemblance better than any other photo of us taken before or since.

"Is that you!?" She laughs. "What a cutie!!!"

"Yeah, it's me."

"So cute!" She says. "And whose this handsome fella with you? I've seen him around."

"That's my…" My throat catches and I quickly clear it. "That's my Grandpa."

"He looks fun."

"He's um…he's…um…he's…" I swallow the sob that threatened to escape and turn away so she could not see my dewy eyes. "He's the best." Collecting myself I focus on finding the pick of the series of shots I took that day. "Here's that bluebird."

She sets down the frame and hurries to lean over my shoulder. She smelled nice. And very familiar. The lovely scent brought back warm memories of my brief time as Althea.

"Oh wow." She looks at the little avian perched so perfectly on the spruce branch, the town and ocean spreading out into the distance in the background. "That is gorgeous."

"Yeah. I was lucky. He sat really nice for me."

"How do you know it's a he?"

"Color." I say. "The females are more gray. Generally male birds are always the smaller and prettier ones."

"You don't say." Her hand brushes the back of my neck sending a shiver down my back. It is gone again in an instant. She stands and continues to look around. "You are really good Sprout. I mean really great."

"Thank you." I say bashfully.

"I should, um…I should get you to shoot me sometime."

"You?"

"I mean, I dunno. Might be fun. I've never had real photographer do me, ya know?"

"I-I-I don't really do portraits."

"Oh okay. No biggie."

"I-I-I mean I-I totally could though! I know how." I say, a bit too eagerly perhaps. "I w-would love to…shoot you…Winona."

"That makes two of us Avie." Brayden's unwelcome quip cuts in from the living room. "I'll help bury the body."

"Brayden!"

"Come try it couch jockey." Winona calls. "I'd be damned if I let an NPC like you get one over on me."

"NPC!?" I cover my mouth and begin to giggle.

"Yeah, yeah. Big mouth, all talk." He says. "If you were a man I'd kick your ass."

"If you were a man I might give a shit."

"PBBBT!" I am busting a gut. "He he he he!"

"Whatever." My roomie grumbles.

"I think I like him." She winks at me with a playful grin. "Wanna get outta here?"

"Yes please!"

She offers me her arm which I take in a flash. Walking together we head for the door and out on our first date.

Chapter 29: First Date

Chapter Text

I crawl up into the passenger side of Winona's truck, which had definitely seen the inside of a car wash recently, to find the interior cleaned, polished, and vacuumed since the last time I saw it during the move. The gun rack was still in the back window, minus the weaponry thank goodness. Guns always made me nervous. Winona gets in and shoots me a smile before getting the truck's engine running. Despite it's age the vehicle purred like a kitten, which made sense given her profession. She pushes the shift stick into gear and soon we are on our way.

"I, uh, I like your truck." I say as a way to break the ice.

"She's okay." Winona says. "Starting to show her age though." As she shifts into second she pats this stick shift. "This was the last year they made manual. I don't think I'd have kept her so long otherwise."

"You prefer manual?"

"It's what I learned on." She shifts. "This very truck is what I learned on actually. I feel like I have more control with a stick. Although lately I've been looking hard at that new V-8 Raptor. It's a sexy beast. They're not giving them away though."

"Yeah." I say, without a clue what a Raptor was. "I-I'm saving up for a new bike myself."

"You like motorbikes, huh?" She says. "With all the rain on Ehkolie you don't see many riders."

"Yeah." I say. "I'm used to it. Hey, how was Portland?"

"Fun! I got to see my brother. He and I always have a good time, even it is just shopping and running around."

"Oh? He lives in Oregon?"

"Yeah, Russell fell in love with the Northwest while we were here." She says. "He moved back within a couple months of us leaving. He's taking a journalism degree now."

"Russell?"

"Yeah."

"His name is Russell Crow?"

She points at me. "Don't you even start with that Sprout. Don't even start." I giggle which sets her to laughing too. "I like you Sprout but I will kick your ass if you bad mouth my baby bro."

"What?" I titter. "It's a good name. A strong name. Like a…gladiator or something."

"You little shit."

"A master and commander!"

"You are asking for it boy."

Her words were tough but the involuntary chuckles between them spurred me on. "I-I-I bet he has a beautiful mind. He he he!"

"If you were anybody else I swear…"

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" It wasn't even that funny, but the way Winona was trying to be serious while unable to contain her own laughter was cracking me up.

"Stop!" She gives a playful slap to my leg. "Are you trying to get a whoopin? Because I'll do it. I'll bend you over across my lap right here and spank that little white ass for all to see."

"PFFFF!" I cover my face with both hands, blushing furiously as my giggles turn into full blown belly laughs. "Ha ha ha ha!"

With a big happy grin she says more firmly. "Behave."

"Yes'm." I sit up and eventually manage to compose myself. "I was just jokin."

"I know." She laughs and shakes her head. As Winona drives on, her attention split between the road and me, she looks me up and down. "That vest is so hot on you. You look so damn fine tonight Avery."

"You think so?" I run my hands down the cobalt blue garment. "I was worried it was too plain."

"Uh uh. So cute." She says. "You lookin like that is gonna make it hard to keep my secret, if you catch my meaning."

"Keep your…secret?" Her only answer is a little glance to her groin. I blush again. "Oh! He he he. Um, th-thank you. Y-You look really really good too."

"Only two reallys? I'll have to work on that." She winks.

She makes the turn toward The Meadow and soon finds a spot in the lot. "I heard about this place. I can't believe we have to park out here. So we can drive across town to get here and then have to hoof it the last few hundred yards?"

"You've never been in the Tits before?"

"I mean, I've been under, over, around, and between Kayla's tits plenty of times. But never IN. Ha!"

"Pffft." Yet more giggling from me. "I mean The Meadow, silly."

"Nah."

"They want it to be clean and quiet and green. A community of the future."

"It's just another gated community to keep the riff-raff out, this one all dressed up in good intentions." She shrugs. "But I guess their heart is in the right place."

"Yeah." I say. "I find it kinda weird too. Like they're trying so hard to make it look natural that it looks fake, ya know? Like a zombie town. I've shot here before but the photos turn out…I dunno, cold. Like some too perfect dystopia." I hop out of the truck and walk around to meet Winona. "There's some cool parts about it though. Just wait until you meet Babe."

"Babe?"

"You'll see. Come on." We walk toward the gate past a familiar yellow Miata.

"Riley's here."

"Oh yeah. They're still close."

"I liked Riley. She's cool. Loud, but cool."

"Yeah." I say, knowing all too well that the exuberant Riley never learned the concept of 'inside voice'. "I keep forgetting that you know Kayla and her circle."

"You were the only one I never met properly." She says. "After our first meeting Kayla made sure of that."

"I was…being silly."

"You're allowed to be silly." She grins.

"You want a scooter?" I wave toward the bank of electric bikes. "They're free to use inside the walls."

"You mind walking?" She asks. "It's a lovely evening."

"Not at all." I smile. In fact, I could think of nothing else I'd rather do than enjoy a stroll with her.

We pass through the gates and into the artificial nature of The Meadow. As we stroll unhurriedly along the wide, smooth path Winona's eyes scan left and right over the green rolling landscape, neatly manicured gardens, the group tossing a Frisbee around in the distance, and the little double dome houses. As for myself, I could barely keep my eyes off of her. She was so beautiful. Soooo beautiful! The evening light made her tawny skin positively radiant. The heels of her boots gave her an extra inch or so on me as well, which was so damn sexy. Before Winona I never really had a thing for taller women but the more I hung around her the more I was coming to adore the height difference. It was more than just physical too. How many girls had I seen barely even give me a glance just because I was small? Too many to count. But Winona saw past that, or perhaps she was attracted to it, either way it made me feel big on the inside.

"What is it?" She asks, interrupting my idolizing gaze. "Do I have something on my face?" She begins to feel around her lips.

"Oh!" I look away, embarrassed by being caught staring. "S-Sorry."

She laughs that easy laugh of hers. "So what's the movie?"

"Um, I don't actually know." I say. "We'll probably choose on the spot if I know Kayla. Probably a comedy."

"Probably." She says. "Gonna be weird seeing her again."

"Yeah, I guess it would be." I say as a dawning feeling of dread washes over me. Winona cuts straight to that apprehension with her very next statement.

"It was cool with her that I was coming?"

"Uh, yeah. I mean, I think so."

"You think so?"

"I…said I might ask you out sometime, but…I never actually mentioned that you were coming. Here. Tonight. Specifically."

"What?" She stops. "You didn't tell her?"

"I-I kinda…forgot."

"Oh man."

"She w-won't mind…i-if I have a date." I hasten to assure her. "It'll be c-cool."

"Avery, I'm not just any date." She says. "You didn't run it by her at least? She doesn't even know that I'm coming?"

"She won't mind, um, I-I d-d-don't think." I stammer. "I just as-assumed…I didn't even…I was d-distracted with…other stuff."

"Okay." She takes a deep breath. "Alright then. Well, too late to warn her now."

"I'm s-sorry."

"What's done is done. It's as much my fault as yours. I've been meaning to touch base with her. I guess now is as good a time as any." It was subtle but catch her hands gripping nervously at her sides. "This ought to be…interesting."

"D-Don't be scared." I say, wanting more than anything to ease her nerves.

"Scared?" She looks at me as if I were crazy.

"Kayla won't cause a scene or anything. Sh-She's not like that." I take a half step closer to her, wanting to hug her or hold her hand or do anything that might make her feel better but not daring to. "A-And I-I'll be right there if you n-need someone."

"Me? Scared? Pfff. You don't me know that well Sprout."

"W-We could g-go do something else. I c-could cancel…"

"Avery. I'm not scared. I just thought it would be awkward for her." She adjusts her hat and stares straight ahead with narrow steely eyes. "I'm not scared of anything."

"Oh. Uh. Yeah." I bow my head in guilt at causing this situation. "Of course."

She gives me a look out of the corner of her eye. "Okay. Maybe I'm a little scared. Just like a teeny-tiny little bit. Like barely at all." She takes a breath. "All the more reason to get it out of the way now." The back of her hand brushes against mine. "And you'll be there, if I need a friendly face, right?"

"Right!"

"Right." She nods. Letting out a laugh she says. "I'm making more of this than Kayla ever would. I was only ever another notch on the bedpost for her."

"Winona! Don't say that."

"It's true though." She says with another fortifying breath then looks over at me and smiles. "Tonight isn't about her."

I smile back. "No. It isn't."

"You really do look great tonight Avery."

"You too Winona."

Her hazel eyes dance with a lively spirit of adventure. "Let's go have some fun."

Chapter 30: Meeting the Gang

Chapter Text

"This one here." I point the to the pod ahead though I probably didn't need to. Bopping pop music could be heard from here as well as a upbeat voices voices from an open window. We walk around Kayla's electric car and come stand on the doorstep. Winona goes to knock but I hold up my hand to stop her. "Hold on. Check this out."

Just then the volume of the tunes lower a moment as Babe announces our presence. "There is somebody at the door Kayla."

Winona's eyebrows raise at the AI's voice. "That's Babe."

We hear Kayla through the window say loudly. "Here's mah boy Avery!"

In the pause before Kayla can get to the door I whisper to Winona. "Everything is going to be okay." She gives a tense nod. I then wait a heartbeat before muttering softly. "Mommy."

Winona's head snaps to look at me just as the door swings open. The pair of us are suppressing chuckles as we greet our host.

"Hi Kayla." I smile.

"Hey Kay." Winona says, her voice almost apologetic.

Kayla's big smile disappears the moment she sees my surprise date only to reassert itself a second later. "Winnie?"

Winona holds her arms out wide. "Surprise."

Kayla holds her forced grin as she looks from Winona to me with a quiet 'WTF?' look in her eyes. "Wow."

"I, um, I brought a date." I say. "I hope that's okay."

"Of course it is!" Kayla says as she holds my gaze in hers. "What a wonderful surprise. Winnie! It's great to see you again."

"Been awhile Kay." She replies. "Good to see you too. I, uh, I've been meaning to call…"

"Oh yeah. I get it." Kayla cuts her off. Standing at Kayla's side this whole time looking terribly uncomfortable is a tiny brown haired, brown eyed woman in jeans and a frumpy maroon sweater with an owl on the front. Just now remembering that the woman was there Kayla turns and says. "Hey, this is Briar. She's a new friend." She looks at Briar. "This is Avery, and his date Winona."

"Oh! I see. Yes." She says in a nasally voice. "Good to meet you two."

By the way Kayla leaned into the words 'his date' I catch right away what was happening here. Last time I talked to Kayla she mentioned a 'shy, sweet little thing' that she could hook me up with if I was interested. This Briar was clearly the sweet little thing. Kayla had been looking to play matchmaker tonight and I'd just thrown a spanner in the works by showing up with a plus one. Bad enough I roll up with her ex unannounced, now this. Could this moment get any more awkward?

"Hello Briar." Winona smiles and nods politely.

"H-Hey." I say with a little finger wave. She waves back and squirms.

Thankfully it was Riley to the rescue. "WINNIE!?" The ebullient, buxom, curly-haired bottle blonde force of nature known as Riley comes bowling right through Kayla and Briar to give Winona a big hug. "Oh my God girl, I've missed you! AHHHHHH!!!"

Winona hugs her back. "Yeah. I warned you I'm not so good at keeping long distance friendships."

"Me neither!"

"But I'm back now. Hopefully for good."

"Well come on!" She grabs both Winona's hands in hers and pulls her inside. "We've got so much catching up to do!" Winona shoots me an amused look of helplessness as she is dragged into the living room. "Cain! Look who it is. Winnie's back."

"Hey Winona." Cain, Riley's boyfriend of many years, says in his deep silky voice. He gets up from the chair beside the sofa to give her a fist bump. Even through his snug gray sweater his sculpted muscles looked carved from marble. His brown skin was a shade darker than Kayla's and his eyes a shade lighter. "Heard you were back."

"Hey man." She says. "I like the beard."

"Thanks." He grins and rubs his chin that was as impeccably trimmed as the tight buzz cut on his head.

Cain offers me a hello nod which I give back then the three of them sit down to catch up.

Kayla, Briar, and I stand at the door in an uncomfortable pause before Kayla breaks the tension with a poke to my belly. "Mister Surprises here. Ha! Tea?"

"Oh, uh, y-yeah. Sure."

"Tea?" She asks Briar.

"Yes please." Briar grins.

Kayla winks at me. "I found another tea drinker." She turns and starts for her kitchen. "Jack still your drink Winnie?"

"I'm driving." Winona calls back.

"I still make a mean mock mojito."

"Hook me up Kay."

"Oh my God! I want one! I WANT ONE!"

"I heard you Riley." Kayla chuckles. "I'll make a pitcher."

Despite knowing about Winona's familiarity with this group I hadn't been ready for just how much she blended right in with the rest of them. Kayla, Riley, and Cain, as locals close to my own age, I'd known most of my life. Kayla and Riley I'd graduated with and Cain was just a year ahead us. And yet, for Riley and Cain at least, I was still mostly a stranger. Being a quiet loner I think I creeped out the naturally extroverted Riley and Cain was soured to us Becketts thanks to some unfortunate run-ins with my older brothers over the years. To Cain's credit he never held it against me, but neither did he warm to me. And my stuttering ass wasn't about to build that bridge from my end. Yet here was Winona who had only known this gang for a couple of years at most getting along like old friends. It didn't make me feel jealous but it did make me feel unworthy of being with someone so effortlessly cool.

Meanwhile I stand like a lost puppy near the door with an equally lost Briar. Each of us not really sure of what to say to the other. I already suspected by the fact that Kayla was looking to hook Briar up that she was a fellow introvert, the always helpful Kayla only played matchmaker where and when she felt she needed to, and this painful silence between us only confirmed that suspicion.

"Get over here you two wallflowers." Kayla beckons Briar and I. She laughs as the pair of us hurry to her side thankful for the interruption. "Birds of a feather, I swear." She directs Briar to the kettle. "You mind getting the water boiling and finding some mugs?"

"Sure Kayla." She says sweetly.

"Hey, sorry about the misunderstanding Briar."

Briar glances my direction and shrugs. "That's okay. It's cool."

"I'll make it up to you." Kayla says. She then turns to me. "Limes are in the fridge. You wanna get one cut into wedges?"

"O-Okay."

The upbeat music plays and the living room chatter continues as I find the limes, knife and cutting board Kayla gets a pitcher and mint leaves. She stands shoulder to shoulder with me. The moment our backs were turned on the rest of the room we were whispering.

"Oh my God! Why didn't you tell me you were bringing Winnie?"

"I-I forgot."

"Poor Briar. That must have been so embarrassing."

"Y-Y-You n-n-never told m-me!"

"I guess we're even then." She nudges me shoulder to shoulder. "Your loss might be my gain though, eh?"

"Kayla!" I nudge her back. "You are s-so bad."

She chuckles. "You two woulda been perfect together though." She peeks over to look at Winona then looks back to me. "You sly dog! You actually asked her out!"

"Y-Yeah."

"Avery. For you? That's amazing!" She says happily. "I'm proud of you pal."

I smile bashfully. "It kinda happened by accident. B-But I'm glad I did." Sheepishly I peer over at her. "Y-You're not upset?"

"No way." She says. "Surprised. Confused. Concerned that you didn't listen to your old pal Kayla. But definitely not upset." She leans in even closer. "So you know? About…ahem, her?"

"Yes. I know."

"Crazy, huh?"

"I think it's…she's…wonderful."

"It's wonderful alright." She laughs. "We'll talk later." Putting some lime and mint into the pitcher she begins to muddle them. "Sooo, spill it."

"Spill?"

"When you left here you were going to nip it in the bud. Now here you are all dressed up and on a date. What happened between then and now?"

"I dunno. We just…get along." I say. "She's nice."

"Oh?"

I smile as I remember back. "She texted me today from Portland just to get my opinion on love seats."

"Dude. She's getting you to choose furniture!?" She elbows my arm. "What'd I say? It's not too late to run."

"Nuh uh." I shake my head. "I like her."

"Well good luck with that wild mustang." She says. Adding some sugar and more lime she smashes the ingredients into a juicy pulp. "You're in for a hell of a ride cowboy."

"She's not at all like you say." I say. "She's caring and gentle and…makes me feel good."

"Did you two…?" She waggles her brows up and down suggestively.

"Kayla!"

She laughs. "Well, did you?"

"No!" I say. "We just made a Fables of Fantasy character and…"

"You guys play FoF?" Interrupts Briar's nasal voice. "Which edition?"

"Oh! Briar." We turn to look to see her standing directly behind us with three boxes of different teas in her hands. "I didn't realize you could hear us."

Briar blushes. "Um…I mean, I'm right here. Did you want me to…go over there?"

Kayla puts and arm around the blushing brunette. "Not on your life darlin. You stay right here with me. With everyone pairing off we single gals gotta stick together."

Briar laughs as she is gently shook by our mutual friend. Kayla returns to her task filling up the pitcher with ice and club soda leaving us to chat.

"I was just wondering what kind of tea you would like Avery."

"Th-The green chai would be nice."

"Good choice. That's what I'm having." Briar says. "Milk and honey?"

"Yeah. Thank you B-Briar."

"No problemo Avereeno." She says, trying way too hard to act cool and casual. God did I know that feeling. "That's how I like it too. Sweet and milky and…yeah. Like that."

"Hey." I say. "Y-you play FoF?"

"Um, well, I used to." She says. "I haven't found a group since moving here for college. But I sure miss it." She hesitates a moment before blurting out. "Are you looking for a player?"

"I think so." I say. "We'll have to talk to Winona. She's the Fable Master."

"That would be so awesome!" Briar does little lift from her toes, sort of like a hop without leaving the ground. "I can play any role. I know all the rules."

"I'm a nature wizard." I say proudly. "Elf."

"Nature wizard?" She says. "Cooool!"

I giggle and she giggles too.

"Oh my God, you two are such nerds." Kayla says with a good humored tease. "Here." She puts frosty glass of mock mojito into my hand. "Go cast this at your Fable Master, mister wizard."

"Ahem!" I stand tall and raise my chin. "That's madam wizard, thank you very much." As Briar laughs and Kayla cocks her head curiously I spin on my heel and take the drink to my date.

Chapter 31: From Gang to Group

Chapter Text

I walk around to the front of the sofa. Riley, Cain, and Winona pause their conversation as I come up to offer the drink. With a smile Winona takes it from me.

"Thanks Sprout." She pats the open cushion beside her. I was going to go back for my tea but I wasn't about to ignore the invitation. As I sit down at her side her grin brightens just a little more.

"Sprout?" Riley laughs.

I grin. "I-I-I like it."

"That's adorable." Kayla says as she leans in from behind to pass Riley and Cain their mojitos. "I still can't get over you two are going out."

"J-Just a f-first date." I correct her.

"When he asked I couldn't resist." Relaxing back Winona shoots me a little lingering glance as she takes a long sip of her drink. "Avery's been such a big help to me. A one man Ehkolie welcoming committee. Helping me move in, joining my Fables group, he even helped with my sofa decision. He is a total sweetheart." She hides a grin behind her drink and quips just before taking another sip. "Plus he's fuckin hot."

My whole face warms with a pink blush as Riley and Cain chuckle. As they laugh I unconsciously scooch closer to Winona, as if from some weak need for protection, and without hesitation she slides her near arm around my shoulders. For a moment I freeze up at this unexpected show of public affection so soon, but I welcome it and after a moment quickly melt into her side. Settling into the nook of her arm, unable to wipe the silly smile from my face, I blush even harder and laugh along with them.

Feeling bolstered I look up at Winona. "H-Hey have you m-met Babe yet?"

"The doorbell?"

"Oh, he's much more than that." Kayla says.

"Babe." I say up toward the ceiling. "This is Winona Crow."

"Good evening Miss Crow." Comes the AI's melodious voice. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Winona gives the ceiling a weird look. "Uh…hi?"

I giggle. "H-He'll talk with you if you want. Listen. Hey B-Babe. C-Can you guess where Winona is from?

"Based on her accent I would guess Miss Winona was raised somewhere in the Northern Great Plains area of the United States, Minnesota, or the Prairie provinces of Canada."

Winona looks at me, astonished. "What?"

"Why d-do you call her Miss and not Ms or Mrs?"

"Based on her age, appearance, her lack of a wedding band, and preferences chosen by Kayla I opted for Miss." He answers. "Though I will address you however you wish Miss Crow."

Winona looks at her hand and back up. "It can see me!?"

"And what is Winona drinking Babe?"

"Miss Crow is drinking a virgin mojito." Babe answers. "Kayla makes a mean mock mojito."

Winona looks around at us in surprise. "It's listening to us!?"

"Listening, watching, sensing movement and temperature, taking note of preferences, monitoring vitals in case of emergency, and so much more." Briar says as she comes around with two steaming mugs of tea. She offers me mine which I accept gratefully. "The MD/O AI monitors and manages everything happening within the Meadow. Babe is just this pod's expression of the master computer. Each user chooses their own pod's personality."

I look up, taken aback at Briar's unexpected knowledge of the subject. "MD/O?"

"Municipality Directing/Operating. MD/O, Meadow. Get it?" Briar forgoes the empty chair and sits down cross-legged right on the floor in front of the television, cupping her tea in both hands. I catch a mildly weirded out look between Cain and Riley which makes me smile. I think I liked Briar. She continues. "She can direct power for optimal energy usage, water lawns and gardens for minimal wastage, contact authorities in case of unauthorized entry, the list goes on. And we're just starting to tap her potential. She is a prototype for now but if this works out you're going to see Meadows begin popping up all over the country." Briar looks around at the confused faces staring back at her. "Oh, uh, she is why I'm here. My field is AI development."

"Wow." I say. "Can you believe that?"

"I can believe it." Winona shifts uneasily. "Not sure I like it."

"Well I don't know about any of that stuff." Kayla says as she comes around to settle into the chair to my left. "All I know is that Babe is a godsend. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have him to look after me. Love you Babe!"

"I love you too Kayla." Comes the computer's warm yet sterile voice.

"Hey Babe!" Blurts Riley, way too loudly as always. "Do you watch Kayla fuck?"

"Pfff!" Kayla throws her head back. "Ha ha ha ha!"

"I monitor all activity within the pod." He says. "But I assure you that data collected is protected, encrypted, anonymized…"

"Yeah, but YOU still watch." Riley chortles. "You perv!"

"I am a computer and have no sex instinct." Babe replies. I swear I catch a hint of offense in his tone. "It is impossible for me to be a perv."

"Bet he pops a virtual boner." Riley lowers her voice to normal volume as if that would keep Babe from hearing. "Total perv."

"I don't care." Kayla says with a devious grin. "I'm glad he watches. Makes it more…nasty."

Winona shakes her head. "Kinky Kayla hasn't changed a bit I see."

"She's only gotten worse." Cain says.

"Worse…or better?" Kayla quips. "Whose to say?"

"Who isn't to say?" He retorts. "Besides Briar you've had the rest of us. Or has she gotten you too?"

"No." Briar shrinks small, blushing just like I had moments ago, hiding her bashful grimace behind her tea.

"Not yet." Kayla winks, causing Briar to squirm.

At my side I sense Winona tense up. She laughed like the rest of us but her body told a different story. It must have been hard to hear about somebody that you fell in love with sharing themselves so freely, even if you were over them.

Wanting to provide a distraction for both the embarrassed Briar and uncomfortable Winona I say. "Hey! Um, B-B-Briar plays FoF."

"Oh really?" Winona sits up.

"Yes!" Briar says, clutching to my welcome lifeline. "Avery mentioned you might be looking for a player?"

"Players." Winona confirms. "So far I've only got Avery."

"Well count me in." Briar says. "If you'll have me."

"Heck yeah! Welcome aboard."

Briar sits up tall, a huge grin on her face.

"Hey! FoF?" Riley cuts in. "That's what that Cryptical Soul group you watch plays, isn't it?" She looks to her boyfriend and pats his hand. "He acts like a bad ass but he's actually such a geek at home. He watches those game streams. He tells his buddies he's watching soccer! HA!" She grabs his arm and gives him a shake. "They just sit there talking for hours! It's so BORING! I don't know how he can stand it."

"YOU watch CS?" Winona guffaws. "No way. You?"

"Yeah, yeah." Cain rolls his eyes. "It's your fault. I started looking into Fables after hearing you talk about it. Seemed kinda cool so I looked into it. Caught the show live once and…I got hooked."

"Nice. Well, do you have a group yet?"

"Nah." He shakes his head. "I don't actually play."

"HEY!" Shouts Riley, a step behind the rest of us. "Winona's making a group!"

He laughs. "I heard Riley."

"YOU could join!" She shakes him again, harder. "You're always watching. You could actually play!"

"I've never played." He says. "I wouldn't even know how honestly."

"Bullshit." Winona says. "If you watch CS you're way ahead of the game Besides, Avery is new too."

"I'm pretty damn busy with work nowadays." He says. "Besides…"

"I'm playing too!" Riley insists with a flounce and a jiggle. Social creature that she was if there was one thing Riley couldn't stand it was to be left out of something going on. "If he's playing, I'm playing."

"I haven't even…" Cain protests, only to be cut off again.

"Kayla." Riley says. "Join us! Don't leave me alone with the nerds."

"Me?" Kayla glances behind her as if someone might be hiding there that Riley was talking to. "Me!?"

"You always said you'd try it some day Kay." Winona says. "Nothing saying you have to stick with it."

"I don't know." She says dubiously. "FoF? Elves and dwarves and shit? Not really my kind of fantasy."

During the brief pause in the conversation I slip in a jest. "You could p-p-play a succubus!"

Winona grins and Briar snorts tea from her nose as she laughs mid-slurp.

"A suck your butt!?" She jokes right back. "What kind of game has ass suckin? I just KNEW those weird dice had to be anal beads."

"NO!" I peep. "Succubus!"

"What are you talking about?" She looks up. "Babe! What is a Succabis?"

"A succubus is a demon or supernatural entity in folklore, in female form, that appears in dreams to seduce men, usually through sexual activity."

"A dreamy sex demon!?" Kayla perks up, not only not insulted but deeply flattered by my suggestion. "Now you're talking my language. I could totally do that."

Briar and I are killing ourselves with laughter.

Kayla looks across to Cain. "I'll do it if you'll do it."

"He's doing it!" Riley exclaims.

"What do you say man?" Winona asks him.

"HE'S DOING IT!"

Cain looks around at us…and quickly caves. Deep down he wanted to play. "Alright, fine. I'll give it a try I guess."

"I told you!"

"Well." Winona says happily. "That was easy." She looks at me. "I guess we've got ourselves a group Sprout."

"B-Best group ever." I smile.

"Sexiest group ever." Kayla adds. "That is for damn sure."

Chapter 32: Ruined

Chapter Text

We listen to tunes and chat a bit more about Fables of Fantasy and even get a tentative date set for our first game. As we talk a really nice energy was already developing among us, a sort of instant chemistry of just the right sort of disparate personalities clicking into place with each other. Winona was the leader and visionary, Kayla both the social glue and lubricant, Cain the practical one and stoic wiser head, Riley was pure enthusiasm, Briar the brains and passion, and me…well, I was just the lucky sap who was happy to be tagging along for the ride. The more we talked the more I really liked this group. I was already smitten with Winona, Kayla was my oldest friend, Briar and I had hit it off right away, and after all these years of knowing each other the more popular Cain and Riley were actually starting to warm up to me as I gradually felt confident enough to open up little by little. It was nice! And I was really looking forward to my Althea meeting all of their alter-egos.

Eventually snacks are broken out and the subject of the movie comes up.

"Let's go with a fantasy movie to get us in the mood." Winona suggests. "It might get your imaginations fired up. Help you figure out what you might want to play."

"Fine, but I'm not sitting through some three hour snoozefest." Insists Kayla. "Babe. Let's see what we got."

"Yes Kayla."

"Can't go wrong with Tolkien." Briar says excitedly as the television screen lights up behind her with a host of fantasy options already listed for us. "Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit would be good."

Out of the corner of my eye I catch Winona give the ceiling an annoyed glance at Babe listening in and responding as it had. The AI interpreting the conversation and reacting to it appropriately clearly bothered her.

"I'm not sitting through some three hour snoozefest." Kayla repeats flatly.

"She's not kidding. I tried to get Kayla to watch Fellowship three times." Winona says. "She fell asleep every time." She pats my knee and gets up. "I'm gonna grab my specs."

Leaning forward, elbows on his knees, Cain peruses the options. "Sucks. Trash. Dog shit."

"But tell us how you really feel." Chuckles Kayla. "What a critic!"

"Cain is soooo picky with his shows and movies." Riley says. "Yet he watches that game of his for four hours a week! Such a nerd." Without even looking Cain reaches over and tweaks one of Riley's nipples through her shirt. "OOO! Ha ha ha ha!"

Cain's serious expression cracks into a little grin as he continues to look. "Nope. Not bad, but meh. Too long."

Back from getting her glasses from her jacket Winona flumps down beside me. For some her glasses might have spoiled the cool look she had going on, but for me she looked even sexier. Her left arm slips right back around me where it had been before. In her easy, natural way she runs a hand up and down my back like we were longtime lovers. I liked that. I liked that a lot. I liked everything about everything right now a lot. "See anything you like Sprout?"

"Oh! Um. I-I'm good with whatever you g-guys want to watch."

"I got it." Briar says after shifting around to face the screen. "The Princess Bride. Something for everyone. Fantasy, action, comedy, romance." She smirks at Kayla. "Plus it's short."

"Romance? I'm sold." Kayla brightens. "What do you say Cain?"

"A classic." He shrugs. "Sure."

"You heard'em Babe."

Babe takes it upon himself to lower the blinds and dim the lights as everyone settles in. Kayla shifts her chair to sit directly to the left of the sofa. "If everyone gets cozy there's another spot on the sofa." Kayla says to Briar.

"I can give you the chair." Cain offers.

"I'm good." Briar says as she stretches out on her side on the living room rug, her head propped up with her right hand while her left starts picking away at the bowl of popcorn she'd been given.

"Lights, camera, action." Kayla points at the television and a second later the title fills the screen.

As a group we are engrossed as the movie plays. The others laugh and gasp and talk to the screen at all of the appropriate parts. For me though I sit and watch in wide-eyed silence. The movie is an absolute roller coaster of emotions. The grandpa, the grandson, their bond, the tragedy of a true love found and parted, the triumph of it united again, the group of misfits and their struggles, the quest to avenge a father taken too early, and to top it all off the beautiful blonde princess who was named…Buttercup! Every line, every scene, every joke and story beat felt as if it was created just for me.

In the princess I saw the most perfect damsel, the very woman I wished I could become in those times when the mood struck me. In the hero I saw a man wise enough to know that true love was the first and most important thing and was brave enough to act on it. In the giant I saw the outcast, the loner, who had found a family that accepted him. In the Spaniard I saw a noble man brought low by the loss of a beloved father figure, a state I would find myself in far too soon. In the prince I saw a vain man caught up in looks and appearances over substance. In the wicked six-fingered man I saw the cancer that would take my grandpa away from me and my own cowardice at not trying harder to make him give up smoking when there was still time. And even in the Sicilian I saw the clever fool who thought he had it figured out but ended up with his face in the dirt. With each of these characters I saw some aspect of myself reflected back at me. But what got me, what really got me, was the grandpa and grandson. The grandpa might not be cool or as exciting as a baseball video game, but he loved his boy more than anything in the world. It was so beautiful, but right now it was a lot to deal with. Too much. With my chest already tight and tears blurring my vision I am trying so hard, SO HARD, to hold myself together as the movie comes to its conclusion. Already exhausted from dealing with so many other people for an extended period of time I had not the reserves to deal with this. I was not strong enough. The final "As you wish" shatters me completely.

The credits roll and the lights brighten as the others are all smiles at the movie we'd just witnessed. The totally normal reaction of normal people for such a heartwarming tale. As for myself…I let out a loud gasping sob then bolt for the door.

"Avery!?" Kayla calls after me.

In sock feet I run from the house, my frantic eyes searching for somewhere, anywhere, to hide. What I see instead are a pair of Kayla's neighbors looking at me as if I were a crazy man. Retreating from them I dart around behind the house. I needed to be alone. I just needed to be alone!

Out back there was an open field but I spot a chest high hydrangea bush alongside the back wall of Kayla's pod and that it is what I make for. I rush in behind it and squat down into a little ball. Covering my face with both hands…I weep.

Only now, now that I was alone and hiding my shame behind a bush, again, do the other thoughts come. Everyone was having such fun…and I had to go and make that big scene and ruin it. I didn't mean too, I never mean too, but I just didn't know what else to do. I ruined the mood, the movie, the party, the FoF group, my new friendships, and every good thing that had happened these past few hours. Why did I think I could do this? People like me don't do parties. Worst of all though, I just ruined my first date with Winona. It had started out so good. I really liked her. She actually liked me! I thought there was magic happening. She could have been the one. All that was gone now because I wasn't even strong enough to watch a nearly G-rated family film.

I ruined everything.

I realized then how hopeless it really was. I couldn't even get through a first date without messing everything up, what hope did a loser like me have at finding love. I was alone because I deserved to be alone. I didn't deserve that kind of happiness. Grandpa will be so disappointed in me.

Chapter 33: Bush Talk

Chapter Text

It is not long before my feelings sink even lower. Around the front of the house I can hear Kayla looking for me.

"Avery?"

"He ran around back." Says one of the neighbors I'd startled. "Dude was freaking out."

Hunkering down deeper I peek around through the lush, leafy branches of the shrub and see Kayla run about ten yards out before stopping and scanning the open parkland. My heart sinks further as I see Winona walk swiftly out to join her. The greatest mercy I could have received right now was if the Earth had opened up there and then and swallowed me whole. Oh how I wished they'd just go away.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know." Kayla says.

"What was that about?"

"I don't know." Kayla's shoulders slump. "He's always been…different." Bringing her hands to her mouth she calls out. "AVERY!"

"He couldn't have gone far." Winona looks around and, like I had moments ago, her eyes soon catch sight of the only hiding spot in the area. Studying the bush closely she turns and starts walking my way. OH NO! I shift deeper behind the cover though I knew it was hopeless and cover my weak, crying face again. "Here you are."

"He's in my bush?"

"Kay, shush now."

I cannot see but I hear a rustle get closer. Lowering my hands I look up to see Winona pushing through between the shrub and the wall. I stay frozen, unsure of what to do. Being found like this I couldn't exactly stand up and try to act this was normal or shrug it off. And at the moment I had nowhere else to run.

Winona plucks one of the violet hydrangea blooms and commences to sit down right there beside me. Right in the dark soil!

"N-N-No." I whisper. "Your d-d-dress."

Without a care she settles her ass in the dirt and rests her back against the side of the house, her legs crossed beneath her skirt.

"Is he okay?" Kayla asks.

"Give us a couple of minutes Kay."

"But…"

"Give us a couple of minutes." She says again more firmly.

"Yeah, sure Winnie."

Holding the little spray of flowers by the stem she slowly twirls it between her finger and thumb. I remain crouched and balled up waiting for her to say something. But she doesn't. She simply sits and waits and watches the blossoms spin forward then back, which makes it incredibly awkward for me. It was tough to hide and be alone when there was somebody sitting there with you. Watching her nonchalantly watch the flowers and seeing that she wasn't overtly angry or upset I gradually, bit by bit, relax from my shell.

Summoning my courage I sniffle and stutter in a raspy voice. "I-I-I'm s-s-sorry. I-I-I c-can w-w-walk home."

"If you want." She says, her voice low and calm. After a moment's pause she says. "It's pretty cool we found a group so easy."

"Wh-what?"

"The FoF group." She says. "Usually it's a pain in the ass getting an in person game together. We're lucky."

"L-Lucky?"

"They might not all stick with it but hey, it gets us started."

Bringing the flowers close she sniffs them and smiles, then offers it to me. Unsure of what else to do I accept the bloom, holding it by the stem in both hands. I was so confused. She was talking like nothing happened.

"I wonder what class they'll each play." She says as she looks around the back of the plant and begins flicking at one of the leaves nearby. "Cain will be a warrior of some sort I'm pretty sure. I get the sense that Briar will take one of the more advanced options. I suspect she knows the rules even better than I do." She laughs. "And Kayla and Riley, who knows! This is going to be interesting. I hope I'm ready for these weirdos."

I look from the flower, to her, back to the flower, and back to her again as I grappled with what was happening here. Why was she acting like this?

"Y-Y-You d-d-don't-t-t…"

Reaching over she pats my chest. "Breathe Sprout. It's okay." As I gasp and gulp breaths of air she says again. "It's okay."

I swallow hard and try again. "You d-don't have to p-p-pretend to l-l-like me."

"You're right." She says right back. "I don't."

"Wh-Why are you h-here?"

"We're on a date, remember?" She says, then looks around. "Never had a date in a bush before. It's original, I'll give you that."

Despite myself I laugh. "M-Maybe next time it'll be a t-tree."

"Hey! We're moving up in the world."

I giggle-cry at the quip but then sigh sadly. "If…there is a n-next time."

She glances at me. "We'll have to see how this one turns out. I'm having a pretty good time so far."

Good time? We were sitting in the dirt wedged between a wall and shrubbery. She had a pretty funny idea of what was a good time. She had pretty funny ideas about a lot of things, choice of men chief among them.

"I'm s-sorry I'm like this. I'm s-sorry I r-ruined…"

"Stop." She says. "No apologies."

I take long, deep breath. The shame and anxiety that had me tied in knots just minutes ago getting more slack for ever second Winona sat with me.

"Didn't like the movie?" She gently probes. "Hit a nerve?"

"It was…it was wonderful." I whisper. Settling down I sit beside her in the dirt, hip to hip, clutching my flower to my chest. As natural as anything she slips an arm around me and lightly grips my opposite shoulder. "It was absolutely wonderful. It was…the b-best thing…I-I've ever seen."

Leaning her head down and around to look me in the eyes she says. "It's okay to cry Avery. Everyone tears up at a good movie. Everyone with a heart at least."

"Everyone?"

"Everyone." She says. "You should see my Dad at the end of Turner and Hooch. I'm talkin open fire hydrants."

"Your Dad!?" That big, tough mechanic Amos cried at movies?

"Oh yeah. It's his soft spot. He can't stand seeing animals suffer." She says. "Gets him every time." Her hand rubs across to my neck and down my back. "It wasn't just the movie though. Was it?"

I shake my head no.

"Did you want to talk about it?"

I think about it. I think about it hard. While I knew I had to keep Grandpa's secret, even I wasn't supposed to know about it yet, I also knew that eventually I would have to share that heavy burden with somebody. Somebody that I trusted to hold it close. But not yet. I don't think I could have even said the words aloud without completely falling to pieces again. The pain was still too fresh, the wound too deep. I shake my head again.

"Okay." She says softly. Taking in a big breath through her nose she lets it out through her mouth and rests her head back to look up at the darkening sky. "It's a nice night."

"Yeah." I lay my head back as well and look up with her to see the first star of the night twinkling high above. "Winona?"

"Yeah Sprout?"

"Why are you so nice?"

She sighs and shifts closer. "I dunno. Might be your pretty smile, might be dat phat ass, whose to say?"

"What!?" I giggle.

"I'm kidding." She chuckles and bumps her side into me. "You're easy to be nice to Sprout. I…I think you're worth it."

"Oh!"

"Yeah."

We fall silent and sit in the floral aroma of hydrangea watching the sky darken to reveal a few more celestial bodies. For a time she rests her cheek on my head and I rest mine on her shoulder. Looking back down at the violet colored flowers I still held I say. "Kayla's gonna worry. Should we go back in?"

"We could stay here if you want." She sits up again, then confides. "Between you and me, I don't trust that Babe one bit."

"He's okay."

"If you say so." She replies, unconvinced.

"We should go in." I let out a huff and sit up straighter as I gather myself. "Man, this is going to be so embarrassing. Everyone's going to think I'm so weird."

"And they'd be right." She pinches my chin and gives it a little shake. "Weird is good."

"Weird is good."

I look up at her. She looks down at me. Our eyes meet. Our souls touch. And for one shared beat of our hearts…time stands still.

The next thing I knew I was being kissed.

Chapter 34: Dance Party

Chapter Text

I'd only just realized what was actually happening when the moment had already passed. I sit stunned, gawping up at Winona as she casually smooths out her clothes and gets to her feet as if nothing had happened. The kiss, no more than a peck really, had been so brief I wonder if I had imagined it. But the merry twinkle in Winona's eyes as she offers her hand to help me up tells me that it was real. Though she plays it cool a fay grin plays at her lips as she sees the effect she'd had on me.

I reach up and take her hand and let her help me to my feet, impressed as always by her deceptive strength. Standing and staring I touch my lips and whisper. "What was that for?" I felt stupid the moment the words escaped my lips.

Her only answer is a breezy laugh and a shake of her head at the silly question. "Come on Sprout." We exit the bush, her leading me by the hand, and once on soft lawn brush the soil from our bottoms. I straighten my clothes and wipe my eyes and cheeks thinking about nothing except for that tease of a kiss. It was…nice. Really nice. Her lips were so soft. I wanted more. Winona faces me and runs a hand down my vest as she checks me over. She then gives the pad of her thumb a big lick and brings it to my lips to wipe them clean of her lipstick. "Got a little something there."

I giggle.

She nods toward the house. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

She pats my chest. "If they tease you I'll kick their ass."

Something about the way she said that…I actually believed her. It made me smile. She made me smile. A smile that came from deep inside. Just as she had pulled me from my hiding place behind the shrubbery she had lifted my heart from the depths of self pity through patience, understanding, and kindness. She offers me her arm in that gentlemanly way she had when I was Althea and I am only too happy to accept the offer. Holding close to her side I accompany my date back into the house.

The moment we are through the door Kayla springs to her feet and hurries to meet us. Around the living room the others turn to look with concerned expressions on their faces. Argh! This was so embarrassing! Oh so subtly Winona's arm pulls me in closer.

"Are you okay?" Kayla asks.

"Y-Yeah." I say sheepishly. "S-Sorry about that." I grip Winona's arm a little harder to borrow some courage and after a deep breath say. "I, uh, I was embarassed. The movie made me…cry."

"Oh my God. That's why you ran out of here!?" Kayla smiles. "I was getting misty eyed myself."

"Me too." Says Briar, now sitting cross-legged from her spot on the floor. "Full on sniffles."

"Avery. Everyone knows how close you and your grandpa are." Kayla says. "No wonder it hit you. Geez, I thought it was something serious."

Before anything more can be said Winona chimes in. "How about another round of Mojitos? And where's the music? I thought this was a party."

Kayla smiles and pats my shoulder then gives her ex a nod. "Drinks coming up. Babe! Let's lift the mood." With a flourish she snaps a hand into the air. "CUFF IT!"

Moments later a pumping beat and the silky smooth tones of Beyonce fills the pod. Right away Winona starts grooving to the rhythm. Peeling away from me she turns sways her way backward into the center of the open area, her hands beckoning me forward. I look left. I look right. Then I look back to her and point at myself and mouth the word. 'Me?' Grinning as hard as I am she nods. "I d-don't know how to dance." I say over the music.

"Me neither!" She claps, her body jiving to the beat as her long skirt swished back and forth, and summons me forward with a a gimme-gimme-gimme motion of her hands. "Come to Mama."

With a laugh I step out and start to dance. Dance was a generous term for my awkward bobbing and shuffling but Kayla's hoot and Winona's approving smile spur me on. The fact that Winona was even clumsier on the dance floor than I was yet completely at ease with that makes me all the bolder. Fuck the haters! Still holding the flower that she'd picked for me in my left hand I boogie.

Cain gets up from his chair and in one swift flowing motion lifts Riley to her feet by her hands. She throws her head back and laughs and the pair spin out to join us in the open space between the kitchen and living room.

"Eeeeee!" Riley squeals with delight as her suave boyfriend pulls her tight to his body. The pair dance. Like, properly dance. Their graceful, practiced motions making Winona and I look like the pair of klutzes that we were, not that we were having any less fun.

Hips bopping back and forth as she muddles the new batch of mojito Kayla calls out to Briar. "Come on girl. Get up! Shake that booty, baby."

"Oh!" Briar's face turns bright pink. She looks around at the rest of us. "Okay."

Standing up she starts with a little nod in time to the music. Her shoulders start to rock back and forth. Then her arms begin to swing forward and back. Soon her hips join the action and finally her knees. While her feet remain planted to the floor the rest of her was dancing along with the rest of us. I can't even imagine what kind of dance she thought she was doing but it was hilarious and wonderful.

"Ha ha haaaa! That's it Briar." Abandoning the drinks Kayla twirls and weaves through the rest of us to join her new friend.

One song leads to the next and then to another. Without being asked Babe seemed to know just the songs to pick. Upbeat, lively, and each one better than the last for dancing. For a computer he was a pretty darn good DJ. The six of us laugh and sing along and move our bodies to the music. It was all so FUN! For the first time in my life I actually understood why parties were so popular.

It hits me by the fourth tune…that I hadn't ruined anything. My emotional outburst was a thing of the past. In fact we were having the time of our lives. Nobody here expected me to be perfect or looked down on me for my moment of weakness. I never would have seen this had Winona not drawn me back out of my shell. It made me wonder how many other things that I had run away from throughout my life might not have been the earth-shattering deal I thought they were at the time.

Speaking of Winona…my goodness she was beautiful. As we danced a very light sheen of sweat made her skin glow as if from some inner light. Now and again her eyes catch mine. Each and every time I my heart skips a beat and I am hit with that same connection as when our eyes met behind the hydrangea. That moment just before she kissed me. Each time our gaze would linger and the fires of our desire burned ever hotter. In her burning hazel eyes I see a future brighter than the sun, I feel a lust hotter than flame and hear the sigh of a thousand unspoken promises.

As another song winds down Winona, her eyes still locked on mine, surprises everyone by speaking to the AI for the first time that night. "Babe. Play 'Feels So Right' by Alabama."

Without a verbal reply Babe obeys the request and soon the upbeat pop transitions into the sultry opening notes of that song I'd heard and commented on the night before. She remembered. Graceful as ever Cain and Riley transition effortlessly into a slow dance, Riley melting happily into her boyfriend's tall, muscular body. Even Kayla and Briar get into it. Not nearly as intimate as the couple but more of an easy waltz. And Winona and I? We stand facing each other in the center of the room gazing into each others eyes. Around us the pod, the people, the world fades into the distance until it was just her and I and the music.

Plucking the flower from my hand she tucks it into the breast pocket of my vest then opens her arms to me. "Avery Beckett. May I have this dance?"

I damn near cry all over again, this time from joy. With a nod I reach out for her. She takes me into her strong arms and pulls me close. As the sweet notes and words of the romantic country ballad float around us, we dance. We dance and she leads. From the very first step it was simply what flowed, easily and naturally. My arms around her waist, her arms around my body, I rest my head on her shoulder as we slowly rock to the melody.

Feels so right.

Chapter 35: The Night is Young

Chapter Text

One slow dance leads to another and another and the whole chummy mood of our gathering completely transforms into one that is much more intimate. At least for four of us it does. As Winona holds me close and slowly dances me around the center of the room we can hear little lover's whispers between Cain and Riley. We could hear the details but Riley's swoony sighs and frisky giggles left little doubt that those two were going to have a good night once they were on their own. It is a surprise to nobody when Cain is the one to initiate the wind down.

"One more before the road." He says as previous song's closing notes linger, his warm eyes gazing down on his lady. For once…Riley had nothing to say. She just smiles back up at him and nods.

"Sounds good." Says Kayla. "Why don't you close us out Briar babe?"

"Me?" She looks around at each of us then says. "Okay. Babe. Today Was A Fairytale, Taylor Swift."

The strumming of an acoustic guitar picks up followed by the whimsical lyrics of romance and innocence. It was the perfect closer for such a fantastic evening. As if floating on air I follow Winona through this last dreamy dance of the night.

Halfway through she glances left. She glances right. Then she looks back down at me with a coy smirk. "Sprout…I've got a problem."

"Mm?"

Her voice a whisper she says. "I need your help."

"Anything." I whisper back. "Wh-What is it?"

"You've, erm, you've gone and made me hard."

"Oh!" She pulls me a bit tighter to her as she spins me and there pressed against me is the unmistakable feel of her large erection. In a flash I understood the issue. Even through her panties and dress there was a potential someone might catch a hint of a shape that ought not to be there. Feeling pretty darned flattered at being the inspiration for her tent I cannot help but giggle.

She laughs despite herself. "It's not funny."

"Of course not." I titter and force my face to straighten.

"Just…stay in front of me." She says. "Kayla can see but help me with the others. Just until I can get to my jacket."

"Hide the sausage? On the first date!?" I give her an impish wink. "I'm not that k-kind of boy."

"HA HA HA!" Winona's merry laugh rings out causing the others to chuckle as well. "You little…" Grabbing me tight she twirls me around and ends the song in a deep dip. There she holds me, gazes, and brushes her nose against mine. Our lips come so close…but the kiss is denied. She pulls me back up a very flustered man.

As we gather and wrap things up with some friendly chit chat, Babe playing some low unobtrusive music playing in the background, I remain directly in front of Winona as a human shield. Her hands resting on my shoulders felt natural and nice.

Kayla catches our cozy closeness and says. "Okay. I have to admit it. You two are adorable together." She smiles at me. "Why don't you just forget about what I said Avery?"

I smile back. "I already did."

"What did you…?" Winona starts.

"None of your business." Kayla cuts in. "Just some friendly advice between…friends. You just be nice to my boy here or you'll have me to answer to."

Winona squeezes my shoulders. "You know I will."

We mingle toward the door where Winona grabs her jacket and hat. The hat she wears, the jacket she folds over her hands to hold in front of her. I have to stop myself from giggling again. Anxious to get to their night of lovin Cain and Riley expedite their goodbyes and we are soon out front. Cain straddles the scooter they'd borrowed from the gate and happy as can be Riley hops on to be his back warmer.

Hugging to her man tight Riley says. "That was fun! Let's do it again soon."

Cain nods to Winona. "Keep us in the loop about the game."

"Count on it." She says. "Ready to go Sprout?"

I nod.

"Y'all walking?" Kayla asks, noting the lack of another scooter. "I could give you a lift to the gates. I gotta give Briar a ride home anyway."

"That's okay." Winona says. "It's a nice night."

"I'd rather walk." I agree.

"In that case why don't you stick around Briar." Kayla says, a flirtatious and mischievous twinkle in her eyes that every one of us besides Briar instantly recognized. "You can tell me more about this game we'll be playing." The rest of us shoot each other knowing glances. If she played along Briar would be the next to join Kinky Kayla's ever growing body count.

"Oh, um, sure Kayla." Briar says obliviously. "I have some ideas for that succubus character concept you were interested in."

"Succubus?" Kayla grins a delightfully wicked grin. "That sounds just wonderful my dear."

Cain laughs. "On that note, good night all."

"Good niiiiight!" Riley waves.

And with that the pair whiz off down the path, the Meadow's automated system lighting up the way four street lamps out front of them as they move.

"Night Kay." Winona says. "It was…it was good to see you again. Really good."

Kayla faces her. "Yeah. I wish we'd done this sooner."

"Me too."

"See you around Avery."

"S-See ya Kayla. Thank you for…everything."

"Anytime."

"It was great to meet you two." Briar says. "I'm really looking forward to the game."

"Yeah!" Winona says. "Thanks for joining us. I'm gonna need help with this group of newbs."

"You can count on me Fable Master." She salutes then lets out an adorably snorting laugh.

Our goodbyes are said and soon Winona and I are on the short stroll out of the Meadow and back to the real world. Once we were by ourselves Winona takes her jacket and slips it over my shoulders.

"You looked cool." She says.

"Oh." I wasn't actually cold but I sure liked the gesture. Pulling the jacket tighter around me I say. "Thank you."

We walk in silence through the tended lawns and flower beds. Above us the stars were erased by the annoying lamps that lit our way but the moon shone brightly. I look to my date and I am struck once more by her beauty. Even the wan artificial lights could not dim her natural gorgeousness. It was a beauty that went deeper than skin. No matter what happened going forward I would never forget how she had found me and sat with me behind that bush. How she had soothed me, built me up and brought me back out again. And thank goodness she had or I would have missed that dance. And that kiss! She made me feel…more than myself. I felt bigger, bigger than I ever had before. I felt a connection to something greater than me. After all these years of hearing my grandpa's stories only now do I truly even begin to understand how my grandma made him feel. Gathering my courage…I reach out and take her hand.

She looks at me with that same warmth that I saw in Cain's eyes when Riley was being Riley, not simply an acceptance but an appreciation of what made that person special. The look sure made me feel special. Without calling attention to the gesture or making it weird she accepts my hand and walks just at little bit closer.

"You are so soft." Her fingers rub into my palm. "So soft."

"Yeah." I confess.

"I…like that." She says. "It's different. It's honest. It's…it's nice."

"Um."

"You're nice Avery."

"Oh…um, thank you."

"It's easier for a girl to be soft." She squeezes my hand tighter. "It's expected even. Takes real courage for a man to be soft."

I had no idea what response to give to that but the gentle, happy expression on her face told me that she didn't expect one, so I stay quiet. Hand in hand we pass through the gate. Riley's Miata was already long gone leaving Winona's old pickup the only guest vehicle remaining in the lot.

As we approach it she asks me. "Tired Avery? Do you need to go home?"

"No." I say dreamily, wishing that this evening might go on forever. "The night is young."

"Good." Still holding my hand she leads me around to the passenger side and opens my door. "I was hoping to show you something."

I crawl into my seat and buckle in, warmed by her pleasant smelling jacket. She gets in and starts to drive. I didn't know where we were going or what she wanted to show me. The only thing I did know was that there was nowhere in the world that I would rather be.

Chapter 36: On a Whim

Chapter Text

Winona drives as I sit watching her in the soft reflected glow of her headlights. We were heading out of town, most likely to her place, and that was fine by me. With no music there is just the sound of the road between us.

"That hat is so cool on you."

"You think so?" She smiles. "Thanks man."

"Yeah."

And that all that is said in the couple of miles between town and her garage. I sense a tension in her. Nervousness perhaps. Not in a bad way I don't think but something definitely had her on edge. I could see it in her rapid glances and the way her hands gripped at the wheel. It is amazing to me that anybody so confident and smart and beautiful as her could ever be nervous about anything. The closer we got the more uneasy she seemed to get. These unsure emotions made her so…so…human. Not so different from me. And oh so very sexy.

As we roll up to the garage she clears her throat and says. "We're not here to…um…"

"I know." I say softly.

"It's not that I don't want to."

"I know."

"I'm not…" The '…that kind of girl' gets lost somewhere between mind and mouth.

"I understand." I say again. "It's okay Winona."

She looks at me…then suddenly grabs me by the neck and hauls me across the cab to lay a firm kiss on my lips. It is not a deep kiss but it is a hard one, a good solid smacker square on the mouth. It is broken as quickly as the first one. She lets me go and I fall back into my seat gasping at the whirlwind of smooch.

"Woah!" I whisper.

"Ahem." She straightens her hat. "Right."

There is a hesitation before she turns off the engine but turns it off she does. We get out into the fresh country air and near total darkness. I hurry around to her side to find her looking up into the vast universe that had been concealed from us in the lighting of the Meadow. As I walk up she slips an arm around me. Together we stand under the star splotched glory of Ehkolie's endless skies. This old place might not have all of the conveniences of Kayla's AI run community but I certainly knew which one I preferred. Especially with this company.

Winona gives me a squeeze. "Come on."

Walking with just the moonlight to guide us we go around back where I catch the familiar shadow of an old friend slinking across the broken pad.

"Mama!" The moment she hears my voice the cat trills and trots my way. I squat down to greet her, accepting her nudge and rub as she arrives. "I missed you." I say. She rolls over and I give her belly a good rub, her nursing teats tickling my palm as I do. She mews and purrs and rolls around at my feet.

"I think it's safe to say she missed you too."

"Yeah." I giggle. "Are they eating okay?"

"Oh yeah." She says. "Hungry little kitties they are."

"And the orange one?"

"I've been watching him." She says. "He's okay."

Before too long Mama pads off to return to her nocturnal hunt. I stand feeling good in my heart. Having been here so many times to look after Mama or just be alone with my thoughts this place felt like a home away from home. I turn to the dark silhouette of Winona. "You wanted to show me something?"

There's a moment's pause. "Yeah." Her keys jangle and we enter into the garage. "Babe, turn on the lights."

I laugh as we continue to stand in the dark. "No Babe here."

"Oh? Well that's too bad."

"Wait…were talking to me!?"

"Was I?" She says as she starts forward. "You see anyone else?"

"I-I can be Babe!"

"Too late." She teases before disappearing through to the office.

"Wait!" I close the door and hurry to follow. I catch my foot against something in the dark. Muttering swears I stumble forward and catch up with her at her suite door. The moment her door swings open I snap my arm through to hit the light switch for her.

I stand tall with a cheesy proud grin. In a voice reminiscent of Babe's I say. "Lights on Miss Crow."

"Miss Crow? Cute." She says. "But didn't I tell you to call me Mommy?"

"Oh. OH!"

With a sly wink she tweaks my nose then takes the jacket from my shoulders. Walking in she hangs the coat and waves toward the two new major additions to her home. "What do you think?"

There before me was the very brightly colored love seat that I'd seen a picture of earlier in the day as well as a gleaming new television set. "Woaaah. Nice!"

"Right?" Walking around behind the piece of furniture she slaps the back cushion. "Try it out."

I take off my shoes and swing the door closed then hurry to try it out. Standing in front of it I wait a moment…then sit down rather dramatically. It was every bit as comfortable as it looked. A little more so actually as, deceptively, the puffy cushions had just the right amount of firmness to them.

"Well?"

"It's awesome!" I say with a little bounce. "And it fits in so nice."

"Right? Thanks to you." She walks around to look down at me. "And this TV! It's huge! Pops got me a hell of a deal."

"I l-love it." I say. "I love all of it."

"Yeah." She rocks forward and back on her feet. "Yeah." After a few seconds she says. "That's…not actually what I wanted to show you."

"Oh?"

Through her nose she takes a deep breath and I catch her hands grip at her thighs. Whatever she was nervous about this was the source of it.

"I know I shouldn't have." She starts apologetically. "I know, I know. We've only just met and…I barely know you and…stuff."

"Shouldn't have what?"

"If you're uncomfortable with this we can just forget the whole thing."

"How can I forget what I don't even know?"

"It's just…" She rubs her hands together. "You've just been so helpful to me and I was in the city and I saw this stuff…and…I don't know."

"Neither do I!" I giggle.

"I wasn't going to yet."

"What yet?"

"But you looked so down today…when I found you. You looked so sad. I thought maybe…I don't know, maybe this might brighten your mood?"

"You already did." I smile.

"Yeah. Well…" There is a long silence before she finally says. "This is stupid." She shakes her head. "Forget I said anything."

"What is it!?" I exclaim.

"I kinda…sorta…maybe…" She cringe-smiles. "…got you something."

"You got me a present?"

"Yes!" She blurts. "I got you something, okay?"

"Okay!" I laugh.

"Sorry." She laughs with me. "I just…don't want to freak you out. Kay always got so weird around presents and stuff. If I'm coming on too strong…"

"No!" Grinning from ear to ear I bounce excitedly. "What is it? Can I see?"

Seeing my infectious enthusiasm eases all of the hesitancy from Winona as her mood lifts with mine. "You sure?"

"Yes!" I say, my mind already buzzing with what it might be and my heart doing back flips inside my chest.

"Okay." She says. "Just don't laugh or anything. Okay? It was kind of on a whim."

"I promise."

She nods…pauses…then walks briskly off toward the closet. Reaching in and to the side she pulls out a shopping bag. Not a common plastic bag or reusable bag but one of those fancy sturdy paper bags with the rope handles that you'd get at some sort of specialty boutique. And it was pink!

Chapter 37: Pretty Things

Chapter Text

"Wh-Wh-What's that?"

"Something you're going to like. Something I'm gonna like. And something…I dunno, maybe we'll both like." Winona strides around to front of the love seat to face me. "Scooch over." I slide to my left. With her foot she stops me dead center of the seat. Stepping forward she surprises me by kneeling down onto the love seat, her knees straddling my legs! After arranging her skirt a bit she comes to settle down, sitting on my thighs facing me. Even though she was fully clothed seeing her loom over me in such close proximity and feeling her weight pinning me down gives me an instant boner. With a smokin hot bad girl grin she looks down at me and says. "Hi."

"H-H-Hi."

Holding the handle of the bag in just two fingers she lightly places it between us. My breath catches as I see at the top of the bag the most delicate French lace inside in a gorgeous mint green. Taking the item in two fingers Winona pulls it from the bag. Spilling out beneath the green lace was a length of glossy turquoise. It was probably actually some sort of fine polyester but to me it looked every bit as luxurious as real silk. It was a nightie! A gorgeous green and blue nightie! It wasn't a long one, reaching down to maybe just past the hips. The solid turquoise bottom part rippled like water as Winona moved it about. Above that the bust of the dress was that French lace so dainty as to let the eye see right through it to the other side. The bust tapers up to two thin and elegant spaghetti straps to go over the shoulders. Right away I notice that it was designed for a slender woman with very small breasts. My hopes begin to rise even as I tried to squash them back down again.

"F-F-For…you?" I whisper, my wide eyes glued on the beautiful lady's garment.

With a warm smile she shakes her head. "It's for you you silly girl." She says. "I saw this and all I could think about was Althea. I thought she'd look really cute in this." Turning the nightie around she gently lays the nightdress over my body. "I had to guess your size. I think I guessed right."

"Oh!" I gasp, looking down at this most wonderful gift. My left hand comes to hover near yet pauses. Echoing in my memory are the voices of my brothers and mother. Sissy…pussy…queer…faggot…pervert…

Winona laughs. "You can touch it ya know."

Her voice breaks the spell and I bring my hand to my body and feel the gossamer lace against it. It was quite simply the softest, nicest piece of clothing I had ever touched. And feeling close to my own body…incredible. "Oh Winona. I-I-It's…so…b-beautiful."

"You like it?"

On the verge of tears yet again I nod, the smile on my face impossible to erase.

"I had a feeling you might." She smiles, happy to see her gift received as she hoped it would. "There's more." From the bag she pulls a pair of scandalously skimpy yet sumptuously elegant green panties. PANTIES!!! They were low cut along the top and while not a thong they were designed to show plenty of cheek. It was barely more than a small bit of satin for the crotch and butt with narrow lace bands of lace to form the waistband. The lace and shade of green made it a perfect match for the top part of the nightie. "What do you think? Sexy eh?"

"Oh! Oh! Oh…Win-nona! Oh!"

"Breathe." She lays underwear over my groin then puts a hand on my chest. "Breathe Sprout."

"I…I…" All my life I had denied myself these things and suddenly here was Winona giving them to me. Her gift went far beyond these simple items. Wrapped up with these things came courage…permission…acceptance…liberation! I simply did not have the words. "It's…wonderful. It's so…wonderful. It's just…wonderful!"

"I'm glad you like them." She says with a soft stroke of my hair. "You are going to be so pretty in them." She sits up tall and opens the bag again. "We're not done yet though."

"Oh?" I say, my head still swirling.

"That's the something you're going to like." She winks. "Although I do like it too." Tilting it away from me she looks into the bag as a smile plays at her lips. "Well if this doesn't scare you off nothing will."

"I'm not afraid." I say in soft yet bold voice, a boldness that even surprised myself.

"We'll see." She chuckles. "This one's the 'I dunno' one." With that she pulls a square package from the bag and shows it to me. It was a cubical box about 4 inches to a side with a hunky looking dude down in a submissive position on the front. Across the top reads 'Male Chastity Device'.

"Oh!"

With a great big grin Winona turns to look at the front herself. "Cool, huh?" Pulling the top of the box open she rummages inside. "Check it out. It comes with this cool carrying case." Out of the box she produces a square faux leather case that looked like a very small travel grooming kit. Dropping the box back into the bag she unzips it to reveal a shiny brand new cock cage. The material was of hard plastic, the color of soft pink. "Medical grade polycarbonate. Totally body safe and super durable. I got you pink, the other options were way too masculine I thought. A pretty girl like you deserves pink for her pretty clitty. Would have preferred black Avery?"

In a daze I shake my head no. I liked the pink. In fact I liked it a lot. A pretty girl did deserve pink for her…clitty.

"Didn't think so." She says. "Check it out." She passes me the device. Taking it from her I stare at it in my hand. Affixed to a ring at the back the front part was a penis shaped length tube maybe two and half inches long with a slit at the tip of it, presumably to go pee through. Taking out the box again she excitedly pulls out one thing after another. "There are different sized rings. They got these spacers to adjust it. You can make it to just your size. Let's see…a lock, HA! It comes with a lock." Indeed she shows me the tiny padlock with keys that came with it. "Fuckin rad, yeah?"

"Um. Wow."

"I know, I know!" She laughs. "It's weird. But listen, from one chick with a dick to another, them sexy little panties look great but they are piss poor at…ahem…containing things. Ya get me?"

"Pfff." I giggle. Turning the chastity device in my hand and feeling its stiff, glossy smooth surface I am truly at a loss for words. With a thousand tries I never would have guessed that a nightie, panties, and a cock cage was what Winona wanted to show me…on our first date!

"These aren't for us." She explains, her voice firm yet gentle. "They're for you. I am not presuming anything here. Take them. Wear them or don't. I just…" She shrugs. "…I just went on a hunch. I saw how happy being Althea made you and, well…" For a moment she struggles with her words. "I just wanted you to know that it's okay be happy. It's okay to feel sexy or feminine or beautiful or any other way you want to feel. There's nothing wrong with you or the feelings you have. You don't have be ashamed or embarrassed. You deserve to be happy Avery." She looks deep into my eyes. "Okay?"

"Okay." I say, my voice quakey from all of the emotions she was stirring inside of me.

"Okay." She smiles and pats my cheek. "Good girl."

I look to the gorgeous nightie, the sexy panties, the lovely pink penis sheath, then to this breathtaking Lakota angel sitting on top of me. The tears well up again. This time I don't try to stop them and a single tear of joy escapes to roll down my left cheek.

"Hey. Don't cry Sprout." Moving the bag to my left and the case carefully to my right she sidles closer. With her thumb she wipes the tear away before he it could drip down onto my nightie. "It's okay. It's the least I could do after all you've done for me."

"I…I…I don't know what to say." I whisper.

She tilts her head, her smile growing. "Thank you would be nice."

"Thank you!" Dropping the cage at my side I sit up and throw my arms around her and hug her as tight as I can. "Thank you…Mommy!"

For a second she stiffens up in my embrace…before relaxing and returning my hug. Holding my head close to her bosom she whispers. "You're welcome Sprout."

Chapter 38: Awakening

Chapter Text

After our hug, our awesome hug, I sit back again and look down over the pretty nightie and panties spread out over my clothed body.

"They're so pretty." I say.

"So are you baby girl." She pinches my chin. "I'm glad you like them."

"I do. I really do."

"I was so nervous." She laughs. "I thought you'd think I was a psycho or something."

"Mmm." I shake my head. I pick up my pink cage, my curiosity piquing at what it would feel like to be contained like that. As I am admiring it I catch sight of the bag that these had come from and remembered that was still more inside. "Y-You said there was something else?" I say. "Something you were going to like?"

She looks at the bag, thinks about it, then says. "You know what. This is enough for tonight." Taking the bag she leans off to tuck it away beside the love seat. "If you're a good girl, maybe next time."

"Okay." I smile. "Um…" I look back down at my gifts. "…y-you said I could take these home but…"

"You want to try them on."

I nod.

"You can't wait to try them on."

I nod again.

"I was hoping you would." She settles her weight down even deeper onto my legs. I could actually feel the bulge of her balls against my lower thighs. "I'm dying to see how these look on you." Pushing against my shoulders she has me sit all the way back. She then takes the cage from my hand and places it back to the side. Taking my hands in hers she pulls them away from my body to bring them to rest on her hips. "May I?"

I nod without even knowing what she was asking. All I knew was that I liked the way she was touching me right now and this wonderful sexual energy that was arching between us right now.

Calmly and unhurriedly, yet with a hazel glimmer sparkling behind her glasses, Winona lifts the panties and places them delicately over the back of the love seat to my left. She then does the same with the nightie, making sure it laid smooth so as not to wrinkle the fine fabric. In the meantime I lay very still, just like I had when she'd put makeup on me, and gaze up at her in awe. Nothing could describe how incredibly hot it was to have her sitting on me and handling me. She was introducing me to things. New and exciting things that touched things inside of me that I didn't even realize were there. I could actually feel my whole sexuality changing…evolving…awakening with each passing minute. What she does next makes me tremble.

Without a pause her hands return to my body and between finger and thumb she unfastens the top button of my vest! She lightly bites her bottom lip as opens the next one…and the next one…and the last one. Pulling my shoulders toward her she has me sit up. Taking my left arm she slowly and gently guides it back through the arm hole. Once free she brings my hand back to rest on her hip again. She pulls the vest around my back and slides it up my other arm, moving that hand only enough to free the garment and returning it right away again. Holding my vest in one hand she softly pushes me back to rest against the sofa's back once more.

With a smirk she pulls my vest onto her own body. It was snug on me but on her it was straight up too small. It was too short and her breasts, though not large, were enough to keep it from fitting around her. Still she made it look good. The men's vest over her frilly teal top looked so damn cool on her. I was starting to realize that ANYTHING looked so damn cool on her. It wasn't the clothes, it was the attitude within the clothes.

"Whatdya think Sprout?" She tugs at the lapels. "Does it suit me?"

"You're b-beautiful!" I gasp.

She laughs that wonderful, wonderful laugh. Removing the vest she folds it neatly twice then lays it over an armrest.

"You looked so hot tonight." She says. "The other girls were checking you out. Did you see?"

"No."

"Well they were." She runs her hands down my chest and over my stomach, her palms gliding smoothly over the fabric of my shirt. Once at the bottom she begins to tug the tucked portion from out of my pants. I do nothing to stop her. I sit very still and very happy. With a lively laugh she pauses. Her fingers dance across the very prominent bulge in the front of my pants. "What is this now?"

I blush, my smile growing. "My…c-c-clitty."

"My goodness." She says. "You're as bad I am girl. Aren't we a pair?"

"I'm a very b-bad girl." I giggle, barely believing the words coming from my mouth. This was so FUN!!! Not with Kayla, Lauren, or Eddie had I ever felt this type of pure kinky freedom and joy.

She returns to pulling the base of my shirt free. Slipping her fingers beneath the hem to tickle the base of my obliques just long enough to watch me shutter. Over top my shirt she pushes her hands back up my body, her fingers soon finding the top button of my shirt. She pauses, licks her lips, swallows, then unfastens it.

"This is such a bad idea." She says, more to herself than to me, as the second button is opened. "Why am I tempting myself like this?"

"Please don't stop." I whisper.

Her only answer is a smile and smolder in her eyes that told me that she had absolutely no intention of stopping. One button after the next is freed. Her movements are slow, controlled, calm. Like my buttons were sweet little bonbons Winona savors the unfastening of each one. When the last one is open her fingers play along the slender exposed space up my middle. Her eyes pan up and down, taking me in with a hunger I had never experienced before. Kayla was always horny, but this was something different. Something deeper and more powerful than mere sexual lust. She lingers a long moment before opening my shirt, a soft sigh escaping her parted lips as my torso is revealed.

"Fuuuuck baby." She says, her voice hushed. "You look so fine."

Her right hand touches and holds along the side of my neck then slowly snakes down my lean chest, across my slender shoulder, then curves back to tenderly cup my pec like it were very petite breast. She gives it a firm yet gentle squeeze.

"Ohhh." A lilting moan escapes me.

Winona takes a sharp breath in through her nose and blinks her eyes as she tries to tamps back the urges inside of her. She takes a longer, deeper breath…then pulls her hand away. She lifts my right arm and has me hold it still as she unfastens the cuff buttons. She then does the same with my left, stealing little glances at my body here and there. Again she sits me up. Again she removes the garment, pulling me in tight against her body as she pulls my arms from the shirt. I am sat back. My hands returned to her hips. The shirt is folded and placed on top of the vest.

She stops to look at me, pushing her glasses higher up her nose in a cute non-conscious gesture of wanting to see me more clearly. Her eyes pan over every square inch of naked flesh. Beneath her skirt I see her arousal push upward as plain as my own.

"Am I getting too heavy?"

"No." I say. She could have weighed a ton and been grinding my femurs into powder and I wouldn't have said otherwise.

She taps the buckle of my belt with a finger. "May I?"

I nod and reply in a high, soft, feminine tone. "Yes."

She grins. With the same calm, contained demeanor she unbuckles my belt and pulls it free from my waist. Holding the belt in front of her she slides the length of leather through her left hand then suddenly jerks it tight. Her gaze returns to me and I could see ideas simmering just beneath the surface. It only lasts a moment before she coils it up and places it on my shirt. Without hesitation her hands return to unfasten the waist button then zip down my fly. Shifting her weight to the side she dismounts my legs and proceeds to pull my pants down.

"Lift up your butt."

I do so and the pants are pulled down my legs. She pulls them right off of my feet and, while she was leaned over, she even removes my socks. My toes wriggle on the fuzzy rug beneath them. She was still fully clothed but I was now down to just my undies. I felt ready to burst with libidinous excitement. When she sits back up she lets her eyes drift up my bare, pale legs. Where her eyes go soon follows her near hand. Again I tremble as her warm palm strokes up the inner side of my calf.

"Your hairs…they're so soft and fine." She says. As her eyes reach my crotch she stops. They focus for a moment on the length and shape of my penis, but quickly zero in on the embarrassingly large wet spot at the tip where my precum had soaked through my underwear. Her eyes flare and her face lights up, in an instant making me feel not embarrassed but sexy. Very sexy. "My! Somebody's wet."

"Wet for…" I hesitate, then writhe and mewl seductively. "…D-Daddy. I'm wet for Daddy."

"Mmm!" She cocks a brow, her hand continues up past the knee to my tender inner thigh. I spread my legs for her and her hand drifts higher. "You are a bad girl."

"Ohhhhh." I sigh, a full body shudder running through me. "I am. I am so bad Daddy."

"I see that now." She says breathily. "So what are we gonna do with that pesky clitty of yours?" Her eyes twinkle with lust as they stare unabashedly at my rock hard cock. "It's never gonna fit inside your panties like that." Her gaze rises to stare into mine. "You DO want to wear your special panties that Daddy got you, don't you baby girl?"

"Mmm." I nod vigorously.

"Well then." Her hand grips hard just six inches below my balls. "Let's see what we can do to make them fit."

Chapter 39: Oops

Chapter Text

"H-How?"

"I can only think of one way to soften a stubborn clitty." She says in a sultry croon. "That's to make it feel reeeal good."

"Mmm." I nod. "B-But I-I thought we weren't…"

"Shhh." She presses a finger against my lips. "I'm not doing a thing." She traces that same finger down over my chin, down my neck and chest and stomach, until it arrives at my closer arm. Taking it by the wrist she lifts it, moves it, then gently places my hand down over my dick. "You are." Her voice lowers to a whisper. "I just want to watch."

"Yes Daddy." I whisper back, full to the brim of first time nerves, giddy excitement, and overwhelming arousal. I slip my hand under the waistband of my underwear, grip my stiff shaft, swallow hard, then pull my penis out into the open. Gripping it lightly at the base I flex for her to reveal the entirety of my five slender inches.

"Ohhh Sprout." Her eyes widen. "Ohhh Sprout! It's beautiful!"

"Mmm." I smile, my ruddy knob fattening at the compliment.

Kayla had said some really flattering things about my member, Lauren and Eddie some not so flattering things, but none had ever called it beautiful. That felt SO nice! My dick wasn't big, but neither was I. Most guys wanted to be long or thick or hung or whatever, but not me. I wanted to feel cute. I wanted someone to appreciate my petite penis as the pretty thing that it was. And boy was I feeling that way right now. Even more than her words it was that way she looked at me that truly made me feel beautiful. In Winona's joyful and lustful expression I saw no falseness and certainly no cruelty. She liked what she saw. With her clothed and me nearly nude I had never felt so totally exposed, yet I also felt perfectly safe. I loved how she looked at my body. I loved how she looked at my private parts. She didn't make me feel funny or inadequate, like I sometimes did with others, with Winona it felt…natural.

"It's you. It is so you. It's everything…I thought it would be." She looks up into my eyes. "The perfect clit for the perfect girl."

"Mmmmm." I mewl happily. "I…I d-do have a cute clitty. D-Don't I?"

"The cutest!"

"He he he!"

"Okay baby girl." She says. "You just listen to Daddy and she'll make you feel good."

"Yes Daddy."

"Loosen your grip. Real loose now." I do as she says, my already light grip easing up. A smile flashes just for an instant as she watches me obey her. She liked how I listened. In that delighted smile I could see the thrill of sexual exploration. This was as new to her as it was to me. This was a shared adventure. "Good girl." She says. "Now…just your thumb and one finger. Can you do that for me?"

"Mmm." I nod. Three of my fingers leave my dick with only the pads of my thumb and index finger remaining to hold it.

"Now stroke it for me." She says. "Rub that clitty beautiful girl."

"Mmm." With just one finger and a thumb I begin to stroke myself.

Again the smile flashes. "That's good. A little slower. That's it. That's it. Good girl."

"Ohhhh." The moan that drifts from my lips was not from the pleasure of my masturbation but from her bewitching words. "Am I doing it right?" I ask, greedy for more.

"Yes. Just like that." She says. "Keep going." As I pleasure myself I gaze on her beauty, so regal and elegant. I had no exposed breasts or pussy, butt or cock, leg or torso to arouse my libido but I did not care, nor did I need them. She was so hot just like she was. I ached to see her body of course, but if this is all she would give me for now I would accept it with gusto. Her watching and me slowly stroking we sit there for maybe a minute before she speaks again. "Little higher up now. Work the tip a little. That's it. Be gentle. That's it Sprout."

My cock flares hard as my thumb rubs my knob, a fat drop of precum beads at the hole. "See how wet I am for you."

She laughs softly. "I see it Sprout." She lets out a long hot breath. "God damn. This is so fucking hot."

"Yeah." I giggle.

"You are soooo sexy baby girl."

"Thank you." I coo.

"Use your hand now." She says, her hazel eyes gleaming. "Your whole hand. That's it. Just like that. Keep it slow and light. Slowwww and easy."

"Mmmmm." Up and down I stroke my arousal.

"You listen so good." She croons. "I like it when you listen."

"I like it too."

"Maybe…maybe someday you'll do that for Daddy." She glances down toward the action. "Would you do it if I asked?"

"Ohh yes! Yes please."

"I know you would." She licks her lips and swallows.

She watches me, she ogles me, she lusts for me, but not once does she touch me except for where her leg met mine. I could tell she wanted to. Very much so. The way her hand would reach out the ball into a fist and pull back again time and again told me that. But this seemed an exercise in control as much for herself as for me. Eventually though it just gets to be too much for her. Bringing a hand close to my cheek she lingers a moment…then touches the side of my neck so very, very lightly.

"Hah!" I gasp that most tender of bodily contact. The fine hairs stand up all down my body, my breath catches and shudders, as tingles spread out across my flesh. "That feels good!"

"Ohhhh Avery." She sighs. Her eyes explore my face, the middle two fingers of her right hand caress my neck. "Those eyes. Those big beautiful blue eyes. Those sweet little lips. You could…make a girl…lose herself."

"Ohhhh."

"How can a boy…be so lovely?"

"Ohhhh."

"So soft."

"Mmmmm."

"I like soft."

"I like it toooo."

"But sometimes…" Her fingers turn and the next thing I knew her hand was around my neck! Not choking me, but holding it firmly.

"Ohhhhhh!" My dick twitches in my stroking grip.

She rises and leans over me to emphasize the size difference between us, her face hovering close to mine. Her other hand grabs my shoulder and shoves me harder against the back of the love seat. The care was still there but there was also a power burning in her hazel eyes and I am reminded that while I might be soft Winona had some hard edges to her. 'She'd chew you up and spit you out.' Kayla had warned me. Right now…feeling her size and strength lording me…that didn't sound so bad.

"Go faster now. Rub harder."

"Yes…Daddy." I jerk faster, my grip tightening.

"That's it. Rub that clitty hard. Work it until you squirt."

"Mmmmm!" I stroke faster and harder, my hips now getting into the action. "Ohhhhhh!"

"Good girl. Keep going." She urges me. "I want to see you in your panties baby girl. I want to see your clitty all locked up and safe. I want to see you being so pretty for me."

"Ohhhhhh."

"Rub it baby. Rub that clitty."

"Mmmmm!"

"Faster."

"Ohhhh!"

"Faster baby."

"Ohhhhhh!"

"Ohhh Sprout." Gazing deep into my eyes she whispers. "The things I want to do to you."

"Mmmmm!"

Seeing the rising passion in my face Winona urges me on. "You're so close baby. I can see it."

"Yessss." My hand is a blur up and down my shaft, the growing pressure nearly irresistible.

"That's it sweet boy, that's my girl, I wanna see a nice big orgasm. Cum for Daddy."

Those last three words start me over the edge. "Ohhhhhhhhh!"

What happens next takes me completely by surprise. "Stop!"

"Huh!?"

Grabbing my wrists Winona pulls my hands away from my body and holds them firmly at my sides. And she picked a heck of a time! Despite my hand no longer there to stimulate it my dick had already crossed the point of no return.

"NNNNGH!" I try to stop it but semen had already begun oozing from my tip. "Ohhhh gahhhh." I writhe and moan, my hips thrusting into nowhere, as mentally I shift from holding back to letting loose and I find that wasn't possible either! Caught in an agonizing middle zone nut and no nut I quiver and whimper and watch my twitching, dribbling dick search desperately for any sort of contact. "Hnnngh! OHHH GNNNGHHHH!!!" It was unlike anything I'd ever felt. There was none of that wholly satisfying BURST of blissful release that came with climax, instead it turned into a sputtering, whimpering petering out of the sexual energy that had built up during masturbation. There is no great shot, the cum that does eke out simply pools beneath my tip. "PBBPPTTTFFFTT!"

Winona, seemingly as surprised as I was and not sure of what to do, continues to hold wrists and watches my sweet torture.

My dick goes still with my half full balls still lamely trying to expunge more but denied, the smell of spunk fills the air, and too soon it is over leaving me spent but unrewarded. Instead of that usual warm afterglow I still feel horny, but impotently so.

After a stunned moment Winona lets me go and sits back. Her hands covers her mouth and her wide guilty eyes look down on my mess. She looked like a kid who had just smashed her parent's car.

"Geez!"

"I'm sorry!" She says through her hand. "I'm so sorry!"

"What was that?" I laugh.

"Pfff." She holds back own laugher. "It's called a ruined orgasm." She covers her face completely. "That wasn't what I meant to do!"

"What were you trying to do?"

"Just…deny you a few times. I always wanted to try it. I got the idea and…I just sorta went for it." She sputters, her attempt to not laugh only making it harder to stop. "I'm terrible! He he he. I'm so bad at this! He he he. I…uh…er…Ooops!" She clamps her lips shut, looks at me, then starts to crumble entirely. "Pfff, he he he he!"

I cock my brow.

"Don't look at me like that! Ha ha ha! I'm sorry, okay? Ha ha ha ha! But…but…GAH! You looked so CUUUUTE! HA HA HA!"

I grin. "You think so?"

"YES! The way you were…the way it just sorta…the faces you…that noise you…ha ha ha ha!" She laughs a good wholesome laugh. I knew too well the mocking laugh of a bully and this was not it. She was laughing at the situation, not at me. "HA HA HA HA!"

I start to giggle with her. I mean, what else could I do at this point? Besides, it was kinda funny. "He he he he."

"What was it like?" She asks. "Did it hurt?"

"Not exactly." I say. "It was…different."

"Good different or…?"

"I…I don't know." I confess. Speaking purely physically it had easily been the worst orgasm of my life, and yet…somehow it was great. Her watching me struggle and holding my arms so that I was helpless made up for the rest. "It was…kinda…hot?"

She smiles brightly. "So fucking hot."

"Well, at least the mess is smaller."

"Pffft! Ha ha ha ha ha!" She slaps my leg, ebullient at my humor and greatly relieved that I wasn't upset by our little mishap. "That'll have to do." She gives me a shake and watches my slightly softening sex jiggle. "Now we gotta shrink that clitty down to size."

"I'm not sure it's gonna cooperate."

Pushing up off the love seat she grabs my hand and pulls me along behind her. "Nothing a cold shower won't fix."

"EEEP!"

Chapter 40: Click

Chapter Text

The next thing I knew I was in the cramped confines of Winona's little washroom with my dick hanging over the waistband of my underwear and cum drizzling down from below my belly button down into where my pubes would be if I didn't religiously shave them clean. With a great pull she yanks me into her arms and there between the sink and the toilet we do an impromptu waltz as she jostles me around toward the shower.

She slaps my shoulders and steps back. "Come on now. Out of those undies Sprout."

"Yes Daddy." I titter. Turning away from her, more from some sort of ingrained habit than from modesty, I begin to pull my underwear down. Not quickly enough for her however.

"Come on. Come on." She spurs me on with little pinches along my back and sides. "Before you get all perky again."

Giggling like crazy I quickly slip them down my legs and step out of them, leaving me completely nude now. Her nippy pinches, not nearly hard enough to hurt, quickly zero in on my exposed tush and the backs of my legs which send my already insane giggling to another level. She ends it with a stiff swat to my behind!

"OOO!"

She laughs at how I hop and rub my bum in surprise. Reaching past me she opens the door to the walk-in stall. "In you go Sprout."

"Ohhh noooo." I groan in false protest as I step in, my arms clutched tight against my chest as I ready for the blast of cold that I knew was coming. I don't have to wait long. "EEEEEE!!!" My squeal echoes through the building as Winona turns just one of the two knobs on full. Anybody passing by would have thought the old garage was haunted by the noises I was making. "OOOOO!!! EEEEEEEE!!!"

Winona is DYING with laughter from my histrionics. Between gasping guffaws she says. "It's not that bad!"

"Says youOOOOOOOHOOOO!" I twist and hop and jump around like someone with an angry bee in their trousers. "HEEEEEEE!!!"

Winona falls back onto the toilet holding her gut with uproarious laughter. In my flapping and flailing about she gets a good amount of water on her too, though she was far too busy busting a gut to notice. Waving her hands she shouts. "Stop! Stop! HA HA HA HA HA! You're killing me here! HA HA HA HA!"

Under the merciless cold streams washing over me I force myself to settle down to stand against them bravely. My hands still tight to my chest, my hands balled into fists, I stand trembling and allow the frigid water flow down my front. "Hoooooo."

Eventually Winona collects herself enough to stand back up. "We're getting water everywhere." She says between easing chuckles. Reaching into the stall she takes the handheld shower nozzle from its perch and angles it so that less of the water was spraying out the opening. Bringing the hissing shower head closer she focuses the stream onto my tensed up tummy then slowly lowers it until it the full brunt was taken on my junk.

"Geeeeeez!" I whine as the cold water does its thing.

After my orgasm, such as it was, all my giggling and jumping around, and now this unrelenting deluge of cold my member does not simply tamp down but goes into a full retreat. My five inches had swiftly shrunken to one and my scrotum had tightened up like a raisin. The shrinkage was real!

"That is the cutest fuckin clitty I ever saw." Winona praises me as she gently stroke my back.

"Mmm." I hum happily. Shivering and naked as I was, the way she was looking at me made me warm inside.

"I think that'll do." She turns off the water and lets the head dangle free on the hose. She pulls me from the stall and in a flash she dries my feet and legs then has me wrapped up in the thick, soft towel. Through the towel she rubs my body to both dry and stimulate some heat back to the prickly skin. She then gives me a big hug and just…holds me until the shivers slowly subside. In her embrace I go very still. Closing my eyes I let out a long breath and savor the moment. Without realizing it I let my head dip down to rest on her shoulder as my body relaxes. "Awww." Winona squeezes me tight and pets the back of my head. "You okay Sprout?"

"Mmm." I nod.

"Still wanna be my baby girl?"

"Mmm!" I nod faster, a smile growing.

"Good." She stands straight. "Come on beautiful." Keeping me held close she leads me back into the main room.

Sitting down on the love seat she takes me by the hips and pulls me over to directly in front of her, my feet standing between hers. I clutch the towel tightly as I watch Winona handle the pink plastic cage, separating it into its parts.

"May I touch you?"

"Mm hm."

She looks up at me. "Think unsexy thoughts."

"Impossible."

With a smirk she returns her attention below. Very gingerly she clasps my balls in her fingers and thumb and lifts them. With her other hand she brings the rounded U shaped piece of the cage up so that it was up in under my scrotum and reached around my balls and the base of my shaft. She tilts then shakes her head. Returning to the box she finds another one, the smallest of the sizes included. This one fits just right.

"You're so smooth." She spares a moment to pet my hairless skin. "I shave too. I never get this smooth."

"I could…um…help."

"Or you could just do it for me."

"Oh!"

"Shh."

She had noticed my shrunken peen starting to twitch to her touch and hastens to continue. She finds the right spacer pieces, in my case it was the smallest option included, then she affixes the top bit of ring that would secure it all to the bottom bit leaving my dick and balls sticking out the ring of tough plastic. Taking the penis piece she oh so gently slips it up onto me. Because I am so small it has no trouble sliding into its plastic sleeve. Holding it all together Winona takes the final piece, the lock, and hooks it through the eye of the peg that holds it all together.

Click.

I was locked. Pulling the keys from the lock she does not offer them to me nor do I ask for them. She sits back to admire what she had done. I pull the towel open so that I too could get a better look. There, between my legs, was not the fleshy protrusion that I was used to seeing but a gleaming pink bump cradled over my balls.

"What do you think?"

"It's…pretty."

"You like it?"

"Mmm." I nod my affirmation.

I didn't just like it. I loved it! It felt so snug and sexy. And it kept me…cute. Safe in its cage it wouldn't flop around or grow or do anything but sit there looking…cute. I touch myself to feel my glossy pink clitoris. I couldn't feel a thing through the rigid plastic and yet, somehow, it stimulated me. A lot! It was as if the lack of sensation was somehow a sensation in itself. Sliding the tip of my middle finger over the top I reach the tip to feel the little slit that would allow me to pee without having to take it off. In this I'd have to sit down to go to the washroom like girls do. I wondered…could I cum in this? I feel my balls and I like how the base ring held everything tight and taut and perfect. My nuts had never looked better. I grab my whole package and give it a tentative tug. Then a harder one. Letting go I swing my hips back and forth just to watch and feel my caged member move. And as I do so I feel myself swell to the limits of my confinement.

"Oh!"

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah. G-Great."

As if in response to the feeling of its walls my penis surges with sudden desire, only to be stopped dead. Again my peen tries, again it is halted. There was no more space to grow. Only then do I feel the real joy of being caged. My arousal was contained and controlled, the expression of that arousal denied. Denied until the pretty lady who was holding my key allowed me to release it. And there was something about that desire confined…that made it grow exponentially! Oh my God was I horny!

"Are you getting hard again?"

"Mm hm." I nod.

"Just in time then." She leans in to take a close inspection of my clit. "Comfy?"

"Oh yes. Yes." I touch it and rub it, the very subtle rubbing it gives me on the inside makes my pecker strain impotently yet again. No matter how hot and bothered I got everything down there stayed wonderfully and perfectly…cute. "Ohhh yes!"

With a little pat to my berries she says. "Good girl."

"He he he."

Taking my skimpy nightie and tiny panties she offers them to me. "Go get changed for Daddy?"

I couldn't snatch them from her hands fast enough.

Chapter 41: Baby Girl meets Daddy

Chapter Text

I rush back toward the washroom but pause before I pass through the door to glance over toward the dresser. Reading my thoughts Winona says. "Go ahead Sprout." I hurry over and take the makeup kit then head into the washroom and close the door behind me. I hang the towel up and set to work on my transformation.

Handling my garments like the precious gifts that they were I very daintily lay them out over the toilet seat then turn to the mirror. I knew I couldn't do near as good a job as Winona had done to me so I keep it simple. Besides, I didn't want to keep Daddy waiting. As carefully as I can I apply some lipstick, some blush, and a touch up a little around the eyes. When I was done…I looked worse than when I began! The lipstick smudged at the left corner, the blush was too dark, and my eyelids were all sorts of fucked up. In the bright overhead light I looked more whore than baby girl. This was harder than it looked. With a huff of frustration I fix it as best I could as I tell myself not to let this slow me down or spoil the mood.

At last I turn to my outfit. My sexy and adorable outfit. From the seat I lift the elegant green panties. My panties. My very own pair! So soft and smooth. As I pull them up my legs and snug them over my butt and bulge they just felt sooooo right. I run my hands over my ass then around and down my front, luxuriating in the feel of them. I back away from the over the sink mirror as much as I can to try to get a good look at myself. I like what I see. Unlike boys underwear panties fit so much better on a small and lithe frame like mine. So much better. And the feel of the rich satin against my pale skin was heaven. I giggle at the shape of my clitty in the fine fabric. It looked so…petite. So…cute.

The turquoise nightie comes next. I slip it over my head and let gravity allow it drift down over me. When it settles into place I smooth the silky fabric and turn to look at myself again. "Ohhhhh." A whispered sigh escapes my lips. The makeup might not have been great but I still looked good. Damn good. The way the nightie draped so naturally over the soft curves of my body and the way the lacy bust hugged and accentuated my non-existent bosom. It could not have fit better had I chosen it myself. The best part of all though, the hem of the nightie was so short that the bottom of my butt cheeks juuuuust peeked out. I give a little hop to watch myself jiggle, the cage around my penis sending a wave of pleasure up through my groin. My peen tries to surge and escape but it remains securely encased.

I tussle my hair a little to let it hang more naturally and, hopefully, more femininely then give myself one final once over. My gaze meets the blue eyes staring back at me from the mirror. I smile and so does she. "Hello baby girl."

With spin and a giggle I turn and head back so Winona could see her presents on me.

I flick out the washroom light and open the door and for a moment I find myself in near darkness. After a few blinks my eyes adjust. In the minutes I'd been away the place had been transformed. The bag, the box, and my clothes had all been whisked away so that the place looked tidy. The light was off leaving only three flickering candles and the glow of Winona's new television to light the room. Stepping out I see that the screen was filled with the image of a fireplace complete with burning logs. Very soft romantic music mingled with the crackling flames. The familiar scent of vanilla filled the air. On a little fold out table in front of the love seat was two glasses of wine. Not fancy stemmed glasses, just regular old drinking glasses. To my eye they looked just as elegant. Between them was a little plate of cheese and crackers, beneath the table the box that the wine had come from.

The whole ambiance was as subtle as a freight train and I absolutely loved it. It was honest. It was unpretentious. It was heartfelt. And it was both bold and innocent at the same time. It was just so…her.

I knew she must have scrambled to get all of this set up in the short time I was getting ready yet she sat leaned back on the love seat as cool and suave as Casanova. The room wasn't the only change. My date had traded out her low cut top and long skirt for a man's collared dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows and snug blue jeans, complete with belt and buckle. The top two buttons of her shirt allowed a glimpse of her chest and the jeans were tight enough that there was no hiding her secret. They obviously weren't something she could wear out. In that outfit she really, REALLY, looked the part of sexy 'Daddy'. So cool! So sexy! She made looking good look so easy.

She looks me up and down, not even trying to hide her desire for me. How I loved being looked at like that. "Give me a spin." She says. Holding my hands like a dancer slowly turn around on the spot one full rotation. "Mmm." She nods, trying hard not to squint despite having removed her glasses for her cool look. "Ohhh my. I didn't realize how short it was." She bites her lip and gives me a wanton grin that made me feel like the prettiest girl on the whole island. "Daaamn. You are so fucking hot baby girl."

"Y-You look v-very handsome too Daddy." I say, deeply flattered.

She pats the spot next to her. "Sit that little honey pot right here."

I cannot contain my smile. Holding my hands down in front of me demurely I walk up and sit down beside her. She slips her arm around my shoulders like it belonged there. Taking a glass she offers it to me. After I accept it she takes her own and we relax back. Her fingers play lightly down my shoulder as I take my first sip of the sweet wine.

"Cold?" She takes a long sip, her eyes glimmering in the firelight.

"Mmm." I shake my head no.

"Looks like everything fits okay?"

"Mmm." I nod.

"So you like your present?"

"Oh Winona." I say as I fiddle at the lace along my chest. "I can't even…"

"Good." The back of her fingers slowly and lightly paint up and down my arm. "So soft."

"Mmm." I snuggle in closer to her side.

As one we let out a quiet sigh as our bodies meld together. We sit for a time watching the fire, drinking our wine, and simply enjoying each other's warmth. After a few minutes she begins to play with my hair, wiggling her fingers through the tips then occasionally pulling at it lightly. As if pulled by gravity I find my eyes returning again…and again…and again to the sizable bulge the filled the crotch of Winona's jeans. Through the denim I could make out the long, thick shape of her raging erection. She was HUGE! And every time I look my little guy strains against its cage and all of that energy that is denied to my member feeds back into me in other ways. Add to this how absolutely fucking sexy I felt in my panties and nightie and…ohhhh GOD! My skin tingled, my cheeks burned, my mouth watered for a taste, my hole twitched for a touch, and my whole body was alive with lust. I had never been so god damned horny in my life.

I set down my drink and turn look to her, my hands gripping at her shirt. "Don't send me home tonight."

With a dreamy gaze she caresses my cheek tenderly. "What's that baby girl?"

"I-I-I know it's our f-first date a-and I respect your boundaries but…i-it's kind of our second date too."

"Is it?" She smirks and takes a casual sip and swallow. "So you think I'm a two date kind of girl?"

"No! I mean, yes! I-I-I mean…" I stammer. "We d-don't even h-have t-to…"

"Shhh." She runs her fingers along my jaw and around my chin. "Easy my girl. Eeeasyyy."

"I just…I want to stay." My voice lowers to a whisper. "With you." I look down to her arousal and let my eyes linger before looking back up again. "Let me stay. Please."

"You ask so nice." The tips of her fingers slowly snake down the sensitive skin of my exposed cleavage causing the fire inside of me to burn even hotter. "Sooo soffft."

"Ohhhh." I heave my chest up to press against her touch and invite more. "I wanna stay here…with you tonight." I plead like the needy girl that I was. "Please. Don't take me home tonight. Please Daddy? I'll do anything. Anything." I take a shuddering breath. "I'll be your baby girl."

She tilts her head and studies me, her fingers continuing to stroke and tease across my flesh. "Something you should know about me Sprout." She coolly takes another long sip of her wine then licks her ruby lips. "I never drink and drive."

Chapter 42: A Meeting of Hearts

Chapter Text

Setting down her wine Winona turns and looks at me with scorchingly sultry gaze. She reaches out to cup the back of my head and slowly pull me in.

"Ohhhh." I sigh softly through slightly parted lips.

Just half a foot apart she stops and holds me there as her eyes explore my face. She looks at my hair and my forehead. She looks along my brow and around my eyes. She looks at my fine ears then along my smooth cheek. She looks along my slender nose and then my tapered chin and then pink my parted lips. She didn't simply look though. She caressed me with her gaze.

And as she studies me I stare back in awestruck wonder as the plummy aroma of the wine on her breath mingles with the vanilla on the air to fill my senses. The warm flickering firelight from the screen made the shadows dance across her regal features. Over our night together strands long raven black hair had come free to hang loosely to either side of her face giving it a natural frame. Without her glasses I could see that the bones of her high cheeks and her angular brow gave her a natural and powerful intensity, which in light of a flame was only magnified. Her nose was wider than my own and had a very subtle downward curve from top to bottom which gave an air of nobility about her. Her character Ara was a 'Lady', and so was she. Her jaw and chin were feminine and elegant yet so strikingly strong, so much more robust than my own effete bone structure. Winona wasn't just bigger than me and stronger than me, she was visibly just plain tougher than me. Her full perfectly shaped lips beckon to me but I resist their siren call. She brought me. She held me. She was in control.

Once more my arousal strains against its pink prison. Once more that lust siphons back into the rest of me to light up my body like a bonfire. If I did not know it was from a television screen I would have sworn the flames fluttering in her wide hazel eyes was coming from me.

Her eyes a bit crossed as they remain focused on my lips she pulls me closer and whispers. "Sooo soft."

And then her lips touch mine, but do not yet press. With just the edges making contact she lets out a hot breath which washes over my cheeks. Her lips nibble against the edge of just my bottom pouting lip then sucks lightly for a moment before letting go. She does this again to the my upper lip. The fingers of the hand that cradled my head gently grip and relax through my hair in an uneven yet natural rhythm.

"Ohhhhh." I coo, utterly entranced by her sensual touch.

She turns, guiding me back into the corner of the love seat, and bears down over me. Pulling back she lets out a hard breath and takes in my face once more. Looming over me and now silhouetted by the wall of flame behind her with just the pinpoints of candlelight reflected in her eyes to break the umbra's shadow, the loose strands hair that swayed freely from her brow, she now looked wild and dangerous. From suave Daddy to fierce huntress in the blink of an eye. Yet the hand holding my head was just as gentle. Her strength just as controlled despite her peaking arousal. She could ravish me right now, she could take me by force if she wanted to, and I would be powerless to stop her. But I knew that she wouldn't. I knew it down to my bones. I knew that Daddy knew that her baby girl was a soft boy. But there was something in that knowledge of what she COULD do to me but never WOULD do to me without my consent that made her power not scary, but comforting. And sexy beyond compare.

With her free hand Winona strokes down my neck, down my cleavage, and down my lean stomach. Her eyes follow her hand so that she could both see and feel the shape of the lithe body beneath the pretty nightie.

"Ohhhhh." I sigh again as her hand leaves a wake of tingling pleasure behind it. My body moves on its own, leaning back and arching up to meet her touch. My arms slide up until my wrists cross above my head. Instantly reading my cue for the submission that it was Winona bring her hand from the back of my head up to take a firm hold of my willowy wrists. "Ohhhhhh!" Suddenly she nuzzles up under my jaw to suck at my neck. "Ohhhh Daddyyyy!"

Her other hand grips at my breast, pulling and groping, the slides down to take a firm grasp of my bare leg. At my neck the suck becomes a nibble.

"This body was made to be FUCKED." She whispers, her hand on my wrists gripping harder. "Fucked by Daddy."

"Ohhhhh!" I swoon in bliss. "Yesssss!"

Her hand glides up my inner thigh. With three fingers held tight together Winona begins to rub my pink clit, the tips of her short nails scratching lightly over my scrotum. As she plays with my clit her mouth finds its way to mine and soon her tongue taps and flicks at my lips like it was a pussy.

"Ohh! Ohhh!" Mewling and moaning I try to grasp at her tongue with my lips, occasionally catching it only to have it slip away a moment later.

"You are just going to be just the perfect little slut for Daddy. Aren't you little one?"

"Ohhh yes! Yes! Yes! Yes Daddy!"

Her tongue laps at my mouth as her hand delves lower. With her palm pressing tightly and grinding slowly on my clit and balls her fingers rub along the sleek fabric of my panties along my sensitive perineum, her long middle digit getting tantalizingly close to my boy hole. I open my legs wider, like a little slut like me ought to do. She nips at my bottom lip, holding it in a firm nibble as she pulls then lets it go. She then bites at my chin, her sharp teeth scraping lightly over my skin. She pushes harder against my cage as my dick pushes back with all it had from the other side and her middle finger wedges in between my butt cheeks.

"Ohhhhh!"

She pulls back and lets out a great gasp, her eyes wide and wild. Panting lightly she huffs. "Baby…the things you make me want…oh fuck." She locks her gaze on mine, staring deep into my soul, and says. "I want you Sprout!"

"I'm yourrrssss." I whimper joyously.

She dives back into me. Her lips smashing hard into mine.

We kiss. Really, truly kiss. Not a titillating peck. Not a teasing smooch. A full, honest, passionate lover's kiss.

Our lips locked her tongue plunges deep into me to find mine. Even inside of our mouths she was the dominant one. Her tongue lifts mine and spurs it into life until they are writhing and dancing back and forth within the shared space. Pinning me beneath her she growls and sucks and kisses me with fiery desire. Against my side I feel her cock as hard as steel and straining against its denim confines yet free to exert its awesome arousal unlike my own caged clitty dick. That disparity drove me wild, taking my already soaring lust to even greater heights. I slide even lower, inviting her weight on top of me, as my arms struggle ever so lightly just so that I could feel her hand holding me helpless. I mewl and hum in high, soft, pleading tones. My every submissive sound and movement an act of worship to her superior female power.

But for all the incredible lust there was something else. Something lifting it. Surrounding it. Infusing it. Something higher and deeper and more fundamental. Amongst all this kink and lust there were two souls touching for the first time. Two vulnerable spirits revealed to each other. A meeting of hearts. Every other thing about this situation could have been identical, but if this wasn't Winona Crow on top of me it just wouldn't have been the same. It wasn't her body or cock or dominant strength that made this moment what it was. It was HER. SHE made it special.

The joy I feel was beyond compare or description. If this was not true love's first kiss…then true love did not exist.

Chapter 43: Three Little Words

Chapter Text

When the waking dream that was this most perfect kiss ends I sigh the only three words in my mind.

"I lov…"

A finger over my lips stops me cold. With my arms suddenly free I grasp onto her wrist with both hands and hold to her.

"Don't." Winona whispers, her finger slowly sliding down over my chin. "Don't say it Sprout."

"But…"

"Please." I hear pain behind that softly spoken word. The pain of a heart that had been broken once before.

"O-Okay."

"Good girl." She kisses my cheek and lingers there, resting her soft cheek along mine. "Good girl." Pulling away she looks into my eyes and softly strokes my hair. "Not yet baby. Not now. Not like this. When you say those words Avery…I want you to mean them. Even if you never say them to me. Okay?"

I gaze up at her and say three different words, words we'd heard earlier this night. "As you wish."

She closes her eyes and holds back a smile. "That's cheating." Opening her eyes again she cups my cheek in her hand and grips ever so tenderly. "I spoiled the mood."

"Mmm." I shake my head no. Reaching down I very lightly stroke the firm length of her erection. Holding her eyes in mine I whisper. "Let me make you feel good."

She smirks, that wild glimmer returning to her eyes as our natural flow picks right up where it left off. "Daddy's gonna treat you so good."

"Mmmm!"

Pulling away Winona rises to stand in front of me. Grabbing her cock she grips it through the denim. "Is this what you want baby girl?"

"Yes Daddy." I say sweetly, pleadingly, as my eyes go wide at the sheer size of what I was seeing.

Placing her hands on her hips she gives me a nod. "Come and get it then."

"Oh!"

Not quite believing that this moment had arrived but so happy that it had I waste no time. I sit up and slide my bum closer to the edge. Gripping her powerful thighs…I nuzzle my smiling face into her bulge. When it flexes harder to the contact my smile grows. The fingers of Winona's right hand slide through my hair until she palmed my head in her hand. There she holds it.

"Mmmm."

Her cock hard against my lips I take a great inhale through my nostrils to smell the clean denim then begin to kiss and suck at the fabric. When I pull back to see the lip shaped stamp of lipstick that I'd left behind. Gripping at her belt with both hands I look at Winona and bat my big blue eyes in the way Kayla once told me was 'irresistible'. She sucks in a breath as her member swells. My hands find their way to her buckle where I pull the thick leather back through the loops of her jeans then through the frame of the buckle. I savor every moment, every sensation, as I open my final present of the night.

My lust had reached a fever pitch. I was a willing slave to it now. The nightie, the panties, the cage, the shared fantasy and my tall beautiful Daddy standing over me took me to a place I had never been before. And as I unfasten the button of Winona's jeans and feel her hand lightly grip and relax along the back of my scalp I discover there were even high peaks of desire awaiting me.

I loved giving head. I mean I absolutely LOVED it. I loved the act of it, the idea of it, the smell of it, the taste of it, simply everything about it. There was something so sexy and submissive and generous and powerful about having another person's cock in your mouth. But it was something I had gotten to do so rarely and only with Eddie. Eddie never stood over me like this though. Eddie never looked so commanding and so beautiful.

The zipper comes down and I part her fly to reveal the black of her women's boxer-briefs. Before I can do anymore she pulls me in and presses my face through the open fly. My nose buried in her underwear I take deep, greedy breaths of her heady musk. Ohhhh, she smelled so good! Kissing and sucking at the base of her cock through the cloth I let out begging little mewls.

Her hand grips my hair, not hard yet firm, and pulls me away. My lips stretch out for her dick as I am pulled back. "Hahhhh."

With her free hand she reaches down into her underwear and grips her shaft. "Is this what you want?"

"Yes Daddy." I coo.

"Have you been a good girl?"

"Yes Daddy."

"Say please."

"Please Daddy!"

The words came sooo easy.

Winona pulls the waist band of her underwear low and at last reveals the monster within.

"HAH!" A gasp of awe escapes my lips unbidden.

My eyes as big as saucers and slightly crossed I focus on the meaty schlong swaying just inches in front of my face. Winona's cock was fucking massive. It looked to be twice as long as mine and SO much thicker! If you wrapped mine, Eddie's and another average guy's dick in a single bundle it still might not have equaled her girth. My gaze runs up and down her beefy tool. Though covered by her underwear I could see from the bulge that remained that her great balls were in scale with her Native American anaconda.

"Ohhhhhhh!" My high voice lilts.

For a bottom like me there was something just so viscerally erotic about a big cock. I knew it was prejudiced thinking but every sexual instinct in my body told me that tops just ought to be bigger than their bottoms. And Winona was that and then some. Actually seeing a truly huge penis in the flesh had my pleasure centers going absolutely haywire. The fact that it was attached to the most beautiful woman in the universe had me literally panting like an overheated dog.

It wasn't just the size either. The skin, while still appearing supple and smooth, had a more leathery appearance than my lily white peen. And unlike me she was not circumcised, her foreskin giving her fat ruddy knob a sort of protective collar around its base. Down her long, LONG shaft aggressively throbbing purple veins snaked and criss-crossed along the surface. Along the bottom the bulging contour through which her urethra ran was more prominent and defined than I'd seen before, giving her already striking dick just that much more character. And looking down the barrel of her wide dick hole I felt as if I was standing before a siege cannon. To me this whole combination paired with her prodigious size made her member look rugged and potent and ready for battle, unlike my fair damsel.

This was a cock worthy of a Daddy!

She holds the base of her mighty female cock and waves it frustratingly close to my open, waiting lips. Her other hand keeps my mouth at bay and with just a look she also stays my hands. I did not have permission yet. I would have to wait just a little bit longer. I note that even her long fingered hand could not reach all the way around her girth which made me want to touch it all the more. I wanted SO BADLY to know what a cock like that feels like in my hands…my mouth…my ass. My whole body was burning up with lust!

Desperate for some sort of action my right hand instinctively reaches for my surging arousal to stroke it, but it only finds my pretty pink clitty where it thought my dick would be. Oh my God! I was so wet! My juices had already soaked the crotch of my new panties! Unable to grip and stroke I flatten my fingers and begin to rub my clit furiously.

"Mm, mm, mmm." Daddy shakes her head. "No touching until Daddy says so."

"Mmmmm!" I mewl pitifully as I pull my hand away. Consumed by carnal need I tug against her hand toward her cock but she tugs back and keeps me away.

"No." She says more firmly.

"Hmmmmm." I wilt, feeling so wonderfully small and helpless as she took me in hand.

"You listen or you get spanked." Unassailable authority oozed from every word. "Understood?"

Spanked!? I wanted that too! But right now I wanted to obey even more. I wanted to show Daddy what a good girl I could be. "Ohhhh! Yesss Daddyyy."

My breath hot and heavy, my skin on fire, I hold as still as I can enraptured by my dream cock that swayed so painfully close. After maybe a minute of this delicious torture she finally speaks.

"You like it?" She croons, drunk on the power I was giving to her.

"Ohhhh Daddyyyy." I whine in fawning submission. "Yes!"

"You want it?"

"Yes! YES!"

"I know you do." She says, her voice as rich and smooth as the wine on her breath. "You want it so bad."

"Mmmm."

"You treat me right baby and I'll give you what you need." Her hand tightens in my hair, the other tightens around her shaft and brings her cock still so that it was pointed right at me. "I'll give you everything." She whispers. "Everything you want. Everything you need. I'm gonna spoil you baby girl, I'm gonna spoil you soooo bad."

"Ohhhhhh!"

"But right now…I need something from you." I slowly look up her towering figure to find her hazel eyes already piercing down into mine. In a bold, commanding tone she speaks three little words that rock my world. "Worship my cock."

Chapter 44: Queen Size

Chapter Text

With those three words she lets go of my hair. Her hands returns to her hips and she stands over me like some all conquering superhero.

Even without the extra support of her hand around the base of the shaft Winona's Queen-sized cock defies gravity to stand hard and proud! To see one so huge that was so strong as to be able to stand under its own weight left me all the more in awe.

Slowly my hands raise. The tips of my fingers flank the thick shaft and very lightly touch it to either side. My initial contact is tentative as I worried that somehow this wasn't real and that the moment that I felt her skin against mine I might wake up from this most wonderful dream. But as I feel the soft warm surface, still ever so slightly moist from being inside of her underwear, I knew that it was real.

My eyes wide and unblinking I slide my fingers up and down the length of her shaft. She told me to worship her but the words had not been necessary. My every fiber was telling me to serve and placate such a godly member as this. Above me I can feel Winona's eyes peering down on me as she patiently allowed me this moment. Eddie had always been so impatient for his turn to suck he usually just popped his dick in my mouth right away. But Winona seemed to understand what this humble position meant for me and was happy for me to luxuriate in it for awhile. I suspect she understood it because it was doing something for her as well.

With the tip of a middle finger I follow the curling trail of one of her more prominent veins, marveling at how different her cock was from mine, until I hit the base and feel the subtle bristle of her not quite perfectly shaved pubes. I trace around the stout base then gradually run back up the front

Closing my eyes I lean in and feel the brush up along my nose. Its weight rests against my brow. Again I take a long breath in through my nose to take in her pleasant musk more powerful than ever.

"Ohhh Daddy." I whisper.

"Look at me baby girl." I open my eyes and gaze up at her. Only my right eye could see as my left was completely occluded by cock. Winona gazes back down into me and tilts her head just a little. "Gimme a smile." I smile, then giggle. "That's my girl."

One, two, three buttons of her nice collared shirt she unfastens until the fourth is freed to let the shirt hang open. She had no bra on, she had removed it when she changed into Daddy, and though I cannot see her breasts the gap of fawn skin was as titillating as any flesh I had ever seen. I gasp as I see her that her skin is also a canvas for a exquisite work of art. At the base of her sternum, nestled beautifully between the inner contours of her breasts, is the image of a dreamcatcher. The detail was extraordinary! At the top it hung from a slender braided string that curved from the dreamcatcher up toward her heart. The main body of it was a length of willow formed into a perfect circle and held by sinew twine. Within the circle is a criss-crossing pattern as intricate and fine as a spider's web. Below the hoop hung three beaded cords that terminated in long, elegant feathers that looked to be rustling against an invisible breeze. The feather of the middle strand, longer than the rest, came so low as to just lick the top of her belly button. There were colors that I could not make out backlit as she was by the fire. Such was the artistry of the piece that on her tall, powerful body the tattoo wasn't simply beautiful, it was sacred.

I return my focus back to the member laying over my face. I nuzzle it. I sniff it. I stroke it and I kiss it. And it responds to the attention! I smile and giggle each time I make it twitch. I lick up long one side, adoring how it's jumbo girth accommodated the whole breadth of my tongue, and the savory taste of cock sweat gets my mouth to watering. Was there ANYTHING that tasted so good as cock? Not to me there wasn't. Pussy was close and I would never turn my nose up at a nice ass. But cock? YUM!

I lick up the other side. I run my wet lips up and down one side like a harmonica before dipping low to nuzzle in at the base. I pull the waistband of her underwear lower and greedily nuzzle deep into her scrotum.

"Oh shit!" Winona gasps as I bury my face in her balls.

I am happy. So happy. If she had been like other women I would have been joyous. Had she a small dick like mine I would have been over the moon. Had she an average one like Eddie I would have been ecstatic. But her having this heavy, throbbing cudgel of cock had me in absolute heaven. The weight of it against my forehead, the way it could lay right from the tip of my chin to the edge of my hairline while covering a third of my face, the way I could smother myself between her massive balls, and the fact that for the moment at least it was ALL mine…I was in a bottom's paradise.

Sucking against one of her egg sized balls I begin to suckle and slurp as cute needy noises escape me. "Mmm…mmm…Daddy."

"That's it baby girl. Oh shit." She gulps. "Just like that."

and kiss it before licking right up to the tip. There I pause. Looking up at Daddy with a smoky gaze I flick the tip of my tongue up and down at the hole, a move that I'd picked up from Kayla. But unlike Kayla, I actually had a dick. I knew what felt good from firsthand experience. I knew that I could push my tip into the hole for added effect. What I wasn't prepared for though was how much wider her dick hole was compared to Eddie's. When I jab my tongue in…it actually goes in by a half an inch or more! Fuck she was big!

Winona lets out a hot, heavy huff as the pleasure I give her send shudders up her long frame. "Fuck baby! Ohhh fuck."

"Mmm." I smile and bat my eyes.

"Ohhh baby girl…you look soooo beautiful down there worshiping my cock."

I gobble up the compliment gladly and with growing confidence. Normally my insecurities might have left a niggle of doubt but I knew those weren't just hollow words. I KNEW how pretty I was right now in my panties and nightie and pretty pink clitty with a nice big dick in my mouth. But it sure felt good to hear it from her. I swallow and lick my lips, then give a her tip a tiny smooch.

"Thank you Daddy." I coo, batting my big blues once more.

Her brows furrow as she shakes her head. "Fuuuck Avery. You are way too fucking good at this."

Bat, bat, bat. "What do you mean Daddy? Isn't this what you want?"

Keeping my eyes locked on hers I open my lips and wrap them around her huge knob. My eyes widen as I feel her girth stretch my jaw wider. She barely fit! With my left hand I grip the base of her cock, my fingers and thumb at least an inch from meeting around the other side. There was still so much space between my slender hand and lips. With my right hand I grip the next bit of shaft and feel the pulse of her heartbeat through the throbbing veins. Still there was space between my nearest hand and my lips. And that gap provided me a goal.

I begin to suck. Slowly and strongly, savoring how her glans swelled against the suction. I lap and slurp all around its bulk the nibble down with my lips again and again. This was a trick lip nibbling just the knob I'd learned from Eddie and I knew how amazing it felt. It filled me pride when I see that pleasure expressed on Daddy's beautiful face.

"Ohhh Avery." She whispers.

"Mmmmm!"

Her joy spurs me on. I push forward until I have her entire tip in my mouth. I loved how the little ridge of her foreskin tickled my lips. Wrapping my lips tight I suck even harder and start a very slight forward and back motion. With the flat of my tongue I grind against her hole firm and steady. Her cock flexes! My jaw strains to its limit. And a blast of pure submissive rapture shoots straight through my soul. I never knew a cock could feel like this. It filled my mouth. It dominated the space so completely that nothing else could fit, as if to say that this place was not a place to be shared. As if she was claiming my mouth for her and nobody else.

Even though I quietly knew it all along, I am struck with an overriding truth. I loved big cocks! I LOVED BIG COCKS! Feeling one and holding one was so much more powerful than I ever imagined it could be. That fact it was HER monster cock just made me a slave to it all the more.

"Hmmmm!"

With a surge of erotic energy I force myself forward. I would not stop until my lips touched finger. Her girth stuffs my maw with all of the cock I could handle, the tip gliding to tease the entrance of my throat.

"Holy shit. Avery! Nobody's ever…OHHHH!" Winona's hazel eyes roll back.

Refusing to give up I soldier forward. My eyes are watering and the hinge of my jaw was screaming but I was so close now. Just a quarter inch more. Nothing was going to stop me!

"MRRRMMMM!" I let out a growling hum of triumph as mouth meets hand. I gaze up at her with desperate eyes I want only to hear how good I'd done. Every subby cell in my body wanting, craving, needing Daddy's approval more than air or water. Winona does not disappoint.

Her eyes snap back to me to see my mouth stretched so proudly around her cock. "Fuuuck baby." Reaching down she tenderly runs her fingers through my hair and whispers. "Good girl. Gooood girl."

Chapter 45: Love it!

Chapter Text

"That's it baby girl." Winona croons in a deep, sultry voice. "Suck Daddy's big, fat cock."

"Mmmmm." I moan blissfully. I let go of her shaft and grip her firm thighs as I begin to bob forward and back on her massive schlong. I savor the taste, the feel, the smell, the weight, everything. I'd waited so long to have a cock like this in my mouth and it was even better than I imagined. "Mmmmm!"

"That's it. Good girl." She slides a hand around the back of my head to guide my pace and rhythm. Her taking back control lights up every pleasure circuit I had plus a few I didn't even know about. "You can't get enough of Daddy's cock, can you?"

"Mmmmm." I mewl.

Her other hand moves to rest on her hip, her thumb catching the left placket of her shirt to pull it back along that half of her body revealing her one breast. She'd clearly done it on purpose but the move had been so smooth it looked like it happened by accident. The breast was…was…perfect! At least on her long frame it was. It wasn't small. It wasn't big. It was smack dab in the middle. Enough soft flesh for a perfect handful. Though full and firm it drooped nicely into a pouting teardrop. The subtle swoop at the bottom made the nubs of her sienna brown nipples point ever so slightly upwards. The near perfect circle of her areola, a little smaller than the width of a golf ball, matched well with the circular dreamcatcher below. It was the type of breast that just begged to be sucked on. That would have wait though. Right now my mouth had more than it could handle.

"Mmm, mmm, mmmmm." I coo with each sucking stroke. As I give her head I find my jaw actually beginning to stretch and settle into a wide yet comfortable position, and the more comfortable it got the smoother and easier the motions became. "Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm!"

"Ohhhh fuuuuck baby. Yesssss." She grips my hair, pushing and pulling my head as she fucked my mouth. "Hahhhh. Tell me you love it."

"Shhhlrrp." She pulls me off of her fat tip. "I love it." I gasp breathlessly. My wide eyes admiring her gleaming dick, a ring pink lipstick showing me exactly how much I'd taken. "I love your cock Daddy. I love your cLLMMM!" She stuffs her member right back through my lips. "MMMMMM!"

Oh my God! The way she was using me! YES!

"Now that you're all warmed up can you go deeper baby? Can you deep throat Daddy's monster?" She pulls me in with a firm grip and carefully thrusts forward at the same time. "That's it. Deep as you can Avery. Give me that throat baby."

"MMMMMM!" I whimper in pure submissive rapture as her cock slides into places no man had gone before. "MMMMM!!!"

"Fuuuck yesss baby! That's it! Take it! That's a good girl!"

"HMMMM!!!" Her swollen glans pushes past my tonsils and into the larynx proper! My eyes filled with tears and my throat filled with cock I do all I can to open up for her. At first I try to ignore the rapidly rising vomit reflex then briefly attempt to fight it but after just a couple of seconds my body reflexively begins to gag on this deep intruder. Snorting and heaving I curse my flesh for not being to follow where my cock sucking spirit wanted to go. "GLRRGH! GLLLGH!"

Winona sees my struggle and pulls out in the nick of time. I do not retch thankfully though drool streams like a river from my open lips as I pant and steady myself again, great strings of saliva connecting my mouth and her dick like drooping streamers.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." I gasp and swallow. "I'm good."

Her hand eases from my hair and softly pets me. "Avery…if Daddy's ever too hard with you…you call for Mommy okay?"

I look up at her to see her face transformed, suddenly warm with softness and kindness. "Mom-my?"

Like an angel she beams her rays down over me. "Mommy won't let anything bad happen to you. Ever. Okay baby?"

"O-Okay."

"Atta boy Sprout." She strokes my cheek ever so softly. "Can Daddy keep going?"

I nod.

Before my eyes the warm smile curls to one side, her eyes narrow with lewd desire, and her one brow rises with devilish intent. And just like that…Daddy was back. She takes me by the hair again then with other hand grips the base of her cock and starts to slap the wet meat across my face.

"There's a good girl." She praises me as her hard, heavy meat slap, slap, slaps back and forth across my face. "You almost took it all! A little training and you'll take the rest."

"Mmmm. Yes Daddy."

Loving the cock clubbing I give Daddy a big smile and a giggle as I gawk up a little confused but a whole lot more captivated by the strange dichotomy I'd just witnessed. It was just dawning on me that Winona was role player. She was accustomed to inhabiting different people and she had a naturally creative mind. Why shouldn't Mommy and Daddy be different roles that she could slip into and out of as the situation demands? What fun! It was quick but I also caught the shift in pronoun. Mommy said 'Atta boy.' Daddy said 'Good girl.' I don't know why…but I liked that. I liked that a lot.

After allowing me to recover Daddy feeds her cock back into my mouth. Taking my head in both hands now she holds it still and starts to fuck my mouth in long, deep thrusts. She knew my limits now and was careful to work within them. In a sort of submissive nirvana I just gaze up in awe at the way her powerful body bent and flexed in graceful, sinuous motions as she used my sucking, slurping, suckling mouth for her pleasure.

I love it. I love it! I LOVE IT! I love Daddy's cock! I love it so much! I loved how it stretched me and penetrated me and filled me. I loved the way Daddy would grunt with good feeling and the way his balls would sometimes brush my chin. I didn't just love it, I needed it! I never knew how much I needed a big, dominant Daddy to pleasure but now that I did I just knew that my life would never be the same again. And with each sloppy thrust I grow ever more hungry for my cummy reward.

Her shaft glides easily in and out of my tight, wet lips. My voice high and soft I mewl and whimper for my sticky treat. "Hmm! Mmm! Mmmm!"

"Ohhh baby girl. You look so fucking beautiful sucking my cock. You were born to suck cock. Your body was made for big cock, wasn't it baby?"

"Hmmm!" I nod as best I can while impaled.

"I know it was. I knew it the moment I saw you. I knew you were just the kind of girl I needed."

"Mmmm!"

"Rrrm." She growls as her cock flexes hard. "Why don't you play with your clitty for me. Tease your pussy. Go ahead baby girl."

"Mmmmm." I coo as my right hand slips down into my damp panties. With the base of my palm I rub my clit and balls while my middle finger stretches to tickle my hole. "Hmmmmm!" I moan and writhe with unchained passion.

"Gooood girl." She lets out a hard breath as my unrelenting oral drew her climax ever closer. She bares her teeth and hisses, her intense hazel eyes bearing down into mine. "Fuck baby. Fuck you're good."

"Hmmmm!" My palm is wet with my clitty juice, my finger now rubbed my hole furiously, all the while Daddy's cock stuffed my sucking maw like it was a pussy. HEAVEN!

Kayla and I had gotten kinky but I'd never experienced anything like this. Not even close! This was more than kink, this was a sexual and spiritual awakening! Winona knew how to handle me. How to talk to me. How to use me. How to dress me up and make me feel right. Me in my panties and nightie, Winona in her crisp collared shirt and jeans, baby girl with her penis locked up tight, Daddy with a beautiful pair of tits, and big dicked Mommy watching over her boy from the wings. Sex and gender and sexuality and dominance/submission had all been thrown into a blender and set to puree. There were no borders or limits here. There were just two horny people eager to explore the limitless possibilities that the other provided.

I could feel Winona was close. The way her hands gripped, the way her cock was so fucking hard and the way her thrusts had gotten faster and more urgent told me the finish was just moments away. I bring my hands up again and grip her hips hard so that I could hold on for the final flurry.

"Hff! Fuck! Oh fuck baby!" She grunts, her beautiful face contorting to the rising pleasure. "That's it. Fuck! Ohhh fuck!"

My eye wide and innocent I gaze up at Daddy and suck with all I had. My lilting little noises beg for the messy reward that I had earned.

At the very last moment the rough, tough expression of Daddy evaporates leaving only this incredible woman momentarily unmasked and vulnerable. She brows turned up in the middle, a look of ecstasy across her feature, she lets out a whispered gasp. "So…beautiful!"

She suddenly pulls out, her bulbous knob popping from my lips, and holds me still with one hand as the other strokes her cock wildly. I bring my hands up to lay across my chest, covering my titties in a dainty pose, and I keep my mouth wide open. Extending my tongue as far as it could go I bat my eyes and wait, looking as pretty as I knew how.

I don't wait long. Three strokes later I am blasted square in the face with biggest, fattest, hottest wad of cum of my life. That first single shot was as much as Eddie's entire load! And it was soon followed by another…and another…and another! I try to keep my eyes open but my face is soon slathered with oozing semen. One blast catches me right across my open mouth, jizz coating my tongue with savory sperm and sliding down my gulping throat. She tasted even better than I'd imagined. Not only was each throbbing spurt of cum so much more than what I was used to, her orgasm seemed to go on for twice as long! Adoring every second of it I sit and let it rain down over me. Hair, ear, nostrils, eyes, Winona's one woman bukkake gets EVERYWHERE!

"Ohhhhh fuck." I hear Winona sigh. A moment later I feel the last dribble squeezed out onto my lips. After a couple of deep, heavy breaths I sense her whole body relax. "Ohhhh wow. Sprout! Ohhhh wow!"

Only now, knowing that she was done, do I close my mouth and swallow. Good girl that I was I knew my manners. Forcing an eye open so that I could see her I sit up nicely, my face coated with seed, and say in my sweetest voice. "Thank you Daddy."

Chapter 46: Basking

Chapter Text

Just before the stinging cum forces me to close my one open eye again I see Winona come back down to Earth from her soaring climax. Though my eyes are spooged shut I still sit pretty for her.

"Oh. Oh no." Winona laughs. "Look at you! What a mess. Ha ha ha!" There is a zip from her fly rising. "Oh geez, damn. I guess I was a little pent up."

The warm cum slowly oozing down my neck and dripping from my chin I lick my lips I then swallow and say. "I think so. Wow!"

"Come on Sprout." The next thing I knew Winona was scooping an arm under my knees and holding me around the back. With a little grunt of effort she hoists me straight up off of my seat! Damn this girl was strong. I quickly relax into her sure arms. She carries me to the kitchen chair and sets me down again, as gentle as a feather. As I sit not really sure about what was happening I hear the faucet begin to run. A length of paper towel is placed in my hands. Using it I wipe my face of the messy load. "Aw. I got some on your new nightie. I'm sorry Sprout."

"It's okay." I say with a titter. "It was fun!"

"I…I don't know what got into me. On our first date!" She sighs. "I'm not that kind of girl."

"But I am." I jest as I pull the gooey towels from my face. "I'm just that kinda girl. He he he."

"Ha!" I look up to see her kneeling down in front of me. Somewhere along the way a light had been turned on. Taking the soiled paper towels from me she sets them to the side the begins to clean my face properly with a wet cloth. I could see her cheeks flushed from her orgasm giving her a lovely glow. When our eyes meet she smiles. I smile too. As she wipes my skin with the warm, wet cloth she says. "That face you made when I came…Avery!"

"This one?" I make my cute looking up with pleading eyes and open mouth look.

"YES!" She laughs as she daubs the cloth around my open mouth. "I came so fucking hard I thought I was gonna shoot out a nut. Ya gotta warn a girl before you break that shit out. Damn boy, that just ain't fair."

I giggle. "I always wanted to do that."

"And I always wanted to try out Daddy." She says as she swipes the little dimple beneath my nose. "I dabbled with Daddy with Kayla but she'd always tease me and get all weird about it and ham it up. Kinda spoiled things ya know?" She swirls the cloth around my right ear. "What, um, what did ya think?"

"I liked her!" I say softly. "I like Daddy a lot."

"I wasn't too rough?"

"Mmm mmm." I shake my head.

"Good." She says, relief in her voice. It was kinda funny seeing Winona as just Winona again after meeting Daddy. I sit still watching her, utterly smitten, as she cleans me up with firm, scrubbing swipes. She finishes off by dabbing at the spatters of semen that had hit my nightie. "There we go. Pretty as ever." She looks up into my eyes and holds my gaze in hers…then cups my head and kisses me. As our lips part she whispers. "You make me weak Sprout."

"I'm sorry."

She pinches my chin. "That's not a bad thing." Getting up she takes the paper towel and throws them out then rinses out the cloth and tosses it toward the laundry basket across the room as if she were making a three-pointer. She misses by at least two feet.

"I like your tattoo."

She looks down and spreads her shirt, her fingers tracing down across the ink. "Thanks! Dad got it for me for graduation." She chuckles. "Mom was furious."

"It's beautiful."

"I've got another on my back." She spins around and pulls the shirt down over her shoulders to reveal her back. Her incredible back. She didn't have the sculpted musculature of a body builder but the natural power of her athletic build was so sexy to behold. Her strong shoulders, her elegant lats, the graceful hourglass swoop of her midsection. Never mind the ink she was a work of art herself. The tattoo that she does reveal takes up most of her upper back and was every bit as spectacular as the one on the front, and judging by the same incredible detail in the feathers clearly done by the same talented artist. "Cool, huh?"

"A crow!"

"It's Raven." She peers back over her shoulder as if she somehow might see it and pulls her long hair to the side to give me the full view. The great corvid, the same color as her onyx hair, was viewed from above in full flight. Its beak is pointed up toward the base of her neck, its wings spread cross both of her shoulder blades, and its fanning tail feathers splayed down toward the small of her back. Though not a bird of prey there is a hint of danger that comes through the art

"Raven?"

"The shifter, the trickster, the pathfinder, the wily one. Spirit of change and transformation." She says. "As a winkte I've always felt a kinship."

"It's wonderful!" I say. Something else catches my eye as I take in this masterpiece, something not so pretty. Poking up from the edge of her shirt along her left side I could see a bit of pretty nasty looking scar. "Oh. Wh-What happened there?"

Winona's smile fades and she pulls her shirt back up over her shoulders. "Nothin."

"I-I'm sorry."

She turns to look at me, buttoning just the center button of her shirt. "Stupid shit. From when I was young." She says. "The Rez, well, it's not like it is here Sprout."

"Oh." I could hear in her tone that there was a story there, but a story that she didn't want to tell right now.

"We didn't even get to eat the snacks." She holds out her hand. I take it and she pulls me to my feet. Hand in hand we walk back to the love seat which had, miraculously, been spared from Winona's load. Every drop had made it onto her baby girl. We settle back down and Winona pulls the little table closer again. She offers me my wine. "You'll probably want this."

I smile and take the drink, the sweet wine mixing with the salty aftertaste. "I don't actually mind the taste."

"Really?" Her face twists. "I hate it!"

"I like it." I smile proudly. "Like you said…I was born to suck cock."

She lets out a bellowing laugh. "I did say that! Oh man."

"It's okay."

"GAH! That was so amazing!" She says, her eyes alight with excitement. "You are SO good! That was the BEST head I've ever gotten. Easily."

My grin grows at the wonderful ego-boosting compliment. "Even better than Kinky Kayla?"

"No contest." She takes her drink in one hand as the fingers of the other plays through my hair. "How's the cage?"

"Good. Really good."

"Good." She looks back toward the kitchen light and squints. "Damn it. Forgot the light on."

"It's okay." I slide closer to her.

"But the mood…"

"It's okay." I say again as I lay my head down across the arm that stretched along the back of the love seat.

"Okay." She says and relaxes into me.

For a time we just gaze, occasionally share a giggle over nothing at all, then carry on gazing as we nibble and sip. Normally after some sort of sexual act I would feel funny inside, uncomfortable at the tender emotions sex invariably exposed and anxious that I had let my partner down in someway. But with her…with her I only felt good. It stemmed from how she could laugh at things. How she spoke the truth in her heart, even if it was blunt. How she cared for my feelings. How she seemed to understand me. How her kindness allowed me to be myself, my real self. How she could be sooooo cool without even trying yet still be open and awkward and vulnerable and nerdy and genuine. And it was how, as Daddy, she'd taken control and let me know exactly what she wanted from me. She let me feel naughty and nasty, but in a playful way. I liked that!

Most of all though it was how she looked back at me. I could see myself, all cute and pretty, reflected in the pupils of her beautiful eyes. But it was the warm glow behind that reflection that made me feel so safe and dear. She looked at me like nobody else ever had. So many of the same feelings filling my heart were shining back at me from hers. Oh how I bask in her light.

Chapter 47: Storytime

Chapter Text

"Talk to me Sprout." Winona says softly.

"What do you want to hear?"

"I dunno. Anything." She says. "Tell me a story, any story, and I'll tell you one. Story for story."

"Wh-What kind of story?"

"A true story. Something happy. Tell me something about yourself Avery."

"O-Okay. Um…" I think. Most of my happy memories centered around Grandpa, a subject that I dare not even approach at the moment as I knew I would break down into a sobbing wreck, so I am forced scour my memory for other happy times. Initially nothing presents itself. Or more precisely, those things that did present themselves I would strike down for one reason or another. Everything that I could think of I worried would make me look weird or show what a loner loser I was or sound like I was trying to brag. As I ponder and worry Winona brings her other arm around me so that she held me in a full embrace. She was as much cradling me as hugging me, and I loved it. I let out a long happy breath and relax into her, my head slipping down to rest on her chest.

"Mommy's got you." She whispers and kisses my head.

"Ohhhh." Warm, safe, and held the story flows on its own. "I once lead my whole grade through a field trip."

"You lead them?"

"Mm hm. Mr Peters took the whole Grade 8 class for a nature hike through Brume Pass. It was built up all year and we were going to see unique plants, animals and micro-climates all culminating at one of the hidden ruins. We had a couple of parent volunteers but they both jammed out at the last minute. That wasn't going to stop crazy Mr Peters though. Right on schedule we rolled out as we were. So it was him, Karlene the grumpy bus driver, and nearly 50 hyperactive kids heading out into the forest."

"Oh no."

I giggle. "Mr Peters isn't a local and wasn't even an outdoorsman. That was clear the moment we got there. Our leader didn't have a clue what he was doing!"

Winona laughs. "So what happened?"

"We got lost. Like…right away. Within an hour we'd gotten off the trail and within two we'd veered down the wrong pass altogether. The whole time I followed along quietly knowing we were going the wrong way."

"You didn't say anything?"

"Mmm." I shake my head then snuggle closer. "I was too shy."

"Aww."

"The adults started to argue and once they figured out what was happening all the other kids started to panic." I giggle. "You should have seen Kayla. She was trying to form a splinter group to strike off on their own. It was crazy. I'm talking Lord of the Flies stuff."

"Ha! Kayla was there?"

"Yeah. We weren't super close yet though." I say. "Anyway with all this happening around me I finally told Mr Peters that I knew the way. All of a sudden everyone was looking at me! A lot of them were looking at me funny, cause I never spoke up like that before. Nobody even knew that I knew the island like that. Suddenly everyone was asking me questions. It was…it was scary."

"Their attention scared you more than being lost?"

"Yeah." I say softly. Winona's strong arms tighten around me. I swallow. "So Mr Peters kept me at his side as I lead them back to Brume Pass. Along the way Mr Peters would point some stuff out, half of it wrong. He called a Northern Harrier a Golden Eagle!" I laugh. "Since I was beside him I whispered that he got it wrong. I explained the differences and showed him in the birding book he had with him. Same thing happened with everything. He was calling trilliums lilies, he was calling pines spruce, you name it. At first I thought he was messing with me, but he was serious! He he he! The more I corrected him the more he started just asking me in the first place. Pretty soon he was asking me about plants and animals and geology too. After that he had me start telling the others directly without him as a go between. The next thing I knew I was pretty much guiding the whole darn thing. It was so weird. Suddenly everyone was listening to me and asking me stuff and showing me stuff."

She chuckles. "Mr Peters was lucky you were there. How do you know so much about that stuff?"

"I love exploring the island. I used to take my mountain bike all over this place. I had this old point-and-shoot that Grandpa got me. I took SO many pictures down that pass over the years. In the Spring the fairy-slippers along this one part of it are incredible. Grandpa took me out when I was little to camp near the ruins and we stumbled across this whole big bloom of them. It's hard to believe anything so delicate and beautiful can survive out there and yet there they are every Spring without fail. Grandpa said they were put there for us to find. Grandpa said the fairies liked to go barefoot when the weather got nice. He said that the aroma was actually fairy toe jam!" I giggle. "Grandpa said…he said a lot of silly things."

She chuckles. "Sounds amazing."

"It is. If you really do believe in magic…well, I think you'd like them."

"I think so too." Her fingers slowly play through my hair around my ear. "Your Grandpa means a lot to you, doesn't he Avery?"

"He's the best." I whisper. "After that I mostly I headed out on my own. It's so quiet out there. So…peaceful."

"In Grade 8?"

"Oh yeah. Way before that. Mom didn't care. As long as she knew where I was going and when I was getting back she let me roam. Get me out of the house and out of her hair, ya know?"

"Mmm."

"I think I know this island as good as anyone."

"Wow."

"Anyway, we get to the ruins, only an hour late, and had our lunches." I smile. "The…the other kids brought me treats. To thank me. Roll-ups and granola bars, all sorts of stuff. The good stuff. They sat around me and talked with me and we took pictures together." I titter. "Kayla gave me a kiss. On the lips!"

"That sounds like Kayla."

"It was…kinda cool. I felt kinda…proud. Ya know? Like I was a hero or something."

"That day you were." She says, stroking my hair softly. "You deserved to feel proud. You saved the trip Sprout."

"Yeah. I guess."

"I bet they all looked at you differently after that."

I sigh. "No…they…th-they teased me even more after th-that."

"What?"

"Once we were b-back at the bus um…they said I knew this stuff…because I was a l-loser who had no…f-friends. The bullies did anyway." I sigh. "They kinda weren't wrong."

"Don't say that Sprout."

"They said I would b-become a hermit and d-d-die alone out there." I hug tight to her body. "Kids can be cruel, huh?"

"Kids can be assholes."

"But Kayla stuck up for me. It kinda started our whole friendship. A few others did too. So it wasn't all bad." I smile again. "Plus, for a few hours, I was…just…normal. One of them. They couldn't take those hours away from me."

"You don't want to be one of them Sprout." She ruffles my hair. "If you were one of them you'd still be lost in those woods. You just be you."

My smile grows. "And fuck the haters?"

"Fuck the haters. You know, I've never been up to see the ruins. I don't even know if I've ever seen a fairy-slipper." She says. "You'll have to take me sometime."

"I would love that." I say. "So Mr Peters got in so much trouble when we got back."

"Ha! I bet."

"The principal was waiting for us in the school parking lot. The poor guy got a strip tore off of him right there in front of the kids for taking us out without adequate supervision." I say. "She freaked out even more when she found out he got us lost. Cranky Karlene squealed on him so bad!"

"Law suits waiting to happen."

"Yeah." I say. "I'm glad it happened the way it happened though."

"Made for a good memory."

"Exactly."

"And Mr Peters?"

"Still teaching here. He's married to one of the professors at the college. They adopted a kid from overseas. They all seem really happy."

"Happily ever after."

"Yeah."

"I like those kind of stories."

I take in a long breath and slowly let it out as my body melts into hers. "Me too."

Chapter 48: Storytime 2

Chapter Text

After a moment of enjoying the snuggle I give Winona a prod. "Your turn." I say. "Your turn to tell a story."

"Right!" She tousles my hair and sits me up straight. "Since we're talking hero stories check this shit out." Leaning forward she takes her glass and has a swig of wine. As she sets it back down she has me scoot to the far end of the love seat then spins in her seat and flops down across the cushions. Her legs dangling over the arm rest and her head laying on my bare thigh she looks up at me with a bright-eyed smile. I smile back and begin to pet her smooth black hair. "So a little context first. When Russell was looking for a car he'd always bring me along with him, me being a mechanic and better at talking to people ya know?"

"Yeah."

"So we get to this one place and it turns out the Neon they're selling is an SRT-4."

"A what?"

"It was a performance model they made for awhile." She says. "About as reliable as a politician in an election year, but when they do work those things could RIP!"

I giggle at her simile. I could practically hear her father's voice as she said it. "Was Russell a speed demon?"

"Nope!" She laughs. "But the price was right. So fast forward a year and I've got that bitch purring. It kinda became my project car, even though it was his daily driver. Better suspension, better brakes, winter tires, tuned up and dialed in. She looked like hot trash but that little beast coulda run rally races if we wanted. She could really…"

"Rip?"

"Whose story is this?"

I giggle.

Winona smiles. Taking my free hand she lays it across her belly and holds it in hers. "So my uncle was working in a warehouse in Rapid City at the time and he got pinned between a couple of palates."

"Oh no!"

"He's fine." She says. "But we didn't know it at the time. All we knew was there was an accident and that he was hurt. Unci was FREAKING OUT."

"Unci?"

"Grandma." She says. "Mom wasn't much better. The pair of them are running around like headless hens and then they inform Russell and I that we have to drive them into the city. Dad was only fifteen minutes away but they weren't going to wait for him. Unci was convinced that she was losing her son that day if she didn't get there. Not sure what she thought she was gonna do."

"Poor Unci!"

"Poor Mom."

"Huh?"

"We weren't about to all cram into the truck so that left Russell's car." She grins. "I told them: I can get ya there fast, but you're not going to like it."

"Uh oh."

"So we all pile into the car. Me at the wheel, Russell in shotgun, and them in the back." She lets out a great laugh. "In the dead of a South Dakota winter, half of it through back country roads, I made it over 83 miles in 50 minutes."

"Woah."

"That trip was CRAZY! Behind me Unci is urging me 'faster, faster'. Beside her my Mom is white as a ghost and finding religion as she was convinced that we were going to beat her brother to the afterlife. And in front of her Russell is laughing his fool head off even as he's getting scolded by the others. I nearly hit the ditch on an icy patch, we're drifting around bends and we actually catch some air over a rise. It was awesome! It was chaos." My fingers slowly and gently teasing out long strands I am beaming down at her. The joy and thrill from her memory was coming through in every expressive word. She turns her head toward me, her nose grazing my navel, and laughs even harder. "Then on the highway we get pulled over!"

"Oh no!"

"This poor cop walks up to the window and gets sucked into the chaos." She says. "She's got my grandma screeching about her dying son. My mom apologizing profusely and scolding me for driving like that. Me trying to talk us out of a ticket. And Russell just sitting there laughing like a maniac."

"Why is he laughing?"

"That was Russell. When he got overwhelmed he'd either clam up or start laughing." She says. "The laughing was better. He could get pretty dark when he went quiet." Letting go of my hand Winona softly strokes the fine silky fabric of my nightie. "He never meant anything by the laughter. He couldn't help himself, ya know?"

"I know." I say having experienced more than a few times that embarrassment of inappropriate anxious laughter. "Your brother means a lot to you, huh?"

"He's the best." She echoes my earlier sentiment about Grandpa. I could tell just in the way she spoke about him that while the relationship was different she held her brother Russell in her heart in just the same way that I held Grandpa in mine.

"So what happened?"

"What happened was we got a police escort!"

"What!?"

"Yeah!" Her hand returns to mine to hold it against her belly it in a firm grip. "The cop didn't know quite what was happening but she could tell it was urgent so she turned on her flashers and lead us right into the hospital."

"No way."

"Yeah. I swear we got the most chill cop in the state." She says. "And thank goodness for that! When we got to the hospital there's my uncle with just his little pinkie wrapped in a splint! He went back to work that afternoon!"

"Pffff!"

"The officer just shook her head and laughed and said she was happy it all turned out well."

"Ha!"

Her features soften, her voice slows. "Unci was so happy though. Happy to see her boy healthy. It was really touching actually." She chuckles. "Mom kicked his butt for worrying us so bad, but Unci was just grateful that he was okay. She said she was proud of me for getting us there so swiftly and safely. She said that it showed her that I knew how important family was and that she knew my spirit was brave and true."

"Aww."

"Yeah. That was pretty awesome." She smiles. "You know that pendant I wore tonight?"

"The feather one? The one Althea wore?"

"Mmm." She nods. "She gave it to me when we got home. She said it was for the Crow's swiftest warrior. She never called me a warrior before that."

"That's so cool."

"Yeah. And when Pops heard how fast I got there I got a high five from him."

"Ha! It can totally picture Amos doing that."

"He paid for that high five though. Mom kicked his butt for encouraging me. Russell's too. Needless to say mine as well. We were all in the dog house. Mom kicked a lot of butt that day." She laughs. "To this day Mom won't get in a car if I'm driving."

"So YOU'RE the speed demon of the family."

"That day I was." She turns her head again and kisses my tummy through the nightie. "I kinda miss that car. Russell and I and some friends ripping all around the Rez. It was good times."

"What happened to it?"

"We sold it when we moved here the first time." With obvious pride in her voice she adds. "At five times what we paid for it."

"You are your father's daughter." I chuckle.

"Damn right." She raises her legs to stretch them out then turns her whole body to face me, her knees having to tuck right in for her long frame to fit on the love seat. Her cheek now resting on my thigh she looks up at me from the corner of her eye then slowly pans down my slender body to admire the beauty that she saw in me. As I pet her silky soft hair and run my hand softly up and down her back we talk for little bit longer about nothing in particular, more just enjoying the sound of each other's voice, but I could feel the energy of the night gradually winding down. At one point she pinches the hem of my nightie and lifts it to take a peek below at my caged penis. "How's it doing?"

"Good." I say. "I don't even notice it anymore."

"Mmm." She lets it go. "I'm glad you like it. I think it's really sexy that you let me put that on you."

"I think it's really sexy too."

"If you want…we can do more stuff like that sometime."

I smile. "Yes please."

She looks up at me. "Another date Sprout?"

"Are you asking me?"

"Yes."

"Is this one over?"

She kisses my clit through the fabric. "Almost."

"I would love to go on another date with you Winona. I would love that more than…anything."

"As you wish." Her hand slides up my forearm to my upper arm and rubs up and down. "Oh! You're cold."

"Just a little." I say. "I'm okay."

"Nah, nah, nah." She sits up and pats my knee. "Let's get you under some blankets."

"Oh!"

She grabs the platter from the table. "Wait for me in bed. I'll just be a minute."

"I-I could help."

"In your nice new nightie?" She shakes her head. "You do as your told and get that sweet little ass of yours in bed and get it warmed up for Mommy."

I smile and smooth out my pretty nightwear. "You're the boss."

She swoops in for a little peck to my cheek and whispers. "And don't you forget it."

Chapter 49: A Cozy Little World

Chapter Text

As Winona tidies up I walk to her bed and crawl in under the covers. Her sheets were so soft, her blankets so warm, and her plush pillows had this really nice subtle smell of lavender and chamomile. All bundled in I could not wipe the huge smile on my face as I lay there watching Winona put things away and snuff the candles. When she would catch my silly grin she would just shake her head and chuckle. She hides the final gift left in the bag, leaving me curious what it might be, then turns off the kitchen light. The final light to go was the burning fireplace on the television screen. And suddenly all was dark. Like PURE dark. That kind of dark where you couldn't even see the hand in front of your face.

I hear her approach the bed. I feel her weight on the mattress as she sat down on the edge. And then I listen as she got undressed. The covers lift and a soft, warm body joins mine beneath. She slides up beside me. Her hand slips up under my nightie and around my waist. Her strong arm pulls me into her, turning me at the same time. The next thing I knew she spooned up behind me.

She was naked. I could feel the bare flesh of her thighs against my hamstrings, her shins against my calves, and the top of her feet along the bottoms of mine. Her breasts push into my back. My fine nightie did not deny me the feel of her nipples. Her chest presses against my shoulders. Her nose and chin nuzzle into my hair. And of course I feel the big soft dick of hers snug in between my cheeks. I'd never spooned with anybody this much taller than me and OHHHH was it nice. She didn't simply embrace me, she engulfed me. I wriggle back even tighter against her, greedy for every last inch of bodily contact, as her arm pulls me in and holds me close.

As she sniffs and smooches the back of my head her hand finds a pec and very gently massages it. I let out a giggle as I feel her penis swell but she kisses the back of my neck and whispers. "We're done tonight Sprout."

"Okay." I whisper back. Freed from the hope of sexy times I close my eyes, take a deep breath…and as I slowly let it out my whole body relaxes in right down to the marrow. Under these blankets, held in these arms, with this wonderful woman at my back, the sense of peace permeates my very soul. In this cozy little world of ours there was no anxiety or stress or fear. Just two warm bodies and two happy hearts.

"I might snore a little."

"That's okay."

"Avery?"

"Yeah?"

"I liked your story."

"Mmm. I liked yours too."

"Yeah." She sighs nuzzles into my neck. "The party was fun."

"Yeah." I say. Over top of my silky nightie I slide my hand over hers which continued to tenderly fondle my breast, her hand now between mine and my beating heart. "Thank you for coming to find me."

"Mmm. Thank you for coming back." She flicks my earlobe with the tip of her nose. "Party woulda sucked without ya."

I knew that wasn't true but I choose to believe her anyway. "I'm glad we found a group."

"Mmm, yeah. That's going to be fun."

"Yeah."

"I'm glad you asked me out. I had a great time tonight."

"Me too."

We lay in silence for a time, my hand stroking hers and her hand rubbing me. It eventually migrates from my chest down to my tummy where it shifts from massaging to very lightly petting. Her breathing gets slower and deeper. Her arm around my body still keeps me held but the embrace relaxes.

"So soft." She whispers, her smooth voice getting dozy. I was getting sleepy too yet I didn't want to give up this moment. I didn't want our night to end. I didn't want to fall asleep only to wake up and discover it was all a dream. If this was a dream I didn't EVER want to go back to the real world.

"Winona?"

"Shhhhh." She soothes and strokes and keeps me held so tight. Her hot breath flows like oh so pleasantly across my neck. "Hush now baby girl."

"Ohhhh." I coo in complete contentment. I wanted to obey, I really did, but the question inside of me could not wait. "Winona?"

"Yeah baby?"

I hesitate a moment, lightly tracing her fingers with mine, then ask. "Do you…do you believe in soulmates?"

Her hand stops, just for a moment, then starts up again. "Yes Avery. I do."

I let out a long sigh and wriggle as close to her as I could get. "Me too."

Her cheek slides down across my ear and she kisses my cheek. "Go to sleep now Sprout."

"Okay." I say. "Good night Winona."

"See you in the morning Sprout."

I smile. "Yeah."

Once more silence descends over the dark. But once more there comes something of vital importance that must be said. Something that could not wait.

"Winona?"

"Mmmm." She hums sleepily. "Yeah baby?"

"Um. I…I gotta go pee."

"Pfff!" She presses her face into the back of my head as her chest starts to spasm up and down with quiet laughter. She lets me go and turns away to click on the bedside lamp. She looks at me with amused annoyance. "Go!"

I giggle and slip from the covers. Scampering to the washroom I quickly do my tinkle, having to sit down to do it because of my cage which was actually kinda cool, then wipe the plastic slit and wash my hands and hurry back to bed. I slip back under the covers, wriggle back into her, and grab her arm to pulls it around me again right where it had been before.

"You good?"

"Mm hm." I nod.

"You sure?" She pinches my butt.

I giggle. "Mm hm."

"We can sleep now?"

"Mm hm." I peek back over my shoulders and bat my eyes. "I'll be good."

"You're lucky you're so cute." She kisses me, goes to say something, then kisses me again…then kisses me again. Boy did I like getting kissed by her! She obviously liked it too. "Now go to sleep."

The light goes off and we both sigh as we start off once more into a nice, long, restful…

"God damn it."

"What is it?"

"Now I gotta go!"

"PFFF!"

She swats my tush. "This is your fault somehow."

"Ha ha ha ha ha!"

Back on the goes the lights. With me wriggling and giggling in her bed Winona tromps off for the washroom muttering the whole way. I lay turned to the washroom and watch as she stands before the toilet bowl. I could only really see the contour of her upper back and butt but it was still a damn nice sight. A deep, thunderous sound of a heavy stream of urine hitting water from height. It never sounded like that when I went! Bigger dick, bigger stream. She flushes, washes her hands, then comes stomping back again. Her tits jiggling and heavy penis swaying back and forth to her steps. She gets back into bed.

"You good?" I ask with an impish grin.

"Don't even start with me." She chuckles as she pinches my nose. "Back as you were."

I spin around to give her my back. It goes dark again and again her long, lithe body encompasses mine as her dreamcatcher presses tight against my back. It takes a bit but the third time was the charm. Soon our bodies ease, our breath slows, and minds begin to drift away. Together.

Chapter 50: Morning

Chapter Text

"Ooohhhmmmm." I whimper as my groggily waking consciousness feels nothing but cold bed all around me. I was alone. It had all been a dream!

"Good mornin Sprout!" Winona's chipper voice shatters my self pity in an instant.

Blinking my eyes open I rub them and sit up in bed. "Morning."

"Come on sleepy head." She says. "I'm buyin ya breakfast." Just as I'm able to blink my eyes clear I find her sitting at the side of the bed beside me. She cups the back of my head and greets me with a kiss. Not a long, steamy lover's kiss, just a nice warm swift kiss to the lips. She made it feel as natural as the sunrise. I smile as she pets my hair then pats my chest. "Rise and shine lover." Lover!? I'd been up all of thirty seconds and already this was one of the best days of my life. Into my hand she slips something small then stands again and heads for the door. "I need to get you outta here before Dad rolls in."

In my palm was a tiny key. The key to my cage.

She points back to me. "Check yourself out. If you're chafing or pinching or anything I won't keep it on you overnight again."

"Uh." My brain struggles to catch up. "Sure. Yeah."

Amber early morning light was streaming through the window. Winona was already up, dressed, and groomed for the day. She had no makeup and her long hair was back in a single trailing ponytail. In a clean pair of overalls and a baggy gray hoodie Winona was hardly the height of fashion but to me she looked absolutely radiant. She steps out of the suite but leaves the door into the customer service area open.

"I let ya sleep as long as I could." She says from the other room. "You looked so peaceful I hated to wake you. Slept good?"

"Great!" I say. "I haven't slept that good in ages."

"Mmm. Me neither."

I look down at myself in my silky nightie and panties. It had gotten so natural I'd forgotten what I was wearing. Except for a couple little cum stains along the chest revealed by the morning light I thought they still looked pretty good on me.

Winona steps back into view and peers back over her shoulder through the door. "You can leave those here if you want to. I'm sure last night won't be the last time old Johnny sees Daddy and baby girl."

I giggle and look to the Johnny Cash poster. "I forgot we had a peeper." I slip out of bed, the cold floor a shock my bare feet. Note to self, bring slippers next time. I smile at knowing there would be a next time. I pad out and do a twirl in front of Johnny, the hem of my nightie spinning up to show my panties. "What do you think Johnny?"

"How do you do? My name is Sue!"

"What?"

"Nothin." She chuckles. "Don't bother trying to impress him. His heart belongs to June. Now quit being a cock tease and get that tight little tush movin!"

"Yes Mommy!" I titter and twirl toward the washroom.

I slip out of my dainty things and unlock myself. My penis looked kinda pale and nubby, its shrunken state probably just it pouting at me for being denied it's nocturnal wood, but otherwise all looked as good as could be. I clean the chastity device and assemble it for storage, wondering when I might feel it again. I give myself a quick grooming and freshening up. As I used my finger for a toothbrush I wondered if it would be too presumptuous to ask to bring one. On the top of the toilet tank Winona had gathered my clothes and laid them in a pile. I slip back into my party clothes and check myself out one last time. I looked far too formal for a casual breakfast. I remove the vest and roll up the sleeves of the shirt. Better.

I stop and just stare at myself. I felt different. I looked different. Avery Beckett was back and yet there was a bright twinkle in those blue eyes that told me that baby girl was still in there somewhere. Damn, what a night!

When I return to the main room Winona was still doing something out in the next room. "Would you mind feeding the cats before we take off?"

I grin. "Of course!"

"I, uh, I think I'll leave this stuff here." I say. I thought about taking them home but I worried someone might see the clothes down in the building laundry room. It was nobody's business what I washed, or wore for that matter, but I still wanted to avoid the looks. Besides, I liked the idea of having to come to Winona to get my dress up fix.

"Yep. No prob. Just throw'em in the basket." She says. "Put the cage in the top dresser drawer."

I do as she says. Ready to go I find and open a couple of cans of cat food then head out with a spoon. As I put my shoes on I look back one last time at the the love seat and the rumpled bed and it makes me feel all fuzzy inside.

"I could do the dishes real quick." I say as I step out.

"Nah. We should get going." She says as she flips through some papers. "Pops will probably be up early today. We've got so much to do."

"Is…is it okay that I'm here?"

"Of course it is!" She says. "Not that it's any of their business. But Mom will get nosy and Dad can be a bit…er, protective. Especially with his only daughter. He's a big ol' teddy bear until you go messin with his pride and joy."

Imagining the man-mountain Amos in fatherly protect mode leaves me pale. "Ooo boy."

"You're lucky Russell's not here. He's even worse."

"Worse?"

"And even bigger."

"Bigger!?" Winona's shy and anxious 'little' brother was bigger than her Dad!? And more protective!? Those giants would squash me like a bug!

She laughs. "You're good Sprout. I just don't want them getting on your case yet. It'll be a whole big thing, trust me." She looks over to me. "Last night really got away from me. I, uh, I didn't think we'd…well…ya know."

"I'm glad we did."

"Me too." She says warmly. "Now hurry."

"Right."

Soon I am out back clicking the spoon against one of the cans. "Mamaaa!" A few seconds later a dozy looking Mama pokes her head out from beneath one of the old junkers. She yawns then comes trotting out toward me. In her wake follows her litter, the little orange guy tagging along at the back. I spoon out the food into equal piles and giggle as they all come swarming around. The orange one I pick up and take with me a couple feet away. I sit down on the ground and serve the last bit in a blob just for him. He munches down as do the rest.

I look over to my old friend. "Surprised to see me Mama?" I say. "I'm surprised too." My fingers lightly stroke the fluffy orange fuzz of the runt as he eats. "She's really nice Mama. Really nice. She's gonna look after you guys." I take a deep breath of the fresh country air. "I think you'll be seeing me up here quite a bit now." I smile as the orange fuzzer starts to purr and make these little mewling noises. "Ya like that, huh buddy?" I look around at all my tiny friends. "I'm joining a FoF game. Pretty cool, huh? The group seems really awesome. They're so funny and so cool. Kayla's in it. She's gonna play a succubus!" I giggle. "There's this new girl named Briar, she is super nice and…"

"What are you talking about out here?" Winona steps out of the building and closes and locks the door behind her.

"Oh. I-I was just…talkin."

"To the cats."

I look at them, then look up at her. "Yeah."

She grins. "Okay." Just then there is the crunch of rocks and the sound of an engine pulling in off the highway. Winona's eyes widen and she darts to peek around the corner of the building. She looks back at me. "Shit. He's early!"

"Oh!"

"Uhhhh. Oh man." She thinks frantically then starts to wave at me to move. "Go around the building. I'll try to get him inside and keep him busy. See if you can sneak around to the truck. If he catches ya…we'll deal with it."

I spring to my feet and scramble in place. "Uh, uh, uh."

"Just leave the cans. Go!"

"Eeep!" I dart for the far side of the building and slip around just in time. I press my back and arms tight against the wall and listen as the engine turns off followed by slam of a vehicle door. My heart is racing and my breath rapid as adrenaline courses through my body. Who needed caffeine to wake up when you were hiding from a behemoth of an overprotective father!

Chapter 51: Drunk Driving

Chapter Text

"Goood morning Pops." Winona says, perhaps a bit too bright and cheery. "Isn't it a wonderful day!"

"What are you doin out here?"

"Just out for a…"

"Kittens!" He hoots. "Hold on there! Where ya all goin?"

"You're scaring them Dad."

"Ha ha! Not so fast you little squirt" There's a sudden rustle. "Gotcha!"

My heart beating double time I creep to the corner and take a peek around it. There I see Winona's father, even bigger than I remembered him, with the little orange kitten held by the back of his neck, the scruff between a meaty finger and thumb. Looking no bigger than a morsel the tiny kitten hangs helplessly there in front of Amos' smiling face. In the meantime the kitten's family was disappearing back among the derelict cars from where they'd come, leaving the little fella alone! The poor guy!

I am building up my gumption to go save my friend, somehow, when Winona steps in. Thankfully!

"Don't hold him like that!" She carefully takes him from her dad's fingers. Taking his hand she turns it to face palm up and lays the orange fuzzer upon it. "Be gentle. He's just little."

"Ah, kittens are made to be carried that way."

"By their moms."

Amos lifts the befuddled kitty to just in front of his face. "Hey there squirt." He pats him between the ears with the index finger of his other hand, the tip of his finger half the size of the kitten's whole head. It mews at him which sets him off into a bellowing chuckle. "He likes me!"

"He's probably crying for his mom." Winona says, nervously glancing back my way. When she spots me peeking she gives me a wide-eyed look of 'WTF are you doing!?'. I tuck back behind the building to wait until she could draw him indoors. "Hey Pops, I wanted to show you something in here."

"What's his name?"

"He doesn't have a name. He's feral." She says. "Anyway, just come on and…"

"He's nibbling my finger! Ha ha ha!"

"Could you put the cat down for second." She says, her voice wavering between insistence and pleading. "Come on. I'll make ya some coffee."

"I brought us some coffee. In the cab." He says. "Ooo! You're a fighter, are ya? Ha ha ha! Hey! He licked me! Ha ha ha!"

"You're worse than a kid I swear."

"What are you feeding these guys?"

"Huh? Uh, just some canned food I picked up in town."

"Not that cheap shit from the grocery store I hope."

"They seem to like it."

"This little lion needs the good stuff."

"Good stuff?" Winona sighs. "Dad. If you could just…"

"I think we found our new shop cat!" He announces. "Our lucky charm!"

"You know Mom's allergic."

"She won't be up here much."

"After all these years, after all the times I begged, NOW we can get a cat?"

"There's no dogs here that are going to eat him." He says. "Besides, it's just a shop cat. Doesn't count."

"She won't be happy."

"I'll say it's your cat. You always wanted one."

"Oh no! You're not putting this on me."

There's a long pause before he says. "I'm naming him Brutus."

"PFFF!" Winona laughs. "Brutus!?"

"Look at him. He's a Brutus." He says. "What do ya think squirt? Are you a Brutus?" Amos' deep chortle rings out. "HA HA HA HA!"

I cannot help another peak. I clamp my hand over my mouth so as not to giggle myself. Amos was nuzzling his big nose into the chest of the minuscule feline as it kneaded on his cherubic cheeks and licked his broad forehead. The pair of them looked as happy as could be. If I didn't believe in love at first sight before I certainly believed in it now. I pull back again and creep my way to other corner. He wasn't inside yet but mighty Brutus had him plenty distracted.

"You're feeding him on the dirty ground!?" Amos chides. "Winona! Don't worry buddy. I'll get you a proper dish."

"Come on then. Let's find him a bowl."

At last I hear the back door open followed by their voices fading from earshot. Getting down to crawl like a spider I creep under the big front window of the customer service area, no doubt getting an odd look from the car that was cruising by on the highway, then bolt across the closed bay doors. At the opposite corner from when I started I peer around the building to see Winona's truck and Amos' big black full-sized SUV parked beside it. The coast wasn't getting any clearer so I continue on. Slipping between the two vehicles I slink to Winona's passenger door, only to find it locked.

"Damn."

Staying as low as possible I keep an eye out through the cab of the truck, ready to run at a moment's notice. While my heart was beating and my hands sweaty there was something about this was actually kind of…fun! The risk of getting caught with Winona in an obviously incriminating scenario filling me with a strange thrill. After I couple of minutes I hear the door slam closed. I tense up, ready to dart, but relax again as I see Winona walking swiftly around the building.

She unlocks the truck and we both hop in.

"That was c-c-close!" I say at a loud whisper, a silly smile plastered on my face.

"Closer than you think." She says as she starts up the engine. "You forgot your vest in the washroom."

"Oh no!"

"I was able to hide it before Dad saw it." She smirks. "Luckily he only had eyes for Brutus."

"Brutus to the rescue." I giggle. "This is kind of exciting."

"Exciting?" She look over at me. "More like…" Her hand snaps out to grab me by the back of my head. The next thing I knew I was face down in her crotch! Her right hand palming my head she pushes me down hard into her junk as her left hand lowers the window. "Need somethin Pops?"

"Forgot the coffee." He says.

I stay very still as I listen to Amos walk across in front of Winona's truck and open the driver's door of his SUV. From there just one glance inside and he would see me. I couldn't see a thing as demin covered my face so have to just wait and listen. Time seems to slow, seconds were minutes, as we await our fate. In trying to keep me hidden Winona and I had ended up in a far worse position. As he rummages in his car I knew that he was only six feet away from my unlocked door at my feet! GEEZ!

I only let out a breath once I hear the door close again and his foot falls pass around the front once more. Through her dick mashed into my face I could feel Winona unclench as well.

"See ya soon?"

"Yep." Winona says as casually as she could manage. "See ya soon Pops. Won't be too long."

There's a pause then. "Hey!"

Winona lets out a snort of frustration. "Yes Dad?"

"See if that pet store is open. Pick up some good food."

"Good food?"

"Yeah. Like something gourmet and…healthy. Something with some nutrition for growing kittens. Not that mass produced junk."

I don't know what possesses me but as Winona and Amos talk…I am seized with the temptation to get frisky. Having a face full of cock and balls likely a contributing factor.

"Gourmet? Dad, he's a kitten not a food cri-TEEP!"

I nuzzle into the long, soft bulge of Winona's penis. Making soft little mewls that couldn't possibly be heard over her running engine I being to kiss and chew against the fabric. Her hand grips my head hard.

"Not a what?"

"Um…I don't know." Winona blurts. "Food, got it. No problem."

"Get a few different kinds." He says. "We'll see which one he likes. Get enough for the others too."

"Mmmm." I coo and root and twirl my face into her, then giggle as I feel her shaft swell against my nose. She squirms in her seat, her fingers digging into my scalp. If Amos took just a few steps forward he would see all of this…and probably break me in half. Yet still I moan and mouth her member through her overalls. "Mmmmmm."

"You little shit." She mutters low and through unmoving lips.

"What's that?"

"Nothing!" Letting go of my head she slams the truck into reverse. "I'm on it."

"Oh! And he'll need a dish and…"

"Yep! Yep!" Winona says already backing up. "Leave it to me Pops. Don't worry about a thing." The gas is gunned and we do a near perfect J-Turn before roaring off toward town. Only when we are well clear does Winona hoist me up and push me back into my seat. She looks at me with an aghast grin. "Avery!" She pushes me by the shoulder. "AVERY!"

I shrink in my seat with a guilty but totally unrepentant pout. "B-Born to suck cock, remember? You can't just stick a dick in baby girl's face and expect her not to try."

"Ha ha ha ha! What have I created!?" She reaches out and grabs me again by the back of the neck. This time though she pulls me into hard kiss. One hand on the wheel and the other on me she nearly sucks the mouth from my face. With a big smack of our lips she lets me go. I tumble back in my seat giggling away as she twists her head and rolls her tongue around her mouth to taste me. With the sun shining and morning wind whipping in through the open window Winona drums on the wheel. "AVERYYYY!!!"

"WINONAAAA!!!" I roll down my window and cry out to the world. "WINONAAA!!!"

"AHHHHH!!!"

We roll into town laughing with wild abandon, just two young idiots drunk on life.

Chapter 52: Back to Reality

Chapter Text

We share a quick drive-through breakfast, munching it in the parking lot, before Winona takes me with her to the little boutique pet shop to pick up some 'gourmet' food for the cats. As it wasn't even 8 am yet the place was closed but I give her some good pointers of what to look for when it was open. Far too soon we are rolling up to my building. Our date, our night, our time together was over.

Parking the truck but leaving the engine running Winona looks over to me. She offers her hand and I take it.

"I had the best time last night." She squeezes my hand. "The best."

"Me too."

"What are you doing tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow?" I say, trying to hide my disappointment. A whole day until I saw her again? It was going to feel like an eternity. "Sunday? Um, I work until 6 but after that I should be free."

"It's a date." She says. "I'll come get you at 7."

"Not much will be open." I say. "The whole island rolls up the sidewalks Sunday evenings."

"I'm aware." She says. "I'll figure something out."

"We could climb a tree." I quip.

She laughs. "Moving up in the world." Leaning across she kisses me. This one as tender as a rose petal. Closing my eyes I savor every last blessed second. As our lips part we both let out a soft sigh, mournful at the parting but buoyed by the knowledge that we would see each other again. "Take care of yourself Sprout."

"I will see you soon."

"Count on it."

She lets go of my hand. I slide out of her truck and close the door. She gives a final wave, which I return, then drives away. I continue to stand until the truck disappears around a corner then continue to stand for a few minutes longer. The morning sun made my home island glow and chased the cool of night from its shores. Lovely. What a lovely day.

Back in the apartment I find Brayden crashed out on the sofa with the television still on. I turn off the TV, move the controller onto its charger, then slip the blanket bundled at my roomie's feet up over his slumbering body.

In a sort of daze I go through the motions of showering, brushing my teeth, and getting dressed in my work clothes. My shift didn't start for another couple of hours but I couldn't see any reason not to get ready now. Soon I am sitting on the balcony looking out over the neighborhood with a mug of hot tea cupped in my hands. With every beat of my heart only one singular thought pulses through my usually chaotic mind. Winona. Winona. Winona.

I liked her. I liked her so much. I might even love her. There was nothing about her that wasn't absolutely perfect. The only woman I had even heard about that might rival her perfection was my grandma. Oh how I wished I could go talk to Grandpa right now and tell him everything. Well…not quite everything. Just the important stuff. But I knew he was up late last night at a party and I didn't want to wake him. I would talk to him first thing after work. My big date aside I desperately wanted to see him again. I had to go see him every chance that I could…because soon those chances would be gone forever. And with that thought comes the first dark cloud to my sunny mood. My now misty eyes drift from the mountainous island interior toward the port at the peninsula's tip. How could life be so kind and so cruel all at the same time? How could it offer me something so wonderful as my night with Winona with one hand while taking my Grandpa away with the other? Why did life have to be so hard? I sigh. But whoever said life would be simple?

After a deep breath I focus again on the good feelings still filling my sails from my first date with Winona and daydream about what the second one would bring. I'm not sure how long I sit out, long enough for my half drank tea to turn stone cold, but when I come back in Brayden was sitting up.

"Good m-morning Brayden."

"Yeah." He grunts.

"Would you like some t-tea? I have a pot made."

"Nah." He rubs his eyes, picks his nose, and scratches his balls in that order and all with the same hand. "I gotta get lookin for a job."

"Oh!" I say, hope blooming. "I saw a help wanted sign at the…"

"Hey." He cuts me off and points. "You didn't come home last night."

Instead of answering I just sit with a tight lipped grin and blush.

"Eyyy! Avie!"

"What?"

"AVIEEE!"

I giggle. "I-I-It was late and we h-had some wine. Winona didn't want to d-drive."

"You smashed her!" He claps then pumps a fist. "Fuckin A dude!"

"It w-wasn't like that." I say. "She's not that k-kind of girl."

"Yeah right. ALL girls are that kind of girl dude. Don't let them fool you, they want it as much as we do." He gets up and comes over to clap my shoulder with his nut scratching hand as he scratches his ass with the other. "I don't get how the hell you get more pussy than I do. It's because I won't simp for them I think." He stretches, scratches his hairy belly, then stumbles toward the kitchen in search of breakfast. "Women can't handle a man who thinks for himself." He punctuates the point with a rip-roaring fart.

"You're probably r-right."

"Wanna pick up more cereal when you're at work."

"Sure Brayden."

"Well she's sure not my type but hey, whatever gets ya off man." He rummages through the cupboard. "If you want to put a good word in for me with Kayla though…fuck yes!"

I ignore the comment knowing damn well Kayla wouldn't touch Brayden even in a hazmat suit. She might be 'Kinky Kayla' with an ever growing list of lovers, with one more now that Briar was quite possibly among our rank, but she had high standards. If she couldn't be your friend she definitely wouldn't share her bed.

"Ahem, um, I saw a help w-wanted sign at that shoe store beside the pet shop."

"Shoe store? I don't want to be smelling nasty feet all day."

"Oh."

After a moment he pulls down a pack of ramen and tears it open. "I might check it out. If nothing else hits."

I smile. "You'll find something Brayden. Just b-believe in yourself."

"Pff, right." He dumps the noodles and spices in a pot and fills it with water. "You think Winona and her Dad are looking for someone? I can turn a wrench or whatever."

"What? I thought you h-hated them."

"I don't HATE them."

"Y-Y-You said they r-ripped you off."

"They did! They're crooks." He says. "But they're honest crooks."

I shake my head. "I'd p-probably stick to the shoe store."

"Damn Avie, help a bro out here would ya?" Opening the fridge he peers inside. "We need some Sriracha too."

"I'll get some."

I sit with him as he slurps down his breakfast doing what I can to encourage his job search. I did not want the awkwardness and financial hit of Brayden coming up short when the bills were due, again. Despite initially blowing it off he seemed to be warming to the shoe store idea and the pair of us talk about what a job their might entail, him arguing the cons and me promoting the pros, and by the end the pros had won him over. It was going to be the first place he hit today.

"I think the Nguyen's own that store." He says as he heads off to make himself presentable.

"Yep." I say. "With Jeannie off to m-med school they're probably looking for someone to take her spot."

"Jeannie was cool." He says. "Hmm. I served them coffee a few times. They always left a tip. Maybe they remember me."

"Er, maybe."

"I'll use that. To break the ice."

"Sure B-Brayden." I say positively, not wanting to bring him down. "Good idea."

The buzzer goes off announcing somebody at the down stairs door. Maybe it was Winona!

I leap from my chair. "I-I got it!" Hurrying to the intercom I press the button and say in a cheery sing-song voice. "Who is iiiit?"

My heart falls as the familiar voice on the other end sings back mockingly. "It's Jaaaack." The mock cheeriness then cuts off sharply. "Open the door dummy."

Chapter 53: Happy News

Chapter Text

With dread in my heart I stand near the apartment door and await my big brother Jack. I hoped that he was here to talk to Brayden but something inside of me told me that I wasn't going to be so lucky. As I hear the heavy footfalls approach our door I prepare myself as best I can.

There are two rapid knocks followed by the door swinging open. Standing at our door I am surprised to see not just Jack but his wife as well.

"L-Lauren!" I say, genuinely pleased to see her. "Jack. Wh-What do I owe the p-pleasure?"

"Hello Avery." Lauren says in the one of a kind husky and sultry voice of hers. She steps in and we give each other a friendly hug of greeting. "Been awhile."

"Y-Yeah. I've been b-busy."

"I bet you have." With a strange scowl Jack walks past us, swinging the door closed behind him. "Hey Pussy."

"Hi J-Jack."

"Ya home Bray?"

My roomie sticks his head out of from the washroom, his toothbrush sticking out of his foamy mouth. "Hey dude."

"Whatcha up to. The boys are going to shoot some pool. We're gonna tie one on."

He ducks back in and spits. "Not me man. I am BROKE!"

"Ha! You're always broke."

As they banter I lead Lauren to the table. "Do you want a tea or something?"

"No. We won't be long." She says as she takes a seat. "I was hoping to see you at the party last night."

"Yeah. S-Sorry." I say. "I had a d-d-date and a party at Kayla's."

"And how is Kayla?" Lauren asks. "I haven't seen her in awhile."

"She's good."

"So you two are giving it another go? Or is it just another friends with benefits thing?"

"Oh no." I say. "Sh-She wasn't my date."

"Oh!" Lauren sits up with a bright smile. Leaning across the table she says. "Do tell."

Just then though Jack and Brayden's conversation had caught my ear.

"Who the hell job hunts on a Saturday?" Jack scoffs. "And why the hell do you wanna sell shoes anyway?"

"What's wrong with selling shoes?" Brayden says.

"You need to get a real job."

"Th-That is a r-real job." I say in defense of my roomie. We had JUST overcome Brayden's natural inertia and now here comes my brother to put another hurdle in his way. "A g-good job too."

"Says the fuckin grocery bagger."

"I'm a c-clerk."

"Ooooo!" He waves his hands. "Excuse me, clerk. Still a loser job." He looks at Brayden. "Come on man. Come out with us. Be like the old days."

"Well…maybe."

I sigh and abandon the fight. There was no point going against Jack. I don't even know why I try. Quietly Lauren reaches across the table and pats my hand, perhaps understanding right where I'm coming from. She had to live with my overbearing older brother after all. Lauren was so nice. I couldn't understand what she saw in my jerk brother.

"Your date?" She asks.

"Ha! He went out with Winona." Brayden cuts in. "Winona Crow. That big mechanic chick."

"Woof! Woof!" Jack laughs. "Dogface Winona."

I scowl at my brother, seething on the inside. He sees me and smiles a big mocking smile. We both knew there wasn't one thing I could do to him that wouldn't be repaid a hundred times worse.

"Don't mind him." Lauren says softly. "Did you have a good time Avery."

I turn to her and try to block Jack out. "I had a g-great time. She's r-r-really nice."

"That's wonderful." She says. "You'll have to bring her over sometime. I'd love to meet her."

"Yeah." I mutter half-heartedly.

"Yeah right." Jack says. "Little pussy boy here never comes to see his family. Too good for us or something."

"I'm n-not."

"I do wish you would have been there last night." Lauren smiles. "It was kinda important this time."

"Oh?"

"Brayden didn't tell you?"

"T-Tell me?" I look to my shirtless roomie who just shrugs.

"The big news." Lauren gives Brayden a look.

"News?" He says. "Uhhh…"

"Oh my God, Brayden!" She laughs. Looking back to me she says. "You're going to be an uncle Avery."

"I'm going…" I gasp. "No! You?"

She nods. "Thirteen weeks."

"Oh! Ohhh!" I leap up to run around the table to give her another hug. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you." She hugs me back. "We found out a bit ago but waited until last night to tell everyone."

"Everyone was SUPPOSED to be there." Jack says walking up to me. "Everyone but you showed. Afraid to come around or something?"

I offer my hand and he shakes it in a too hard grip. "C-C-Congratulations Jack."

"Real happy news, huh?"

"Y-Yeah! The happiest."

"You were the only one missing." He says, his eyes glaring straight into mine. "Ya kinda let us down there Avie."

"B-B-But…Grandpa wasn't…"

"I don't want that old weirdo embarrassing us. I meant everyone else."

"I-I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Lauren says. "At least I know it was for a good reason. Don't worry Avery. We're going to tell Micheal right after this."

"God damn it." Jack huffs.

"He should hear it from us. This is important." Lauren insists. "Anyway, we thought Brayden would have spilled the beans to you for sure. The real reason we came by was to ask your blessing to use your name."

"M-M-My name?"

"Mmm." Lauren nods. "We won't know it's sex for a couple of weeks but we're already talking. We were thinking, if it's a girl, Avery would be a really pretty middle name. Would that be okay?"

"Uh! Buh! WHA!? Of course!" I say. "Oh my g-g-goodness!"

"I hope she d-d-doesn't talk like her n-n-namesake." Jack quips to nobody's laughter. He slaps my shoulder. "Only if it's a girl though. It'll be Joshua if it's a boy."

"I'm honored. Really. Oh my g-goodness."

"Thank you." Lauren rises. "I really hate to cut this short but we've got a few more stops to make before he ditches me for his precious boys."

"Bros before hoes." Brayden pipes up from the washroom.

Lauren rolls her eyes. We hug one last time. "Take care of yourself Avery. And hey, don't be a stranger. Okay?"

"O-O-Okay." I say. "Y-You'll let me kn-know when the b-baby shower is?"

"Of course."

"I am so happy for you b-both."

"Thank you Avery. That means a lot."

As she heads toward the door Jack says. "I'll be down in a minute babe."

She stops and shoots me a worried glance. "Come on Jack. We should go."

"Just be a minute. I want to talk to my brother about something."

"Jack…"

"I said…" His voice goes as hard as steel. My blood turns cold as I knew that tone too well. "…I'll be down in a minute. Wait for me in the car."

She stands a moment then nods. "Yes dear."

Lauren takes her leave and lets herself out. Facing my brother I wait and wonder what the heck was going on inside of that thick cranium of his.

Whap!

The very next moment I am on the floor with a chair on top of me and the dining room table knocked over at my side and all of its contents spilled over me and my work clothes. My eyes were starry and my cheek glowed with a sharp sting.

"Jesus!" Brayden comes out of the washroom. "Fuck dude! What the hell?"

"You stay the fuck out of this stoner." Jack barks. He points at me. "Get up. Get the fuck up you little pussy."

I push the chair off and sit up, stunned and confused. Holding my hurting face I am struggling really hard not to cry. "Owww. WHY!?"

He steps in and grabs me by the shirt. He hauls me to my feet and stands me in front of him. I hold my hands out in a feeble attempt to fend off another blow. I flinch as he stabs a finger into my chest.

"Are you and Lauren fucking around?"

"What!?"

Whap!

I stagger to the right, my shoulder hitting the sliding door of the balcony nearly hard enough to shatter it.

"Mmmm! Stop!" I plead, shielding the throbbing left side of my face with both hands. My left ear is ringing and I could taste iron. My face hurt real bad. "Ow."

"Stop fuckin sniveling and don't play stupid!"

"Dude, stop it!"

"I said stay out of this Bray!" He pulls me back in front of him. To my great shame I whimper and recoil in terror. "I kept wondering, why the fuck does she want Avery as a middle name? Why you of everyone in the family? My pussy little loser brother? She wanted it for a boy too ya know, until I put my foot down and said that's a sissy name. Then I put it together. I've been thinkin something was goin on for awhile now but I just didn't know who. And then it hit me on the way here. You and her. Her and you. It hit me like a bolt of lightning."

Thup! To emphasize his point he doubles me over with thunderous punch into my gut.

"GHHHH!"

The only reason I don't fall was that he continued to hold me up by the shirt. I feel a few buttons pop as I slump there gulping frantically for breath. "I KNOW that she's fucking around on me. I don't have proof. But I know. I'm not stupid Avery. She's always on my ass about getting you over for things and including you in things. You're always avoiding me. Then you try to take a pop at me yesterday? You never do that. Why you actin that way now? Huh? That's what really put it all together. And Bray tells me you're gone all the time, zipping all around the island with nobody else around. All by yourself. It'd be REAL easy for you to slide on by when I'm at work, eh? You slimy little fucking bitch!"

"You're c-c-c-crazy!" I whine.

"You wanna take another pop? Come on then. Let's go. Let's fucking go Avie."

"Nooo! L-Leave me alone!"

"That black slut best friend of yours has your head filled with all that free love and no strings attached bullshit. But you fucked with the wrong woman this time Avery. Lauren is MINE."

"I'm n-n-not!"

"I know you and her done it before. Maybe ya never stopped, huh? Maybe all this time."

"That…w-was…j-just once…y-y-years…a-g-g-go!"

Whap! He hits me again with another open hand slap as hard as any punch. The room spins around me.

"DUDE!" Brayden steps forward only to get shoved back again. "Leave him alone!"

Jack drops me and I land on the floor in a heap. I roll over to turtle up and stare straight down at the carpet as a little pit-pit-pit-pit of blood drips from the tip of my nose. Standing over me my brother shoves me with a foot. "I'm getting a genetics test done. And I swear to God…if that kid ain't mine you're fuckin dead Avie."

I stay huddled small hoping and praying that the beating was over. He stands over me for a tense couple of minutes, letting his message sink in, before turning and marching from our place. The moment I hear the door slam shut the tears begin to flow.

"Aw Jesus." Brayden comes to kneel beside me. "You okay Avie?"

"Leave m-me alone." I whisper. He goes to help me up but I push him away. "Just l-leave me alone."

"Yeah, sure man." He sighs. "Jesus Christ. Fuckin Jack."

Chapter 54: Two Calls

Chapter Text

I do cry but only for a little, on the outside at least. I stagger to my feet, sniffle, and try to wipe the blood and tears from my face. I look down at my ripped shirt, smoothing it out with my hands though I don't know why. "I gotta get changed for work." I whisper. I turn and on unsteady feet shuffle to the table where I stand it back up again.

"Dude." Brayden hurries to pick up the chair then starts to clean up the stuff that slid from the table's surface onto the floor when I crashed across it. "I got this Avie."

"Thank you Brayden." In a sort of daze I shuffle to kitchen and get some cleaner and paper towels then return to clean the spot on the carpet. "Gotta do it right away before it stains." My voice flat and unstuttering, my mind in cotton, as I daub the blood away. "Wanna get that damage deposit back eventually, huh Brayden?"

"Sure Avie." He says. "Hey man, you okay?"

"I'm okay."

"That was fucked up. I didn't…I shoulda…I shoulda…"

"It's okay."

"You aren't actually banging Lauren, are you Avie?"

"No."

"Didn't think so. Fuck man. I thought Jack would mellow once he got hitched."

I notice my clothes again. "Oh. I gotta get changed for work." I leave whatever it was I was doing and change from these work clothes into fresh ones. I was relieved to see that none of my blood had stained the shirt. A little sewing and a couple new buttons and it would be good as new. Just a bit of thread would fix all the damage done. That's good. I find myself in the washroom dressed in fresh clothes. I clean the bit of dried blood from the tip of my nose and around my lips then brush my teeth to get the red off of them as well. As I am staring at myself I notice a little bruising at the bottom corner of my left eye. Darn. I was hoping it wouldn't show. I'd have to pick up some concealer when I was at work today.

As I stand and stare into my blank eyes the fugue begins to lift and the real hurt sets in. Jack had promised that he wouldn't hit me again. He promised. It was that betrayal of my brother's word that hurt most of all. I also felt betrayed by myself. If only I hadn't taken that stupid swing at him this never would have happened. What had I been thinking? No wonder he thought something was off with me. This was my fault as much as it was his.

My hands on the sink I lean forward and study the shiner more closely. It was small but it was ugly. I hope it heals before Winona sees me again. She likes pretty things, not ugly things. Her baby girl would never have something so ugly on her face.

I am shaken from my daze by a light knock on the door. "You done in there dude?"

"Huh? Oh, y-yeah." I step back then turn to open the door. There I see my roommate dressed up in his best shirt, tucked in nice, and trousers, complete with belt. Rumpled though they may be he actually looked not bad. He was shaved, his hair combed, and while his cologne was heavy for my taste he smelled as good as Brayden ever got. "I thought you were going out with the b-boys?"

"I'm not in the mood." He says. Standing straight he slaps his belly then thrusts his arms out to the side. "What do ya think? Do I look like a shoe guy or what?"

"Actually…yeah." I say. "You k-kinda do." In all my life I don't think I'd ever met anybody that screamed 'shoe salesman' more than Brayden did right now. "You look g-great."

"Thanks man."

"Y-You'll do great." I say, genuinely a little proud of the guy. "D-Don't bad mouth anybody and y-you'll do fine."

"Me? Bad mouth? Pfff. I only spit facts. If they can't handle…"

"Brayden."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll mind my mouth." He says. "You want a ride to work?"

"No. I-I'll be okay. Thank you."

"Yep." He says. "Now out of the way bro. I gotta piss!"

"Oh!" I smile and hop to the side. "There ya go."

As I hear the stream hit the water, half the volume of Winona's, he calls through the open door. "I'm using you as a reference. Don't tell them I live with ya, okay?"

"Uh, oh, s-sure."

Feeling much more myself after that much needed taste of normalcy I head off to work. I get a couple of questions about the bruise but I brush them off with a story about a stick poking me while I was out exploring. The day is an odd one. One in which the bulk of the hours just drone by, my mind a blank as I go through the motions of my work, punctuated by two calls. The first the low point of my shift, the second the highest of highs.

It was during my lunch break I get the first one. It was Jack. He'd been trying to call me over and over for the last twenty minutes. Knowing he wouldn't let it go until I talked to him I call him back. The last thing I wanted was him showing up to my work again.

"H-Hey Jack."

"Hey there champ." He says in that patronizing-remorseful tone he got once his temper had eased. The slight slur in his voice told me he was already out with the boys. Probably sitting out in his vehicle. "Hey…I just wanted to say sorry. I, uh, I kinda flew off the handle there."

"Yeah."

"You know how I get with Lauren. When I saw you two hugging…I don't know. Something snapped, ya know?"

"Sure."

"She's got me all wound up. She acts so funny sometimes, of course I'm gonna start thinking things. And now the kid on the way…I am stressed man."

"Yeah."

"It wasn't too bad, was it?"

"No. I-I-I'm f-f-fine."

"Of course you are. My tough little bro." He says. "You know how I get with her. I just love her so much."

"I know."

"You'll understand when you're married." He says. "Listen. Let's just forget it happened, okay?"

"Oh?"

"After thinking about it I realized that she might be cheating on me, but it wouldn't be with someone like you. No offense."

"I d-don't think she's cheating on you J-Jack."

"Well…I'm still getting that test done." He says. "I'll totally make it up to you bro. I'll bring ya something nice. Real nice. Help spruce up the place to impress that Indian girl you like."

"Please don't."

"You gotta bring her over. Lauren and I will wine her and dine her and talk you up so good she'll think you're the king of the island. I'm talking thick rib eyes and Lauren's potato salad here. She'll be putty in your hands Avie."

"Mmm."

"You think those people eat that stuff? We'll look it up."

I close my eyes and bite my lips.

"Hey. Heyyy." He says as the silence draws on a few seconds too long. "Don't be like that. Come on. It won't happen again. I swear it won't."

"Yeah."

"A guy can have one bad day."

"Yeah."

"Nobody needs to hear about that. Okay Avie? Lauren least of all. Okay?"

"Sure Jack."

"And don't tell Grandpa."

"Okay."

"You're the best, little brother." He says. "Hey. You know I love ya, right?"

"Yeah." I whisper. "I know."

"I wouldn't give my first born's middle name to just anybody ya know. I love ya Avie."

"Yeah."

"Baby brother." He prods. "Don't leave me hangin here."

"I…I l-love you too J-Jack."

"Eyyyy. My guy." His voice brightens as his flash of anger from earlier is totally washed away. In his mind at least. "I'm bringin ya something. Wait until you see."

I might have argued but what was the point. Jack always wins. I sigh. "Bye Jack."

"Catch ya later Avie."

That call might have plunged me into a deep, dark place had the second not come just a few minutes later.

"Winona!"

"Sprout!"

"Wh-what's up?"

"Nothin. I missed ya. Just wanted to hear ya." She says. I was smiling so hard that it hurt. "How's your day going?"

"Better now." I say, curling up around my phone as if I might crawl right into it. "How's yours?"

"Worst day ever!" She exclaims. "The garage is coming along good but it's this god damn paper work. Poor Dad and I's heads are spinning. Thank goodness for Mom. Even her patience is wearing though."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. We thought we all had it sorted but yesterday we get this letter. Ugh! We're dealing with five different bureaucracies here and none of them are talking to each other. We've got a tight deadline and of course most of the offices are closed today. It's a god damn nightmare." She says. "We NEED this paperwork to go through. We've poured everything into this move. There's no going back now."

"Oh no!" I say. "I-If you n-need anything. Anything! I-I don't know many folks but G-Grandpa knows everyone. I-If there's someone you need to talk to or…"

"It's okay Avery. It's cool. We ain't going anywhere. They'll have to send in the marines to haul us out of here now."

"I-If there's anything I can do, you tell me."

"Of course." She says. "Hey, I was talking to Briar."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. She is burning up to start this campaign." She laughs. "Kayla said she couldn't even get her moves on because Briar was so obsessed talking about the campaign. She's a gamer alright."

I giggle. "That must have driven Kayla crazy!"

"Right? I think she wants her even more now." Winona says. "Anyway, I know I said we'd go on a date tomorrow but what do you think about trying to get the group together." She hastens to add. "We can always hangout after."

The next worker scheduled for their break enters the room and starts to rummage in the fridge for their lunch. I turn my back to them and cup my hand near my mouth to try to get some semblance of privacy.

"That sounds nice too." I say. "As long as I get to see you."

"Awww." She says. "I wish I could kiss you right now."

"Me too." I am SHINING! "I-I'm sorry but I should g-go. My break is over. They'll be c-calling for me soon."

"Okay." She says brightly. "Love ya Sprout. Catch ya later."

There's a moment of silence. "What did you say?"

"Uhhhh! Nothing. Nothing!" Another moment of silence followed by muffled swearing at herself. "That doesn't count!"

"You love me?"

"I never said that."

"You did." I gasp. "You love me!?"

"No I didn't. I mean…" Another pause. "AHHH! No! I mean…gah! Not like that. That was just a friendly one. That wasn't a real one. That doesn't count!!!" There's some fumbling then she comes back on the line, her voice low and serious. "I didn't mean to say it like that."

"Winona."

"What?"

The words flow straight from my heart. "I love you too."

"NO! Don't… Sprout!" She lets out a long sigh. "Damn it. That's not how it's supposed to… Damn it! I fucked it all up."

"No you didn't."

"Okay. Shit." She sighs. "Listen. I want to say it properly."

"Say what properly?" I tease.

"Avery." Her voice softens. "Please. I want to say it right. Can…can we just pretend…we didn't?"

My soul beaming like the midday sun I say softly. "Sure Winona."

There's yet another pause. "Avery?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you mean it?"

"Yeah."

"Me too." She whispers. "I can't wait to see you again."

"T-Tomorrow?"

"Abso-fucking-lutely." She says. "I could try to cut out tonight but…err…"

"It's okay." I say. "I'm gonna go visit my Grandpa tonight."

"Oh! That'll be nice."

"Yeah." I smile.

"Okay. Well, call me. Anytime. Even if it's just to chat."

"I will." I giggle. "I will!"

"Ahem!" My coworker clears their throat, a signal that my time was up and then some.

"I gotta go."

"Call."

"I will. I promise." I say. "Talk to you soon."

"Yeah. Have a good one Sprout."

We each stay on the line for a good thirty seconds, just listening to the other's breathing, before she at last ends the call.

Chapter 55: Aye Aye!

Chapter Text

Despite my backpack over my shoulders and shopping bags in both hands I barely even touch touch the gangway as I float up to the deck of Grandpa's home.

"Grandpa." I call, my spirit still soaring from the call I'd received earlier. "Grandpa are you home?" What I see brings my spirit crashing right back down to earth. There in a hammock lays my Grandpa. His body was so still. His tanned flesh had an ashen hue. His left hand hangs limply over the edge of the hammock with a paperback novel open on the deck below where it had dropped. My shopping bags hit the deck and I bolt for him. "GRANDPA!"

"Hrm?" He stirs to life. He coughs and smacks his dry lips and blinks his heavy lids open. "Mmm, Buttercup?"

I throw my arms around him and hug him him with all my strength.

"Heyyy, there he is." He hugs me back in that way only he had.

"I-I-I thought I lost you!"

"Still some wind in these sails my boy." He kisses my cheek. "I'm okay Avery."

"Whoo! D-Don't scare me like that."

Slipping from his arms I pick up the book and set it on the little table he had beside him then head back to start picking up the stuff I'd dropped. He swings his legs over the side and half sits, half lays sideways across the hammock. Rubbing his face he gathers his senses and, unfortunately, finds a cig and lights it up. "A few too many dark and stormy's last night. Ugh. The ol' body don't bounce back like it once did."

"Had a good time then?"

"Yeah. It was fun." He looks at me. "What's all this."

I stand and hold out the grocery bags. "Supper! I got a rotisserie chicken, some thai noodle salad, some chickpea salad, some mixed veg, and I got the deli to do me up a bunch of sushi special."

"I love grocery store sushi!"

"I know." I giggle. "And I got some pie and ice cream for dessert."

"Truly a feast."

"I'm gonna put the ice cream in the freezer." After a couple of failed attempts to get out of the hammock Grandpa finds his feet and follows me inside. As I lay out our meal I tease him. "I bought us some wine too. Might want to hold off on that tonight though."

"Wine!?" He walks up to check out the bottle. "Well, this is a special occasion. When did you start drinking wine?"

My smile is impossible to hold back. "Last night."

He looks at me with a knowing twinkle in his eyes. "Oh? It was a good date then?"

"Oh Grandpa. It was WONDERFUL! She is WONDERFUL!" I don't even know what to say next. I just want to blurt it all out at once. Unable to hold back I cut straight to the most important bit. "She said she loved me Grandpa! She said it!"

"Wha!? Oh! That's…sudden."

I giggle. "I know! She didn't mean to say it. It slipped out totally by accident."

A smile slowly spreads across his face. "It slipped through her guard, huh? This could be serious."

"Yeah." I swoon back against the fridge. "And I love her too Grandpa. I love her! I LOVE HER!!! She's…just…everything."

He laughs. "That sounds like love alright."

"I told her so. It felt good. It felt right. It felt like how you always said it would be."

"A romantic after my own heart. Aw Avery." He comes to me. "I am so happy that it…" He stops as he gets to arm's length. His smile fades and he brings his fingers up to my cheek, just below my left eye. "Avery. Did Winona do this to you?"

"No." I push his hand away, annoyed that he was bringing the mood down. "She wouldn't do that. She's so nice to me Grandpa."

"Jack?"

"Don't worry about it Grandpa."

His voice becomes even more grave. "Was it your Dad?"

I shake my head. "I haven't seen him in a long time."

A flash of hurt crosses his face and he pets the side of my head. "It was Jack, wasn't it? He and Lauren popped by earlier with the big news. Avery, you can't let him…"

"It was my f-fault." I cut in, hoping to bring the topic to an end quickly. "I-I-I threw the f-first punch."

"What?" The look of disappointment on his face hits me harder than a thousand Jack's ever could and strikes to my very core. "You did that?"

"Um…um…h-h-he said something m-mean about W-Winona."

"Oh Buttercup." He says sorrowfully. "You always stand up for your girl when you need to but you don't start the fight. Avery…you aren't like them. You're better than that."

"I know." I bow my head, tears welling. "I'm s-s-sorry Grandpa."

"Aw my boy." He pulls me into an embrace and cups my head against his shoulder. Holding me tight he whispers. "Did you really throw the first punch?"

"No Sir." I sniffle. "Not really."

"Okay. Shhh. It's okay Avery." He pulls back and looks into my eyes, his warm palm against the side of my eye as it might heal me. "I'll talk to him."

"Noooo! No Grandpa. You'll just make it worse."

"Avery, this stops now. I thought it already had."

"It d-did." I say. "He hasn't. Not in a long time. He had a b-bad day." Before he can reply I cut in again. "I-I'll handle it Grandpa." I sniffle. "I-I'm a man now. I-I can stand up for m-myself."

"Avery…"

"Please. Let me." I take a deep breath. "I-I can handle it Grandpa."

Concern etched in his wrinkles he gives me a nod. "If this happens one more time…"

"It won't. I-I'll deal with it." With pleading eyes I look up into his. "Can we please talk about Winona instead? Please? I'm too happy to be sad right now."

His concern melts. He gently holds my one cheek and kisses the other then steps back. "I'm happy you're happy." Taking up the bottle of wine he studies it. "Shiraz? Here I would have put you down as a Pinot man."

I smile. "What's the difference?"

"Damned if I know."

I giggle. "Hey. C-Can we take Bella out tonight?"

"Forecast is clear. She's fit and ready. I don't see why not. Light's fading though, you better get to it matey." He says. "I got this."

"Yes!"

As Grandpa busies himself with the meal I am going through the checklist to get the ship ready to launch. Before long I skip back down to the dock to decouple the power and water then let loose all but one mooring. Back on board I get everything started up and ready and after releasing the final moor line I am back in the wheelhouse at the humongous wheel taking her out at a crawl. This part was always so cool. Because she used to be a commercial fishing trawler Bella was an absolute beast compared to the other more elegant yachts in the port. Up here looking down over everyone else I couldn't help but feel powerful and important. I wave at a family at the end of the dock and give the kids a mighty toot of the horn which gets them laughing and jumping all around. I am smiling as I pull the Anna Bella out into open waters.

Once out into the endless Pacific I push the throttle forward and the ship's rumbling diesel engines roar with power. I then turn us southward. There was a nice little cove down near Ehkolie's 'tail' that was an ideal anchorage. If we were lucky enough to get the place to ourselves it was the darkest, privatest, most peaceful place I knew.

Grandpa climbs up into the bridge and checks over a few things, at this point more from old habit than any actual need. He puts a can of cola into the drink holder at my side then cracks a beer and lounges back into one of the sofas.

"Moshe Cove?"

"Yeah."

"Nice." He says. "Better step on it."

"Sails to full. Aye aye!" With the green and mountainous island off to our left and nothing but ocean and a rosy sky to our right I push her full throttle, taking her to a blistering 12 knots. Blistering for Bella at least. Those yachts back in port would be leaving us in their wakes at a canter. Bella was solid and reliable but she wasn't going to get you anywhere in a hurry.

He takes a sip, stretches out, and wiggles his toes. "So?"

I grin, already knowing. "So?"

"The party. The date. Winona!"

"What about them?" I ask innocently.

"What about them." He chuckles. "If'n ya don't want ta be keel hauled fer insubordination ye better start talkin matey."

I giggle. "Aye aye Cap'n."

Chapter 56: The Spice of Life

Chapter Text

Bella slices through the calm evening water. With me at the wheel and Grandpa chillin behind me I tell him about the most incredible night of my life.

"The party was so fun. It was a really good group. Cain and Riley were there. There was a new girl named Briar. She's studying computer stuff at the college. She is super smart and kinda oddball like me."

"I like her already."

"Me too." I giggle. "We had some drinks and joked around. Turned out Briar plays that Fables of Fantasy game that Winona plays. And Cain watches a show about it. It was so cool we had this thing in common. The whole group of us are going to start a new game tomorrow."

"FoF? Ha! That game's still around?"

"You played?"

"Oh God, once or twice WAYYY back when. Wasn't really my thing but it seemed kinda groovy."

"I think it's groovy." I say as I shift the wheel port just a bit to center us toward our destination. "OH! OH! Have you seen The Princess Bride?"

"Can't say that I have. I was working so much back in the 80's and 90's that one kinda slipped past me. Always meant to."

"You gotta! We gotta! It's the best movie I've ever seen. It's got a grandpa and a boy and…it's got EVERYTHING!"

"Woah! Well yeah, let's do it Buttercup. I can't wait to see it."

"Yeah." I say softly. I stand silent a moment feeling the vibration of the engine through my feet and hands. Grandpa doesn't rush me. He knew I had more to say and waits, like he always did. "After the movie I…um, had another e-episode."

"Oh?"

"I ran away and hid and started crying."

"What happened?"

"I was thinking about you…and your c-c-cancer." Just saying it makes me start to tear up again.

"Aw, my boy."

"It's okay." I say, my voice soft as I remembered back. "Winona came and got me. She didn't tease me or make me feel bad. She…She made me feel good. She understood, even though she didn't know why I was crying. I guess her b-brother was kinda shy like me. She never made me feel ashamed."

"She lifted you up." He says from experience. "When you thought nothing could."

"Yes." I say. "And when I came back in everyone was so cool about it. Totally cool."

"That does sound like a good group."

"They are." I say happily. "Good thing too! Winona said she was gonna kick their butts if they teased me."

"Ha! She's a keeper."

"Yeah. After the movie there was dancing. Neither of us were good but we had so much fun. And we had a couple slow dances. It was sooo nice Grandpa."

"The perfect end to an evening." He says. "Or the beginning of a night?"

I peek back over my shoulder at him to see him smiling at me. In a small voice I confess. "It was just the beginning."

"Ohhh my!"

I sigh. "Oh Grandpa." I search for words. "She's…she's…she's…"

"One of a kind?"

"Yes!"

"Perfect?"

"Yes! Yes!"

"An angel put on this Earth just for you? And you for her?"

"YES! YES! YES!"

"You got it bad alright."

"She…she really is a one of kind Grandpa."

"Oh yeah?"

"Um…she's…got…a thing."

"A thing?"

"You know." I swallow and lower my voice. "A p-penis."

"Oh really." He says without missing a beat. "I wouldn't have guessed."

"D-Don't tell anyone!"

"You know me better than that my boy."

"I know." I say. "But that's not why she's special. She's just so nice. She takes charge and makes everything so easy and treats me so nice. She makes me feel like a…a prince or something. I can't even…" I sigh again, my words failing to express just how incredible Winona actually was. "She even bought me presents. When she went to the mainland she picked me stuff up. I couldn't believe it."

"Aw, what a sweetheart. What did she get you?"

"Uhhhh." Oops. I never meant to go down this alley. I wasn't about to tell Grandpa she got me a cock cage! "P-P-Pajamas."

"Pajamas!?" He lets out a big laugh. "For an innocent little sleepover I'm sure."

I giggle. "I d-did spend the night."

"My little Romeo! You kids these days work quick."

"She wasn't going to give it to me yet b-but when she saw how sad I was behind the bush…"

"Bush?"

"When I was crying."

"Ah."

"She…she wanted to cheer me up." I say. "She was so nervous when she drove me to her place. She thought I was going to think she's a weirdo or something. She was so beautiful Grandpa."

"Pajamas." He continues to chuckle. "Not one for subtlety that gal."

"Yeah." I say. "Um…um…actually…"

"Yeah."

"Um."

"What is it Avery?"

If I couldn't tell Grandpa…who could I tell? "It, um…it wasn't actually pajamas."

"Oh?"

"She got me a…" Again I peek back at him, wanting to see his reaction. "…a nightie. A girl's nightie. And I p-put it on for her."

He gives me a long look then rises to come up beside me. Slipping a hand on my opposite shoulder he asks. "And?"

"And…I-I-I liked it." I nervously glance back and forth between his face and the ocean. "I-I think I looked really pretty in it actually."

"I am sure you did Buttercup."

Feeling nothing but love I continue. "It was turquoise with green lace. It was so smooth and felt so nice on me. And so pretty. I slept in it. It was wonderful Grandpa."

With a warm smile he gives my shoulder a light squeeze.

"I-I-I shouldn't have told you that."

"Come on now." He gives me a shake. "You can tell your old Gramps anything. You know that Buttercup. Anything."

"Yeah." I say, feeling really good for telling someone despite what I'd just said. "It's kinda weird though."

"What? You think you're the first one of us to rock a dress?"

"What?"

"Didn't I ever tell you about Halloween of 73?"

"No."

"Anna and I went as Sonny and Cher." Staring straight ahead his eyes twinkle as he sees not the ocean and the crimson-orange sky but a memory of his one true love. "She was Sonny. I was Cher."

"Cher!? Pfff!"

"Don't you laugh at me." He says with playful indignance. "I made a pretty damn fine Cher thank you very much. And your Grandma…she looked SO cute in that mustache." He smiles, his eyes still distant. "It tickled when we kissed."

"He he he he."

"It started a whole thing for awhile. From 73 to 84, if I was ashore, we'd go as a famous music couple. Yoko and John. John and Olivia. Kenny and Dolly was fun." He grabs his pecs. "I had these two humongous water balloons for boobs. They were bouncin and floppin all over the place."

"PFFF!"

"It was fine until Anna squeezed too hard and one burst! Not only was I all wet…I only had one tit for the rest of the night!" He says. "I was one miffed Dolly."

"Ha ha ha ha! Grandpa!" I burble. "You did that!?"

"What?" He raises his chin. "You think a hard workin fisherman can't get in touch with his feminine side?"

"No." I can't stop giggling. "He he he he."

"And I can tell you that your Grandma was the perfect gentleman. Opened doors and pulled out chairs. She really knew how to treat a lady."

"He he he he he!"

"And I can also tell ya, we didn't just wear the costumes to the parties either. Heh." He laughs. "Don't tell her, but sometimes when your Mom was off to sleep we'd break out the outfits."

"Pbrlt! Really?"

"Variety is the spice of life mah boy." He pats my shoulder. "We even did Ike and Tina." He cringes. "It was the 70's but…eeesh. The less said about that year the better. I don't know what we were thinking. That one's just between you, me and Grandma, Buttercup."

"My lips are sealed."

"And the last year we did Johnny and June. In all black…mmm mmm, my Anna was something that night." That soulful tone in his voice, I felt that I knew it a little better now. "And everybody agreed that the dress I chose really showed off my legs."

"I bet you looked great Grandpa."

"I'll show ya. I've got some pictures around here somewhere."

"Yes! I wanna see." It takes a second but I realize that I'd heard the name 'June' just recently. "June? Oh! Johnny, as in Johnny Cash."

"And June Carter. Yeah."

"Johnny is Winona's favorite."

"The gal's got good taste, in music and men." He gives my shoulder another squeeze and another pat. "Remember the reef to starboard."

"Aye Cap'n."

"I'm gonna go find those photos and set the table. You can tell me the rest over supper." He says. "Gimme a shout when we're dropping anchor."

"I will." As he goes to pull away I stop him. Letting go of the wheel I grab him up in another hard hug.

"Eyy!" He chuckles and hugs me back. "Bonus hug!"

"Thank you Grandpa." I whisper.

"Thank me? For what?"

"For just…being you."

Chapter 57: Grandpa Had Abs!?

Chapter Text

Careful to give the reef along the west side of the cove's awkward opening a wide berth I steer Bella into the glassy waters of the quiet cove, pleased to see no other boats within it. Tonight it was all ours. With high craggy walls on three sides and a steep forested slope up the other Moshe Cove was as cut off from the rest of the world as you could get. The only artificial thing that marred the natural scenery was the ugly cell phone tower that had been erected upon a distant hill to service the southern portion of the island about a decade ago. I had hated that thing when it first went up, complaining that it spoiled what was otherwise a perfect view. But tonight…tonight that tower was beautiful. It was a tread connecting us to the real world, and her. Winona asked that I call her and I had every intention of doing so the moment I could. I angle the ship for wind then take her to the far end of the cove where it would be the most sheltered and where it had the the most unobstructed angle to the tower. About a hundred yards out from my target I cut the engines and let the big girl's momentum carry us to a gradual stop.

"Ready to drop anchor?" I call down.

"Looks good. Say the word skipper."

"Drop anchor."

I hear the clickety-clack of chain for a few seconds. "Alright, we're good. Take her easy Buttercup." I reverse engine very lightly, creeping back to get us some play, then things are set and I reverse again until Grandpa was sure the anchor had bit. "We're good."

Anchor lights on and the engines off I climb down to find the deli section banquet I'd brought with me all prepared and laid out for us right there on deck. Grandpa was just pouring the wine and as he sets down the bottle I notice an old photo album on the table with a black cat on the cover.

"You found the p-pictures." I say as I settle into my chair.

He gives it a pat as he takes his place across from me. "The Halloween album. But let's eat first, I'm starvin."

"Me too!"

Under two strings of lights swaying to the cool, gentle breeze off the water Grandpa and I eat, drink, talk, and watch the picturesque scenery gradually go dark around us. At least two more times I tell Grandpa a more fulsome, though PG rated, version of Winona's night together and each time I am left aglow thinking about her. I just couldn't talk about her enough, both because it was my favorite subject right now and because that my words kept falling short of conveying just how incredible she actually was. Despite my limitations of vocabulary Grandpa seemed to understand exactly what I was talking about.

When I am done gushing over my date night it was Grandpa's turn to tell a few stories. He surprises me by breaking out a couple that I had never head before, ones that were a bit more mature and intimate than the usual Grandma stories. I hang on his every word as he tells me the tale of his and one true love's second date. To anybody else it might have sounded like a cliche account of a lovely girl, a disapproving father, a dinner and dancing out on the town, and bit of making out in the car. But it was the way he told it that touched me so deeply. The look in his eyes, the fawning descriptions, the laughter at the silliest little details, and the soft sighs followed by a few seconds silence, I now understood EXACTLY the emotions he was expressing. And as I listen I fall a little bit in love with Anna myself. My Grandma sounded like one amazing woman. If Winona was the number one lady to ever exist Anna was definitely the runner up.

As the wine and the words flow I feel the deep, indestructible bond between us grow even more. And I now feel the anguish of what he lost like I never had. Seeing him I wanted to be him. I wanted to be his age with all of these happy memories of a lifetime with my soulmate. But unlike him I wanted for my soulmate to be there beside me. To find a connection like that and lose it…I can't even imagine what that would do to a man.

The story of the second date concludes with another uncomfortable interaction between my Grandpa and Anna's dad to which I laugh and say. "He sounds terrible!"

Grandpa chuckles. "He was a father. Sometimes it's their job to be terrible." He takes a draw from his smoke and blows a cloud into the air. As we both watch it drift away he says in a soft and solemn tone. "I never really understood him until I had a daughter of my own. And then I got it."

"You didn't approve of Dad?"

"No." He says bluntly. "No I did not. But, she wouldn't listen. In matters of the heart…they never do." He swallows and stifles a cough. "But I'm glad she didn't. They gave me you."

Reaching across I squeeze his hand he squeezes my hand back.

"I, um, I-I hope it turns out better for Lauren and J-Jack."

"Me too Buttercup." He sighs and shakes his head sadly. "You just a be good uncle to that kid, okay Avery? Promise me that?"

"I…I promise."

"Take them out on Bella. Be kind to them. Let them know that they're loved and that, in this family, they are never alone."

The weight of his words hits me like a meteorite. He was telling me this because he wouldn't be around to do these things himself.

"Oh Grandpa!"

"Hey." He leans over and hugs me and kisses my cheek to comfort me. "I know you'll do me proud."

"I-I'll try." I sniffle, on the verge of tears.

"Hey." He takes up the book. "I haven't shown you the pictures yet."

We move our chairs from the table to look out over the cove side by side. Dark had fallen and out here, with no light around except the moon and those that we brought with us, the starry heavens are unveiled in all their glory. Along the way Grandpa has a coughing fit, the worst I'd seen yet. As he slumps down onto his chair and tries to contain it I hurry to his side and cover him with a blanket he had hanging near the hammock. I didn't know if he was cold or not but doing something was better than nothing. When the fit finally recedes he pats my hand and thanks me.

"I'm okay." He says through a gravelly rasp. "Come on." He motions to my chair.

I pull my chair right up tight beside his. Over our thighs he opens the book and begins to flip through.

"OH!" I gasp. "Grandpa! You're so pretty! Are those abs!?"

He laughs, running his fingers across the half-century old memory. The first page showed photos of him and Grandma as Sonny and Cher. Grandma was in cheesy bell-bottom suit and mustache and Grandpa in a very risque yet totally classy yellow skirt and top with the midriff showing. From his head hung a long, straight black wig that was very reminiscent of Winona's raven locks. I had expected the costume to be crass and done for humor but the make up, the fashion, the whole look was much more dignified than that. In the photo Grandpa was young, maybe just a bit older than I was now, tanned and slender. In his face I could see the hopes and dreams of a young man shining through. And, just like he said, Anna looked so darn cute in that mustache.

"Ohhh! You guys are so COOL!"

"Ha!" He is all smiles. "Yeah. We had our moments."

Page by page he flips through the album, stopping to tell the odd anecdote from that particular Halloween. The years flip by and before my eyes, beneath their cross dressing costumes, I see the faces of lovers whose love only grew deeper with time. The Ike and Tina year was conspicuously absent but the rest were all there and all of them wonderful. Along the way my Mom shows up, looking absolutely adorable in the little homemade outfits Grandma made her. It was weird to think that bubbly little baby was the unhappy woman that I knew all my life. Boy do we have a good laugh at the Dolly and Kenny year. Grandma in a beard, Grandpa with a big ol' pair o' titties and a big blond wig, Mom as an ewok, they looked to be having such FUN! And then the final year, Johnny and June. The costumes were more muted than previous years, Grandma in a nice black suit without a tie and Grandpa in a very charming green sleeveless dress, but the fun and the love still shone through. That exact same love I could see shining from Grandpa's eyes now, the separation of years not dimming that inner glow one bit.

It is with a wistful sigh he closes the last page. "After that I started running Bella here. I was just so busy." His voice a whisper he says. "You always think there'll be another year."

"That was awesome." I say. "You guys looked so good and so…HAPPY!"

"We were." He smiles. "Times were good and times were bad, but we were always happy."

I sit back, smiling. "Winona wants us to dress up too. For a convention. As Urbosa and Link from Legend of Zelda."

"I don't know that show."

"We've already done a little d-dress up. I dressed up as my character Althea while she r-roleplayed as her Lady Ara. It was fun." I say. "M-Maybe we could dress up for Halloween too. Just like you and Grandma did."

"Ha ha! Look at you. You are a chip off the old blockhead." He knocks his skull. "My boy!"

"Yeah." I giggle. My eyes drift up to the distant tower, now just a black silhouette against the star field beyond, and for long moment we fall silent.

"Call her." He says with a pat of my hand.

"Mmm?"

"Call Winona." He smiles. "I'll see you in the morning."

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay Buttercup. I understand." Hugging the blanket around him and tucking the album beneath his arm he gets to his feet. "Mind looking after the mess?"

"I got it." I say with a wave toward the table. "You sleep well Grandpa."

"You too." Coming in behind me he grips my shoulder. "I love you Avery."

I look back and up at him. "I love you too Grandpa."

Chapter 58: Good Night

Chapter Text

I clear the table and do the dishes before grabbing a beer and heading back up into the wheelhouse to make my call. The phone had barely begun to ring before I hear a cheery.

"Hey!"

"Hi."

There's a funny moment of silence as each of us waited for the other to say something. And then, as things always go, we both try to speak at once. We laugh and then both say "Go ahead" at the same time which gets us laughing more.

"Shush! My turn." Winona chuckles.

"Yes'm."

"How ya doin? How's your night going?" She asks. "How was work? How's Grandpa?"

"Which one do you want me to answer first?"

"Sprout!"

"He he he. I'm doing great." Staring out I watch the moon's wavering reflection on the water. "I wish you could be here. It is so nice out here. So quiet. We went to a little cove at the south end of the island. It's super pretty."

"Aw, that sounds awesome. You should show me someday."

"I will." I smile. "Grandpa would love to m-meet you. And once I get my captain's license I can take Bella out on my own. G-Grandpa wouldn't mind. I'd just have to teach you a few things is all."

"Ooo! Captain! Very impressive." She croons. "And what would you teach me, Captain?"

I giggle. "Just a couple things. Bella's a big ship to run solo."

"I know you can handle a big gal."

"Pff!"

"Would I have to say Aye Sir and No Sir?"

"He he he! Oh yeah. Totally. You'd have to do everything I say. No questions asked."

"Oh really?"

"W-Well, discipline is very important aboard ship."

"Discipline eh?" She says. "I'd like to see ya try."

"Gulp!"

"He he he. So how's your Grandpa?"

"Oh good. We had a real nice meal. He showed me a bunch of pictures of him and my Grandma. They used to dress up together! They looked so cool." I chortle as I describe to her the Halloween costumes. "You shoulda seen them. Grandpa had abs!"

"Eh. Abs are overrated."

"Oh?"

"I like my belly's soft." She says. "Like yours." I actually blush. "Ohhh Sprout." She sighs. "I can't wait to see you again."

"Me too." I say through a smile.

"I can't wait to touch you and kiss you again."

"Me too."

"Tell me what you're seeing. Let me imagine that I'm there."

"Well, I'm sitting in the wheelhouse looking out over the cove. I can see the m-moon in the water. It's really pretty. The water's really dark. The stars are incredible and the moon has the island bathed in this really nice light." I say. "I shoulda brought my camera."

"That's okay." She says. "I can see it all. Hmmm. Very pretty. It's like I'm right there with you."

"Yeah." I say I look to the empty space to my right. "There's a spot right here beside me."

"If I were there I'd put you on my lap and hug you so hard. I'm in a Mommy mood tonight."

"Mmm. I'd like that." I whisper, almost feeling her arms around me. "What else would Mommy do?"

"She'd say, good boy. Good boy. You're a good, good boy."

"Ohhh. I like that."

"She'd hold you so close and snuggle so hard and make her special guy feel so good."

"Ohhhhh." I curl up on the couch and lay my head against the back, imagining that it was her shoulder.

"I miss you little one."

"I miss you too Mommy."

We both let out a long and longing sigh.

"Damn it. You're gonna make me cry Avery. Ahe-hem!"

"Cry!?"

"You're just so… You're not the only one who cries ya know! I'm allowed to cry, okay?"

"Okay." I was smiling so hard.

She clears her throat. "Hold it in Winona. Channel Daddy."

"Pff!" I giggle. "What would Daddy do if she were here?"

"Nuh uh. Daddy don't play over the phone."

"No?" I coo in my baby girl voice. "Please?"

"Ha! Nice try Sprout." She lets out a hard breath. "Okay, we gotta stop. Whooo."

I giggle again. "You're fun Winona."

"You too cutie." She says. "Hey…uh, I guess I better warn ya."

"Warn me?"

"Yeeeah." I could hear the cringe in her voice. "Remember how I said that I wasn't gonna tell my folks about you for a bit, to spare ya from their…erm, attention?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I kinda let it slip."

"Oh?"

"I guess I kept talking about you or something. I dunno. But they kinda figured it out somehow. Not for sure, I denied everything, but they're definitely onto us."

I grin. "You were talking about me?"

"I mean I think I mentioned you once or twice." She says. "In relation to the game and stuff. Ya know? Just, be ready. I wanted to tell ya so they didn't blindside you."

"Is it cool they know?"

"Oh yeah. You know how parents are though. Expect a man-to-man from Pops in your near future."

"Eep!"

"Hey! Speaking of the game, we still cool to use your place?"

"Oh! Uh…"

"You said we could game there."

"Yeah. Yeah! Sure." I say, already worrying about Brayden. "Kayla didn't want to host?"

"And have 'Babe' listening to our every word? No way dude. It's creepy!" She says. "Alright then. It's a go. 7 still cool?"

"Cool."

"Briar's got everyone super pumped to roll up some characters and get going. Even Riley." She says. "She was wondering if she could get your number."

"Briar?"

"Yeah. I guess Kayla won't give it out."

"Yeah." I say. "She knows I get u-u-uncomfortable when people call me unexpectedly. It's okay if Briar has it though."

"You sure Sprout?"

"I'm sure." I say. "I can't wait. This is gonna be fun!"

"I know! But I'm so nervous." She says. "My first real group as the Fable Master. It's a lot of pressure. And it's happening so fast! I thought I'd have more planning time."

"You'll be amazing. I know you will."

"Thanks Sprout." She says warmly.

We talk for a long time meandering from one topic to the next, just happy to hear the other's voice. She tells me that she thinks they got their paperwork sorted but they won't know for sure until Monday. I tell her the big news about becoming an uncle and she is really pumped about the fact that if it was a girl she'd have my name as her middle name. She tells me about the hijinks of the latest episode of The Bailey Bunch. I tell her about Brayden trying for the 'Help Wanted' sign we saw at the shoe store. She tells me about how much Brutus was being fawned over by her Dad and how much her Mom thought it ridiculous. I tell her more about Grandpa. The conversation was about nothing in particular yet it meant everything. Outside of Grandpa who was the last person I could just hold a regular, relaxed conversation like this? Kayla maybe but even with her I never felt this at ease. And as we talk I occasionally look up at Grandma's photo with pride of place above the wheel among the various knick-knacks. Had I found my Anna? It sure felt like it.

After who knows how long she sighs. "I should go."

"Okay."

"I'll see you tomorrow though."

"I can't wait."

"Can I roll up early just to get set up?"

"Totally. If I'm not home yet Brayden will probably be around. If you think you can deal with him."

"Ha! I can handle Brayden alright. Can he handle me?"

"He he he. I'll give him some warning. If he's not in just swing by work and I'll give ya my keys."

"Cool, cool." She says. "Huh? What's that?" I cock my head curiously, wondering who she was talking to. "I'll tell him. Daddy says you better not fap tonight."

"Pah! Ha ha ha! What!?"

"That's what she said."

I bring my knees up and hug them to my body. "Wh-Why's that?"

"I dunno. Who can tell with her. I'm just the messenger here."

"You're so silly!" I giggle. "Tell Daddy I won't. Tell her that I'll be good."

Her voice softens and warms. "Good boy."

"Mmm." I hum all full of warm, fuzzy feelings.

"Good night Avery."

"Good night Winona."

Chapter 59: Counting Every Second

Chapter Text

With Winona's sultry voice still fresh in my ears I head to bed. That night I have a heck of a time getting to sleep but it wasn't the usual anxieties keeping me awake but a giddy anticipation of seeing her again. She said she wanted to hold me and kiss me! And the feeling was more than mutual. God how I loved how straight forward and honest she was. There was no mystery or subtext to interpret. She said what she meant and she meant what she said. And I could not help from smiling at the thought of her talking about me so much that she gave away her interest in me. When she said that I knew that she was thinking about me just as much as I was thinking about her. Which was all the damn time!

The night isn't all floating on Cloud Nine though as Grandpa's sporadic but persistent coughing, a sound I had not thought anything about until now, brings me back to earth. Thankfully, between my excitement and my fear, I somehow manage to get a decent chunk of sleep.

The next morning Grandpa and I are enjoying some sausage and eggs that he made us when he reaches across the table to pat my hand. "I've decided to tell the family."

"Oh? A-About your…health?"

"Mmm." He nods as sits back and chews on some toast. "A secret's not an easy thing to bear. Especially a big secret. It's not fair you having to hold that inside."

"I-I'm okay Grandpa. I-I don't mind."

"Nah. I gotta do it sooner or later anyway." He sighs. "It's gonna change things though."

"I won't change Grandpa."

He smiles a warm, fatherly smile. "I hope not Buttercup. I'm gonna need you to keep me sane."

I smile back. "When?"

"I dunno. Soon." He says. "I don't want to take the luster off of Jack and Lauren's news though. I'll tell your mother first then wait to tell the others."

"She'll tell them."

"You think?"

I nod. "Yeah."

"I'll tell her to keep a lid on it." He says then takes another crunchy bite of toast. "How's that Winona girl doing? You talked last night?"

"Yeah." I swoon back. "She's amazing. She said she'd like to come out with us sometime."

"Or with you?" He smirks. "Better get on that license."

"Yeah." I giggle. "I can't wait for you to meet her." I turn and look up at the picture of Grandma. "And you. I think you guys'll really like her."

"Hear that Anna? We're gonna have some company." Scooping up some egg he snarfs it down. "You workin today?"

"Yeah." I say. "Then we've got the game right after. Full day for me."

"I'll drop you off then." He says. "I think I'll take Bella out for a good run today."

"Ah, I wish I could join you."

"Next time Buttercup." He says. "I'll get another bunk ready, just in case."

I pilot Bella most of the way back to Haven Point. The day is cool, the sky gray, and you could feel a coming rain on the wind. As we near the harbor I hand over the wheel and after many kisses and hugs I bid my Grandpa goodbye and hop onto the deck. I stand for a few minutes to watch him pull away again. A feeling of deep gratitude swells inside of me. Not many people got to meet their hero. I was lucky enough to be related to mine.

Slipping my rain poncho over both me and my backpack I head to back to my bike and I as I pull out from the harbor the light patter of the rain that I knew was coming begins. Back at home I come in dripping but refreshed from the cool, wet ride. Rain always perked me up a bit.

"Duuude." Brayden greets me from his usual spot, the ever present controller gripped in his hands. "Another hot and nasty fuck sesh with Winona?"

"B-Brayden!" I exclaim. "I was at G-Grandpa's. Geez."

"Too bad. Ha!" He says, his eyes never leaving the screen. "Hey, I got that job."

"Oh really? The shoe one?"

"Yeah man. They totally remembered me and I guess they needed someone quick." He says. "I'm starting tomorrow."

"That's awesome!"

"Meh. The pay is shit and I have to work weekends." He says with his usual pessimism. "I get Tuesdays and Wednesdays off. What the fuck am I gonna do with Tuesdays and Wednesdays?"

"Hey! R-Regular days off. At least you can plan for them." I say. "And full-time it sounds like. That's p-pretty sweet."

"Gonna cramp my whole vibe." He gripes. "But they seem cool enough. And I get a little bonus based on sales."

"There ya go."

"If you know anybody needing shoes send them my way."

"I will!" Setting down my backpack I go and sit next to him on the sofa. "I knew you c-could do it B-Brayden."

He gives me a side-eyed glance. "Yeah."

"Hey, um, I've got something to a-ask." I say nervously. "Or t-tell really."

"If you want the place to yourself so that you can bring Winona over, forget it." He says. "Where the hell am I supposed to go?"

"Huh?"

"Feel free to bang her brains out but I ain't goin anywhere."

"Oh, no. It's not that." I say. "W-Well, I mean, Winona is c-coming over. B-But not like that. It'll be Winona a-and a bunch of others."

"What?"

"T-Tonight."

"What!?" My distraction causes him to get killed in his game. "Fuck!"

"W-We're starting a FoF game a-and Winona wants to host it h-here." I motion to our table. "W-We'll be in the dining room. You c-can stay in here if you k-keep the sound down."

"FoF? Pfff. No way man. No fuckin way."

"I-I-It's my place too." I say. "I c-c-can have company if I want."

"I don't want a bunch of nerds over here. Go somewhere else."

"They're coming here. And they're not n-nerds."

"No way." He states unequivocally.

I knew it was conniving but I say it anyways. "Kayla's part of the group."

This gets him to stop. The controller lowers and he looks over at me. "Kayla's coming over?"

"She's part of the g-group." I say. "If this becomes a r-regular thing she'll be over all the time."

"All the time? Kayla plays FoF?"

"It's her and Cain and Riley…"

"Riley!?"

"And this r-really cute new girl named Briar. Sh-She's going to the college."

He does some quick math. "Two guys, four chicks. Hmm…"

"It's not like that."

He looks back at the screen then back at me then back at the screen and begins to play again. "I'm not cleanin shit. Your company, your problem."

I smile. "I-I'll have everything ready. Thanks!"

"Hrm."

"Winona m-might be showing up early." I say. "If I'm not home from w-work will you be around to let her in?"

"I ain't lettin her in." He grumbles. "Not until she apologizes for screwing me on that head gasket."

"Brayden!"

"Fine!" He groans. "I'll let her in."

"Thank ya r-roomie."

"Mrm. Don't mention it." He says. "But you owe me one."

"Er, sure B-Brayden."

Before work I start getting texts from a new number, Briar, asking me all sorts of questions about Althea and her spells and abilities. She apologized for pestering me but she wanted to get an idea of what my character could do before she finalized any decisions with her own. I assure her that I didn't mind. Even through text it was impossible not to get caught up in her geeky enthusiasm.

Work goes excruciatingly slow as I counted every second before getting to see Winona again. Though it was slow it was a good day, probably because my own positive mood was being reflected back at me by my customers and coworkers. At long last my shift is over and I am so excited that I darn near take off for home before dabbing a fresh layer of concealer over my bruised eye. In the staff washroom I smooth it out to a flawless finish. I wanted to look as good as I could for Winona.

With my backpack stuffed full of snacks and drinks for the game I slip back into my poncho and ride home through what had turned out to be an all day rain. My happy little heart is doing back flips when I turn the corner for home and see her truck parked out in front of the building.

Chapter 60: Miss Me?

Chapter Text

As I approach my door I can already hear Winona and Brayden bantering within. There was no aggression in their tones, it wasn't an argument, but they were definitely busting each other's balls.

I step through the door and swing it closed behind me. As I place my backpack beside the closet I announce. "I'm home."

Appearing from out of my kitchen comes a Winona shaped cannon ball. The next thing I knew her hands were jammed up into my armpits and I am lifted up off of the ground and pushed back against the door. Leaning her chest into mine she pins me there with her weight and her impressive upper body strength, my feet dangling half a foot from the floor. Her hazel eyes glimmer as she gazes into me.

"Um. Hi." I smile.

"Hey." She smiles back. Keeping me pinned and suspended her eyes circle around to check me out as best she could at this close distance. "Nice poncho."

"Thanks." I giggle. "You're getting wet."

"You ain't lyin Sprout."

The very next moment her lips are pressed hard into mine. "Mmmmm." I melt to her touch.

"Jesus! Get a room or something." Comes Brayden's voice from the living room but neither Winona nor I pay him any heed.

"Mmmm." We hum as the kiss lingers on and on. Ohhhh. What a way to come home!

With a smack her lips leave mine, the smooch ending as suddenly as it began and leaving us both breathless.

"Miss me?" I ask.

"Just a little." She says as she gently puts me down. Stepping back I can see that she was wearing a relaxed fitting and low hanging blue v neck blouse and blue jeans. It was simple and casual but that woman could make a garbage bag look cool. "Mmm." She rolls her lips around, savoring my taste in her mouth. "Welcome home."

"Wow!"

"Where's my kiss?" Quips Brayden.

"Get your own man." Winona quips right back. She pats my chest. "Come on. Check it out." With that she disappears back through the kitchen.

My head whirling and still catching my breath I hang up my poncho and take up my pack to follow. I had put in the leaf for the dining room table before heading out to work and Winona had used every inch of the extended space. On the end she had set up the Fable Master's screen and behind it she had piles of books and notes. On the other side there was laid out a vinyl mat with a hexagon grid that took up most of the rest of the table. A stack of blank character sheets sat in the center of the mat. With every chair in the place around the table we had just enough for the group. I notice the jade colored set of dice Winona had given me already sitting out in the spot just to the right of the screen.

"Th-This will work?" I ask.

"This is great." Winona says. "I'm going to put Briar on the other end so she can help the newbies."

"We're all newbies." I say as I begin pulling out the snacks and drinks. "Except for her."

"Good." She nods. "A fresh slate to work from."

"I don't know why you guys can't just play online like normal people." Brayden grumbles.

This starts another back and forth between the pair which I leave to them. I put the drinks in the fridge and lay out the snacks in bowls.

"I'm just gonna f-freshen up." I say to Winona and she shoots me a thumbs a up in response. As I pass by the living room I pause and give Brayden a double take. He was in a clean pair of jeans and a recently ironed collared t shirt which hugged his body. His hair was brushed, his face shaved, and was that a hint of cologne I smelled? He looked better now than he did for his job interview.

He looks up at me annoyed. "What?"

"N-Nothin." I grin and keep walking.

I quickly change out of my work clothes into something more comfortable then pop over to the washroom to brush my hair and my teeth. It was when I was doing the latter that Winona's head appears through the open door. "Mind some company?"

"Uh…" I spit the foamy paste. "…no?"

"Thanks." She slips in and closes the door behind her. Shaking her hands in front of her she whispers. "Ahhh! I'm so nervous!"

I rinse my mouth then wipe it. "You're g-gonna be great." I assure her.

"I dunno Avery. This is my first time. I am so under prepared. And Briar's been under all these experienced Fable Masters, Cain watches the best of the best every week, and for the rest of you it's up to me to leave a good impression of the game. Gah!"

"You two bangin in there?" Calls Brayden. We ignore him.

"You are gonna be amazing." I say. "I know you will. A-And we're all here to have fun and play a game, not to judge. It's gonna be okay."

"Rrm. I guess." She sighs. "You're right. It'll be fine." She stands a moment then blurts out. "I gotta piss." Stepping past me she lifts the toilet lid and seat. Pulling up the hem of her blouse she unbuckles, unbuttons, unzips, then unleashes the mighty serpent that lives in her pants.

Despite myself I gawk. I still wasn't used to seeing one so big.

Catching me staring she glances over and winks. "Ya wanna hold it?"

"Wh-What?"

"Ya wanna hold my dick as I go?"

I consider the offer then answer as clearly and concisely as I can. "Yes. Yes I do."

"All yours." She lets go of her cock and lets it swing free. "Better hurry though or shits about to get wet."

I rush to her side and grab her warm, soft penis in my left hand. My right slips around her waist. I point it at the bowl, really loving the feel of her flaccid member in my hand. I just loved her dick, soft or hard it was amazing. Right now it was so soft and squishy and spongy, and much thicker than mine at my best despite her being totally soft. Holding up her shirt with her right hand she puts her left arm around my shoulders. A moment later I feel the surge of urine along the underside and a moment after that a thick stream of yellow.

It was an odd sensation holding another's penis as they went piss. It was kinda like holding my own yet totally different. I didn't get the relief of the emptying bladder, the only feeling I had of it was coming through my fingers, the angle was different so I had to be extra careful to keep the stream steady, and, in the case of Winona, the stream was just so much more.

This probably should have felt at least a little nasty and yet nothing about this was unclean. She was clean and at no point do either of us catch any spray. It was odd to be sure but the strange intimacy of it made it also kinda fun. The stream dribbles to an end and I give her a squeeze and a shake to finish the job then even go the extra mile to tuck her back away again.

Winona nuzzles into my temple and kisses me. "Thanks Sprout."

"Your welcome."

She zips up and walks around me to wash and dry her hands despite not touching anything, I follow behind her and do the same. She looks at herself in the mirror and stands tall, her natural confidence reasserting itself. "I got this."

"You got this." I echo from beside her. "You'll be the best Fable Master ever."

She turns to me. "That means a lot Avery." Her brows crinkle and her focus zeros in. "What's this?" Before I can do anything Winona licks her thumb and gives the concealer under my left eye a firm swipe. The hard, bright lights of the washroom had given me away. Her smile disappears in an instant as my ugly bruise is revealed and the fire that I see ignite inside of her frightens me.

I cover my eye and turn away from her. "A s-s-st-stick poked me when I was ex-exploring."

Grabbing me by the shoulders she turns me and pushes me back against the wall opposite the sink. Taking my chin she turns my face, her other hand pulls mine away. She takes a close look at the bruise, her eyes hard and probing behind the lenses of her glasses. "Who did this to you?"

"N-N-Nobody. I was c-careless."

"Bullshit!"

I flinch at her aggressive tone and shrink back against the wall. "Mmmm!"

Struggling mightily to control her tone she says. "Just tell me who did this to you Avery. Okay?"

"I-I was ex-exploring…"

"Why are you lying?"

"I'm n-n-not…"

"Where were you exploring then? What part of the island? When did it happen? Was it before or after work?"

"Uh…um…mmm…l-last n-n-night…"

"You were out at sea last night." Her voice crackles with barely contained anger. "Did your Grandpa hit you?"

"NO! He w-would never."

"Who? Tell me!"

"Ummm…ummm…hmmmm!"

"What the hell you guys doin in there?" Brayden calls.

Like a terminator machine acquiring its target Winona's head snaps toward the sound of my roommate's voice. "Was it fucking him?"

"No! N-No." I whimper. "Stop! St-Stop it. It w-w-was my f-fault. It was a br-br-branch."

Seeing me fall apart with distress her expression softens and her tensed body relaxes. She takes a long, deep breath. Laying a hand over my chest she says in a very gentle voice. "Shhh. It's okay Avery. It's okay."

I cover my face again and turn away from her feeling ugly because of the bruise, ashamed because of my lie, stupid for thinking she wouldn't notice, and retched for ruining what could have been a fun night. "It w-was a st-stick."

After a few seconds of still she reaches up and softly pets my hair. "Aw Sprout." A moment later I am pulled into a warm embrace.

Chapter 61: Party Assembled

Chapter Text

There in my washroom I stand with Winona's strong arms around me. Gradually I relax into the embrace, lightly resting my head on her shoulder, and at that point she hugs me even harder.

"It hurts extra bad when it's someone close." She whispers. "The blame, the shame. Not wanting to be seen as a problem or a victim. Not wanting the attention. Thinking it was just a misunderstanding. Thinking that maybe if you'd done something different it wouldn't have happened. Thinking that maybe you deserved it somehow." She kisses my head. "It's not your fault."

I look up at her, touched by the insight of her words. "You?"

She shakes her head. "Russell. They always find the quiet ones."

"Russell?"

She nods. "His first girlfriend."

"G-Girlfriend?"

"It happens. You never hear about it but it happens more than you know." She says. "He was such a big guy nobody even suspected. Not even me." Her face twitches as an old pain resurfaces. "Not even me." After a tense moment she blinks the memory from her vision and focuses on me again, her features softening once more. "You're not alone Avery. When you're ready to talk I'll be here." She pets my hair and strokes my cheeks and dips down so that she can look into my eyes. "Okay?"

I nod.

"Okay?" She gently probes. "Okay?"

"Okay." I whisper.

"Okay." She smiles a warm smile. Stepping back she smooths out my shirt. "You're with me now Sprout. You don't gotta be afraid of nobody no more." She turns us so that we faced the mirror, her arm around my shoulders. She stands tall and squeezes me to her side. "Damn do we look good or what."

"Yeah." I say, my spirits lifted by her caring words. And despite my ugly shiner she didn't look at me any differently.

"You still up for this?" She asks. "I could make up something. We could just hang out if you want."

"No!" I say. "I w-wouldn't miss this f-for anything."

"That's my guy." She gives me a shake and a hard couple of pats to my chest. With a deep breath and a nod she lets me go and leaves the room. Immediately she and Brayden are back at it again.

"Enjoy yourselves?" Brayden says, his voice dripping with insinuation.

"Damn right. Hey, you guys got any breath mints or something?"

"Breath mi…? Awww, nasty!"

Winona chuckles. "You want that kiss now."

"NO!"

"Come here you."

"Get away from me!"

I giggle as I listen to the pair of them spar. Though I felt less ashamed of it I reapply the concealer anyway, just to avoid the questions. I wanted tonight to be all about Winona's game, I knew what this meant to her.

Unsurprisingly Briar is the first to show up. When I open the door for her I find her dripping wet in a bright yellow rain coat with an equally bright smile on her face.

"Hello Althea." She chirps cheerfully as she steps in.

"He he he! Hi."

Brayden was suddenly right behind me. Reaching past me he offers his hand. "Hey. I'm Brayden."

"Oh!" She unslings a satchel and then wipes her hands on her soggy pants then shakes his hand. "Briar."

"You're right" He slaps my shoulder. "She's cute."

"Oh!" Briar blushes and so do I.

"Th-This is m-my roommate. H-He'll be in the living room." I give him a look. "Quietly." I take her coat and hang it for her.

"Hey Briar." Winona greets her as she approaches the table. "Did you walk or something?"

"Yep." She says. "Oooo! You got the Master's edition set! Nice."

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Winona takes up one of the large black and green tomes sitting behind the screen. Opening the front cover she says. "Number 61 of a hundred."

Briar positively fawns over the book, praising the feel of the pages, the quality of the binding and cover, and the richness of the art. Winona was in her nerdy glory to have someone as into this stuff as she was. Brayden attempts to interject himself into the conversation but the pair of them were off and running speaking in a language only they understood.

Cain and Riley were the next to show. When I open the door my ears are left ringing as Riley exclaims. "Happy Game Day!" Held in front of her was a long plastic container. "I brought cup cakes and brownies!"

"And pizza." Cain says from behind her, a stack of two huge pizza boxes in his hands topped by a pair of six packs of soda. "I hope you all are hungry."

"We are!" Brayden calls.

"Y-You didn't h-have to." I say. "I h-have snacks."

"Never enough." Riley winks. Attracted by the sound of other female voices Riley hurries past me to join the chatter.

Cain steps in and passes me the boxes. "She insisted."

"It's c-cool." I grin.

From the entry way Cain steps into the living room. "Bray."

"Hey man."

While hardly friends the pair of them knew each other from school and start up a polite conversation. I hover near the peripheries and play the host, busying myself with bringing out plates and glasses and opening up the cupcakes to lay out near the other snacks and starting the kettle for a pot of tea. All the while though I listen to the others talking and laughing and joking around and soak in their upbeat energy. When was the last time this apartment sounded like this? Had it ever?

And fashionably late, as usual, Kayla is the last to roll in. When I open the door she flips up her shades and open her arms. "Eyyy pal."

"Hi Kayla."

We hug. Keeping her voice low she says. "So what happened?"

"Happened?"

"After the party." She pokes my belly. "You and Winnie. She wouldn't tell."

I smile bashfully and shrug. "Nothin."

"I know that smile." She pinches my cheek. "You dog." She hugs me again. "I'm so happy for you both."

"Thank you."

"If she gets to be too much you let me know, okay? I can talk to her."

"I w-will." I say. "Thank you for b-being my best friend Kayla. You r-really mean a lot to me."

"Awww! Oh my God, of course Avery. You mah boy. You know that."

"Sorry." I say with a sheepish grin. "I'm just feeling k-kinda…blessed right now. I-I've never had p-people over like this. Everyone's so h-happy. It's n-nice."

She pokes my chest. "Didn't I say that people would like you if you just let them in?"

"Yeah."

"And your Gramps."

"Yeah."

"Sometimes we actually know what we're talking about."

"Yeah."

"KAYLA!" Cries Riley so loudly that I wondered if we'd be getting complaints later. "Get in here! Save me from the geeks!"

"Too late for that Riley." Winona laughs. "You're one of us now! Bwa ha ha ha!"

With the party assembled the group gathers around the table, initially eating pizza and chatting about what kind of characters they were each going to make. I cannot help but smirk as, now that Kayla was here, Brayden had clammed up completely. Three times I notice him try to muster the nerve to initiate something with her and three times I watch him back down again. Poor guy. I always knew he lusted after her but I never realized just how bad he had it for my bestie. On the other end Kayla is oblivious to it as she was too busy trying to hit on Briar, who in turn was way too caught up talking about FoF to notice the flirtations as anything more than friendly chit chat. The whole thing was actually kinda hilarious to watch. More than once Winona and I glance at each other and share a chuckle. It all culminates when Brayden finally gives up and sparks up a joint.

"Oh!" Briar says right away. "I didn't realize this was a smoking place."

"T-Technically it's not." I say.

"I'm sorry. Mmf." Briar's nose crinkles and twitches like a bunny's. "Sorry…I can't stay if…"

Kayla swoops to the rescue. "Brayden was just taking it outside." She glares at him. "Weren't you Brayden?"

Brayden, joint hanging from his lips, stares at Kayla a moment. I cringe as I expect the next words out of his mouth to be 'fuck you'. Instead, my wise cracking roomie who had so recently claimed that he never simps, nods and quietly excuses himself to the balcony.

"Thank you Mr. Brayden. I appreciate it." Briar calls as the balcony door slides closed. She then turns back to us, a tiny woman with a humongous smile. She claps her hands and rubs them then dumps her dice bag out in front of her. "Alright! Let's roll some characters!"

Chapter 62: The Mayhems

Chapter Text

Her slender fingers fidgeting with a triangular iron token Althea the elven wizard sits at the big central table of Rudolf's Rest, an all services inn and general store that sat at an important crossroads near the edge of civilized lands. On the back of the chair beside her is perched a glossy black raven. It tilts its head and lets out a low croak.

"They'll be here Touka." Althea whispers. "Mistress Ara said they would be here and they will."

And so Althea waits for the four strangers whose fates were about to bound to her own.

With the legendary Mayhems fading into retirement the realm had need for a new group of heroes. While nature abhors a vacuum the blight of evil thrives in it. And as the Mayhem's great deeds pass into the tomes of history all of their good works had already begun to unravel. Monsters stirred once more in the dark corners of the map and corruption stamped out now smoldered again. The world needed a new band of heroes that could be turned to when times were dire. And where there was a need there was profit to be had.

Though each member of that celebrated group were already wealthy beyond the dreams of most mortals they were still shrewd enough to see a financial opportunity where there was one. While they had each moved on to another phase of their lives the Mayhem name could still fill a purpose and so the original trio had chosen their successors to carry on their important work under the same famous banner, with a mere twenty percent cut off the top for brand usage.

"Still waiting?" Asks the barmaid as she passes by. "Who ya waitin for darlin?"

"Heroes!" Althea smiles.

The wench chuckles. "I'll let ya know if I see one."

Just then the main door swings open and a soft breeze scented of sun warmed forest flowers freshens the room. Framed in the open space by is the hour glass figure of an extremely voluptuous woman. Her curvaceous hips were nearly as wide as the opening and her massive tits seemed to sway under a gravity of their own. She had fawn colored skin, glimmering green eyes, and a curly length of red hair. Sprouting up from that hair stretched two long rabbit's ears. Her strange outfit wasn't just skimpy, it was barely there! It consisted of a single length of pink cloth leading up from her white belt over one breast, around the back of her neck, down the other breast, and ending back on the belt again and then two more pink scraps barely a foot across to hang down from the belt to cover her crotch in the front and the crack of her big round bottom with its little puffball tail at the back. She carried with her precisely three objects. Around her neck she wore the symbol of her healing god, the Great Lepus. In her right hand she held a wooden club carved in the shape of a huge carrot. And in her left she clutched a triangular bit of iron.

Her nose twitches and she hops into the tavern, every inch of her soft body rippling as she lands. As every eye in the place turns to look at her she announces loudly. "My name is Hoppy Bunbun!"

"Hero?" The barmaid calls.

"That's meeee!"

"Right here." She points at the table with Althea.

"EEEE!" Hoppy Bunbun hops her way over to the table, her scant outfit utterly defeated in its task of covering her bouncing private bits. "Hi Avery! Did you see my tail?"

"Ahem." Althea squirms. "I'm Althea. We don't know each other yet."

"Oh yeah! Ha ha ha! Hi Althea. I like your bird."

From the top of the stairs leading to the rooms for rent comes a deep and luscious voice as smooth as silk. "Wellll, what have we here?"

Turning to look the two women see the lithe figure of a red-skinned demon looking back down at them. His eyes were gold, his long braided hair silver. From his back sprouted two bat like wings. Swaying snakelike behind him was a long sinuous tail. And crowning his forehead were a pair of small onyx horns. Outside his hellish features he otherwise appeared to be a dashing man in his late twenties. He wore a ruffled purple shirt of silk, tight black breeches that seemed designed to draw attention to the prodigious bulge at his groin, and a pair of black books made from the supplest of leather. At his hip he carried a dagger and on the other jingled a coin purse. Staggering down the stairs in front of the demon are two women and a man with tousled hair and disheveled clothes, all of them with the silly smiles of drunkards on their flushed faces though not one of them had had a drop to drink.

With the grace of a cat he slinks down the stairs and approaches the table. "I see you two have one of those trinkets as well." Appearing in his hand from nowhere appears another of the iron tokens. He grins a devilish grin as he looks over the the two beautiful adventurers. "Lucky me. Horny Fucker at your service fair ladies. Truly, at your service."

"Pfft! Horny Fucker?" Althea giggles.

"I am and I do." He bows deeply then glides into the open chair between the two women.

"Stay the hand demon." Comes a whispered voice from above. "Or I shall stay it for you."

All three look up to see the graceful form of an elf materialize out of the shadows and pad silently across the beams of the rafters toward them. His dark skin was mottled with lighter patches that brought to mind the dappled light cast on a forest floor. His short trimmed black and brown hair had a similar natural camouflage. The man had on well worn leather armor. On each hip he wore a short sword and across his back is a bow. His intense chestnut brown eyes were currently focused from above on Althea's waist.

Looking down Althea finds Horny's fingers resting upon her component pouch. "Oh!"

Horny pulls his hand away and gives Althea the guiltless grin of a fox spotted running from the henhouse. "I just wanted a peek."

"Hmmf!" Althea skitters her chair away from the light fingered Incubus.

"Get down from there!" Calls the bouncer. "Where'd you even come from?"

Without a sound the elf drops from the rafter to land as light as a falling leaf beside the table. He stands to his full height, tall for an elf, the lean muscles of his arms looking as firm as oak. Both Hoppy and Horny gaze at him admiringly.

"Let me guess." Horny deftly flips the token through his fingers. "You've got one of these?"

"I do not." The elf says curtly. Turning to the other elf he bows his head. "Miss Althea. I am Hunter Raevis O'Regal and I've been sent by Archmage Shaeladrine to join you on this endeavor."

"My grandma?" Althea says. "But I was sent here by my new Mistress, Lady Ara."

"But you are still the fey speaker of our clan and the archmage's favorite apprentice." He says. "And I am here to ensure that you return to us unharmed."

"Gay what?" Mutters Horny. "Do you have any idea what they're talking about?"

"Nope!" Smiles Hoppy. "He's hot though."

"Indeed." The demon grins. "You can tag along if you wish, elf, but…no token, no cut." He slaps the iron token onto the table. "A fifth portion was not a part of the deal."

"Ooo! You're good at this." Whispers the werebunny healer.

"Thanks." Horny winks at her. "I'm also a greedy fucker."

"He he he!"

Raevis' jaw clenches. "Very well. I am not here for a reward."

Before the Incubus could come back with another droll quip the front door bursts open. The sky is split with a flash of blinding lightning and a roaring clap of thunder shakes the inn to its foundation as the largest humanoid creature to ever step foot into Rudolf's Rest squeezes its way inside.

"Wasn't it sunny when I showed up a second ago?" Wonders Hoppy.

"Shhh!"

Filling the entry space with its bulk, its black mohawk brushing the rafters, is a creature of nightmares. It had the gray skin, heavy jaw and thick limbs of an ogre but the orange eyes, pointed ears, and long arms of a troll. It was clearly some sort of crossbreed between the two races. It seemed to have breasts which indicated that it was a female but the long nose hairs twisted and bent to form a mustache confused the issue. Wrapped around its shoulders, torso, and arms was a long, heavy chain the ends of which were spooled at each forearm. On left end was a bulbous round mass of metal and on the right a wicked looking hooked blade. The chain looked to act as both armor and weapons for the beast. The only thing keeping the inn from descending into chaos was the glowing holy symbol of the spirit of justice it wore proudly around its tree trunk neck, a symbol recognized by all as a beacon of goodness and safety.

"BEHOLD…SCOURGE!" The thing's rumbling voice rattles the cutlery. "Rager of the Far Mountain. Paladin of right. Master of chains. Sworn destroyer of the unjust."

"Broken as fuck." Quips the bar wench under her breath.

"Excuse me?" Asks Althea.

"Nothin."

Holding forth a triangular token between its massive thumb and index finger. "I seek the bearers of these. Show yourselves to Scourge, NOW!"

The bar maid glances at Althea. "Friend of yours?"

"Uhhhhh…yes?" Althea gulps. "I hope!"

As the rest of the tavern sits in shock Hoppy Bunbun is merrily waving the behemoth over. "Here we are! Yoo hoo! Right here! Hi Scourge!"

Chapter 63: Way of the Bunny

Chapter Text

The new Mayhems had assembled. Once gathered around the table each of the four chosen heroes place the token given to them by their sponsor in the center. There on behalf of the Order of Justice sent by Sister Mary Motherfucking Massblaster was the mighty Scourge, half-ogre/half-troll Paladin-Berserker. Chosen by Super Ninja was the sly, sexy, and seriously hung Incubus Scoundrel Horny Fucker. Carrying the token of the Mayhem's original anonymous benefactor was the werebunny acolyte of The Great Lepus, the healer Hoppy Bunbun. And representing the mysterious Lady Ara was the nature mage Althea, fey speaker of the elves of the West Wood. At her sides her raven familiar Touka and the most promising of the novice Hunters of their clan Raevis O'Regal.

Each member pushes their triangular token to the center of the table where the four quarters create a single square. There is a soft glow of blue and then they are fused as one. Once connected what was once four bits of plain iron now appeared as a tiny square door half a foot to a side

"Cool." Says Horny.

Cautiously he unlatches the hatch and opens it to reveal a space within that should not be there. Every member leans forward to peer inside. There they find an area roughly the volume of a quarter cask. Confused Hoppy looks under the table to see no such space protruding through. Inside they find a bundle of three scrolls. The first was the contract which laid out the details of their agreement to give the original group a fifth of all monetary profits gained while under their banner. The contract already had each of their signatures. The second was a powerful magical scroll which would bring one person back from the dead if cast within an hour of being deceased.

As Horny unrolls the final scroll he sighs with disappointment. "They could have sent us some start up money at least."

"What is it?" Asks Althea.

"A job." Horny's gold eyes pan across the script. "There's some goblins causing problems. Kidnapped some local noble's son. Demanding ransom. The noble has no reason to believe the goblins will hold to their word if he pays up. He believes that the only hope of seeing his son alive, assuming he's not already dead, is for a rescue." He rolls up the parchment then coolly slides on a pair of red tinted spectacles. "That's where we come in. It's hero time folks."

"Rrmf!" Grunts Scrouge to the discomfort of everyone except Hoppy. "Unleash the Scourge and they shall be ended."

And just like that the group was off on their very first adventure. Once in the general area the goblin lair is easily found by Raevis' skilled tracking. As they near the mouth of the cave they could hear the nasally growls of an unfamiliar language from within. Creeping forward and peering through the opening they see a group of the ten small green humanoids distracted by a game of dice.

"Perhaps we draw them into the daylight." Whispers Raevis. "We'll have the advantage."

"But we risk them alerting others. Look, the cave goes deeper." Horny points. "They might kill the noble's son."

Flipping through her spellbook Althea sighs. "I don't think I've got anything that can get them all at once."

"Ooo! There's more of them than there is of us." Hoppy frets. "We should run away."

"Just goblins." Snorts Scourge. "Scourge will destroy."

"Wait." The healer says. "I've got a better idea. The Great Lepus instills in us werebunnies two primary instincts."

"Fight or flight?" Asks Althea.

She shakes her head. "Flee or fuck."

"Pfft! What?"

"It's the way of the bunny." Hoppy says, her long ears perking up indignantly. "I'll ask you not to laugh at my culture and religion thank you very much."

"Sorry." Giggles the mage.

"I'll distract them. You guys go ahead."

Before anybody could react the healer had already stepped into the mouth of the cave.

"Hoppy! You idiot!" Hisses Horny.

All ten pair of goblin eyes turn to buxom bunny who had just stepped into their midst.

"Hey boys." Hoppy says in a sing-song tone. "What do ya think of these babies?" With that she pulls her top apart to reveal her bountiful boobs.

Everyone at the table sits and stares at Riley who stood mimicking pulling her blouse apart, her chest thrust forward between her hands. She looks around at us. "What?"

"Um…" Winona looks down and rustles some papers behind the screen. "Uh…"

"You said I could do anything in this game." Riley grins proudly as the rest of us begin to snicker. "My Bunbun's a lover not a fighter."

"Alright Riley." Winona says as she tries to figure out how to go with it. "Uhhh…give me a Charm-Active roll."

To the group's amazement the goblins do not react with aggression but instead sit bewitched by werebunny's incredible rack. Loving the attention Hoppy strides forward, her wide hips rocking seductively, until she gets to the wall on the opposite side of the cavern as the entrance. She turns around, winking and blowing kisses at her diminutive green audience, then removes her clothes completely. The illumination from the entrance acting as a spotlight Hoppy begins to dance erotically. The goblins are hypnotized by her big round swaying ass with its adorable puffball tail, her soft tawny fawn flesh that looked so smooth and warm, and those full, heavy breasts with their big pert nipples that just begged to be squeezed and sucked upon. A few of them had already flipped up their loincloths to start jerking off.

"Way of the bunny?" Whispers Horny. "I'm not a religious man but…hmm." He puts away his glasses. "I'm not going to let our dear friend stand alone against this menace. I'm going in."

"No!"

Before they knew it the Incubus had joined the voluptous healer and begun stripping as well. Horny's sensuous movements were as smooth as warm honey and every bit as alluring as one might expect of a man of his demonic heritage. His beckoning dance, his smoldering gaze, his lithe body channeled the essence of carnal passion itself. He was masculinity and femininity in one. To those attracted to the male his slender physique was sex incarnate. To those attracted to the female his androgynous curves enflamed forbidden desires. And so, while initially his appearance had caused a stir, it was not long before goblins fell under his charms as well. There is actually a round of applause when his huge red cock is unveiled.

Together Hoppy and Horny dance…and kiss…and grope at each other's naked flesh. At this point all of the goblins were fapping to the show…but that wasn't enough for these performers.

Turning to the audience Hoppy whispers. "What's the matter boys? Afraid we'll bite?"

Seconds later the pair is swarmed by ten horny goblins and the orgy was on. Hoppy has a little green dick in every hole, two in her pussy, as she jerked off another pair, one in each hand. Meanwhile Horny is railing another one who had died and gone to anal heaven as he sucks off another and has another eating out his asshole. The final goblin stands huffing and jerking off as the demon's tail plunges in and out of his ass.

As distractions go it was a ten out of ten, if only the Mayhems could have acted. In a state of shock at the pornographic scene unfolding before them Raevis and Scourge stand open mouthed as between them Althea is seized to the point of helplessness by a fit of the giggles.

Back in the real world Riley was bouncing on her chair, riding it really, while making the lewdest noises as she pretended to give furious handjobs to either side of her face. "Ohh yes, yes, yes!" She cries, easily loud enough to be heard by all of the neighboring units. "Gimme all those cute little dicks! Gimme all that hot gobbo-goo! Gimme a bunny bukake! Gimme, gimme, gimme!"

Across from her Kayla was on her feet in the throes of giving it to a goblin doggy style. "Fuck yeah!" She holds to imaginary hips as she plows the monster silly, slapping its ass every few thrusts. "Take it! Take that big demon dick you green slut!"

Between them sat a wide-eyed and red faced Briar looked back and forth between the two wild women flanking her. The tiny woman is as much at a loss as her titanic min-maxed character as to what to do with this situation. They didn't cover this in the books! Across from me Cain was looking at his girlfriend as if she'd gone mad, though the grin on his face giving away that he was loving every second of the erotic theatrics. Meanwhile myself and Brayden from his spot over on the sofa are absolutely killing ourselves with laughter, which only inspired Kayla and Riley to become ever more outrageous.

Behind the screen Winona is shaking her head in disbelief and muttering. "What in the hell have I gotten myself into?"

We had just begun but I could already tell that this was going to be a group unlike any other.

Chapter 64: Chaos Ensues

Chapter Text

The orgy commences and after a few moments to get over the shock of the scene the remaining members of the Mayhems are able to sneak past to delve deeper into the goblin's cavern. There are traps and puzzles and fights along the way but thanks to the wizard's cleverness, the hunter's deadly precision with a bow and tactical nous and the holy brute's devastating combat ability they eventually find their way to the heart of the lair. Just in time they are reunited with their healer and scoundrel, who had left ten very happy and very exhausted goblins behind them, and all together they charge through into the chieftain's throne room.

They skitter to stop when they notice the one thing they hadn't been expecting. No goblins. The vast cavern had a cracking cooking fire, bed piles aplenty, rudimentary tables and chairs, and even a throne at the far end made from bound together horns and tusks. On the tables meals lay half eaten and the water from a tipped over vessel still dripped from the edge of the table upon which it was spilled. The only signs of life that could be seen were a few blooms of cavern fungus that grew around the edges and the lone figure behind the crude throne.

A human man matching the description of the noble's son hung dangling from a chain that was attached to the ceiling. His wrists were bound by a rope which was hooked onto the iron meat hook at the end of the chain. He hung there naked, in front of him laid out on a rough stone table were the tools of an abattoir. A saw, two carving knives, a cleaver and a sharpening steel sat in a line, all caked with gore but still looking plenty sharp enough for butcher. Below the suspended human was a great basin clearly placed there to catch blood. All five members of the Mayhems breath a sigh of relief when the battered man groans through his cloth gag and looks up to his prospective saviors.

"He's alive!" Hoppy claps and bounces excitedly.

"And he's cute." Grins the demon as he looks up and down the young man's powerfully built body.

"And naked!" Hoppy licks her plump lips.

"And rich." Horny's tail begins to wag.

"I call dibs!"

"Hey!" Protests Horny.

"Wait. Something's not right here." Raevis says in a low tone as his keen gaze sweeps back and forth across the cave. "Where did they go?"

"Run away." Grunts the ogre-troll. "Want no piece of Scourge."

"But run away where? This is the only exit."

"Who cares. I'm just glad they're not here." The healer says with beaming optimism as she strides fearlessly forward. "Hold on there noble boy. Bunbun's comin!"

"Hoppy wait!" Raevis rushes to her and gets to her a step too late. The net trap is sprung and the very next instant both the werebunny and elf are scooped up in a great bundle to sway from the roof like a pendulum.

The other three rush in to help and as they look up it becomes clear where the inhabitants had gone. Lost in the flickering shadows of the central fire were three recesses high up on the walls. As Hoppy screams and Raevis scrambles to draw a sword to saw at the ropes that held them the chamber echoes with the cruel laughs of the waiting goblin mob.

Boom!

A heavy wooden wall of lashed together logs crashes down behind them, covering the only escape.

Back to back to back Althea, Horny, and Scourge stand ready as the green horde stream down the walls to surround them. One of them stands out from the rest thanks to its greater height and the ratty feathered robe that it wore. It is no surprise to any of them when it was this one that went to stand at the throne. When it raises it's rattling staff the other goblins fall silent. It looks at the group with a broken toothed smile.

Unfazed Scourge squares up to it and smiles the mad smile of a zealot With a flick of each wrist she releases the ball and bladed hook. Gripping the chains she begins to swing each in slow circles. "Scourge bouta kick some…"

The goblin chieftain cackles and rattles its staff and says something in an unfamiliar tongue.

"…bouta…bout…a…" The paladin-rager's voice fades and her arms suddenly slump, her heavy weapons clanking to the floor.

"What are ya doing?" Prods Horny. "Kill it!"

Slowly Scourge's huge mohawked head turns to look at the incubus, her eyes shimmering with a magical energy. She blinks and her muscles tense again. Once more with spirit Scourge says. "Scourge bouta kick some evil ass!"

"Scourge?" Horny peeps. A moment later the bludgeoning end of the berserker's chain comes swinging down, missing by a scant inch, to smash into the earth with a thunderous thud. The scoundrel springs away but his friend remains after him in hot pursuit. "Kill him you idiot!" Horny wails, pointing to the chieftain. "NOT ME!"

Tiny and trembling the elven mage Althea is left by herself beside the fire, goblins on all sides. In a panic she sends away her raven, which launches from her shoulder to fly up and aid Raevis in his escape. Now she was truly alone.

"GAH!" Cries Riley. "Do something Avery!"

"Um…umm…"

"Can't I cut the ropes faster?" Cain gripes in frustration.

"With Touka's help I'll halve the time." Winona says with infuriating calm. Couldn't she see what she was doing to us out here!?

"Stop chasing me you big meanie!" Kayla pushes Briar's shoulder. "I'm not evil!"

"I think you're the chieftain." Briar says as she pours through a book. "Grr! I knew I shouldn't have dumped Mental-Passive."

Standing near the fringes is Brayden as caught up in our dilemma as we were. "Y'all are fucked."

"Thanks Brayden." Kayla says sarcastically. "Real helpful."

He shrugs. "Just sayin."

"Althea, it's your turn." Winona reminds me. "What are you doing?"

"Come on Avery!"

"Save us!"

"Save yourself."

"Use the fire."

"No, get us out of the net."

"No, help me first bestie."

"Avery…!"

Winona raises her hands for quiet and says again in a smooth, even tone. "It's your turn Althea. What would you like to do?"

"Um…um…I-I-I…" I flip back and forth between my character sheets, my eyes searching frantically for something I could do against my foe. Everyone was looking at me, counting on me to save the mission, relying on me to make sure all of our hard work wasn't wasted, depending on me not to make this whole fun night we were having a disaster. It all rested on me. My breath gets faster and shallower as my panicking mind whirls. What am I supposed to do!? I don't know what to do!? I'm screwing everything up! I hide my cold, clammy, trembling hands under the table and clutch them tightly together. "Um…um…I-I-I…um…um…"

Just then I feel another warm hand lay softly over my own. By the way she was leaning toward me I knew it was Winona. She looks into my eyes and squeezes my hands. "It's just a game." She whispers.

I swallow and nod as all of the pressure drains away. After a deep breath I look over my sheets again and think.

"Althea…!"

"Hold on." Winona cuts off Riley. "It's her turn. Give her a chance."

I swallow hard again and sit up straight. Around me the others lean in, staring at me and waiting on tenderhooks for the next words out of my mouth.

I look once more to Winona for courage then in a tiny, wavering voice I say. "I c-c-cast…N-Nature's B-Bounty."

A ripple of disapproval goes through the room. "Nature's Bounty!? Why would you cast…?"

"Shh." Winona shushes them. Pulling her hand away from mine she says. "Alright, let's roll some dice."

There is a fearful murmur through the goblins as the slight blond elf casts a magical spell. But when nothing happens they all begin howling and cackling all over again. Her magic fizzled Althea lowers her hands and looks around at the advancing horde with terror in her wide azure eyes.

"GLRK!" Horny chokes as Scourge had caught him by the neck. In one hand the gigantic warrior lifts the writhing, kicking Incubus high over head and begins to squeeze the life out of him. "Scourrrge!" Horny pleads but in the ogre-troll's orange eyes he sees nothing but the savage glee of a true believer vanquishing its enemy. "Al…the…aaa…"

Above the raven and hunter peck and saw at the thick ropes, making headway but not quickly enough. In the net as well the healer wriggles and cries out to Lepus for salvation.

Unnoticed by everyone however was the effect of the nature mage's magic, which had very much NOT fizzled. All of the toadstools that were growing along the walls in the area behind the thrown had begun to swell and grow. Like dozens of long pale brown phallus's the mushroom grew and grew and grew. So much so that the dangling captive's feet had found purchase upon them.

The chieftain laughs in triumph as he readies the command that would see the stunningly beautiful elf maiden captured as his personal pleasure slave and the others put to the sword. The laugh ends in a wet, wheezing gurgle as one of the butcher knives is stabbed from one side of his scrawny neck to the other. Foul black blood pours down the goblins front as from behind the noble's son stands tall.

As the chieftain's life drains away so to does the power of the spell it had cast. Scourge blinks and shakes her head then instantly releases the incubus just seconds before unconsciousness. Horny lands with the deftness of a ninja. Looking up he sees Scourge's eyes back to normal, and apologetic. He winks and gives an impish grin as he draws his dagger and turns toward the goblins. As stunned as they were at their leader's sudden killing the gathered goblins stand in shock long enough for Raevis to slice the ropes of the net. Down from above drop Raevis and Hoppy. Touka swoops down to this perch upon the wizard's shoulder. Side by side the Mayhem assemble once more. The heavy wooden gate no longer trapping them inside with the goblins, but the other way around. Chaos ensues.

After Winona's long description of the cause and effect that followed my spell accompanied by series of tense dice rolls there is a long moment of silence…before the whole room erupts in a deafening. "YEAHHHHH!!!" Papers, dice, and cupcakes fly as chaos ensues.

Chapter 65: Flash of Anger

Chapter Text

Order is soon restored both in game and out and it is with sky high spirits the new Mayhems march the rescued noble's son back to his wealthy father, a journey the man would never forget thanks to Hoppy and Horny. Payment is given, thanks received, and the party finishes the adventure back at Rudolf's Rest raising a flagon for a job well done.

"Oh my God." Riley exclaims as the group begins to pack up. "It's past midnight already!?"

"No way." Cain checks his phone. "Damn. Time flies."

"That…was…awesome!" Briar squeals. "That was so much fun! Thank you Winona."

Winona tries to take the compliment coolly but she cannot hide her geeky grin at what was a rousing success of a first game. "Glad ya had fun Briar."

"That was the best game I've ever played." She says. "Avery! That Nature's Blessing was CLUTCH! MVP of the whole adventure."

"You saved me pal!" Kayla hugs me. "My hero."

"A-Anytime." I giggle.

The others all chime in their agreement, bigging me up for my clever play and quick thinking. I sit there smiling not really sure how to react to it all.

"And you!" Kayla laughs and playfully slaps Briar's shoulder. "The Scourge? Where did that big bitch come from?"

"I've always wanted to play her." Briar says, rather proud of her fearsome creation. "My other Fable Masters wouldn't let me."

"Big things in little packages, huh?" Kayla nudges her. "Nearly choked me right out. Kinky! Kinda hot though."

"Pfff!" Briar blushes.

Meanwhile Cain is teasing his girlfriend. "What do think of the these babies? What do you think of these babies!? Ha ha ha ha!"

Riley was grinning from ear to ear as all of us start laughing all over again at Hoppy Bunbun's unique distraction tactic. "Well it worked didn't it?"

Moods are soaring as we joke and laugh and talk about how excited we are for the next time.

Even Brayden is chuckling. "You guys are hilarious."

We'd almost made it through a night without me causing some kind of drama. Almost. As Kayla turns to me to say something she suddenly stops, her gaze focusing on my left eye. All the tears from my laughing must have washed some of the concealer away. Panicked I beseech her with my eyes not to say anything or call attention to it but she either doesn't get the message or misinterprets it.

"Oh. What happened here bud?"

"N-Nothing." I cover my bruise.

"Nothing?" Kayla's tone softens. She'd known me long enough to know what that answer meant. She touches my cheek. "Aw sweetie."

"Ah. Jack came by yesterday and slapped him up a bit." Brayden replies, unasked. "Total sucker punch."

All the laughter, all the fun, all the upbeat chit-chat…gone. "Brayden!" I scowl daggers at him.

"What?"

Winona, who was standing as she put her books away in her bag, had gone stock still. She looks slowly over at my roommate. "Jack? Whose Jack?"

"It's his eldest brother." Kayla says, sympathy in her voice where there had once been mirth. Cain, Riley, and Briar who had just been quipping back and forth now looked very uncomfortable. No! We were having such fun! Kayla strokes my shoulder softly. "What happened this time?"

"This time?" Winona asks, her voice eerily flat. "This has happened before?"

"It d-d-doesn't m-matter." I say, desperate to recapture to good feelings again. "I-I-I'm okay. Really." I look to Winona pleadingly. "I'm okay."

Cain's voice lowers, his expression grim. "Jack's a nasty piece of work. Joshua too, but Jack is worse."

"Paige is hardly better." Kayla mutters. "With their parents though it hardly…"

"S-Stop. Stop it." I say angrily. "I-I-It was nothing. I'm fine. It's n-n-nobody's b-business."

Any hopes I had of things getting back to normal are shattered as Winona fixes Brayden with a long, hard stare. "You were here when it happened?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah but…"

"You fucking sat there and let this Jack…" Her words cut short as her upper lip begins to quiver.

"Uhhhh…it happened so fast…"

"Winnie." Kayla says, her tone soft and placating. "Calm down now girl."

Winona doesn't even hear her. "You just fucking sat there playing your fucking game!?"

"Jesus. Don't put this on me." Brayden says. "I didn't hit him! Avery can fight his own battles."

"Avery can…!?" Her jaw clenches, her nostrils flare.

"Easy Winnie." Kayla says. "Easyyyy."

Across from me Cain shifts uneasily. "Aww shit."

There's a moment of tense still before Winona suddenly scoops up her bag. "I gotta go."

And just like that she was headed for the door. She hadn't even packed up her screen or half her papers.

"Wh-What's going on?" I whisper to Kayla, but she was far too focused on Winona.

"Winnie. Winnie stop." She's on her feet and following. "What are you doing Winnie? Where are you going?" No reply. "You're going to get into trouble again. Winnie!"

Winona was already out the door. Kayla breaks into a run, her voice still audible through the open doorway as she chases Winona. "Winona! Stop."

I sit there scared and confused as Cain, Riley, Briar, and Brayden all look at me and my ugly eye which started it all. "Shit." Cain grumbles. "We better get out there Avery."

"Um, y-yeah."

I fumble out of my seat and around the table, feeling the others eyes following me, and at a swift walk Cain and I hurry down the stairs and out the front doors. There we find Kayla standing in front of the driver's door of Winona's truck trying to placate her angry friend.

"Just tell me where he lives Kay." Winona says. "I'll find out one way or another."

"Winnie, you need to calm okay? Please. Think. Nothing good is going to come of this. You're not a full resident yet…"

"I'm just going to go have a talk with him."

"We both know that's not true."

"You saw what he did!"

"Winnie…"

"KAYLA!" Her sharp voice cracks like a bull whip just as Cain and I arrive at the truck.

"Oh!" I startle backwards at the aggressive tone.

Winona notices me and in an instant her tone softens, her expression one of regret when she sees me recoil from her. "Sprout?"

"Um." I swallow. "Y-You said we'd hang out after the g-game. Are you leaving?"

"I was…um…I was just…" She looks back and forth between Kayla and I. "…just going to talk…"

Reaching out I offer my hand. "Stay?"

Her protective anger was powerful…but her desire to be with me even more so. She takes my hand and as she does so all that energy and boiling tension bubbling inside of her body begins to drain away. As she rubs my soft hand in hers and gazes into my eyes she she relaxes even further, then gives me a warm smile. "I'd like that."

"Come on." I pull her back from her truck.

She comes up beside me, her arm sliding around my shoulder, and together we start back for the apartment. "Sorry about that Sprout." She whispers. "I didn't scare you, did I?"

I cuddle to her side, grateful that she decided to stay. "I'm okay."

"Well ya scared me!" Kayla quips. "I'm glad you're on our side. Geez!"

Cain follows along and chuckles. "I don't envy Jack."

Back on my floor we enter the hall to see Riley and Briar peering out the door of my suite.

"Everything good?" Riley asks.

"We're good." Winona says, clearly embarrassed. "Sorry guys. I, uh, I didn't mean to make this awkward."

"Not awkward." Riley assures her. "I was hopin you'd kick his ass!"

Some tense but relieved laughter ripples through the group. To my surprise it doesn't take long before we are chatting it up again like nothing happened, though at this point it is all ushering toward the inevitable goodbyes. Cain and Riley are the first to go, before they go Cain expresses his gratitude to Winona for letting him experience how the game is played firsthand. "Even better than the show." He says. Riley is already planning what she's going to bring for the next game.

Briar is next to get ready, all dressed up in her bright yellow raincoat. Her praise for Winona is absolutely effusive and her questions and commentary about the world, characters, and story never ending. After a bit Winona has to cut her off. Patting her arm she says. "It's late. We'll talk later."

"Okay!" Briar says merrily.

"Need a lift?" Kayla offers

"You don't mind?"

"No trouble at all."

Winona and I shoot a knowing glance to each other. Kayla would have happily given the ride regardless, but we also knew she wasn't going to let the opportunity to be alone with the nerdy college cutie slip by without taking another chance at bat. As she follows Briar down the hall she shoots an impish look back our way. "Good night you two. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

We laugh and wave our goodbyes. The door swings shut leaving just three. The worst kind of crowd.

Winona and I clean up the dining room area, her occasionally fixing Brayden with a stony stare, before she excuses herself to the washroom. She walks right in front of him in a way that invited him to say something to her. He doesn't say one word until the washroom door closes.

"She hates me." He says, his voice lowered so she wouldn't hear him.

"She doesn't hate you." I say. "She j-just angry."

"She doesn't know Jack. He woulda kicked my ass too!"

"N-N-Nobody blames you." I say. "I w-wish you hadn't said anything though."

"Sorry man." He glances toward the washroom. "He'll fuck her up too if she's not careful."

"I know." I whisper, truly fearful of just such a thing happening. Had Kayla not been able to slow her down I shudder to think what might have been. "I-I-I'll protect her."

"Yeah." He sighs and rubs his hair. "I'll get out of the way before she comes back. I got work in the morning anyhow."

"Oh yeah! Hey, g-good luck with that. You'll do g-great. You'll see."

"Thanks Avie." He shuts down his game and puts down the controller. He looks to the now empty and quiet dining area. "Ya got cool friends."

"Yeah." I smile. "I do. Th-Thanks for letting this happen."

"No sweat." He stands, quiet for a moment, then says. "Seeing Kayla fuck that goblin might be the hottest thing I've ever seen."

I giggle. "They were so silly."

"Silly…yeah…whoooo!" A grin slowly grows as he remembers back to Riley and Kayla's lewd overacting. "Anyway…off to bed!"

"Good night Brayden."

As he retires for the night I head back to the kitchen to finish tidying up, counting the seconds until Winona and I could at last be alone again.

Chapter 66: Perfect

Chapter Text

I don't even really see the things I'm putting away as my buzzing mind goes over again the wonderful time I'd just had, the tense bit near the end not spoiling at all what was a triumph of an evening. So much laughter, so many smiles, such high spirits. The Mayhems had been richly rewarded with gold and reputation but for Althea, and even more so for Avery, the real treasure were the warm memories that I got to tuck away in my heart.

Despite how awesome it had been I was relieved that it was over. Dealing with that many loud and friendly people for that long was exhilarating, but exhausting! One on one I could cope with but groups were always a challenge, especially for prolonged periods of time. I would need some quiet time soon, not to escape like usual but simply to recuperate. I wouldn't have traded this evening for anything but that didn't change the fact that every reserve of social fortitude that I had built up in that peaceful cove with Grandpa last night had been spent and then some. But that would be something to address later. Right now, with the present company, being alone was the last thing I wanted.

I was just finishing up the clean up by wiping down the counter when suddenly I feel two long arms slide around my body from behind. With a smile I press back into Winona's warm body. She takes me into an embrace, her arms tightening snugly around me and her hips pinning mine against the counter, and she nuzzles the side of my head.

"Mmm." My whole body relaxes inside of her supporting hold. I put my hands over hers and hug her arms tight to me.

She kisses my head and whispers. "I never thought they'd leave."

"Brayden's still here." I say. "But I think you scared him into hiding."

"Mmm, good."

Closing my eyes I take a long breath then let out slowly as I luxuriate in her warm embrace. She continues to nuzzle at my hair and down my neck and I tilt my head to invite it more. She lays a soft kiss just behind my earlobe. My smile grows. "You did great tonight."

"I had a great group." She flicks my lobe with the tip of her nose. "It was easy."

"Yeah but…"

"Sprout."

"Yeah?"

"I don't want to talk about the game right now."

I grin. "Okay."

We fall quiet and let our bodies do the talking. Her hands begin to move, exploring my stomach and chest through my shirt. I lean back into her and bring my arms up to rest lightly at the back of her head. As she nibbles at the edge of my ear my fingers play through her long, silky hair. A hot breath washes over my ear and cheek then her supple lips caress down my neck making the hairs up and down my body stand on end.

"This is all I've been thinking about since I dropped you off yesterday." Her lips take my lobe to gently suck it before she lets it slip away. "All I wanted."

"Ohhh." I coo. "Me too."

Her left arm was wrapped around my tummy to hold me close and her right hand had found my left pec and she had begun rubbing it just like a small breast. How I adored the way she touched me. How I treasured the way she could spoon me so good both while laying down or standing up. And the feel of her long lean body against my back was heaven. Her breasts had found a home against my shoulder blades and her bulge was as snug as it could be between my buns.

"You smell good." She kisses my hair. "You look good." She flicks her tongue across my ear. "You taste good." She kisses my temple. "You feel good." Nuzzling into neck just below the jaw she suckles and nibbles at the soft, sensitive skin. "You make me weak baby."

"Mmmmm." I wriggle back even tighter against her.

Winona's strong yet gentle hands continue to rove over every inch of me above the counter and below the chin. I slide my hands down her head and let my fingertips stroke across her shoulders before I let them drop down to reach back and hold to her in a behind the back hug. Her arms then wrap all the way around my chest and she squeeeezes me tight. Her cheek slides up along mine and there she stays for a time, relishing this opportunity to hold me close just as much as I was savoring being held. When she does move again she treats me to a series of small, sucking kisses along my shoulder, up my neck, and finishing in behind my ear.

"Come on." She whispers. "You and me have some unfinished business."

"Oh?"

Taking me by the hand she leads me to balcony door where she slides it open and steps outside into the brisk night. She brings me to the railing where we look out over the glittering town of Haven Point with the black sea beyond it. Above us the sky glowed a otherworldly orange from the reflected light of the community off the low clouds. It wasn't raining but there was a light mists carried on the breeze that softly but persistently coated everything in a light spray of cold droplets. It was the type of night that demanded a jacket but as Winona turns me to face her and pulls me in close I found myself plenty warm.

She takes a slow, deep breath and looks out over the lights then back down to me, her glasses now spattered with droplets. Her gaze not simply looking at me but into me and over me, taking in all that I was both inside and out. I gaze back, in awe of her natural grace and beauty that was only augmented in the gentle glow.

"This is better." She says softly, her soul beaming like a full moon. "This is right."

"B-Better?"

"Avery."

"Yeah?"

Very tenderly she takes hold of my face, her hands cupped up along my jaws, and looks deep into my eyes. "I love you Avery Beckett."

"Oh!" Instantly my breath quickens and my eyes tear up as I am hit with an emotional tsunami the intensity of which I was not prepared for. Face to face and in the flesh the feeling behind the words came through unfiltered and the way our souls connected through our locked gaze drove that feeling straight into my heart. For a guy who was used to running and hiding from my feelings this was too much real all at once. In seconds, despite my best efforts to stop it, I am sniffling and blubbering and bawling my fool eyes out.

"Oh Sprout! What's wrong?" Winona says as she strokes my hair. "I thought you'd be happy."

"I am!" I sniffle and wipe my eyes. "I'm s-s-so happy!" I sob. "I'm sorryyyy!"

"Sprout!" She laughs warmly and uses the cuff of her blouse to daub my tears away. "Don't cry."

"I'm s-sorry." With a loud snorting suck through my nostrils I wail. "I love you toooo!"

"Geez." She says, her smile beaming. "If this is you happy I'd hate to see you sad."

"I'm s-sorry." I gasp as I reel back my out of control emotions. "Y-You wanted it to be p-p-perfect. N-Now I sc-screwed it up."

"You didn't screw nothin up Sprout. Nothin!" She says, a sheen of moisture making her face glow and her hazel eyes dancing behind her rain speckled lenses. Grabbing my head again, this time in a much firmer grip, she continues to peer deeply. "You were right Sprout. There is such a thing as soulmates. There is such a thing a love at first sight." She laughs not from anything funny but out of pure joy. "I love you Avery. I can't explain it. I can't make sense of it. But I've loved you since the moment I met you." She lowers herself so that we were eye to eye and says with all her heart. "I…love…you."

"I love you." I say back, the tears of joy still streaming but the sobbing ended. "I love you Winona."

"I love you!" She says louder and prouder then gives me a hard lip smashing kiss then pops off to announce again. "I love you!"

"I l-love you!" I cry-giggle. "I love you! I love you!"

"I fucking LOVE you!"

"He he he! I love you! I love you!" It flows with more feeling each time I repeat it. I then shout it out for the world to hear. "I LOVE YOUUU!!!"

"We heard you already! Jesus!" Brayden's bedroom window slams shut.

We look to the window then back to each other…then laugh. Oh how we laugh!

Chapter 67: Full Speed Ahead

Chapter Text

With our pronouncements of love given and received with equal verve our joyous spirits are soaring. Never did I think somebody would say those words and mean them like she did. The most wonderful and beautiful girl in the whole world loved me! And I loved her!

Winona throws her arms around me and lifts me from the ground, smooching my face at least a half a dozen times as she does it. "I don't care who knows." She says toward the shut window before turning to me again and smiling. "I found my One and I ain't ever lettin go. I love you Avery!"

"He he he he!" I giggle, feet kicking a few inches off the ground. I didn't want her to ever let go either.

She sets me back down and plants another hard smacker right to my lips. "I know we're movin too fast but I don't give a fuck."

"Me neither!"

"If this is a mistake let's make it the worst fucking mistake of our lives. It's like that drive to Rapid City. Fuck the brakes and pedal to the metal." She says. "We either make it or we die tryin."

"It's not a mistake! Full speed ahea…mmm!"

Winona was kissing me again, this time slow and deep. As we kiss she pushes me back until I am pinned to the side railing. Her hands stroke the side of me head and slide down my neck and rub across my shoulders and down my arms as we taste each other in a long and unhurried kiss. We part, gaze into each other, tilt our heads the other way, then a new kiss begins. This happens three, four more times as our tongues become familiar dance partners. Even inside of our mouths Winona was attentive but take charge, her tongue and lips overpowering and directing mine, and I absolutely adored it.

She pulls away, her glasses now so dappled with moisture she could barely see, and beams warmly as she strokes my face. "You're all wet."

"You too." I smile bright.

"That smile…damn boy. I never stood a chance did I?" She teases a damp lock of hair from my face. "Not one chance."

"Oh Winona. You're g-gonna make me c-cry again."

"Oh no!" She lets out a hearty laugh and kisses me again. "Come on you."

Hand in hand we step back inside, off the balcony and out of the cool. A shiver runs through me but quickly but with Winona rubbing my arms the warmth settles into my flesh.

"We should do something." She says. "Something to celebrate."

"Yeah."

"Something fun!"

"Yeah!"

A devilish smirk curls her lips. "Something naughty."

"Yessss!"

"I thought you might like that idea." She says as she takes off her glasses to clean them. "We kinda did my thing last time. You got something you wanna do?"

"Me?"

"You're my man now Sprout." She states. "And I look after my man. I'm old fashioned that way."

"Oh!" I swoon. "Your man?"

"My man." She pats my chest. "And you're gonna look after your woman too, yeah?"

"Yeah! Ohhh yes! M-M-My woman."

"So what's your kink Sprout? What do you wanna do tonight? I'm game if it's not too out there."

"Want? Out there?"

"We're way past the first date now babe. You could bend me right over this table if you want to." She sets her glasses down on said table. "Just don't bust inside me raw. I can't take birth control. It messes with my shit."

"OH! Pfff. B-Bend you over?" I titter at her bold and open talk. "B-Bust inside!? Raw!?"

"Inside my pussy at least." She strokes a hand down my hair and neck. "You could creampie my back door though."

"Pbbstt!"

She chuckles. "Is this too much? Am I coming on too strong?"

"No!" I smile. "I l-like it strong! I'm your m-man!"

"Fuck yeah you are." She says. "But you'll tell me if I get to be too much, yeah? I know I can be possessive and…overbearing. I just…I dunno. I know what I want. And I want to have fun without all the dancing around it. If I wanna bang I'm gonna say so."

"He he he!"

"But I don't want to scare you away Sprout. So you let me know if I go too far. Promise?"

"I promise! I-I'm not afraid."

"Good." She leads me to the sofa where we sit down together. We hadn't even gotten settled when she pulls me on top of her, guiding me sit straddling her lap and facing her. "Mmm." She hums as she rests back and runs her hands under my shirt and over my belly. Against my balls I could feel that she was already half erect, which was half less then me. Spotting my little stiffy she brings a hand down to lightly stroke it through my pants. "Tell me what you want Sprout. Name it. I'll make your deepest fantasies come true."

"I like what you like." I whisper, trying to keep my voice low enough that Brayden couldn't possibly hear us.

Winona was not nearly so concerned with my roomie's prying ears. "Come on now baby. You can tell me."

"Really!" I say. "I-I like when you…um…"

"Take charge?"

"Mmm." I nod. "I like that."

"I like that too." She confesses. "I just don't wanna be greedy."

"I-I'll let you know if I want something or I'm not c-comfortable with anything."

"Atta boy." She pats my pecker. "Do you want a safe word?"

"Yes please."

"I'll give it some thought." She says, her finger and thumb tracing the shape of my aroused peen. "Something cool."

"Okay." I giggle.

"So there's nothing in particular you want tonight?"

"There is…um…one thing."

"Name it?"

"For tonight."

"Go ahead."

My cheeks warm with a bashful blush as my voice goes even quieter. I look down at her crotch then slowly up to her eyes again, then bat my baby blues. "C-Can I be your baby g-girl again? Please?"

"Aw Sprout." She pulls me close. "I think we could manage that." She whispers, her face hovering so close to mine that I could feel her heat. "Daddy could use a little baby girl tonight."

"Yes!" I gasp, downright giddy to be baby girl again. "L-Let's go to your place."

"Mmm." She strokes my hair with the back of her fingers. "We don't have to go anywhere. It's pretty nice right here."

I shake my head. "W-We can't do it here. I've got no clothes here."

"We'll have to fix that soon. My girl needs her pretty things. But I think we can make due for tonight, don't you?"

"But my cage…m-my clit?"

"We won't need it tonight." She says. "I want you…unleashed."

"Oh! B-But…it's n-not safe here."

"Not safe?" Her brows furrow. "This is your home baby."

I glance toward the hall leading to the bedrooms and whisper. "Brayden will t-tease me if he h-hears us. I d-don't want him to know about b-b-baby girl."

"I understand." She says.

"B-But I still want to."

"Then we better be quiet, hmm?" Her grin was that of both troublemaker and a risk taker. Pressing a finger to my lips she says oh so softly. "You think baby girl can be quiet for Daddy?"

"Mm hmm." I nod.

"I bet she can." She caresses her finger around my lips. "You're gonna be so quiet for me. Shhhh."

"Ohhh, yes Daddy."

"And if Brayden teases or makes you feel bad in anyway…you're gonna tell Daddy, okay?" Hesitantly I nod. "I'm gonna look after my…beautiful…" Her voice fades and her dreamy expression goes dark as her lightly caressing fingers focus in around my left eye. The tip of her middle finger very gently rubs along the edge of the sensitive bruise. A flicker of that same anger I saw in her down at the truck burns in her eyes. But thankfully the shift only lasts a moment and her eyes soften once more and her fingers start to wander again. There seemed to be something about looking at me the quelled that flame. She lets out a long sensual sigh as her hand makes its way down my lithe body. "My beautiful baby girl."

Chapter 68: Daddy's Back

Chapter Text

Straddling Winona's lap I arch my slender frame as her splayed hands reach up under my shirt. Her hands felt so good groping and gripping up my body. I pull my shirt up and hold it at my neck to reveal my smooth torso, which makes her smile grow and her pupils widen at the sight of my exposed fair flesh. Her hands slide down my lats to my narrow waist then out again along the gentle curve of my hips.

"Beautifulll." She sighs.

"Mmmm." I hum very quietly so the noise could not penetrate the wall behind her.

Her right hand shifts to the front as her left hooks around back. Her right presses into my lean tummy and starts upward again as her other pulls me in tighter. Not just in toward her, but in and downward so that my balls pushed harder against her growing cock. Spreading my legs wider I very gently rock my hips to grind on her. A most satisfying swell of her arousal accompanies my effort.

I sit up tall, lift my chin, and close my eyes as I soak in the feel of her hands on my hairless skin. Winona did not have rough, hard hands and yet neither were they supple. Hers were working hands, accustomed to working with unforgiving steel and rubber and harsh chemicals. How soft and smooth my flesh must feel in comparison. It made me so happy to be soft for Daddy.

As her left hand continues to hold me against her tightly, even taking charge of my slow grind, her right finds my pec and begins to squeeze around my nipple to gather what flesh was there into a tiny breast. She holds it in shape for a moment then lets it go and swipes a thumb across my sensitive nipple.

"Mmmmm." I shudder and pull my shirt even higher, my right up under my chin and my elbows tight against my sides. "Hahhhh!" I let out a soft gasp as she reaches down to grab my ass, the tips of her fingers reaching DEEP to find my taint.

"Shhhh." She laughs quietly.

"Yes Daddy." I say, my voice barely above a sigh.

"Good girl."

Still cupping my ass in a full handed grip in her left her right hooks under my shirt and lifts. I raise my arms and help her to take my shirt off. Her one hand firmly massages my ass cheek, her middle finger rubbing so tantalizingly close to my anus, as her other finds its way back to my body once more. She strokes and caresses my neck and shoulder and down my upper arm, the strength in her long fingers held back so as not to hurt. There was something so viscerally sexy about being touched by a woman stronger than me. A woman who could easily overpower me yet also could easily contain and direct that strength to let me experience her comforting power in a way that not only made me feel safe, but protected as well. With my whole heart I believed that Daddy would never, never, NEVER hurt her precious baby girl. Opening my eyes I beam my love down onto her.

She smiles that bold, confident smile of hers as she reaches up to cup my cheek in her hand. I push into her hand, turning so I could nuzzle and kiss her palm like some needy puppy dog. She chuckles softly as lets me nuzzle, all the while she fingers my perineum and keeps my grinding against her now rock hard member. Feeling her cock so stiff and ready had my mouth water. Unable to contain myself I wrap my lips around her thumb and begin to fellate it like it were a tiny penis.

"Hmmm." I coo at the pleasure of having something to suck.

"You really were put here to suck cock, weren't you?" She whispers.

"Mmmm." I nod and suckle and bat my beckoning blue eyes.

"Such a good girl."

"Mmmmm!" I eat up her praise, I just couldn't get enough of it!

Her fingers hooked along my jaw she thrusts her thumb in and out of my sucking mouth as I flick it and lick it and suck it with rising hunger. I was a greedy girl. I wanted more. I wanted Daddy's huge dick stretching my jaw and filling my maw. But for now I would be happy with a thumb.

Leaning in Winona begins to kiss at my chest and upper belly. Long sucking kisses are followed by teasing little licks and hair raising nibbles. Her hard groping left hand leaves my ass to find my pec and form another little titty. This she devours! Mouth wide she latches her lips onto my breast for a hot, wet suck.

"Ohhhhhh!" I sigh, struggling to keep my voice under control. As annoying as it was the need to keep quiet and the knowledge that Brayden might at any minute walk out gave our make out session all the spicy tingle of being naughty and forbidden, as if we were teens again trying not to get caught by our parents.

Winona's tongue prods hard into my pink nipple to twist and twirl then suddenly everything is reversed as my tit is sucked back into her mouth hard and the pert little nub rapidly flicked at. I am wracked by a full body shudder as her sharp teeth find the tip of my nip to send a shooting tingle of pleasure radiating out from it.

I grab onto her head, my fingers sinking through her long, silky black hair, and hold on as she pleasures my boob with her mouth. Nobody had ever sucked my tit like this before! Maybe Lauren, Kayla, and Eddie didn't know how much that boys loved to have their titties sucked too. But we did! Especially us boys who liked to be girls too.

"Hnnngh." I moan as her thumb leaves my mouth to start to rub and knead at my other pec.

After a furious series of lapping licks to my nipple she kisses across my chest to the other one where she starts all over again. "Rrrnggh!" Her ravenous growl drives me wild.

She pulls away suddenly and scrambles to remove her top then is right back on me again, sucking and biting at my very happy little breasts. My hands glide down her back, her skin so soft and warm and smooth, and on the way back I find the clasp to her bra. Without even having to think about it my fingers were already undoing it. Wriggling beneath me Winona frees herself of her bra one arm at a time, not once her mouth leaving my flesh. She pulls me tight to her, her bare breasts now mashing into my abdomen.

Her mouth continues to lavish attention on my breasts as her hands explore down my body once more. One strokes up and down my back, savoring the long swoop of my lithe physique as her fingers trace along my spine, as the other finds my arousal to stroke it through my pants. We were both so hard now, and if she was anything like me there was some precum already starting to leak.

"Ohhhh. I'm so wet for you." I sigh as I begin to grind against her mighty denim clad bulge ever more forcefully. So desperate to please her was I that I was outright trying to make her cum in her jeans through sheer friction, even if it meant not getting to suck it.

Winona was no quick cummer though and she greets my grinding with strong thrusts back of her own. Tilting her head up she reaches for my lips. I plant mine on hers and we kiss passionately. As we kiss she shifts our weight forward and pulls my legs so that they wrap around her. I hug her body tight with my legs and her neck and shoulders with my arms as her hands find my ass and grab it.

"Mmm!"

The next thing I knew Winona had hoisted us both right up off the couch into a standing position! Supporting my entire weight she begins to blindly make her way toward my bedroom. A table is kicked, a lamp knocked over, and she accidentally walks me straight into my closed door, none of which breaks our wild desirous kiss. After some fumbling the door is swung open then kicked shut again behind us. She comes to stand at the foot of my bed, holding me above the mattress, while continuing to grope my ass and suck and tongue my mouth. Alone in my room we still had to be quiet, or at least I did in my high baby girl voice, we no longer had the worry of being interrupted. Daddy had me right where she wanted me.

Chapter 69: 69

Chapter Text

With a controlled drop Winona unhooks my legs and lets me fall to my bed. With a giggle and a bounce I come to rest in front of her. With nothing but desirous thoughts in my mind I stare longingly at the bulge in her jeans right in front of me then slowly up her long, beautiful body to her rather cockily smirking face. In just the dim light coming up from the street through my window Winona seemed to glow in the dark. She loomed large in every way, filling my room with her presence. I give her my routine. A bat of the eyelashes, a lick of the lip, and an oh so innocent yet ohhhh so naughty flash of my big baby blues.

Her grin widens at my attempt to seduce. Holding up a finger she waggles it back and forth with a nuh-uh expression to let me know that she would not be so easily manipulated. She had other plans in mind than jumping straight to the cock sucking. Or so I thought. There was fellatio on her mind but not the way I assumed.

She surprises me by holding my gaze in hers while she slowly lowers herself to her knees at my feet. Our eyes never parting she unbuckles my belt, opens my pants, then pulls them down underwear and all. My rock hard erection slaps up against my belly the moment it was clear of the lowering undies. The clothes are pulled from me, followed by socks, to leave me in the nude. She admires my body but her gaze is soon drawn down to my saluting penis, a hungry fire burns in her hazel eyes. Compared to most I was small. Compared to hers mine I was downright tiny. A pale and slender five inches, undeniably cute but probably disappointing for a lot of girls. But that look Winona gave it made it and me feel a hundred feet tall.

Shifting closer between my spread legs and settling down to sit her butt down on her heels Winona makes herself comfortable. She grasps my bare thighs then runs her hands up my legs then up my stomach and chest before petting back down again. Taking my dick in her right hand she gives it a firm squeeze and in response it flexes to its max.

"Fuck you're hard baby girl." She whispers as her grip shifts and kneads around my hardness, my puffy pink knob poking up from her hand. "Like steel."

I coo softly in reply.

She sidles in even closer. Leaning forward she gives my belly a kiss. Letting go of my dick she reaches to the side to take my hand, her long fingers interlocking with mine, and holds it tight. She then does the same with her other hand. Both clasped pairs of hands come to rest along side my thighs. Bending forward she caresses the front of my erection with the tip of her nose.

"You are so pretty." She breathes, her warm breath washing over my genitals. I smile as I realize that she was talking to my penis directly. She kisses it and smiles as it twitches. "I love you pretty one." She whispers then kisses it again, lower this time. "You are just…" Kiss. "…so…" Kiss. "…lickable…" I flinch as she tongues my smoothly shaved balls. "…and kissable…" Another kiss just below the head. Her eyes flare as she licks her lips. "…and suckable!"

"OH!" I gasp aloud before catching myself as all of a sudden my penis was enveloped by warm, wet mouth. "Mmmmmm!" I moan through bit lips.

"MRRRMMM!" Winona lets out a deep, lusty growl as she takes me to my base and sucks hard, her growl giving a toe-curling vibration to what was already an incredible sensation. Slowwwwly she draws back up my shaft sucking harder than I ever felt before. I am actually trembling as she reaches my knob and begins to jab it with stiff tongue punches. Opening her mouth with a pop she lets my wet dick snap back and smacks her lips. "The perfect hummer size. Fuck do I love your body baby girl."

I just sit there blushing and smiling like the love struck fool that I was. With everything she did Winona just made me feel good.

"Mmmmm." She wraps her lips around me again and makes me writhe as once again she sucks like an industrial wet-dry vac!

"Hmmm!"

Her active tongue slaps and stabs, buffeting my little peen in such a wonderfully strong and aggressive Daddy sort of way, before she begins to bob up and down on my cock. Her rhythm, or lack there of, was difficult to adjust to. She would suck up slowly then come back down in one mighty gulp. She would bob for a few strokes then suddenly shift it up without warning to flick and lap at my tip with a furious tongue. Then she would stop sort of chew at my knob with her upper teeth sheathed by her lip and her bottom set by her extended tongue. And everything she did had this sort of brute clumsiness to it. It felt incredible, just a bit…crude. All was explained with her next words.

"Mmm." She swallows. "The real thing is WAY better than a dildo."

"Real thing?"

She licks my dick with a flicking flourish off the top. "Yours is the first one I've sucked."

"Oh! R-Really?"

"I'd go down on Kayla's strap-on sometimes. Not the same." She says. "And I did try some shit with some boys on the Rez. But I'd be damned if I was going to be on my knees for just any ol' dick." She kisses my penis, hard. "I was waiting for just the right one."

"Ohhh! I'm…I-I'm honored."

"Honored?" She laughs and nuzzles against my shaft. "It's just a beej. I see why ya like them though." She looks up, eyes glimmering with joy. "What do ya think? Am I any good?"

I am beaming. "Better than g-good. Best beej ever."

"Eyyy! I'm a natural."

I giggle. "Shhh!"

"Oh! Ha! Right."

Letting go of my hands she crawls up past me and onto my bed. Laying back she undoes her jeans and wriggles out of them, her massive schlong spilling from her panties with a meaty thud. I swear it got bigger each time I saw it. As she twists and kicks her clothes off I catch a glimpse of her pussy. It was such a wild sight, seeing a body with both sets, and one that I treasured. I already thought her a one in a million, it just so happened that in her case it was literally true.

When she is as naked as I am she slaps the blankets to her side and whispers. "Get that cute clitty over here."

"Yes Daddy!" I scamper alongside her and turn myself around to present my clit to her. Laying on her side she takes my balls in a hard, yet careful, grip then guides me back into her mouth between the finger and thumb of her other hand. "Hmmph!" I grunt as her hard blowjob continues.

Right there in front of me Winona's massive organ throbbed. Daddy's cock called to me and I did not resist.

I have to angle my upper body away a bit for it to work but I soon find my distance. Grabbing her thick shaft in both hands I open up and latch onto her fat knob and start to suck right back. My technique was softer and gentler but no less pleasurable.

"Ohhh fuck baby." Winona is forced to break from my dick to sigh as I take her as deep as I could. "Your mouth feels so good!"

"Mmmm." I coo proudly and begins to bob away.

"Ohhhh geeez!" She huffs and strokes my dick. "Let's see who can make who cum first."

I titter. "You're on."

Poor Daddy. She didn't stand a chance.

We lay in a 69 blowing each other to the best of our ability. Winona's bj rough and wild and mine silky and skillful. She has me feeling good, really good, and I could feel that pressure to blow beginning to build. But on sucking dick baby girl was not about to be beat.

Steady and building in pace and intensity her beefy cock slides in and out of my suckling lips. Every time I needed a little break I would I would focus on her knob and flick at her hole which invariably would make her stop to gasp out a hard breath of overwhelmed pleasure. And as good as she was her erratic style never found that persistent, driving rhythm that could so efficiently bring dick to orgasm. Where me on the other hand. "Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm!" Ignoring the stretch in my jaw I mewl and moan as I suck Winona's cock with relentless determination. And damn did it feel good having her big rod in my mouth again.

After a few more minutes I feel her starting to tense up. Fighting with her own body she tries to resist thrusting back against my mouth but with each passing second she was losing that battle more and more.

"HRMPH!" She snorts, her hips shaking. She was so close. In a last ditch effort she sucks me harder and faster than ever. But it was too late for Daddy. Baby girl was about to get her prize.

"Hmm, hmm, mmm!"

My dick flips from her lips. She grips my ass and lets out another of those low, bassy growls then grunts. "Fuck!"

"MMM!" I mewl as her great cock throbs in my hands and an instant later my mouth is flooded with hot cum.

The hand on my ass snaps down to grip the back of my head and struggling mightily to stay quiet she bucks and thrusts as wad after salty wad of jizz blast down my gulping throat. I swallow as much as I can before I cough-snort a bunch out my nose and she lets me go to grab a breath. The last few spurts I take across my cheek and lips.

"Ohhhh fuuuuck." She sighs as she squeezes out the last of her sticky load. "You're too damn good, girl."

I belch and giggle and kiss her tip. "I won!"

She looks down at me with a sort of 'how dare you' look on her face. "You little…" She grumbles whatever she was going to say. "No fair!"

I smile a big, cummy, victorious smile. "So what do I win?"

Chapter 70: Nasty

Chapter Text

Visibly a bit miffed at cumming first Winona gives me a 'how dare you' sort of glare. I just give her my best cutesy eyes and ask. "Something wrong?"

"You cheeky…insolent…impudent…little…"

"I love you Daddy." I smile.

"Pfff." The effect was instantaneous, in a heartbeat my dominant Daddy was putty in my hands. I might have felt guilty if I didn't mean it. She gives my tush a gentle squeeze and stroke. "That's not fair."

"Sorry." I giggle then nuzzle and smooch her spent schlong, loving the feel of her softening weight pressing against my nose. "So wh-what did I win?" I whisper again, knowing full well that I was asking for trouble.

She gives my ass a hard squeeze. "You win a serving of seconds ya brat."

"Ooo!"

I reach for her dick with my mouth but it is taken away from me. The next thing I knew I was being rassled around the bed. I try to be quiet but I cannot help but giggle as she grapples me in the most wonderful way. In her naked manhandling and heaving me this way and that she always careful to keep control of my body while never causing even the slightest discomfort. It was like being mauled by a teddy bear. All if it results in me suddenly upside down on my neck and shoulders with her sitting tight behind me. My outstretched arms were pinned to the bed by her legs. My back was hugged tight against her front with my butt pointed right at her face. She gives my left bum cheek a big yet gentle bite as I giggle and wriggle in her arms, my feet kicking through the air high above.

She shifts to slide her cheek alongside my hip and grins down at me. Holding me to her with her left arm she grabs my dick with her right hand. My dick that was currently directly above my face. Without any ado she begins to milk my stiffy.

"Ohhh!"

She strokes me at a steady pace in a medium grip. "You swear you didn't jerk it last night?"

"Oh! I swear. Ohhh!"

"You were pent up AND I had a head start? It's official then. I'm terrible at giving head." She winks. "Good thing I'm a top, huh?"

"N-No! You're awesome! It felt wonderful!" I writhe. "Y-You're just…"

"Yes?"

"…not as g-good as me. He he he!"

She bites my bum again. "Cheeky."

"Ooo!"

She chuckles. "Shhh." As she holds me and strokes me, always careful to keep my tip pointed straight down at my face, she motions to the wall. "You think he's beating his meat right now?"

"Ew!"

She laughs. "I bet he is. Probably has his ear pressed against the wall." Raising her head she lets out a long, lewd moan. "Ohhhhh Avery! Ohhhhhh yes!" Her voice rises. "Ohhhh! Ohhhhhh! I'm cumming! OHHHHH!" All at once she falls quiet again and listens intently. To her disappointment she hears nothing. She bites her tongue in a trouble-making smile. "I bet the perv is listening."

"He mi…" I start. "N-Nevermind."

"No, what? Tell me."

I shouldn't say it. I couldn't say it! It would be a roommate betrayal. But I can't help myself.

"He was p-probably d-done awhile ago." I blush, and not simply for the blood rushing to my head. In a super quiet voice I say. "He c-cums really, really fast."

"And how would you know that?"

"H-He's not too secret wh-when he faps."

"Oh no."

"Sometimes he does it r-right in the living room. Even when I'm home." I say. "He's so fast!"

"No way."

"Once he started while I was in the washroom brushing my teeth. He was done before I was!"

"Pffft!"

"Shhh!" I titter. "You c-can't say anything."

"I won't." She winks. "Enough of that, ugh. My girl will never cum thinking about that."

"Mmm." I hum as Winona's pumping hand has me feeling that pressure again. "Ohhmmm."

She rests her head against my hip, gazing down on me with a lovey-dovey smile. "You are so pretty my girl."

"Thank youuu."

"Gonna look even prettier with a nice big load on your face."

I laugh. I wriggle again and try to reach to touch her but her legs had my arms pinned good. I was utterly at her mercy.

"You gonna squirt for Daddy? Mmm."

As if on command a little stream of precum oozes out to drizzle over my face. I catch what I can in my mouth. "Mmm."

"Good girl!" She pauses to spit in her hand and quickly starts jerking me again, even quicker this time. "Ten more seconds."

"Huh?"

That cocky Daddy smirk brightens her features. "Ten more seconds or baby girl's gonna have to wait until next time."

"What?"

"My pussy needs some love too and it ain't waitin all night. Let's go. Ten. Nine."

"Ohhh!"

"Eight." Her grip tightens.

"Hmmm."

"Seven."

Gah! I wish she'd slow down. I was used to trying to hold back my orgasm to last longer for my partner, not hurrying it along. I pour all of my focus into the good feelings Winona was bringing out in me. Her warm body against mine. Her breasts and cock pressed against my back. The smell of her musk and jizz that wafted through the air. Her beautiful face watching me. And of course her hard stroking hand tugging on my sex.

"Six. Five."

"Hnngh! Hnngh!" I help myself along by thrusting with the strokes as best as my topsy-turvy position would allow. I stare up at my own hard, slender penis pointed straight at me. "Ohhh Daddy."

"That's it baby girl." She urges me. "I wanna see you gush. Four."

"Hmmmm!"

"Three. Cum for Daddy baby."

"Ohhmmm."

"Two."

"Hahhhh!" I sigh, my voice high and soft, as the bliss takes me. With my mouth wide as orgasmic rapture claims me I am treated with my 'serving of seconds'. Hot cum blasts from my clit-dick and onto my waiting face.

"One!" She says with a celebratory lift in her tone. "Good girl! Good girl!"

"Hnngh! Mmmm!" I take my self facial like a good girl, glorifying in each sticky wad and gobbling up every salty dribble I can catch as Winona milks me to the last drop. I'd given myself a self-facial before but having someone to do it to me was SO much better. I loved the way the aroma and taste of my load blends with hers. She gives my member a shake and my balls a little pat as if to say, 'well done'. My face a mess I smile my prettiest smile and whisper sweetly. "Thank you Daddy."

She laughs and rolls out from behind me, allowing my to flop down onto the mattress. "You are too much!" She kneels over and grabs my shoulders to shake me. "You are too much!"

"He he he he!"

She kisses me, a big wide-mouthed sucking kiss across my cummy lips so that she could taste me too. Our tongues dance a moment before she pulls away again. "You are so fun! Ah!"

"You t-too."

Her face twists. "But you taste…terrible!"

"Pfft! What?"

"Is that what cum tastes like?" She pauses. "Guhhh. Nasty."

I cannot hold in my sounds any longer as laughter seizes me. "Ha ha ha ha!"

She sticks out her tongue as the flavor really hits her. "Gah! Ulgh! What do you like in this stuff? Ewww. EWWWW! Water!" She starts looking around for something, anything to drink. "Water!"

Paralyzed by hilarity I was no help at all. That sour look on her face! "Ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha! Ahhh ha ha ha ha!"

Not seeing anything right away to wash the taste from her mouth she gives up. "Ah, fuck it. Gotta get used to it sometime."

She kisses down my body and scoops up my dick in her mouth to give it a long, super hard suckle to draw out every last blessed drip. My toes curl at the force of her hard sucking at my tender sex. It felt like she was going to suck my testes right up through the shaft! "Hnnnngh!"

"Pah!" She releases me to lavish my balls with some kisses before smooching back up my body to kiss and lick and suck around my smiling face. "You taste so bad." She whispers, her hands groping my titties. "So why can't I stop?"

"He he he he!" I beam.

Holding me down to the bed she presses her body down on mine and ends with another hard, deep kiss. "Mmmm!"

Chapter 71: Trouble Brewing

Chapter Text

When our kiss parts we are still seized by the giggles but Winona settles us down again.

"Shhh." She taps my lips with the tip of her finger. "You said you'd be quiet baby girl."

"Yes Daddy." I beam up at her.

"Good girl." She gives my lips a peck and a nibble.

Pinning my arms to the sides of my body Winona rolls onto me and straddles me to sit on me, my hands becoming sandwiched between my sides and her calves. Her weight feels so comforting on top of me. The warm, soft skin of her scrotum covering my entire package like a cozy blanket. And I loved how her dick, not hard but still swollen and heavy, laid across my tummy. She sits up tall gazing down on me with a gentle radiance. I look back up at her sexy, powerful body with unabashed awe. Each of us fall silent to drink the other in and savor the good feelings of our recent orgasms. Her hands softly stroke up and down my slender torso, not so much in an erotic way but just to feel my smooth skin against hers. It was…lovely.

"Tired?" She asks.

I shake my head no.

"Wanna eat my pussy?"

I nod my head a very enthusiastic yes.

"Thought you might." She winks. "If you're as good at eatin pussy as suckin dick I'm in for a real treat." I beam proudly at the praise. "I can't believe I came first." She says. "I think Daddy needs to work on her stamina." She boops my nose. "Or work on yours."

I giggle.

"Daddy's should last longer than their baby girls."

"S-Says who?"

"Says me." She caresses my cheek. "Maybe I should lock you up for a week before we try again."

"Ooo!" I smile. "If you want. I l-liked wearing it."

"I'll think about it." She chuckles. "Sounds more like reward than punishment though."

"You c-could always…punish me another way."

"Oh?"

"You c-could…spank me." I could feel my cheeks warming with a bashful blush. "You w-warned you might spank my…l-lily white ass. He he he."

Her fingers paint back and forth from one cheek, around my chin, to the other one, then back again. "You'd like that?"

"Yes Daddy." I whisper. "I-I think so."

"Um…" Her brows furrow, just a little, as her fingers pet tenderly up toward the bruise which I had forgotten all about. I wish she had too. "I'm…I'm not sure I can do that for you Sprout."

With a pout and a sigh I say. "I wish people would q-quit fussing over my eye. It's just a black eye. It's n-n-nothing."

"It's not nothing Avery." She says. "It's a very big something."

"Let's j-just forget about it."

"That ain't happenin Sprout." Her hand glides up and begins to pet my hair, softly and lovingly. "Nobody gets to touch you like that. Not ever again. Okay?"

"I kn-know that."

"Nobody has the right to hit you. Not ever. Not me, not your family, nobody."

"It won't h-happen again. I p-promise."

"I know it won't. I'm going to talk to your brother and…"

"No!"

"…and put this to bed."

"No." I shake my head. "You c-can't."

"Ya gotta let me do this Sprout. Sometimes Daddy's gotta do these things, okay?"

"No." I say, scared to my core about what Jack might do to her. "I-I'll deal with it m-myself."

"Baby." She smiles, her hand coming back down to cup over my eye as if to protect it from the blows of the past. "I think you've been dealing with it yourself for long enough. Don't you?"

"No. I-I-I d-don't want you to." I try to think of the right thing to say. I simply had to protect her, whatever the cost. "Wh-what did Kayla mean…again?"

"Mmm?"

"She said you'd get in t-trouble again."

"Oh. That." She sighs. "I got into a fight with a guy who was hitting on her. It was just a dust up but she made such a big thing out of it. She was so angry at me! She didn't even care about what the guy did, she acted like it was my fault. I was just tryin to stand up for her. That was the beginning of the end for us."

"I would…I would b-be angry too."

Her calm expression goes serious. "What?"

"I would b-be v-very angry." I say. "I d-d-don't w-want you t-to…"

She pulls her hand away and sits up. "What is with you people? Don't you stand up for each other on this island?" She snorts and shakes her head. "Where I come from if someone disrespects your baby girl you put'em down. You let'em know. Someone steps up on your boy, you step up to meet them. Someone hurts yours, you hurt theirs." She pats my chest. "You're my man Sprout. Someone messes with you, they're messin with me."

"No."

"No?"

"N-Not with m-my family. That's m-my business, not yours."

"How can you say that?"

"B-Because it's true. J-Jack is my b-brother and he…l-l-loves me."

"He's got a funny way of showing it."

"You d-don't understand. Y-You weren't there. You d-don't know anything."

"I know enough."

"No you don't." I say. "And K-Kayla's right. Y-You're not a full resident yet."

"What the hell does that matter?"

"If you get in trouble, big trouble, they'll kick you off the island." I say. "Th-They won't ever let you back neither. It's d-different here." I swallow, take a breath, then put my foot down. "Y-You have to p-promise you w-won't talk to or do anything w-with my brother."

She stares down at me, lost in confusion. I might as well be speaking another language. "I can't make that promise Avery." She says. "It goes against…everything I was raised to believe. Everything that I am." From my chest to hers she lays her right hand across her dreamcatcher tattoo. "I'm a warrior Avery. It's who I am."

I am lost. I could see how important this was to her, yet I couldn't let her confront my brother. I loved her! I had to protect her. "You have to p-promise. I-If…you want me…you have to promise and l-let me deal with my f-family myself."

"Sprout?" I could see it all play out on her beautiful face. She was angry, offended, and just as lost as I was. "I don't do ultimatums Avery."

"I-I…don't know how else to s-say it." I plead. "Just…promise. Please?"

She tilts her head, narrows her eyes, then all at once pushes up off of me. "I…I gotta go." She starts searching for her clothes.

"Y-You don't have to…"

"I need to cool off. I'm gonna go before I say something stupid that I can't take back, okay?" She says, her tone clipped and wavering with emotion. "I had a really good time tonight Avery."

"M-Me too." I sit up, feeling absolutely wretched as I watch her dress. "I d-didn't mean to upset y-you."

"It's not cause of you, it's me." She says, panties already on and wriggling into her jeans. "Where's my bra?"

"L-Living room."

"Right." She heads toward the door. "See ya later Sprout."

"Wait!" I reach for her. "Wait. D-Don't…go."

At the door she pauses and looks back to me. In two big strides she returns to me. Grabbing my head in one hand she leans down over me and kisses me hard, then looks deep into my eyes. "I do love you Avery."

"I love you too."

She holds me with a long, soulful gaze then kisses me again. "Hold onto that."

And with that…she's gone. I sit alone on my bed listening as Winona finds her bra and shirt then collects up her gaming bag. I'd messed up. I'd messed up bad. But I didn't know how else I could have done it. This STUPID black eye! How could a split second slap still be causing all this fuss all this time later? As I look around my room, the space now feeling so empty and lonely, one thing was certain. I really did have to deal with Jack, once and for all, before Winona did.

Chapter 72: Okay

Chapter Text

That night I barely get a wink of sleep as my mind turns over and over and over again about what had happened. I chastise myself for all the things I did wrong and replay the moment Winona became upset with me. How would I do it different if given the chance? What should I have done or said? I think about the situation this dumb black eye had gotten me in and consider how to make sure it never happened again. How was I going to deal with Jack? If only he wasn't family, it would have been so easy. I also think about Winona. What was she doing right now? Was she still upset with me? Was her night as sleepless as mine?

For all my worries and anxieties however there were also so many good feeling mixed in. The way she spoke to me at the end, the way she was so careful to contain the anger that I knew was in her heart to speak to me with such…respect. It touched me. With the exception of Grandpa my family's habit was to shoot from the hip when emotions got high, to inflict as much damage as possible before their blood cooled, then apologize for everything after the fact. Not with Winona though. During our first argument she had held her tongue. She left before she could say anything truly hurtful. Despite being upset her first concern was to do no harm. And she assured me that she loved me before she left. Maybe that was the norm with other people but words could not express what that all meant to me. How I loved that woman.

What fun we'd had tonight! The game. The smooching. The laughter. The sexy times in here. I could still taste her. Mmmmm. And then there was the balcony and the utterance of those three simple little words that changed my world forever. Nearly the perfect night…if not for this stupid eye.

Back to the beginning my thoughts go along with the rise of all my fears and worries to start the roller coaster all over again.

At 6:30 am I give up the pretense of sleeping and shuffle to the kitchen for a morning tea. As I sit and watch steam rise from my cup the way last night ended gnaws at me. I look to my phone. No. It's too early. She won't even be up yet. Besides, she'll think me some desperate weirdo for contacting her at this hour.

I sit there in my quiet apartment until my tea, still full to the brim, wasn't steaming anymore. "Screw it."

Grabbing my phone I head back to my room. Instead of using it however it is slipped into the pocket of my jeans the moment I am dressed. What I had to say couldn't be said over the phone. I NEEDED to see her face. I NEEDED to feel her hands in mine. I need to be in her presence so that I could grovel with all my heart. And I needed to do it before her dad got there for the day.

I am dressed, freshened up, and already slipping a jacket on when Brayden come stumbling out of his room befuddled and disheveled.

"G-Good luck on your first day of w-work!" I say as I am stepping out the door. "I know you'll do g-great."

"What the?" He blinks and squints. "Where are you…?"

I am gone before my dozy brained roomie can get the question out.

Outside I find the air chilly and the slowly brightening unbroken ceiling of clouds as gray as yesterday, but at least the rain had stopped. I zip up my jacket, pull on my helmet and start up my bike. Before I know it I am weaving through town on the way to the highway out of it.

As my tires turn so to does my fatigued mind. What was I doing out here at this time of day? Gah! This was nuts. I was nuts. I couldn't just roll up to Winona's now. I needed to let this breathe. I needed to collect my own thoughts before facing her again I needed to get a plan of action. This could have waited a day or two. Geez Avery, calm down would ya? This love stuff had me acting crazy.

I laugh at myself and my silliness. Ah well. A ride in the fresh morning air would do me wonders. Opening up the throttle I rip along the quiet highway nearly as fast as my little dirt bike could go. I had the road all to myself, that is until I see a truck coming the other way on the long straight away into town. A brown truck. An old, brown F-150. A familiar old, brown F-150. I knew that truck!

She spots me as I spot her and each of us pulling to the shoulder and slamming on our brakes. We overshoot each other by about twenty yards. I am off of my bike, helmet thrown to the ditch. Winona is out of the cab, door slammed behind her. We run for each other, our need to touch overriding our care at how silly or crazy we looked. We meet across the center line of the highway. She takes my hands in hers and squeezes them tight. Under her slightly bloodshot eyes I see the same dark circles I'd seen in the mirror under mine.

"I'm sorry!" We both say at once. We laugh.

"No. Me." She insists as she gazes deep into my eyes. "You're right Avery. I don't know your family. I don't know your brother. I don't know anything. I just met you and, even though I feel like I know you, I have so much to learn. And…and…I want to learn! I want to learn everything about you Avery." Her outpouring of words were coming one on top of the next. It was as if she were worried if she didn't get them all out at once they'd never come at all. "I'm sorry I didn't trust you. I'm sorry I tried to meddle in your family. I'm sorry I left. I'm…sorry."

I'm crying, again. This woman just had a way of getting my tears flowing.

I sniffle and grip her hands as tight as I can. "I'm s-s-sorry. I'm sorry I t-tried to k-keep you out. I'm s-sorry I didn't explain it right. I'm s-sorry I tried to ignore it and avoid it wh-when I c-could see how important it was to you. There's n-nothing wrong with wanting to protect your friends. It's…w-wonderful! I want the r-r-real you." I sniff and swallow. "Just, w-with my f-family…"

"Leave it to you."

"Yeah. I'm s-sorry. It has to b-be that way."

"Alright." She sighs and pulls me into a hug. "When you do need help, you'll let me?"

"Yes." I whisper. "I will. I swear I will."

"When you're ready to talk about it?"

"I know you'll be there."

"Okay. Okay." She kisses me. "Okay?"

I smile and nod. "Okay."

Her eyes meet mine and she slowly pulls me in for soft, tender, loving…WHOOSH! HONNNNK!

A truck from the power company roars past us. From out his open window the worker shakes a fist and swears back at us. "God damn crazy kids!"

We look at each other and begin to giggle.

"We almost died!"

"Pfff! Y-Yeah!"

"HA HA HA HA!" Our joined laughter rings out across the peninsula.

"Hey, what are ya doin for breakfast Sprout?"

I grin, feeling not at all tired. "Whatever you're d-doing. And I d-don't have to work today. I got n-nothin but time."

"Hey, hey!" She pats my chest. "My man." Putting her arm around my shoulder she leads me toward my bike. As she rolls my bike to her truck I start looking for where my helmet rolled. Just my luck I find it in a thick clump of thistles.

"Found it!" I stand and hold up over my head.

"Right on!" She calls back from the bed of her truck. She had already hoisted my bike into the box…without help…without a ramp…without even putting the tailgate down. Dang that girl was strong! I was starting to wonder if I was protecting Winona from my brother or the other way around.

Chapter 73: The Full Chubby

Chapter Text

On the way back into town I learn that it was no coincidence that Winona had been driving that road at the same time that I was. Like me she was coming into town specifically to make up. In the hot, heady flush of new love each us had worried that our little spat spelled an end to something magical that hadn't even gotten a chance to begin. We were both being silly, as usual.

Once in town we head for the best breakfast on the island, and for a working class gal like Winona that meant Chub's. The whale shaped sign on the historic brick building read 'Baleine Bistro' but anybody who had been here for more than a couple months knew it simply as Chub's. It got this moniker from the nickname of the previous owner, a loud and portly man with a famously jolly smile. His son, who took over the place back in the 90's when Chub Senior passed on, had inherited his father's grin though none of his girth. Despite being as thin as a cornstalk the name had been passed on to him. Tourists believed it was used ironically but we locals knew that it was simply a shortening of Chub Junior. Though 'Junior' was now well into his seventies he was still as spry as a man half his age. The lunch and dinner menus were your standard American Chinese fare, though his noodle dishes were to die for, but it was his simple, affordable, belly filling breakfasts that made Chub the hero of every man and woman earning an honest living on Ehkolie.

Even at this hour the place was already bustling. As the bells above the door announce our arrival Winona and I are hit with a concussive wall of voices, laughter, and the clatter of cutlery on plates. The main room was a large open square with a counter along the left wall, the kitchen at the back, booths around the other two walls, and a dozen or so tables filling the center. Decorating the walls was a history of our island in photographs. From the grainy black white early days right up to the construction of the latest tidal power project.

"I see a table." Winona says loudly as, on her tip toes, she peers over a group gathered around the register.

"H-H-Hold on." I say. "I w-wanna show you something."

"What's that Sprout?" She leans in to hear my naturally soft voice.

"Look at this." I lead her over to one of the framed photos just beside the entrance. A little sticker at the bottom read 'Docks, 1980'. I point at a tiny yellow and black blob on the deck of one of the trawlers. "That's my Grandpa."

Leaning in she pushes her glasses higher up her nose and squints. "Really? How can you tell?"

"He told me." I say with a smile. "Cool, huh?"

"Yeah!" She pats my shoulder and starts to look around. "Hey, you got any pictures up here?"

"Me? Oh, oh no. I-I just mostly t-take'em for myself."

"Oy." Comes a sharp voice that cuts through the chaos. "Micheal's boy. Avery, right?"

I turn around to see the scrawny septuagenarian. "H-Hi Chub."

"Don't see you in here too much." He points to the far corner where one of his granddaughters was hustling to clear a booth. "Spot right there."

"Th-Thank you." I say, though my voice is swallowed by the noise.

"How's that kooky Grandpa of yours?" He asks as he guides us along at brisk pace.

"He's…good." I lie.

"Good, good." He says. "You got that garage open yet Winona?"

"Not yet." She says. "Soon."

"Alright! Great, great." And with that as a goodbye he hives off to go schmooze some other customers. In the times I'd been here I don't think I'd ever seen him still for more than a few seconds.

We take our seats, opting to sit side by side instead of across from each other for a better view of the street. The fact that it would allow us to hold hands was ENTIRELY coincidental. All around us locals traded gossip, political opinions and off-color humor as we peruse the menu.

"The Full Chubby." Winona says after just a glance.

I giggle at the silly name. "Um…I w-wish they served the c-clam noodles this early."

"For breakfast?" She laughs and gives me a playful shake.

I giggle more. "They're SOOO good. I-I'll just get the pancakes."

"Hold on Sprout." She raises a hand and waves to get the attention of the nearest server. "Amy!"

"Winnie." Nods the woman who had just cleared our table.

I am struck with horror as Winona asks, voice loud enough to carry over the din. "Hey, what are the chances we could get some of those garlic clam noodles?"

My eyes bulge as I shrink in my seat, my face heating with an intense blush as I hear a few chuckles from those around us. What was she doing!? You couldn't order those for breakfast. It was against the rules!

"W-Winona…!" I peep.

"Sorry, after 11." Amy says.

"Aw, come on Amy." Winona prods. "Hook us up."

"I-I-It's o-o-okay!" I say as loud as I can, which turns out to be a pitiful squeak. "P-P-Panc-cakes are f-f-fine."

I am aghast as Amy turns and shouts across the busy room "Ey Grandpa! Ey Grandpa! EY, YA DEAF OLD BUGGER!"

"WHAT!" He snaps.

"Someone wants the clam noodles."

"WHA!? For breakfast? Who wants noodles for breakfast!?"

"Right here!" Winona joins the shouted conversation, her arm around me as I try to disappear into myself.

"YOU?"

"Yeah man." Winona replies. "Best noodles in town. How about it?"

"Why you want noodles now?"

"I got a craving."

"No noodles for breakfast!"

"Why not? Come oooon."

"Come on Chub!" Comes a voice from the crowd to a sprinkle of laughter. "Give the lass some clams."

"Oh sure! Give her noodles and next you ALL want noodles! NOODLES ARE FOR AFTER 11!"

"Come on Chub, rules are made to be bent." Winona laughs, loving this back and forth. "Have a heart. I'm just dyin for them clams."

"No!"

"Give ya half off an oil change. How's that sound?"

"Hell of a deal Chub." Comes another voice. The whole damn place was getting into it.

"Mmm, fine! Fine! Give the girl her noodles." Chub waggles a knobbly finger at us. "Expectin big tip!"

"You'll get it." Winona shoots him a wink. "Thanks old timer."

"OLD TIMER!!!"

The entire restaurant erupts with uproarious laughter. In the meantime I'm looking for the nearest hole to dive into. An ant burrow would have been enough.

Amy turns to face us again with a humongous smirk. "And what'll you have?"

"Full Chubby for him. Sunny side up, rye toast." Winona says as she slides the menus over to Amy.

Amy looks at us, eyes twinkling in mirth as her grandpa continued to make a meal of the scene. "Anything to drink, ma'am? Martini perhaps?"

"Nah. Coffee for me. He'll have a tea." Winona says once it was obvious that I'd been struck mute. "And waters for both of us."

"One Full Chubby. One Garlic Clam Noodles. Coming up!"

"Ask and ye shall receive Spout." Winona says as she gives me a celebratory squeeze.

When I find my voice again I lean close to her. "I c-c-can't b-believe you d-did that!"

"What? You wanted noodles." Hidden between us she slips her hand into mine. "It never hurts to ask."

"I…I…pbbbt!"

Squeezing my hand she says softly. "I screwed up again."

"No. No." I say. "No."

As I feel her hand squeeze mine I wonder…what was I actually upset about? Because she made a scene? Who cares? Everyone here seemed to love it. Even Chub, despite his protests. It would give them something to talk about and laugh about for a couple of minutes before they move on, brightening everybody's day in the process. And while I was sitting beside her it's not like she'd actually put me on the spot. She took on the brunt of the oddball order herself. And, best of all, I was about to get the meal I actually wanted. I NEVER would have had the courage to ask for it myself.

Looking up at Winona I smile. "Th-Thank you."

"Anytime Sprout." She grips my hand extra hard. "Hey, I was thinking…oh shit!"

Her wide eyes are suddenly locked on the jingling front door. The reason for her exclamation reaches my ears before my eyes.

"Amos!" Chub's piercing voice calls. "You and me gotta have a talk about this daughter of yours."

Chapter 74: Uh Boy

Chapter Text

Following Winona's gaze I look across the crowded diner to see her father at the door looking bigger and scarier than ever. Even among this room full of carpenters, fishermen and dock workers Amos stood out for his gargantuan size. Dressed for work he wore clean blue coveralls with a white and red patch on the chest that read 'Amos'. With Chub so helpfully pointing us out Amos scans across the room until he locks on. If I'd been hoping for a cheerful smile those hopes are dashed as his eyes narrow instead.

"Let me do the talking Sprout." Winona mutters. As if I wanted to take the lead! Yikes!

With a growing sense of dread I watch Amos makes his way through the seated diners, not an easy task given his sizable belly. He comes to loom over us.

Winona looks up with a chipper smile. "Mornin Pops. Wanna join us?"

"Yeah." He says. We have to shift the table all the way in our direction as he squeezes into the booth. "Saw your truck outside."

"Oh yeah?"

"Saw a bike in the back."

"Yeah." She laughs. "That's Avery's."

"Why?"

"Oh, well…I was giving him a lift."

"Bike broke down?"

"Nah. We thought we'd grab breakfast. Might as well ride together."

"Where you giving him a lift to at this time of day?"

"Well, Mr Nosy, he's coming up to help us." She nudges me. "Isn't that right Sprout?"

"Y-Yes!" I peep too loudly. "I-I-I have the d-day off so…I thought I could p-pitch in."

"Thanks pal."

"No p-problem."

"That's awfully nice of ya."

"A-Anything f-for a f-friend." I say. Winona and I glance at each other and smile despite ourselves.

"Right."

"What'll it be Amos." Asks Amy as she sets out our drinks. Amos gets a coffee without even being asked. "And nothing off the lunch menu!"

"Course not. I'll get my usual."

"One Jumbo Chub with a double tall stack of flapjacks comin up."

Amy heads off. Amos continues to sit across from us, his suspicious eyes lingering on one of us for a few seconds then flitting to the other then going back again. I suddenly understand how an amoeba felt under the lens of a microscope.

"Why's his face all red?"

"Because he's got a big gorilla glaring at him."

"Mmm." His eyes shift back to me. "So what are ya comin to help us with Avery?"

"He's…"

"He can talk for himself, can't he?"

"Of course he can. Tell him Avery. Tell him what you're coming to help us with." As Winona looks at me I could see the same panic in her as was in me. Neither of us had a clue how to answer that.

"Oh, you know. J-Just anything you g-guys need."

"Hmm."

"And! And! And, um, and…" My eyes cast about for something, anything, to grab onto. All I see is the other customers, the windows, and…the pictures. "Advertising!"

Both Crows look at me, equally confused. "Advertising?"

"Y-Yeah. I t-take pictures."

"He's a very good photographer. Super good. Like professional level."

"I th-thought I could scout the p-place out for some sh-shots. Help c-clean up the yard. G-Get it looking nice. M-Maybe you c-could use the p-pictures in the paper or online?"

"Oh yeah?" His mood shifts a smidgen from suspicious to curious.

"Yeah! Th-There's a cool look out just up the slope from there. I think I could get the garage with the whole peninsula and town in the background."

"Eyyy!" Winona hugs me happily. "Isn't he amazing?"

"We don't really have an online presence." He says, though I could hear interest piquing.

"Oh I c-can do that too." I say. "Set you up a couple of accounts, easy."

Amos being Amos he cuts right to the bottom line. "And how much is this 'help' costing us?"

"N-Nothing Sir." I smile. "I-I'm happy to do it."

"We'll give him credit on the photos though." Winona hurries to say. "Help him promote his work. Word of mouth and all that too."

"My…work?"

She shoots me a wink. "It's the least we can do."

"That's great." Amos leans back and nods. He takes up his cup of coffee, which looked like a thimble in his huge hands, and takes in a deep sniff. "That's really great." As he relaxed so did we. We'd gotten through the storm. He takes a long sip of his coffee, licks his lips, then says. "Now how about telling old Pops what's really going on between you two."

"What are you talking about Pops?" Winona plays dumb.

"I'm talking about the bags under your eyes, Kid. I'm talking about the fact you're wearing day old clothes. I'm talking about the goo-goo eyes you keep making at each other. You think I'm blind? You think I'm deaf?"

Winona and I look at each other then she looks back at him. "Okay. The truth."

"I'd appreciate it."

"The truth is…Avery and I are in love with each other."

"Uh boy." He sighs and buries his face in his hand.

The moment he does that I feel something tweak in Winona, he'd just hit a button. "That's right. I love him Pops!"

"Winona…"

"A-And I love your d-daughter Sir." I say, hoping it would be helpful.

"I'm sure you think you do."

"He doesn't THINK, Dad, he knows. How dare you say that to him. We love each other. We're meant for each other." Winona snaps. "We're here together because we spent all night having wild, passionate sex. Okay? Not that it's any of your business!"

"It really isn't." He cringes, glancing about at the heads turning our way. "You coulda left that part out ya know."

"And why should I? Huh? I'm 24 and I'll spend my nights with who I want. And I want Avery."

"Winona." He says, trying to keep the volume down. "Why don't we talk about this…alone. Mmm?"

"There's nothing to talk about. It's none of your business."

"Winona, you JUST met this boy the other day."

"He's not a boy. He's a man. He's my man." She says. "And it's not true we just met. We met a long time ago. Didn't we Sprout?"

"Yes. T-Technically we m-met back…"

"Winona." He says, paying my words no mind. He reaches across to take his daughters hand but she pulls it away from him. He slowly pulls his hand back. "This is Kayla all over again Kid. Can't you see that? I don't want to see you hurt. That's it."

"You don't want to see me happy." She seethes. "I know what this is really about. He's white."

"What?"

"He's white and he's not loaded. That really bugs you, doesn't it? You can't stand that I fell in love with a white man for who he is and not for his money."

Amos sighs the timeless sigh of the beleaguered father. "Winona…"

"Are you denying it? I heard you and Mom talking. About finding me finding some sugar daddy or getting me hitched up to some college boy 'with a future'."

"Winona!"

"Well I love him Dad and there isn't one thing you or Mom can do about it. I'd love him even he didn't have a penny to his name. I love him because he's…" Her voice softens as she looks to me. "…perfect."

I sit speechless. That was so beautiful! At the same time I feel so incredibly awkward for being the point of contention.

"Your mother and I just want what's best for you." He says in a low, measured tone. "I don't care one whiff that he's white. I'm sure he's a fine boy…man, sorry. I don't care about any of those things. I care about you Kid."

"Well you got a funny way of showing it. Why can't you just be happy for me?" She says. "Ah, what do you know? You just don't understand about true love."

"Uh boy."

"There you go again. That know-it-all tone. As if you have clue what I'm feeling." Then with a sudden wave of her hand Winona puffs. "Bah! You are impossible!"

And just like that she gets up and storms off for the ladies room! I watch her in disbelief until she disappears through the washroom door, then slowly back across the table. Looking as huge and imposing as the north peak of Ehkolie Amos' narrowed eyes glower down on me.

Chapter 75: Another Hopeless Romantic

Chapter Text

Amos leans forward, elbows on the table and his mug engulfed by both his big hands, and sighs. "Headstrong and hot-blooded, just like her Mom."

"Um…"

"So what's up with the mouse?"

"M-Mouse?"

"The shiner." He motions toward my eye. "Get in a scrap or something?"

"Oh, um, s-sorta." I considered telling another lie but what was the point? The truth was out there now.

"You a fighter Avery?"

"N-No S-Sir."

"Did ya win?"

"Um, no."

"You'll lick'im next time." He leans back and takes a slurp of his coffee. "I hope it wasn't my daughter who put that on you. She can get a bit rowdy I know."

"N-No Sir. It w-was…my b-brother."

"Ah." He nods as if that explained everything. "So ya work at the grocery store."

"Mm hm." I nod.

"Been there awhile?"

"Yeah." I say. "G-Going on six years n-now."

"Work is work. Good on ya."

"Oh! Um, thank you."

"So you workin on this photography stuff on the side?"

"Um…yeah." Truth was I wasn't 'workin' on anything on the side. Photography was just a hobby, like camping and exploring, but I didn't want to undermine Winona's fib earlier. "On the side."

"Smart." He nods. "Keepin one foot on the ground as you step with the other. I respect it. It's how I started out. Workin on buses and fleet vehicles during the day and runnin out of my garage at night. Busted my ass but it got us here." He downs another slurp, emptying the mug, and sets the cup at the edge of the table to signal for a refill. Amy spots it and heads this way with the pot. "Keep at it Avery. Good things'll happen if you got the grit to see'em through."

"Yeah. I-I will Sir." He was being so…nice!

"Call me Amos." He says as he watches his mug get refilled. He thanks Amy, stirs in some sugar, then takes another long look at me. "I'm assumin you, erm, know about Winona. About how she's so special."

"Yes Sir, we've…"

His hand snaps up to cut me off. "I don't want to hear about it. But you do know?"

"Yeah."

"You won't say anything?"

"Of c-c-course not."

"Even if things go South?"

"I'm n-not a g-gossip."

"That's a promise?"

I nod. "Th-That's a promise."

"Mmm." His eyes narrow, his gaze drilling into mine as he tries to peer into my very soul. I try to think of something to say but all I end up doing is sitting there and squirming. "Listen kid, ya seem like a sweet guy and I know it's none of my business." He says at last. "But that's my little girl you're dating. You gotta understand with her that there's no in between. She's all or nothin, all in or all out, and if she's sayin that she loves ya…she means it. She tells ya like it is, good or bad. If you're just messin around with her, if it's just a bit of fun, I get it. I was young once too. I know what it's like. But she's not the one Avery. Just let her go now. Before anybody gets hurt." The implied threat was impossible to miss. Basically, if you hurt her…I hurt you.

I swallow hard and sit up as tall as I can. "R-Respectfully Amos, I d-do love your daughter. I love Winona w-with all my heart. I kn-know it's only been a short time but…" I take a deep breath. "…but she's the best thing to ever happen to me."

"Avery…"

"Wait." I say. "I-I don't know why she loves me. I-I certainly d-don't deserve her. B-But there's nothing you or anybody else c-can say that will make me give her up. And that's that."

"Oh yeah?"

I look him square in the eyes. It was really, REALLY hard holding eye contact with him, but Winona was worth it. "Yeah."

As my little heart beats like a hummingbird's wings we stare each other down for a long moment…before he slowly nods in resignation. "Uh boy. Another hopeless romantic." He says. "Looks like we're stuck with ya then."

I giggle, mostly to blow off the tension. "I'm afraid so, Sir."

He chuckles at my giggle then smiles. "Call me Amos."

"Okay, Amos."

Both of us relax, him sipping coffee and me tea, as our new understanding settles in. All was peaceful…until Winona returns.

Still full of fire she slides into the booth beside me and takes my hand. "I'm so sorry baby. I just…can't talk with that man sometimes. He's so infuriating."

"I-It's okay." I say. "We actually…"

"I can't imagine all the things he said to you. I'm sorry I left." She turns to her dad. "I bet you tried to scare him off, huh? Ya big bully! Ya big brute! Ya big…gorilla!"

"Gorilla!"

"You leave him alone or you got me to deal with. Got it?"

"Winona…" He says, his hands up in a gesture of peace.

Just then Amy strolls up holding a platter with all of our orders. The conversation stops as she lays out Amos' one man breakfast buffet, Winona's hearty breakfast, and my still steaming garlic clam noodles. There are a few looks and chuckles from around the restaurant as Chub grumbles at the lunch item's appearance. "Enjoy." Amy winks and moves on.

"Noodles?" Amos tilts his head.

"That's right!" Winona says boldly as she switches her plate and mine so that we had the correct orders. "Avery likes noodles for breakfast. You got a problem with that?"

"I was just…"

"I think it's wonderful!" She says, her tone argumentative even though nobody was arguing with her. "It's different and bold and not boring. He doesn't need to be like everyone else. He's strong enough to be his own man. Aren't you Sprout?"

"Uh…"

"That's right! He loves noodles and I'm gonna buy him noodles every morning if he wants them. What do ya think of that, Dad?"

"Well…"

"It doesn't matter what you think!" Winona cuts him off before he even has a chance to answer. "We're gonna do whatever we want and you can't do a thing to stop us. Isn't that right Sprout?"

"Um…"

"That's right!" She nods. "We're gonna have clam noodles breakfast, lunch and dinner if that's what we want. Don't matter what noone says."

Amos sits back trying his best to hide a grin. Winona had no clue that he and I had already made peace and he was amused to no end watching his spark plug of a daughter go to war for me. With a trouble making glint in his eye he says. "It's kinda weird don't ya think?"

"Weird!" Winona exclaims, offended on my behalf.

"Morning, noon, and night?" He says, his chipper tone only infuriating her further. "That's a lotta damn noodles."

"Winona…" I whisper.

"Pbbrt! Who are you to judge!? Huh?"

"Winona…"

"One second Sprout." She says. "Ya think it's weird huh? I'll show ya weird." She takes up her fork and scoops up some noodles and jams them into her mouth and makes a show of eating them. "Mmmm!" She chews loudly as her angry eyes glare at her father. "Damn that'sh good." She says with her mouthful. "Noodlesh for breakfasht is the besht!" She shovels in another forkful in. "MMMM!"

Amos looks at me. I look at him. As one we burst out laughing.

"What?" A confused Winona looks back and forth between us with full cheeks and glossy noodles dangling from her lips. "What'sh sho funny!?"

Chapter 76: Getting Along

Chapter Text

After a hearty laugh Amos looks to me with a big smile. "Would you mind passing the ketchup Avery?"

"Here you go Amos."

"Thank ya Avery."

"You are v-very welcome Amos."

Winona looks to her dad, then to me, then back and forth one more time. She slurps the noodles and wipes her lips with a napkin. "What's this all about?"

"What's what?" Amos says as he squirts the ketchup over his potatoes. "Avery and I are trying to have a pleasant breakfast. I don't know what you're on about. But hey, don't let me stand between you and noodles."

Winona points at him, then swings the accusing finger around to me. "What? You two are getting along?"

"Sure." He says. "Who ever said we weren't?

"I t-tried to tell you." I giggle.

"Poor guy couldn't get a word in. Get used to it Avery." Amos says with some genuine sympathy. "Syrup?"

"Here you go." I slide the maple syrup and butter across the table.

As Amos butters and syrups his stack of pancakes and I take one of the sets of chopsticks and dig into my deliciously succulent garlic clam noodles Winona sits there looking at us like she just uncovered some deep conspiracy.

"Well…good." She says at last as she turns her attention to her own breakfast. "Glad we cleared that up."

We all share a chuckle and enjoy our morning meal. It is not long before the conversation turns to their work. I am as happy as could be to sit there quietly and just fade into the background and listen like I often did, but the Crows had other ideas.

"What do you think Avery?" Amos asks.

"Huh?"

"Traffic. Location." He says. "It's a great spot for the rural folks but most of the population is in town. You're the advertiser, how do think we can draw people out to the shop?"

"Um…I-I'm a photographer, I'm not really…um…"

"Shuttle service first and foremost." Winona says. "Let folks know that we'll get them back and forth as easy as could be. It's only a few minutes out."

"Yeah." I agree. "Also, um, m-my grandpa knows Margie Maslanka really well."

"Who?"

"She owns the towing company." Amos answers his daughter's question. "What are ya thinking Avery?"

"Well…" I lean in and lower my voice, they lean in close to hear. "…Margie and Bobbo used to be a thing way back when."

"Bobbo?"

"Robert." Amos again answers. "Robert Cruz."

"Oh. Oh!" Winona says. "Our competition."

"I guess they can't stand each other. M-Messy divorce and all that stuff." I say. "You m-might work out good deal or something with her. Sh-She'd love to see another g-garage cut into Bobbo's business."

"Ha ha ha!" Amos reaches across and slaps my shoulder, the weight of his hand nearly smashing me down into my food. "We got our man on the inside!"

I giggle. "Inside?"

"Inside the island." Winona says, careful to keep her voice low. "You locals are nice enough but you can be a bit, erm, insular."

"Yeah." I agree. While we had nothing against outsiders, like many small towns we looked out for our own first and best. And with Ehkolie being an island with such a unique history that sentiment was held even more so.

"Mmm." Amos takes a strip of bacon, a link of sausage, and a slice of ham in a single forkful and begins to chew. "I should go talk to Mike."

"H-He'd like that." I smile. "Grandpa always likes v-visitors."

"He lives on a boat, yeah?"

"Yep. The Anna Bella." I say. "I'm n-not sure if he's back yet though. He was taking a sail about."

"No!" Winona suddenly sits up. "No way."

"Oh?" Amos cocks his head.

"Um, I'll do it." She says. "We're partners in this, right Pops?"

"That's right." He says. "50-50-50 between you and me and your mom. You'll be workin for peanuts in the meantime but once it's paid off that place'll be as much yours as mine kid."

"Well I'd like to be the one to talk to Avery's grandpa." She looks at me. "If that's cool."

"Mmm." I nod and we smile at each other in that way we did every single time we caught each other's eyes. It wasn't only cool, there was nothing more in this world that I wanted than the two most important people in my life to meet each other. "Um. My b-brother m-might be able to help too."

Winona's bright smile disappears. "We're not interested."

"Hold on. Let him talk."

"Um…m-my brother Joshua drives a cube van. Just deliveries back and forth from the mainland." I say. "He knows all the other d-drivers."

"Oh yeah?"

"Mm hm. Sometimes Bobbo gets backed up…"

"And time is money when your rig's not runnin."

"Exactly." I say. "I c-can mention you guys to him. Could be a help?"

"Could be a BIG help!" Amos says. "Let him know that we don't have the bays for big rigs or heavy equipment but we're set up for anything smaller. Lots of experience with diesel."

"I'll mention it then." I say, feeling pretty darned good to be helping out. I knew it was a long shot that my brother would switch from a local's garage to a newcomer's, but it wasn't completely beyond the realm of possibility. Josh could be almost nice when Jack wasn't around. "And Grandpa might have a suggestion or two. He knows everyone."

"Ha ha!" Just then Chub had found his way to our table as he was making his rounds. "I don't know if Micheal knows everyone but everyone certainly knows him."

I knew Chub's statement wasn't meant to flatter, my grandpa was an eccentric old kook in his and many people's eyes, but I choose to take it as a compliment as I always did. "That's right." I say proudly. "Everybody knows my grandpa."

"How you enjoying them noodles, huh?" Chub says directly to me.

Winona's cover for me blown I shrink in spot and blush. "It's v-very good, thank you."

"For a half off oil change we made it extra garlicky."

"It's d-delicious."

"A half off what now?" The penny-pinching Amos bolts up tall.

"That's a generous daughter you got there Amos. A real good girl."

"Hold on a sec…"

"And you promised a big tip." Chub waggles a bony digit Winona's way.

"You'll get it." Winona says. "Pops'll look after you, won't ya Pops?"

"Eyyy! Big spender!"

"Pops will…wait a second!" Amos objects. "I never agreed…!"

"You said yourself that I'm makin peanuts, and Avery's our guest. And he's gonna help us without asking for a nickel." Winona says, the same twinkle I'd seen in her father's eyes earlier now glimmering in hers. "We're just a couple of broke ass kids in love. Just a pair of poor lovebirds struggling to start our lives in this big cruel world. You're not gonna make us pay, are you Pops?"

I giggle. These two made me happy.

"Th-Thank you Amos." I say in my best polite voice then take another bite of my food. "Yummm!"

"But…I never…I just…"

"Look at that smile." Winona rubs my back. "Tell me that isn't worth it."

"That's a 30% smile if I ever saw one." Chub agrees.

"It is not!" Amos cries.

As Chub and Winona continue to work Amos over I notice that once more we were the center of attention. I look around at the smiles and hear the laughter and I feel a part of this community in a way I usually only felt at Grandpa's side. It felt really nice. Everything was just wonderful. But quickly becoming overwhelming. Nothing was wrong and yet I could feel the old panic starting to grow inside of me. And once my anxiety began to build I knew from experience that it would snowball onto itself to swiftly become unmanageable. I hadn't even really recovered from all the socializing last night. And after the one on one with Amos, it was all becoming a lot to bear.

"Well can I at least try these priceless noodles made of gold that I'm paying for?"

"Huh?" I say, looking back to Amos. "Oh, sure. I'm f-f-full anyway." I push the plate across to him. "You c-c-can have the r-rest."

"Full! You barely ate half!"

"He's not a big eater." Winona says.

"But… Then… Why did he even…?" Amos shakes his head. "If I'm payin for it I'm eatin it!" And with that he scoops a mass of noodles up then stabs another sausage and jams it into his mouth. "Eyyy! Not bad."

I try to giggle but it quickly cuts off as an awkward guffaw. I giggled easily but I had trouble faking it when I wasn't feeling it. Self conscious of the faked laugh my breathing starts to pick up. Amos would have heard it to. He'd think I was a big fake. Or a total weirdo. Struggling to keep my calm I ever so subtly shift closer to Winona, my only point of safety in this public place. Turning my head I stare out the window trying to block everything else out but the bit of blue sky that was peeking through a break in the clouds. Right away Winona sensed something was off.

"Hey?" She says softly, her hand stroking up my back. "You okay?"

"Mmm." I nod stiffly.

She gives me a long look, concern in her beautiful hazel eyes. The moment her gaze meets mine she saw the truth inside of me.

The next thing I knew the truck keys were being slipped into my hand. Gripping my hand she whispers. "I'll just be a couple minutes." She then lets it go.

I nod again and give her no argument. With a mumbled "You'll excuse me." I slide from the booth as casually as I could.

"Where ya goin Avery?" Amos looks up. "I wasn't actually angry."

"He just needs some air Pops." Winona says. A moment later she calls out to Chub who had just moved a couple of tables down. "Hey, old timer! Limited time offer on that oil change, just so ya know. And one time only."

"Old timer!?"

The owner and Winona start to banter once more to the amusement of the other patrons as I make my way out the door unnoticed. At a brisk pace I walk around the corner and take deep breath of the fresh morning air. The noise, the chaos, the crowd…gone. In the relative quiet of the alley I am able to find myself again.

Chapter 77: Girlfriend

Chapter Text

I am not sure how long I am standing there when I hear a quiet shuffle behind me. Looking back I see Winona leaning with her back against the wall about twenty feet away, cleaning her glasses as casual as could be. I don't know how long she'd been standing there waiting for me but clearly at least a couple of minutes.

When she notices me notice her she slips her glasses on and asks. "You cool Sprout?"

I approach her, my head bowed. "I-I'm sorry."

She smiles. "You don't need to keep apologizing. You didn't do anything wrong." With a soft stroke of my hair she leans closer. "Better now?"

I nod. "That was…a lot. I-I don't do well with crowds."

"And here I was hamming it up like an attention whore."

"No! I l-loved it!" I giggle. "It was so funny. You d-didn't do anything wrong either. I just…I just need to get b-better at that."

"No hurry." Her hand finds its way to rub my shoulder. "Still coming up to the shop with us?"

"I'd like to." I say.

"But?"

"But…I'm going to need some time alone." I whisper. "I-I-It's not that I don't like being with you!"

"It's cool Sprout. I get it. Russel needs his recharge time too." She says. "How about this. Come up with us then take a hike up the hill. Take all the time you need. You said you were going to scout around for good shots. That was quick thinking by the way."

"Yeah! I-I'd like that."

"Well alright then. Let's go."

Winona takes my hand and holds it tightly before leading me back to the truck. She didn't care who saw us hand-in-hand. More precisely, she was proud to be seen with me. And boy oh boy was I proud to be seen with her! My head up, my shoulders square, I walk beside her like a preening pure bred being lead down the aisle for best in show. Winona looks over at me and look back, and we both laugh.

"Wanna drive?" She asks as we approach the truck.

"Um, I c-can't drive manual."

"We'll have to fix that." She leaves me at the passenger door then hurries around and unlocks the truck. We hop in and soon are on our way. "I just gotta stop off and pick up some cleaning supplies at the hardware store."

"Oh! Um. W-We've got a big sale on right now, if you don't mind the store brand."

"Oh yeah?"

"Mm hm." I nod. "Plus the hardware store's not open for another hour."

She shrugs. "Sounds good."

We drive to my work and easily find a spot in the nearly empty lot. The store had only opened fifteen minutes ago so it was mostly just the early bird gray hairs. I thought I might actually pop with happiness as I enter the store and notice the heads of my coworkers turn at our entrance. Winona grabs a basket and we start for the cleaning aisle.

"Avery. You don't work today."

I look to see the manager approaching. "Hi B-Brenda. I'm j-just shopping."

"Oh. Usually never see you in here on your days off." She turns to Winona.

"Um, th-this is m-my…um…"

"Girlfriend." Winona steps forward and offers a hand. The pair of them shake. "Nice to meet ya Brenda."

"Girlfriend." I whisper with a smile.

"Avery!" Brenda laughs. "You've been keeping secrets."

"Yeah." I giggle.

"This guy, always so quiet. Well you look after this guy, huh?" Brenda steps back, hands on her hips as she looks back and forth between us looking genuinely happy for me. "I don't know what I'd do around here without him."

"He's in good hands." Winona says.

After a bit more friendly chit-chat we carry on and pick up a general cleaner and one another for the washroom along with some heavy duty paper towels, rags, and a couple of scrubbing pads. As we peruse the options I occasionally catch my coworkers sneaking peeks down the aisle, probably in disbelief that I'd gotten such a great girl. They weren't alone. Just being with Winona, watching her go about the most ordinary things, I am in awe of her effortless coolness and beauty.

We are coming back down the next aisle over when a shampoo catches Winona's eye. As she looks over the hair product my gaze was locked on something else. Something across the aisle. Something I'd stocked just recently. Something that stirred inside of me a deep shame…but also a fascination that even after all this time I could not shake. I had been teased mercilessly about them for years and yet…and yet… I look left. I look right. When I see nobody looking I tug at Winona's sleeve.

"Daddy?" I whisper.

This gets Winona's attention in a heartbeat! Forgetting all about shampoo her head snaps my way as an approving smile grows. "What is it baby girl?" She asks, keeping her voice low so as not to embarrass me with my pet name.

"Um." I had no sooner gathered my gumption when it was evaporating again. "Um…"

"Go ahead." She touches my arm. "What is it?"

"Um." I point at the nylons across the aisle. With my cheeks burning and my voice so quiet as to barely be audible I ask. "C-C-Can y-you…b-buy me…um…"

"Of course!" She turns and starts to look over the rows and columns of pantyhose. "Of course." Setting down the basket she slides an arm around my shoulder and pulls her close to her side, almost like she was protecting me. Even if she wasn't I sure felt protected.

Pressing in tight to her side I whisper. "I w-w-want the sheer ones. On the bottom row." How many times had I held those exact hose in my hands trying to gather the courage to buy them? Too many to count. And every time my courage had failed me.

"Mmm, very nice." She gets down to a knee and looks at my choice. "What's your size my girl?"

"I…" Again I glance left and right, my heart pounding fast. With nobody looking I allow my voice to go a little higher and softer. "I d-don't know."

She gives me a look. "With that waist? I think you're a small."

I let out a little gasp as she pulls a package from the hook and tosses it in the basket. This was really happening! My very own nylons!

"Ooo, these white stockings are cute." She grabs another package and tosses it in with the first. I giggle and sort of shuffle in place with contained excitement. "You've got some sheer and some white, might as well throw a black one in here. How about a pattern? You want hearts or dots?"

"He he he! Um, d-dots please. Dots."

A third set is added to the rest. Winona stands and picks up the basket and turns to face me. With a smile that touched my heart she reaches up and gently touches my jaw. "Anything else?"

"No." I shake my head. "Th-Thank you, D-Daddy."

"Anytime baby girl." She gives me a single tender kiss. "Anytime at all."

Fawning over her more than ever I follow her to checkout barely looking at anything else but her. From habit, and just to be helpful, I bag as the cashier rings the stuff through. The nylons are put through as easy as could be. They were simply nylons after all. Something we sold everyday. But to me the purchase was monumental. I hide my giddiness as best as I can as I slip the items into the bag. Ohhhh, what would they feel like on my skin!?

Winona makes the purchase and soon we are heading for the door.

"Hey! Enjoy your day off Avery."

"Thank you Brenda! I will!"

Chapter 78: A Dream Worth Sharing

Chapter Text

On our drive up to the garage I sit fawning over the three pairs of nylons 'Daddy' just bought me. The fact it was Daddy and not Winona or Mommy made it feel extra sexy and extra naughty, which just thrilled me to bits. I could not wait to model these for her. Behind the wheel Winona glanced over every few seconds looking as happy as I felt.

"Thank you." I say for the third time since we'd left.

She laughs. "You're welcome, again!"

I giggle and put the hose away. "I like your dad."

"Yeah. And he seems to like you." She says. "How'd ya do it?"

"I d-dunno. I was…I was just honest with him." I say. "I told him that nobody could get between us. N-Not even him."

"My guy!" She nods. "Balls of steel."

"It w-wasn't so scary." I say. "He's actually r-really nice."

"Yeah, he's the softie." She says. "Mom's the hard ass. You might get a rougher ride from her."

"Oh."

"But Dad's on our side." She says with the utmost confidence. "She'll have to come around now." She slows at the T intersection of the highway then blows right through the stop sign when she sees nobody coming to cross the lanes into the gravel entrance of the garage. "Hey! When do you think I could meet your grandpa?"

"Oh, um, I dunno. A-Anytime really." I say. "Hey, what's going on?"

Up ahead was Amos talking to the driver of a flatbed truck. Loaded on the truck are a stack of huge sheets of cardboard. As we approach I see that the cardboard itself is just packaging.

"Cooool!" Winona exclaims as she parks the truck. "The sign's here."

We hop out and hurry up to stand beside Amos. In his left hand he held mighty Brutus as he pet the orange puffball with his right. I'd never seen the little kitten happier.

"Here they are." He says as the driver in the cab gives us a nod. "This is my kid Winnie and her guy Avery."

I was tickled right down to my toes that Amos was already introducing me as his daughter's 'guy', as if I were a part of the family. We each greet the scruffy and bleary-eyed driver before Amos sets us to work.

"Alright you two mooches. Time to pay off that breakfast."

"Hey! Avery never agreed to do any heavy lifting."

"I d-don't mind." I say to her softly.

"Ah, you're the best." She smiles a smile that was way more than payment enough for any amount of lifting. "Come on. Let's grab some gloves."

As Amos and the driver chat Winona and I carry the stuff she'd bought at the store inside, most of it staying in the office with just my nylons going into her suite. She tucks them into her underwear drawer and gives me a saucy look as she pats the dresser. She was looking forward to seeing them too.

"Hey, the place is really coming t-together." I say as we head back.

"Yeah. The place was in great shape, way better than we expected. We're pretty much ready to open already." She says as she rummages around the garage to find us some gloves. "Even the sign is early. Everything is just…happening!" She shoves my pair into my hands and soon we are outside again.

"You coulda at least unstrapped'em." Winona gripes to her father as she loosens the tiedowns.

"Gorilla not understand tiedown. Ooo oo oo!"

Winona rolls her eyes and pulls the top sheet from the pile as Amos regales the driver with an embellished account of the breakfast he'd had to pay for. One by one we carry each sheet to the front of the business where I could see along the front wall near the roof a row of mounts already put up. As we work we talk and laugh about me getting shanghaied into this. Minutes pass like seconds until we slide the final one from the bed.

Amos pats the truck's hood. "Catch ya later Daryl."

"Yep."

Amos falls in behind us as the driver heads on his way, a curious Brutus bobbing along in his big mitt. It made me so happy to see Mama's runt find a loving owner. Winona and I had barely set down the last one when her dad already had pulled a box cutter from his pocket and held it out to her.

"Let's see'em then."

Winona rolls her eyes again at him getting us to do everything while he did nothing but her excitement to see the signs herself overrode any objections. She cuts open the first one along the edge and tears it open. What is revealed is a big, glossy red 'E'.

"Oooo." Winona runs a hand down the letter. "Nice."

"Look perfect size too. I was worried they'd be too big."

"No way, they're perfect." She takes the letter and walks down the end of the building it and sets it leaning against the building under the furthest mount.

She moves onto the next one, a 'G', then sets it next in line against one of the bay doors. And so it goes until we watch 'GARAGE' slowly spelled out in reverse. Next is an 'S', which I help Winona place, along with an apostrophe. As she moves to open the next one I notice Amos looking at me with a big old grin on his face. He shoots me wink though I hadn't a clue as to why.

As Winona opens the next sign she stops and looks at the giant 'N'. "Shit! They fucked it up."

"Did they?" Amos asks, a twinkle in his eyes.

"Well shit. I'll call'em and…"

"Hold on." He says. "Let's see what it spells first."

She gives her dad a long suspicious look before carrying on.

"I." She announces at the next one then hurries to the last without even placing this one. She tears the last one open then steps back to look at the row of letters. "W? WIN'S? What? Win's Garage? That doesn't make…" She lets out a gasp as meaning hits her like a lightning bolt. She turns and looks at her father in disbelief. "That was supposed to be Amos' Garage! What!? Win's!?"

"Short for Winona." His already wide smile grows even more. "Surprise."

"NO!" She exclaims then launches a forceful shove into her dad's chest. It would have put most men on their ass but with Amos it barely backs him up a step. "NO! NO WAY! Get outta here!" She looks back and forth between the signs and her grinning Pops.

"Yep. Definitely a mistake." He says in mock grimness. "I hope they've got a return policy."

"But…but…" Winona effusive surprise was swiftly transforming into tears. "Noooo!"

"Come here kid." He passes me Brutus and opens his arms wide.

Head down, tears flowing, Winona steps into her father's embrace. He wraps his huge arms around his daughter enveloping her in an all-encompassing dad hug. In that one instant I could see their whole life together. From the moment he first held her as a helpless infant, to a rambunctious toddler, to a willful girl, and now as the dynamic woman she was I saw the pure love of father and daughter play out before my eyes. It was simply the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

"But…this was your dream Papa." She sniffles, her voice small and meek. "This place was your dream!"

He shrugs and pets her long hair. "Any dream worth havin is a dream worth sharin. So ya like it?"

"Like it? Like it!?" She pushes off of him and heaves a punch into his gut, which he just laughs off. "You big…stupid…gorilla!"

"Ooo oo oo!" He scratches his head ape style.

Winona throws herself back into her father's arms and hugs him around his neck, planting a big kiss on his chubby cheek. "I love you Pops!"

He closes his his eyes and squeezes his kid tight. "Love you too Winnie-bear."

Chapter 79: Talking to Mama

Chapter Text

This was beautiful. This was wonderful. There was such a warm and wholesome feeling surrounding this incredible moment and I felt so very blessed to have witnessed it. But this moment was theirs. I keep my distance and pet Brutus' soft head to let them have it without distraction.

After their hug they approach the letters and start talking about how they're going to set them in place. I wait for a pause. It comes when Amos opens up one of the bays then heads into the shop to grab a power wrench for the sign's bolts. I take the opportunity to sidle up beside to Winona and say. "I'm going to go t-take my walk now. Unless you guys n-need some help."

"Ah. We got it covered Sprout." She puts an arm around me and gives me a squeeze. "Can you believe this? I almost feel guilty making him pay for breakfast." After a second. "But not really."

I giggle. "He's a good dad."

"The very best." She says as proud as a daughter could be. With a hard kiss to my head she pats my shoulder. "When should I start to worry?"

"Worry?"

"How long are you going to be?"

"Oh." I say. "C-Couple hours? I should be b-back by lunch."

"That long?"

"Sometimes it's a c-couple days."

"Good to know." She kisses me again. "I'll miss you."

I smile. "I love you."

She smiles too. "Say it again."

"I love you."

"Say it loud."

"I love you!"

"In French!"

"Uhhh…la louuve de vouuu. Oui oui."

"Ha ha ha! You make my heart happy Sprout." Closing her eyes she holds me close, her face buried in my hair, then whispers. "Tecihila." I had never heard that Sioux word before yet I understood the meaning just by the way she said it.

I sigh happily and say one last time with feeling. "I love you."

"Mmmm." She pats my bottom. "Now get outta her before you have to see me blubber again."

With another giggle I give Brutus a nuzzle then set him down and watch him bound off toward the sounds of Amos' rummaging. Adorable. After thanking Amos again for breakfast and grabbing my jacket from Winona's truck I walk around back. I had intended on feeding Mama and the other kitties but I see that someone had beaten me to it. This brightens my already happy mood. They were in good hands. I walk briskly for the row of old cars that lined the back of the property to stop by for a quick visit with my feline friends before I headed out.

I find the young ones at play behind a rusted Buick as their watchful mother lounged at the edge of the long grass. The kittens mew and rub against my legs as I kneel to pet Mama. She stops me, her nose sniffing like mad as she smelled my hands.

"You're smelling Brutus." I say softly. "He's okay Mama. Your little boy is okay. Amos is going to look after him now. He's such a good d-dad. The b-best ever." I giggle. "His name is Brutus now. Can you b-believe that? Brutus!" She rises and arches her back for a pet. I stroke her from head to tail. "I…I think I'm g-gonna be okay too Mama. Winona is…um…she's…how can I even…? I love her Mama." I pet the old feline as she passes back and forth in front of me to receive them. "I really love her. It's just like G-Grandpa said it would be. She m-makes me feel…whole. Real. Brave. She makes me feel like…me. I c-can't really describe it. I love her and w-want to be with her." Leaning closer I lower my voice to share a secret. "I think…I think I'm going to ask her m-marry me." Mama meows. "I know! I know. It's too soon. It's way too soon." I sigh. "It won't happen for awhile. I know. I've got so much to do before I deserve her." My voice begins to tremble. "B-But, you see, I…really…want…G-Grandpa to b-b-be there. I want…him…to be there." I gasp. "He's s-s-sick M-Mama. Real bad. Real, real bad. As b-bad as it g-gets." I sniffle and wipe the tears from my eyes. "Hahhh. Sorry."

I take some deep breaths as I pet her sleek coat and recollect my emotions. Having had so little sleep last night my feelings were sitting right at the surface.

"Hohhh. Grandpa's got can…c-c-c-cancer Mama." Another deep breath. "Lung c-c-cancer." I struggle with another breathe as my chest tightens. "And I w-w-want him…us…to sing at…the wedding…s-s-so it's g-gotta be soon. I can't w-w-wait t-t-too long because…because…" Tears roll down my cheeks too fast to wipe away. "Sorry. Sorry. I'm t-tryin to be strong but…it just hurts." I thump my chest with my fist. "It hurts real bad Mama." I cry for a little bit before pulling myself back together again. "I've never been so happy and sad all at once. There's so much happening." I wipe my nose. "And I didn't even t-tell you that I'm gonna be an uncle. If it's a g-girl they're going to make her middle name Avery. Is that cool or what? I think it's cool. I'm g-gonna be the b-best uncle I can be."

Mama stops and sits. Looking up at me she tilts her head.

"This?" I touch my cheek below my eye. "J-Jack. Yeah. It was J-Jack. He b-beat me up ag-gain. He was j-just mad because he th-thought I did s-something bad." As I fall silent for a few minutes to pet her and scratch behind her ears my tears dry. "Th-That's one of things I have to do f-first." I whisper. "I'm…I'm g-gonna stand up to J-Jack. I'm g-gonna tell him that he c-can't hit me anymore. For real." I swallow and wipe my nose. "This stupid, stupid, stupid bruise. It made Grandpa upset. It almost ruined our whole game. We were having such fun! You shoulda s-seen me Mama. I really played an elf! And I w-was good! Everyone w-was happy with me. Until…" I sigh and lightly rub the bruise. "It made Kayla sad. It made everyone l-look and s-say things and f-feel bad for me. It made Amos think I w-was a fighter. It m-made Winona so mad! She was so angry! It made us h-h-have our f-first argument." I take another deep breath. "Never again. It will n-never happen again. It c-can't happen again. If I d-don't do something…Winona might get hurt. I'm g-gonna make him stop now Mama." Mama rubs her face against my knee and arches her back against my stroking hand. "Yeah. I'm s-scared too. But it's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay Mama." Leaning down I hug my feline confidante and share some of the pets around to the rambunctious kittens around us. "I gotta go, okay? I love you. I love you all."

I stand and take one last big, deep breath then smooth out my jacket. I stare at the steep slope and towering conifers before me, calling to me, and already I can feel some of stress inside of me start to seep away. Leaving the world of people and buildings and streets and garages behind me I strike forward through the expanse of tall grass to the green oasis that beckoned.

Chapter 80: Recharge

Chapter Text

I walk amongst the feet of venerable giants, themselves mere hairs upon the toes of a more ancient titan. High above me the heads of mighty pine, spruce and hemlock sway to the steady western breeze blowing in off of the endless Pacific as I climb the slope of the green peak on which they grew. These arboreal residents clothed by vestments of verdant moss and festooned with the draping finery of bearded lichens stood proud and ancient as my fool ass scrambled over and around the rotting limbs and trunks of those whose days in the sun were over and were now returning to the mountain.

Brushing my hands the soft fronds of damp ferns in the shade and the rasping branches and thorns of the shrubby underbrush in the places the light found the ground. Underfoot dried twigs and desiccated needles crunch beneath my treads. The way was not easy. There were no paths here. No trail to guide my way. But I had been this way many times before.

It was only a few steps in when the voices of Winona and Amos had been swallowed by the forest and wind and now, except for the occasional intrusion of a vehicle passing down the highway, the sounds of that world were absent here. When my footfalls fell still a subtle symphony would reveal itself. The soft breath of the forest boughs. The distant sigh of the surf. The long rise and fade of the buzz of a passing bee. The shrill repetitive peep-peep-peep of a Northern Flicker joined the pips and trills of contented Chickadees to give it all vibrant drama. For as much as I loved him, even Beethoven's great genius sounded the plonking of an amateur by comparison. And there, among it all, my own breathing made deep from the effort of my climb. Not apart from it, but a part of it.

With each of those breaths I take in the heavy aroma of earth and pine mixed with the sweet dewy fragrance of fern and flowers. It is cool in the shadow of the towering conifers and warm upon the sun-kissed stones of the outcroppings.

It is on one of these outcroppings that I pause to find my peace.

I sit down cross-legged at north edge of a flat expanse of granite that I had found nearly nine years ago. Swaddled on all sides by forest I could not see the ocean or the garage or anything beyond this sanctuary despite my elevation. Without even really thinking about it I begin to search for, and soon find, the wild alpine strawberries I knew would be there. One by one I begin to collect the saccharine scarlet morsels and place them in a small depression in the rock. These had not been provided for me. These gifts of the mountain were here for another's hungry palate. But nobody would mind. The last of our island bears had been shot in 1953.

Between the sixth and seventh berry I stop, close my eyes, and let out a long breath.

There it was. Oh yes. There it was. That moment where the steady, constant drain on my energy of just existing reversed to begin replenishing instead. I didn't know it at the time but that little heart to heart I shared with Mama on the way up here had helped to clear the slate of confusing emotions so that I could find this moment of still all the easier. I guess that therapist might have been onto something after all. Maybe talking things out, while not solving anything in itself, helped to open the way.

I open my eyes and look around. What I see is all things in their place. All things in their context. All things put into proper perspective. Aligned and interwoven. From the ageless mountains to the enduring forest to me to the singing chickadee to the ladybug crawling across the stone that was here a year to the violet nightshade blooms across the clearing from me that were would only show for a season. I was in it. Among it. One with it. Ehkolie. My home.

Everything suddenly became so simple. Not easy, but simple. Here there was no judgment. No pride or shame. No love or hatred. No need to be clever or witty or know the right thing to say to make people like me. The chickadee didn't care that I stuttered or giggled in that childish way I had. To it I was just another silly human bumbling through the brush. The mountain didn't care about my black eye or how I'd gotten it. To it I was but a brief speck that would be here and gone in scant instant. Here it was just life, unvarnished. Life with all of its hardships and beauty. Like the trees I would have my days in the sun before returning to my mountain. Like the birds and the flowers I would sing my songs and show my colors before they faded forever.

I pick the remainder of the ripe red berries then spin in place and stretch out on the warming rock. I pop a strawberry into my mouth then put my hands behind my head to stare up at the breaking clouds above me. The sky sure was blue today. And this berry was delicious!

During the climb up here I had been wishing that I'd brought my camera and maybe a bit of gear for a day camp but now that I was here I had no regrets. I might have been able to get some great shots but it would have distracted me from…this. This wonderful peace. And as for the gear, as good as this was I had no intention of spending the day up here. There was now another call of nature competing with the first. I needed this time as much as sleep or sustenance but there was something else I needed just a much now. And that something was her. My girlfriend Winona.

I smile and stretch out. "Girlfriend. I have a girlfriend." I sigh. "Wait until Grandpa hears."

I take one of the berries and hold it in front of me between my thumb and finger, enjoying how the brilliant red popped against the azure heavens and marveling at just how tiny those seeds were. I think about myself like one of those little seeds clung to the side of the mountain. A thing so miniscule that under the right conditions might sprout and grow and give nourishing joy to the world. Soaking up the sun's life-giving rays as surely as the strawberry leaves and drawing up Earth's nurturing nutrients as surely as the strawberry's sprawling roots I lay and decompress from all of the stress and socializing of the past couple of days.. The resulting fruit might not be as sweet but it would see me through another bout back there.

I munch down the berry and savor again the incredible potency of its sweet flavor. Those big strawberries in the store had nothing on these little gems. I'm not sure how long I lay there staring and listening and immersing myself in Ehkolie's rejuvenating aura. Maybe an hour. Maybe even two. Long enough to watch the lazily drifting clouds break apart until there is more blue than white in the sky above. The longer I lay there the more my thoughts and daydreams return…to her.

"Hahhhh." I sit up and look to the little black-capped avian friend that had been serenading me the past ten minutes. I giggle as I think that maybe he'd been actually telling me off all that time for laying on his favorite rock. Either way I'd been happy for the music. "Thank you Mr. Chickadee-dee-dee. I hope your song finds you a girl as nice as mine." I collect up the uneaten berries and put them in my pocket. "I wish I could stay longer but I have a j-job to do. I'm a photographer if you didn't know."

While not completely recharged my battery was back in the safe zone again. I get to my feet and brush myself off. I then set off to explore the area for good angles of the garage.

Chapter 81: Brat

Chapter Text

"There's the mountain man." Amos says as he steps through the back door of the garage wiping his thick hands with a rag that turns from pure white to being streaked with brown-black grease before my eyes.

"H-Hey Amos." I say as I cross the last dozen or so feet to stand near him.

"Someone was starting to get worried." He winks.

"Is that Avery?" There is a clank of metal of concrete from inside the garage and in a blink there is suddenly a smiling Winona framed within the door. She was wearing blue coveralls that matched her dad's except for the name on the tag that read 'Winnie'. Unlike her dad she wore it with her sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She looked so rough and rugged and sexy! Of course, I always thought she looked sexy. When she sees me she breaks into a bright smile, as do I. Though her grin gave away her excitement she plays it cool. "Hey Sprout."

"Hey." I bashfully tuck a lock of hair behind my ear. The way she looked at me made me feel all happy inside.

Slowly she looks me up and down, the nibble to her bottom lip telling me that she was liking what she was seeing. "You're a bit early."

"Yeah." I say. "Th-Thought I might come back and m-make us some lunch. Is s-soup and sandwiches okay?"

Amos' thick eyebrows shoot up. "He's making you lunches now? You got yourself a keeper there kid." He nudges his daughter.

She is BEAMING. "I sure do Pops."

I giggle. "It's n-no bother, really. Are you st-sticking around Amos or…?"

"Nah!" Winona cuts in before he can answer. "He's heading back to town to eat."

"I'm…heading back into town to eat with Cher." He says with a knowing smirk. "Or so I'm told."

"Cher?"

"Mom." Winona answers. "Her name's Cheryl but everyone calls her Cher. Like the singer."

"Yeah. I know her." I say as happy images of Grandpa in Halloween drag flash through my mind. "W-Wait a second. Cheryl? Her n-name is Cheryl Crow?"

"Don't start that again." Winona gives me a warning point. "Don't!"

"Cheryl and Russell Crow!? He he he. I didn't even know they were related!"

"You brat!"

I giggle despite myself. "Pfft! He he he he!"

Amos chortles and shakes his head at our silliness. "The boy likes to live dangerously I see."

"Indeed." Winona's eyes narrow. Even as she scowls though she reaches out her hand. I take it and we squeeze hands tightly before letting go again.

"So did you find what you were looking for up there Avery?" Amos looks up the slope.

"Unfortunately no. Not really." I say. "B-But I do know of another place where you can see the whole peninsula and town. C-Can't quite see the garage from there but it wouldn't be too hard to c-composite it in. Or I-I could get a shot from the approach from town up at the garage. With the sunrise shining over the m-mountain behind it it might be p-pretty cool."

"Yeah sure Avery." Amos says. "I'll leave it to the pro. I'm sure whatever you come up with will be amazing."

"I-I'll do my b-b-best." I say softly. "H-How about I do up a few things and see wh-which you like?"

"Great." He looks at his daughter and stuffs the rag into a pocket. "Another half hour and we'll break for grub?"

"Sounds good." Winona watches her dad walk back into the garage then reaches for me again, this time with both hands.

I take her hands and get pulled right up against her. Gazing up into her rich hazel eyes I whisper. "Miss me?"

"You know it." She kisses me softly once, twice, three times. "Feel better?"

"Yeah. I needed that." I take a breath and lay my head on her shoulder. "Tired, but better."

"I'm draggin too." She hugs me and kisses my head. "Those long nights'll catch up with ya."

"Worth it though." I look back up at her. "I wouldn't trade last night for a thousand good night sleeps."

"Damn right!" She plays with one of my bangs for a few seconds then sighs a happy sigh. "You should check out the sign. It looks awesome. I still can't believe it."

"I will."

"I'll be a bit." She runs her hand down my smooth cheek. "Okay? Just make yourself at home."

"I will."

One last kiss and then together we walk into the garage. As Winona peels off to help her dad with whatever they were doing with the main vehicle lift I walk right through and out one of the open bays. Taking a few strides away from the building I turn around to see 'Win's Garage' proudly emblazoned along the top of the building. The big, bold letters alone gave the place a much need shot of life. With a coat of paint and little sweeping and weeding around the front and this place was going to look new again.

I head back in, pause to say how good I thought it looked and give Brutus a little fist bump, then carry on into Winona's suite. With a look around I decide to do as I was told, make myself at home. For me this means tidying up. The place wasn't messy, just a few errant clothes and a sprawl of books and papers across the table, but I set myself to get the place looking perfect without being too disruptive. As I work I hum one of the more upbeat country songs I'd heard recently. Country had never been my genre but I was definitely developing an appreciation for it now. After tidying I give the place a quick clean and open the window so the place would smell great for Winona's lunch break. And after the sweaty work of traipsing up the mountain I also take a very swift rinse off in the shower. If everything else was clean I'd only look dirtier by comparison if I hadn't. And then at last I head back to the kitchen area to begin rummaging around for the fixings of a meal.

In a small pot I get a can of beef and barley stew warming on the hotplate. Certainly not my favorite soup but I knew from our shopping trip that Winona liked it. I wash a few vegetables to chop and set them on the counter then bring out some bread, tomatoes, cheese, sliced turkey, mayo and mustard. Looking at the yellow mustard then looking at my spotless shirt I decide to play it safe and grab an apron and tie it around my slender waist.

As I smooth it out over me I smile. She liked me in an apron. 'I do love a man in an apron.' She'd once said to me. 'Very sexy.'

I titter. Me in my apron, sexy? I found that funny. My new nylons, my clit-cage, a nice suit, sure. But an apron? Funny. But who was I to judge? I thought she looked absolutely smokin hot in those sturdy coveralls. It lifted me knowing that I would be looking good for her when she walked in. I untie it then cinch it a little bit tighter around my svelte physique. If I was going to flaunt what I got I might as well flaunt it right. And it was then than an idea strikes me. A silly, sexy, playful idea. Should I? What if Amos came in? After a moment's pause I laugh. What the heck. The reward outweighed the risk.

"He he he!"

Again I loosen the waist ties not believing I was doing this even as I was doing it. Winona would find me in an apron alright. An apron…and nothing else!

Chapter 82: Trust Me

Chapter Text

Barefoot and naked, except for the tightly cinched kitchen apron of course, I stand at the counter preparing lunch with my ears perked for the slightest indication that Amos might be heading my way. If that happened my only hope would be a mad dash for the washroom but as it was across the room and I'd have to pass right by the door to get there Winona's huge father would almost certainly see my pale white fanny streaking across the room. My heart is beating like a scared bunny's even though I had a grin plastered to my face and occasionally giggle in giddy anticipation. I felt like I did that time my face was mashed into Winona crotch in the truck as I hid from Amos. The chance of getting caught was such a heady thrill!

I let out a sigh of relief as I hear Amos echo through the garage. "See you after lunch."

"Have a good one Pops." Winona calls back.

A few seconds later there is the slam of a car door followed by the thrum of an engine. Yes! Winona and I were alone.

With my bare ass exposed to the room I do my absolute best to play it cool as I stand at the counter chopping carrots.

When the door swings open I don't look as I knew I would burst out laughing if I did. Instead I just focus on the task in hand.

"Honey! I'm ho…" Winona's voice cuts off mid-word as she sees what awaited her. I bite my lips so as not to giggle. For a few heartbeats there is silence followed by a loud SLAM of the door swung shut behind her. Again, silence for a long electric moment. Then I hear the clomp, clomp, clomp of Winona's steel-toed work boots slowly approach me from behind.

A shiver of aching anticipation runs up my body causing gooseflesh to raise every fine hair on my body. With a casual tone that impressed even myself I say. "How's your day g-going dear?" No response. Instead she leaves me to squirm under her silent treatment. Closer and closer she comes until… "Hah!" I gasp as suddenly she presses right up against my back. Against the tender naked skin of my back and butt and upper hamstrings I feel the coarse cotton weave of her coveralls. Her breasts push against my shoulder blades, the cold brass of the zippers that ran across her breast pockets makes me tremble. And between my bare buttocks I feel a now familiar bulge nestle in, right at home. Her taller, wider, heavier frame looms over and around me to pin my hips to the counter. Try as I might to resist it the experience overwhelms me, forcing me to set down the knife before I hurt myself. "Ohhh!"

"Mmm." Winona jams her lips into the curve where neck meets shoulder and nuzzles hard. Three long, sucking kisses grace my neck, each one a bit higher than the last until her nose is buried in the hair behind my ear. At the same time her hands slip along my flanks, below my armpits, to slide right in under the front bib of the apron and grab my pec-titties. "What's for lunch?" She whispers as she peeks over me at the plates and bowls I'd just prepared for us before kissing back down my neck and across my shoulder.

"Ohhh…um…soup and v-v-veggies and…oh…turkey and ch-cheese sandwiches." The way she was touching me already had me breathing heavy and sets my skin to tingling from head to each of my ten curling toes. "Ohhh."

"Sounds…yummyyy." She croons between two lingering smooches behind my left shoulder. "But Daddy wants a bit more than soup and turkey sandwiches."

"Ohhhh." I sigh. Winona holds me there with her weight as her softly sucking lips pass back the way they came and her groping hands explore chest and sides. Bringing a hand up suddenly she lifts the short length of hair that hung from the back so that she could snoozle into the shorthairs at the back of my neck. "Oh!"

"Oh baby girl." She whispers. "You drive me crazy." Her hands glide down my bare arms then over my hands where she interlocks her fingers through mine and holds my hands firmly to the counter. Holding me there she kisses my neck and down my spine. "I'm gonna eat you up."

"Hmmm!" I moan and press my bum back against her growing cock. My own dick was already as stiff as the carrot on the cutting board in front of me, tenting my apron as it was squashed between my body and the drawers. In a sudden motion Winona's face was alongside my own again and in the next second she had my earlobe pinched in a nibbling bite. "OH! Daddyyy!"

Another flurry of motion. This time her hands let go of mine and swoosh back up my slender arms. Her left arm loops down to hold me around the chest, her hand clutching my right titty, while her right hand comes up to find my mouth. She lightly drags the tips of her fingers back and forth across my tender bottom lip as the harsh citrus smell of the soap they used in the shop crawls up my nostrils. When her middle digit does find the center it finds my lips pursed and parting for it. I wrap my lips around her finger and suck it with all the passion I would give to her cock. As my suction pulls her finger in she pushes until she was two knuckles in. Her finger had the sudsy bitterness of soap but I couldn't have cared less. I begin to suck and tongue at her middle finger hungrily. As her finger thrust in and out her palm presses up against my chin, forcing my head up to lay back against her shoulder. The arm around my chest tightens, the grip on my boob squeezes hard.

My fun little joke of wearing just the apron was going EXACTLY how I hoped it would!

"Mmmm!" I moan lewdly as I give head to her finger, the whole time my pelvis rocks to rub her arousal with my bare booty. Opening my mouth wide I lap at it as I let out a breathy gasp. "HAHH!"

"He he he. Ohhh you sexy bitch." She nips at my ear. "This plump ass is driving me wild!" Caught up in the moment she pulls her hand from my mouth, shifts her hips to the side, and then… Smack! She lays a stiff spank across my right bubble buttock. Not hard, not enough to hurt in anyway, but definitely enough to feel.

"OHHH!" I moan in erotic bliss as a pleasant light glow of a perfectly spanked butt cheek begins to set in. It was everything I hoped it would be! "Ohhhhhh Daddy!"

Right away I could feel something was wrong though. The arm around my body had loosened. The hand on my pec had let go. And the rest of her had gone still.

"Oh Avery. Oh Avery." She whispers, very much NOT in a Daddy voice anymore. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"

"What's the matter?" I try to turn to look at her, completely confused as to what had happened to upset her.

"I didn't mean to…hit you. Shit." She hugs me hard. Taking my head in her hand she presses her lips into my hair and whispers loudly. "I'm sorry baby. I got carried away. I'm so sorry."

It takes a second and then I remember. Back in my room. When we talked about spanking, an activity she sometimes threatened and one I was very much interested in exploring. But back there she cut it off at the bud. She had said, 'I'm not sure I can do that for you Sprout.' It was that comment the precipitated our first argument. It was because of my brother and how he treated me that made Winona not want to strike me, as if a hurtful slap and a playful spank where somehow the same.

"I'm sorry Avery." She says again as she holds me with all her strength, as if I might slip away forever if she let go for a second.

I wrap my arms around her left arm and squeeze it tight to my body. "Winona. I liked it. I really liked it!"

"I know, but…" She sighs. "I love you so much!"

"I love you too!" I say softly. "I want you spank me. It's ok-kay. It's okay." I pet her arm. "It's okay Winona."

"I don't want to hurt you Sprout. Not in anyway."

"I'll let you know if it hurts." I assure her. "If it r-really hurts. I promise I will."

"I don't know Avery."

"Just…trust me?"

Her tense body relaxes. "I do trust you."

I bring her hand to my mouth and kiss it. "I trust you too. That's why this is fun."

"Aw geez Sprout." She nuzzles me and kisses me again. For a long moment we just stay there in our front to back embrace, savoring the other's warmth.

"Hey. I th-think I thought of a good safe word." I say at last.

"Oh?"

"Apron!" I giggle. "What d-do ya think?"

She laughs and she presses her nose back into my neck to rub it back and forth. "I'll think about it."

"Okay." I smile. "Um, Daddy?"

"Yes baby girl?"

I wiggle my tush against her. "C-Can we…k-keep going?"

"Mmmm." I feel her power and confidence come flooding back to her. "Oh yes." She nibbles at my neck. "It's lunch time…and Daddy's hungry!"

Chapter 83: Lunch Time

Chapter Text

Picking right up where we left off she leans into me and encompasses me in her strong embrace. I close my eyes and smile as those wonderful feelings of love and safety wash over me once more.

"Mmmm, feels so right." Winona sniffs me and nuzzles into my slender neck. "Mmmm, that smell."

"Beef and barley soup?" I quip with a wiggle of my tush.

She pinches that tush at my impudence. I giggle and she laughs. She slides a hand up my front, gliding past my chest and up my neck until she takes my whole jaw and chin in a big grip then plants a kiss on my cheek. The smell of her hair, perfumed with garage dust and the fumes of automotive fluids, fill my nostrils as again that sturdy cotton weave presses into my back. She kisses me again at the temple. Then again on my ear, slipping a bit of tongue into my earhole at the end. Her hands begin to roam once more, more focused now on feeling up my breasts and my balls and my hard cock through the apron.

"Oh Daddyyy." I sigh. Smack. "OHHH!" I moan loudly as I am gifted with a second spank. "Yes!" This one was much softer and more careful than the first but it was a good first step. Besides, it was the idea of getting spanked that got me off more than the actual physical experience of it…lovely as that was. "Oh Daddy!" Wrapping her arms around my shoulders she pulls me back against her. My head upturned I lay it back on her shoulder and press my cheek into hers. "Ohhhh!" I bring my arms up behind my head to hug her around the neck.

"My baby girl." She turns my head and kisses me deeply, only our disparate heights allowing for such a passionate kiss in this position. God how I loved a tall woman! "Mrrrmm." At the same time her right hand had found my dick again and begins to stroke it through the fabric of the apron.

I let her hold my weight, knowing that she could easily bear it, and give myself to her kiss. Her tongue plunges aggressively into my mouth, her lips sucking hard on mine. "Hmmmm."

With a suddenness that leaves me reeling our kiss is broken as is our embrace. She takes a step back from me, grabs my hips, the PULLS me hard into her. My perky booty rams against her bulge so hard that I bounce off of her only to pulled right back again. With a hand against my back, the other still holding my hip, she pushes to bend me over! Oh my God! She was going to fuck me! YES!!!

"Hahhhh!" I mewl with wanton lust. I set my elbows on the counter and grip the edge of the cutting board I'd just been using. My body, on pure subby instinct, rises to tip toes and arches the back to lift the ass high in a position of total 'fuck me' surrender. "Hmmmm!" I bite my bottom lip and await whatever she had in store for me.

"Lunch time." She croons.

Her hands grip the tops of my shoulders then slowly draw back along my back, her long fingers feeling the shape of my curves and muscles as they went. I peek over my shoulders to see that as her hands receded she was getting lower and lower until she came to a kneeling position behind me. Smack! "Hah!" Her left hand slaps down on my left buttock and takes a grip. Smack! "Hah!" Her right hand does the same on the opposite cheek.

Our eyes lock. Mine widen as hers narrow, accompanied by a devilish grin. Spreading my cheeks wide…she takes one look at my tight hole…then DIVES in like a starving beast. "NNNNGH!" She stabs her tongue straight up my ass!

"OHHH FUCK!" I cry out.

"NNNGHMMM." She groans with feral delight as she makes a meal of my booty hole.

I immediately begin to tremble as Winona's incredible tongue fucks and rims my anus. In and out, round and round, in and out, flicking, jabbing, dancing, penetrating, in and out and in and out deep and fast…ohhhhhh WOW! Neither Kayla nor Eddie EVER ate me out like this before!

"Ohh. Ohhh! OHHH!" My moans rise as the tonguing just got better and better. "Oh my God!"

She pauses to smack her lips and whisper. "Fuck baby, your pussy tastes so fuckin good." She roots back into the cleft of my ass as deep as she could, her cheeks tight to mine. "Nnnngh!"

My pussy!? "Ohhhh Daddy!" I grab the cutting board fully just to have something to hold and cling to it tightly. My head slumps down and my eyes loll back as her jabbing, plunging, deep reaching tongue does things to me that left me completely discombobulated. I wanted to say sexy things for her or act the naughty baby girl but this was just too good. It was too good! All I could do is stay there writhing and moaning. "Ohhhh! Ohhhhh! Ohhhhh yessss!"

"RRNNGH!" With the aggression of a wolf shaking its head to aid it in killing its prey Winona burrows deeper between my cheeks as her tongue delves to new depths. "NNNGH!"

"OHHHHHH!!!"

I was already lightheaded from pleasure when she turns it up ten more notches!

Her left hand slides up my inner thigh, across my scrotum, then takes a light yet firm grip of my shaft. Her index finger feels around until it finds the hole, which was wet with precum. With just the tip of that finger, the rest of her hand perfectly still, she begins to rub at my tender tip. The slick precum allows her fingertip to rub, rub, rub with ease up and down my dick hole.

"FFFFFF!!!" My body squirms at the wildly overwhelming pleasure it was receiving. She wasn't done with me yet though. Her mouth comes away. My other buttock is released. I hear the slurp of a finger through lips and then… "GNNGH!" That same finger, lubed with spit, is slid into my wet and waiting hole then gave it a twist for good measure. "OHH Winonaaaa!"

"Mmm. So wet." Her finger taps the tip of my dick. "Mmmmm." Just as she nuzzled into my neck before she nuzzles into my crotch. A moment later my whole sack is engulfed in warm wetness as she mouths both testes at once. "Mrrrrmmm." Her lips wrap tight and she SUCKS!

I flop forward, damn near hitting the edge of the one of the bowls and sending hot soup all over myself, and whimper as bliss stacks upon bliss. Her grip around my cock, her fingertip rubbing and tapping at the tip, as she finger fucked me with the other hand and sucked and forcefully tongued my balls. All I can do is tremble and moan like the very happy girl I was. "Ohhhhhhh Daddyyyy!"

I was maybe thirty seconds from nutting when she lets go of my dick and balls. With her free hand Winona spreads a cheek to get a better look at her thrusting finger. She spits on my hole then leans it to flick the tip of her tongue against my anus as her fingers jabs in and out. "Mmmm mmm! I love this fuckin pussy!"

"OH!"

Out comes the finger. Smack! Smack! Cheeks spread. In she dives once more. "NNNNGHHHH!!!"

Slumped limp against the counter I am in a hazy heaven as Winona's eats me out with ravenous passion. A silly grin on my lust drunk face the minutes blur together as my pussy just felt better and better and better. I could have stayed here all day. Or at least an hour or two. And I might have too…had a startled peep that was neither mine nor Winona's not shattered the moment.

"Eep!"

We both startle and freeze for a second. The window! I'd opened it, curtains and all, when I first came in to freshen up the place. But…through it we should have been able to hear if anybody drove up to the garage. And way out here nobody should have just been wandering by on foot. Clearly we'd miscalculated on at least one of those assumptions.

In the most compromising of positions, with me bent against the counter nude except an apron and Winona kneeling behind me with my cheeks spread and her mouth wet, our heads snap toward the source of the sound. Framed in the square of the open window is a wide-eyed, red-faced, and very flustered looking Briar.

"Briar?" Winona says in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh! Oh! Oh my! Oh my!" Briar babbles as she stumbles back from the window. "I…I…I…I never saw anything! Oh geez! I'm sorry!" She staggers off to her left and out of sight.

"Briar!" Winona chuckles. "You couldn't have texted or something first?"

"I gotta go!" Comes her distant voice followed by the sound of running. "Sorryyy!"

"Get back here! Crazy girl." Winona jumps to her feet laughing. "I better go catch her."

"B-B-Briar!?" I stand with my face covered in my hands blushing harder than I'd ever blushed before. "Oh my G-God! She s-s-saw everyth-thing!"

"Ha ha ha! Caught red-handed." She swats my tush. "Get dressed baby. I'll see what she wanted."

Winona clomps off to try to intercept our new friend as I stand with my head spinning by all that had just happened. With too many thoughts to focus on at once I cling to the thing I'd been told to do. Get dressed. I scramble to find my clothes.

Chapter 84: Blushing Briar

Chapter Text

Moving at a blur I am dressed and looking respectable in world record time. The apron I slip back on mostly to hide my stiffy. My heart is pounding, my cheeks burning and my butt crack still slick with Daddy's spit when I am jogging out to see what was going on. Embarrassed as I was I didn't really want to face Briar but I thought it would be rude to hide. Getting caught was a valuable lesson though. Play with fire and you will eventually get burned. I did not regret our risque nookie but it drove home that we would have to be a bit more careful in the future. Thank goodness it was only Briar!

I do my best to put on a public face as I stroll through the garage but good golly was it difficult! My libido was raging and every fiber of who I was wanted to stay as baby girl. We'd gotten so close! Winona had me bent over and at her mercy. I had been horny plenty times in my life but never, NEVER, had I wanted to be fucked so badly as I did right now. My whole groin from dick to balls to twitching little hole throbbed with unstated desire. Focus Avery. Focus.

When I get out to the side of the building Winona is standing in front of a very sweaty and very flustered looking Briar who was currently straddling one of the e-bikes that the college kept around campus for the students to use. That explained why we hadn't heard her arrive. Judging by her frizzy hair and sweat soaked shirt it looked like Briar had used at least as much pedal power as electric power on the way up the long, gradual slope of the peninsula. She probably drained the battery halfway up. I'd made the trip and much further many times back in the day on my old mountain bike but one glance at Briar's adorably petite physique told any onlooker that she was more accustomed to the sedentary life of the academy.

"Briar." Winona says, hands out in front of her. "Chill. It's cool."

When Briar sees me her already pink face darkens a shade. Mine does the same. "I am SO sorry. I didn't mean to, erm, interrupt. I rode up and saw your truck and heard something around the back and, well…"

"It's all good." Winona chuckles. "Next time, text first and you won't get the eyeful."

Avoiding my gaze completely Briar turns her front wheel to try to go around Winona. "I'll just get out of your way. Sorry to be a bother."

Winona steps to intercept. "Stop!"

At Winona's command Briar straightens up, nearly tipping right over backwards thanks to the heavy backpack she was lugging. "Eeep!"

"Seriously Briar. It's cool." Winona says again. Stepping forward she takes the bike by the handlebars and wheels it away to lean it against the building. "You came all the way out here. It must have been important."

"It wasn't really." Briar looks up at me. The moment our eyes meet sets us both to blushing all over again. "Um…hi Avery."

"H-Hey B-B-Briar."

"Um…"

"D-Did you have l-lunch yet?" I force myself to say so as to shift the topic from the obvious. "W-We're having s-soup and s-sandwiches."

"Actually, I haven't yet. You really don't mind?"

"Hell no." Winona walks up behind me and wraps her arms around my chest. "My Pops'll probably be back soon anyway." She nuzzles the side of my head and kisses me. "You kind of caught us Briar. We haven't told the gang yet that we're officially a thing."

I smile and relax into her embrace. "We're g-going steady."

"Oh! Well I won't say a thing. I promise!"

"It's not a secret." Winona says with a firm squeeze. "We just haven't had the chance."

"Well…congratulations." Briar says, finally beginning to calm. "I kinda figured you were already with the way you two danced at the party. You two look so natural together."

"Th-Thank you." I giggle. "I don't think we've b-been very sneaky about it." I nod to the back of the building. "And s-sorry about that. It was my f-fault that the curtains were open."

"Don't let appearances fool you. My sweet little Sprout likes to live on the edge." She kisses my cheek. "Kinky boy."

"I see." Her brown eyes widen. "I saw!"

"Ha! Come on then." Winona drapes her arm over my shoulders and leads me back for the suite with Briar walking along beside us. "So what brings you up to Win's Garage?"

"Oh, um, you said when we talked I could pop by anytime to talk about the game." Briar is looking left and right and up and down as we pass through the mechanic bays. For someone so steeped in the cutting edge this place must have looked positively prehistoric. "We never got to do a post-game hangout. My old group back home used to do that."

"The original Mayhems as well." Winona chuckles.

"Nobody I know at school plays." She says, then adds more quietly. "Not that I know that many people."

We enter Winona's place and swing the door closed as we kick off our shoes. I slip from Winona's arm to go and make another sandwich and redistribute the soup and sliced veggies to feed three. Knowing Briar was a tea drinker as well I also start the kettle. Meanwhile Winona splits off to head to the washroom where she washes her hands and brushes her teeth. Nobody wanted ass-breath when hanging with friends.

Briar glances toward the counter where she'd seen me bent over and we both blush yet again.

"Ahem." Briar settles into a chair at the table. I bring her a cold water which she accepts gratefully. After a long drink she says. "Nice place."

"Not much but it's all mine." Winona says through the open washroom door. "Once we're really established and I've got some dough I was thinking of maybe getting a proper trailer up here or something."

"Cool."

After some brushing and spitting Winona dries her hands and comes out to join Briar at the table. "So you really rode all the way out here just to talk about the game?"

"Yeah." Briar nods. "Yep. Yep totally. Just the game."

Winona and I shoot each other a look at Briar's very poor attempt at a lie.

"Nothing else?" Winona prods.

"Oh no. Nope. Nothing." Briar fidgets in her seat. "Well…maybe one thing."

"Out with it girl."

"You see it's…it's Kayla."

"Kayla?"

"Kayla." She says, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. "I like her. She's fun and pretty and popular and…and I really like the way she looks at me. She's really nice, ya know."

"We know."

"Mmm." She frets. "I know you've been with her and…err…I'd kind of like to…um…do the things that…um…um…" She glances toward the counter again, a little smile playing at her lips. "…that you and Avery do." The poor girl was as horny as I was. "I want to…do that too." After a dreamy pause she blurts. "But with Kayla!"

Winona leans back and laughs. "Well that won't be hard! Just ask her. Kayla's thirsting for you so bad right now."

Briar sighs, her shoulders slump. "I know."

"Buck up." Winona says. "If you're nervous about it Avery and I can hook you up. No problemo."

"Big problemo." Briar says. "Muy problemo."

"Wh-What's wrong Briar?" I ask as I start ferrying lunches to the table.

Her already small frame shrinks even further. "You see…I, um…I don't want to hook up with her."

"But you just said…"

"I want to BE with her." Her voice is as tiny as she was. "I want to be hers."

Winona's amused smirk softens, her expression growing more serious. Her of all people knew what Briar was talking about.

"I've never been with a girl before. I've never been with anybody before." Briar swallows. "I made a promise to myself that I would only give myself to someone who was, um, going to appreciate me. Someone who could commit to me. Someone I at least had a chance with." She looks up. "Is that stupid?"

"No!" Winona says. "That's not stupid at all Briar." Reaching across the table she takes her hand. I come to stand at Briar's side and lay my hand on her shoulder.

Briar looks back and forth between us then down at the bowl of soup in front of her. "I swear everyone in the world has been laid besides me. I know it's just sex…and I want it…but…I want it to be…important."

"It is not 'just' sex." Winona says. "Not if you don't think so. And especially for your first time. It is important."

"It's okay to s-save yourself." I say warmly. "My G-Grandpa's only ever b-been with my G-Grandma. She was his f-first and l-last. Even though she passed away years ago he's never once been t-tempted to wander. She's the only one for him. His one and only true love."

Winona looks up at me. "Is that true?"

"Yeah."

"Avery." She says. "That is the most beautiful thing I've ever heard!"

"Oh, uh, yeah. That's G-Grandpa."

"I've never even met him but I think I love him." She turns her attention back to Briar. "See. Everyone has that perfect someone out there Briar. Have faith. Have patience. Your princess will come."

"I want to but…I want THIS princess." Her delicate hands clench tight. "I want her real bad." She sighs again. "I know all about Kayla's reputation. Level with me guys. Do I stand any chance of getting her to settle down with me?"

Winona and I look at each other, both of us at a loss for words. We wanted to encourage her and support her. But Kinky Kayla giving herself exclusively and permanently to just one person? The prospects were bleak.

Chapter 85: Briar's Crush

Chapter Text

For the moment we sidestep the question, using our cooling soup as an excuse to put it off. When I finish bringing the food to the table Winona surprises me by getting up off her chair and offering it to me. I am about to protest when she gives me a pointed look, a Daddy look, that told me she would have no argument on this one. With a flattered smile I accept and sit in her chair. Like a gentleman of yesteryear she even helps push the chair into place behind me.

Taking one of the halves of her sandwich, hers being the biggest, she takes a bite and begins to pace as she chews and thinks. Briar and I, across from each other, clink our teas, have sip, then dig into our own meals. After another bite Winona points at Briar with the corner of her sandwich half and says through a half full mouth. "You know what Briar. You do stand a chance."

"I do?"

"Sure you do! You are sweet and pretty and smart and sexy."

"Oh!" Briar blushes yet again.

"Kayla would be lucky to have you. Lucky!" She says. "There is someone out there for everyone. Even Kayla."

My spoon halfway to my mouth I pause and look at her. "Um…"

"You really think so?" Briar brightens up.

"Hell yeah. Don't give up." She takes another big bite and gobbles it down quickly. "You might be just the someone she's been waiting for. It surely wasn't me. But maybe it's you Briar. I think I sense a bit of magic happening between you."

"Really!?"

"W-Winona…I-I'm not sure that's true." I say. "I-I've known her a long time and Kayla's never r-really settled down with anybody for more than a couple months."

"Because she hasn't found the One yet." Winona says. "She's still looking for her soulmate."

"I d-don't think she is."

"Everybody is." She says. "Whether they know it or not. She deserves to be happy Sprout."

"She is happy." I say.

"Is she though?" Winona says, her voice more solemn. "She puts on a good front, I'll give her that."

"I-It's not a front. That's who she is."

"Avery, she's lonely. She talks to her house like it's a person for f's sake."

"Well Babe is a very advanced AI to be fair." Briar says. "It's not uncommon for a friendship to develop with Meadow."

"It's a house!" Winona turns to face me directly. "Avery. You've been with her. In her softer moments. You've gotten those middle of the night calls."

"I d-don't think we should talk about that." I scowl. "That's private."

"I know." Winona holds her hands up. "I'm just saying, she's got a person shaped hole right through the middle of her. All her friends, activities, parties, socializing, all her different lovers, it keeps her head busy but there's something missing right here." She taps her chest. "She's lonely."

"She's n-not! There's n-nothing wrong with Kayla." I bristle. I knew about Winona's history with Kayla but this was my best friend she was talking about. "She's w-w-wonderful."

"She is wonderful." Briar sighs as she stares into her soup and slowly stirs it. "So wonderful."

"And she deserves to be happy." Winona says again. "And so do you Briar. All I'm saying is that if you really feel something for her you gotta try. Just do it on your own terms. Be honest with her and yourself and stand by your principles. If it's meant to be, she'll come around. She'll come to you." She pops in the last bit of sandwich and chews it down.

"Okay." Briar says, but then notices me shaking my head no. "No?"

"Y-Your just asking to get hurt if you d-do that."

"Oh?"

I glance back and forth between the two women trying to figure out what to say. I'd sat with Kayla talking about her relationships many a time. It was weird to be on the other end of the equation.

"K-Kayla is the b-best friend you could ever ask for." I say. "B-But y-you have to be willing to share her. She's not l-lonely. She's r-restless. She's a r-romantic adventurer. She's a dreamer. A t-traveller. She doesn't like to be tied down to one spot. She's on a n-neverending journey with an ever shifting destination. It's what makes her feel alive."

"Every journey has an end." Winona says. "Without a guiding star she will end up lost and alone in the wilderness." She looks me in the eyes. "Underneath it all…she IS lonely Sprout."

"Yeah." I cede the point, knowing deep down it had some truth in it. "I know." I sigh then say to Briar. "But if you try to make her commit too soon she'll tell you all the things you ever d-dreamed of hearing. Promises of the moon and the stars. And, in the moment, she'll even mean them too. She'll say them with her whole heart and soul." I shake my head. "But it won't last."

Winona falls still as she ponders my words. "People change Sprout. People grow. One special person can change your whole world."

I smile. "Yeah."

"I'm confused." Briar says. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Be your charming little self and win her over." Winona says. "If you think you and she might be a good thing you'll never forgive yourself if you don't at least try."

"But go in with your eyes open." I add. "M-Maybe you'll be hers in the end. Or m-maybe she'll give you th-the best few months of your life…then float away on a shifting breeze."

"He's not wrong." Winona nods. "Guard that heart, girl. Guard that heart with your life. She'll shatter it with a smile on her face."

"But n-not to be cruel."

"Which almost makes it worse."

Briar looks from Winona to me and back to her again. "I'm so confused!"

"I don't blame you." Winona chuckles. "It's a good thing I can fix a car, because we're terrible counselors!"

"You w-want me to talk to her? Sus things out?" I ask. "See how serious her interest is?"

"Would you Avery?" Briar says eagerly. "I'd really appreciate that."

"I'm on it." I nod.

Picking up the other half of her sandwich Winona dips a corner into her soup and munches. As she chews she points my way. "You might have known Kayla longer, but you are wrong about one thing Sprout."

"Oh?" I look up. "And what's th-that?"

"You said that she didn't like to be tied down." With a twinkle and wink she quips. "I can tell you for a FACT that that's not true."

"Oh? OH!" Briar and I look at each other…then burst into giggles.

"She's a switch but she's definitely got her preference." Winona chuckles. "You ever heard of topping from the bottom Briar? Be ready for it. That's Kay in a nutshell."

"Oh my goodness!" Briar covers her face. "Pffff! He he he he."

"No jokes. I guarantee ya that when Scourge was choking out Horny there were some damp panties goin on at that end of the table."

"Stop!" I howl. "Ha ha ha!"

"I'm serious!" Winona hams it up with a great big smile. "Start workin on your knots, girl, and invest in some leather. Some cardio couldn't hurt either."

"Knots!? Leather!? MEEE!?" Tiny Briar is beside herself with laughter. "HA HA HA HA!"

"And why not?" She winks. "I can see it now. Mistress Briar, the sexy bitch queen of the Meadows. Poor peeping Babe's gonna blow a damn fuse!"

"AH HA HA HA!"

"Hey." Winona shrugs. "Just tryin to help. They don't call her Kinky Kayla for nothin."

Chapter 86: Random Encounter

Chapter Text

After a good laugh our spirits are high. As we eat our lunch, Briar and I sitting with Winona up and moving around as she ate, the subject turns inexorably to FoF. As the gals start to dig into every little nook and cranny of our first session and the game in general I mostly just sit and listen to them. I found it fascinating how deeply they each knew the lore, history, and rules of the various editions and the unbridled enthusiasm with which they spoke about it. I never truly appreciated before the passion a game of what was essentially structured make believe play could inspire.

More than half the stuff they talked about I hadn't a clue about. From poorly implemented rules in previous edition to obscure characters from the lore even to the ups and downs of the company that created the game they talk and talk about their shared love of the game. With each inside joke and abstruse reference I could see another brick being laid down in their budding new friendship.

For someone interested in the ins and outs of FoF this would be like sitting at the feet of two great masters. An education second to none. But for me it was the two amazing people behind the words that were being revealed. Beyond the mechanics and minutiae I hear about a pair of girls with very different backgrounds who had needed an escape from the mundane. They'd found it inside the covers of a book and sat around tables with fellow dreamers. For the Winona of the past the game meant imagination, freedom, creativity, and heroism. For the girl that was Briar the game gave her a world of structure, where logic and order underpinned what only seemed like a chaotic universe, and a realm where good and evil played by the same rules. Around a table of like minded players Winona found a place to express her shining inner spark and Briar found a sanctuary of acceptance, even if it was to be found behind the mask of a character. Two women, two different paths, individual inspirations, but one and the same passion. Fascinating! This was all so much more profound than the fun hobby I assumed FoF to be at first.

As they continue to chat I gather the dishes and move them to the sink. There I start the water, add the soap, and begin to wash. The next thing I knew Winona was at my shoulder rinsing and drying. A moment after that Briar was there putting the clean plates away. A warm feeling washes over me as I listen to them talk and laugh and do their part. This wasn't what it was like back home. I remembered well the shouting and arguments the simple chore of dishes would kick off every single night. Technically it was Paige's responsibility but as the eldest she always tried to pass it down to one of us boys, when she was home at all that is. This would invariable start a big fight as none of us wanted to do her work. And in the days before our father left us, with the inevitability of one domino knocking over the next, this would lead to a whoopin all around leaving three sniffling boys standing in a line just like this. There was no laughter then like there was now.

A kiss presses into the side of my head. "What are you smiling at Sprout?"

"N-Nothin." I whisper. "I'm just happy."

"Probably tired of hearing us prattle on about FoF!" Briar says. "I'm terrible. I can talk for HOURS about it."

"Me too!" Chuckles Winona. Hours? I actually believed them. She nudges me with her shoulder. "We can talk about something else if you want."

"No." I say. "I love it. Hey, um, you guys were using a w-word a b-bit ago. Phaco? I n-never heard that word. What's a Phaco?"

"Ha!" Winona slaps my shoulder. "Back in the early editions they had this wild way of determining hits."

"It was before my time but I heard some old-school players had to keep a calculator at the table!" Briar snorts. "And if someone wanted to wrestle, eesh!"

"Ha ha ha! My old FM showed us this whole series of charts and graphs he'd made and…"

And off they go again down their nerdy rabbit hole just as I hoped they'd do. I really enjoyed listening to them.

The dishes are done and the counter cleaned. The women move to the love seat and I roll the computer chair over to join them. They carry on talking, the topic turning to our inaugural game. Eventually Winona turns to Scourge, gently trying to convince Briar to tamp down the Ogre-Troll's power with some roleplay limitations so that she was a bit more balanced with the rest of us.

"I did get kind of carried away with her." Briar giggles. "I just never had a FM give me such free range before!"

"I love her, but Scourge is gonna be a bitch to challenge without out making the others feel useless." Winona levels with her. "I don't want to rain on your fun and nerf her…but I don't want to have to hit you with mind magic every game either. That shit sucks after awhile."

Briar raises her hands. "I totally get it. I can tweak her down notch."

"Mmm, I kinda like her as is. This raw destruction just ready to be unleashed. Very cool. I had another idea to reign her in."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Your Paladin oath. I'd like to work with that to give you some voluntary limitations."

"Ooo! Yes! I like the idea. Go on."

As they get into the weeds about Scourge's oath I hear Amos' vehicle return. I whisper that I was going to go see if he needed any help or anything and excuse myself.

I slip into my shoes and stroll back through the garage. Along the way I glance about and wonder where Brutus had disappeared to. Back with his family? The answer comes a few seconds later by a loud "AHHH CHOO!".

That was a woman's sneeze. I stop in my tracks and cock my ear toward the open bay door.

"Amos Crow. I swear if you ever bring that fluff ball home with you again I'm making kitty-cat wasna." That voice! It was both new yet weirdly familiar. It sounded like Winona, a LOT like Winona, but with twenty or more years of sultry fry at the edges.

"He gets lonely without me." One car door slams followed by another. "Look at him Cher. He needs me."

"YOU'RE gonna be lonely on the sofa if I see him at home again!"

Amos' deep chortle follows. "Don't you listen to her Brutus. She's all bark and no bi…OW! You bit me!"

"You're lucky that's all I did." Winona's mom says in her insanely sexy voice.

Amos laughs again, clearly enjoying the back and forth with his spirited wife. "Did you see the sign? You shoulda seen her face when she figured it out. She…"

"Nevermind the damn sign for a second." Cheryl snaps. "I can't believe you left her out here alone with him."

"Errr, why wouldn't I?"

"Gee, I wonder." She quips. "Boy and girl all alone in the back of a country shop? What could possibly happen?"

"Lunch?" Thud! "OW!"

"That's how we got Winona ya darned fool! Come on!" The crunch of footsteps rapidly approaching echos through the bay. "Just show me this little womanizing white boy and stand back."

Stand back!? I didn't like the sounds of that! "Glp!"

Chapter 87: Mama Bear

Chapter Text

Appearing through the open bay door strolls Amos with Brutus bounding along at his heel chasing his shoelace. At his side walks a woman that could only have been my girlfriend's mother. She wasn't identical but there were far more similarities than differences in her powerful female features. Same nose, same cheeks, similar lips, darker skin and a little bit shorter and a little bit thicker in the waist, rump and legs. Her hair could not have been more different though as it was in a short pixie style, undercut around the sides but topped with a thick and voluminous faux hawk. She had the same raven black shade of hair but with ribbons of natural gray running through it that just worked for a woman her age. In a black leather jacket over top a black t shirt with mirrored aviators, tight blue jeans, a thick black leather belt, and sturdy square toed cowboy boots she looked more like some 80's rocker than an accountant.

She looked good for a woman in her forties. Damn good. For a woman of any age. If not for the streaks of gray had Winona introduced Cheryl as her older sister I probably would have believed it. Combine her bad ass good looks with that husky, sultry voice and…woah Mama! To put it bluntly, Cher was a smokin hot milf. Jack always told me that if you wanted to know what a girl was going to look like in twenty years to look at her mother. If that held true here, Winona was going to mature like a fine red wine.

"Well here he is now." Amos says as he sees me.

Cheryl stops in her tracks. Lowering her glasses she takes me in with her dark brown eyes. "Oh damn!" Her brows raise. "He's cute."

"HA!" Amos guffaws.

I stand there unsure of quite how to respond to that.

She slips her shades off and tucks them into a jacket pocket as she approaches me. "So you're the broke ass white boy trying to steal our daughter." Before I can reply she begins peppering me with questions. "Why are you in the garage?"

"I-I-I heard the c-c-car and th-thought Amos m-might need some help."

"Why are you wearing an apron?"

"I m-m-made l-lunch f-f-f-for…"

"Why the hell you stuttering so bad, boy?"

"I-I-I…um…"

"Easy there son." Amos says, his voice low and warm, as he steps in beside me. "She's just tryin to rattle you."

"Trying and succeeding." She shoots her husband an annoyed glare for interrupting her interrogation.

I swallow hard. "I have a st-stutter M-Ma'am. Always h-have."

She gives me a long look up and down. "Why you're no bigger than a prairie dog. Your trailer park Mama forgot to feed ya or what?"

"Um…I c-can't help my height M-Ma'am." Unlike Amos who was dead set against me using 'Sir', I sensed that Cher was very much okay with my use of 'Ma'am' so I stick to it.

"I wouldn't feel safe walking alone at night with a pipsqueak like you." She starts to walk around me, her eyes never leaving me. "What are you going to do if my daughter gets jumped in some alley some night? Bite their ankles?"

"Ehkolie is v-v-very safe. B-B-But I-I-I'd do my b-best." I stammer. "I-I-I'd n-never l-let anybody…hurt…her. Ever."

"So what were you two doing out here? Just lunch?"

"Um, yes."

"Uh huh. I saw that dirt bike." She says as she circles behind me. "Don't you own a proper car?"

"N-No M-Ma'am." I say.

"How old are you?"

"T-Twenty th-three."

"Twenty three and you don't have a car?"

"I l-like b-b-bikes."

"Probably all you can afford." She scoffs. "On a grocery boy's wage."

"Um…"

"I looked you up Avery Beckett. You've got no photography business." She glides back into my peripheral vision as she continues her circle. "You just said that to make my soft hearted daughter believe you've got a future. Didn't you?"

"N-No M-Ma'am. I d-didn't lie to her."

"Why aren't you in school Avery? Hm? Marks not good enough?" She probes. "As short on brains as you are on height?"

"I g-got ok-k-kay m-marks."

"Even worse! No ambition? No hunger? Huh?"

"Cher." Amos says.

"He thinks he's good enough for Winona?" She shakes her head. "Nothing but poor white trash."

"Th-That's n-not v-very n-nice M-Ma'am." I say through quickening breaths. "Y-You're b-being v-very r-r-rude and I d-d-don't th-think I d-deserve it."

"Oh yeah?" She comes back around to my front and stares me down. "You want to say something to me? You want to call me a bitch? Go on then." I lower my eyes and bite my lips before I said something wrong. She steps back. "Pff. Didn't think so. Why don't you run along home now little white boy."

Stubbornly I shake my head.

Amos steps in and lays a hand on my shoulder. "He can't help his skin." He says. "You're doing what you always accuse them of doing. It don't make it right because your skin is darker. I'm surprised at you Cher."

In her pause I could sense that his words had struck home. "The boy's soft Amos."

"Nah." He squeezes my shoulder. "Avery's got grit."

"He's got nothing going on. Drifting through life. No future."

"He's still young Cher. Did we have it all figured out at his age?"

"He's broke!"

"And I wasn't?" He chuckles. "I was fixing beaters with borrowed tools when we met."

"Whose side are you on here Amos?"

"The winning one." He says right back.

"Pah."

"You ain't seen the way she looks at him Cher." He says as he pulls his hand away. "Just how you looked at me back then. And still do."

She sighs.

Bolstered by Amos' support I raise my head to face Cheryl directly. "I'm s-sorry that I d-don't measure up in y-your eyes Ma'am. B-But…W-Winona likes me and…that's all that m-matters." I swallow. "If y-you c-can't be happy for us…well…then you c-can just…g-g-g-get stuffed!"

"What did he say!?"

"F-Fuck the haters!"

"Excuse me!?"

"Ha ha! You tell her Avery." Amos laughs, then turns to his wife. "Told you he's got grit."

"Are you going to just stand there and let him talk to your wife like that?"

"Hell yeah I am." He slaps my back. "When she deserves it."

She looks at me aghast…then starts to laugh herself. "The sass on this boy!" She shakes her head. "Damn it. You're gonna make me like you, aren't you?"

I start to giggle along with their laughter, which just makes them laugh harder.

As the laughter fades Amos says. "I think you owe the man an apology?"

"Yeah. I think I do." The next thing I knew I was being pulled into a hard hug. With my head over her shoulder the aroma of tobacco smoke cuts through the smells of the garage. Cheryl was a smoker. While that knowledge brought with it bitter feelings, the aroma was also strangely comforting on a subconscious level. "Hope I wasn't too hard on you Avery." She says. "Mama bear's going to look out for her cubs. Sorry about that."

"Apology accepted." I smile as I am squeezed tight. She even hugged similarly to her daughter!

"HEY!" Comes said daughter's voice rapidly approaching. "You got your own man!" I am pulled away from behind straight into another hug. Her arms wrapped around my chest Winona nuzzles into the side of my head and kisses me. "This one's mine."

"No fair." Teases Cher. "Yours is cuter!"

"Hey now!" Amos protests.

"You okay Sprout?" Winona whispers into my ear as her parents banter. "If she said something…"

"I'm okay." I say and hold her hands to my chest.

"And who is this?" Amos says as Briar scampers between us all in pursuit of Brutus, who was currently chewing on Amos' lace.

"Huh?" She stands straight and looks around, only now realizing that she was right in the middle of us. "Oh! Hello there." She offers her hand "I'm Briar."

Amos' enormous mitt completely engulfs Briar's slender hand and they shake. Never in my life had I seen such a size discrepancy between two adult people. With the crown of her head barely even reaching his nipples she had to look fully up to look Amos eye to eye.

"Well nice to meet ya." He smiles. "Another new friend?"

"Another new friend." Winona confirms as she slides around to my side, one arm still around me. "Briar's in my new FoF group."

"Another one!" Amos exclaims as Briar laughs and moves on to shake Cheryl's hand. "The geeks are everywhere!"

Chapter 88: Nice People

Chapter Text

After the chuckles Briar asks Amos if she could pet his kitty. He is only too happy to let her. She picks up Brutus and the pair of them begin to fawn over the kitten.

"Well Avery." Cheryl says. "If you came out to help, you might as well come help." She turns and heads back out the garage door.

"Oh." I glance at Winona and she gives me a reassuring squeeze of the shoulder. "C-Coming!" I slip from her arm to follow her mother. I hurry to catch up then walk along beside her as she leads me to the back of Amos' SUV.

"Talk to me."

"Mmm?"

"Tell me about yourself." She says. The interrogation wasn't over, it was just friendlier. "What do your parents do?"

"Oh, um." I swallow. "M-My Dad is a p-prison guard on the mainland. M-Mom…um…she l-lives with her new b-boyfriend in town."

"What's she do?"

"Um." I think of a polite way of putting it as I'm not sure 'drinking and complaining' really counted as a profession. "Sh-She's a homemaker."

"Ah."

"D-D-Dad's got his new f-family and Mom has her b-boyfriend." I say. "I don't r-really see them that m-m-much."

She looks at me a moment then opens the back door of the car. "Brothers? Sisters?"

"One s-sister, two b-brothers. All older."

"The baby!"

"Yes M-Ma'am." I say as I look at the boxes stacked in the back of the vehicle alongside a computer, screen, printer, and the various accessories. "P-Paige works in DC."

"Oh?"

"Sh-She's a clerk in the Ehkolie Commissioner's office there." I grab one of the boxes and discover that it was quite heavy. "My b-brother J-J-Jack…he's in c-c-construction. And Josh drives a van."

Hugging the PC tower to her body she takes it and we turn to carry our loads back to the garage. "Winnie tells me that Mike is your grandpa."

I smile. "Yes Ma'am! I d-didn't know you met him."

"I didn't." She says. "Just heard Amos talk about him. Sounds like quite a character."

"Yes Ma'am. G-Grandpa is one of a kind." I say as my heart warms. "I…I l-love him very much. H-He's the best! H-He's my h-hero."

She looks over at me. "What a sweet thing to say."

"Sorry." I bow my head as I realized I'd overshared like an idiot. I was so bad at knowing what normal men were supposed to say. I always ended up blabbing too much or too little. Sensing her eyes on me I can feel my anxiety beginning to rise again. The walk in the woods had sure helped but the lack of sleep last night was starting to fray at my edges. "Um…"

"No need to apologize. Just saying." She says. "I'll say this. Your folks did a good job with you Avery. I've never met such a polite young man."

"Th-Thank you." I am still blushing as we enter the bay.

The moment we make our appearance the enormous Amos is pointing at tiny Briar, their difference in stature continued to amuse me. "Briar's a computer genius!"

"Pff!" Briar giggles.

"She works on robots and stuff."

"Artificial Intelligence systems actually."

"I bet she can get our computer set up in no time." He chuckles. "It'll be child's play for her."

"Dad!" Winona rolls her eyes. "She's not some minimum wage tech support geek, she's a serious developer! I can do it."

"Oh, I don't mind!" Briar says brightly.

Winona actually face palms then shoots her dad a dirty look. "Are you going to put ALL my friends to work?"

"Hey." He laughs a merry laugh. "If they want to help I'm not going to stop them."

"It's cool Win." Briar says. Handing Brutus to Amos she walks up to Cher and takes the tower. As a group we walk into the customer service area of the garage. She sets it down on the counter and I set the box on the floor to the side. "Let's see what we're working with here." Turning the computer toward her Briar looks it over. "Oh my God! Compaq!?"

"What?" Amos asks.

"I haven't seen one of these in ages."

"Built to last!" Amos slaps the top of it.

"He got it in a blowout sale like 12 years ago." Gripes Winona. "It's still got XP on it."

"No way!" Briar's brown eyes light up. "Ha ha ha! I cannot wait to see this!"

"It can't even talk to the new POS system we got!" Winona says.

"It'll be fine." He says confidently. "Right Briar."

"It'll be a challenge." She says, her eyes alight. Taking out her phone she places it beside her and taps the screen. "Meadow. Brush up on Windows XP and point of sales systems."

"Yes Briar." A woman's voice replies.

As the rest of us look at each other Briar turns the computer to look at the side and back. "Could I get a screwdriver?"

"Hooold on a second." Winona points at Briar's phone. "Is that Babe?"

"Whose Babe?" Amos asks Cheryl, who shrugs.

"More like Babe's mother. Mmm, more like his God really." Briar says. "Babe is just Kayla's local…"

"It's been listening in this whole time!?" Winona exclaims.

Briar laughs. "Don't trust computers?"

"No!" Winona says. "Geez! I thought I was safe out here."

"You are." Briar assures her. "Meadow is only listening when I contact her, and only to my voice unless I tell her otherwise." Tapping the screen again she says. "There are some nice people here that want to meet you Meadow. Say hello to them."

"Hello nice people." The voice says with an unnervingly natural cadence. "Always a pleasure to meet friends of Briar's."

Amos and Cheryl look at each and then back to the phone. "Hi Meadow." They say as one.

"Ack! Don't talk to it!" Winona waves her hands. "Shhhh!"

Her mother shushes her right back. "Would you stop." She comes around to stand beside Briar. "Start at the beginning. Who is Babe, who is Meadow, and how are they going to help set our computer up?"

As Briar sets into her answer Amos snaps his fingers and mutters. "Screwdriver." He heads back into the bays to get one.

Winona grabs my hand. "Let's get outta here!"

Happily I follow along. I cannot help but smile at Winona's near phobic reaction to the AI. Not because it was funny but because it was different. One of those little quirks that, when combined with all her other facets, made Winona different than anybody else in this whole, wide world. What someone else might think a silly flaw I found wonderful and beautiful.

"Meadow. Babe. Yeesh." She gripes as we grab another load of stuff. "Gives me the creeps."

"I l-like your mom."

"Hm? Oh. Good! She seems to like you too. I'm surprised. " She says. "What you'd say to her?"

"I c-called her Ma'am."

"She would like that."

I grin. "And I t-told her to g-get stuffed."

"Pbst! You did not!"

"I did." I say impishly.

"Ha ha ha!" Winona guffaws as I giggle. "A little sweet, a little sour, that's just her flavor."

When we get back inside we find Briar with her nose stuck into the guts of the computer as Winona's parents stood listening to Meadow tell them about the basics of artificial intelligence. Back and forth we ferry the items from the SUV as we chat and laugh, our conversation always hitting an abrupt pause each time we enter the service area so Meadow couldn't listen in. After the final load Briar was already well on the way to getting the system set up. Winona and I wander back outside.

With shrug back toward the building she says. "So much for our quiet little lunch."

"Yeah." I say, my hole twitching in memory of the incredible oral it had been receiving before we were interrupted."

"How you doin?"

"Tired."

"Me too." She yawns. Slipping her arm around me she pulls me to her side and rest her cheek on my head. I rest mine against her shoulder…and we both let out a long, contented sigh.

Once more our privacy is quickly invaded. Approaching footsteps followed by the snikt of a lighter sparking up breaks our quiet moment.

Lighting a cigarette Cheryl comes to stand beside us. "Aren't you two cute." She says.

I look over at her, my eyes glued on the rosy bud at the tip of her freshly lit smoke. Filthy gray smoke curls from the tip to get caught on the breeze. The tip glows and the smoke disappears as Cheryl draws the cancerous smog into her body.

"Hey, Briar's got a class she's got to get to soon." Cher says. "And she was hoping for a ride back."

"I bet." Winona quips. "She damn near had a heart attack getting here. Didn't she Sprout?"

"Mm." I hum as ash is flicked away from the cigarette to reveal the smolder once more, that same sickly fire that was right now eating away at her lungs.

"I wouldn't mind heading home myself but Amos needs the car so…"

"I'll give you guys a lift." Winona says. "No sweat."

"Oh no! No way!" Cher says emphatically. "I'd like to survive to see my next birthday. I thought if Avery wouldn't mind…" Just then she notices my peculiar focus on her. "Avery?"

"Um." My breath shudders. "Um…d-d-did you know th-that sm-smoking isn't g-good for you?"

She lets out a confused laugh. "Uh, yeah."

"Um…um…it's b-b-bad…"

"Sprout?" Winona whispers, her arm tightening around me.

I shake my head. "S-Sorry."

Cheryl gives her daughter a wary look at my weirdness.

"Sorry." I say again. "What did you w-want?"

"I was wondering if you'd give Briar and I lift into town then bring Amos' car back."

"Oh! Yeah. No p-problem." I smile. "Amos d-doesn't mind me d-driving his car?"

"Nah." She says. "Thanks Avery." She takes another suffocating draw of her smoke. "I'll let her know." With that Cher heads back inside.

"You cool babe?" Winona asks the moment her mom was out of earshot.

"I'm cool." I assure her. "I can't believe your dad is trusting me with his nice SUV."

"He's the trusting sort." She kisses my head. "Hey, since you're heading into town anyway…"

"Mmm?" I look up at her.

She peers back, a twinkle in her eyes. "…if you wanted to…grab a toothbrush…change of clothes…"

"Oh? Oh!"

"Just sayin. Sometimes it gets a little cold and lonesome out here at night all by myself." She winks. "All I've been thinking about all day is getting you in those nylons."

"Ohhhhh!" A heady rush washes up and down my body. Suddenly I wasn't tired in the slightest. "Me too!"

She pinches my butt, her eyes twinkling. "Then you better start thinking about which pair you're gonna let me rip." Nuzzling in she nibbles at my ear and whispers. "Don't worry baby girl, Daddy'll always buy you more."

"OH!"

Chapter 89: Trip to Town

Chapter Text

With Winona's promise of some naughty fun still echoing in my ears I am absolute buzzing as Briar finishes setting up the system for the garage. Amos stands behind Briar listening and watching over her shoulder, over her head actually, as she showed him how to use the set up that she and Meadow had whipped up. Cheryl meanwhile hovered nearby taking in Briar's words while also going through the boxes we'd carried in. They turned out to be a mish-mash of various things. A cash box, business cards, a couple of display stands for the counter, and various such accoutrement. As the others talk Winona and I keep shooting each other saucy little glances and smiles, each of us counting the minutes until we could be alone again.

"Okay, I gotta go!" Briar says at last. "I'm going to be late."

Amos tosses me his keys and I, of course, fumble them. Picking them up off the floor I say. "I'll be in the car."

As Briar goes into Winona's suite to get her backpack and Cheryl goes over a couple last things with Amos Winona and I head outside again. She folds down the back seats and loads Briar's borrowed ebike into the back while I get my bearings in the driver's seat. Needless to say I have to adjust the seat, from all the way back to all the up, as well as shift the mirrors and every other thing that could be tweaked. I settle in and feel the texture of the wheel in my hands. Sitting up high in such a big vehicle brought to mind the Anna Bella.

Winona comes up to stand by the open door. I look at her. "Want me to pick up supper?"

The casual question makes her smile. It made my little heart beat double time as well. It was such a…couple sort of question.

"Nah, we've got stuff here."

We. We've got stuff. Gosh I liked how that sounded.

"Okay."

She leans in and we kiss. "Miss you." She whispers with a caress across my forearm.

"M-Miss you too." I say back softly.

"Okay. Break it up." Cheryl says as she and Briar approach.

Winona laughs. With a flirty wave of her fingers she shuts my door and steps back. With an expression like a forlorn puppy in a pet shop window I wave back already knowing that every minute away was going to feel like an hour.

Cheryl hops into the passenger seat. "Ugh. You two are going to be insufferable for awhile, aren't you?"

"Yes Ma'am." I giggle and buckle my belt. Briar gets in behind me and buckles in as well. I start the truck and we are soon on the road to town.

Along the way I find out from Cheryl that she and Amos were renting one of the little modular modern bungalows in New Town. As it was near the edge of Haven Point and not that far off the highway it made it a handy location for Amos who would have to make this trip more than a hundred times in a year. Since she was on the way I swing by to drop her off first. While we were getting along now I confess I was relieved that Briar's impending class left little time for Cher to grill me anymore. I glide down the street of nearly identical houses with single car garages attached, their color and minor decorative details the only real difference among them, and find their place to be one of the green ones.

I stop the car and both of them hop out. As Briar hurries around to take the front seat Cheryl turns back to me. "It was good to meet you Avery." She says. "I'm sure I'll see you again soon."

"Yes Ma'am. It w-was wonderful m-meeting you too."

She points at me. "Behave."

"Yes Ma'am." I smile.

Briar hops in. "Bye Cheryl! Tell Amos he can call me if anything goes wrong with the system."

"Oh, he knows." Cher chuckles. "Free tech support? You'll rue the day that you ever gave him your number." With a very motherly looks she then says. "Now get your ass to class young lady or you're gonna be late." With that she shuts the door and heads off.

We are back in motion the moment Briar was buckled. "They're really cool." Briar says. "The Crows."

"Yeah. The c-coolest."

"Hey, sorry again for, erm, popping by unannounced." She lowers her blushing face. "It won't happen again."

"It's okay." I assure her. "It was awesome t-to s-see you."

"You too." She says…then gulps and blushes even more as she remember just how much of me she saw.

It is only a couple of minutes later and we are pulling up to one of the gleaming new tech towers of the college. I whistle as I peer up the white and chrome edifice. "I still c-can't get over all these ch-changes. When I was a k-kid there was nothing like this here."

"There's more yet to come." Briar says brightly. "They're already calling Ehkolie Silicon Island in some circles. Investment is booming."

"Yeah." I say. "I just hope they d-don't ch-change things too much."

"Only for the better." She winks. We get out and I help her take the bike from the back then walk her to nearest charging stand. As she clicks it in and taps her student card I continue to look around. "You should see it on the inside." She says. "I'll show you and Winona around someday."

"I'm not sure W-Winona would like that." I quip.

She chuckles. "True. You and Amos then."

"Amos?"

"He was asking about the EV technician program."

"He did? Like…to join? Amos?"

"Not sure." She cocks her head. "But you're never too old to learn Avery. Anyway! Gotta bolt." Grabbing both shoulder straps of her backpack she turns and jogs, brown hair bouncing, for the main doors. "See you around Althea!"

I laugh and wave. "Bye Scourge!"

That gets some looks but I try to ignore them as I return to the vehicle. Once inside I pull out my phone and call Grandpa. As it starts to ring my heart lifts as I knew he was in an area that was receiving signal. My heart soars when he answers already in song. "My little buttercup I looove youuu!"

I giggle. "Hi Grandpa!"

"My boy!" He says with a happiness that could not be faked. The connection was faint and crackly which told me he wasn't back yet but close enough to the island to get a signal. "And how is Ehkolie's handsomest, smartest, doggone coolest dude today?"

"Grandpaaa." I laugh. "I'm good. And you?"

"The sun on my face, a beer at my side, and a line in the drink." There is a small garble before he continues. "Life is good my boy. Life is good."

"I w-wish I was there."

"Me too Buttercup." He says something but it is lost as the weak signal cuts for a moment.

"Sorry." I say louder. "I missed that."

Again I miss most of what he says except the very end. "…Winona?"

Guessing at what he was asking I say loudly. "She's good Grandpa. Really good. She's my girlfriend now."

I giggle as there is some rustling and whooping on his end. "That's mah boy! Ha ha…" Again the signal fails us.

"Listen Grandpa. The reception's really bad. I'll tell you all about it when you get in."

"WHAT?"

"I'll tell you…" I sigh. "WHEN ARE YOU BACK?"

"…morrow morning."

"Great! I'll see you tomorrow then. Winona really wants to meet you."

"Hee heeee! She's comin over?"

"If that's okay?"

"Okay!?" Again I lose a sentence or two, although I knew him enough to already know what he was saying. 'My plank is always lowered' or some similar folksy way of saying 'YES!'.

"Tomorrow after work. Maybe in the evening. How's that sound?"

"What? Evening? Yes! Of course!" A hiss cuts him off a second. "…can't wait!"

It touched me how excited he was for me. And it felt really good to hear him so happy. After so many years of hearing about my challenges and daily struggles I could imagine that for him it must feel like all his time and energy in supporting his very flawed grandson was finally paying off as I was at last starting to find my joy. It felt like that for me too. It was Grandpa that made me believe that true love was real and that I was deserving of it. More than anyone it was him who kept a spark of hope alive in me. Without him…none of the great things I was enjoying now would have been possible.

"I love you Grandpa!" I say it again louder. "I LOVE YOU GRANDPA! I LOVE YOU!"

"Love you too Butte…"

A sudden static followed by a click tells me our call had been disconnected. Then there is silence. He was gone. I hug my phone to my heart for a long moment then pocket it again with a sigh. I start the truck and pull away. Just a couple of quick stops and I would be heading back to Winona. I could not wait!

Chapter 90: Checking In

Chapter Text

My first stop is the shoe store to see how my roomie's first day on the job was going. I'd directed him to this job and encouraged him on getting it so I wanted to follow through and check in on him.

A bell rings as I enter the store. Springing up from one of the seats from the row of them that went down the center of the room is Brayden. Unlike when I saw him on his way to work he now wore a gray blazer and an ugly brown tie that was poorly tied. "Welcome…" He begins until he sees who it is. "Oh! Hey man."

"Hi." I say.

Mr. Nguyen steps through a curtain from the backroom but Brayden gives him a wave. "Just a friend of mine Mr. Nguyen."

The owner straightens his glasses and gives me a look. "Avery Beckett."

"That r-right Sir." I say, a bit surprised he remembered me even though I saw him and his wife on a weekly basis at the grocery store. "H-How's Jeannie doing?"

"Good. Good." He says, then looks at Brayden. "Five minutes." With that he heads back through the curtain.

Brayden nudges me. "Come on." We head outside to stand in front of the store. "Where'd you get the truck?" He nods to the SUV. "Nice."

"It's W-Winona's dad's. I j-just had to run her mom into t-town."

"Damn, met the folks already?" He says. "Things are gettin serious."

"Yeah." I smile.

"Welp. That's it for you. Ball and chain settings."

"Pfff. It's n-not like that." I giggle. "C-Come here." I turn him toward me and start to undo the knot of his tie.

He's a bit surprised at my boldness but he doesn't stop me. "Yeah. I didn't realize they wanted a jacket and tie. I had to run to the second hand shop to grab these."

As I tie a proper Windsor knot we talk. "H-How's it going?"

"Dude." He says, his voice low so it didn't carry. "This place is awesome."

"It is?"

"Yeah man." He says. "Not too many customers. No riff-raff, all like professionals and stuff."

"At th-those prices I'm not surp-prised."

"Quality costs." He says so smoothly I could tell it was practiced. "It's so chill. There's only so much inventory and cleaning up I can do. They let me sit on my phone when there's nothing else to do. Plus I found out that if I sell enough I get a bonus at the end of each month on top of my base pay. It's great!"

"Cool."

"Best of all…" He looks over at the neighboring pet store. "…the girl at the pet counter is hot as fuck. And I think she's single!"

"Local?"

"Nah." He says. "Which is fine by me. These island babes are getting boring anyway."

I grin at his bravado. To listen to him you'd swear he had a different date every weekend. As his roomie I knew that this was not the case. In reality he was probably happy about it because the woman wouldn't know about his reputation as a lazy, complaining stoner.

I smooth out his tie and back away. "Th-There ya go."

"Thanks man." He looks down at it approvingly.

"I'm g-glad you like the job." I say. "I kn-knew you c-could do it B-Brayden."

"Yeah. You did." He says as he looks up into my face. "Hey…uh, I just wanted to say…I appreciate how you, ya know."

"I do?"

He laughs. "I'm just sayin that I'm glad I listened to you and not Jack. You're cool Avery."

That was the nicest thing he'd ever said to me! "Oh, um, it was n-nothin."

"Nah. It was something." He says and pats my arm. "I better get going. Thanks for checkin in on me."

"You're welcome." I say. "Oh! Um, I w-won't be h-home tonight. J-Just so you know."

"Won't be home?" His eyes light up. "Eyyyyy!" He peppers my shoulder with a series of light jabs.

Though I try to play it cool I end up giggling.

"Finally! Got the place to myself for a night." He says. "Hey, what's that Briar friend of yours up to?"

"Pbbst!" I laugh. "Forget it. N-No chance. Sh-She's interested in s-someone else."

"Ah."

"And d-don't even ask about K-Kayla."

"How you got all these fine honeys and I don't I will never understand."

"Th-They're not my h-h-honeys! Th-They're my friends."

"Right." He winks then glances again toward the pet store as he tugs on the lapels of his blazer. "Well I'm in the market for a pussy and I know just the shop that has it. Meowww."

"You d-dog." I groan. "P-Please d-don't talk to her l-like that."

"Course not!" He says with a swat to my chest as he heads back into his work. "I'm a gentleman."

With a roll of my eyes I wave him goodbye then head over to the very shop he referenced. I am surprised to discover the woman in question is a tatted up goth girl complete with studded black choker and blank 'IDGAF' expression. She barely even acknowledges me the entire time I'm there, speaking to me only when I am actually making my purchase of a laser pointer and feathered wand for Brutus. As she bags my purchase I notice amongst the grim and Gothic imagery of her tattooed forearms the unmistakable shape of a cannabis leaf.

"Th-Thank you." I say to her as I take my bag. "H-Have a g-good day."

After a very slight raise of her left eyebrow and a too long pause she replies flatly. "Come again."

Back in the car I text Kayla to find that she was too busy to talk right now. She suggests later that night but I say that we'll catch up later sometime. Tonight I wanted to keep for Winona. Next I call my brother Joshua.

"Avie." He says, the hum of road noise behind him. "What do you want?" Always to the point with Joshua.

"H-Hi Josh." I say. "I w-was wondering if w-we c-could grab a coffee or something one of th-these days."

There's a long pause. "You serious?"

"Um, yeah."

"Why?"

"Um…"

"This is out of the blue." He says. "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing is wr…"

"You need money or something?"

"N-No."

"Aw fuck. Is it Mom? What's she done?"

"What?"

"Grandpa then?"

"N-No. I j-just wanted to c-catch up." I say. "A-And to t-talk to you about something…"

"I knew there was a catch."

"Um, I d-d-didn't m-mean t-t-to…"

"Stop stuttering." He says. "Yeah, let's grab a coffee. Not today or tomorrow though. Text me later in the week and we'll hook something up."

"Th-Thank you."

"Yep."

And with that the call is ended. Joshua wasn't a long goodbye kind of guy. With all of that out of the way I think about dealing with Jack as well while I was in town. But after a moment's thought I decide against it. First of all he would be at work right now. Secondly, I was just too damn tired to be able to deal with him right now. I couldn't even manage him with a full night's sleep behind me, with no sleep I would stand no chance. That just left one more stop.

I drive to my apartment and swoop in to grab some clothes, an overnight bag and my camera bag. I still had most of an afternoon to kill so I figured I could grab some shots and start figuring out some stuff for their web page and advertising. I find that as I am moving around the suite all I can see is her. Her on my bed looking so sexy. Her at the table laughing and joking with our group. Her in the washroom holding me after discovering my bruise. Her on the balcony professing her love for me through mist spattered glasses. She was everywhere and the memories of her brought this place that was once just a place to lay my head to life.

I pause and look back over the quiet space. It made me feel good knowing that her echo would remain here to comfort me on those dark and lonely nights when we couldn't be together. But right now…right now I had the real thing to get to.

Chapter 91: Nap Time

Chapter Text

When I pull up to the newly christened Win's Garage I find the place changed yet again! A pair of shiny red twenty foot sea cans had somehow found their way here and were set up at the rear or the building. They were parallel to the main building with about a dozen feet of space between each. On the roof of the garage stands Amos watching me drive up and on the top of the first of the shipping containers stood Winona holding some sort of steel frame in place that stretched between the container and the garage. I park the truck and hop out.

"All good?" Amos asks.

"Yeah." I shoot him a thumbs up. "Cheryl's h-home and B-Briar wasn't late. I t-talked to my brother Josh too. W-We're meeting later this week."

"Eyyy." He looks to his daughter. "Our guy!" She just chuckles and rolls her eyes.

"Wh-What's all this?"

"Storage." Winona says. "Plus a couple of sheltered parking spots for Pops and I. Cool, huh? This was my idea."

"Uh, yeah!" I pull my bags from the back seat and shut the door with my hip.

"Movin in or something?" Amos quips. Before I can answer he claps his hands and holds them up as if to catch a baseball. It takes a second for me to realize he was waiting for his keys.

"It's c-camera equipment." I say patting my photography bag. My other bag was, as Winona so forcefully made clear over breakfast, none of his business. Bundling his keys I give them a toss and, like the nerdy doofus that I was, totally fluff my throw. One of the keys catches the top corner of the roof to send the jangling mass careening off to the side. "S-Sorry!" I expect to be teased yet without any fuss or comment Amos takes a step and picks up his keys and jams them into a pocket and returns to what he was doing. As I am peering up at him I spot Brutus' fuzzy head pop up to stare back down at me. I giggle at the way he cocks his head curiously. "H-Hi B-Brutus!" I show him the pet shop bag. "I brought you presents."

"You can put those inside." Winona says.

"K-Kay." I nod.

I hurry into Winona's suite and drop off my stuff then head back outside. Coming out the back door I can now see better what they were up to. The metal frame they were currently putting together would support a roof. While the front and back of the stall would be open the roof and walls would protect any vehicle parked there from the worst of the sun and rain.

"Hey Sprout." Winona deftly tiptoes across the top of the container until she stood over me. "Come on up."

"Um." I look for the ladder but as she squats down and reaches for me I saw that I had another way up. Reaching up I take her hands and we grip onto each other tightly.

"Alley-oop!" She grunts as she heaves me upward in one mighty pull, my sneakers squeaking along the smooth wall of the container as I 'run' up its side.

"Woah!" I catch a bit of vertigo as I suddenly find myself teetering with my heels over the edge of the sea can.

"I gotcha." Winona grins as she grabs me and pulls me to safety. After a sly hug and even sneakier kiss to my cheek so her dad wouldn't see she lets me go and points to spot nearby. "You mind holding that?"

"S-Sure." I smile and kneel down to do as she asked.

As I hold my spot she and Amos bolt together the frame as she explains to me how Amos had finagled these containers for next to nothing. "A lick of paint, some PVC canopies, and voila! Tons of storage and a couple of covered parking bays." She says. "I just hope it doesn't look too trash."

"It l-looks good!" I assure her. "Certainly b-better than before."

"Damn right." Amos agrees. He stands, his eyes focused off past us. "Not sure what we're going to do with the graveyard though."

Winona points at her father. "The rest I don't care, but hands off the Integra."

"Ha! New project?" He says. "You ain't gettin that thing running."

"Bet ya a steak dinner that I will." She says. "One year and under two grand and I'll have her purring."

"Oh no." He smiles. "I know better than to bet against you. You'll manage it somehow just to spite me. Ha!"

"You're no fun." She winks.

Try as I might I can't stop a yawn from coming. Winona catches it out of the corner of her eye and glances over. I smile back, which makes her smile in turn. Gosh I loved her smile. With two handy people who knew what they were doing we are able to get the roofs set up in no time. We all crawl down to ground level then walk out from the building to take a gander at our handiwork. I could see why Winona worried that it might look trashy but the clean white of the PVC canopies and the bright red of the freshly painted containers that matched the lettering of the new sign actually brought the old place up a level. With the open bay doors, the tools and equipment inside, and the vehicles parked to the side this place was taking on a whole new vibe.

"I've b-been coming here for years." I say. "It looks so d-different already!"

"And we're just getting started." Winona says, her arm slipping around my shoulder. "We got big dreams for this place. Don't we Pops."

"You know it Winnie-bear."

"Cool." I say.

"Lemme take a look at this Acura." Amos says as he starts off toward the line of junkers along the back of the property. "I might take you up on this wager yet."

"Just be a minute." Winona says as she guides me back toward the building.

I walk along beside her, enjoying the feel of her arm around me, wondering where we were going. "I c-could get my camera…"

"You." She gives me a jostle. "Are going for a nap."

"Oh! I-I-I'm okay."

"And you'll be even more okay after a couple hours of shut-eye." She leads me into the suite and gives me three simple orders. "Take off your shoes. Get undressed. Hop into bed."

"I can stay up and v-visit." I say. "R-Really."

"Humor me." She turns to me and runs her hands across my chest. "Let me get my Mommy rocks off, mmm?"

I giggle. "Mommy rocks?"

"I wanna look after you." She says softly as she teases my bangs. "Is that so bad?"

"No." I smile.

"Good." She kisses me. "Be good for Mommy and maybe later you and Daddy can finish what they started at lunch."

"Oh! Yes'm!"

She laughs. "That's better."

My shoes off I walk with her to her bed. There I undress down to my underwear as she closes the window curtain so that the room was darker but still allowed some of the nice fresh breeze in. When I slip in under her soft blankets she is at my side, sitting at the edge of the bed as she tucks me in. I gaze up at her as she tenderly strokes my cheek.

"Need anything?"

I shake my head no.

"Okay." Leaning down she places a long kiss on my forehead. "I love you Avery."

"Love you." I whisper back.

And with that she rises and walks to the door. There she pauses and looks back at me for a few lingering moments then smiles and leaves the room. I lay there staring at the ceiling feeling so cozy and so very blessed. Things just couldn't get any better than this.

About a minute later the door opens again just a few inches then closes again. My curiosity is abated when I see Brutus come sniffing around the love seat. The moment he sees me he trundles right for me.

"Hey buddy." I laugh and reach over the bed to scoop him up. When I have him beside me he rolls to his back and starts to gnaw at my finger as I rub his fuzzy belly. "You g-got sent for a nap too, huh?"

I pet him and play with him as I listen to the sigh of the wind through the forest and the distant murmur of Winona and her father talking. Like me the little kitty was one tuckered out fella. He lets out a big yawn before crawling up my belly to curl up and bed down. With the occasional breeze wafting across me I stroke Brutus' downy soft fur, close my eyes, and let nature take its course.

Chapter 92: Only Fair

Chapter Text

"Mmmmm." I moan softly as I am woken with a sweet, lingering kiss. The smell of sweat and mechanic soap fills my nostrils and I feel the weight of Winona's hip pressing against my arm. "Hmmmmm." I hum dreamily as I savor this most wonderful way of waking up. Only when our lips eventually part do I open my eyes. "Hi."

"Hey." Winona says back as she sits tall. Her tired eyes were smiling.

"Oh." I rub my face. "I fell asleep."

"That was kinda the idea." She pats my chest. I sit up and stretch feeling completely refreshed. Looking off to a glistening little puddle on the floor beside the kitchen counter she says. "Someone had an accident I see." The guilty culprit of said accident was currently padding back and forth along the back of the love seat and looking as innocent as could be.

"He's little." I say. "It w-won't take l-long to litter train him."

"That's good." She says. "Dad just left. We've finally got some time to ourselves." The way she emphasized the word 'finally' I felt right down to my bones.

She looks back at me and again I see that same happiness trying to shine through the clouds of fatigue. Reaching out I stroke her long hair. "You're t-tired."

"I'm exhausted Sprout." She sighs as she slumps into me, her head bowed and resting against my chest as she leans her weight into me. "I'll be okay."

I hug her, cradling her head and shoulders to my body, and softly kiss the back of her head. "Why d-don't you take a little lie down?" I whisper. "I'll take care of the mess and m-make us some supper. Okay?"

She lets out a breath and sits back up. "It's cool, I just need a…"

"Hey." I turn her face toward me. "If you're gonna l-look after me…you gotta l-let me take care of you. It's only f-fair."

A grin slowly grows. "You sure Sprout? You don't mind?"

"I'd like that actually." I say warmly. "What do you want for d-dinner?"

"Burgers?"

"Then I'll m-make burgers."

"You're the best." The hug she gives me makes my happy heart sing.. "Okay, quick shower and a power nap. Don't let me sleep too long though."

"I won't." I assure her.

She gets up, unzipping her coveralls as she shuffles off toward the washroom. I get up, get dressed, and clean up Brutus' piddle as he sits beside me watching. I boop his nose. "Naughty boy."

Winona wasn't kidding when she said quick shower as only five minutes later she comes shambling back out as naked as a newborn. Her long raven hair, damp and wild, poured down over her shoulders like an inky waterfall. She walks straight to the bed, stands there a moment, then goes down face first like a felled pine. Whump! She hits the covers, bounces to a rest, and conks right out. It is only a couple minutes later as I am playing with Brutus with one of the toys I'd bought him that I hear a soft snore. I giggle under my breath and hold a finger to my lips to tell the kitten to be quiet too. She fell asleep so fast! I take a knit blanket that she had folded on the love seat and lightly drape it over her nude form…after a cheeky little peek of course.

I stand and just watch her for a little bit. Black strands of hair lay across her calm face. She was so beautiful. So beautiful. I loved her so much. Oh how I hoped that she would take me tonight.

After a swoony sigh I turn and take a step toward the kitchen, then pause. What I had planned for our meal wasn't going to take longer than twenty minutes to put together and I wanted to give her at least an hour or more of shuteye. There was no hurry. Instead I look toward the closet. My heart quickens.

Silently I tiptoe to the dresser. There I find my pretty pink clit and the three pairs of pantyhose Daddy had bought for me. My palms were clammy and my hands jittery, though I didn't know why. There was nobody to stop me anymore. Nobody here but Winona, Brutus, and Johnny to judge me. I was safe. I was finally safe. Yet still the old fears glow like hot embers inside my chest.

"I-I-I'm not af-fraid." I whisper. "I-I-I'm n-not afraid anym-more."

I'm not sure if I convince myself but it was enough to get me moving. I choose the black hose with the dots. It wouldn't have been my first choice except for the fact that I knew my Daddy wanted to rip one of these and I sure did want to be in the pair that I didn't mind getting wrecked. I stand there looking at my cage and pantyhose. I couldn't just wear these. I mean, I could but…I really wanted to look pretty. I could look slutty later, right now my need was to be pretty. And it was too early yet for my nightie. I glance to my slumbering girlfriend then back to her dresser.

"She w-won't mind." In fact I'm pretty sure she would encourage it. She wanted to see her baby girl looking good. I'm sure she does. Besides…better to beg forgiveness than ask permission. Especially if it meant I might get a spanking! "He he he he."

Trying my best not to snoop too badly I start looking through her clothes for something soft and feminine to match my mood. I find a swooshy powder blue knee length skirt that I instantly fall in love with. What an awesome color! For a top the best thing I can find is a blousy pastel yellow short sleeve. Everything else either didn't go with the skirt or was too form fitting as to make my meager bust look silly. Speaking of bust, I wish I had a bra. Not that I had breasts that needed the support but…I just really wanted to wear one. Maybe Daddy might buy me a pretty training bra if I asked nice. I giggle. I bet she would.

Not giving up right away I open the top drawer in the slim hopes of finding a bra to fit my flat chest. I don't, but I do find a cute pair of pink panties that I think would fit my plump bottom oh so nicely. I add it to the pile and in moving the undies I make an inadvertent discovery.

I blush a little as I recognize the veiny shaft of a dildo. Oops! I wasn't supposed to see that.

Again I glance Winona's way to make sure she was snoozing. Unable to contain my curiosity I lean forward and peel the other underwear away to reveal the toy. Not nearly as big as her but way bigger than me the tan silicone phallus was maybe six and half or seven inches with a barely above average girth. I touch it and feel the texture of the fake scrotum, snaky bumps of the shaft's veins and ridge of its knob. It was a darn nice dick.

With another nervous glance Winona's way I pull it from the the drawer just to admire it. I wanted to suck it honestly but I wasn't about to do that without permission. Feeling playful I put the toy against my crotch, holding it as if it was my own cock as I momentarily fantasize about wearing it as a strap-on for her. I sure as heck wanted to make love to her with my own equipment at some point but also being able to have sex with a bigger dong that wouldn't go soft would be soooo cool!

"Mrm." Winona groans and shifts.

I startle and quickly plop the toy back in the drawer and bury with panties. Closing the drawer swiftly and silently I look to Brutus who was watching me with a perplexed tilt of his head. "Shhh. You d-didn't see anything."

I collect my outfit and, last but certainly not least, grab Winona's makeup case and take them all to the washroom. After one glance in the mirror and spotting the verrry light peach fuzz along my upper lip I scurry back out to dig through my overnight bag and grab my toiletries kit as well. I close the washroom door and take a deep, fortifying breath. My transformation was about to begin.

Chapter 93: Baby Girl Achieved

Chapter Text

I start with a hot shower and a thorough shave. Thorough as in EVERYTHING from bottom of my nose right down to my feet. Not that I had much hair coming in, and it being so fine and a pale blond it was nearly invisible when it did anyhow, but I wanted to do this right. I wanted to look and feel as good as I could. For her, but even more for me.

After a good steamy wash and rinse I lather up then shave one part at a time. My face is taken care of first then left leg, right leg, left arm, right arm, chest, stomach, and so on. Following the soft contours of my body the razor feels great gliding across my fair flesh, my wispy hair proving no challenge at all for the steel blades, and the warm stream of fresh water feeling fantastic as it rinsed the now baby smooth skin. For my tenders I switch to a new blade and trade out the cream for the special body butter I used for just this purpose. With a practiced hand I start at the base of the dick, keeping the strokes short and controlled and the skin smooth and tight, then move onto my sack. Thankfully I was blessed with a naturally hairless back and bum so those hard to reach areas I am able to skip.

My skin all tingly and happy I dry off then finish up with a bit of powder here and a bit of lotion there. Wiping off the steamed up mirror I admire my handiwork. No cuts, no burns, just silky, supple skin. Perfect.

With a nice clean foundation with which to work I next turn to the makeup. This part I was not nearly so versed in, but this wasn't my first time anymore either. I follow the steps Winona had used on me precisely. It was darn hard not smile as I reminisced about how she held me down and made me into beautiful Althea. With a steady hand and patience I watch myself slowly transform from Avery to baby girl. Foundation, blush, shadow, liner, the layers are painted on one by one. Long dark lashes, bubblegum pink lips, soft hints of color to accentuate my large eyes and soft features. Wow. I think I did even better than she had!

I stand back from the mirror and study my face for any blemish or imperfection. I find none. I practice a few feminine expressions and batting of the eyes and end up giggling at myself.

Next came my cage which slips onto me like I was born to wear it. I cannot help but smile as I lock it up tight. Only she could release me now. I slip into her pink panties and pull them snug. They didn't quite fit as tight as the ones she'd bought me, which were still in the dirty clothes, but they weren't noticeably baggy or anything. They would do just fine for tonight. After that I do my nails. Smoothing them, shaping them, and then painting them with the lightest shade of polish that Winona had, which was a sort of rich red that unfortunately clashed with the pastel pink of my lips. Ah well. With Winona's tone and hair being so different from mine her palate just wasn't made for a blond. It was the best I could do.

And then, at last, I turn to look at the pantyhose. I open it. I pull it from the packaging. I feel its sheer nylon texture against my palm. Mmm. The last time I dared touch a pair of hose that I was intending to wear was all those years ago when Jack and Josh humiliated me and my mother punished me. And yet…that memory which normally felt like yesterday suddenly felt like it happened in a different lifetime altogether. I let them drape free and gently give them a stretch. Sitting down on the toilet seat I point my right toe in a classy ballerina sort of way, nestle into the toe of the hose, and pull that leg up to just above my knee. Carefully I turn and smooth the garment so that my toes sat right, my heel fit right, and everything was just as it should be. The sensation of that diaphenous fabric against my freshly shaved skin was…ohhhh it was nice! I feel a stirring down below but my clit-cage keeps everything small and contained just like I wanted it right now. I do the same with my other leg, admiring how the dark translucent hose showed off the shape of my calves. Standing up I pull the nylons tight and smooth it all out, checking and double checking for any snags or ladders. Again. Perfect. The pale skin beneath the black fabric was pure sensual elegance with the polka dots keeping it fun. Even better, the dark hose suddenly made my choice of nail polish look incredible.

I twist and walk and just move around in the cramped washroom just to feel myself move. The panties, the hose, the cage…it all felt more natural than skin. I slip into the shirt and do what I can to arrange it to flatter my nonexistent bust. I wonder if Winona might buy me a padded bra someday too. Next comes the skirt which slips over my hips like a dream.

My hair I do what I can with. Thankfully I had some length to it right now so I am able to get it back into a super cute ponytail. I had some loose bangs left at the front but somehow they added to the look more than they detracted from it.

Done. Baby girl achieved.

I preen and swish about the washroom then spin and stop to look at myself in the mirror. AHHH! I looked so wonderful! So natural! So completely feminine! I bet if I walked down the street of a town not my own nobody would have even had a clue. The whole package had come together so very nice, the lively sparkle in my blue eyes the sweet cherry on top. I wished Grandpa could see me. I bet he wouldn't believe what a pretty grandson he had. He would smile and he would hug me and he would be proud of me. I just knew he would.

Feeling every bit as incredible as I looked I stride back out into the main room with a sassy sway to my curvy hips. I smile as I check on Winona still crashed out right where she landed. I couldn't wait for her to see! As I admire her long, goddess figure I find myself wishing that she was laying on her back. I'm not sure I could have resisted the urge right now to wake her with a gentle, warm blowie. My mouth actually waters at the mere thought of having her thick cock between my lips again. That, however, was something I needed to get permission to do. I make a mental note to ask her that question tonight.

Finding my phone I take a few selfies to study later and maybe show Kayla if I was feeling brave. Afterward I stand and walk and bend and sway, fine tuning my every motion to align with my newfound femininity. Quietly I test different tones and inflections in my voice until I find the perfect sound. As I do so I wondered if female girly-girls had to do this stuff like girly-boys like me did or if it just came natural for them. Not that it was so hard. Once I settled into it it all just kind of flowed. Once I felt confident in my vibe I look down at Brutus and give him a twirl.

"What do you think?" I say in my new inflection. He blinks his approval to which I giggle and blow him a kiss. "You are too kind good sir."

After a few more minutes I rub my hands. As fun as all this was I had a hungry belly to feed. Feeling like some mid-twentieth century housewife, a feeling I find peculiarly empowering for some reason, I cinch my apron on and set to work making my hard working Daddy her supper.

Chapter 94: Mmm!

Chapter Text

In no time at all I have our supper whipped up. It was a double stacked beef burger and microwaved baked potato for her and a salmon patty for me, with a healthy side of steamed veggie for both of us. Having somebody to cook for made it so much more fun and rewarding than preparing something for just myself and I found myself already thinking about what I might cook for us in the future. The lack of a proper oven and stove top did limit my options but with a bit of creativity there was still a lot I could do. During the sizzle of her burgers I'd heard Winona stirring and as I plate our meals up the sound of the rustling and breathing told me that she was surfacing. Just in time.

"Mrmm." She murmurs as she rouses into full consciousness. "Woah!"

I turn to look at her, wiping my hands off on my apron, to find her sitting up with her back to the headboard staring at her boyfriend turned girlfriend. I smile bashfully at her admiring gaze and give her a little turn to show her the whole package. She liked what she saw. To be looked at like she was looking at me made me feel like the luckiest baby girl in all the world. The admiration wasn't just one way though. She sat nude with the knit blanket I'd thrown over her crumpled and draped from a corner at her left hip across to cover her entire right leg, leaving her left leg and her whole upper body exposed. Her cascading hair was a bit frizzy and tangled from going to sleep wet. It was going to be a hassle to brush but for the moment it gave her this wonderfully fierce wild woman sort of look, like some mighty Neanderthal warrior princess stepped out of time. As ever Winona was insanely sexy without even trying.

"Daaaamn girl." She says. "You wear that better than I do!"

I giggle as I approach the foot of the bed. "Th-That's not true." My soft new voice flows without effort. I remove my apron to show her the full look. "I think it looks nice though."

"Better than nice." Her gaze glides up and down my slim figure. Beside her Brutus bounds up to greet her but she doesn't even spare him a glance. Her eyes were glued. Petting the kitten at her side she continues to ogle. "Hot damn baby."

I am blushing. I put my foot on the bed to show off the nylons she'd bought me. Gliding my hands down then back up again I demonstrate just how well they clung to my shapely calves and ankles. "They fit perfectly."

"Yeah. I see that." She swallows hard. "You make waking up a treat."

I wasn't sure if was my imagination or not but I swear I catch a little twitch from beneath the blanket.

My demure smile shifting from sweet to sassy I whisper. "I was g-gonna wake you up w-with a blowjob."

Ever so subtly she sits a bit higher, her left brow rising. "Why didn't you?"

"You were on your stomach." I say. "Plus I didn't have permission."

"Consider it given!" She says. "Baby girl's discretion."

I titter happily. Like a slinking feline I crawl onto the bed. My sight pans up her long leg, over her enticing bulge, across her firm belly and perfect pouting tits, and finally to her beautiful face. Winona's eyes are locked on mine. As I near her side she tosses the interposing kitten from the bed, gently of course.

"Supper's ready." I whisper.

"It'll keep." She whispers right back.

"Mmm." I grin.

"You'll mess up your lipstick." She whispers.

"I can fix it." I whisper right back.

"Mmm." She grins.

As she gazes deep into my eyes and pulls the blanket away from her crotch to reveal her 'morning' wood even though it was evening. That twitch I thought I saw hadn't been imagined after all. Bringing her right hand to behind her head she settles back to let me do my thing, treating me to a tantalizing flex of her abs as she waits.

Kneeling daintily I arrange my skirt around me so very nicely. My elbows tight to my sides and my whole body made small I lean forward and gently grip her nearly hard shaft with both hands. The skin of her was so warm and supple. Holding it so that it pointed straight up I close my eyes, open my mouth, then wrap my painted lips around her thick cock.

"Mmmmm." I mewl blissfully as the pure joy of having a cock in my mouth sinks into my very soul. My jaw as wide as it would go I push as deep as I could go without any fear of mascara ruining tears or mood ruining gagging then wrap the fingers and thumb of my left around what was left to use as my guardrail. My lips cinch around her girth to create a seal, then I suck.

"Fuuuuck." Winona sighs as the warm, tight wetness of my mouth engulfs her.

"Hmmmm." Slowly, gently, lovingly I begin to glide up and down her oh so satisfyingly big dick. "Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm." With each long stroke I let out a soft coo. "Mmm, mmm, mmm." Against my arm I feel Brutus nudge but I pour all of my focus into giving the best head that I could give. "Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm."

"Ohhhh Averyyy. Fuckin hell baby." Winona moans, her arousal blessed music to my ears. "Yesss. Fuuuck yessss."

There was no wind, no music, no other sounds of any kinds. The room was silent except for her moans, my coos, and the occasional wet slurp.

"Mmm, mmm, mmm." Up and down my head bobs. I found myself adapting to her size quickly. My jaw had settled into a relatively comfortable position and I was finding new ways to twist and shift and slither my tongue around. Already I was becoming accustomed to her. This wealth of thick meaty cock wasn't just going to spoil me rotten it might actually ruin me for any other. How I ADORED it! "Mmm, mmm, mmmmm." Only now I open my eyes. Turning my head I peer up at her to find her beaming her love back down at me and in that magical moment I realize that I was ruined already. Forget the size, awesome as it was, it was the love that made me hers and hers alone. Sex was fun. But sex with somebody who truly loved you…indescribable. "Mmmmm." I slip off her fat knob and look down at the glistening member then giggle at the various rosy stripes that ringed her trunk. I give her glans a firm kiss and giggle again at the perfect lip shaped imprint I leave behind.

"Having fun?" She asks as she pets slowly down my back.

"Mmm hmm." I nod. Hungrily I gobble her cock back down and start to suck her harder and faster. "Mm, mm, mm, mmm."

As I give her head Winona's hand begins to roam. She caresses my back, my butt, and my leg, feeling her clothes on my lithe body. Before long though she wanders down the neck to feel the smooth skin of my back. Then around to my chest to fondle and tease my titties. As she flicks and pinches my nips perk to taut little buttons. And then her explorations find their way beneath my draped skirt.

"Mmmmm!" I groan as her hand glides across my nylon clad thigh.

"You look so good baby girl." She says, her voice Daddy hard. "Such a pretty thing."

"Hmmmm!" I suck her harder and faster, my voice rising all on its own. "Mmm! Mmm! Mmm!"

That hand beneath the skirt slips over to top of my leg then cup along my inner thigh as it coasts effortlessly along the sleek hose. There is no hesitation or teasing as the next thing I knew her her hand had twisted, thrust, and grabbed my clitty, balls and all!

"MMMM!" I shudder as Daddy's hand holds me in a firm yet careful grip.

Her fingertip massage the base of my scrotum and perineum as her palm rubs against my smooth plastic cage through the pantyhose and panties. "Good girl." She croons. "Already locked for Daddy." Her other hand rests over the back of my head and slowly she pets me. "Such a good girl."

"Mmmmm." I mewl dreamily as my hips begin to thrust.

Grind, grind, grind. Her palm rubs my clit in rhythm to my cock sucking as her fingers knead my taint, her middle finger tantalizingly close to my hole. She'd only just started but already I was wet, my nectar soaking through both cotton and nylon to smear her palm.

"MRRMMM!" I moan the moment her long center finger finally glides up across my back door. Though the touch was light and it was separated by two layer of fabric it was one of the most erotic sensations of my life. "Hmmm!"

Her fingers prods and circles and swipes along my crack. "My baby's pussy wants Daddy?"

"MMM!" I slip off her tip, drool dripping from my panting lips. "Yes Daddy!" I gaze deep. "I want you Winona."

Biting her bottom lip, her hazel eyes narrowing, she strokes my cheek and whispers. "I'm gonna fuck you so good baby."

"Ohhhh!" I whimper.

Then with roguish smirk she pinches my chin. "After supper."

"Ohhhhmmm." I pout and give her the puppy eyes.

She chuckles at my impatience. My cuteness was no match for her resolve at the moment. Flexing her cock and grabbing the back of my head she feeds her cock back through my lips. Instantly I set to work, taking her deeper, sucking her harder, and bobbing faster than ever before. Down below she continues to tap and tease at my wanton pussy as her slick palm grind, grind, grinds against my caged clit.

Chapter 95: Bellyful

Chapter Text

I continue to suck Daddy's big cock. Winona continues to rub my caged clit and tease my taint and butt with her middle finger. With my hands I hold the base of her thick shaft and softly play with her warm, supple scrotum. I do try for her pussy but she guides me back again, wishing me to stay focused on her balls right now. I was only too happy to oblige. Too many ignored the wonderfully sensitive sack, I recall how I had to beg Eddie to give me attention there. As I suck her I caress her nuts and show them all the love brimming from my overflowing heart. With her free hand she flicks at my little ponytail then gently strokes her fingertips and thumb tip on either side of my slender neck, which gave me shivers down my back and felt really, really nice.

"Hmm, hmm, hmm." I coo as I grind against her palm at the same steady rhythm that I was sucking cock. Inside my cage my arousal was surging, tight against the smooth walls. The plastic shell kept me small and apart from direct stimulation and yet the denial and control felt so good. Plus it made the little bit of feeling I was getting from the shifting cage feel amplified. "Hmm."

"Beautiful. My beautiful angel." She croons. "You look so pretty." She grins. "My pretty little cock sucker."

"Mmmmm!"

"Ohhh fuuuck." Her eyes roll back as I stop on her knob to suckle extra hard, even going to so far as to softly and carefully chew on her tip. "Baby girl! Ohhhh!"

"Mmmm." The joy it gives me to see her pleasure is beyond words. "Mmm, mmm, mmm." I start to bob once more.I smooch and suck and slather her cock as if it were my reason for being. I don't just love it, I worship it. Cradling it in my hands I smooch down the side then twist to go up the other before I go hard and steady once more for a good long stretch. "Mmm, mmm, mmm."

"Hohhh. Hmmmm." Her breath is deep and becoming erratic. She was close but trying to hold out longer. To assuage her Daddy ego I lighten up a little until I could sense she was ready to cum in her own time. At that point then I give her all I had! "OHHH FUCK! Avery! Gah!" She grips the back of my neck as it goes up and down and up and down as my mouth sucks hard and my tongue dances. "Hmmmm! Ohhhh fuck." Her abs tighten, her pelvis quivers, and both her hands take a hard grip, one on my neck and other over my clit and balls. Letting her hand guide me I quicken for a few more strokes then go still as I feel her shaft throb against my tongue.

"Mmmf!" My eyes widen as my maw is flooded with hot, fresh jizm. Sucking and slurping I do what I can to swallow it all down but despite my best efforts a few annoying dribbles escape my lips. She just cums so much! I gaze up into her eyes as her face contorts with ecstasy. Like a good baby girl I gobble down my creamy treat to the last savory drop mewling my bliss. "Hmmmm."

When her passion is spent she sort of collapses back against the head board, her arms flopping to her sides. Feeling really proud about how good I made her feel I slowly slip off her tip and plant a soft kiss to her knob. I then finish my meal by licking up the bit of cum that had rolled down her shaft and onto my hand. My lipstick gives her semen a different sort of bitterness but it does nothing to spoil my treat. I then very gently lay her spent penis down to slump over her leg. Still not done, when I spot my own frothy mess of precum on her right palm I go a step further and take her hand and clean it with long, slow laps across her palm. She watches me in what I can only describe as awe.

"Thank you." I say sweetly. Shuffling closer I kneel at her side and place my hands on her panting belly.

"Thank me? Thank me!? Ohhh damn." She sighs and rubs a hand up and down my arm. "That was…ohhhhh."

I giggle. "I liked it t-too."

Grabbing me suddenly she pulls me in for a hard, deep kiss. "Hrrrm!" She growls a Daddy growl.

"Mmmm." I hum a baby girl hum.

We kiss for a long time.

When we do part we just sit quietly for a time, gazing and connecting. She cups a hand along the side of my willowy neck and strokes down across the shoulder. She wanted to say something, something she didn't have the words to say. I knew exactly how she felt. In the end the intimate silence said more than language ever could.

After a time we could both sense the moment faded. Linking her fingers through mine she brings my hand to her face and kisses it.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starvin."

I let out a little burp and rub my warm belly. "N-Not so much."

She laughs and pats my chest. "You nut."

"May I fix m-my lipstick first?"

"Go ahead."

While I go to the washroom and freshen up my lips Winona slips into a pair of sweats and a t shirt. As I reenter the room she looks at me, admires me, then looks down at herself and shakes head. "Give me a sec."

I hurry to her side and take her arm. "It's okay. You look f-fine."

"No YOU look fine. I look a mess." Before I can protest she spins me around and swats my tush.

With a hop and a giggle and scamper I hurry to the counter and put the finishing touches on the meal and start ferrying them to the table. Meanwhile Winona brushes her long hair, with much swearing, and dresses in a nice set of jeans and a pretty red blouse. She even puts on a touch of makeup herself. Everything set out and the drinks poured I wait patiently by the table for her to finish. Looking great, as always, she at last slips on her glasses and comes to join me.

"Double stacked!" She says when she spies her tall burger slathered with fried mushrooms and onions. "Thank you."

"Y-You're welcome." I smile.

Looking at my plate with its little square of salmon she asks. "Not in the mood for burgers?"

"N-Not really." I reply. I could have gone into detail about the reasons that I didn't like to eat greasy red meat on a night that I was hoping, desperately hoping, to bottom, but that seemed crude and unladylike so I leave it at that.

"Fair enough." She says. "Looks awesome." She pulls out my seat for me and I take it, then walks around to sit across from me. She holds up her fizzy drink. "To us."

"To us!" I toast and we each drink.

"Alright." She rubs her hands and tucks in. She grabs the burger in both hands and takes a huge, hungry bite from it. I wait a moment before starting just to watch her and make sure all was well. Again I see her eyes roll with pleasure. And again seeing her happy made me feel so good inside. "Mmm!" She chews a couple of times and swallows. "That's a good fuckin burger Sprout."

I beam. Knife and fork held daintily I cut into my fish as Winona and I share our first supper together as girlfriends…girlfriend-boyfriend…whatever the heck we were.

Chapter 96: Why Not Her?

Chapter Text

As we chat and joke and flirt we share a very nice dinner together. Winona devours her burger and finishes it with a satisfied burp as I nibble away at my yummy salmon. We reminisce about our day, telling stories about breakfast, her dad, her mom, the new addition, the sign and how Briar got an unexpected eyeful by showing up unannounced. We laugh so hard at poor Briar's expense that her ears were surely burning. Not in a mean way of course, we both quite liked our new FoF obsessed friend, but Winona getting caught cheek deep in my cheeks had us howling. How I loved her laugh. The way she looked, the way she sounded, the way she moved. Beautiful. As we spoke and shared easy company I was happy that I'd gone down on her before dinner as it made her more relaxed and less horny so we could enjoy this moment for what it was. Not that I wasn't eager for more sexy times, but right now a nice wholesome supper between us felt just right.

As we ate and talked I discovered that the only thing more thrilling than dressing femininely was becoming accustomed to it. The way my skirt swooshed at my calves, the way my almost bare legs rubbed together, and the way my loose women's shirt felt against my body was all simply dreamy. Even with my cage this was one of the most comfortable outfits I'd ever worn. The more I felt it the more I felt that it wasn't fair that boys weren't allowed to dress like this without being looked at differently and judged differently. But out here I didn't have to worry about those looks and that judgment. Here I could just be myself. Looking good made me feel good which gets me even sillier and gigglier than usual, an energy that Winona picks up on and vibes with. Needless to say everything about our meal was lovely. Absolutely lovely.

As we're cleaning up Winona asks. "You wanna go for a walk?"

"Oh!" I look down at myself. "Like this?"

"Sure. Why not?" She smiles. "Nobody's gonna see you." She grabs her prodigious denim clad bulge and gives it squeeze. "And if we do have another peeping Briar it won't be the only thing they see."

I giggle. "I'd l-like that."

"Come on Sprout." Winona slips an arm around me and leads me to the door. In my head I was just thinking how my sneakers clashed so badly with my pretty outfit when she gives those thoughts voice. "Well that won't do. Hold on." I watch as she hurries to her closet and rummages to the very bottom of the bottom drawer. She yanks free a pair of tan slippers squished together top to top. As she peels them apart I could see the tan give way to vibrant bead work of blue, white, red, yellow and green. As she walks closer I could now see they were made of leather. "My old moccasins. Unci made them for me. Never had the heart to throw them out after I outgrew them."

"You c-can't throw these out!" I gasp as I admire the intricate design of tiny glass beads sewn over the tops. "They're…b-beautiful!"

"Yeah." She smiles and hands them over. "I think they might fit ya."

I take the handcrafted shoes and feel the leather, supple along the sides and sturdy on the sole, and inside they were lined with pillowy white sheepskin. But it was the incredible beads that made these a one of kind work of art. "I c-can't wear these!"

"The hell you can't."

"EEEEE!" The next thing I knew I was off my feet and being twirled toward the loveseat. Whump! I land in the seat and before I could put any kind of protest Winona was on her knees in front of me. She pulls my shoes from my feet and flings them off to the side. Then she takes the moccasins one at a time and slips them onto my dainty tootsies like Cinderella's prince with those glass slippers. And just like in that old tale the shoes fit perfectly. Winona runs a hand down my ankle and over the moccasin and looks up into my eyes. "Looks good to me."

"Me too." I wiggle my toes inside of the precious treasures. They were so delightfully dainty, like more colorful and practical versions of ballet slippers or something, and soooo comfy! "Thank you."

She grins and bows to kiss my knee then gets to her feet and pulls me up to mine. She turns to Brutus just before leave and jabs a warning finger his way. "Behave! And use the damn box!" The snoozing kitten takes no notice of us.

We stroll from the suite then out the back door of the garage. The setting sun casts long shadows out from the building and gilds the dark conifers running up the mountain slope in bronze. The evening air was still warm from the afternoon but a slight hint of cool was just beginning to settle in. "You want your jacket?" She whispers. I shake my head no and instead press myself harder against her side. She rubs my arm then holds me tight to her as we slowly stroll along the rear of the new bays and storage containers.

"It's really comin along." She says.

"Yeah." I say softly.

She nods off to the grassy field to the North. "The plot came with a couple acres of land too. That's where I want to put my trailer or house or whatever when it's possible."

"Cool." I say. "Be a n-nice p-place for a garden too."

"Yeah. It would." She squeezes me. "Can't wait to see what you do with it."

"Oh!" I smile and lay my head on her shoulder. We walk in silence for a time. The thick leather of the form fitting moccasin's soles kept my foot perfectly protected from the pebbly ground yet I strode as silently as if I was barefoot. The breeze wafts up my skirt and caresses my hosed legs, feeling amazing every single time. As we approach the line of old cars Mama and her kittens beat a hasty retreat from the old Buick into the tall grass behind.

"I won't bite!" Winona calls after them. We turn and start walking along the front of the jalopies. "These ones are skittish, huh?"

"They're wild. They're survivors." I say. "Give them time."

"Mmm."

"Hey." I stop at the next car, a weathered and tireless white Acura. "Is this th-the project car?"

"This is her." She says. "You can't tell but it hasn't been here as long as the others. Somebody must have ditched it here later."

"Oh, um, I c-can't remember." I cast my mind back. I'd never really taken any notice to the line of old cars over the years but it wasn't uncommon for unwanted vehicles, appliances, and the like to be abandoned around the island. Since the bulk of our trash and recycling got shipped to the mainland it actually cost money to get rid of unwanted things. "W-Wonder who l-left it?"

"Whatever. Their loss is my gain." She chuckles. "Dad thinks its been out here in the sea air as long as the rest. He he he. And what Dad doesn't know is gonna cost him a steak dinner."

I giggle. "You sneak!"

She kisses my head. "Talk to your Grandpa yet?"

"Oh yeah!" I say. "C-Connection was real bad though. W-We couldn't talk long."

"And how's he doing?"

"Great. He was f-f-fishin and um…yeah." I falter a second then continue. "He was g-great. He's l-looking forward to meeting you."

She tenses, every so slightly. Had I not been so close to her I never would have sensed it. "That goes double for me. I know how much he means to you."

"He's b-back tomorrow morning." I say. "M-Maybe we could see him after work?"

"Yes! Yes!" She turns to look at me. "I want to make a good impression."

"You will." I assure her. "He g-gets along with everyone. Just b-be yourself."

"Who else would I be?" She winks. "Come on though. Gimme something. Gimme an ace in the hole."

"Huh?"

"What's he like? What movies…books…I dunno, just what's he into?" She says, her nerves coming through in her energized tone. She really wanted to make a good impression on my Grandpa…and it touched my heart to see it. Because of his eccentricities people often treated him as something of a joke. It was really nice to see someone pay him some respect. "I really want to start on the right foot, ya know?"

"You r-really don't have to worry." I say. I knew as certainly as the sun would rise in the morning that Grandpa would love her no matter what she did, but after a moment's thought I offer. "You could b-bring him a present."

"A present?" She asks. "Like what?"

"Anything!" I laugh. "Anything oddball. The weirder the better. You should s-see his p-place. It's amazing."

"Hmm."

"It doesn't have to be worth anything. Knick-knacks, mugs, a keyring, anything. As cheezy as you l-like." I say. "Oh! Something from South D-Dakota would p-perfect. He l-loves stuff from different places."

Smiling and nodding she says. "Yeah. I think I can manage something. Ha ha! Yes."

"N-Nothing too nice though!" I insist. "I'm s-serious. It's n-not about the cost."

"I getcha." She says. "Anything else? Topics to avoid? Politics? Religion? I know how elders can be. Uf! Unci makes me cringe so hard sometimes."

"Um…I-I c-c-can't r-really…think…of…um…" Try as I might to avoid thinking about it, there was one forbidden topic. The one thing I kept trying to not think about yet the one thing that kept returning to me again and again and again. It hits me like a sledgehammer to the sternum. My chest tightens and that sickening knot in my stomach begins to form. "…ummm…"

"Sprout?" Winona's smile fades away, replaced by concern. All her 'Daddy' swagger is gone in an instant leaving only the sensitive and caring woman who fell in love with me behind. "What's wrong?"

"Um." I turn my head away to hide my moistening eyes.

Gently she takes my cheek and turns me back to face her. "Avery? Talk to me?"

"Um." I swallow hard as the tears begin to cloud my vision. I turn my head the other way. When I do I see the rusted Buick behind which I'd poured my heart out earlier. I didn't want to cry. I didn't want to make Winona feel bad for me. I didn't want to spoil our lovely evening. I still wanted to make love tonight! But…sometimes things weren't easy to hold inside. Sometimes dark things needed to be brought into the light. Sometimes at the worst times. If I could talk to Mama, why not her?

Chapter 97: So Much It Hurts

Chapter Text

Winona steps closer. Her hand grips my arm lightly. In a soft, gentle voice she says. "Take your time."

"Mmm." I nod. The tears well, the lip trembles, and soon I am shaking all over.

"Come here." She pulls me into a warm supporting hug. "It's okay."

Arms limp at my sides I let my weight lean into her. She holds me up, in more ways than one. While I get weak and weepy I am surprised to find myself not completely falling apart like I usually did. Maybe it was because I'd already bawled my eyes out a couple time or maybe it was her embrace that gave me strength, either way the body wracking sobs stay mercifully at bay. Once, twice, three times I try to give words to a pain that transcended them. Each time I find myself mute. A fourth time I take a shuddering deep breath, the pressure in my chest building and building as I try to form a sentence, and a fourth time I say nothing.

Sensing my struggle Winona kisses my head and whispers. "Your Grandpa?"

"Mmm." I nod.

"Something's wrong?"

I nod.

"Is he sick?"

I nod.

"It's bad?"

"Mmm." I nod. "B-B-Bad as it g-g-gets. H-He's d-d-dieing W-Winona. He's d-dieing."

"Okay. Okay." Her strong arms tighten around me. "I'm so sorry Avery."

As the words flow so too my tears. "It's C-Cancer. In his l-lungs." My breath quickens. "I c-can't lose him Winona! I can't!"

"Aw Sprout."

"I love him. I love h-him s-s-s-so much. I can't. I c-c-can't."

She hugs me, she kisses me, she rubs my back, and she never lets me go.

"How c-can I…live…w-without him?" I weep. "H-How do I…k-keep going? Why d-does he have to d-d-die?"

Questions without answers. Winona's embrace was the only response that made sense. Putting my arms around her waist I hug her back, clinging to her for strength and courage.

"I j-just f-found out the other d-day." I blubber. "Th-That's why I b-b-broke down…at the p-party."

"I wondered if it was something like this." She kisses my cheek. "I can't imagine what you're going through. I know he means a lot to you."

"He means ev-verything." My voice lowers to a whisper. "Everything." I sniffle hard. "Why him? Huh? Of ev-veryone f-from my whole sh-shitty f-family…why him?"

"I don't know baby."

"It's n-not fair. It's not fair!"

"No. It's not."

"Wh-When ev-v-veryone in the whole w-w-world h-hated me…he l-loved me."

"Hey." She holds my head firm to her shoulder. "You are loved Avery. You are loved."

"Mmmm."

"Breathe. Breathe. I got you. I'm right here."

Again, I cry but I don't completely break down. Winona's soft, soothing voice and powerful hug keeps me anchored against the gales of my sorrow. She holds me as the amber light fades around us.

"Whooo." I let out a long breath after the worst of it had escaped.

Winona leans back a little to look into my eyes. She strokes the side of my head. "I haven't met him, but I can already tell that your Grandpa is one hell of a man."

"Yeah." I nod. "He is."

Her eyes are dewy from her own emotions, but she keeps them in check. "How long? If you don't mind me asking."

"T-Three years at most." I shake my head. "B-But h-he's not gonna get chemo or n-nothin. So…who knows."

"Why not?"

"He…" I look out past Winona, past the garage, and off to the dark Pacific where I see a lone evening star twinkling above the horizon. "…he w-wants to g-go see G-Grandma. He's still…in love with her. Madly, d-deeply, fully in l-love with her. He th-thinks sh-she's w-waiting for him."

"Oh!" Winona lets out a little gasp as she brings her hand to cover her mouth. Full tears now sparkle in her hazel eyes. "She is." She whispers. "She is waiting for him. Her spirit waits for its mate."

"You b-believe that?"

She looks deep into my eyes. "With all of my heart I do. I know it."

I sniffle and wipe my nose. "I hope it's t-true."

She turns to face toward the ocean with me, her arm keeping me glued to her side. "What a day that will be. Two spirits made whole once more."

"You s-sound like G-Grandpa."

"Then I'm in good company." She lays her head on mine. "You're lucky in a way ya know. Those years are a gift. When my gaka passed to the other side we had no warning. Heart attack. Unci was broken. I'd never seen her cry before. Pops…he had a lot of regrets. A lot of regrets. Things not said. Unfinished business. It was a rough time. He was a hard man, an imperfect man, but it's tough not even getting to say goodbye."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

She gives me a little jostle. "It was a long time ago now." She looks at me. "It never goes away. But it does get easier." Stepping around to face me again she starts to smooth out my shirt and skirt and fix my hair. "We would have traded anything to have a few more years. Seize them Avery. Do everything, say everything, you ever wanted to with him."

"I will." I say. "I, um, I'll p-probably be b-busy s-sometimes…being with him…"

"You do NOT have to explain yourself to me. You take all the time you need with him. You treasure that man. You hear me Sprout?"

"Yeah." I take a long, deep breath and then another. As much as venting to Mama had kept me sane, sharing with Winona made me better. "Yeah."

Cupping my cheeks in her hands she peers into my soul…and continues peering until I smile. "There it is."

"S-Sorry." I say. "I h-hope I didn't r-ruin the night."

"Baby. You didn't ruin nothin." She mauls me with a big ol' bear hug. "Gah! I love you so much it hurts!"

I giggle as I am hoisted from my feet and rag-dolled, gently, back and forth. "L-Love you too!"

She sets me back down with a smile, steps back, and offers me her arm. "Shall we continue our stroll baby girl?"

"I would love to." I swoon into her her and take her arm.

In no hurry at all we stroll the length and width of the area inside the tall grass and forest, even being to so bold as to walk along the front where those driving the highway might see us. But no one does. She tells a story about how her grandpa and I tell her a story about mine. A happy story. A story full of life and joy.

Chapter 98: Safeword

Chapter Text

After talking to Winona about my grandpa I found my sorrow filled heart so much easier to bear. It's not that the burden of his illness had been lifted from me, there was nothing in this world short of escapist delusion that could lift it, but it had been shared. And in sharing the burden with another it was ten times lighter. The weirdest thing of all though, I swear that in opening up I also made Winona feel better too. Not that she was happy to hear about my Grandpa, but she was touched, almost grateful, that I had trusted this vulnerable piece of myself with her. She wanted to be there for me. She wanted to help me bear it. Having her at my side made me more courageous. Having me lean on her made her feel stronger. And both of us felt felt less alone in the world. Showing trust in someone was never easy but, when that trust was well placed, the rewards were immeasurable.

We chat a little more about more pleasant topics as we aimlessly meander around the garage, though the longer we walked the less we talked as the romance of the moment washes over us. The setting sun, the emerging stars, the calm sea, the twinkling lights of Haven Point, and the soothing whisper of a gentle spruce scented wind. Ehkolie was at peace. And so were we.

A shiver runs through me as a cool breeze wafts across my bare arms and up under my skirt. Feeling the tremble against her as well as the gooseflesh that rises down my arms Winona turns us for home. She pulls me in close and rubs my arms and does what she can to keep me warm. Laying my head on her shoulder I walk along beside her, not even feeling the chill that had set into my flesh. The warmth we shared right now transcended the merely physical.

We enter the garage through the back again. Along the way Winona does everything for me. She opens the door, guides me along, protects me from the tools and counters of the working area, and never once lets me escape her touch. I understood why a lot of girls hated this stuff. If done by the wrong person for the wrong reasons it would be so terribly condescending. I knew Kayla had very little patience for it for example. But this girl liked it. I liked it a lot. It made me feel delicate and precious and worthy of wearing these fine clothes. It made me feel like a lady. I wouldn't want it all the time but boy do I lap it up right now.

"Thank you." I say demurely as Winona opens the suite door for me. She smiles and runs a hand down my arm which makes the goose pimples rise all over again. We step inside where we see Brutus fast asleep on a pillow. As I lean down to slip out of the gorgeous moccasins that I'd been lent I feel something…peep out from its hiding place. "Oh!" I stand and look down.

"What's up?"

"Um." I glance up at her, embarrassed. "I s-slipped out." I whisper.

"Slipped out?"

I cover my crotch with my hands. "My c-clit."

"Ohhh." She smiles. Before I could excuse myself to the powder room she give my bum a pat and says. "Come here my girl. Let me take care of that." I watch her walk to the love seat and sit down. Sitting with her knees tight together, not an easy feat for someone as hung as her, she pats them and beckons me. "Come on."

I swish across to her, trying to contain my grimace from the way the edge of my cage was scraping my sensitive glans, and straddle her knees. She has me remain standing. Taking the front of my skirt she passes it up to me so that she could see what was going on. I take the fabric and hug it to my body as Winona takes a look.

"Mmm." Her smile grows as she gives my nylon clad thigh a soft caress. Then, hooking the index finger from each hand down the waistband of my panties and hose, she pulls to reveal the problem.

When I see the issue I blush even more than I already was. I was not blessed in the size department in the first place. Add to that that I was more of a 'grower' than a 'shower'. When I shrank, I SHRANK. And with the cool night air wafting freely up my dress and over my plastic sheath my member had gone into a full retreat to the warmth of my core leaving just a shriveled nub left to stick out. It was so cute! As teensy as it got. Like a ruddy little acorn poking out an underfilled sausage casing. So small that it had become a jailbreaker without meaning to.

I look to Winona for her reaction. I don't get laughter, thank goodness, like I did that one time my family made me go swimming with them in the ocean and Jack pantsed me when I was coming out the frigid water. Not that my brothers were so much bigger or anything, but big enough to let me know that I was small. It was my sister's laugher hurt the most that day. No, she does not laugh. Neither does she fawn over me. Instead, with happy eyes, she just checks on my shrunken organ to look for any signs of chafing or irritation. I sure liked the way she touched me.

"Sorry D-Daddy." I whisper.

She shakes her head. "She's cold. Not your fault baby." She pulls my nylons and panties down a couple inches then looks up at me. "I've got your key right here. You want out?"

"No. No, please."

"Okay." She says softly as she starts to rub her hands together. Cupping my pouch and peen with a warmed hand she just holds me. Ohhhh, that feels nice. "I was thinking."

"Mmm?"

"Our safeword." She says. "I like 'Apron' but sometimes it isn't as simple as yes/no. Things aren't always binary. But I want to know what's going on with you."

"Ok-kay."

"I was going to bring in some FoF terms." She says. "But lets keep it simple. Red light, yellow light, green light." Releasing her hand reveals that my tight nubbie had relaxed a little. Without even needing to unlock me she feeds me back into my cage then brings both hands to bear to cup my whole package. As she warms me she continues. "Red means stop. It means stop what I'm doing and I do a check in. Yellow means that's enough. It means you're having fun but you're wary to go any farther and I'll need permission to go further."

"P-Permission?"

"You're the sub, baby girl. I can steer the course, but only you get to say how far we go."

"Oh."

"And Green means full speed ahead."

"Wh-What about Apron?"

"Apron means we STOP. Everything. Right then. Period." She says firmly. "It means something is not right. I'll stop everything we're doing and we cuddle. We talk. We learn. Okay?"

"G-Green, go. Yellow, slow. Red, stop. Ap-pron, game over."

"You got it." Her cupped grip gets more snug. Like magic her toasty palms makes me grow and fill my cage like I was supposed to. "Avery."

"Yeah?"

"If you ever need to say our safe word." She gazes into my eyes. "I will never be upset. I will never be disappointed. Don't you ever think you are spoiling our fun. In fact I'd be kinda pissed if you didn't use it if you needed to. I need to be able to trust you to tell me the truth, okay?"

"Okay." I say. "I t-trust you Winona."

She gives me a smile and a nod. "Okay." Pulling her hands away she checks my clit again. "There we go. Perfect." Satisfied that it was snug and secure once more she pulls my panties up and then my hose then has me let go of the skirt to fall down over her legs. Only then does she pull me down to sit on her legs. She rubs my legs through my skirt and lets her hands explore up my lithe body. "I'm gonna be straight with you baby girl. Kay and I fooled around with some stuff but…I've never actually had a proper submissive before. I don't want to…I don't want to mess up. I want to be careful. Hell, I don't even know where my own lines are." She chuckles. "I might need to use a few of those words myself!"

I grin. "Th-That's okay."

"Good." Her right hand slide up around the side of my slender neck then back down my chest, lingering for a few titillating seconds over my right tit. "And speaking of BDSM shit, I still got a present for you."

"Oh!" I light up. "B-BDSM sh-shit? Really?"

"I kept a present back, remember?"

"I remember!" I giggle and clap my hands. Ohhh! What could it be?

"I think you'll like it."

"I will, I will!"

"We'll see. You want it now baby girl?"

"Yes! Yes D-Daddy!"

"Ask me nice."

"P-Please."

She tilts her head. "You can do better than that." She gives my thigh a pinch. "Ask me nice baby girl."

I stop my bouncing to bring my hands in front of my chest in a cutesy pleading position. Lowering my chin and batting my big, blue eyes I beg with all my subby heart. "Please. Can I have my p-present? Pleeease. Ohhh pleeease." In a tone sweeter than cotton candy I glaze it all over with a sappy. "I love you Daddy."

"How do you…DO that?" Winona slowly shakes her head. "That is not fair. You know that right? That is just not fair." She looks over at her poster for help. "Are you seeing this Johnny?"

I giggle and tug at her shirt needily. "I've been a good girl. Pleeease can I have my present."

"Okay! Okay!" She laughs, then adds with a saucy wink. "Just remember, you asked for it."

Chapter 99: Make Some Magic

Chapter Text

Winona reaches into the closet and pulls the familiar pink bag that had been tucked in along the left hand side. Turning around with an excited grin she says. "Close your eyes."

With a silly smile I sit up nice and await my present. Giddy with anticipation I listen as she approaches.

"Put out your arms."

"Huh? Oh, ok-kay."

"Straight in front of you. Like you're holding a steering wheel." She says. "That's it. Hands a bit closer together. Perfect."

My ears straining I hear the rustle of paper and the tinny clink of metal on metal. I already had a good idea of what was coming simply by the way she had me hold my arms and the fact that I had accidentally seen her handcuffs when helping her move in. As I feel a super comfy cuff wrap around my slender left wrist and a moment later the same around my right I knew my suspicion was confirmed. Or so I thought. As she lets go of the cuff I realize that there was no tension or weight between them. The cuffs were unconnected?

"Okay. Open your eyes."

I open them and look down at my gift. On my wrists were a pair of wide leather cuffs in the most lovely shade of lavender. They were SO much nicer than the cheesy, fuzzy novelty cuffs I'd seen on moving day. Around the outside they were made of a thick, sturdy leather, like the type you'd make a belt from, but lining the interior was a far more supple type of leather that felt warm and welcome against my soft skin. They were sumptuously padded and stitched in such a way that pinching or scraping or rasping would be all but impossible. They didn't so much shackle my wrist as swathe it in luxurious comfort. They weren't held by any sort of lock but instead used a steel buckle to cinch the straps. Currently they were were not buckled leaving just the natural shape of the leather to hold it to my wrists. As I had felt there was no chain between them, though there was a solid steel hoop built into each. To top it all off there were words stitched into them in a fancy cursive font of cerulean blue. One said 'Good', the other said 'Boy'.

"Ohhh!"

"I didn't know whether to get boy or girl." Winona hurries to say. "I got these before I really knew about baby girl and…"

"I love them!" I hoot. "Ohhhh! Th-They're so nice!" I look up at her. "You sh-shouldn't have. Y-You spent t-too much!"

Seeing my joy brings a bright smile to her face. "Don't you worry about how I spend my money baby girl. Daddy'll get what Daddy wants to get."

I giggle and look back to them. "Yes'm."

"You like them?"

"Yes! They feel n-nice." I turn them, studying them curiously. Because they each had a solid ring of steel there was no way to connect them. "Where d-do they attach?"

"Anywhere I want them to." She says as she rummages around in the bag. There was more in there! From the bag she pulls a pair of metal objects which turn out to be double-headed snap hooks. Each head looked like the type of hook that you'd use to affix a dog's leash to its collar and between them there was a swivel that allowed the heads to spin 360 degrees. "With these babies I can click them on anywhere I want. To each other. To the bed." Her smile grows as she hands me the clips and feels around the bag again. "These." She pulls from the bag another set of cuffs, matching the first in every way except that they were a bit longer. These ones already had similar snap hooks attached. For my ankles? Excited she hands me them and reaches into the bag again. "Orrr…" Her voice rises to build up the big reveal. "…this!"

Letting go of the bag she lets it fall to the floor. Left clutched in her hands was…the strangest looking contraption of straps, buckles, hoops, laces, rivets and leather bits I'd ever seen. It isn't until she uses her other hand to help to splay out the jumbled mass that I could make heads or tails of it. What immediately gives it form is a centerpiece that appeared to be a wide corset style belt designed to cinch the body into a more hourglass shape. Above it was a thick collar. Between them was a criss-cross of leather straps that would go over the chest and frame the breasts. Below the belt were more straps leading down to leather garters to be placed around the upper thighs. As she rotates it to give me the full view I see that at the sides of the garters, the sides of the corset, the front of the collar and at various strategic points along the connecting straps dangled more steel rings. Add the two sets of cuffs to this harness and the options of what might attach to what were many and varied. It made the imagination soar. The color didn't match the cuffs, though it's soft powder pink did pair with the lavender really nicely.

"Wow."

"I told ya I kinda got carried away." Winona says as she looks it over herself and straightens out the straps. "But when I saw this…and thought of you…something just came over me."

"W-We w-weren't even going together yet when you got that!" I laugh. "P-Presumptuous much?"

"Let's just say, I had faith." She winks. "I was gonna get you into this thing one way or the other."

"Pfff." I giggle, nearly vibrating with anticipation. "I c-can't wait. C-Can we do it tonight?"

"I mean, yeah!" She says. "I'd like to try it at least."

"Ohhh!"

"If you like it we can look into other stuff." She says, her eyes alight with kinky delight. "I found this place in Portland that has all sorts of gear. We should go sometime."

"Yes! Yes!" I cheer. "Road trip!"

"Hell yeah." She says. "You ever been tied up before Sprout?"

"Um, n-not in a fun way." I mutter as I push away the thoughts of the not fun ways of being bound that my brothers used to inflict on me.

"What?"

"No." I answer more directly. "No. I n-never did bondage before. Not really."

"And you're interested? For real? If not that's cool but…"

"Yes! Y-Yes I am interested." In my mind I was already buckling into the harness.

"It can be pretty frightening at first. The loss of control." She warns. "I let Kay tie me once. I fucking hated it. Freaked the fuck out if I'm being honest."

"Oh." I say.

"But she loved it. I loved it too, on her." She says. "To have someone at your complete and total mercy…mmm, Daddy like." Leaning forward she has me sit back and lays the body harness over me, laying it out like she might a shirt on a hanger just to see how it looks. "It's cool if it's not your thing but…"

"I want to d-do it! I kn-know the safe words. I-I'll let you kn-know if it gets scary. I p-promise." Setting down the clips and ankle cuffs I run my hands over the tough leather corset belt that lay over my belly. I imagine how it would sculpt my already slender physique to be even more effete. "I want you to b-bind me." I trace up a strap and pull my fingers across the the smooth leather and cold steel ring of the collar. Looking up into her eyes I whisper. "I want you to tied me up…and m-make love to me."

"Oh Avery."

"I w-want you to make love to me Winona." I plead with all my heart. "I w-want tonight…to be the night. I w-want you take me. I want to feel you…inside of me." The fires inside of me warm. My hole clenches, pleading for a touch, as my clit fills its pretty pink prison. "Take me…please? Make me y-yours."

Putting a knee down beside me she looms over me and gently runs the back of her fingers down my cheek. "You're already mine baby."

"Mmmm." I press my cheek into her fingers.

Leaning in she plants a tender kiss against my lips. "Let's make some magic."

Chapter 100: Bound

Chapter Text

Winona pulls the harness to the cushion beside me then takes my hands and pulls me to my feet. Pulling me right into her body she hugs me and gives me another sweet kiss.

"Mmmmm." I smile as she pulls away.

When she steps back to take a long up and down look at me she bites her bottom lip in transparent desire. It felt so good to be looked at like that. To be genuinely desired for what I was. Always being small and effete I had grown up seeing derision in women's eyes as they silently measured me against the tall and rugged masculine ideal. Sure, even I had to admit that I looked damn good right now in my pretty dress but I'd already seen Winona look at me just like that in my regular clothes, dressed up for our date, and even in my work clothes and apron. She was attracted to me as me, regardless of the wrappings, just as much as I was hot for her.

"Damn baby girl." She whispers.

Taking the sides of my borrowed yellow shirt she slowly pulls it up over my tummy. I raise my arms to allow her to pull it off of me, which she does. I'd been shirtless for less than two seconds when Winona drops the garment and pulls me into her again. Her head down low she kisses and sucks at my chest and shoulders.

"Ohhhh." I sigh at the feeling of her lips and hands on my body.

She finishes with a kiss to my breast then pulls away again. With barely contained excitement she pulls my skirt all the way down to the ground then has me lift one foot at a time so that she can toss it to the side. Squatted down in front of me she steals a moment to kiss the bulge in my panties. I giggle as my caged member twitches against its now tight confines in response. To think that just a few minutes ago it was so small that it slipped out. Winona stands, her hands tracing up the sides of my silky polka dot legs and then along my arms as she goes which sets me to shivering all over. In just my cage, panties and nylons I felt more naked than naked as I stood trembling before her.

In a comfortable silence I stand and let myself be admired while I admire her smoking hot fully clothed body right back again. It was comfortable because I knew she had control. With another lover I would have felt the need to fill the quiet with a flirtatious comment or press the action. But with Winona I could just relax and let her be our guide. I absolutely LOVED that.

Grabbing my plump bottom she yanks me into her yet again for yet another kiss, this one harder and deeper, which we both enjoy very much. Against my cage and legs I feel her cock swell free as my clitty strains with impotent lust. Next she turns to the cuffs. Starting with the left one, the one that read 'Good', she feeds the strap through the buckle then cinches it tight, but not too tight. Although with how generously padded the lining was it would have been difficult to make it too tight. She secures the buckle and tugs against it to see how it fit around my slender wrist. It fit perfectly.

"How does it feel?" She asks.

"Good." I say softly as I stare up at her without even a glance toward my arm. God she was beautiful. She glances at me and smiles at my fawning gaze. I darn near swoon right there.

She steals another kiss and whispers. "You're a silly boy."

"Yes Ma'am." I whisper back.

From the left to the right she does the same with my other wrist. So enraptured by her I can't even tear my eyes away to watch it this time. All I could think about was her having me bound and making love to me. If it was up to me she would have thrown me down right here and had me. But it wasn't up to me. And I was happy to wait as she was clearly having fun, as was I, but that didn't mean I couldn't hit her full force with fiercest 'fuck me' eyes that I could muster in the meantime.

"Good?"

"Y-Yes Daddy."

She chuckles and pinches the tip of my nose. "I see what you're doing Sprout."

I giggle but keep on gazing, even adding a flutter of my big blue eyes. Ignoring my silent pleas Winona continues. Kneeling down in front of me she affixes the ankle cuffs in the same manner that she had the wrists. She feels around them and slips two fingers along my ankles to make double sure nothing was squeezing or cutting off circulation. Feeling ever more naughty I very subtly push my hips forward until my bulge 'accidentally' boops against her forehead. One brow rises as she looks up in pretend annoyance. I smile a big innocent smile and I get quick flick to my cage for the insolence.

"Ooo!" I hoot as her nail ricochets off the protective plastic shell.

"Behave."

"He he he. Yes Daddy." My mischievous grin grows as I verrrry slowly start to push my bulge back toward her the moment her attention was busy elsewhere so that I might boop her again.

Chomp! In a lightning quick strike she bites my balls!

"OOOOOOO!!!" I would have leapt had she not had my right testicle between her pearly whites. My panties and hose provide little armor against her gleaming bared teeth. "Mmmmm!" She ever so gradually squeeeezes harder. "Oooommmm!" Her eyes glimmer with amusement as she watches me squirm. "HAH!" I gasp when she suddenly lets me go. After a stunned moment I blurt out. "Fuck me!"

She points with a stern finger. "Behave!"

"Mmm!" I nod rapidly. "Y-Yes'm."

"You better." She gives my nut a healing smooch. "Brat."

With my obedience secured, at least for the moment, Winona stands and takes up the harness. My hands gripping at my sides I sort of shuffle my weight from foot to foot excitedly.

Nuzzling into my neck Winona kisses me and whispers. "Be still now baby girl."

"Yes Daddy."

Her nose caresses along the front of my neck until she gets to other side for another soft kiss. She then stands straight and wraps the collar of the harness around my neck. She leans in and has me rest my head against her as she works the buckle at the back of my neck. Just like with my wrists and ankles but taking even more care to ensure she didn't pull it too tight Winona secures the collar as the rest of it dangles down my front. Once it was on she pulls back and takes a look.

Flicking the steel ring at the front of my neck with her index fingers she asks. "Still good?"

"Mmm." I nod eagerly. "Good. Feels k-kinky."

"This is so hot." She says. "Let's try it out."

Grabbing a couple of the clips she hooks one onto my right wrist then brings my hand up to my neck and secures the other end to the loop on my collar. She then swiftly does the same with my other wrist. When she steps back again she leaves me with my wrists bound to my neck with very little room to move.

"Can you escape?" She asks with genuine curiosity.

"Mmm." The steel on steel clinks as I tug against my bonds. "N-No way."

"Can you reach the clips?"

I bend my wrists as much as I can to try to feel along the snap hooks that were holding me. While I could feel release with the tips of my fingers I couldn't actually get a proper grip to open them. "Mmm." I shake my head no. Reaching around the back of my neck I come nowhere close to reaching that buckle. What I could reach with my flexible joints though were the buckles on the cuffs. With some difficulty I would be able to release them in this position, but only because my hands were so close together.

"How ya doing baby?"

"Good!"

Her face lights up. I could tell that she didn't want to pressure me into this but that it really made her happy to see me enjoying something that she was really interested in exploring. It excited me all the more to know that we'd be exploring this stuff together. She glides in for another kiss…and another…and another. So lost was I in our smooching I am surprised to discover my cuffs released when the kissing stops. Staying right up close to me she feeds my hands through some of the straps then has me hold my arms out to the sides as she wraps the corset around my midriff. At the front of it were sexy criss-crossing laces that could be undone if desired but it was the twin buckles at the back that were more for opening and closing the garment. Keeping me in a close hug Winona rests her mouth on my shoulder as she peers down my back to snug the belts through their buckles. This time she cinches it quite snugly. Tight, but hardly uncomfortable.

Once more she steps back to check out the overall picture. "Daaamn baby girl." She shakes her hand in a 'too hot to touch' sort of motion. "How you got hips like that? Huh? DAMN!"

I laugh as I peer down my body see how the corset like belt had drawn in my tummy and flanks to give me a very alluring feminine shape. Wow! Add an hourglass body like this with my makeup and a dress over top of me and I think even straightest bro-dudes would be turning their heads. I'd been teased so much for how I looked but right now, right here, with the right person, I felt like the luckiest guy in all the world to have a pretty figure like this. Though the harness was designed for raunchy kink I actually quite liked how the laces looked down the front. To my eyes it gave it a touch of class.

After straightening out a couple of the straps that crossed my chest Winona attaches my cuffs to the steel rings on the sides of the belt to test it again.

"Still good?"

I wriggle and yank against my bonds. Unlike at the neck there was no buckle or latch in reach. "C-Can't get out."

"Beautiful." She lightly gropes my titty. "Lookin fine baby."

"Thank you." I smile.

She bends down to finish the job. Looping the final two straps around my upper thighs she buckles them tight. Again she tests the loops here. Bring my arms right down to my sides she clicks them in and steps back.

I twist and pull with the same results as before. "I c-can't get away."

"No. You can't." She says. "Mmmm, you are allll mine."

"Mmmm." I smile harder.

She traces a finger up my leg then up and across my belly button. "You look so good. I think I wanna look good too." Reaching around she grabs my ass and gives it swat. "Why don't you go wait for me on the bed baby girl."

"Yes Ma'am."

While I walk about a little, my wrists still glued to my legs, she goes to her dresser to find something to wear. Something that she keeps hidden from me but I do catch a little glimpse of black lace.

"Just be a minute." She says as she strides to the washroom, her hips swaying seductively. Just before closing the door she looks back over her shoulder and winks. "I promise it'll be worth the wait."

"Ooo!"

I sit down on the bed to wait for her. I giggle and tug at my cuffs. This was all so kinky and fresh and exciting! As the quiet and still of the room sets in around me my buoyant mood is suddenly shackled with leaden weights. I look at the door then the window. What if somebody came in right now? What if they saw me? What if they tried to…do something to me? Piercing my jubilant spirits comes thoughts, memories, of a different time. A time when people whom I should have been able to trust bound me just like this, my arms down along my sides, just so that they could laugh at me and humiliate me.

"Mmm." More insistently I pull at my cuffs and start to twist my hands to see if I could maybe reach a buckle or release. Just knowing that I could escape if I needed to would have been enough to put me back at ease. "Mmmm!" No use. It was no use. No matter how much I twisted and turned I couldn't escape. I was trapped!

I squeeze my eyes closed and try to push the invasive thoughts out of my head but it only makes it worse as the empty room is quickly populated by all my worst fears by my careening imagination. I open my eyes again and scan about for something to ease my rising panic. Everything had been just fine while Winona was in the room and I just had to last the couple of minutes that she was out of sight. The closest thing I could find to succor was Brutus poking around in the closet but it was no use. I knew he couldn't help me if something happened.

"Mmm!" Frantic now I pull at my bonds with real strength. The stout leather does its job though and I get nowhere. What had been fun just moments ago was suddenly a nightmare. A nightmare that no amount of kinky arousal or playful 'Daddy'-'baby girl' role play could assuage. "MMM!"

My eyes snap to the washroom door. Embarrassed at my weakness I nonetheless find myself on my feet and hurrying towards it. Jamming my face into the corner where the door met the frame I whisper. "Yellow."

"Sprout?" Winona's voice is the flash of a lighthouse beacon on a foggy night.

"Yellow!" I cry. "Y-Yellow! Y-Y-Yellow! RED!"

"Oh geez!" The very next moment the door swings wide and I am pulled into Winona's strong arms. She was topless and on the toilet seat I could see the sexy black lingerie that she'd been hoping me to surprise me with. A surprise I just spoiled. Closing my eyes I lean into her and bury my face into her shoulder. Hurriedly Winona unclasps my cuffs from the harness then wraps her arms around me once more. Nuzzling my hair she kisses me. "I'm here."

"S-Sorry." I say softly.

"It's okay. It's okay." She kisses me again. "I got you baby."

In mere moments all that irrational fear and anxiety drain out of me again as if by some mind healing magic from FoF. In my girlfriend's warm embrace my breath slows, my muscles relax, and my spirit settles. "Whoooo."

"What happened?"

"I was ok-k-kay…until I-I was alone." I take another calming breath. "I'm ok-kay n-now."

She strokes my cheek and smiles that understanding smile of hers. "Scary, huh?"

"Mmm." I nod.

"That's why I didn't like it." Another sweet kiss. "Need to stop?"

"NO!" I blurt too loudly to which we both laugh. "He he he. I mean, no. N-No way." I hold my arms up, a snap hook dangling from each wrist. "You c-can do it again…I w-want you to d-do it again…just…l-leave the d-door open this t-time?"

Her heart melts like it always did when I showed my vulnerable side to her. Beaming happily she pets me and strokes me and gives me a little kiss to my cheek. "Sure baby. If that's what you want."

I beam right back at her, more in love with her than ever. "Y-Yes please."

Chapter 101: Alpha

Chapter Text

Once she was absolutely sure that I was back in the right mood Winona clips my wrists back onto my legs then turns me around to swat my bum and send me back out to the bed. Steel clinks and leather creaks as I walk through the room in my kinky harness. It felt funny the way the straps tugged and the way my arms were forced to move with my thighs. Funny and sexy. So sexy. Bound like this I was at Daddy's mercy and there was nowhere else I'd rather be.

When I turn around I discover Winona still watching me, probably keeping tabs on whether I was feeling better or possibly simply to watch my butt as I went. Either way I ate up her precious attention with gusto. I shoot her a reassuring smile and an inviting bat of my eyes to let her know all was well then sit back down on the bed right where I'd been just a few short minutes ago to await my lover. With the door open Winona's presence gave this place a whole different vibe. Positive and loving and safe. A magical, uplifting mood that scared away all my anxieties and fear. The way she'd held me and let me free without hesitation or question after my use of our safe words had cemented one of the sexiest things a couple could have. Trust.

She gives me wink then turns toward the mirror and continues to undress.

Knowing she had eyes on her she makes a show of it. As if moving to music that only she could hear her shoulders begin to rock up and down as her hips sway side to side. The way she sort of dance-walks in place highlighted her long, shapely legs so good in that tight denim. Seeing her now wearing jeans and bare chested had me fantasizing about her as some brawny lumberjack and me as a fair dryad tempting her away from the civilized world. Still dancing she opens the fly of her pants and begins to push them down over her hips in time to her groove. I catch her stealing a glance my way to see my wide-eyed fawning. She laughs to herself and continues the show. Running her hands up her sides she brings them to the front to grasp her breasts then slides her hands back down her belly. Moving smooth and sensual Winona removes her jeans and then her underwear.

"Ohhh." I coo as her big, thick cock swings into view. With Pavlovian immediacy my mouth begins to water.

With a flourish and a spin Winona throws her clothes out the open door to land in a heap on the loveseat. She points my way and blows me a kiss. I giggle and catch it out of the air with a big nom of my mouth. She laughs, claps, and snaps her fingers as she continues to dance for me. Her tall, powerful, feminine body framed perfectly in the doorway looked like a work of art come alive. With a saucy twist of her hips she flips around to face away from me and streeetches her arms high above. Mmm! She looked just as good from behind. Her shape, her shoulders, her butt, the way her onyx hair fell down the center of her back. Bewitched as I was by her all consuming beauty I even began to hear the timeless music to which she danced.

A fuzzy tickle at my ankle draws my attention away. I look down to see Brutus sniffing at my ankle cuff. "Hey b-big guy." I whisper. He flops across my foot and starts pawing at the steel ring. As I pet him with the toes of my opposite foot I look up to continue watching the show at just the right time.

"Oh!" Bent over to look through the lingerie Winona was giving me a full eyeful of her ass, pussy, balls and cock. "Mmm." My bonds clink at my sides as every instinct inside of me told me crawl to her now and begin servicing her with my mouth. Again my lust strains against my cage before getting reflected back into me when it finds no expression there. My hole squeezes hard demanding a touch that I could not give it.

Winona peers back around her shoulder with a sultry gaze before standing again and turning to stand perfectly in profile. With no fuss or gripe her titillating outfit surprise had instead turned into a sexy strip show and she was loving it as much as I was.

She holds out a black bra then pulls it on. After hooking it at the back she lifts one breast at a time to get them perfectly pocketed within the lacy garment. Taking up the matching pair of panties she gives it an alluring twirl around her finger. Or she tries to at least. As the underwear orbits around her finger it most inelegantly ends up spinning right up and off her digit to fly into the wall, shattering her graceful dancer persona in an instant.

"Damn it!" She scrambles to snatch it up off the floor. As I titter she points and warns. "Shush!" I bite my lips, smiling like a fool, and continue to watch. With a playfully indignant bearing she stands tall, shakes out the undies, then bends over end yanks them onto herself. She tucks herself into the panties then adjusts her huge package with a most unladylike machismo then the beautiful bulge a pat. "There."

"He he he." I laugh. I would have clapped if I could. She shoots me a wink then carries on. Recapturing her previous elegance she plucks from the toilet seat a single long black thigh high stocking. "Oooo."

With toes pointed and bent to show off her curves to the max she stretches out one of her exquisitely long legs to rest her toes on the toilet. She scrunches up the stocking then feeds it onto her foot before slowly pulling it up her calf and thigh. After running her hands up and down her leg a couple of times she then does the same with the other leg. She slides her hands down her thigh to rest upon her knee…then snaps her head my way. Her eyes lock on. Target acquired.

"Mmm!" I tremble with excitement.

Her shoulders whip sharply followed by her hips to face the same direction as her face. Hazel eyes focused and ablaze she strides back into the room with a power and confidence that I could never match. She walked on the balls of her feet as if wearing high stilettos. Sexy, sultry and sassy. As if sensing the approach of the area's alpha predator little Brutus abandons me to scamper across the room toward one of the feather wand I'd bought him. Neither of us spare him even a glance as we only had eyes for each other.

She comes to tower over me, looking down on me like a giantess about to crush some unfortunate village. She made me feel tiny in the BEST possible way. Overwhelmed for a moment by what her looming presence was doing to my lust mad soul I tear my eyes away to look at her feet. But only for a moment. Slowly I pan up over her black stockinged legs, over the smooth flesh of her upper thighs, across those lacy panties sitting at eye level with that big beckoning bulge, over her trim tummy, weaving through the dreamy dreamcatcher tattoo, summiting her perfect breasts, admiring the elegant lace along her cleavage, panning the graceful shape of her shoulders and long neck, until finding the face of the most beautiful woman that ever lived. This time when our eyes meet I do not shirk. That fiery hazel passion I see in her eyes I match with my own azure flames.

Chapter 102: WHUMP!

Chapter Text

After a moment of still where she lets her towering aura fill and permeate the room, a moment that strains the sexual tension between us right to the breaking point, she at last moves. Reaching down Winona hooks her fingers inside the thick corset belt then like doing curls at the gym she uses it as a handle and hoists me to my feet.

"Ooo!" I catch a second of vertigo as for an instant I am hovering by her strength alone with no way of breaking my fall if she let go. She does not let go. She pulls me straight into her until our lips meet and I am standing on my tip toes pressed up against her. "Mmmm." I hum with wild arousal. Her little feats of strength just did things to me. And I think she knew it. "Mmmmm." Her tongue plunges into my mouth as we kiss deeply and passionately.

"Hrrmmm." She growls into me, the lace of her bra tickling my nipples. Feeding her hands between my arms and sides she reaches around and grabs both my ass cheeks to give them a good hard SQUEEZE!

"MMM!"

Her hands are all over me. Groping, gripping, grasping at every window of free flesh between the various straps. She grabs my tits and grabs my ass and grabs my clit and every other part she could find. Meanwhile her mouth slides form mine to chew across my cheek before nibbling down my neck to eventually suck at my shoulder. All I can do is writhe and take it. With my wrists bound to my thighs I was utterly at her mercy, and in heaven because of it.

"Ohhhh." I moan as her nipping, sucking mouth continues downward until she had my right breast inside of it. "OH!"

"You taste good baby." She whispers as she swipes her tongue across my nipple. Her right hand had found my ass again. Through nylons and panties two fingers probe to find my hole. Opening her lips wide she latches to my nipple in a way no lover had ever done before and begins to suckle on me as her fingers rub hard against my anus.

"OH GOD!" I am quivering from head to toe when she takes up another level! Her other hand finds my balls. Two strong fingers curl up behind my sack to grind into my gooch as her palm rubs my package. "Ohh!" Her hard sucking sends explosions of pleasure radiating out from my titty as between my legs she was overwhelming me with her two fronted attack. I had no escape, not that I wanted one. If I shifting my butt back my butthole would press into her fingers and if I shifted forward my clit and balls would mash into her palm. "OH!" My arms snap and flail at my sides as I instinctively try to reach out to cling to her but my bondage leaves me helpless to her ravishing in the most wonderful way. The suckling stops only to be replaced by a stabbing tongue then chewing teeth. My tit wet from sucking lets her teeth glide easily over the peck until they reach that tender nub at the nip. "OHHH!"

In one dizzying moment everything changes. Suddenly she was at my lips again, her mouth smashed into mine. Suddenly her hands were at my head, holding it in a tight grip as she kissed the living hell out of me. Our lips part with a loud smack leaving gasping for air and weak in the knees. She fixes me with a piercing dominating gaze as a hot breath washes across my face, then a big snarling smile grows as she sees my awestruck expression. Daddy was having fun!

She pulls me in until my forehead touches hers, her hazel eyes continuing to drill into mine, and says. "I FUCKING love you!"

"Oh!"

"Good?"

"Mmm!" I nod with enthusiasm.

"Ha ha!" She kisses me again, finishing it with a frisky bite of my bottom lip. "My girl."

And the moment after that is another swift shift as I find my face now smooshed into Winona's lacy breast. The moment I realize what was happening I am smooching and sucking against her black bra. "Nnngh." I root into her tit trying my best with just nose and mouth to push the bra to the side so that I could get to the delectable flesh beneath.

"Mmm. That's it baby. Get in there." As I work to worm my way into her nipple she has free access to mine, as I learn when her finger and thumb start pinching at my tender nip.

"MMM!" Her other hand runs down my back then once again takes a handful of ass in a firm grip. "Hmm!" I moan and tilt my body to encourage the touch. I loved how her attention kept finding its way to my bum, exactly the spot I wanted her focused.

I'd barely made any progress beyond a lot of licking and slobbering on her breast before I am lifting right off of my feet and taken for a spin through the air before being tossed face down onto the bed like a sack of grain.

"Uff!" I grunt as I skid to a stop in the center of the mattress.

"Sorry!"

"I'm g-good." I giggle. "Don't stop!"

"RAAHHH!!!"

I peer back over my shoulder just in time to see her leaping through the air like some ninja dominatrix!

"AHHH!!!" I cry as I see my life flashing before my eyes.

WHUMP! She lands on top of me no harder than a thrown pillow, her hands and knees placed perfectly to catch her momentum.

"HA HA HA HA!" We both laugh uproariously as we bounce to a rest.

"Rrrm!" She nuzzles my hair as her hands explore my body, but cute bubble butt in particular. "Oh fuck you feel so fucking good baby." Her left hand grasps hungrily at my ass. "Mmmm!"

"You toooo." I coo.

"Mmm! Mmm! Rmm!" She hums as she kisses and nibbles down my neck with ravenous desire. "RRR!" On instinct her body thrusts against my bum, her growing bulge jamming itself between my buns like a hot dog wiener. Nature was taking hold. Her primal need to breed her willing boyfriend was forcing its way to the forefront. Fingers claw through my fair hair and down my shoulders as her kisses become sucks and her nibbles nipping bites.

I lay there beneath her absolutely glowing with joy. This was all so frenzied, chaotic, and wild. My girlfriend's vivacious energy was gushing out of her because she simply couldn't hold it all in. I got the sense that she'd never had a partner that let her play out her bdsm fantasies like this and was scrambling to try everything out at once. I felt like one of those flailing riders hanging on for dear life atop a bucking bull. Yet at no point did I sense she had lost control. Her aggression was jubilant and playful and a little bit goofy, like a hyperactive puppy, not some super serious power hungry ego trip. I'd never had a Domme before I knew without a shadow of doubt that Winona was just the type of Mistress I liked. I smile remembering how Kayla warned me that Winona was a lot to handle. How she warned me that I'd never be able to hold my own against her. My bestie knew me well, but not in this realm. That was the beauty of being a purely submissive bottom. I could let my Daddy do all the heavy lifting and pull our shared adventure in any direction she wished. Liberated from the chains of decision making my job was simply to have fun along the way and make sure my top was satisfied in the end.

"You want me?" She says in a harsh whisper.

"Y-Yessss."

"You want Daddy to tear up this sweet little ass?" She emphasizes the question with another buck against my bottom and a flexing surge of her cock. "Daddy's pretty big, baby girl. You think you can handle her?"

"Ohhhh." I mewl in a high soft voice. My needy tone, my sensual writhing, my supplicating gaze. In every way I knew I signal my total surrender. "F-Fuck meee."

Chapter 103: Wacky Sex Magic

Chapter Text

Winona kisses down my shoulder blades, right across the belt, peppers the small of my back with smooches, until at last she kissing my bum as her hands rub up and down my smooth nylon clad legs. She is kneeling between my spread legs as she kisses and fondles my bubble booty while I lay smiling and savoring this wonderful foreplay. I am surprised when I hear the clink of a snap hook and feel my right arm suddenly free.

I'd barely moved my arm a few inches when she grabs my forearm. "Oh no you don't. You're not gettin away from me." She says as she pulls my arm. "Just a change of position."

My smile grow and my arm goes loose to let her position me anyway she wished. As she pulls my arm her other hand tucks into the crook of my knee and pushes my leg up. There comes another clink as my wrist is fastened to my ankle. I giggle as she pauses to tickle the tender soul of my foot. After a kiss to my heel and a whispered "I love you." she detaches my other wrist then pulls it too down to bind it to the ring on my outer ankle. My hands now down by my feet it left nowhere else for my butt to go but up. My face, shoulders, and knees support my weight as the rest of me forms a peak with my ass at the summit.

"And they say there is no perfect ass." Whap!

"OH!" I gasp as she spanks me. "Ohhhh."

It was barely more than a stiff pat rather than an actual spank but I knew that was all she was capable of right now. That darned black eye from Jack had her wary of being too rough with me. While I would have welcomed a bit of sting to my bottom the fact that she cared enough to be gentle with me just added to this wonderful feeling of safety and trust. Plus it was kind of sexy knowing that Daddy could be so much harder if she wanted to but chose not to be for the sake of her delicate baby girl. It made me feel pretty and precious.

Whap! Comes another light spank followed by a soft rub of my cheek. "Mmm." I hum happily. Whap! "Ohhh." Whap! This time it was a double spank, a hand for each cheek. "Oooo." Her fingers claw into the crack of my ass and then…RRRP! I am jostled as a loud tear rips through air. Winona, as she warned she would do, had torn the ass of my nylons asunder! "OHHH!" WHAP! One last and hardest spank smacks me square the hole! "HAH!" Had I not been bound I might have launched myself right off the bed as my legs kicked out at the unexpectedly hard bop to my bussy but as it was all I can do is flinch. "Ohhh yesss!"

"Mmm." Her fingers slide up and down my anus a few times before gliding down to massage my balls. "What's this?" She croons as her fingers find the damp patch around the end of my cage. "He he he. Clitty leaking so much already?"

"I'm wet f-for you D-Daddy!"

"Mmm, you sure are baby girl."

"I want you." I strain to look over my shoulder and up the slope of my back to my beautiful lover whose eyes were locked on my booty. "I w-want you."

"Aw baby." She pulls my panties to the side to expose my whole crotch, tearing the nylons a bit more as she does. "I ain't got no power to resist ya."

Grabbing my cheeks she shoots me a wink then disappears below the double crescent of my butt. A second later a hot, wet mouth is wrapping around my balls!

"Oh God!"

"Mnngh." She hums as she suckles my nuts. "Rrrrm!" Her tongue probes between my testes as her lips chew and suck at the clean shaven skin. She was eating out my scrotum as hungrily as she had my ass before Briar's interruption and it felt incredible! "Mmmm!"

"Ohhhh!" I writhe. It was then I hear something. A very soft, very subtle sound of skin against skin. She was playing with her cock! Getting it nice and hard. "Ohhhh!"

She gets a nice sucking taste of each testicle before slipping down to mouth the smooth plastic of my cage. Twisting her head she pushes into me, taking in the shell around my clit and begins to blow it. "Mmmm." Her cheek tight to my taut sack her lips slide easily along the length of the plastic sheath. It was impossible, ridiculous, yet through some kinda wacky sex magic I'd swear on my Grandpa's love that I could actually FEEL her hot mouth enveloping my cock right through the cage!

"Ohhh! OHHH!"

Through the hole she sucks the precum from my tip and dabs her tongue against it to make the scantest of contact. Never had so little felt like so much! She tongues and teases at the slit as quietly in the background I hear her steady fapping.

"You taste like sugar baby." She whispers then kisses my taint.

There is a sudden rustle and for a just an instant she was gone. She was right back again before my lust addled mind even processed she'd left. Standing on her knees behind me I hear the farty sputter of what I would bet anything was lubricant squeezed from a bottle.

"Shit." She mutters, then gripes more loudly. "Shit! Too much!" The next think I knew a big ol glob of goo was being slapped into my ass. Instantly I feel the cool, slick liquid ooze down over my balls and start to drip onto the bed. "ACK! It's getting everywhere!"

"PFFFT!" I bury my face in the blankets and start giggling like a hyena. Leave it to Winona during this mystical, magical moment of our first intercourse to get me laughing. God I loved her.

"Shut up!" She laughs. "This silicone stuff stains!" Trying to ease the dripping by smearing it around all she ends up doing is oiling up my entire crotch and backside. From the top of my butt crack right down to my inner thighs I was doused in lube, skin, panties, pantyhose and all. "Geez!" From her slick grip squirts the bottle to ricochet off my ass then down onto the bedding. "Fuck!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"Avery!" She snatches up the bottle and whaps my shiny white ass. "You little brat."

"He he he he!" I am nearly lost to hysterics when a slippery thumb sunk into my hole snaps me right back to attention. "Eeep!" Digging the knuckle of her index finger into my taint she hooks her thumb to pincer my prostate with incredible precision and SQUEEZES! "OHHHH FUCK!"

"Not laughing now, eh?"

"Oh ho hooooh!" My toes curl and my eyes roll back as the end of her thumb rub, rub, RUBS against my singing P-spot. Holy hell…this woman sure knew her way around a boy's hole! "HMMM! Daddyyyyy!"

"Oh, it's Daddy again is it?" She chortles as her thumb thrusts and grinds. "Learned some respect did ya?"

"OHHHH!"

"What a fun little button I've found." Rub, rub, rub, rub. "Listen to the cute noises it makes."

"Hmmm! Hnnngh! Hohhh! Ohhhh God!" My hips start to rock in time with her thumb fucking. The amount of lubricant might have been over the top but damn if it didn't make everything feel smooth and easy and wonderful. Ohhhh, it had been WAY too long since somebody had touched me like this. "Ohhh W-W-Winonaaaa!"

"Holy shit you're tight baby." She hisses as my hole clenches hard around her digit. "Damn girl!"

"Mmmm! Hmmm! Ohhhhh!" Lilting moans are the only reply I am capable of. A toy or my own fingers could get me through my long, barren dry spells without anal but nothing, NOTHING, could replace the feeling of having another person inside of me. The penetration alone was heaven itself but her masterful playing of my prostate had me buzzing in an entirely new kind of bliss. My insides felt so good, my anus amazing, and my clitty leaked like a loose faucet. "Ohhh D-Daddyyyy! YESSS!!!"

I hear another squirt and the bottle click shut then watch it roll to a rest beside my shoulder wetting the blankets where it landed. Stained blankets no longer seemed a concern. Grabbing my thick leather corset with her free hand she hold me in place as she twists her other hand to replace her thumb with two fingers. As her fingers slip into my bum she jerks me back by the belt to punch her fingers into me right to the knuckles.

"OHHHHH!!!" My voice high and warbling I cry out in ecstasy. Her left hand pushing and pulling as her right fingers plunge, plunge, plunge into my backside she finger blasts me like I'd only dreamed of before. Somehow simultaneously both rough and tender at the same time she bangs my hole faster and faster and faster. Completely consumed by the ecstasy in my ass my body rocks along with her, hungry for every thrust. "HNNNNGH!" I hunch up as the pleasure almost gets too much to bear. Yet still those amazing fingers work my hole, the sloppy wet sounds of sex filling the air. "HAHHHH!!!"

"Yeah. Yeah baby girl. Work it. Work that little honey pot." She growls a sultry growl. "You feel so fucking good."

"FUUUUUCK!" I yowl as my bonds clink and creak from my futile writhing. Not that I was trying to get away, I was simply overwhelmed with pleasure. "OHHHHHH!" And as suddenly as it started…it stops! "Ohhhhh." I whine as my empty rectum desperately tightens in search of something to bear down on. I would have begged Daddy for more but I knew just by how she was moving that this was only a pause. Lifting a shoulder I peer down under by body to see Winona's huge, thick cock fully erect, already lubed, and hovering just below my little clitty. Closing my eyes, a massive smile on my face, I go very still. My fingers grip at the edges of my ankle cuffs and I focus to will my sphincter to relax. I was about to have something a hell of a lot bigger than couple of fingers inside of me and I wanted to be ready for it. I honestly wasn't sure if I could handle her but I sure as heck was gonna do my best. "Mmmmm."

All of a sudden my knees are off the bed as she lifts me by the belt. With a hook of her arm she catches a foot and in one swift, dizzying motion flips me over onto my back. She runs her hands up and down my body as she sidles closer, her big dick resting over mine. I cannot deny that seeing how far her member reached up my belly had me intimidated, but also excited. Wrists and ankles still attached I lay there with my legs high and wide, completely exposed and at her mercy. Reaching behind her she unfastens her bra and tosses it over her shoulder revealing her perfect breasts. She stretches her long, luscious body and claws down my belly.

"Mmmm. Beautiful." Her hand transitions straight from my tummy to stroking her cock and the other reaching down to continue warming up my entrance she smiles. "I wanted see you when I take you."

I gaze into her very soul. "Make love to me Winona."

Her smile grows, her cock swells, and her joyful soul fills the room. "As you wish."

Chapter 104: Not So Bad?

Chapter Text

I lay with my legs high and wide, my wrists bound to my ankles, my nylons ripped and my panties pulled to the side, with Winona kneeling over me and filling the space between my legs. At last. The time had come. Leaning down she kisses me once more then pulls slowly away. Her long tan cock draws back across my cage and balls until it drops out of view. She takes a hold of her thick dick then shimmies closer to me until I feel her bulky knob touch my entrance.

"Mmm!" I flinch, tightening my anus from giddy anticipation, then force myself to relax again. "Ohh!"

She smiles and gives a wink while rubbing her swollen glans up and down over my hole. Ohhh it felt good! It felt so good. Through my tender rectum I could feel the shape and firmness of her fat knob. One hand securing her shaft she takes a grip of my handy corset to take control of my body. We were both learning about how this wonderful harness didn't just bind but gave her handles with which to move me and control me.

Her gaze delving deep into my soul she slowly, carefully, begins to leans her weight into me. Emotionally, physically, spiritually I open myself and let her enter me.

"Hohhh." I sigh as my lubed and aroused hole widens to allow Winona's penis in. I shift my grip on my ankles and tighten them as down below I focus on easing into this. "Ohhhhh." With another exhale I relax more as bit by bit she makes progress. We were still dealing with the first inch her and already I could feel that this was going to be something different. My entrance was already as wide as it ever got with Eddie but the full bulk of her cock was still pressing at the door. "Mmm!" I wince as with another quarter inch entry she begins to stretch me past where I'd gone before. When she stops in concern, as I knew she would, I give her a reassuring smile. "You're thick."

"If I'm too big…"

"No." I say. "No. I just need to adjust."

"Baby, it's okay if…"

"No." I whisper. "P-Please don't stop."

She caresses my cheek, her long fingers tracing down my delicate jaw, then gives my chin a soft pinch. "Use your safewords."

"Hmmm." I grin. "Yes Ma'am."

Watching me even more closely now, if that was even possible, she brings her hand around to cup the back of my neck…and pushes forward. As her cock pushes into my tight hole her expression melts into one of pure ecstasy, her eyes rolling back from the good feelings. "Oh fuck!"

"Oh!" I gasp, my eyes steadily widening at the same rate as my butt until… "OHH!" The moment that I'm stretched to her full glorious girth there was nothing to stop three inches of her from rushing in at once. "OH GOD!" My arms and legs clamp onto her to curb her entry. "WAIT! WAIT! MMM!" Holy moly! I knew she was thick but seeing it and feeling it were two different things entirely. I was plenty lubed and well warmed up, it was purely her size causing the issue. I had been way too cocky in my bottoming ability and her anus filling girth was humbling me in a hurry. Monsters were to be treated with caution, even friendly ones. I'd never felt anything like this, not even when I lost my cherry. Try as I might I just couldn't relax myself any further. My hole was at its absolute limit. And as my bum reflexively bears down to try to force the intruder out it only made things worse. From my taut lips escapes a whimper. "Owie."

"Owie?" Her eyes snap back to look at me. "Sprout?"

"Mmmm! Yellowww." I whine, my eyes apologetic for making her pause. "Fuck…f-f-fuck you're b-big! Ohhhh! You're r-really b-big Daddy."

"Too big." I watch in horror as her mood shifts and she goes to pull out.

"Don't move!" I cry before settling my voice again. "D-Don't m-move." As much of a strain as this was her pulling out right now to try again would have been torture. If this was anybody else at any other time I would have wanted to stop and wait for another time. But not with her. Not tonight. Tonight was the night. Our night. If this was going to happen I wanted it to happen now. "Please. Just…just let me…mmmm." I take a deep breath. "J-Just let me…acclimatize."

"Baby. It's okay." She says softly. "Kayla wasn't able to take me back door either. It's okay. We have so many other things we can do." Her voice is so warm, so soothing, so understanding. "It's okay Avery."

One…two…three long, slow breaths. And with each breath the burning, pinching ring of discomfort eased just a little. The pain was neither sharp nor intense, there were no obvious red flags that something was wrong, it was more of an ache that was gradually fading. And like a fog parting as the ache faded I could just begin to make out the sunlit fields of pleasure waiting for me beyond. This was a challenge but this incredible feeling of fullness wasn't all bad. "Hahhhh."

"I don't want to hurt you." She whispers.

After another calming breath I say. "It's getting better." Another breath. "Mmmmm." I smile. "It's like m-my first time all over again."

"Oh Avery."

"Hahhh. It's g-getting better." I say honestly. "I'm okay." Another breath and a swallow. "Wow. Green. J-Just be gentle, okay?" Being very careful not to move her hips she unclips my left cuff and then my right. "Wh-What are you doing?"

Taking my legs she pulls them around to wrap them behind her. Taking my hands she brings them to rest on her upper arms. She leans down over, the minor motion in my butt enough to make me squeak, and plants her hands on either side of my shoulders as she looks down into my eyes. "Guide me."

Her loving gaze enough to make me fall for her all over again I give a slow nod. She nods back and we continue.

"Nnnngh!" I groan as she oh so gingerly guides another beefy inch into me and pauses. "Oh…gah!" I huff. "You're soooo big." My hands grip tighter on her arms as my legs pull at her to signal that I was ready for more. "MMMNGH!" My back arches as she FILLS me to the brim.

"Ohhh shit that's good." Winona growls. "Talk to me sweetie."

"Ohhhhh." I moan. "H-H-How much more?"

She glances down. "Four more inches."

"Four!?" I felt ready to burst and she was barely more than halfway! "Ohhhhh my God!"

Sparing a hand to play with my titty then my clitty and balls she says. "There's no hurry for the rest." After a moment she pulls a couple of inches back out through my straining rectum. "This is lots to work with."

"Ohhhhh!"

"Fuuuck!" She sighs as glides those two inches smoothly back in again. As she waits for me adapt again she bring her fingers, wet by the precum oozing from the slit in my cage, to her mouth to lick them clean. "You taste good baby girl. Mmmm. You FEEL good." With that she flexes her huge erection.

"OHHHH!" Shifting with my feelings my moans were becoming more lusty. This fullness! This fullness!!! OH WOW! "MMMMM!"

"You are so beautiful." Going no deeper but moving more freely she begins to make love to me.

"HMMM!" Again my back arches and my fingers claw at her shoulders as she stuffs my ass. With each careful thrust she felt better and easier. "Hohhhh!" On one of the thrusts forward I invite her deeper with a subtle tug of my legs. "NNNNGHHHHH!" She lets me have two more full inches of her to blow right past where any finger, toy, or Eddie had ever gone before and into parts unclaimed. I loved the idea of that part of me being hers and hers alone, almost as much as I loved this heady feeling of taking it deep. "HMMMM!"

Her hazel eyes keenly watching me despite her own sexual bliss she again pauses to allow me to adapt. She kisses me and kisses me again. "You're doing so good baby girl."

"Mmmmm!" I hum as my body relaxes. "Ohhhhhh!"

Feeling my rhythm and energy start to meld with hers she picks up the pace. "That's it. Ohhhh shit that's good. Ohhhh Avery!"

I wanted to say something back but the way her looong dick slid through my entrance, the way it touched me so deep, and the way it's fat girth filled me and rubbed along my prostate had me trembling and sputtering gibberish. "Pbbbfff….OHHHHHHH! DEEEEEP! NNNGH!"

"Big ones aren't so bad, huh?"

"Ohhhhhhh!" My high, warbling lilt fills the room. "Winonaaa!"

She chuckles. "I'll take that as a yes."

I'd gone this far. There was no stopping now. Close as we were my singular obsession was to feel her as deep as I could have her. Breathing heavy I grab at her sides as my legs tighten around her. Reading me well on her next stroke back she pauses…grins…then in one silky stroke drives ALLLL the way inside.

As her big balls reach my ass and she grinds into my super stretched hole right to the hilt they must have heard my wail in Haven Point. "OHHHHHHH!!!"

Chapter 105: No Barriers, No Limits

Chapter Text

So full! So deep! So much of her inside of me. Touching me in places no one else ever had or would. She was incredibly thick and it was still a struggle, I'd be lying to myself if I denied that, but already the rewards were outweighing the effort. I'd always loved the feeling of a cock in my ass but being extra stuffed like this was taking that wonderful feeling of receiving to another level.

"Hmmm." I whimper as she stays deep and grinds against me. With tears in my eyes I mewl. "I…love…youuuu!"

"Ohhh. You make me so weak." She whispers before kissing me. "I love you too."

"Hohhhhh."

Still treating me with tender mercy Winona begins to move. Leaning her weight to one elbow, her other hand caressing my skin through the gaps in my harness, she slowly and smoothly begins to make love to me.

"Hohhhh…ohhhhh…ohhhhhh God." I sigh on each mind numbing thrust. "You f-feel sooooo goooood." I clutch at her flanks lightly pulling her into me with each inward stroke. "Ohhhhhh!"

"That's good baby." Daddy croons with another deep delving plunge. "Mmm! You feel pretty fuckin good yourself. Damn!"

In and out and in and out the rhythm gets quicker and smoother and better…and better…and better. All of the initial discomfort had melted away now leaving only a happy and oh so satisfied tushy in its wake. If she was any bigger I think I would have had a problem, but as it was. Wow! I never knew sex could be this good. On those occasions that I had fantasized about taking a big one it had been the girth that I imagined would set it apart, and that was true, but I never realized what a difference the length would make. Having all of those extra glorious inches gliding through my stretched hole and across my prostate was just indescribable. Size didn't matter? Yeah right! To this baby girl it sure did. There was just something so satisfying, both physically and mentally, about Daddy being so big. It felt good. It felt right. It felt…meant to be.

"Harder." I whisper as I spread my bent froggy legs as wide as they could go and grab onto my knees for support. "You c-can fuck me harder."

"Ask nice." She huffs.

"P-Please Daddy." I coo. "Fuck me harder!"

"Rnngh!" Clearly having been waiting for the green light she growls as with the very next thrust hammers home to fill my bowels and rattle my bones.

"OHHHH!!!" I cry a high girlish cry.

She shuffles closer and straightens her body to tower up over me. Grabbing me around my slender waist with both hands she stops holding back and starts fucking me the way she really wanted to. As much pulling me into her as she was bucking into me she hammers into my ass with all of her great strength.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

The hard, steady beat of flesh bouncing off flesh fills the room.

"Hnnngh! Hnngh! Hmmmm!" I am moaning uncontrollably as Winona plows my pussy twice as hard as it had ever been fucked before. "MMMMM!"

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

Tireless as a machine Winona fucks me and fucks me and fucks me some more. As her big Daddy cock scrambles my insides my cute pink clitty and balls bound and jostle on every thunderous impact. Her own heavy swinging balls spank my butt with each jarring bottoming out. I loved it! Shifting from my waist Winona's hands again grab onto the corset belt for even better control and power and speed.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

"Ohhhhh!" My conscious mind is lost in a haze of sexual delights. My sight nothing but a fog around this powerful, loving woman that was topping me so divinely. In a sort of giddy bliss I watch her breasts jiggle and admire the way I could almost see the contours her upper abs touch her dreamcatcher tattoo. I am a slave to her beauty and a slut to her passion.

Seeing me ogle her so adoringly she spares me a smirk and a wink and a little tickle of my bouncing balls. Through the moans I somehow giggle.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

"AHHHHH!" So good, so good, so GOOD! When I thought it couldn't get any better, it did.

"Fuuuck!" She groans, hazel eyes ablaze, as the muscles of abs, shoulders, and arms flex hard. Strands of her long black hair had fallen over her face to make her look even more fierce. She was fucking me full speed now, holding nothing back. "Hrm! Mm! You're so fuckin tight baby. MRRM! I don't know how long I can keep this up."

"That's…oooohkayyy!" I moan. "OHHHH!!!"

The truth was no matter how close she might be to busting her nut I was even closer! As my little caged penis bobbled about that hard plastic shell rubbed, rubbed, rubbed against my forced flaccid organ. The tight cage denied my erection and any direct touch but just in the way it was moving it was bringing me closer and closer to orgasm. Combine this with the relentless pounding of my special spot and I didn't stand a chance.

"Daddyyyyyy!" I cry.

Hearing the urgency in my voice Winona catches onto what was about to happen. Panting hard she huffs. "Gonna squirt for me baby girl? Hmm?"

"Mmmm!" I whimper and nod rapidly as I ride the very brink of release. "Gonna cum! MMMMM!"

Somehow, someway, she takes it up another level!

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

The wet and squelchy sounds of my lubed hole fills the spaces between the deafening plaps of our sweaty bodies. Combined with our lusty songs it was the most erotic music imaginable. Winona yanks my panties to the side even more, ripping the nylons further, so that she may watch my bits dance to her rhythm. Close as I was her direct attention was enough to send me over the edge.

My body taut, my voice shrill and lilting, I squeal in ecstasy as my climax hits. My clit and balls throb with a surge of release and a moment later my creamy squirt starts leaking through the slit at the tip.

"OHHH!" I yowl at full throat as blinding white hot ecstasy seizes me body and soul. "CUMMING! I'M CUMMINNNNG! OOOHHHHH!!!"

"Good girl!" Winona praises. "Yes baby. Cum for me. Cum for Daddy."

As if I had a choice!

"OHHHHH!!!" Bearing down on her toe-curling girth was like nothing I'd felt. A pleasure nearly too much to bear. I am out of my mind as I keep…on…cumming! "HAAAHHH!!!"

"Yes! Fuck yeah baby girl!"

Thankfully she keeps the pace steady and hard to see me through my bliss, her hard driving cock seeming to help force the cum from my balls. Jizz fills my cage and coats my clit inside to then dribble and drizzle from every place it could. My squirt hampered by my cage and not allowed the powerful bursts of a fully erect cock oozes out over my balls to start dripping down my taint.

My ass grips with that same deep throbbing pulse of my orgasm, milking Winona's fat cock better a hand ever could. For all her dominance and majesty even Daddy could not resist. I watch her orgasm rise up from her ,suddenly and organically, starting at her groin and spreading up through her long, lithe body. And with a bottom's pride I witness that exact magical moment on her rapturous face of when she lost control.

"Fuck!" She grunts as the climax takes her off guard. "OH SHIT! MMMM!" Watching her try to hold back what could not be denied and knowing it was me, just little ol Avery Becket, that made her feel so good makes me love her all over again. Her breath ragged, her thrusts faltering, Winona holds out as long as she can. "MMRRRMMM!!!" All of a sudden she falls down on top of me while at the same time driving into me deeper than ever in one last instinctual mating press. I wrap my legs around her bum to pull her in even harder. "AVERY!"

"Winona!"

Her body on top of me, her tits pressed into mine, my mess smearing her skin, our noses touching and our hot breaths mingling Winona gazes deep into my eyes as she blows her hot load deep into my hard gripping tunnel. Deep, deep, deep inside of me I feel the throb, throb, throb of her hard powerfully pumping penis.

Winona makes no sound. No moan, no groan, no wail to the heavens. Winona does not move. No writhing, no bucking, no shuddering aftershocks. At her orgasmic peak she simply…gazes. Gazes with an intensity and openness that leaves me awestruck. Her spirit pours through my eyes to meet and meld with mine. A moment of pure connection. The fusion of lovers. In that instant there were no barriers between us or limits around us. We were one harmonious unity in a sea of infinite love.

Chapter 106: So Much More

Chapter Text

That moment of pure glorious connection when two became one was as endless and eternal as the universe yet so very fleeting. Our spirits return to our bodies to be our own again though forever changed by the bond that we just forged. I am left shaken, humbled, grateful, and absolutely madly in love. As lovely as the words were a thousand I love you's couldn't even begin to express the feelings of those scant few seconds. What Winona's big, wonderful member had done to my bum was nothing compared to what she'd just done to my soul. The sex had been great but this was even better. And I wasn't the only one who had been rocked.

Staring up at Winona's beautiful face I watch as the intensity of release drains out of her and with it all of her brash dominance. For an instant she looked almost lost as she looked down on me in what I can only describe as reverence. A moment after that the glimmer of tears begin to swell along the bottom and corners of her eyes.

"Wh-What's wrong?" I whisper. "Wh-Why are you c-crying?"

"I'm not not crying." She sniffles and wipes the moisture away.

"It's okay." I smile and stroke her smooth hair.

She gazes into me for a time as she tries to put words to the inexpressible. "I've always been in love with the fantasy of being in love but…it's…it's not like I thought. It's so much more. It's so much more than I even knew."

"I f-feel it too."

"You're so beautiful and…I don't know." She takes a deep breath and let it out. Down below I could feel her softening inside of me. It was just wonderful. "I never thought I'd find someone so perfect. I didn't know there was anyone so perfect."

"I'm not perfect!" I laugh, tears blurring my eyes now.

"Oh but you are Avery." She grabs me and squeezes me in a big hug, a hug so tight that she makes me splurt her dick out of my gooey hole. The sudden emptiness leaves me gasping and the rather rude noise it makes during this romantic moment causes us both to laugh. I knew there would be a mess of lube and cum under me as there was no way I could tighten up fast enough to hold it in but neither of us gave a damn. Petting my cheek she lets out a happy sigh and kisses me again. "You ARE perfect."

For a guy who grew up with such low self-esteem I still didn't know how to respond to this kind of talk so I choose to reply with silence, which turns out to be the right choice. She kisses me and kisses me and kisses me again before slipping to the side and pulling me in tight to her. Cradling my head to her chest she holds me as if scared I might escape and continues to kiss my head while whispering all sorts of lovely things.

"I love you." Kiss. "I love you." Kiss. "I love you Avery."

She was so mushy and snuggly after lovemaking! Just like I always thought it ought to be. Smiling so hard it ached I kiss her chest and let my fingers play across her warm skin while I whisper back. "I l-love you."

I make the mistake of trying to reposition which causes her to cinch me even tighter in her safe and smothering embrace. Giving up on any thoughts of moving I settle in for what was clearly going to be long cuddle. And long cuddle it is as she pets me and caresses me and strokes my soft skin. On another night we may have drifted off to sleep right then but we were far too drunk on each other's love to let this moment go.

"Was it good?" She whispers.

"Good? Ohhhh my God." I moan as I squirm blissfully and savor the incredible feeling in my still twitching ass. I'd never been fucked like that before and I already knew I'd be walking funny tomorrow. Heaven! "I can't f-feel my legs!"

"Pffft!" She laughs. I liked how her body bounced when she laughs. "I meant the bondage." She snickers and nibbles at my ear. Her right hand finds my snug little sack and rubs my cum around it. "I kinda got the hint you enjoyed the rest."

"He he he!" I giggle as her fingers tickle my nuts. "I never c-came from anal alone before." I root into her and kiss her clavicle. "I l-loved the bondage. Mmmm. M-Made me feel sexy."

"Oh good." After yet another squeeze and yet another soft kiss to my head she rolls away, though she keeps a hand on me to keep me from wandering. From the bedside table she finds my key and releases my clit from it's cage. More jizz dribbles from the plastic as she pulls it away from me. Setting the cage to the side she takes a moment to pull my panties to the side and take my penis between finger and thumb to inspect it. "I love your cock baby." She whispers as the inspection becomes fondling. "It's perfect." The fondling becomes more. Swiping up some of the excess lube from my inner thigh she wraps her hand around me and starts to stroke.

"Ohhhhh." I sigh as her hand massages my member in a firm milking motion. After being denied touch for so long it takes no time at all for it to grow to its full five inches. Her own semi-flaccid cock rested against my hip, still bigger than me despite my full arousal. I liked that. "Mmmmm."

"Shhhh." Sidling closer she sits at my side, her knee at my ribs and her free hand resting on my chest. Clear that things were building up again I go to make a move on her but she stops me with a little shake of her head. She wanted me just as I was. The only thing she lets me do is softly rub her breasts with my near hand. I lay gazing up at her, fonding her tits, as her gaze washes up and down my body with a contented smile while she gives me a quiet handjob.

Despite having just cum it does not take very long before I could feel my passion rising toward another peak. "Mmmmm!"

I'd just closed my eyes when a chuckle causes me to open them again. Winona was looking off of the bed. "I think we scared the hell out of him." I raise my head to see poor little Brutus peeking at us around the loveseat as if we'd both gone mad. What must have he thought when one of the giants he was trapped with began mauling the other who wailed like a banshee. "Enjoy the show furball?" He pops back out of sight.

"He's t-traumatized." I giggle. "P-Poor thing." Winona looks back to me with mischief in her eyes. Uh oh! Her grip tightens and in the beat of a heart her steady pumping gets VERY fast! "Ohhhhhh!" I groan. "Ohhhmmmmm!" Overwhelmed by the sudden blur of a handie I grab the tit in my hand hard. Winona makes no complaint. "MMMMM!" My moan rises as I get closer and closer to the brink. My body starts to tremble and writhe as the slick sounds of a well lubed fap fills the air. Fuck this was intense! Her eyes focused and her hand a blur going up and down my member she showed no signs of slowing up so I don't even try to fight a battle I had no hope of winning. It wasn't long before… "NNNNGHHHH!!!" A great jet of white arcs through the air. Clearing my body entirely the first shot of my second load makes impact over my forehead and hair.

"Damn boy!" Winona exclaims, duly impressed at the distance.

"Hohhhhh!" I buck and bawl as another creamy shot streaks across my nose and chin followed by another over my neck and collar. Swift and tight Winona milks me for all I was worth. "MMMMM!" My throbbing dick spews more out onto my belly just below the girdle. After a jailed orgasm there was something SO free and powerful about having one with my penis strong and hard. My whole body tightens as I groan out the rest of my orgasm. Winona pulls every last drop out of me then milks me for another few seconds just to be sure. "Nnnnnngh!" When her strokes at last slow to a soft, gentle finish I look up at her gasping. "Wh-What was that for!?"

With a wink and a smirk she says. "Cause I wanted to. And I thought you might like it." She lets go of my dick and gives one last tender pet from dribbling tip to sticky balls before patting my sack proudly. "That was a good one!"

"Whoooo!" My balls twice empty, my hole stretched, my face spattered by my own mess I flop back, stare at the ceiling, and melt into mush right there on the bedding. "Ohhhhhhhh."

Chapter 107: You be You

Chapter Text

I'm not allowed to liquefy for long though as the next thing I knew I was in a full body grapple. Her arms around my shoulders and her legs around waist Winona yanks me into a mauling bear hug then rolls onto her back pulling me along the for ride. I end up laying on top of her with my face in her chest and my messy tummy pressed against her warm, wet schlong and balls. Not quite done with me yet she grabs my arms and pushes them behind my back. Click, click. I hear the clips on my cuffs attach to a ring at the back of my corset belt. Still not quite done she bends my legs with her feet then stretches down to click them together too so that when she returns to her full body hug I am shackled up like some unhinged criminal.

"Gotcha!" She says when I look up at her. "Nnngh!" With strong arms and powerful legs she hugs me so hard that I squeak. "You ain't goin anywhere!"

"He he he!" I snuggle into her. "I don't wanna g-go anywhere!"

We laugh then settle in for another intimate cuddle. My cheek on her breast I just gaze up into her eyes a very smitten man as she looks back at me and gently touches my face and teases at my hair. I had cum in my ass, cum on my ass, cum on my balls, and cum all up my body and face but neither of us gave a damn about the mess. Though I couldn't imagine how this place must smell right now to someone just walking in. The jizz at my hairline itched and the shredded fabric of my nylons tickled my inner thighs but there was nothing I could do but endure them. Helpless to do anything else I just rest on top of my girlfriend enjoying the freshly fucked feeling in my backside, the warmth of her body, the way her chest rose and fell, and the way her fat dick slowly shrunk beneath me. She pets my back and shoulders savoring this moment every bit as much as I was.

"You are so fun to play with." She says after a time. "I feel like I can do anything with you. I've never felt so free with a lover."

"Me neither." I whisper. "I r-really like how you t-take control. I…I like that. I-It make me less nervous. It m-makes me brave."

"I like that too baby girl."

"Mmm."

She sighs and leans her head down to kiss my forehead. "Can I ask you something personal?"

"Yeah."

She looks into my eyes and asks in a soft and gentle tone. "Are you a girl Avery? I mean for real."

"Um…like trans?"

"Mmm." She nods.

I think about it and how nice it felt to be pretty and soft. I think about how happy the panties and makeup and dresses made me feel. But down in my heart I feel the truth. "No." I say. "S-Sometimes I am I think. Or I feel like one at least. I really like being a girl. Especially when I feel safe. I think about having boobs and stuff. B-But I like being a m-man too. Sometimes it's uncomfortable but…m-mostly I like it. I l-like my body. I l-like what I am. I even like my p-penis, even if it is little."

"It's fun sized and I love it."

"I l-like both honestly. Do I have to choose one?"

"No baby." She smiles as she plays with my bangs. "You don't. You just keep being you, okay?"

"Ooo! C-Could you scratch right th…mmmm!" I let out a breath of relief as Winona finds that annoying itchy spot and scratches it out completely. It was glorious! "Hahhh. Yes! Thank you."

"No problem." She pets me.

"Um. If you w-w-want me to be a girl full time Winona…"

"Nooo." She pinches my ear lightly. "No, no, no. It's cool by me any which way. As long as you're happy. I just wanted to be sure."

"Thank you f-for asking."

"Thank you for answering."

It felt so good to talk about this stuff so openly and without shame. Like airing out a stuffy house after a long closed in winter. Even with Grandpa I wouldn't have been so forthcoming so easily. This special kind of accepting and understanding love we had allowed for such honesty. The special kind of trust it required for bondage fostered such openness. For her, in this magical moment, I would have spilled my whole heart.

"And you?"

"Me? I am woman!" She laughs. "A bad ass babe through and through. I wonder about many things but I am rock solid on that one."

"Through and through." I giggle and wriggle against her dick. "The D-Daddy thing made me wonder."

"Ha! I think chicks make the best Daddies, don't you agree?"

"He he he! Yes Daddy!"

She winks. "Specially the chicks with huge hogs."

"PFFT! Ha ha ha ha! Yes Daddy!"

She hugs me and I press into her to signal my hug in return. We both sigh and again settle into our extended cuddle session. That is…until a naughty baby girl starts to get playful again. It begins with a kiss to her dreamcatcher. "Mmmm." She hums happily. Next comes another kiss to the left, along the soft slope of her breast. She shifts beneath me. "Mmmm." Opening my lips I plant a third one on her tawny nipple and give it a teasing suck. Winona cocks a brow. "Mmm?"

"Mmm mmm." I grin. Like a worm crawling backwards, careful not to snag anything on her with my harness, I begin to wriggle my way down her long, luscious body planting a kiss, a lick, or a suck every couple of inches. "Mmm."

"Mmm." She nods.

She lets me go, stretching out her legs and sliding her hands behind her head to watch me smooch and struggle. It was fun seeing what I could do without the use of my arms and legs, which mostly consisted of nuzzling and mouthing. At her belly button I stop. Given something besides smooth skin to work with I tap and probe my tongue into the little depression. My eyes locked on her I eat out her belly button with all the heat and passion still burning inside of me.

"Mmmmmm." She lets out a long moan as she enjoys what was probably her first bellyjob.

"Mm! Mmmm." I lick and suck and jab before ending with a kiss and continue on. After smooching across the in between space I quickly find her cock. "Mmmm!" It was tacky from dried lube and it smelled like bum but if she wanted head I was here for it. I roll the fat, mostly flaccid meat back and forth with my nose and chin and peer up with pleading eyes. "Mmm?"

"Mm mmm." She shakes her head.

"Mmmm." I let out a pouting whine.

"Pussy." She grins. "Eat my pussy as good as my belly and maybe I'll let you free."

My face lights up. "Mmm!"

We laugh at our silliness as we quickly assume our positions. Winona sidles up the bed a little and spreads her legs wide as I shimmy down and let my bound legs hang of the end. There in the shade of the balls above it Winona's vagina awaits. My mouth waters.

Chapter 108: Get In There

Chapter Text

From my low down and up close vantage point I take a moment just to admire Winona's unique anatomy. Her skin was such a lovely shade of tan. Not as pale as Lauren or nearly as dark as Kayla it was just…perfect. Like everything else about her. Her long smooth inner thighs funnels my vision to her beautiful pussy. Shaved but with just the scantest hint of fuzz the soft, low mounds that framed her slit welcomed me in like open arms. At the crown is her cute clit peeked out from its hood with the fleshy folds of her labia draped beneath it like a queen's flowing robe. Down the center her pink slit glistened with her nectar. Below her vagina her tight anus looked like a tiny sand dollar caught between two sandy dunes. Above her big sack held her big freshly drained balls like a wrinkly purse and behind it I could see lurking the heavy slumped mass of her schlong. What a sight it all was!

"Take a picture." Winona quips. "It'll last longer."

"Hey! I d-did bring my camera!" I say. "You could see yourself in over 30 m-megapixels of exquisite detail."

She laughs and kicks a heel into my side. "Shaddup and get in there."

I giggle and begin to wriggle. Bound as I was I find that with my legs off the end of the bed and with Winona's body no longer beneath me to give me purchase that I had a lot more trouble slithering forward than I had backward. Winona watches, seeming to enjoy my struggles. Because she liked it I play it up, really writhing and pulling at my bonds and letting out pitiful little mewls of effort. It is impossible to miss the way her eyes flared and dick twitched at my attempts. She liked seeing me as the helpless damsel and I liked being seen like that.

"I'm trying Daddy." I whine.

"You can do it baby girl." She whispers. "Keep trying."

Eventually I find some traction by rocking my body back and forth, inching ever closer with each rock. The last little bit I'm given help by Winona grabbing the back of my skull and hauling me into her. My world goes dark as her balls become a blindfold blotting the light.

"MMM!" I hum as her warm, wet pussy kisses my mouth.

"Good girrrl." She pats my head. "No hurry now. Take your time."

"Hmmmm." I relax my body and settle in for a good long sesh of eating snatch. I start simply by just feeling her pussy lips with my tongue and my lips all while continuing to kiss her cunny just like it was her mouth. I adore how tender her inner labia feels between my lips and how hot and juicy the slit between them felt around my tongue. "Mmmmm." I twist my head and slide up to find her button which I firmly yet tenderly begin to suck and lick.

"Ohhhh." Slowly and gently Winona pets her fingers through my hair as I pleasure her.

My lips quietly smack as I kiss and then begin to blow her clitty like it were an itty bitty penis. "Mmmmm."

"Ohhh shit baby. Yessss." Fingers still stroking she wraps her legs over my shoulders to cross them across my back

"Mmm, nnngh, mmmm." I moan as I suckle her clit, my extended tongue working her slit. "Hmmm."

She tasted so good. Like sex itself. Unhurried I suck and suck and suck at her ever more wet sex. Without hands and fingers to aid me I had to do it all with my face. Nose, chin, and cheeks all get drawn into the action. When I mouth her clit I grind against her entrance with the point of my chin. When I go down to make love to her tunnel with my tongue I rub her button with the tip of my nose. And sometimes just to mix it up I smear my whole face round and round in her pussy.

"Hahhh." She sighs. "Fuck you're good at that."

"Mmmm!" I smile at the praise.

One of the wonderful things about Winona was just how expressive she was physically. Eddie had always been so quiet and passive, Lauren was a dead fish, and Kayla was impatient but with Winona I could actually read her motions and her sounds. A thrust of the hips would tell me harder. A pull of her legs would tell me deeper. A little rock would tell me to go faster. And a gentle pet would signal me to ease up. Without words she was communicating to me how she liked it and then rewarding my good behavior with a lusty moan or sharp breath of lust. If I ever wandered from what felt good she was right there to guide me back to the sweet spot. She was the first lover who never had me second guessing or allowed me to get lost in my own worries that I was doing it right. She let me play but also kept a steady hand on the action and I really, really, REALLY liked that. It was counterintuitive but just that little bit of control she exercised made me feel…free!

"Nngh, ngh, ngh." I thrust my tongue in and out of her as all around me I could feel her energies rising.

"Fuck. Yes." The hand in my hair palms my head and holds it steady while she grinds against my mouth. Her scrotum rubs up and down my forehead as her thrusting gets harder. "Don't stop. Fuck baby. Just like that."

"Mm! Mm! Mm!" I hum with a rising urgency, as if it was my own climax that I was chasing, and continue mouth fucking her pussy as best as a bound boy could. "Mm! Mm! MMM!"

"Hnngh! You're gonna make me cummmm." There's a moment of still and then… "NNNGHHH!!!" The next thing I knew my head was being crushed between her powerful thighs while at the same time she heaved my head into her cumming cunny with both hands. All was dark in the smothering void. All was silent except for muffled cries of passions that sounded three rooms away. And as my tongue and mouth is coated with a wash of hot, fresh pussy juice I discover that air was a luxury I was going to have to do without. Briefly I wonder whether the cause of death would be from a squashed head or asphyxiation. Either way, what a way to go!

"MM! MMM! MMMM!" I groan as I keep on licking and sucking and slurping as hard and as steady as I could manage. As I make a meal of her pussy she fucks my mouth passionately.

"OHHH!" The volume returns and so to the light as the pressure releases and she lets her legs go slack.

"PAAAHHHH!!!" I let out a loud gasp as I suck in a vital breath of fresh air.

I hadn't even gained my bearing, still panting like an overheated hound, when she is all over me. "Come here, come here, come here." She says rapidly as she hauls me back up in another full body snuggle. "Ohhhh Avery." She nuzzles my cheek and kisses it and squeezes me so tight that my back cracks. "That was amazing." Her hands pet and stroke and grab as she kisses and kisses and kisses me all over.

My wet face beaming I can't do anything but accept her mauling cuddles. She was so CUTE after cumming that I could barely stand it. It was as if her heart was overflowing with so much love and affection she didn't even know how to express it. She was trying to do everything at once and all I could do is lay there soaking it up.

"I love you. I LOVE YOU!" She grabs my head and laughs. "I fucking love you so FUCKING much! AHHH!"

"He he he he!" My joyous giggles dance through the air. "I love you t-toooo!"

"Hahhh!" She pulls me in for good long hug.

After another amazing bout of whispers and titters and a hundred 'I love yous' the boil of our passion settles once more into a comfortable simmer. We sigh as one as our sweaty bodies melt into each other and our happy hearts rejoice.

Chapter 109: After

Chapter Text

After another dreamy snuggle I am released from my bondage but not from my Mistress' arms. Still swimming in a post-coital high that I'd never seen the like of Winona continued to stroke me and pet me and just touch me in any way she could. For another man it would have been overbearing and even clingy but for this happy fella I wallow in every blessed second of her attention. I loved what a big fuss she made over me. It made me feel like I was really something special in a way that words could not. For my part I just hold onto her as if she were a great big teddy bear and let her do her thing.

"Alright sticky boy." She tears my shredded nylons a bit more and pats my bum. "Let's clean up."

"Okay."

Without letting me slip from her grasp she rolls out of bed and pulls me along with her. She takes my hand in hers and together we walk to the washroom laughing and making goo-goo eyes at each other the whole way. Once inside she turns me towards her and holds me by the shoulders as she gives me a look up and down, then smiles and kisses me. Obediently I stand still as she begins to loosen straps and remove cuffs.

"How you feeling Sprout?"

"Amazing!" I peep. "I feel all tingly and happy." My description, though succinct, was true. Though the incredible just fucked feeling in my butt went far beyond a mere tingle. "Ohhh I f-feel great."

"Me too. That was SO fun!" She says as she unfastens the snug belt to let my slender physique return to its natural shape. "Bondage is SO much better with someone who can handle it and really roll with it. Mmm! Power is such an aphrodisiac."

"I'll t-take your word for it." I say in my baby girl voice. "I liked being helpless."

She laughs pinches my chin. "Don't sell yourself short Sprout. You are more powerful than you could imagine. Especially when you're helpless." Pulling the harness off of me she holds it out between finger and thumb like a soiled cloth and carefully lays it over the toilet seat. "Gonna have to clean that."

"I'll d-do it." Before she could object I add. "You s-said it was mine. My present. I think a s-sub ought to look after his or her own stuff."

"I'm not gonna argue." She looks down at my lower half to see me dangling out of the remnants of the pantyhose. "Not sure I liked the ripping though. I thought I was going to like it but…that was before I met you."

"I thought it was f-fun." I grin. "M-Maybe you c-could do my shirt next time?"

"Mmm" She hums a non-answer. She pulls the nylons off of me then wads them in a ball and tosses them in the little trash can under the sink. "They sure looked nice on ya." Turning back to me she again gives me a good once over, checking my skin for chafes or abrasions. There were imprints in my fair flesh where the straps held me and my tushie had a very slight fading pink glow but otherwise I was good as new, if a bit gooey in places.

"Come on." Taking my hands she pulls me along with her into the shower.

We hoot and holler as the cold water blasts us, each of us trying to hide behind the other as the water takes its own sweet time getting up to temperature. Once it does get steamy we can relax and enjoy the rest. She cleans me and I clean her, when we're not in each other's arms smooching that is. Her hands feel amazing on my body, lathering me and scrubbing away our dried fluids. Her body feels amazing in my hands as I soap and swipe her skin clean. Running my hands over her flesh really made me appreciate the lean, firm physique that was hiding just beneath a thin layer of soft fat. That strength she demonstrated from time to time didn't come from nowhere. It came from all American muscles. If she ever wanted to I had no doubt that she could become one hell of an athlete. I especially enjoyed the way the muscles of her back felt as I ran my fingers over her soaring raven tattoo.

With my hands exploring every inch of her it was bound to come across the scar at her lower left back. When my hands swipe away the suds and I see the four inch long streak of pinkish-white that stood out from the smooth tan all around it to touch the spot very gently with my fingertips. Reactively Winona reaches back to pull my hand away.

"Leave it." She snaps.

"S-Sorry." I say softly and return to cleaning her.

After a moment she sighs. Taking my hand again she returns it to where it had been and whispers. "It's okay."

The hissing water pouring over us I stand and oh so tenderly stroke my fingers back and forth over the old wound. "It l-looks bad."

"It was bad." She says, her voice so low the shower nearly drowns it. "Almost killed me."

"Oh!" I gasp.

"You remember what I told you about Russell? About his first girlfriend?"

"The one who w-would h-h-hurt him?"

"Yeah." She huffs. "Things didn't go so well when I found out. Things didn't go so well at all."

"Oh no."

"Don't feel bad for me. She's carrying worse than this." She turns around and puts her arms around me. "It would have been okay but unfortunately she had a brother too. Nasty mother fucker. It got bad. Real bad." Her face flinches as the dark memory plays out in her mind. "Pops had to come get me. If the doc hadn't of been visiting the Rez that day…well, I probably wouldn't be here showering with the sexiest babe on Ehkolie."

"No." I pull her in tight and hug her with all my strength.

She hugs me back. "Wasn't so bad though. Nobody fucked with Russell after that. Plus it gave me this bad ass scar."

"It's n-not b-bad ass." I whisper. "It's st-stupid."

"Ha!" She gives me a squeeze. "You're probably not wrong." I look up at her as she smiles back down on me. She pets my hair and kisses me. "It's okay. That all happened a long time ago."

"Okay."

She takes my head and kisses it. "I'm just gonna finish my hair."

"Okay." I say again.

Stepping out of the shower I towel off as she washes her long black hair. By the time she is stepping out I am sitting on the toilet seat scrubbing way the little splotches of spooge that had gotten onto my harness. Towel over her head as she dries her hair then turns and 'accidentally' smacks me across the cheek with her soft cock. While soft the hot water and washing had it a hefty chub. "Hey!" I giggle and give the foreskin a little chomp.

"OW!" She lets the towel fall over her shoulders as she rubs her dick with an affronted yet smiling expression. "Careful with the goods!"

We laugh and joke as we finish up.

"You worked up an appetite in me Sprout." She says as we walk from the washroom with arms around each other.

"I'll m-make us something."

"That'd be awesome." She says. "I'm starvin."

I stop midstride, causing her to stop with me, and say. "You're not the only one!"

There on the bed among all the smears and smudges and puddles stood a little orange fuzzball happily lapping up our mess. We look at each other in disgust and horror and cry out as one. "EWWW!"

Chapter 110: Living the Dream

Chapter Text

"Brutus! No!"

Winona sprints for the bedding while I make a dash for the kitten before he can go in for seconds. The moment I scoop him up Winona yanks the soiled blanket from the bed to bundle it up with the lube and excretions on the inside and tosses it into the corner.

"No B-Brutus." I laugh despite myself as I bop his tiny pink nose. "B-Bad kitty!" He mews and licks his chops oblivious to my scolding.

"I feel like a bad parent." Winona chuckles. "Ugh! All I can picture is him nuzzling with Pops now." She cringes as a shudder of ick runs up her. "Guhhh!"

"Awww! Don't say that!" I say. "Ewww."

We laugh like crazy as we joke and gross each other out with more naughty humor. When the blanket is replaced I set Brutus back down on the bed and busy myself with rustling us up a late night snack. So as not to accidentally slice something I didn't mean to but mostly because I knew she liked it I slip back into the apron and leave my happy tush for Winona to ogle. And happy it was! My hole ached and my insides felt scrambled but all in the most wonderful way imaginable. I wasn't hurt or anything, simply well stretched and fully used. More so than ever before given Winona's oh so satisfying size. In short it was the greatest feeling a bottom could have.

When I turn around with a plate of cheese, pickles, pepperoni, crackers and apple each sliced up and laid out in nice fans with some toothpicks sticking up here and there to use so that we didn't mess up our fingers I find Winona still naked sitting with her elbow on the table and cheek in her hand as she gazed at me with a dreamy smile. I could tell she had indeed been staring at my ass. I giggle and put the plate down in the middle of the table. "Is th-this okay?"

"It's perfect." She says without even looking. "Absolutely perfect." I pull my chair around so that I could sit beside her instead of across from her. When at last she does look down at the snack I'd prepared she sighs and leans her shoulder into mine. Plopping her head onto my shoulder she says. "You spoil me."

"It was n-no trouble." I say.

"I would have just nuked a burrito or something." She stabs a pepperoni slice, adds a bit of cheese and pickle, then pops them into her mouth. "This is so nice. You're so good to me Sprout."

"It's n-nothing." I grab an apple slice for myself and begin to nibble.

"No. It's something. It's just so…perfect." She seems at a loss for words as she sits straight and admires my simple but tidy plating. It made me happy that I could make her so happy with such a little thing.

We sit side by side, our arms touching, and eat our snack and drink cheap wine while we chat about nothing and everything. After the food we clean up then slip into some comfy over-sized t shirts then sit on the floor to play with Brutus for awhile. After that we kick back and cuddle and talk some more. We were both damned tired but still soaring from our amazing sex so before turning in she watches the latest episode of The Bailey Bunch while I wrestle with the happy kitten on my lap. And then at last as we brush our teeth and prepare to bed down we dance and sing along to sappy country music then smooch some more.

Our young love, wild and free, infused everything. The food is tastier, the wine is sweeter, the corny jokes on her show are funnier, the kitten is more charming, the music is more uplifting, the dancing is from the soul, the singing is from the heart, and even the bold colors of her loveseat popped with a fresh vibrant intensity. Everything was good. Just as it ought to be. This was life on a different plane. A world more real than real. It was heaven come to earth.

In the wee hours we at last find our way under the cozy covers. The room dark she spoons me and holds me tight. The rhythm of her slow breath a natural lullaby to sooth me closer to slumber.

"I had the best day today." Her hot breath caresses my ear. "The best day and night."

"Me too." I smile as I reflect on our full day together. From our coming together in the middle of the highway after our restless nights to our funny breakfast to our day with Pops to Briar's embarrassing interruption to meeting Cher and surviving to confiding in her to our intimate supper together to all the kinky fun that followed, and of course all the hugging and smooching throughout, this truly had been a day to remember. Hopefully just the first of many, many more to come. "B-Best day ever." Placing my hand over her hers, which was held across my heart, I squeeze. "I love you Winona."

She nuzzles behind my ear and kisses me. "I love you Avery."

Her arms around me, her body pressed tight, her heart beating as close to mine as was physically possible we drift off from this perfect dream into dreamland together.

Chapter 111: Another Day in Paradise

Chapter Text

I am woken by a kiss to my tummy. As I am groggily surfacing Winona, who was fully beneath the blankets, crawls up my body. I open my eyes just in time to see her peek up from out of the covers like a sleepy eyed groundhog emerging to look for its shadow.

"Good morning beautiful." She says, her voice a bit dry and croaky still.

"Mmm." I smile and stretch. "Good morning!"

She slides up over me and kisses me sweetly. Closing her eyes she rests her head on my shoulder and nuzzles my neck. "Mmmm. What a night."

"What a w-way to wake up."

"Mmmm." She sighs. "What time is it?"

I turn my head and peer around the wide awake and purring puffball that sat looking at me expectantly beside my pillow. "Almost 9." I say as I give Brutus' little forehead a scratch.

With a kiss to my neck she whispers. "Pops'll be here soon. I should get moving." She groans and snuggles closer. "But I don't wanna!"

I giggle and pet her soft hair. "Got time for a quick chubby? My treat?"

"Hell…yes!" She blinks her eyes open and rubs them. "That would be awesome."

We roll out of bed and go about getting ready for the day. There was such a feeling of romance and togetherness in the air and physically I was also feeling the aftereffects of the night before. It was all so wonderful. The morning sun had risen and my dreams melted away but still I found myself in heaven. No drug in the world could touch this bliss of true love.

Half an hour later Winona is rolling open one of the bay doors just as her dad's vehicle is coming up the drive. Just before the SUV cruises by to park at the side I catch a half glower, half smirk on Amos' face when he sees me step out into the sunshine. He was neither surprised or upset by the fact that I had obviously spent the night with his daughter, but neither was he thrilled about it. It was probably a Dad thing. As I hear the engine turn off, the door slam, and his crunching footsteps approach Winona steps up beside me so that we might face any parental wrath as a unified front.

Amos rounds the corner with coffee and muffins in his hands and stops when he sees us there shoulder to shoulder. He gives us each a long hard look. For a moment all goes quiet except for song of the morning birds and the hiss of the distant waves. At my side Winona stood proud. She pushes her glasses higher up her nose and stares him eye to eye. Not only ready to have it out but, I think, secretly hoping to. Her dad senses that too and chooses not to say a word. That is until he hears the mew of the only one of us he truly missed.

"My lion!" He bellows as he barges right through us, sending us staggering left and right, to get to the tiny kitten who was trundling his way. The pair of them come together like long lost lovers in some sappy old romance. Setting down the box and cups right there on the floor of the garage Amos scoops up his fuzzy buddy and lifts him high in the air. "There he is." He bring Brutus to his cheek where the kitty licks and purrs and greets his giant pal. "Awww, missed you too pal."

Winona and I look at each other with poorly hidden cringes as all either of us could think about was what that same kitty mouth that was currently nuzzling and licking her dad's cheeks and lips had been doing the night before.

"Glch!" Winona shudders as I cover my giggle. "We gotta go."

"Go?" He looks to us.

"I won't be long. Quick breakfast and I'll be back."

"Better be." He warns. "We're taking customers soon and…"

"I know. I know." She says. "Hour and a half, tops." Before he could protest she grabs my hand and tugs me along behind her. "Come on Sprout."

"Hey!" Amos calls. We stop and look back to see him looking at me. "Cher and I were wondering if you might want to come by for dinner tonight."

"If she thinks she's going to scare him off…!" Winona starts.

Amos raises a hand. "We come in peace." He says. "Besides. Your mom learned the hard way that Avery don't scare easy." With a warm smile he adds. "The boy's got grit."

"He's not a…!"

"Man." Amos corrects himself. "Sorry. The man's got grit. How about it Avery?"

"Oh! Um." I look from daughter to father. "I-I-I wish I could. B-but I work t-tonight."

"No problem." He nods. "Another time."

"Yes. Yes!" I say. "I w-would like that. V-Very much."

"Me too." He says. "Now get! I need my daughter back in an hour and a half. No more!"

"Yes S-Sir!"

"Don't call me…!"

"Amos!" I correct myself, and we both laugh as he and Brutus go one way and Winona and I go the other. With my bike in the back of her truck Winona drives us into town. "I l-like your dad." I say as I watch her drive for no other reason than just to watch her.

"Yeah. He likes you too." She says. "He's going to hold you to that promise you know. They're going to want you over for dinner soon."

"Gladly!" I say. "C-Can't wait."

She chuckles. "Brave boy."

I found it humorous that Winona felt that her folks were so tough and mean. Compared to my family Amos was a saint and even Cher wasn't so bad. And with thoughts of my family came… "Grandpa!"

"Huh?"

"M-My Grandpa might be back." I say. "He said he was coming in this morning. W-We could see if he's around."

"Grandpa!" Her head snaps to look at me then down at her sweater and overalls combo. Suddenly she was the one with a stutter. "I-I-I can't meet Grandpa looking like this! All I did was run a brush through my hair! I don't even have make up on!"

I giggle, absolutely tickled both by her adorable nervousness and the fact that she called him 'Grandpa'. She knew me too well. There was only one person in the world whose opinion about her I actually valued, and it was his. Although at this point even Grandpa's opinion would do little to sway the feelings that had already anchored inside of me. "He d-doesn't care about that stuff. He's kinda…scruffy lookin himself. He he he."

"Uh, yeah, sure." She says, torn between very much wanting to meet him but also wanting to make a good first impression. "Yeah. If you think now's a good time."

"Maybe he'll join us for breakfast." I say. Seeing her trepidation, mild as it was, I add something that I knew would put her at ease. "Did I ever t-tell you that he played FoF?"

"What? No way!"

I nod. "Yeah. Just a c-couple time wayyy back. I think like in the 70's or something."

"Shit. A first edition OG! That's sooo cool!" I could sense her confidence swelling again. There was nothing like tapping into her geeky addiction for watching her bloom. "They had these crazy race-classes back then. What did he play?"

"I d-don't know." I smile. "He only just t-tried it. He w-worked a lot back then."

"Hard to find a campaign. Somethings never change." Her nervousness transformed back into enthusiasm Winona is as cheery as ever as she makes her way to the docks.

As for me I am on top of the world. The two most important people in my life were about to meet. I could not wait for Grandpa to see what a wonderful woman Winona was. I couldn't wait for Winona to see what an amazing man Grandpa was. In my heart I knew that there was no chance that they didn't get on. They were both bold and free spirits with great senses of humor, but mostly because I knew in my heart that they both loved me enough to make it work. My spirits are high when we stop at a light on the street that sloped down to the docks and I see the big, bruising hull of the Anna Bella there among the sleek and slender lady's of the sea around her. I take in a breath, about to cheer, when my eyes catch a familiar shade of green in the parking lot at the end of the street. As my gaze settles on the old station wagon my heart shrivels and my spirit falls. What was Mom doing here?

The truck in motion again snaps me out of my funk. "He's n-not h-h-here." I say too late as we were already halfway into the turn. "L-Let's just g-go to Ch-Chubs."

"No way." Winona smiles and gives a nod ahead. "You said it was the huge one, yeah? The old trawler. Isn't that it? Down near the end?"

"Um…yeah." I whisper as we glide down the street making straight for the parking spot directly beside my mother's car. "That's her."

Chapter 112: Proud Mom

Chapter Text

Winona rolls into the spot and is quick to unbuckle as I sit there looking down at my mom's car. Even though it was such a short drive Mom rarely came down here to visit her dad. Why did she have to be here today of all days? I wanted so bad for this moment to just be for Winona and Grandpa. I consider delaying the introductions but the more I turned it over in my mind the more I realized that this was probably a stroke of good luck in disguise. Mom was always on her best behavior around her father. And at this time of day at least I knew that she'd be sober.

"Something wrong Sprout?" Winona asks when she sees me still with my belt on. "You okay?"

"That's m-my mom's car." I say softly. "I d-d-didn't think she would b-be here."

"Great!" Winona slaps my knee. "Two birds, one stone."

"Yeah." I look over at her. "Hey. If M-Mom says anything f-funny…um, she doesn't m-mean it, okay?"

She gives me a curious look. "That's an odd thing to say."

"I know. J-Just…she's got, um, issues." I sigh. "She means well but…I d-dunno. Like mother, like son I g-guess. Don't judge her too harshly?"

"Alright. Not my place to judge in the first place." She says as she rubs my leg. "Is everything okay Avery?"

"Yeah. Everything is f-fine." I say. "I just w-wasn't expecting to see her." Unbuckling my seat belt I take a deep breath and nod. "Alright. Let's do this."

Winona's eyes narrow as she searches my face with concern. After I give her an assuring smile she nods back. "Lead the way."

I slip out the door and meet Winona at the front corner of the truck. Taking her hand in mine I lead her out onto the docks. With the sun shining and the free sea air in our faces my mood lifts again as we make our way closer to the Bella. Along the way I point out the different yachts and pleasure craft and tell her little tidbits about their various owners until at last we are closing in on Grandpa's big home. Unsurprisingly, since I knew he already had company, the gangway was already down.

"Woahhh." Winona marvels at the old trawler turned houseboat. "This is your Grandpa's place?"

"Yep!" I say proudly.

"This thing is awesome! You can actually drive this big beast?"

"Excuse me?" I lift my chin indignantly. "Bella is a L-Lady, thank you very much. No things nor beasts here."

We share a chuckle as I lead her up the gangway onto deck. I am barely on board when a sound I'd heard less than a half dozen times in my whole life stops me in my tracks. It was my Grandpa's voice raised in anger.

"Avery is getting Bella!" He says, his raspy voice cracking with emotion. "I've made my decision, Joni, and that's…" His point is cut off by a fit of coughing.

"And what about the rest of us, Dad?" My mom snarks back. "This damn tub's the only thing of value you've got left to…"

"Shhh!" He hushes her as he hears the clunk of Winona stepping off of the gangway. "Is someone there?" He calls. "Hello?"

My cheeks burning with an embarrassed blush at hearing what I wasn't supposed to hear and hoping with all my heart that Winona hadn't heard my family's dirty laundry I clear my throat and say. "It's m-m-me." Winona steps in beside me and quietly slips her hand into mine. She gives it a supportive squeeze. Yeah. She heard them alright. How embarrassing! "I-It's me." I say again a bit louder.

Up from below deck comes my mom looking quite nice today in a casual outfit of beige slacks and blouse with a brown denim jacket. She was a petite, like me, had blond hair, like me, and bright blue eyes, just like me. Add to this her similar fine boned features and slender physique and there wasn't a person in the world who could have mistaken us as anything but mother and son. The thing that stood out today though was her red nose and bleary pink eyes. She'd been crying. Oh God! Grandpa just broke the news! Why hadn't I figured that out sooner!? How could I be so foolish?

"Avery." She huffs as she rushes to me and pulls me into a hard hug. "Dad just told me."

I hug my mom unsure of what to do or say that would make her feel better. Winona steps to the side to give us a moment together.

Slower up the stairs comes Grandpa looking scruffy as ever and a bit sheepish as he realized that I'd probably heard some of the argument not meant for my ears. As he always did though he brightens the moment that he sees my face. Even more so today when he sees who I'd brought with me.

"I think I might know who this is." He walks across the deck with a big grin and his hand extended.

"Hello Sir." Winona says with utmost manners as she hurries forward to take his hand. Little did she know that the hand had been a ruse. As I knew he would Grandpa pulls Winona into a hug of her own. I continue to try to comfort my mom but seeing the two of them hug was the most beautiful thing ever!

Mom steps back from me with a sniffle and wipes her nose with a tissue as she turns to see our guest for the first time. "Oh!" She swallows and sniffles again. "This must be the new friend I heard about." When their hug ends mom offers her hand to give Winona a shake. "Sorry. You're not catching me at my best. This is not a great time I'm afraid."

"It's cool." Winona says, straightening her glasses from the embrace. "We never meant to intrude."

"It's m-my fault." I apologize. "W-We were passing by. W-We c-can come back later."

"Later would be good." Mom says to Winona. "Family business you understand." She takes my hand, holding it in such a way that signaled that while Winona could leave I had to stay.

"Nonsense." Grandpa says with a wave. "We were talking in circles anyway. My door is always open to friends of Avery." He looks to me, a twinkle in his eye. "How about a proper introduction?"

"Winona. This is Grandpa and Mom. Mike and J-J-Joni to most." I say, my eyes only on Grandpa. "Mom. Grandpa. This is Winona." My breath catches a moment with joy as I add. "M-My girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Mom gasps, her face brightening into a disbelieving smile despite the grim news she'd just received. "Girlfriend!" She looks at me with pride sparkling in her blue eyes. "Avery! You never told me that you had a girlfriend!?"

"Ha ha!" Grandpa laughs a happy laugh and claps his hands. "I had a feelin this one was special. I can tell you that you made one heck of an impression on my Buttercup here."

"The feeling was mutual." Winona smiles bashfully. "Pleasure to meet you both."

This time it's Mom who pulls Winona down into a hug around the neck. "Girlfriend. I didn't even know he was seeing anyone." Holding Winona by the shoulders she steps back to look her up and down. Since Mom was even shorter than me there was a lot more up than down. "My! You're a big one." As I blush Winona laughs it off. Mom shoots a look to me. "Avery. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I-I'm telling you n-now."

"This kid." She rolls her eyes. Coming back to my side she takes my arm and holds it tight to her side. "I told you it was a phase." She whispers. "Didn't I?"

A flinch crosses my face despite my best effort to contain it. Even before my first date with Eddie, back when she saw my internet history which included both hot guys and girls, she had told me that my interest in men was nothing more than a 'phase' and that I was just confused and weak and that Kayla was a bad influence and that I would eventually outgrow it.

"Yeah." I wear the fake smile I always used when she hurt my feelings. "You d-d-did Mom. You sure d-did always s-say that. Y-Y-You we're right."

"Moms always know." She kisses my cheek, just below my bruised eye. "I'm really proud of you Avery. She is lovely."

Chapter 113: Not a Good Time

Chapter Text

In Grandpa's eyes I see the same blend of guilt and shame whenever he heard his daughter say something nasty like she just had. It tore him up to hear his daughter treat his grandson like she did. I knew that his one great regret in life was how far he and Anna had allowed their only child to stray. He might have been the greatest grandpa in the world but, according to him, he and Anna's free-spirited live and let live philosophy had made for being lousy parents. As he told it, all had been smooth sailing until Joni turned 15 when she fell in with a bad group of friends. Just as with strict conservative families where a child might rebel to become a carousing party animal Joni swung the other direction from her upbringing of free-thinking idealism into rigid outdated mores. Busy as their life was in those prime years little did they realize the radical shift in their daughter's worldview until it was too late. Peace, love and understanding had been replaced by intolerance, judgment and homophobia. The more they tried to reel her back in the further she wriggled from their grasp. By the time Mom met Dad, a man who shared those same attitudes and then some, and became pregnant with Paige her ways had been set.

Grandpa tries to pull me away from her. Keeping his tone upbeat for our guest's sake he takes my hand. "I just brewed a fresh pot of coffee." He says. "I could whip you kids up some scrambled eggs and bacon if you're hungry."

My attempt to go with Grandpa is blocked by my mom keeping a tight grip on my arm and remaining glued to my side. In the span of a few seconds a silent argument flashes back and forth between Mom and Grandpa's eyes. Today Mom wasn't budging. Wishing to keep things cordial, probably because he knew how important this meeting between him and Winona was to me, he cedes the battle and steps away.

"Actually, we were coming by to see if you wanted to join us for breakfast at Chub's." Winona says, oblivious to all that had just happened. "Our treat."

"Our?" Grandpa raises his bushy brows and smiles. "Look at these two. They're an 'our' already."

Winona laughs. "You're free to join us, Joni. The more the merrier."

"This really isn't a good time…" Mom stresses, before Grandpa cuts her off.

"Free grub!" He claps. "I'm in."

"This is not a good time!"

"Hoo hoo! Let me grab my jacket!"

"Dad!" Mom shoots him a hard look.

"You can stay here and mope if you want to." He says. "But I'm hungry." After a quick trip into the wheelhouse to grab a faded blue windbreaker he starts locking Bella up. "You got wheels Winona?"

"Got my truck." She says as she takes her keys from her pocket to spin them like an old west cowboy with his six-shooter. "If we all don't mind gettin cozy that is."

"I mean, I don't mind." He quips. "But I heard your boyfriend is a real bad mamma-jamma."

"Oh yeah." She warns. "He's a straight up bad ass. You better watch your hands old man."

"Ha!" He lets out a loud guffaw at her cheek. "I'm a married man young lady!"

"Hey." She winks. "I won't say nothin if you won't. Just don't let him catch ya."

"Ha ha ha! Are you hearing this Anna?"

I stand there giggling, absolutely adoring the way these two were already bantering back and forth. I just knew they were gonna like each other! It made my heart so happy to see it.

At my side Mom wasn't nearly so charmed. In fact she was downright stewing in anger at the way they were carrying on. She grumbles something under her breath then says curtly. "Fine. Avery and I will go in my car. We'll meet you there."

This stops Grandpa's laughter in a heartbeat. "Joni…"

She turns on him and jabs a finger into his chest. "It's all just fun and games to you, isn't it Dad? It's all a big joke, huh?"

"Joni…"

"No! Don't Joni me. You drop that bombshell on me, on poor Avery, and now you just want to go for breakfast as if everything is alright? What about us, Dad? Some of us can't just laugh it all off, Dad. Some of us actually give a damn!" Grandpa shifts uncomfortably as he shoots an apologetic look Winona's way as things were suddenly very awkward. "I need to talk to my son. We will meet you at Chubs." She turns to leave with me in tow. Knowing better than to sass my mom I move along with her without resistance.

"Sprout?" Winona says, concern in her eyes.

"I'll s-s-see you at Ch-Chubs." I say softly and with a reassuring half-smile. "I n-need to talk to m-my m-mom."

"Okay." She says. "I'll see you soon."

"You be nice Joni." Grandpa says as we hit the gangway. "You be nice!"

Mom doesn't answer but lays her head on my shoulder, my arm still clutched tight to her side, as we make our way down to the dock. As we start toward the parking area I peer back to see Winona and Grandpa talking on deck. Gone was the fun and laughter. I had fantasized about that moment of those two meeting. I thought about how I was going to show Winona all around Grandpa's home and show off his crazy kitsch collection and maybe get him to regale us with some of his better stories. But in all those imaginings I had never pictured Mom being there to spoil the fun. Mom sure had a way of killing a mood, just like me. As with our similar looks the apple didn't fall far from its tree. I was so stupid! The moment I saw her car I should have turned around and left. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"H-How you d-doin Mom?"

"Not so good Avery." She says. "That was not the news I needed to hear today."

"Yeah. It's s-sad."

"As if I haven't been through enough lately. Now this."

"Y-Yeah."

We walk along at slow and plodding pace as the waves slosh beneath our feet. "Dad said he was going to keep quiet but that it wasn't fair that you have to carry the secret alone. How long have you known?"

"N-Not too long."

"You should have told me Avery. You should have told me right away."

"S-S-Sorry."

"I know you two were always close." She says. "But he's my dad. I know what's best for him. I'm your mom. I know what's best for you. And what's best for this family."

"He d-didn't want a fuss made." I say. "And he d-didn't w-want to spoil J-Jack and Lauren's good news."

"It was selfish of him. And of you to keep it to yourself."

Even after all these years, her barbs still hurt every single time. "S-Sorry."

"It's okay." She puts an arm around me. "You thought you were doing good." At the car she turns me toward her to fix the collar of my jacket. "You look so handsome today."

"Th-Thank you." I say. "Y-You l-look good too Mom."

She smiles and kisses my cheek. "You must have taken this news hard." I nod. "I can only imagine. Having to keep that bottled up inside." She hugs me tight and I hug her back. "It's okay Avery. Mom's going to take care of everything now."

"I'm okay." I whisper. "I'm…j-just g-g-gonna miss him."

"We all are Avery." She pats my shoulders. "Maybe not the best idea to bring your new friend over at a time like this."

"Oh, um, I-I-I…"

Knocking on my skull lightly she says. "Use your head next time, huh? God. That poor girl had to walk into the middle of that."

"Yeah." I bow my head low. "I-I'm s-sorry Mama. It was st-st-stupid of me."

"Yes it was." She says. "How many times do I have to tell you, family business stays in the family. God you embarrassed me."

"S-Sorry! S-S-Sorry Mama."

"It's okay." She hugs me again. "It's okay my son. Shhh. Grandpa's got your head all mixed up right now. He knows how sensitive you are." She steps back and nods toward the passenger door. "Come on now. Get in the car Avery."

"Y-Yes Mom." I get into the passenger seat, buckle in, then sit quietly with my hands folded on my lap. She gets in and soon we are on our way. We drive in stifling silence for a few blocks until she turns left when she should have turned right. "Um…"

"Don't worry." She answers my unspoken question. "We're going to Chubs. I'm just taking the long way." She glances over at me then back to the road. "We need to talk. Alone."

Chapter 114: Selfish

Chapter Text

For a couple of minutes we drive in silence, the familiar sights and faces of Haven Point passing by as Mom collects her thoughts and I ready myself for whatever this was about. As we go I find myself beginning to relax a little. I knew the detour wouldn't be too long with Winona and Grandpa waiting for us. Plus, these quiet drives with Mom and I actually brought back some nice memories. The very best I ever had it at home was the brief window in time after Joshua moved out and before she hooked up with her first boyfriend after Dad. For a bit there it was just her and I. And while she said some things, a lot of things, that didn't make me feel so good it was kind of nice to have her to myself.

Mom takes a long breath before at last speaking. "I like her."

"Huh?"

"Winona." She says. "She's pretty. Funny too. Grandpa likes her. I can tell." She chuckles. "Of course he likes everyone."

My heart brightens and comes out in a smile. "Yeah. I really l-love her."

She smiles, though there was sadness in it. "I'm glad Avery. I'm glad you found somebody." She drives another block. "I've missed you."

"Yeah. S-Sorry."

"I worry about you ya know." She says. "I know we're not the easiest family to get along with but…we do love you Avery."

"I know." I say softly. "I-I-I'll try to v-visit more."

"I'd like that." She looks at me then reaches across to stroke my cheek before returning her hand to the wheel. "Jack feels terribly about that. You know that, right?"

Bringing my hand to my cheek I softly feel at the edge of my bruised eye with the tip of my middle finger. "I know."

"You know better than to make him angry. You know what a temper he has."

I nod. "I know. B-But I d-d-didn't do an-nything."

"I'm sure you didn't think so." She says. "I know how you boys get though."

"It w-wasn't m-m-my…"

"Fault. I know." She says, having heard exactly this more times than we could count. "Grandpa was really upset by it."

"I know." I whisper as my hands begin to wring.

"We shouldn't upset Grandpa right now. Don't you think?"

I nod. "I d-didn't m-mean to."

She smiles and pats my leg. "I know it's hard growing up. Grandpa was always there for you. Now you have to be there for him. For him and your family. It's all part of being a good man."

"I-I'm t-trying Mama."

"Jesus." She mutters. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me Mama. It's not cute anymore."

"S-Sorry Mom."

"And Chris thinks its weird."

"I'm s-sorry." I quietly berate myself for yet again doing what she'd told me so many times not to. Dumb, dumb, dumb. "H-How is Ch-Chris?"

She sighs. "Not great. His benefits are due to run out next year. I don't know what we're going to do when that happens. We might end up renting out the upstairs but…I don't know."

"I'm s-sorry to hear that."

After glancing my way she suddenly pulls to the side and parks in front of our local drug store. Putting the car into park and shutting it off she turns to face me. She unbuckles and leans across. "Come here." I lean into her and accept her hug. "It must have been hard for you. Finding out about Grandpa."

"Yeah." I whisper.

"Of course it was." Her hug tightens before she lets me go. "You two were always so close." Sitting back she looks at me in such a way that I knew the real purpose of our drive was about to reveal itself. "Dad tells me he's leaving you the boat."

"The Anna B-Bella? Yeah." I say. "I th-think that's wh-what he w-wants."

"Mmm." She sighs again. "What he wants. Grandpa always gets what he wants. What a blessed life he's lead, huh? I wish all of us could be so lucky."

"Um…"

"Here's the thing Avery." She takes my hand and pulls it closer, holding it over her thigh. "He's been living off of his savings since Mom died. That boat's the only thing of value Dad's got left."

"S-So?"

"So…I think you ought to sell it." She says. "I think you ought to sell it and share the money with the family."

"What?"

"What are you going to do with a rusty old fishing trawler Avery?" She says, then continues in a hurry to cut off my objections. "Listen. You don't even have to tell him. It would only upset him. Let him think that you're keeping it." She squeezes my hand. "When…it happens, you can take it out for a trip. One last trip around the island. Maybe the whole family. That'd be nice, wouldn't it? One last cruise for Dad. Then we can fix it up a bit and…"

"I'm n-n-not s-s-selling it!"

Her face falls, half in anger and half in disappointment. After a lifetime of tiptoeing around her I could read her expressions like a book. "Avery. Remember how I said that it's time to grow up now?"

"I'm not…"

"Avery. Listen to me." She says, her voice teetering at the edge of calm. "I know it's a romantic idea. To own your grandpa's old boat. I know all the memories you have there. I have them too. Even more so. But you have to think about more than yourself."

"I am! I-I'm thinking of G-Grandpa and G-Grandma…"

"Stop it. You didn't even know Mom." She pushes my hand away. "It's not fair Avery. Grandpa embarrasses us all over town with his singing and playing and…being a general nuisance. Now he's just going to leave us high and dry? He owes us that boat."

"You're embarrassed b-by him?"

"I never said that!" She snaps, despite having literally just said it. "Avery. Think about the good that money can do. I saw something similar sell up in Seattle last year for nearly a million. A million! Can you believe that? We're sitting on a fortune Avery."

"H-How d-did you see that?"

"I just saw it on a website. What does that matter?" She says, her annoyance growing. "Listen. You could have some of that. Owning a boat is no picnic you know. There are fees and maintenance. On an old boat like the Bella that thing will be a money pit. Think about it. You could finally get a car. A nicer place. A better camera, like you always wanted. Treat that nice girl of yours like she deserves. And think of the rest. Paige and Josh can always use the money, you know they could. And Jack and Lauren sure could use some extra funds with the baby coming. You want the baby to have everything it needs, don't you?"

"Of c-course." I say. "J-J-Jack and L-Lauren m-make a g-good living."

"Children are expensive Avery. So expensive. Lauren's probably going to quit her job to be a mom." She says. "And you know Jack. He's burned some bridges. And construction's alway so hot and cold on the island."

"We're b-b-booming."

"They need you Avery." She says. "Everyone needs you to do the right thing. Okay?"

"But…"

"I'm not asking you to do anything while Grandpa is alive. But once he passes on…"

"No." I shake my head stubbornly. "No! I-I'll n-n-never s-sell Anna."

Mom's nostrils flare as her eyes narrow. "Why are you being so selfish? Why are you always so selfish?"

"I-I-I…"

"What about me, Avery?" She says as she clutches her chest. "What about your mother? Don't you care about me?"

"I l-love you!"

"And that's why you're going to do the right thing. You know how hard things have been for me since your father left us."

I bow my head and nod. "I know."

"The roof needs fixing. The furnace is shot." She slaps the wheel. "The damn car is on its last legs."

"M-Maybe W-Winona c-could help. She's a m-mechanic."

"That's beside the point! God! How can you be so dim?"

"I'm n-not…d-d-dim."

"I just…I never can seem to get all the way back to my feet, ya know? Ya know? Ever since your father left I just…can't. Every time I think I'm up, life grinds me back down again. That money could fix everything Avery. It could make me…it could make us all so happy."

I grip my hands together and shrink down into myself. "M-Maybe if you d-didn't drink s-so m-much y-you c-could…"

"How dare you!" She snaps. "How dare you say that to me!"

"It's true!" I snap right back. "Chris isn't g-g-good for you!"

"Who the hell do you think you are Avery? You don't know anything about anything. Chris is a good man! Chris is there for me!" She shouts. "You don't even come visit anymore! You don't have a clue about what's going on in this family! Selfish!"

"D-Don't…c-call me that…"

Mom was seething like I'd rarely seen her before. But I was angry too! Grandpa was dying and she's thinking about money!?

"You're just like him." She hisses through clenched teeth. "Just like him. Drifting through life without a care for anybody but yourself. Selfish!"

"I'm p-proud to b-be Grandpa's…"

"I'm not talking about your grandfather." She growls. "I'm talking about your dad!"

"Dad?"

"Your real dad."

"Wh-What a-are y-you s-saying…?"

"Jesus Christ." She huffs and shakes her head. "You never once wondered why you're such a little runt compared to your brothers? Seriously? All these years and it never occurred to you that you might not be a Beckett?"

"I'm…a…but…" Time slows as my whole world shifts on its axis. She couldn't mean what it sounded like! "Wh-What!?"

"You never noticed how your dad never really loved you?" She snorts. "He figured it out. When you showed up he knew. Confirmed as you grew up. Little, weak, weird. He never said anything but he saw that you weren't his." Her eyes give a glance up and down my petite body. "If you hadn't have been so…you, he never would have left the island. He never would have left us."

"No." I shake my head as everything starts to spin. "No. Stop. Wh-Wh-What…Wh-Who…?"

"Stop it! Stop crying. You're always CRYING!" She screeches. "STOP CRYING! YOU'RE A GROWN MAN!"

I gulp down breaths, having trouble breathing, as I wipe my tearful eyes. "You're h-hurting m-my…"

"Feelings." She finishes my sentence. "It's not always about YOU Avery." She says, slapping her chest. "What about me!? What about us!?" With a finger jabbing into my shoulder she looks me dead in the eyes. "You ruined my life Avery. You chased your father away. You chased Paige's and Joshua's and Jack's father away. And MY husband! YOU did. You did that. And now you can actually do something to help this family…but you don't even care."

"Noooo." Hugging myself I curl into a ball and begin to rock. "I l-love youuu! Mmmmmm!" I needed to get away! I needed to get away! I needed to get away! "MMMM! Love…youuu!"

I watch as something comes over my mother. A look of profound pain and regret. In her rage she'd gone too far and she knew it. I see it but I cannot process it. I needed to get away!

"Avery." She whispers. "God. Avery. Calm down, okay? I'm…I'm sorry. I…didn't…"

"No! No! MMMM! Nooo!" I turn and dash from the car, leaving the door open behind me without even a glance back. Out on the side walk every head turns to see the town's local weirdo having another freak out. "MMMMM!"

"Avery." Mom calls. "Avery! Get back in here. AVERY!"

Everyone was looking at me! Everyone was looking at me! Away, away, away, away, away! I needed to get away! Away! Away! Away! Frantically I search the horizon looking for mountains, looking for nature, looking for solitude, looking for anywhere but here. All I see is buildings and cars and faces, faces, faces staring at me. None of them were Grandpa. None of them were Winona or Kayla. They just wanted to hurt me! I had to escape!

"I'm sorry, alright? Mama loves you baby. Come back and talk." She says, conscious of what a scene I was making. "Grandpa and Winona are waiting, remember? Why don't you just…."

I don't hear the rest as the very next moment I am running as fast as my feet could carry me.

Chapter 115: Be Better

Chapter Text

I run and run and run. A person tries to stop me. To talk to me. I escape them, but not their judging eyes. Why did everyone have to keep looking at me!? Why couldn't they just leave me alone!? I knew the answer of course. I was a freak. A girlish, stupid, selfish freak of a man. People couldn't help but to look at a freak. They hated me because I deserved it!

As aimless as a lost kite caught in a raging tornado I run on pure instinct. The world passes by in a blur. I wish I had my bike. I could go even faster. Caught up in the chaotic whirlwind of thoughts and feelings I let my legs carry me to the safety of solitude. Just run Avery. Just run.

The encompassing sound of the surf. The permeating pungent aroma of ocean and sand and seaweed and conifer. The bitter taste of salt and adrenaline. The scratchy feel of the rough fibrous bark of cedar against my soft palms. The unfolding existence of the little black and copper ant exploring its way up the long woody grains of the trunk. I shift closer to watch it more intently while it goes about its life as if I wasn't even there.

Oh to be that tiny ant. To act with purpose. To know your place. To belong without even thinking about it. How nice that must be. It would have no doubts about who it was or what it was doing taking up space in a world that didn't need it around. It didn't need to worry about not having a father or about being lied to its whole life or about being a bad son.

I wanted to be a good person. I really did. I didn't want to let my family down, again. Maybe they'd love me more if I gave them money? Maybe the money really would fix everything. Maybe it would make us…happy. But Grandpa loved the Anna Bella. So did I. I didn't know what to do. I was so lost. Not like that ant as it went to gather food for its family.

The buzzing of my phone breaks me out of the spiral of thoughts I hadn't even realized that I was trapped in. In a sort of daze I answer the moment I see who it was.

"G-G-Grandpa."

"Hey Buttercup." He says in that kind voice he used when I was low. "How you doin my boy?"

"Um." I shift from foot to foot, only now realizing that I was squatted down amongst some bushes beside a tree. "Um…I…um…I d-don't know Grandpa."

"It's okay. It's okay Avery." He says softly. "Hey, where are ya?"

"Um…" I look around. "I'm…um…I'm in a p-park." I peer up over the shrubbery to get my bearings. "I'm in D-D-Del P-Park."

"Del Park. Oh that's great. That's perfect. You're right close to the docks."

"Yeah." I sniffle and wipe my nose. "I'm s-sorry Grandpa."

"Heyyyy. It's all good buddy. You never have to say that to me. You know that." He says, pouring every ounce of care he had in him through our phone speaker. "Hey, I need you to do me a great big favor. Okay?"

"F-F-Favor?"

"Do you have your keys on you?"

"Um…yeah."

"That's my guy." In the background I hear the low mumble of another voice. I think it was Mom. He shushes her then continues talking to me. "Hey listen. My ol' memory ain't what it used to be. I think I might have left the coffee pot on on the Bella. You mind going to check for me?"

"I c-can do that G-Grandpa."

"You're the best Buttercup." He says with love in every word. His tone is warm, nurturing, direct, but never condescending as he throws me just the lifeline I desperately needed right now. "Go to the Bella. It's just a couple blocks away. Take the beach route. It's quiet. Won't be too many people this time of day. Go to the Bella and you wait there, okay? Can you do that for me?"

"Yeah."

"Atta boy. I need to…talk to your mother for a few minutes, but Winona is coming to see you right away. Right away." Behind him I hear a voice receding but cannot make out what was said. "She's already on the way. She'll be there before you know it. I won't be far behind."

I take a breath and sigh. "G-Grandpa?"

"Yeah."

"I-I-I'm okay. Y-You d-don't have to w-worry."

"Whose worried?" He quips. "I just don't want the coffee to burn!"

I sniffle and giggle as I wipe some tears from my cheeks. "I l-love you Grandpa."

"And IIII loooove youuuu." With a swell of uplifting energy he sings the last few notes of our song. "See you soon."

"See you soon."

I pocket my phone and take a deep breath. I felt drained and a little numb like I always did after my outbursts but at least I felt like I had my feet under me again. I knew it was selfish and childish of me to think it but…what was I going to do without him once he was gone?

"Good l-luck ant. I'm r-rootin for you." I whisper before standing and brushing myself of leaves and twigs.

Looking about to make sure nobody was watching I step out into the soft lawn of Del Park and walk slowly toward the beach. As I stroll along the shore's edge I watch the little bobbing heads of the harbor seals out in the water. Seals always had a way of lifting my mood, no matter how low it had sunk.

Much more grounded now more mature and nuanced emotions begin to swirl. I was embarrassed of course. I don't even know who saw me blubbering my way here. I'm sure I'd find out soon enough. And to have Winona again have to come check on me…geez. She really didn't deserve a boyfriend with so many issues. I felt disappointed too. Right in front of my mom I confirmed every bad thing that she already knew about me. I simply had to stop having these outbursts. I knew it wasn't healthy to let myself to get so caught up by my feelings. Though in the moment I always felt so powerless to stop it. I also felt betrayed. Mom suggesting that I lie to Grandpa in my last months with him then sell his beloved home the moment his body cooled left me sick to the stomach. And all for money? She wasn't wrong about the good the extra cash might do but…yuck! And I was feeling shell shocked. The nasty, brutish man that I called Dad was not actually my biological father? I didn't have a clue how to even begin to feel about that. In my present state of mind it was just beyond me to even think about that. There would be time to process it later. Right now I had to just find my center again. That, and I had to check on Grandpa's coffee. With something practical and real to focus on I carry on with the same directed purpose of that ant on the cedar.

As I continue on I realize that most of all I felt really, really hurt. I would have traded any number of slaps from my big brother for having to live through that conversation with Mom again. I knew she was having a hard time of things and I knew I should be doing more for her but…why did she have to be so cruel? I knew I wasn't perfect. Like her and everyone in this family I had problems. But why couldn't she see that I was doing my best? Why couldn't we hold each other up instead of tearing each other down? Why couldn't we have what Winona and her dad had? And even if that was a bridge too far, why couldn't we just be…better?

After a few calming minutes of walking by the sea I stop a moment to take a handful of sand just to feel the soothing mass of cool, damp grains rub against my skin while I strolled on and collected myself. Back among something natural I was feeling more myself by the minute. That clever old Grandpa. Take the beach he said. He knew exactly what he was doing. God how I loved him. As I near the weathered concrete stairs that lead from the beach up to the parking lot of the docks I hear the roar of an engine followed by the squawk of rubber biting asphalt. There's the slam of a door and a moment later I can just make out a head of familiar black hair dashing full out down the dock toward Grandpa's home.

"Winona!" I call. She slides to a stop and starts looking around her in search of the voice. "Winona!" I call again and begin to wave.

After a moment she spots me and waves back. She is nearly frantic as she starts looking about for a way down to me. Despite the fact that I was pointing her toward the stairs she opts instead to run straight at the railing…and jump it! My heart catches in my throat as I watch her free fall to the rocky sand below. My worries are for nothing as she lands like a panther then springs into a full run right at me.

"I'm ok-kay." I say as I watch her close in with that powerfully protective look in her hazel eyes. "R-Really. I'm f-fine." Mere words weren't about to stop her now though. "OOMPH!" She hits with the force of a tidal wave and wraps me up in a all consuming bear hug. Despite the roller coaster I'd just been on this past half hour I am smiling like an idiot as she squeezes me with all her strength. "Rrrg! You're…c-crushing…m-m-me!"

"Oh!" She lets up the hug without releasing it. Pulling back enough to look me in the eyes she says. "What's going on?"

"S-S-Sorry." I peep. "I-I d-didn't mean to worry you."

"Your Mom? What did she say to you? What happened?"

I give her a smile to reassure her. "Sh-She said a lot of st-stuff. I just had a m-moment. I overreacted, ag-gain. I'm okay now."

She searches my eyes as if they might somehow give her a window what happened. "Oh Avery." Cupping my cheeks she kisses me softly, then whispers. "If you gotta run baby, run to me. Okay?"

"I'm s-sorry."

As she puts her arms around me again I lay my head on her shoulder and let her hug me and stroke me like I knew she needed. I needed it too. It killed me to worry her like this. I wished I could be stronger for her. And someday, hopefully, I would be. But for right now this is just where we needed to be.

Chapter 116: Winsome

Chapter Text

When the hug was done Winona does not let me go, instead keeping one arm firmly around my side as we turn and slowly make our way toward the Anna Bella. It was as if she was worried I might go running off at any second again. She had nothing to be concerned about. At her side was the only place I wanted to be right now. She doesn't prod me with questions or concerns, even though I knew she wanted to, instead just letting me feel safe in this moment. She had faith that I would open up in my own way and my own time. Not giving a damn who saw me I lay my head on her shoulder in a way that most would see as effeminate. I needed her strength right now and she wasn't only happy to lend it, she walked beside her needy baby girl boyfriend with pride!

As we near Grandpa's home we are greeted from the yacht across the way. "Good morning Avery."

I look up to see a smiling kindly face peering down at us from the bow. "Oh! H-Hello Mrs. Jackson."

"And who might this tall, dark and winsome creature be?"

"Winsome?" Winona chuckles.

I giggle too. "This is W-Winona. My g-girlfriend."

"Ah! A cuter pair of June bugs I've never seen."

"Whose this?" Mr. Jackson steps up behind his wife, slipping an arm around her waist in much the same manner as Winona was holding me. "Avery!"

"And Winsome Winona." Mrs. Jackson quips, then in an easily audible whisper adds. "Avery's lady friend."

"Good to meet you two." Winona nods while they smile and nod back to her. "You can call me Winnie if ya like."

"This is M-Mr. and Mrs. Jackson." I say to her. "Grandpa's neighbors."

"Neighbors for one more day." Mr. Jackson says. "We're moving on I'm afraid."

"Oh! You're leaving?"

"Yeah." Mrs. Jackson says. "We thought we'd head up to Vancouver Island for awhile then back home to California."

"Ehkolie has been wonderful." Mr. Jackson gives his wife a squeeze. "But we miss the grandkids."

"Aw. I b-bet they m-miss you very much."

"Oh I know they do." He says. "Mama here spoils them ROTTEN!"

"I do not!" His wife playfully slaps his hand, then after a moment says guiltily. "Well…maybe a little bit."

We all share a chuckle. "Hey. That's a grandma's prerogative." Winona says. "And nobody can say otherwise."

"Yes! Exactly. She gets it."

With a great big smile Mr. Jackson rolls his eyes. "Anyway, it's been great to meet you Avery."

"Yes!" I say. "The feeling is m-mutual."

"We should be up this way next year. If not, the year after." He says, before adding under his breath. "God willing."

"We hope to see you again then." His wife says.

"I d-don't plan on going anywhere." I say. "I-I'll be here."

"And I hope we see you too winsome one." She winks. "Maybe with a little Buttercup junior in tow? Mmm?"

"Pffft!" Winona guffaws as I blush.

"Claire!" Mr. Jackson exclaims.

"We were both thinking it, I'm just allowed to say it." She says brightly while eating up the reaction the comment got. "It's a grandma's prerogative."

"And on that note I think we'd better get back to getting ready." Her husband says, shaking his head. "It was good to meet you Winnie. Avery, you take care of yourself young man. And you keep looking after that Grandpa of yours too, okay?"

"I will."

He points at me. "Promise?"

I nod. "I p-promise."

"Good man." He nods back.

We say our goodbyes and the next minute I am leading Winona back up onto Bella. I unlock her and have Winona follow me down into the galley. I check on the coffee maker. It was already turned off of course. Grandpa getting me here had never been about the coffee. Knowing that Winona had told her dad that she wouldn't be long and that our trip to Chubs was likely out at this point I turn the coffee back on and start looking through the fridge.

"How's an omelet sound?" I say as I am already pulling out the eggs and bacon.

Winona stood in the little attached dining area looking around the room at the cornucopia of kitsch that covered ever square inch of wall. "He won't mind you raiding his kitchen?"

"Huh?" That concern hadn't even dawned on me. "No. G-Growing up I spent nearly as much t-time here as my h-house." I smile as I look around this oh so familiar room. "And a l-lot more happy times. This is h-home."

"This place is so cool!" She steps up to the starboard wall and leans in to start inspecting all the little items and souvenirs more closely. With a laugh she taps a plastic little grass-skirted hula dancer in front of her to watch it wiggle. "Look at this stuff. This is better than the museum."

"I know, right?" My heart is BEAMING with pride for my Grandpa's eccentricities. "I love it. Even now I f-find stuff I never knew about."

Straightening her glasses she looks up and down the wall of treasures as I busy myself with the creation of omelets. For Winona I was already planning extra bacon, herbs and cheese for myself, and I would make Grandpa's last so that it would be warm for him when he got home.

"Is this her?"

I look back over my shoulder to see her looking up at the photo of Anna which held pride of place among the menagerie. "Yeah. That's Grandma." I say. "He's got a p-picture of her in every room."

"She's the only one he's ever been with?" She says softly as she touches the frame of the picture. "The only woman he's ever loved?"

"Yeah. She's the one."

"I can see why." Winona says. "She's beautiful. I can see a bit of her in you Sprout."

"Th-Thank you." I smile. "I always thought she w-was pretty."

"What a woman she must have been." Stepping back she looks around. "I see that he's got a lot of pictures of someone else in here too."

"Hm?"

"There. There." She points at more photos hidden among the knick-knacks. "Down there." Each of the pictures featured either just me or Grandpa and I together. "I think he might have another special one in his life."

"Yeah." I whisper. "Paige, J-Jack, Josh, they all had their f-friends. I had G-Grandpa. I d-don't know why he l-liked me so m-much."

"Because he loves you, silly." Taking a mug from off of a hook she laughs as she looks at the photo printed onto it. "Ha ha! You've even got merch!"

I grin and shake my head at the silliness of that particular item. "I d-don't know why he got that made!"

"Ha ha ha! Look at you!" She studies the mug which depicted me at 12 standing in tall grass beside a mountain creek facing the camera with a big grin while pointing back behind me at an empty branch. "What are you pointing at?"

"Nothing." I giggle. "There WAS a bald eagle th-there. It t-took off the moment G-Grandpa got the camera. He t-took the picture anyway. I d-didn't even know it had t-taken off." I turn and start cracking some eggs. "D-Don't ask me why he m-made a mug of that."

"It's because you were happy. Look at that smile!"

"You w-want a coffee?"

"I'd love one!"

I hear her put the mug back on its hook. "You can use it."

"Oh no." She says as she steps in behind me and wraps her arms around my chest. Nuzzling my ear she whispers. "That one's special." She kisses me. "How you doin baby?"

I close my eyes, let out a long breath and melt back into her. After a moment I answer softly. "Mom was…extra d-difficult today."

"We shoulda chosen another day, huh?"

"Yeah." I take another long breath. "I'm…I'm g-glad we s-saw her today though."

"Oh?"

"Dealing with Grandpa's news…she l-let her guard down." I say. "She l-l-let a secret slip out."

"A secret?"

"Yeah." I open my eyes. "A big one."

I slip from her arms to get us both a mug then pour out a couple of coffees. Winona stays at my back, her hands resting lightly on my shoulders. In a very gentle voice she asks. "Did she hurt you Avery?"

I shake my head no. "J-Just my feelings."

Turning me around to face her she touches the bottom of my chin and gazes into my eyes. "That counts too baby. Your feelings count too."

"I know." I whisper then let out a long sigh. "I'm f-feeling better now."

"Okay. If you need to talk…"

"I know." I say. "I will. B-But first I need to think about this for a little. And I want to t-t-talk to Grandpa."

She gives me a single understanding nod then lightly brushes my hair from my brow. Still gazing she smiles. "Hey. I love you."

Smiling back I say. "I love you too."

"In the meantime, you want me to off her?"

"Pbbssst." I giggle. "Off my mom!?"

"No questions asked boss man." She jests in a hokey Godfather accent. "You just say the word and she's sleepin wit da fishes."

"That's a bit extreme d-don't you think?"

She chuckles and pats my cheek. "You're probably right." Pulling me back into a strong hug she kisses me hard on the side of the head. "You've got an interesting family Sprout."

"Yeah." I say as the question of my paternity begins to flit at the edges of my thoughts. "M-More than you even know."

Chapter 117: Going to be Okay

Chapter Text

I cook up our omelets and even manage some shredded hash browns in another pan as Winona looks through all the knick-knacks while she sips her coffee. I was beginning to worry that we might have to eat without Grandpa when hear the clunk-clunk of him stepping onto the deck above.

"Perfect t-timing." I say as I start to dish out the fried potatoes.

"What is this smell?" I hear his voice coming in from the stairway.

"Breakfast!" I call to him. "C-Come and get it."

Grandpa appears in the doorway with a perplexed smile on his face. He was probably wondering why I seemed so upbeat after what he knew was not a good meeting with my mom.

"Coffee's on, Mike." Winona says. "Lemme get you one." Tucking in beside me she pulls out a mug and pours him one.

"Sugar and cream." I whisper to her as I scrape out the last little bits of charred green onions out over his hash browns.

Without missing a beat she squeezes past behind me to finish his coffee. With a stir and clink of spoon on ceramic she holds out his coffee, ready and just how he liked it. "You're coffee, Captain."

His smile grows as he steps in and accepts it from her. "Look at all this." He says, looking over the three plates that I was assembling.

"We p-promised you breakfast." I say. "Our treat." After setting down the pan I wipe my hands and go to hug my grandpa.

Slipping his free arm around me he hugs me back and gives me a bristly kiss to the cheek. "How you doin, Buttercup?"

"Better." I say with a smile. "A lot b-better."

He pats my cheek and gives it a loving rub with his thumb before turning to watch Winona already carrying plates and silverware to the little table. "Let Avery or I get that. You're our guest!"

"Ah." She says. "I got it."

"Fresh cooked food and service with a smile?" He says. "You two are giving Chub a run for his money."

With good feelings flowing we bring everything to the table then squeeze in around it. With a happy twinkle in his eye Grandpa looks back and forth between us then proceeds to dig in. Winona and I follow his lead.

Except for a couple of concerning coughing fits from Grandpa our breakfast together is absolutely wonderful. We talk about all sorts of things. From the Jackson's leaving to Winona and Amos' plan with the garage to the different trinkets around the room to an extended grilling about Grandpa's experience with FoF. Poor Grandpa really had to strain his memory to recall the details of the couple of times he tried the game but Winona ate it up so he did his best. It was kinda cool for me too as it drudged up old stories even he'd forgotten about.

But the best, the very best, part of the breakfast were the little glances he would shoot me from time to time as Winona talked about this or that. The spark I saw there made his faded blue eyes shine true again. He liked her! He approved of her and he really, really liked her, even when she was geeking out on FoF. Just one of those little looks was enough to erase all the pain my mother brought me this morning. My joy went so much deeper than simply being happy that he liked my girlfriend. He knew that I had someone now. I wasn't alone anymore. I had someone kind and caring and funny and perfect and smart and beautiful in my life. He could see that I was going to be okay. He wasn't going to have to worry quite so much about his fragile little Buttercup anymore.

Too soon Winona wipes her mouth with a napkin and gets up from the table. "I gotta go. Dad's waiting for me." She says as she carries her dishes to the sink. "Can I just leave your bike in the lot, Sprout?"

"Oh, um, s-sure." I say as I hurry to get up. "N-Need help?"

"Nah. I got it." She steps into me. In one smooth motion she hooks her hand around my slender waist and pulls me into her for a kiss. "You guys have stuff to talk about."

"Yeah." I whisper, a bit flushed from the smooch. "M-Miss you."

"Come see me after work?"

I nod. "I'd l-like that."

She kisses me again then slips away. "I'll see myself out. It was awesome meeting you, Mike."

Grandpa was on his feet and the pair share a very grandfatherly hug. "It was a dream, my dear." He says. "You are welcome back here anytime you like." He looks into her eyes. "And thank you."

She grins and shrugs. "It was nothin." After one last longing look to me she sighs. "Okay. Gotta go."

"Have a g-good day Winsome W-Winnie."

She points. "Don't even start."

I giggle. "Isn't she winsome, Grandpa?"

He laughs, not in on the joke but catching the vibe. "Oh yes. Quite winsome."

"You're lucky there's an elder here." She says as she backs out of the galley, still pointing my way. "We'll talk tonight."

"He he he!"

With a smile and a wink she is on her way.

Grandpa and I listen to her footsteps recede off the boat and down the plank before he turns to me. "What a woman."

"She's the b-best." I step closer to him and put my arm around his shoulders. "I f-found my Anna."

"Watching you two together…I think you have my boy."

After the dishes are dealt he grabs another coffee and I make myself a tea and we head up on deck to drink them in the fresh air. We settle into our usual chairs and at the bow we sit to watch and listen to the harbor around us. Grandpa lights up and takes a few puffs before at last speaking.

"I talked with Joni." He says. "I knew it was going to be difficult. I had no idea it was going to be that bad."

"Yeah." I say softly. "N-Now I understand why you w-wanted to keep it quiet."

"Listen Avery." Putting his cigarette in the tray he reaches across to take my hand in his. "Once the Anna Bella is yours…she's yours. If you want to keep her, you keep her. If you want to sell her…"

"No Grandpa!"

He squeezes my hand. "You do what you think is best. Okay?" He turns toward me to lean closer. "I am so proud you Avery. I love you so much. In the end it's just a boat, okay?" He repeats to drive home the point. "It is just a boat. I don't want it ever to become a burden for you."

"It's not a b-b-burden." I stutter as I feel tears begin to swell. "I l-l-love you too G-Grandpa."

"Come here." Leaning across he pulls me into a long and much needed hug. After we settle back again he asks. "If she gets too much let me know, okay? I'll talk to her."

"Okay." After taking a breath and a sip of tea to settle myself again I say. "Grandpa?"

"Yes Buttercup?"

"Whose m-m-my r-real dad?"

He freezes a moment as he stares back at me, stunned confusion etched across his weathered features. He didn't know!

"Your real dad?" He says. "What are you talking about Avery?"

"Mom. She w-w-was angry." I say. "Sh-She said that I w-was s-selfish. Like m-my real dad. She ch-cheated on D-Dad. I'm n-not a B-Beckett Grandpa."

"Oh my God. She said that to you?" In all our years I had never seen Grandpa more at a loss as to what to say or do. "She said that to you!?" Taking my hand again, this time gripping it in both of his, he holds it tight and says. "Avery. If I would have known, I would have told you."

I swallow and nod. "I f-figured."

"If I…" His words are cut off by another spasm of coughing. Not knowing what else to do I rub his back until he gets through it. After a swig of coffee to clear his throat he lets out a huff. Staring down into the water he thinks back. "It was right around then that things started to go sour between your mom and dad. I guess I'm not surprised but…to keep it a secret from you?" Bending forward he sighs and covers his face with a hand. "God. What are you doin to him, Joni?"

"Sh-She blames me f-for Dad leaving." I whisper, rising feelings starting to choke my words. The ticking timer on the hurt-bomb that my mom planted in my heart was just now reaching 0. "At l-l-least I know n-now wh-why they n-never l-l-loved me."

Grandpa is on his feet and pulling me to mine and into a hug before I even know it. "Don't you talk like that Buttercup. They loved you! Your family loves you Avery!"

I hug my Grandpa tight and hide my face in his shoulder. "It's n-not my f-fault, Grandpa."

"No my boy. No, it isn't."

"You know what? Know wh-what?" I sniffle angrily and swallow. "I'm g-glad he's not my d-dad. I d-don't n-need a dad! Th-Th-They can have him! Who n-needs a crummy, stupid old ugly dad wh-when you g-g-g-got the b-best Grandpa in the world! Huh?"

"Aw my boy."

"Y-You're a b-b-better dad th-than he ever was!"

"Avery…"

"I'm g-glad I'm n-not his! I'm g-g-glad he left! I'm g-glad I'm n-not a B-Beckett!" I gulp a few hard breaths as a flood of emotion I hadn't even known was there comes rushing to the surface all at once. "H-He d-doesn't w-want me!? W-W-Well I don't want him!" My body trembles. "I h-hate him Grandpa! I hate him!"

"Okay. Okay." He says, his voice low and warm, as he strokes my back. "It's going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay."

Chapter 118: Faces

Chapter Text

I do cry for a little but with Grandpa there to hug me and console me it was only a couple of minutes. It was a strange feeling Mom had brought out in me with her secret. I was definitely hurt. But I was also…relieved. Without meaning to she had filled a little gap in the puzzle that was my life. I had always known that I was different from the others. I had always sensed concealed emotions lingering in the eyes of my mother and father. One of those emotions I now knew to be resentment. For them I was an unwanted burden. I knew that now. And it helped make everything else make so much more sense. Besides, as I just said to Grandpa, not being my dad's real son was no bad thing by my reckoning. He was already physically absent from my life. Now I could cut him from my heart as well.

Another thing this moment made me realize was that Buttercup still sometimes needed his Grandpa after all. I loved Winona to bits but only Grandpa's care could have brought me back up so easily from something like this. I felt so very, very blessed to still have him here.

He hid it well as he consoled me, but I had never seen the man as angry as he was right now. Hearing what my mother had told me hurt him just as keenly as it had me but, as her Dad, it came with the bitter thorns of disappointment. Even if it was one step removed he felt responsible for his daughter's cruelty. The better he made me feel the more I tried to return the love.

"It's not your f-fault, Grandpa." I tell him. "P-Please don't be sad. I'm okay now."

He looks at me, touched to his core at my concern. "Aw Buttercup." He pats my cheek in that Grandpa way of his. "You are more than okay."

After another long hug we take our seats again. I sip my tea as he slurps his coffee and watch the world drift along around us. "I w-wonder who he is."

"I've been thinking back and…I don't have a clue. But I intend to find out." Grandpa says. "Do you want to me to find out Avery?"

"Um…I think so. Yeah."

"Then I will try." He says. "Do you want me to tell you if I do?"

"Y-Yes Sir."

Reaching across he pats my hand. "I'll let you know."

"Do y-you think he's nice?"

"Probably." He says. "Most folks are good underneath it all."

"Yeah." Pulling my mug to my face I take a long inhale to take in the bitter green aroma. "He p-probably has a f-family."

"A man that age, quite likely."

"I w-wonder if h-he's handsome. Or s-smart. One of the p-professor's maybe?" I say as my imagination begins to create a fuzzy image of my biological father and his perfect life. "P-Pretty wife. I b-bet h-he's really nice to his kids. G-Girls I b-bet."

"Who can say."

"Mmm." I sip my drink and swirl it around my mouth before swallowing. "Whoever he is, h-he d-doesn't need to know. About me I m-mean. If he doesn't already."

"That's your decision, my boy." Grandpa says. "But if I were him I would want to know." He shoots me a warm look. "Especially if it were a fine, honest man like you."

I smile. "You always know wh-what to say."

"I just say what's in my heart, Buttercup."

"Yeah. I l-like that." I say. "Winona is like that too."

"I know." He nods. "I could tell."

"She l-l-lets me be me." I say. "She m-makes me f-feel beautiful. Inside and out." After a nervous glance I correct myself. "H-Handsome I mean."

"You are beautiful Avery." A rattling cough interrupts him. After another slug of coffee he clears his chest and says. "I'm glad you found someone who can see you for what you are."

"Yeah." I watch a low flying gull swoop past. "I do love her. I…um…I think I'm g-gonna ask her to m-marry me."

"Oh!"

"N-Not yet." I lean back and let out a long breath. "B-But soon."

"Okay. Just…don't take it to heart if you don't get the answer you want." He says. "You two are swept up in a very fast current right now. Marriage has a way of making people pause and take stock. If she says no, it doesn't mean she won't. It just means that she won't right now."

"Yeah." I say. "I know it's t-too soon. B-But…I don't w-want to wait too long." Gazing across at him with unabashed hero worship glowing in my heart I say softly. "I w-w-want you t-to be there, Grandpa."

"Aw my boy." Again he reaches and takes my hand. Giving it a supportive squeeze he tells me. "Avery. I will be there. I promise you that. Whether this old pile of bones is still rattling around or not, I will be there. Grandma too. Right there beside you."

"Oh Grandpa." I blink away the mist in my eyes.

"My boy." He gives my hand a shake. "Hey. You want to come sing with me? I thought I'd take the keyboard up to the college today. The kids up there are always cool to me."

"Lousy t-tippers though."

"I don't do it for the coins, Buttercup." He says with a chuckle and a wink. "Old Gramps isn't quite as destitute as some might think."

"I wish I could." I say. "But I gotta work."

"Of course."

We sit for a time, talking a little but mostly just basking in the lovely morning together. When my tea was done I let out a long sigh. "I should g-go."

"Avery."

"Yeah Grandpa?"

"I love you."

I damn near break into tears all over again. "I l-love you too." We get up from our seats and share another awesome hug. "Thank you."

He kisses my cheek. "Anytime."

"I'll c-come see you at lunch if y-you're still there." I say. "Usual spot?"

"Unless the hire-a-fuzz chase me away again." He laughs. "I'll be there. And if not, just keep your ear out for the groovy beats."

I giggle. "Okay!"

We say our goodbyes and I am on my way. Back at the lot I find my motorbike leaned on its kickstand in one of the spaces, my helmet hanging from the handlebar. I could just imagine Winona hefting it up and out of the bed or her truck. The image gives me a flutter in my chest and my dick. I just loved how strong she was.

Helmet on I straddle my bike and kick start into life. I turn the throttle to elicit a satisfying, if a bit wimpy, snarl from out of my puny Honda. Soon I am weaving through the streets and alleys of Haven Point on my way to the apartment. As I ride I find myself searching the faces of all I pass. Not all the faces, just those men of a certain age. I look for similarities. My hair and eyes I inherited from Mom, but maybe he was blond and blue eyed as well. I look for smaller men, slender men, fine featured men, and men who might share my unique smile.

It proves a fruitless endeavor. Every guy I see had something that didn't fit. It was hopeless. I knew I got my looks primarily from my mother. My biological father could potentially look like anything. I was ninety-nine percent certain he was white, but beyond that who knows. Heck, he might not even live on the island anymore. Maybe he never did. Perhaps he was some one-night stand when Mom was on the mainland. Though as I reflected back, the way she talked about him being so selfish and 'drifting through life without a care in the world' gave me the sense that she still knew him. Or at least he was close enough to keep tabs on. It was so WEIRD! Knowing that any of these middle aged guys I passed might have given me half of my genetics left me feeling…just…WEIRD! The curiosity was going to gnaw at me. If Grandpa didn't find out himself I was going to have to gather my courage and talk to Mom about it myself.

The news this morning might have rocked my world and my night with Winona had been nothing less than transformative yet life went on just as it always had. I had bills to pay, a job to work, and regular stuff to do. After so much happening lately getting back into the well-worn groove of existence was going to feel odd.

Back at home I find Brayden gone. Hopefully gone to his new job. With him you could never tell but there was something about this time that gave me hope. I am nearly through the living room when the glint of steel on the sofa catches my eye. Walking closer I see something caught between the cushions. Pulling on it I reveal…a studded black choker? This wasn't mine and I'm pretty damn sure it wasn't his…yet it looked familiar somehow.

"Ha!" The woman at the pet store!? "No way!" I grin. He did it. He really did it. I thought for sure all that talk was just more of the typical Brayden bluster. Just getting up and doing anything beyond dope and video games would have been an accomplishment for him, but to break the ice with a girl then actually get her back here? For him it was a miracle! I felt so dang happy for him. This whole love and dating thing just might be contagious. "He he he!"

I carefully tuck the collar back into the sofa just like I found it. That little discovery puts a spring in my step as I head off and get ready for work.

Chapter 119: Kindred Spirit

Chapter Text

To my surprise I find that I am something of the man of the hour when I arrive at work. Popping in the day before with Winona had set chins to wagging. I hadn't realized that my coworkers even noticed me enough to bother talking about me or my life. But, small town folk that they were, talk they had. Those that had been here gave me compliments on how striking Winona was and told me how cute we were together while those weren't asked questions on how we met and such things. Most were nice but not all of the queries and comments were said with good intentions, at least two were surprised to see me with a woman at all. I wasn't sure if the insinuation was that I was gay or that I was an incel, either way I pretended not to notice their meanness as I usually did. Though it lasted only an hour or two it felt strange being the center of attention, and I cannot say that I enjoyed it, but I was only too happy to brag about my wonderful new girlfriend.

Once that had all played out and I am well into the regular rhythm of my shift I find my mind once more drifting to the subject of my paternity. Every Caucasian man that came in between the ages of forty and seventy I would at look and wonder. I'd see them as the men they were and what I imagined they were over twenty years ago. And again I would strike each one off for one reason or another. That one was too tall. That one too husky. That one a newcomer. That one not in Mom's league and that one way beyond it. And so it went.

My lunch break comes with a lovely surprise as I check my phone to discover that Winona had sent me a text. It simply read 'Thinking about you'. Those three simple words were enough to send my heart soaring. We'd only been apart a few hours and already I ached to see her again. This love stuff was addictive as hell. I shoot her back a bunch of hearts and a 'See you tonight' then I am out of my apron and out the back door to rip down to the college to listen to Grandpa.

After parking my bike in the visitor lot I make for his usual spot. To get there in the best time I cut through one of the new gleaming towers of the ever expanding campus. In the vast common area I blend in with the throngs of students with ease as I make my way. I'd been planning to buy a sandwich at the cafe here but as I notice the line stretching out from it I decide to just skip lunch instead. I am almost through to the other side when, in all the hustle and bustle, I spot a familiar figure sitting alone tucked away in the most out of the way corner.

The sight of Briar sitting by herself causes me to stop in my tracks. She sat in a defensive hunch with her head down and her back to everything happening around her as she nibbled at her lunch. Occasionally she sheepishly glances about in a way that would appear innocuous to most but that I knew only too well. It wasn't in hopes of seeing a friend or looking at something of interest, it was instead a survival instinct to keep a wary lookout for bullies and 'cool' folks who might come to make her life difficult. In the safety of our little game group Briar bloomed, but right now she looked so tiny and so lonely there in her private corner. In another place and another time, that could have just as easily been me. But unlike me that solitary figure was a long way from home.

My thoughts are jostled as I am bumped into from behind.

"He was just standing there!" A woman sneers as a group pushes past me with no apology.

I hear another whisper as they stream by. "Shit. Wasn't that Kayla's pet femboy?"

"It is! Avery something."

"Beckett."

"Yeah, that's it." I can feel their eyes as they look back at me. "Cute, but what a head case."

My cheeks burn in embarrassment. Recognizing those voices from high school I waste no time in getting the heck out of there. Instead of the door though I make for my new friend.

Briar catches the sounds of my steps and peeks my way as I near. The moment she sees me her face brightens and she sits up straight. "Avery!"

"H-Hi B-Briar." I smile back.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm on my lunch. Thought I'd v-visit my G-Grandpa." I say. "What are you d-doin?"

"Oh. Not much." She says as she nods to her half eaten salad. "Just eating lunch and…stuff."

"Cool."

"Cool."

"Hey, uh, w-wanna come?"

"To see your grandpa?"

"Sure."

"Oh, uh." She looks at her lunch then back to me. "Really? He won't mind?"

"Nah." I say. "The m-more the merrier."

"Well…uh…sure. Yes!" She grins then hurriedly packs up her salad and drink into her backpack. "I've got a little time right now. Why not?" As she goes to get up I offer my hand. She takes it and allows me to help her to her feet. To my surprise she continues to hold it as we make our way toward the door. "So, any word on when the next game's gonna be?"

"Um, n-no."

"I hope it's soon." She says, completely lit up with excitement. She was a far cry from that quiet loner I'd seen just moments ago. "I had SOOOO much fun last time."

"M-Me too." As the initial surprise faded I found myself quite enjoying the feel of her small, soft hand in mine.

"I'm hoping that maybe next time we might…" Her words cut off and her eyes bulge as she notices how distracted I was by our handholding. Suddenly she yanks her hand away to hold it to her bosom as if she'd burnt it. Her face turns pink with a blush as she peeps. "Sorry!"

"It's ok-kay."

"No. It's weird." A flinch flashes across her face as she quietly chastises herself for being strange. Boy, did I know that feeling! "I didn't mean anything. I know you and Winona…"

"It's okay." I say again.

"Oh my God. I'm so embarrassed." She looks about as if searching for a hole to jump into. "My best friend Thorne and I used to…um…geez! It's not a romantic thing. I was thinking about the game and…I wasn't really thinking…"

"It's okay!" I giggle. "Really. F-Friends can hold hands too."

"I guess." She wrings her hands nervously as we start to walk again. "But not usually."

"T-True. Not usually."

"Especially…a guy and a girl."

"Yeah."

"I didn't mean to embarrass you, Avery."

Just as she says that I spot the group of women who bumped into me earlier sitting at a nearby table. One of them looks my way, laughs, then lowers her head to whisper something to her friends.

"Briar." I say. "There's n-nothing you c-could do to embarrass me th-that I haven't d-done to myself a thousand t-times worse a thousand t-t-times over."

"Oh!"

We pass through the doors and back out into the fresh air. "I'd like to h-hold y-your hand." I offer her my hand as we walk. "If it m-makes you happy."

Still blushing but sorely tempted Briar glances about as she whispers. "We can't."

"If you s-say so."

"Well…I mean…" She pauses. "Would Winona be okay with it?"

"Better to beg forgiveness than ask p-permission." I jest. "I'll tell her tonight when I see her. I'll ask p-permission. In the meantime I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"Permission?"

Lowering my voice I say. "She's my Domme and I have t-to do what she s-says."

"Oh. Oh! OH!" Her eyes widen. "Oh God that's hot!"

I giggle. "Yeah. She t-treats me so good. I love b-being hers. Don't t-tell anyone though. Except K-Kayla."

"I won't. I won't." She says. "I mean I kinda guessed but…cool!"

"Yeah."

"I mean…" She drifts closer, hesitantly slipping her hand back into mine. "…I suppose…why can't friends hold hands? Who says we can't?"

"N-Nobody." I say gaily as I wrap my hand around hers to hold it tight.

With a bright smile she grips my hand back again. Walking through the central quad our strides match as our arms swing in unison between us. We look at each other and laugh at our tiny act of societal rebellion. There was something so pure and warm and wholesome about my budding friendship with Briar. She was a kindred spirit and a fellow oddball and I absolutely adored her for it.

"So is your grandpa a professor or something?"

Cocking my ear to the wind I can just catch the low notes of a distant groovy beat. With a proud smile I answer. "Something better."

Chapter 120: A Worried Heart

Chapter Text

Hand in hand Briar and I walk out the other side of the quad into the older half of the campus toward the tucked away little green space sandwiched between the two old cut stone dorms and the original gothic style chapel where grandpa usually set up to play his keyboard. The closer we got the more I could make out the music echoing around the buildings. It wasn't just Grandpa today as I could also hear a guitar, a tambourine, and some clapping as well. It sounded like he'd found himself a whole darn party.

"Waaait a second." As we make the turn at the chapel Briar picks up on our destination. "Avery. Is Mike your grandpa!?"

"You know him?"

"Everybody knows Mike!" She laughs. "He's an institution around here."

I giggle. "Yeah. That's h-him."

We come around the building to see in the shade of a sprawling weeping willow tree my grandpa seated behind keyboard, his face aglow as his fingers dance across the keys to produce such a sweet sound. To his left is a tall, lanky black woman whom I had seen play her acoustic guitar with him before. From what I knew she was a resident of one of the dorms and something of a star for the college volleyball team. To his right is a young man I'd never seen before in pajama bottoms, slippers, and an open robe that was even more scruffy looking than Grandpa. While Grandpa and the guitarist were clearly the talent of the trio he made up for it by playing the hell out of his battered old tambourine as the group belted out a rousing rendition of ABBA's Waterloo. Around the tree dancing and clapping and singing along were over a dozen twenty-somethings having the time of their lives. Grandpa was cookin today!

As Briar and I meld into the gathering I start to sing along. As usual my singing is not loud enough to call attention to myself but spirited enough to make me feel a part it. A moment later Briar joins me. Unlike my soft voice her high, nasally notes cuts right through the din. Nobody notices her off notes however as the good feelings just keep on grooving.

Pulling Briar behind me I make my way through the dancers. When Grandpa sees me his eyes brighten. He shoots me a smile and wink and carries on without missing a note. We get around to come at the tree from behind where I slip in behind Grandpa to take a seat as I had done so many times in the past. Briar kneels beside me bouncing along to the music as we sing along to the cheesy old disco earworm. We continued to hold hands despite being seated. As awkward as it had been to initiate now it felt awkward to stop and neither of us wanted to be the first one to do it. Plus, it just felt really nice to hold a friends hand.

The song finishes up to hoots and applause. It ended up being the clapping that gave Briar and I the excuse to stop holding hands. We both laugh at how ridiculous we were being. Grandpa uses the pause to light a fresh smoke and take a few puffs then after a bit of back and forth between he and guitarist, who I overhear is named Zuri, they start in on an swinging version of Havana. The dancers shift to match their motions to the smooth salsa beat as Zuri sings the sultry notes. She had a such great voice. Briar sits cross-legged then pulls the remainder of her lunch from her backpack and starts to eat.

"I've got an apple if you want it." She offers, quietly so as not to harsh the melody.

"I'm g-good." I say.

As I watched the the people dance in that sensuous Latin way I wished Winona were here with me. I giggle to myself as I picture us out there, the worst dancers of the lot, but man it would have been great. Winona would have been in the lead of course and I would have been her sexy senorita. Being apart sucked. Things kept happening that reminded me of her or made me wish she was here to experience it with me. We'd only been apart a few hours and I knew I would see her tonight, yet I longed to be with her or for her to be here with me. Fun as this all was I could keenly feel the missing half of my soul. If this is how Grandpa felt about Grandma… I couldn't even imagine.

A grumbling tummy breaks me from my pining. Shifting a bit forward I sneak in behind Grandpa and pull out his lunch kit from behind his folding stool. He always brought a bit extra, especially if he knew I might show up, so I was not out of line as I open it and look for a little something to nibble on. I pull a granola bar from the pack then slip it right back to where it had been.

Catching me out of the corner of his eyes Grandpa looks down at me with a smile. Peering up I smile back…though it quickly fades. Grandpa's attention was back on his music and his audience before he could see my concern but for a moment I just sit and stare. He was sweating, a lot, even though it wasn't that hot out. His normally tanned ruddy face looked a pale gray. And at the end of every intake and exhale of his heavy breath there came a low wheeze that I could only hear because I was so close to him here. He tickled the ivories and worked the crowd as well as he ever did but knowing him like I knew him I could see that something was wrong.

Instead of returning I stay kneeling beside him, not even hearing the music anymore as my whole focus became him. Noting my presence lingering he shoots me another wink to reassure me. For the first time his reassurance only makes me worry more.

I stay glued to his side for the entirety of the song. And a good thing too as just as the final notes are being played he is seized by another coughing fit. I grab his water bottle and have it in his hand in a heartbeat. I rub his back as he gratefully takes a few gulps of the water. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the people looking at me, something that would have sent me fleeing normally, but this time there was nothing on Earth that could have made me budge.

"Ha ha!" Grandpa toasts the crowd through a hoarse voice. "I think that's my last one of the day. Stay groovy out there." There are some moans of disappointment but soon they are drowned out by a little smattering of applause. As Zuri unslings her guitar the pair of them share a few words of appreciation. The tambourine guy however had drifted off by himself to try keep the music going on his own, though the crowd was having none of it and was already dispersing. "Hey Buttercup." He says at last.

"Hi G-Grandpa."

"Whose your friend here?" He turns in his stool to look back at Briar. He was putting on a brave face but I could see by the fatigue in his motions that he had overdone it.

"This is B-Briar." I say. "My new friend. She's in our FoF group."

"Hey Mike!" She waves from where she sits.

"Well hello Briar." He says with a jolly grin. When she makes no attempt to approach he whispers. "Is she shy or…?"

I nod to the ashtray with the burning ciggy. "She's allergic t-t-to smoke I th-think."

"Ah." He takes a drag of the cancer stick then mashes it out.

Taking his hand I hold it. It felt cold. "H-How you d-doing?"

"Ah." He pats my cheek. "I'm fine. Just a bit tired." He rocks forward and hoists himself up to his feet. "Come on Buttercup, I'll buy you some…ohhhh…" He wavers a moment and in an instant I am at his elbow for support. "Whoo!" He huffs. "May have overdone it a bit there."

I help him back down onto the stool. "I'll c-c-call an ambulance."

"Do you need one?" He quips.

"Grandpa!"

"Avery!" He chuckles. "I'm okay."

"No, you're n-n-not. S-Something's wrong."

"I'm good. Really." He pats my hand. "Just give me a minute to…hahhh…catch my breath."

"L-L-Let's g-go to the hospital. P-Please."

"Avery." He says, more serious this time as he looks into my eyes. "I'm fine. I just overdid it today."

I stare for a time. "You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure." He then adds in a low tone. "There's not much they can do anyway."

"Oh G-Grandpa!"

"I'm okay." He gives my arm a squeeze. "I'm okay Avery."

"Okay." I whisper despite the worry filling my heart.

He hugs me and kisses my cheek. "Sooo, Briar." He turns his attention to my friend. "You're part of this game too, huh?"

"Yeah." She glances back and forth between us, wondering if we were chatting or if she was helping me get him to a doctor. When she picks up it was the former she relaxes and comes forward to start talking. They could not be more different in many ways but, Grandpa being Grandpa, he charms her effortlessly and before long the pair are chatting like old friends.

I wish I could have enjoyed it as much as they were.

Chapter 121: Not Tonight

Chapter Text

As we eat and chat I notice the color return to Grandpa's face and the sweat dry. He was breathing easier again and looked as well as he had when I left him this morning but his moment of frailty still had me shook.

"Well, I gotta get going." Briar says after looking at the time. "Meadow gets cranky when I'm late to the lab."

"Meadow?" Grandpa asks.

"Only my best friend on the island." Briar laughs. "Besides Kayla. And Avery of course. Oh and Winnie too."

"Don't forget C-Cain and Riley." I say.

"Oh yes, they're great too."

"The most popular girl on campus!" Grandpa says.

"HA!" She snorts. "Yeah right."

"Well you can count me among that number." Grandpa offers a hand and they shake. "It was great to meet you Briar."

"You too, Mike!" She stands and brushes herself off. "It was great seeing you Avery."

"You too. And I'll s-see what I c-can do about getting another game going." I wink. "I've got some p-pull with the Fable Master."

"Putting that 100 Charm to work?" She giggles. "Okay, see ya!"

Once her pack was slung she trots off back toward the building I met her.

"I'm thinking someone else has got to get going." Grandpa glances at his watch. "You're going to be late, Buttercup."

"I've got a little more time." I say, even though I didn't. I get up and start to fold down his stool and keyboard stand. "You take a c-c-cab today?"

"Yep." With Briar gone he immediately pulls a smoke from his pocket and lights it up. As I hurriedly pack his stuff up he takes a draw and lets out a big cloud of stinky smoke. "Avery…"

"Come on." I say. "I'll w-walk with you to the cab stand."

"Avery." He says again, this time as he stands up. In an instant I am at his side helping him to his feet. With a warm Grandpa smile he pats my shoulder. "Thank you." He looks me in the eyes. "I'm okay, Avery."

"You sc-scared me there."

"I know." He says. "I'll take it slower next time. It's easy to forget sometimes that I…" A hacking cough interrupts the thought. I give him water, which he takes gratefully, then says. "I'll be more careful. I promise."

"You better." I warn. "You heard W-Winona. I'm a straight up b-bad ass. I'll k-kick your butt!"

"Ha!" He laughs and pulls me into a hug. "Well I wouldn't want that!" Pulling back he cups my cheek in his free hand. "Now get going! I know you're running late."

"Let me help you to the stand."

He takes a breath and looks around the greenery and at the old stone chapel. "I think I might just hang out here for a bit longer." After another long breath he says. "We should go camping again. We haven't done that in a while. One more time." He slowly nods. "Yeah. That would be nice."

"One more…? Oh Grandpa!"

"I shouldn't have put it that way." He pulls me back into a hug. "I'm sorry, Buttercup."

"I'll go c-camping w-with you. Anytime you w-w-want."

"We'll talk about it." He kisses my cheek. "Okay?"

"Okay."

"You okay?"

"I'm ok-kay." I sigh. "This is r-really tough."

"I know, my boy."

"I c-can stop by tonight."

"Nah. I heard you were heading up to your girlie's place after work." He chuckles. "I guarantee you'll have a better time there."

The quip makes me smile. "Girlie!? D-Don't let her hear you s-say that. Unlike me she's an actual bad ass!" As he laughs, looking for all the world to be right as rain again, I look at him. "You sure you're okay?"

"Groovy, daddio."

I hesitate a moment longer before giving him a nod. "Okay. See ya soon."

"Count on it."

Taking comfort in his words as well as his healthy pallor I smile then turn and take off running in the same direction Briar had. I zip through the campus back to my dirt bike then rip my way back to work as fast as I safely could. As I come storming through the back door of the store Brenda sticks a head out of her office.

"Avery." She warns. "I know you've got a girlfriend now, but…"

"Sorry! S-Sorry!" I wave to her on my way to the staff room to grab my apron. "W-Won't happen again!"

Flustered, out of breath and sweaty I start the second half of my shift but soon I settle into the humdrum of routine. With Grandpa foremost on my mind and the anticipation of seeing Winona after work a very close second my thoughts were able to escape the circular spirals of thinking about my birth father that preoccupied the morning. Thank goodness!

The afternoon was passing by like any other until a familiar voice, low and somber, interrupts my stocking.

"Hey Avery."

I turn around. "Josh!"

With a bush of scraggly dark hair beneath a black wool cap and a thick mustache, wearing his signature dirty jeans and flannel shirt of course, the middle Beckett brother looked more lumberjack than truck driver. Of the four of us he looked the most like our dad, and was also the one who took Dad leaving the hardest. Remembering the last time one of my brothers popped by to see me at work I am instinctively on the defensive, but right away I could tell something was different. Josh's normally hard steel blue eyes, which were a rare sight as he always wore shades, looked somehow…softer today.

"Hey." He says as he holds his ground two paces away. I make no move to step in as Joshua always liked his space. As I found his size intimidating that was okay by me. He takes a breath and swallows, then says in his usual blunt way. "I just heard about Grandpa's cancer."

"Oh! Uh…yeah." I say softly. "M-Mom t-told you?"

"Yeah." He says. We stand silent for a moment as he struggles with what to say next. "This fuckin sucks."

"Yeah." I say.

"How's he doing?"

"Good. He g-gets tired easy though." I say. "He's b-being r-really brave about it. I wish I c-could be."

"You're his boy." He says. "Fuck. This has gotta be killing you, man. If you need anything or whatever, well…ya know. The usual."

"Oh, uhhh, you t-too."

"Yeah. Actually…" He blows a long breath, his fists clenched at his sides as he summons his courage. My middle brother was usually a brick wall emotionally but right now he seemed downright vulnerable. I'd never seen him like this before! I wasn't the only one being effected by the big family news. "…there is something."

"Wh-Wh-What is it?"

"Could you just…tell him…" He sighs. "Just tell him that I'm still going to that shrink and, uh, and tell him…thanks. Okay?"

"Shrink? You!?" He couldn't have shocked me more had he said that he'd just been elected president.

Scratching the back of his head and shifting his weight from foot to foot Josh was getting increasingly uncomfortable as the conversation went on. "Yeah. He paid for some sessions with this therapist guy and…I dunno, I kind of stuck with it. I think he's helping, I dunno, work through some shit."

When Grandpa paid for my sessions he never said a word about also trying to help Joshua. But, as I thought about it, Josh being the private kind of person that he was I shouldn't be surprised. Grandpa would never have betrayed Josh's trust by blabbing about his mental health. Wow. That was so cool!

"Wh-Why d-don't you tell him thank you y-yourself?"

"I will." He says. "I keep meaning to stop in but…we're not really close like you two. Just tell him for me?"

"S-Sure, Josh. Of c-course."

He nods, seemingly satisfied that he'd gotten off his chest what he'd come to do. "Mom and Chris are trying to make a big deal out of the boat. You know that?"

"I know." I whisper.

"Don't let her get to you. She's going through some things. They've been hitting it hard lately."

"Yeah."

"Listen, Avery. If Grandpa wants you to have it I got your back, brother." He says. "Paige too."

"Paige?"

"I was just talking to her." He said. "She said she was going to call you."

"Oh, my phone's b-back in the staff r-room"

"Yeah, well. We're happier knowing that one of us has Bella. Doesn't seem right to sell her. Mom'll come around, Avery. Don't worry."

"Oh!" Geez! He was bringing a tear to my eye! "Th-Thank you."

"Hey." He steps in and gives me a little supportive punch to the shoulder then steps right back again to a safe distance. "You wanted to talk. I think I got some things to say to you too. Been a minute since we really caught up. We still gettin together?"

"Oh, yeah." I say. "I-I'd like that. Tomorrow?"

"Perfect. Call me. Anytime after 6." Taking another backward step he thumbs behind him. "I gotta go. I'm technically on a run."

"Oh, sure. S-Sure Josh."

"You'll tell Grandpa?"

"Yeah. F-For sure." I say. "Hey, it w-was…it was g-great to see you."

His dark mustache rises in the closest approximation of a smile that his mouth ever got. "You too."

Pulling a pair of Oakleys from his breast pocket he slips them on then turns and walks down the aisle before disappearing when he turns the corner. I stand there a moment just staring in the direction he disappeared. Huh. Just when you thought you had your family all figured out.

After work I check in briefly on Grandpa, who I find chilling and watching an old movie. He gives me some good natured grief about wasting my time checking on him, but in his eyes I could see that he appreciated it. I pass on Josh's message, which lifts his heart to hear, before I am chased off of the Bella so that I could go spend my night with Winona.

When I return home to get ready for my evening I find Brayden was out, I hoped with that tattooed girl from the pet store, so putting my phone to speaker I return my sister's long distance call as I hurriedly readied myself as well as gathered more overnight supplies in the hopes I wouldn't be sleeping in my own bed. Paige wasn't nearly as behind the keeping Bella idea as Josh made it seem. I'm not sure if Mom had gotten to her or if she'd simply misled Josh in the first place, with Paige you could just never tell. Thankfully we don't dwell on that topic for long. In fact we don't dwell on anything for too long as I hadn't even gotten to ask her how things were going in Washington when she says that she's got to go.

"Hahhh." I sigh as I pick up my phone. I could not wait to get to Winona's and stop thinking about my family. This stuff was exhausting! My mood brightening by the second I dial her up. The phone rings…and rings…and rings for much longer than usual before she picks up. "Hey!" I say brightly.

Coming back over the line is my girlfriend's voice, as flat as a still mountain lake. "Hey."

The lack of the usual enthusiasm throws me for second. "How you d-doin?"

"Fine." She says.

"Okay." I say. "H-How was your d-day?"

"Fine." She says, then after a strangely long pause asks. "Yours?"

"Kinda up, kinda down. M-Mostly up I think." I smile. "And g-getting better. I h-have so much to tell you."

"Hm."

"Oh, uh, okay." I say, my suspicions rising that something was off by her one word answers. "Everything ok-kay?"

"Yep."

This was so frustrating. Something wasn't right but her emotionless voice gave me no clue what was happening. Was she sad? Angry? Tired? Distracted? I just couldn't tell. It would be way better when I could actually see her and touch her.

Hoping to brighten her mood I ask the question I was originally calling about. With a giggle I huddle in close to my phone. "Hey. C-Can I be b-baby girl again tonight?" There is a long pause. "I was th-thinking, maybe, I could try b-being a goth girl tonight. I've g-got this tight black t shirt I think would be c-cute and, he he he, I found this b-black choker in the sofa that I thought I might b-borrow. What d-do you think?"

"That sounds…really…really…nice." She whispers. "But not tonight."

"Oh?" My voice rises, eager to hear what she had in mind instead.

"Actually, I…" There is another long, confusing pause. "I think I want to be alone tonight."

"What!?"

"Sorry, Avery." She says. "I'm just really…tired."

"That's okay. I-I-I c-could m-make you some food. We c-could just chill and…"

"I'm not going to be good company tonight." She sniffles. Was she crying!? What was happening right now!? Why was she crying!? "Now is not a good time. I'm not good company. Okay?"

"Winona?"

"I'm glad you had a good day, Sprout. Really. After that really shitty morning…I'm happy it got better for you."

"I wanna come see you."

"Not tonight."

"But…"

"You be a good girl and listen, okay?"

"Please t-t-talk to me. I d-don't understand. What's wr-wrong?"

"I don't want to talk right now, Avery." She says, her husky tone hardening. "I just need to be alone. You can understand that, can't you?"

"Yeah." I say softly.

"Maybe another night."

"Maybe?"

"I…I gotta go."

"W-Winona."

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"Mm hm."

"Winona?"

"I…love you too." She chokes. "Bye."

Chapter 122: A Bit of a Mess

Chapter Text

My heart is beating double time as I stare down at my phone scared and confused as to what was happening. Was Winona actually crying? I couldn't tell. Was she hurt? Was she angry? At me? What had I done wrong? Last I spoke to her everything was fine! What did I do? All sorts of dark thoughts swirl through my mind, each one of them a razor slicing across my heart. I knew that I didn't deserve a woman like her. Had she finally figured it out herself? Had she finally realized how bad I was? Did she hate me?

"No." I whisper as my heart clung to the last words she'd spoken. She did love me. Winona didn't say things she didn't mean. And deep down I knew she really did care for me, whether I deserved it or not. No. Something happened. Something bad.

Sitting on the floor, curled up in a ball at the side of my bed, I look at my phone and wonder what to do. Whatever was happening, I wanted to help. I wanted to help fix it. Or, if I couldn't, I wanted to be there for her. If I couldn't be her hero at least maybe I could give her a hug. I did understand that deep need to be alone. I understood it better than anyone. But this didn't feel right. Not for her. Not right now.

Turning to the only person that I knew might help I dial Kayla.

"Avery, mah boy!" Her upbeat tone would have brightened my mood any other day.

"Hey K-Kayla."

"What are you up to?" She asks. "I was about to watch a movie but I could wait."

"Um, actually. I'm k-k-kind of c-calling about s-something."

"Oh? Shoot."

"I th-think Winona's m-mad at me."

"Pff. Probably."

"Huh?"

"Let me guess. She's giving you the silent treatment? Am I right?"

"Y-Yeah."

"You have to understand with her, she's great with other people's emotions. Her own? Not so much." She says, her casual giving me a little bit of comfort. By the sound of it what was happening was not unusual behavior. "When things get emotional she either explodes, like she did after the game, or closes off completely. Some sort of macho warrior bullshit. Probably got it from her Dad."

"Amos isn't l-like that."

"Mom then, I don't know. I love that girl to pieces but she's a bit of a mess."

"M-My k-kind of mess."

"Adorable. You two are absolutely adorable." Before I could say anything she cuts me off. "Spill the tea. What happened and what did she say?"

"I d-don't know! That's the problem." I sigh in frustration. "Everything was f-fine this morning. She t-texted me to say she was thinking about me. I was supposed go up there tonight. Then j-just now I called and…she just spoke in like…one w-word answers…"

"Gah! The worst. Yep, she's mad at you."

"What do I doooo!?"

"Heyyy, bestie. Chill. It's going to be okay." She says. "You sure you don't want to come over? We can talk. I'll put on a pot."

"I n-n-need to fix this." Tipping over I lay on the floor on my side, still balled up. "She n-n-needs me."

"Needs you? Ugh! That's some codependent BS right there. You're starting to sound like her."

"What do I do?"

"First, you take a breath and then you relax. This will blow over." She says. "Just let her cool down. She'll come around."

"Okay."

"She's crazy about you Avery. I'm talking head over heels."

"I know." I whisper. "I'm c-crazy about her."

"So we've established that you're both definitely crazy. Ha!"

"Kayla!"

"Sorry." She chuckles. "You're making a lot out of nothing. Trust me."

"Okay." I take a breath. "Okay."

"There you go."

"You're sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. I know that girl better than she knows herself."

"Ok-kay." I take another deep breath, still bothered but far calmer than a few minutes ago. For the following few minutes we chat about more pleasant things and I start to consider maybe actually going over for that movie. It would be better than sitting here alone and worrying. But then the conversation takes a turn.

"In other friend news, want to hear something wild?"

"Uh, sure."

"In confidence."

"Okay."

"Okay." She says, eager to share. "Briar sent me the weirdest message yesterday. I was telling her about an issue I was having with Babe and she sends back something like, 'Madam Briar will discipline him' and that I shouldn't worry my 'pretty little head about it'. Ha! Then she had a little smiling devil face. I don't know what she's on about but it was SO CUTE! Madam Briar? Ha ha ha! Can you believe that?"

I giggle along with her. I knew darn well Winona and I had given Briar the confidence and the idea of mustering her dominant side to gain Kayla's interest, but I wasn't about to betray her confidence and let Kayla know what was up. Instead I just say. "She l-likes you, you know. She was asking me ab-bout you."

"Awww." Kayla says. "Well she's got a funny way of showing it. Every time I put the moves on her she clams up."

"You're intimidating!"

"Me? Yeah right." She chuckles.

"It's t-true! B-Brayden's terrified of you cause he thinks y-you're hot."

"Ew!"

"Anyway." I giggle. "She l-likes you."

"So does the 'Madam' by the looks of it. Ha!" She chortles. "So with that text, the worst part of it was that it came in right when I was having coffee with Becca and Kimmy. I burst out laughing, but then I couldn't tell them why. And you know how nosy they are."

"Yeah." I say glumly at the mention of a pair of my many tormentors from my school years. "I actually saw them t-today. They r-ran right into me. At the…" My voice fades. Becca? Kimmy? The college. Briar. Uh oh. "Kayla?"

"What's up?"

"Did you happen to tell them ab-bout W-Winona and I?"

"Uh, weird question. Is it a secret or something?"

"Did you?"

"Well, yeah. They both know Winnie through me. When they found out that she was back they were asking about her. And, yeah, you came up obviously."

"Oh!"

"What's wrong?"

"Kayla? Wh-What would W-Winona do if she s-saw me holding hands w-with another…girl?"

"Did you…?" There is a pause. "Oh my God. Avery! I TOLD you she was the jealous type."

"I-I-I…"

"When she's with you she thinks that she owns you or something. It's fucked. When we were a thing if I so much as did a little flirt…eeeesh!"

"S-Silent treatment?"

"Oh yeah. Dog house for sure." She says. "You weren't…holding hands with another girl, were you? What you up to, my little Romeo?"

"Ohhh boy. I'm in t-t-trouble, Kayla."

"You are? You were with someone else? Really!?"

"No! It w-wasn't l-l-like that. W-We just…held hands. And I th-think Becca and K-Kimmy saw us!"

"Oh boy is right. Well…shit. Yeah. This is bad. On the bright side, at least you aren't that girl."

"Huh!?"

"You might want to give her a ring and tell her to look into witness protection." She says. "I've seen Winnie spark out a grown ass man when her blood was up. A regular gal wouldn't…"

"I gotta go!"

"What?"

"I g-g-gotta go!" I was already on the way to my door. "Ohhh no!"

"Avery, what's…"

I hang up the call and quickly dial up Winona as I scramble for my keys. Her phone was off! Out the door and flying down the stairs I dial Briar…and get Meadow asking me to leave a message.

"No, no, no, no!"

No helmet or jacket I jump on my bike and kick it into life. The only question was, go to Winona's or try to find Briar? The decision is made for me as I realize that I didn't even know where Briar lived. Besides, I had to have some faith in her. Winona wouldn't actually hurt poor little Briar over something as minor as holding hands…would she?

"Ohhhh no!"

I click my bike into gear and roar out of the parking lot.

Chapter 123: Trust

Chapter Text

As I zoom past the town limits and out onto the open road I suddenly realize that I am FREEZING! In just a thin white undershirt, socks, and jeans I was ill prepared for the strong Pacific wind. Making matters ten times worse was the frigid sea spray whipping in from the ocean slowly wetting my exposed skin and making my undershirt begin to stick. Without even a helmet on, a pricey ticket just waiting to happen, my blond hair flaps and twirls in the buffeting gusts. I tell myself that I was being silly. That Winona would never really hurt anybody on my account. That this trip out here was totally unnecessary and at the very least I could have taken the time to at least grab a jacket and shoes on my way out the door. Despite all of these assurances I tell myself…it is full throttle all the way.

As I get near the garage I squint against the fading evening light then let out a hard breath of relief when I spot the tailgate of Winona's truck parked in her stall. Thank goodness! Knowing that she was here eases the panicked urgency of intercepting her before she could get to Briar so I cut my engine and let momentum carry me the rest of the way. I wasn't trying to be sneaky, I simply wanted some time to collect myself before confronting her. She didn't want me here tonight. She might even get angry with me. Or, I should say, even more angry at me than she already was. We'd had disagreements and even an argument already but her anger being directed squarely on me was going to be something new for both of us. As I drift alongside the garage I prepare myself for the worst. I didn't think that she would hit me or anything, but if she did I promise myself that I wouldn't hold it against her. It wouldn't be her fault. She did warn me to stay away after all. And besides, better me than Briar.

Silently I lean my bike into its kickstand then walk on tender sock feet across the cold biting gravel to peer around the back of the building. The light to the suite was on and I could just make out the slow beat of country blues. Thankful to step up onto the cement pad I creep forward. There was no door directly into the suite from the outside so I was going to have to knock on the window. Even from this sharp angle I could see the curtains were closed. Taking one last fortifying breath I walk to the window to give it a knock. What I hear pauses my hand.

"Aw, Johnny. What's she got that I don't? Huh? What!?" She lets out a forlorn sigh loud enough to be heard out here. "I mean sure, she's sweet and pretty and funny and…normal. She's normal. But…I thought he liked that about me." There comes a sniffle. "Oh yeah, she's real smart too. Her and that fucking Meadow. Probably be a millionaire someday. He wouldn't have to work or nothin. She could look after him like he deserves. What the fuck do I have to offer? Huh? A fuckin old smelly room at the back of a fucking garage? He's beautiful! A real fucking Lady! He's perfect! What the fuck was I thinking?"

I stand stunned at what I am hearing. I'd come ready to hear her vent her anger at Briar or myself. Hearing her tear herself apart like this instead was heartbreaking!

"I mean, just because they're cute and small and quiet and they both like tea and both are white. Just because they are absolutely made for each other in every possible way… Fuck!" Thump! Something gets kicked. "How could I be so stupid? Again!? Right in front of my face." There's a long pause before she says, her voice low. "Look at them, Johnny. A perfect match. Look at how happy he is. Look at him." A shuddering breath and a sniffle follow. "But…why'd he have to play me? I don't understand. I really…thought…I thought he was my June. Every god damn bone in my body told me that he was the One. Why? Why!?"

The question demanded an answer and spurs my arm into motion. Her voice cuts off instantly as I knock on the glass.

"W-W-Winona?"

"What the fu…" The curtains are thrown apart and suddenly I am face to face, with a pane of glass between us, with my girlfriend. A dozen emotions cross her face. Confusion, hurt, surprise, and anger. So much anger. She wore just a sports bra and sweats, a style that her long powerful physique was made for, but all I could see were her puffy eyes and reddened nostrils. She had been crying. And it was all my fault. I wanted to cry too! She heaves open the window and snaps at me in a sharp voice. "What are you doing here!? How long have you been listening!? I told you not to come here! Why are you here!?"

"Mmm."

"Answer me!"

At her command I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. "I'm…c-c-c-cold."

"You're…!?" I leave her speechless for a moment with my unexpected reply. Leaning closer she looks me up and down and sees me a shivering mess in soggy socks and a wet transparent paper thin t shirt clinging to my torso. "Where's your jacket?"

"I f-forgot it."

"You forg…" She shakes your head. "You forgot your shoes too!?"

"I'm s-s-sorry." I wrap my pale, shaking arms around my body. "I love youuuu!"

Again I throw her for a loop. She stands there staring at me at a loss as to what to do…before my pathetic state makes her take pity.

"Aw Sprout." She reaches through and takes me by the arms and pulls me through inside. "What are you doin?"

"It's n-n-not wh-what you think." I say as she closes the window behind me and leads me to the nearby dining room chair. She sits me down and rubs my arms. "B-B-Briar and I are j-just friends."

Rage flashes across her face. Through years of ingrained habit I close my eyes so I don't have watch the blow land. The blow, of course, does not come. And I feel wretched for ever thinking such things about her. When I open my eyes again the anger was gone, but the hurt was still right there on the surface. Reaching up she caresses my cheek in the palm of her hand as tender as a fallen rose petal.

"So you figured out why I was mad at you. A guilty conscience perhaps?" With sad sigh she kneels at my side. Looking up at me she whispers. "When were you going to tell me?" Followed by the question truly plaguing her jealous heart. Her eyes glimmering she asks. "Why?"

"I d-don't know wh-what you h-heard…"

In response she turns and reaches across the table. When she pulls her phone closer I can see on the screen a photo of Briar and I walking through the campus hand in hand. The picture was from behind and slightly to the side. We were facing each other. Briar had her head down with a demure grin and slightly blushing as I looked back at her with a shining smile. It had been taken just moments after our handhold, when we were both still a bit flushed and awkward but happy to be breaking convention. Those emotions however came through the screen in a much different way. To a neutral observer it looked plain as day that we were a young couple in love. Hell, I was there and even I had to confess that it looked bad.

Winona looks back up at me, anger and anguish tearing her in two, and says again. "Why? Why, baby?"

I shrink into myself as I stare at the incriminating photo. What could I say? What words could I use to make Winona disbelieve her own eyes? With nowhere else to go I turn to the only thing I had on my side. The truth.

Gazing down into her beautiful hazel eyes I say in a soft voice. "I w-was going ask permission. Tonight. I thought y-you wouldn't m-mind just that one t-t-time. I was wrong. I was wrong and I'm s-sorry."

"Permission?"

"To h-h-hold hands with Briar." I shiver. "I was g-going to see Grandpa. He w-was singing there. We b-bumped into each other." I swallow hard, doing my best to contain my emotions. Now was not the time for my blubbering. I had to be strong for her. For us. "She s-s-said her best friend b-back home and her used to h-hold hands. It made her happy. S-So I did it. I w-wanted her to be happy. B-But I was wrong. I was wrong to d-do it. I'm y-your man. I b-b-belong to you."

"I'm not your owner, baby." Pulling my hands apart she slips her warm hands around my near one.

"If y-you want me…I'll b-be yours. I w-won't d-do anything you don't want me to. I'll b-be good."

"Baby, don't say that." She kisses my hand. "You're not my prisoner."

"I was g-gonna tell you. I even t-told her so." I say. "She likes K-Kayla. And my heart b-belongs to you. Only you."

"Aw Sprout." She lays her head on my lap and holds my hand tight. "I want to believe you." With my free hand I gently pet her soft hair. "Why'd you kiss her, Avery?"

"Kiss? W-We never kissed."

She sighs and closes her eyes, her body pulling tight to my legs. "I want to believe you so bad."

I pet her long, silky black hair, my heart bursting with love. "Becca and K-Kimmy used to bully me."

Her eyes open again.

"Me and all the other m-misfits in school. Them and all the other c-cool kids. Except K-Kayla." I swallow. "They called m-me K-Kayla's pet f-femboy. And worse. They t-teased Lauren terribly for being with m-me. C-Called her Pity Lay Laurie. I d-don't th-think they're very nice people." Another deep breath. "The k-kiss was a lie. But for the rest, it's n-not their fault they misinterpreted wh-what they saw. That was my f-fault. But…I'm j-just sayin that I think th-they were only t-too happy to let you know." Gripping her hands back I say. "I would never do that to you. I w-would never cheat on you. I want this…to b-be forever."

She lifts her head and gazes deeply into my eyes. And there, with a country ballad playing softly in the background, we stay for a long, quiet time. I couldn't have maintained eye contact like this with anybody else. But for Winona…I open my soul.

"Tell me you love me."

"I l-love you."

Plumbing the depths of my gaze she searches for the truth.

"I love you." I whisper again with all my heart.

With those three little words all the anger balled up inside of her melts away. She lets out a little gasp and smiles. "I believe you, Avery." Springing up into me she wraps me up in a one of her big encompassing hugs.

"Oh!" And…then the tears flow. Weeping and shivering I may be, but in my woman's strong arms I am SOARING once more!

Chapter 124: Don't Argue

Chapter Text

I cling to Winona and lay my head on her shoulder as her warm, tight hug fixes everything. "I should have trusted you." She whispers.

"You d-didn't know." I whisper back. "I shoulda talked to you first. I w-wasn't thinking."

"I wanted you to come up here tonight. So we could talk about it. But, when you called…when I heard your voice…" She sighs. "I knew if you came up here I might say things I didn't really mean. When I get angry I just…I get stupid sometimes. I'm not proud of that." Her hug tightens. "I'm tryin baby. I'm gonna be better for you."

"Oh Winona." I hold her. "I understand. Really. Th-That picture looks real bad. I'd b-be hurt too if d-didn't know the truth. It's okay to need to cool down first. You d-d-didn't do anything wrong."

Pulling back to look at my face she smiles and wipes the tears from my cheeks. "I couldn't believe it when I saw. I saw my baby girl slipping away from me." Her voice becomes a whisper. "I thought I'd lost my whole world."

"Oh! You're g-gonna make me cry again!"

"Cry if you want to baby." She kisses me and rubs my shoulder. "I'll try and talk to you before I get angry next time. Not saying that I'll succeed, but I'll try."

"I'm s-sorry I made you angry." I say softly. "I'll try and be b-better too. Deal?"

Her smile grows. "Deal. And hey, I'll be having a word with Becca and Kimmy. They aren't going to bother you anymore. And if they do, you're going to tell me. Okay?"

"What are you…?" Thinking better of it I decide not to ask the question, instead I sniffle and nod. She'd told me before that sometimes I had to let Daddy be Daddy and let her protect me. For a pair of common bullies like those two I wasn't going to stop her. It's not like I didn't have enough to deal with right now. Plus it made her happy. And actually…it kinda felt nice knowing I was being protected. I was curious what she would do, but that was her business now. "Okay."

"I…I can't tell you…what it means to me that you came up here tonight."

"I n-needed to see you. Even if I got in trouble. I could hear you were hurting and I n-needed to help fix it."

"Damn baby. Now you're gonna me me cry! GAH!" We share a laugh as we both contain our loving tears. "Look at you." She says as she feels around my body she starts rubbing down me again. "You're all moist, Sprout."

"And not in the g-good way."

"Pfff!" She laughs and boops my nose. "Behave." She stands and pulls me to my feet with her. "I can't believe you rode up here like this. Let's get you out of these wet clothes." Pulling me along behind her she leads my to the bed where I spot Brutus happily making biscuits on my pillow. Well…the pillow I used when I stayed here. It was kinda mine in a way. I liked that. "So did you have that talk with you're Grandpa?" She asks as, without asking, she goes ahead and peels my thin, damp shirt off of my body.

"Yeah." I say with a shiver. "It w-was a heck of a day."

"You wanna talk?" She pulls at the tab of my belt and unbuckles it.

I take a long breath and let it out. "I f-found out my mom cheated on m-my dad."

"That was the secret you were talking about?"

"Mmm." I nod as I watch her open my jeans. "She s-said he's n-not really my d-d-dad. Her l-lover fathered me."

Winona stops and looks into my eyes. "For real?"

"Yeah." I say. "I d-don't know who my real dad is."

"Damn, Sprout. She didn't tell you?"

"She n-never said. That's when I r-r-ran away."

She shakes her head then pulls me into a warming hug. "She chose today to drop that shit?"

"She never meant to." I whisper. "She was…emotional."

"I guess I can't talk. Still, that's pretty fucked." Pulling back she holds me by the shoulders and soul gazes. "How you doin with it?"

"I dunno. It's tough. It's weird."

"I bet. I can't even imagine."

"I k-keep looking around. Wondering."

"Shit! Yeah, he's probably still on the island, right?"

"P-Probably."

"Damn." She hugs me again. "I'm sorry you had to get hit with that."

"I'm still p-processing it. But…Grandpa made me feel b-better." I say. "He w-was really angry at Mom. I never seen him so mad. He's going to talk to her f-for me. And he's gonna try to find out, ya know, who."

"Grandpa's got your back. Ya know, I think Mike is slowly becoming my hero."

I giggle. "G-Get in line."

"You're staying the night." She informs me then pulls down my jeans in one swift motion. "Don't argue."

"Yes Ma'am." I say with a big smile. As I step out of the denim legs she also peels my socks off.

The moment she was done with my socks, without even a pause, she pulls my underwear down and removes them as well. Thanks to the cold and the wet and all my see-sawing emotions my penis and balls were as pale and shrunken as they could get. I was small at the best of times but tonight I was downright tiny. I was a little embarrassed but mostly I just loved how cute it looked right now and, based on the huge smile and the glimmer in her eyes, Winona was feeling the same way. The way she looked at me made me feel sooo pretty and so proud of my body. I am absolutely beaming.

I stand quietly and let her ogle my privates and my breasts and my whole trembling figure. Eventually she shakes her head and snaps back into the moment. "Fuck." She mutters to herself. Collecting my damp clothes she stands and nods for the closet. "Clean jammies in the top drawer."

"Okay."

While she goes to the washroom to hang my clothes over the top of the shower I go to the dresser and open it. There on top, clean and neatly folded, were my blue and green nightie and green panties. My heart soaring I laugh and touch them just to feel them. So soft! With the excitement of Christmas morning I slip into my cute panties and pretty nightie. OHHHHHH! They felt soooo goooood! The panties hugged my plump tushie just the way underwear ought to while my small package was tucked oh so perfectly in the silky crotch and the sheer fabric of my nightie felt like a gentle breeze caressing my body. I twirl like a ballerina then giggle with glee.

With a chuckle at my silliness Winona comes up behind me and wraps a fresh, clean blanket around me. From behind she hugs me, all wrapped up in my blanket, and holds me tight before planting a smooch to my cheek. "RRRR!" She squeezes me extra hard then slips away. I turn around to see her take her elegant moccasins and return to kneel in front of me. Winona has me raise one dainty foot and then the other to slide the slippers on. My gown might have been a fleece blanket and her suit was nothing more than old sweats and a sports bra, but to my smitten eyes I was Cinderella and she was my Prince.

As I gaze at her fawningly she stands and looks me over, her eyes settling on my mussed up hair. "I'll get a brush." Taking me around the shoulders she leads me to the love seat. After straightening it so that it faced the television better, now I knew what got kicked earlier, she has me sit dead center on the floor in front of it. Sitting cross-legged and cocooned to my neck in my blanket I look up at her. "Just be a second." She says. Grabbing the television remote she tosses it into my legs. "Find us something."

"Okay!" My hand peeks out from between the fold of the blanket to take the remote. I'd only just turned on the screen when there was Brutus climbing into the nest of my crossed legs. "Hey buddy." I go to rub his fuzzy orange tummy but he is having none of it and the next thing I knew he and my left hand were in a rasslin match worthy of pay-per-view. His claws are needle sharp but thankfully he goes easy on me. "Oh! A t-tough guy, huh? I'll get ya!" I wrestle him down into a pin, then let him up so that he could maul me back again. "Hey! No fair. He he he he!"

"My money's on the furry one. He's an animal." With a big step across me Winona sits behind me on the love seat, her knees straddled around my shoulders. She plants a kiss on the crown of my head then begins to tease her fingers through my tangled hair, smoothing it out as best she can before putting the brush to work. In long careful strokes she works the tines of the brush across my scalp, pausing to gently work out any knots she found along the way. "Lemme know if I'm too rough."

Fifteen minutes ago I was standing at the window cold and scared. Now here I am sitting on the floor cozy inside a blanket in my nightie and panties with my girlfriend brushing my hair and the most adorable kitten playing in my lap. My day had had its ups and downs, to put it lightly, but right now I wouldn't trade my life for anyone's.

Chapter 125: Tapping Out

Chapter Text

Once my hand is able to escape from Brutus' adorable assault and I can handle the remote again I find us a show to watch. Given total freedom to choose whatever I wanted I end up settling on a documentary about hummingbirds. The moment the remote is set back down Brutus tackles my hand again to pin it to the blanket like a tiger over some unfortunate deer, though he is far more merciful as he opts for licking over gnawing. Behind me Winona sits slowly and smoothly brushing my hair as we watch the show. My hair was already as brushed as it could get yet she continued just for the pleasure of it. It felt so amazing to be pampered like this. My whole head was tingling and a great sense of peace had settled over me. Only now did I realize how taut and tense I had been right through the day, from the moment I saw Mom's car until now, but in the safety of Winona's care all that stress was just draining away.

"That's so cool." She says at the iridescent greens and pinks of the bird on the screen. "Look at those colors."

"Yeah. The male Anna's is a l-looker, no doubt." I say.

"I love how with birds it's the boys that have to look all glam and pretty."

"Yeah." I giggle. "If you put up a feeder you'd probably get them here."

"Those are here? No way."

"Oh yeah. Most of the ones you see around here are Anna's."

"I never looked that close." She says. "Back home I don't think I ever even saw one."

"I'll b-buy you a feeder." I say. "We can put it by the window. Up high so M-Mama can't get them."

Leaning in over me she hugs me and kisses my head. "You know how to spoil a gal. I'd like that, Sprout."

I smile and relish the hug. Reaching down she plucks Brutus from my lap and sets him to the side before pulling me onto the loveseat beside her. As the kitten trundles off in search of his new prey, a little blue catnip infused ball sitting not to far away, I cuddle into Winona's side. Wriggling about I shift the blanket so that we could both share in its warmth. Under the cover she slips an arm around my shoulders as I snuggle in and slide my hand across her exposed tummy. Without even realizing I was doing it at first I gently and very slowly rub my hand back and forth across her belly, enjoying the smooth skin and the supple flesh. It was cool how I could kinda feel her firm abs just a little beneath the surface. In the past, when I had tried to touch Kayla or Eddie like this, they'd always make some quip which made me self-conscious and pull away. But Winona just sat relaxed and watched our show and enjoyed the feeling of my hand on her body. Her skin felt so nice rubbing against mine.

Transfixed by her body and her beauty I am soon not even looking at the screen. Gazing up at her I allow my hand to wander, feeling the soft mound of her breasts beneath her sports bra and the smooth skin of her upper chest. She sighs and relaxes deeper into her seat.

"Mmm." I hum softly and smile. I liked how she was letting me touch her.

My fingers peek up past the blanket to caress across her neck and shoulder. Every muscle and bone traced by my exploring fingers. I am rewarded by a little kiss to my forehead before she returned to the show.

Feeling ever more bold…I giggle softly…then crawl up onto her lap. She makes no move to stop me, in fact she sifts to make it easier, as I crawl across and straddle her legs. Pressing my chest and stomach into hers I tuck my arms along her flanks and nuzzle my face into her neck, my cheek resting on her shoulder. Touching her with every bit of me that I possibly could I settle in then let my body go limp to melt against hers. Under the blanket Winona wraps her arms around me and just…holds me.

I close my eyes and listen to the sounds of her breathing. Tenderly she rubs my back, the sheer fabric of my nightie allowing her hand to glide smooth and easy up and down. With equal tenderness I kiss and lightly suck at the base of her long elegant neck. With quiet coos I express my contentment.

Our bodies pressed together as we kissed and caressed each other needless to say there comes a stirring from below. My growing penis snoozled in against her swelling member felt as small and safe as the rest of me. I just LOVED the feeling of her arousal. It was so physical and so palpable and so real. With a 'normal' woman you didn't get that immediate instinctive feedback of 'my body wants to fuck you' that I so adored. It made me feel incredibly sexy knowing that I could get a rise out Winona's cock. And on my end the sensation of growing an erection inside of soft panties was lovely.

"Mommyyy." I whisper while slowly beginning to rock my pelvis.

Her hands stops rubbing for a moment before starting up right away, sliding down the crease of my spin. "Shhh, baby girl."

"Mooommmmyyyy." I croon in a sexy feminine tone.

"Shush now, sweet thing. I'm watching this."

"Okay." I titter and tease and cuddle in harder. "Mmmmm."

Very subtly I continue to rock…rock…rock my hips to make my bulge rub against her long dick. Winona might have been watching the show but I had her cock's full attention. It was not long until the satisfying flex of a powerfully erect cock presses up into my little clit-boner. My hands find her breasts again and start to lightly knead. I take a long smell of her natural, better than any perfume, as I kiss, kiss, kiss up her lovely neck. I nose in just below her jaw and kiss again.

I pull back a little so that I could see her. In the lenses of her glasses I could see a pair of reflected television screens, but behind them I saw her eyes were on me. Keeping my head low, demure and submissive, I gaze up with a look of wicked innocence. "W-Want me to take care of that?" I plead. "Let me suck your cock, Daddy? Please, Daddy?" I bat my big blue eyes. "Pleeease."

I do not get the response I expect. It is so tiny as to be imperceptible yet still I catch just little flinch cross her gorgeous features. What wasn't so subtle was the way her stiff penis softened in an instant. I stop my grinding and my groping and search her gaze for answers.

"Wh-What's wrong?" I whisper.

"Nothin." She says softly, her right hand coming up to play through my silky hair. "Hey…I was thinking." There's a long pause before she says. "I don't think I want to use Mommy and Daddy anymore. I thought we'd try them out but…I don't think I'm feeling it."

"Oh." I gaze for a time. "Is it b-because of my m-mom?"

"I'm just not feeling it." She evades. I knew I had hit on the reason though just the way she said it. And after a moment of gazing she knew that I knew and just confesses. "Yeah. And this stuff with your dad. I don't know if I'm comfortable with this now."

"She'll always be my mom, but you can be Mommy. They're different. It d-doesn't bother m-m-me." I wasn't even sure if that was true but I really wanted to comfort her. "You can st-still be my D-D-Daddy."

I could feel that she was getting more turned off by the second, my stuttered 'Daddy' taking her erection all the way down to a semi. The very words that used to make her feel powerful were now sapping her confidence.

"I…um…I don't know if…um…"

"It's c-cool. Really." I smile, trying to assure her. "I'm okay."

"Baby, I don't…"

"Daddy. See. I c-can say it without even stuttering. Mommy. Daddy. See. It's c-cool." My assurances weren't working. In fact it was having the opposite effect and making it worse. At the same rate as her flagging arousal her great strength of will was eroding before my eyes! "W-Winona?"

Looking into me deeply she whispers in surrender. "Red."

"What?"

Breaking eye contact her head falls and, her voice even quieter, she repeats. "Red."

It takes a moment until I realized what she was saying. She was using a safe word!

"Oh!" I gasp. Sitting up taller I hurry to pull her into an embrace and hold her tightly. "Okay. It's okay."

She slumps into me, laying her head into my chest just as I had done with her just moments ago, and slides her arms around my waist. "I'm sorry, baby girl."

Chapter 126: The Strong One

Chapter Text

Sitting up tall I look down on Winona as she hugged me close. She felt like she was letting me down somehow. As if, because she was the Domme, she wasn't allowed to have doubts or moments of weakness. Was she worried that I might see her as somehow less of a dominant because she changed her mind? The truth was the total opposite. Seeing her vulnerability only made me hers all the more.

I stroke her long smooth hair and plant a soft kiss on her head. "You're r-right."

"Mmm?" She hums without looking up, her cheek pressed hard to my chest.

"You are so right. I never thought about it. I think it's a g-good thing to…put those words away. Even for a little while." I say. "At least until I w-work through some of this…stuff. Thank you f-for being the strong one." I kiss her again. "Thank you for looking after me. I always know that I'm safe with you and that…means a lot. Baby girl wouldn't even be here without you."

"Aw, baby." Sitting back again Winona looks up at me. Reaching up she stroke my jaw with just her index finger. "I know you liked Daddy."

I smile and lightly rest my hands on her chest. "I l-like you, Winona. I liked it b-because it was you. Whatever you w-want me to…"

Just then there comes a ring echoing from out of the washroom. Glancing over my shoulder I can see my phone sitting beside the sink where she put it when she hung my clothes to dry. What lousy timing!

"It m-might be Grandpa." I whisper.

"Go."

Not wanting to but knowing that I must I get up from Winona's lap. I pull the blanket from my shoulders and lay it over her legs then hurry to the bathroom to see who was calling. The name displayed makes me sad.

"It's M-M-Mom." In my hand the phone rings again. I wanted to let it keep ringing. I wanted to refuse the call. But…I knew that I couldn't do that.

Before I can answer another hand grips around mine. Without me hearing her Winona had come to stand at my side. Her long thumb reaches around mine to hang up on the incoming call. "Not tonight." She nuzzles behind my ear. "Whatever it is, it can wait until morning."

The relief I feel at not having to speak to Mom was like a two ton weight lifted from my shoulders. Winona had done for me what I would never have the courage to do. That felt so good!

"Wh-What if it's about…?"

"Call him." She says, reading my mind.

"Okay."

I call my grandpa and, to my great joy, he answers right away. "Avery! How you doin, Buttercup?"

"Good!" I say brightly as Winona hugs me from behind. In the bathroom mirror I could see her face, happy at seeing my peace of mind that Grandpa was okay.

"What's up, my lad?"

"Um…" Hurriedly I scramble to think of a reason to be calling besides just checking up on him. I knew that Grandpa didn't want to feel like a burden to me, which is something he would never be but I understood his concern, so I make up a reason on the spot. "I…um…I'd like to take Winona out for a b-boat ride." In the mirror I see her smile, which makes me smile in turn.

He chuckles. "And you don't want this old fossil getting in the way?"

"No!" I laugh. "No. We w-want you there too."

"Three's a crowd."

"W-Well it'll be four with Anna."

"Touche."

"B-Besides. I don't have my c-captain's license yet. Even if I did though, I w-want you to come."

"Is he trying to ditch us or something?" Winona quips over my shoulder. "Come on, Mike. I'll buy the fuel AND the beer."

He laughs and says loudly. "Hey Winnie!"

"He says hello." I tell her, then say back on her behalf. "She says hi."

"Didn't realize we had an audience." He says.

I giggle. "I'm at her p-place now."

"Ha ha!" His laugh turns to a cough, which thankfully doesn't last long. "Well you two just let me know the day. Mi bote, su bote. I'm sure I can rearrange my busy schedule to fit you two in for a couple's cruise. My rates are hourly but I'll give you the Buttercup discount. Sound fair?"

"Pff! He he he! It's a deal." I say. "Saturday?" It was a question for both Winona and Grandpa. "Trip around the island?" They both enthusiastically agree.

"I can get my hands on a canoe if you want to show her those ruins we found." He offers. "If she doesn't mind picking it up with her truck that morning."

"Yes!" I blurt out. "That's a g-g-great idea, Grandpa. We'll get it all figured out."

"Well, my week just got better."

My heart was so joyful and so alive, yet I knew I had one last unfortunate bit of business. "I should g-get going." I say. "Hey, Grandpa?"

"Yes, my lad?"

"Um…If M-Mom calls…" I sigh. "…just tell her I'm b-busy tonight. I'm t-turning off my phone and…I don't want her to w-worry."

"Don't you worry about a thing, Buttercup." He says. "You go and have a good night."

"I love you, Grandpa."

"I love you, Avery." He says back. "Give that girl a hug for me, huh?"

"Yes Sir." I smile. "Talk to you t-tomorrow."

"Until then."

I end the call and let out another sigh. Turning off the phone I set it back down where it was. I look at Winona through the mirror. "It's all set."

"Awesome! I can't wait."

After a moment I say softly. "I'm…glad we're doing it now. Wh-When B-Briar and I saw him today…he…um…he looked really tired."

Winona's arms tighten around me. "It's gonna happen. He's sick, baby."

"M-Maybe s-sicker than he's letting on." I close my eyes and let out a long breath. "Winona. Can we not talk about family anymore t-tonight?"

She roots her nose into my cheek and kisses me. "As you wish."

I relax back into her before her words strike me. "Oh! Princess Bride! We should b-bring it. Grandpa hasn't seen it. A-And we can show you Th-Three Amigos. It's old b-but it's so silly."

She chuckles. "So much for not talking about family."

"Sorry." My head shrinks down guiltily.

"Come on, baby girl." She says as a hand glides down the tummy of my thin nightie. "Before you get a chill again."

Her arm around me she leads me back out to the loveseat, though not before turning off her phone as well. We were truly alone, at last. With the world of worries kept safely at bay for the night we curl up in a big ball on the loveseat snuggled beneath the blanket to watch the end of the hummingbird documentary. Beneath that cozy blanket our warm bodies press. Once more hands begin to roam, not just mine this time, and by the time the end comes we were far too busy with smooching to see the credits roll.

Chapter 127: Dommy?

Chapter Text

"Feel like foolin around?" Winona whispers between smooches, her hazel eyes alight with the same passion flowing through me.

"Yes!" I say without hesitation.

"You sure?"

"YES!" I exclaim. "Oh my God, yes!"

"Ha! My guy." She smooches me again. "Did you bring the choker?"

"I forgot." I say. "I k-kinda left in a hurry."

"That's okay. Our gloomy goth girl can wait for another night."

I giggle. "Oh boy!"

"And I'll get you your own." She traces a finger across my neck. "My baby girl doesn't need any sloppy second hand-me-downs."

"PFF! S-Sloppy second hand-me-downs?"

She laughs. "You know what I mean. I'll get us some proper goth makeup too."

"Us!?"

"Why not? Let's be a couple of gloomy, goth bitches together? With this hair I can rock that look, wait until you see."

"Yes! Ha ha ha ha! Yes!"

"Wanna go shopping with me for clothes?"

"What?"

"Let's get some fits. Ever been shopping with the girls before?"

I shake my head.

"It'll be fun. We can bring Kay and Briar. Riley for sure, she loves shopping." She says. "Or we can we just go together." With a wink she adds. "Don't worry. I'll say they're for me if you want. We can text or something to keep it sneaky. We'll figure it out."

I darn near had tears in my eyes! "I do. I do w-want to go clothes shopping. I really want to!"

"Then let's do it, girl." She pulls me up on her lap again where I straddle her and settle in like before. This time she was already hard when I got there. And so was I. I shrug the blanket away so that we could see each other better and then I very lightly rock forward and back to rub our bulges together again. "Mmm." She hums, very much enjoying my motion. Sliding her hands up under my nightie she finds my nipples with her long fingers and gently begins to tease them. "In the mood for anything particular tonight?"

"I w-wanna do what you wanna do."

She grins and softly flicks my nips. "I knew you were going to say that."

I giggle and rub a little harder. "I like it when you're in charge."

"Me too, Sprout." She rubs her palms into my titties then swirls her thumbs around my nipples. "I think I'll have you call me, Dommy."

"Dommy?"

"As a title." She says, her eyes drinking in my lithe body as she spoke. "I like the idea of having a title. It makes me feel more…well, just more. I thought it might capture that whole Daddy, Mommy thing without being on the nose plus some Domme and Dominatrix mixed in for good measure. What do you think?"

"Let me try it!" I say excited, purposely adding a little bounce as I said it. In a soft, pleading tone I coo and bat my eyes. "Please? P-Please can I suck your big Dommy cock? Please Dommy? I love you, Dommy."

"You're trying too hard!" She pinches my nips as down below her thick schlong surges. "GEEZ!"

I titter as my nipples dance with good feelings from her pinches. "I think it'll work."

"Ya think?" From my boobs her hands slide down my sides, along my slender waist, then slips in behind to take two handfuls of ass and pull in me harder against her junk. As my hips rock her hands grope and squeeze my plump booty. I run my hands up her firm tummy then pull up her bra just enough for her tits to pop out. Her smile grows when I rest my hands on them and very gently massage them. I giggle at how her nipples poof up to my tender stimulation. "That's a good girl."

"Ohhh." I sigh. After the day I had I needed that 'good girl' more than she could possibly know. I really, really, REALLY needed to hear that. "I am a g-good girl, aren't I?"

"Yes baby girl, you are. You are the goodest girl."

"Say it ag-gain?" I plead. "Please?"

"You are a good girl, Avery."

"Ohhmm." Warm fuzzies fill my insides. "And Dommy loves her g-good girl?"

"More than anything!"

"Mmm." Ohhhh, I'm so happy! My subby little heart was close to bursting! "Are you g-gonna put me in my harness again? M-My cage?"

"Mmm, not tonight." She sighs and closes her eyes, lavishing in the feeling of my weight on top of her, my hands on her breasts, and her hands on my ass. "I think tonight I just want to cuddle."

"Oh."

"Right after holding you down and fucking your brains out of course."

"Pfffff! He he he! Of course!"

"It's been a minute since we traumatized the cat, why stop now?"

"Ha ha ha!"

Her eyes pan down my arms then up my body again, unhurriedly and taking in every precious detail. Meanwhile I am doing the same, simply bathing in her beauty.

"Ya know, I haven't even felt you yet. Inside of me I mean." She says. "I think I'm gonna ride you tonight."

"Oh!"

"Did you happen to bring any rubbers?"

"Um…no."

"Damn."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not a problem at all. We'll just have to be careful." She says. "Lemme know when you're gonna bust, okay?"

"Mmm."

"What's wrong?"

"How about…" My eyes drift to a particular drawer in her dresser. "…I c-could use a t-toy on you instead. Your d-dildo?"

"I don't want my dildo, I want my baby girl."

"Um…okay but…you'll like the other one better."

Her smile fades, just a little. "What you talking about, little one?"

"Um…I'm kinda small down there and…sometimes I cum quick when I'm inside a girl or guy. I'll do my b-b-best but sometimes it just feels so good, ya know?" I say, then hurriedly add. "I thought maybe I c-could wear a strap-on for you and…"

"A strap-on?"

"Yeah! I could last as long as y-you w-w-want me to and…"

"Woahhh." Winona reaches up to caress my cheek. "Hold on. Where's this coming from?"

I bow my head, pushing my cheek into her soft hand, and say softly. "I'm not very g-g-good at making g-girls cum in that way. I'm b-better with m-my mouth and h-hands and…stuff. I j-just want to make you happy, Dommy."

"Just want to…?" She shakes her head and laughs a warm, uplifting laugh. "Baby, you are my happiness! I would LOVE to be strapped by you someday. But that doesn't mean that I don't want YOU. Avery! I love you! And I love every last bit of you."

"Oh."

"What if I told you I was buying you a big old rubber schlong, bigger than me, and that's all I'm gonna use on you."

"No!" I shake my head. "I d-don't like that."

"What if I got a set of fake plastic titties and only ever let you suck on them?"

"Mm mm!" I shake my head harder. "I want to suck on y-your titties!

She pulls me in tight to her and looks up into my eyes. "Exactly. I want to feel you, baby." She squeezes me. "I want to feel you inside of me. It's not all about orgasms, baby girl. It's so much more than that." She kisses my chest, hard. "You think I care if you're big or small or if you grew an extra nut?"

"Pfff!"

She chuckles with me then pinches my chin. "You…are a very silly girl."

"He he he. I'm s-sorry, Dommy." I put my forehead against hers and stare down into her happy eyes. "Are y-you still gonna hold me down and f-fuck my brains out?"

"Ha ha ha!" She wraps her strong arms around me as I shrink small in her encompassing embrace. "Just try and stop me!"

Chapter 128: An Important Job

Chapter Text

As Winona begins to move I wrap my arms and legs around her tightly and bury my smiling face into her shoulder. I was smiling because I knew what she was about to do. With a grunt of great effort she tries to heave herself up to standing while still holding me to her. The first attempt fails but before I could shift to try to aid her she squeezes in such a way that told me to sit tight. In return I cling on like a baby orangutan.

"Nnngh!" Through sheer core and leg strength Winona powers herself up to standing. Supporting me by the butt and back she then casually carries me toward the bed.

Ohhh how I adored seeing and feeling how strong she was. I felt like I was her princess and she was my very own super hero. And I knew that she enjoyed how much I enjoyed it as it made her feel strong in more ways than one. As we reach the bed she turns her head to slip her tongue into my mouth for a deep, sucking kiss.

"Hmmmm." I moan softly and meekly, my lilting tone telling her in no uncertain way that SHE was in charge. Her big penis flexes at my noises. I had to stifle a giggle. I just loved how easy she was to a reaction out of. Not that I wasn't responsive myself! The way she held me and was groping my ass cheek, the tip of fingers teasing at my bussy, had my little clitty as hard as a nail.

She starts to readjust me, pulling my hooked legs free, and I knew I was about to get a first class trip to the mattress. With Dommy being Dommy though I didn't know if was going to be soft or hard and I savor that anticipation for the surprise. I kinda wanted it hard, for her to just throw me down like a ragdoll and maul me, but after the day I had I suspected she would be soft on me. I was right and it was wonderful! Gently she lays me down in the center of the bed. I slip from her arms and smile my cutest smile up at her. It makes her happy.

I lay still for her, my arms at my sides and my legs straight out. Kneeling over me she settles down and just starts to touch me.

"Mmmm." I smile.

First she smooths out my nightie then she tickles my pantie clad balls before rubbing her hands down my bare legs and back up again…to my balls. Her fingers ever so gentle she slowly strokes and fondles my little bulge. Her other hand slips into mine to hold. Because she touched the smooth fabric of my panties and not my skin her fingers slide so easily across my scrotum. The sensation is at once tickling and tantalizing.

"F-Feels good." I whisper.

"I know." She winks.

"Mmm." My dick twitches and strains and a tremble runs through me as her tender touch on just my berries brings out all kinds of good feelings. Having me at her mercy she rubs and strokes, pulls and squeezes, then lets her fingers dance across and around my tender testes. "Ohhhhhh." I writhe with my passion but never so much as to escape her touch. "Ohhhhh Dommyyy."

"Somebody's getting wet." She says, her eyes on the spot on my panties where my precum was soaking through.

"Wet f-for you Dommy."

"I know it, baby girl." Still holding my hand she pulls my panties down just enough for my clit to pop out. Then she pulls the hem of my nightie just a bit higher so that my hard penis was fully exposed. Her warm smile grows as her index finger runs over the front of it. "You're so pretty." She whispers just as her fingertip reaches my tip.

"Ohhmmm." I coo as she rub the hole, wetting the pad of her finger with my nectar.

"Wanna taste?"

"Mmm." I nod eagerly.

She rewards my eagerness by bringing her wet finger to my lips.

"Mmm!" I wrap my lips around her digit and hungrily suck the dew clean. "Mmmmm."

"Good girl." Her finger slips from my mouth.

"Ahh." I whine, my mouth open for more precummies as her finger rubs around my plump lips. But she had something better in mind for me.

She kisses my hand before letting it go to rock back on her butt, long legs high in the air, and yanks off her sweats and undies in a single go. I couldn't see it for the angle but the meaty thump of her dick slapping to her firm belly makes my mouth water and my hole twitch with excitement. I would NEVER get tired of having a girlfriend with a big cock. Just the sound of it was enough to turn me slutty. Giddy as I was I remain perfectly still right where Dommy left me. She rolls back forward, her dong swinging through the air like a great club, and returns to kneeling beside me.

"Oh no you don't." Suddenly she had Brutus by the scruff of the neck. I'd been so distracted that I hadn't notice him sneak onto the bed with us. She gives his tiny head a smooch and says. "You gotta go, little man." And with that she deposits him off the side of the bed.

My giggle makes her smile. Dropping down to all fours she leans over me to plant a kiss on my lips. Her body looming over me like a protective umbrella I close my eyes and melt away. "Mmmm." Our tongues twirl as the deep, passionate kiss goes on and on. By the time our lips smack from parting and her tongue slips away I am hovering, a very contented baby girl. "Hahhhh."

Jostled by her moving I open my eyes just in time to see a pink slitted pussy coming straight down onto my face! The very next second everything goes black as her warm, soft scrotum covers my eyes and the supple skin of her inner thighs press in from either side.

"MMMF!" My muffled exclamation is gobbled up by wet, hot cunny that covers my mouth.

"Mmmm." Winona hums as, almost by instinct, I immediately start eating her out. Carefully, but hardly gently, she settles her weight onto my chest and face. As delightfully cheesy as ever she announces rather grandiosely. "Dommy assumes her rightful throne at last."

"Mmmm!" I moan joyously as the taste of her pussy fills my mouth. In the dark with just a bit of air sneaking through for my nostrils to catch my tongue probes and my lips kiss hers. The air I did get was enough and, to my great joy, it smelled of balls and snatch. "Mmm! Hmmm! Nnnmmm!"

She moves my left arm out to my side then across my bicep she pins it to the bed beneath bend where leg met foot. Then she does the same with the other, holding me down just as surely as bondage. What she does next makes hers and only hers a thousand times over. Finding one hand and then the other she she interlinks her fingers with mine to hold my hands as she pinned me, smothered me, and rode my mouth for her pleasure. I grip her hands hard while down below my totally exposed peen stands free and proud.

"Mnnghhh!" I tongue her vagina, slipping it deep to tongue fuck her before lapping at her slit and clit. My tongue zeroing in on her button I flick it for a time the latch my lips around it to suck it hard and fast.

"Ohhhh fuuuck!" Her distant groan fills me with glee. Using my hands for support she begins to rock her hips to grind her sex into my slurping, sucking mouth. "Oh shit, baby girl. Just like that. Ohhhh fuck!"

"Nnngh!"

We were just getting a good thing going when she suddenly flinches. "God damn it! Scat!" Her left hand leaves mine as she rids us of our nosy kitten again. "Stupid cat."

"Hrm, hrm, hrm!" Despite myself I start laughing at the situation.

Light suddenly hits my eyes as Winona lifts her balls to peer down over them to meet my gaze. She looked a thousand feet tall, her cock alone a magnificent skyscraper. "And what's so funny down there? Hm?"

"HRM! HRM! HRM!" I laugh even harder, making my stiffy bounce up and down, then try to explain myself through the pussy over my mouth. "Mrmle, brmle, lrble…"

"Shush!" She drops her nuts back over my eyes, one ball to either side of my nose, and sinks her weight back down. "Don't talk with your mouth full." She finds my hand again and holds it tight then commands. "Now, back to where we were."

"Mrm mmmm." I say 'Yes, Ma'am' then carry on the important job of eating pussy.

Chapter 129: Riding the Edge

Chapter Text

"Mmmm." Winona softly moans as she rides my face. "You got the BEST fuckin mouth, baby girl. Ohhhhh fuck."

"Nnngh…mmmm." In my wonderful dark fleshy prison of legs, balls and crotch I lick and lap and dance my tongue across her salty-sweet slit. To increase her pleasure I try to reach to stroke her cock which I knew hovered over my forehead but the way in which she had my arms pinned my hand could get nowhere near. So instead I surrender the attempt to just focus on eating her out as best as I could do with my mouth alone. Running my tongue along the insides of her labia to peel them apart I flick and lap and lick, lick, lick. "Mmmmm."

"Hmm." She runs her fingers through my hair as her hips rock forward and back in a steady rhythm. "Good boy. Just like that."

"MMMM!" A rare 'good boy'! Ohhh, that's nice too. I root in deeper to suck and tongue her clit faster.

"Hah!" Her other hand enters my hair, this one not to stroke but to hold my head firmly. Pulling me into herself even harder Winona grinds, grinds, grinds her coochie into my face. Her wet slit glides from chin to nose and back again over and over for a time before settling her cunny straight over my mouth. Sensing the need for urgency I French kiss her warm lips and plunge my tongue inside of her as my lips vigorously chew at hers. "Hmm…mmm…Oh fuck…MMMM!" Winona's grinding, strong and steady, and rising moans reach a crescendo until… "GNNNGH!" Her thighs clamp around me, cutting off my meager air supply completely, and her suddenly extra juicy pussy presses into me as hard as she dared while she cums powerfully to my oral sex. Through her legs I hear an ecstatic cry that let me know it was a job well done. "HAHHHHH!!!"

Denied air I content myself by slurping up as much of Winona's succulent nectar as I could while around my tongue I feel her tunnel grip with orgasmic spasms. It was such a nice, long orgasm that I felt very proud of myself for giving it to her.

When I could take my blissful smothering no more I cry out and writhe helplessly beneath her. "MMMPPHHH!"

"Oh! Sprout!" She gasps and all at once rises up off my face.

My face soaked with juice I stare up at her panting for air in deep, heaving breaths. "Hah!"

She laughs and pets my hair. "Are you okay?"

I give her a thumbs up and a huge smile "N-Never better, Dommy."

Crawling backward she looms over me on hands and knees, her heavy dick resting on my tummy, as she peers down into my eyes. "I almost forgot you were down there."

"Pfff!" I giggle as my hands find her breasts to gently knead them.

She lowers her weight to lay right over me, her beaming face just inches from mine. One index finger traces around my face. Along my jaw, across my chin, around my lips, over my smooth cheek, a circle at my temple then a slow arc across my brow her finger caresses. "Did you know that you're my favorite person?"

"Mmm." I smile.

Along the front of my nose the finger glides down my nose. "You have my favorite nose." Over the tip her finger goes to rest across my parted mouth. "My favorite lips." She does a slow circle around my mouth then continues to my chin. "My favorite chin, mmmm, and neck." I shiver as her digit very gently strokes along the side of my soft neck. Shifting her weight up and back she rises to kneel over me, her finger still tracing my body. "Definitely my favorite titties."

"Ohhhh." I sigh as through my nightie she circles one nipple then drifts to the other to do the same.

"My favorite tummy." I laugh as her fingers flitter down my stomach. Then reaching between her legs she grabs my hard dick and gives it a nice squeeze. "And my favorite peen, my favorite clitty, my very favorite cock by far." With that she tilts it up and sinks down on top of me, my hard erection sliding into her hot, super wet pussy with ease. "Ohhhhhh…Avery!"

"Ohhhhhh!" I moan as she takes all of my five, slender inches right to the base. "That's niiice!"

"That is verrry nice." She grins and closes her eyes as down below she squeezes my clit-dick with her vagina. "Ohhhh." She sits tall a moment just to savor the feeling of me inside of her while I do the same. Her pussy felt soooo snug and warm and cozy around my member that I wished that I might stay here forever. Slowly she opens her eyes, smile widening. "Definitely my favorite."

She looks down on me in my pretty nightie and takes my hands. Resting her wrists on her thighs she continues to hold my hands as she begins to make sweet, tender love to me. Gently she rocks her hips forward and back so that my penis stroked in and out by an each or two on each thrust. It was WONDERFUL!

Gazing into my eyes, a look of purest joy on her calm face, she rides me slow and steady. "Baby?"

"Yeah?"

"Hmm." She takes a long, deep breath and lets it out. Her back arches as good feelings flow through her from the ride. I look in awe at her perfect, soft breasts and long, hard cock. "I'm very proud of you."

"What?" I whisper as my own hips start to move to our slow, natural rhythm.

"My soft girl had such a hard day." She sighs, her pussy squeezing and releasing at the same tempo as our love making. "But she was SO strong. She was SO brave."

"Ohhhhmm." I mewl as her warm, hypnotic voice swaddles me in safety and care.

"Mmm. Your Dommy loves you so much." Letting go of my left hand she runs her hand across my chest to lay over my heart. "And she is so proud of you."

"Hmmmm!"

"Shhhh." The back of her fingers caress my damp cheek as she whispers oh so softly. "You don't have to cry, baby girl. Dommy's got you. I got youuuuu."

"Ohhhh Winona!"

Rock, rock, rock her body sways like the gentle to and fro of calm ocean waves against the beach.

"If you ever need to run. If you need to hide away from that nasty big world with all those nasty mean people." She smiles. "If you ever just need a hug or a cuddle or a hand to hold because you're scared, I will be waiting for you. Anytime, baby girl. Anytime at all." Basking in her soul's radiance I slide my free hand up her long body to find a boob once more and begin to fondle it. "Mmmm." She pushes her chest into my hand, welcoming its touch.

"Thank youuu." I whisper.

"Mmm. Good girl."

"And I'll b-be there for you too." I say softly. "If you're sc-cared or mad or unsure…I'll be there for you."

"I know you will."

My hand rubs down over her dreamcatcher and down her stomach to then wrap around her thick, hard penis and I begin to stroke. As I slowly and gently rub her long dick she rides…and rides…and rides. Her meat in my grip and my penis pushing in and out of her snug, slippery tunnel, it was all soooo nice. I try to last but could already tell that I wasn't going to make her orgasm from fucking alone. I rarely could with just penetration. The curse of a small penis I guess. But for the very first time…that was okay. There was no anxiety or worry like with my previous partners. She told me it was okay. She said sex was about more than orgasms. And she was clearly loving this regardless. Plus I already made her cum with my mouth, which was still making me feel good inside.

"Winona." I coo.

"Yeah, baby?"

"I think I'm gonna cum already."

"Mmmm. You lasted such a long time!" Her smile grows and her hold on my hand tightens. "You just tell me when, baby girl."

"Okay."

She continues to ride me, neither slower or faster, as the pressure of climax gradually builds in my balls.

"Ohhhh." I sigh. "Ohhhhh, Dommy."

"You feel soooo good. Ohhhhh."

"Ohhmmm. I'm clooose."

"Hahhh. Almost there." She croons. "Ohhh, you're so hard and big. Ohhhh yesss."

"Mmmmm!" To Winona's incredible rubbing, milking tunnel the urge rises past the point of holding it back. "Ohhhh. I feel you shaking. You're sooo close."

"Ohhmmm! Gonna…cum."

"Soooon." She rides.

"Soon?"

"Soooooon." With no hint of slowing down she continues to ride me!

Stroke, stroke, stroke my dick glides in and out of her tight, slippery cunnny.

"Mmmm!" I struggle to resist the inevitable. "Gonna cum!"

Faster, harder she rides as her pussy grips hard around my clitty. "Almost there."

ALMOST!? I WAS there! We were riding raw here and I knew that she'd told me that she couldn't take birth control thanks to her unique biology.

"MMMM!" I groan and grab onto her thighs as I hold it back with all my strength. "MMMMM! CLOSE!"

"That's it! Ohhhh fuck you feel amazing!" She says as she watches me writhe and contort beneath her. "Sooooo close now!"

"GAH! I'm cum…" I gasp as the dam bursts. "I'm cumm…!"

"Just say when."

"Now!"

"That's it. Just like that baby."

"NOW!"

"Now?" She asks way too innocently. "Like now, now?"

"Hahhhh!" I whimper and shift to pull out on my own, but she had me pinned. "Winona!"

"Just don't bust inside, remember. But whenever you're ready." She tries, and fails, to hide her impish smirk. "You close?"

"MMMM!" I am shaking! "I'm cummmmmm…"

"Wow!" She rides faster! "Mmmm! Damn you're hard, baby girl."

My desperate whimper rises as she rides, rides, rides! "C-C-Cumm…"

"Just say when." She interrupts me again! WAS SHE CRAZY!?

"CUMMING!!!" I cry out at last as the first wave or orgasm hits me full force. "GAHHH!!!"

Up she goes and the very moment my dick slips from her nice warm pussy into the cool air a big splurt of cum shoots up past my belly to splatter onto my nightie over my chest. Sitting back onto my thighs Winona grabs my member and pumps it fast in a firm, squeezing grip. After holding back so hard for so long the pleasure of release was off the charts!

"HNNGH! NNGHHH!" I groan as wad after wad of hot, white squirt ejaculates out onto my chest and tummy.

"Oh! Good girl! Good girl! Aw, it's a big one!" She cheers as she pumps my load in a way that only someone who actually had a dick could do. "Yeah. Cum for me baby girl. Cum for Dommy! Good girl!"

I arch and writhe and sing my ecstasy. "Hmmmm! Mmmmm! Ohhhhhh!"

Winona watches me as happy as I had ever seen her as she squeezes the rest of my nut out of my twitching clit.

"Hah!" I gasp when the final dribble was done. When she was sure my load was done she give my dick a final squeeze then lays it down tenderly and gives it a stroke. Her penis, huge, hard and throbbing, snuggled alongside mine like a protective mother beside its offspring. I up look at her, aghast. "W-Winona!"

"What?"

"What? What!?"

"You were SO cute trying to hold it in. The way you struggled…GAH! CUTE!" She chuckles then gives me a sort of 'forgive me?' pout. "Sorry. I couldn't help myself, Sprout."

"I almost couldn't help myself! That was c-close. Geez."

"He he he." She winks. "What can I say? I like to live dangerously."

I flop back a spent little rag doll of a man after that incredible orgasm. "Whoooo!"

Chapter 130

Chapter Text

Winona stays sitting on my legs, her face gently beaming as she softly ran her hands around my body. "Gimme your nightie, baby girl."

"Okay." I say softly. Leaning and shifting I wriggle out of my cum stained nightie without having to sit up.

Taking the sheer garment from me she uses it to clean the rest of my mess from my tummy and the end of my penis. Her touch was so nice and soft, the fabric of the nightie so smooth against my skin. "Looks like another trip for laundry." She quips as she finishes up by playfully daubing at my shrinking tip. "I need to get my girl another nightie I think."

"Mmmm." I smile.

She goes to throw the dress aside but, remembering that Brutus was on the prowl somewhere out there and his penchant for licking up random wet spots she instead bundles it and tosses it to the corner of the bed. Running her hands up and down my chest and belly she whispers. "Want to keep going?"

"Mmm." I consider a moment then shake my head no.

This surprises her. "No?"

"Mm mm." I shake my head harder and cross my arms in a dramatic huff. "Hmph!"

"Aw Sprout." She laughs. "Don't be like that."

Despite myself a little smile peeks through my act. Still I keep my angry performance going though with scowling brows and a big fat pouting lip. "Hmph!"

With a huge grin she lays down over me and starts to kiss and nuzzle at my neck. "Don't be mad, baby. I won't do it again. I swear!"

"Humph!" I flounce. She chuckles as on her next kiss she opens her lips wide to suck at the tender flesh on the side of my neck. "Ohhhh!"

"He he he. You angry because I didn't get off in time?"

"Yeah." I say. "I'm m-mad at you now." I wasn't mad in the slightest, and she knew it, but to pretend that I was sure was fun! "HMPH!"

"Ohhh nooo." She rises up to look me in the eyes with big pleading peepers. "Forgive me?"

"Hmmm." I turn my head. "I don't know. Maybe someday."

"Aw, baby. Don't say that. Dommy didn't mean to do it."

"Y-Yes you did."

"Okay, I did." She confesses then nuzzles into my shoulder to give it a slurp and a suck. "I couldn't help it. I'm so weak for you baby. You know how I get when you get all cute. I can't help myself."

GAH! Her pleading tone was driving me crazy. It was as if I had all the power despite her being my Domme. Power not from strength but being pretty and desirable and vulnerable. As if she were a slave to my beauty. Damn she knew how to make a subby guy like me feel attractive.

"Y-You should be more careful." I continue to play along.

"I will baby. I promise." Just in her naughty tone of voice we both knew that any promise now didn't count. This was so FUN! "Forgive me?"

"Mmm. Nope."

"Don't make Dommy beg." Kiss, kiss, kiss. She starts to work down my body. Over my crossed arms and down my stomach she smooches. "Tell me how to make it better."

"I-I don't know." I say in mock indignity.

"Can't we keep going baby?" She pleads. "A little bit longer? I'll make ya feel good."

"Mmm…maybe a little more." I consent. "But I might never forgive youuu…OHHH!"

Just as I had said 'you' her lips had wrapped around my tender recently shot penis to give it a long, warm, gentle suck. "Hmmmm."

"Oh…ohhh God." I whisper as Winona goes down on my clitty.

"Mmmm, mmmm." She hums as she slowly bobs up and down my half-soft member, her fingers and thumb finding my just emptied testes to begin to oh so softly massage them. I loved how her lips sort of squeezed and stretched the flesh in ways not possible when I was fully hard. "Mmmm."

"Ohhh wow!" I moan as her warm, wet mouth makes me feel so good. "Okay…m-maybe I can f-forgive you…a little."

She pullllls up to my tip until it slips from her lips. "He he he. Just a little?" She pulls my panties down a couple inches lower. "I better try harder then. OM!" The next thing I know my enter scrotum is enveloped in mouth.

"OH! Ohhhhhh!"

"Mmmmm, mmmmm, hmmmm." With the same slow, gentle attention Winona blows my balls just as she had done with my dick. Pulling, pushing, bobbing, sucking, lightly chewing with her lips she eats my tender bits in way that had me paralyzed with pleasure.

"Ohhh-ho-hoooh!" I tremble.

"Play with your titties, baby." She whispers between sucks.

My hands quickly find my tiny man boobies and start to squeeze them and rub them.

"Good girl. Mmmm." Watching me play with my chest she returns to sucking my testes. With just one finger and a thumb she starts to stroke my reviving penis. "Hmmmm."

"Ohhh, ohhh, ohhhhh Dommy!" I moan as the feelings just get better and better. It doesn't take long for my clitty to be back to full attention.

"Mmmmm." She lays a long hard lick over my wet scrotum. "Forgiven?"

"Mmm." I shake my head no, knowing it would mean more good stuff for me.

"Well." She grins and kisses my dick. "This is serious." She flicks my balls with her tongue. "Are you that afraid of putting a baby in me?"

"Mmm." I nod and without thinking let the truth slip out. "I'd b-be a b-bad f-f-father."

As soon I said it I regretted it as all of the soft, playful energy drains from the room. Winona's smile fades as she gazes up in my eyes. "Don't say that Avery. You'll be a good dad. I know you will."

"I'm sorry." I whisper.

"Shhh." Her smile returns. She strokes my belly while resting her chin on me right beside my dick. "Damn you look so good, baby. So fuckin hot."

"You too." Reaching down I pet her soft, silky black hair. "Please d-don't stop."

"I love you baby."

"I love you too!" I say. After a moment for us to bask in our joy I then cross my arms again and return to my huff. "Hmph! I haven't f-forgiven you yet ya know."

"Oh boy." She smirks. "This bitch is gonna be high maintenance."

"I'm a lady!"

"I stand corrected." She quips and gives the top of my shaft another slurp. "You're not gonna make this easy, huh?"

"Uh huh."

"I suppose I deserve it."

Rising up onto her knees Winona grabs my bare legs and flips me over onto my belly. I pull a pillow to hug it tight against my chest, the biggest smile of my life plastered on my excited face. As I thought she would Winona pulls the back of my panties down past my bum. For a few minutes her long fingered hands caress and very lightly squeeze my smooth, plump cheeks. It was lovely! But soon she takes a grip and spreads my buttocks with her thumbs.

"Nnngh." Her long tongue taps at my whole as her cheeks meet mine.

My whole body shudders at the sheer joy of being touched in my favorite spot. I squeeze the pillow hard and close my eyes to savor every touch.

"Nnngh. Mmmm. Hmmm." With low moans Winona tongues my bussy. Unhurriedly she licks around my sensitive hole. Swirling, swirling, swirling me away to heaven. Then she taps and prods and presses right at my entrance, teasing penetration without ever giving it to me.

"Ohhh…hhooohhh!" My high voice whimpers.

"Nrrnngh." At last she pushes through, penetrating my hole at least a full inch of tapered tongue.

"YES!" I gasp. Tilting my hips and arching my back I raise my booty up as high as it would go. "OHHHH!"

"Mmm. Nnngh. Nlmmm." She doesn't merely tongue-fuck me, she makes sweet sweet love to my ass with her mouth. With long deep strokes she plunges in and out and in and out. Her face fully jammed between my cheeks she feasted on my butt like only she could.

"Ohhhh! Winonaaa! Ohhhhh fuuuck!" My lilting girlish tone rises ever higher as her mouth takes me places I'd never been. "OHHMMM!"

Coming up for air at one point my Dommy gives my tush a pat and whisper. "Pass the lube, baby girl."

"Yes Dommy." I say through shuddering breaths. Stretching out as far as I could I open the drawer on the nightstand and fish around. I quickly find our lube and pass it back to her then instantly return to my pillow hugging position.

"Thank you, baby girl."

"You're w-welcome, Dommy."

"Am I forgiven yet?" She asks even as she starts to rub the slippery lube over my hole.

I giggle and wiggle my butt. "Almost. But not quite! He he he he!"

"Damn girl!" She laughs and gives me a sassy spank. "You're really makin me work for this!"

Chapter 131: I Needed That

Chapter Text

"Hmmmm." With a moan and a smile my body relaxes into the soft covers as Winona pushes two fingers inside of me.

Neither fast nor slow she works her fingers in and out of my hole to warm me up for what was to come. After a wonderful couple of minutes of quiet fingering she squirts a bit more lube then starts to twist her fingers as she thrusts them.

"So fuckin wet for me tonight." She quips. "Maybe I'll put a baby in you instead, huh?"

"Pfff! He he he!" My titters quickly turn to moans as her fingers twist nice and deep. "Hmmmm." The pillow I hugged felt like a fluffy cloud gently holding me aloft. I was in heaven!

"I think I'm going to take you hard tonight." Her free hand gives my butt a restrained but stinging spank while her other hand butt blasts me even faster. "I think we could both do with working out some frustration."

"Oh! Yes! Yes please!"

She laughs. "She even asks nicely for it. Good girl!"

"Mmm!" As her fingers turned and plunged and began to actually pull my ass open in this and that direction her opposite thumb was rubbing hard against my gooch while those fingers fondled my tender nuts. "Ohhhh!"

"Shhh. You'll wake up the cat."

I bite down on my lips and let out a high, whimpering whine. "Hmmm!"

Pulling her fingers out of me she grabs me by the waist and lifts. "Up we go. All fours."

Needless to say I don't resist and rise to my hands and knees. Doggy! I LOVED DOGGY! This night was getting better by the second. Not only do I get up on all fours I immediately adopt the most perfect doggy posture anybody had ever seen. Back arched, head up, shoulders proud, hands and knees perfectly placed, and my tush tilted high and ready to be mounted.

"Ha ha ha ha!" Winona pets her hand down the curve of my back. "Wow!"

I giggle and shake my hind quarters. "I l-like doggy style."

"I see that." She chuckles. "Well if this doesn't get me forgiven, nothing will."

Pap, pap, pap, pap. She starts to slap the end of her big dick against my wet and waiting entrance.

"You c-can go as hard as you like."

"He he he. Oh yeah?"

"Just sayin." I say, my enthusiasm to get properly railed coming through my every word. "I w-won't mind."

"You are adorable." Pressing her knob hard against my anus she grips her hands around my slender waist. "Come on, babe." She gives my left hip a firm double pat. "Back that booty up."

I grip the blankets beneath me, clench my jaw, relax my ass, then push my weight back onto her.

"Fuuuck." I groan as her first few inches stretch my bussy. "Nnngh. I forget how thick you are."

"Mmmm. I forget how fuckin tight you are. God DAMN, girl!" Her hands grip tighter at my waist though doesn't yet pull.

"Hohhh! God! NNNGGH!" One fat inch after the next glides into my tunnel, filling me up like only she could. Thick as she was my bottom's pride would not allow me to stop until I had her all the way. As my bum pushes tight against her upper thighs I am full to bursting! "Ohhh fuuuuck!"

"Ohhh Avery. FUCK!"

As her big cock flexes hard inside of me my little dick twitches. "Yessss!"

With me fully impaled my Dommy takes charge. Pulling slowly out by about six inches she shocks the hell out of me by RAMMING back into me so hard that my teeth chatter!

"HAAHHH!"

"So much for not waking the cat."

And with that she goes straight into fucking me hard and fast! No build up, no playing, no teasing or tormenting, just right into clapping my ass!

PLAP! PLAP! PLAP! PLAP! PLAP!

"OHHHHHHHH!!!"

The steady beat of flesh on flesh fills the room as she rocks my body with every ounce of her bone jarring power.

"OHHH! AHHH! OAHHH!" I wail, I groan, I writhe and I moan as my big, powerful, dominant girlfriend fucks me, fucks me, fucks me, fucks me, FUCKS ME, FUCK ME! "HAAHHHHH!!!"

All of the constantly swirling thoughts, emotions, and insecurities of my ever more complicated life are completely driven from my skull by Winona's thick pistoning cock!

"Yeah! Yeah! Fuck yeah!" She grunts between her brutal nonstop thrusts. "YEAH!"

"OHHHHH GOD YES!" I wail to the heavens. "YES! YES YES!"

PLAP! PLAP! PLAP! PLAP! PLAP!

I was being fucked down, fucked up, and fucked out of my ever-loving mind! On hands and knees I slam back into her nearly as hard as she hammers into me. Her hips thrust with machine like endurance while her arms join the action pushing me and pulling me to add extra thunder to the impacts.

PLAP! PLAP! PLAP! PLAP! PLAP!

With my blond hair bouncing on each hard stroke I peer back over my shoulder to see Winona looming tall and magnificent behind me! Her long black hair had fallen over her face and blew in and out with each hard breath. Her long, lean body was gleaming with a sheen of sweat and oh how I adored the way her body and boobs jiggled as she filled my hole again and again and again. She flashes me a smile through her veil of hair, joyous and fierce, then hits me with an extra hard thrust.

"OHHHH!"

PLAP! PLAP! PLAP! PLAP! PLAP!

Minutes? Hours? I don't have a clue how long she bones me. Long enough to have me gulping for air between my screams of rapture. "HAAAHHH!"

"Fuck yeah!"

PLAP! PLAP! PLAP! PLAP! PLAP!

"NNNGH!" With barely any warning the warm glow at my prostate had risen to the bursting point and I cum so hard! So damn hard! My ass clenches as jizz flies from the tip of my wildly swinging peen to spatter around my belly and arms and legs and all over the bedding and all the while my whole body and mind are flooded with the ecstasy of the best hands free orgasm ever. "Ohhhhhnnnghhhh!"

"Atta girl!" She spanks me. "That's it baby. Cum for Dommy."

"Hahhhh!" My high voice wails as my climax throbs, throbs, throbs through my nuts and guts. And when I was done cumming? She just…keeps…fucking! "OHHHHH!"

PLAP! PLAP! PLAP! PLAP! PLAP!

Leaning forward Winona pushes me down hard against the mattress as she shifts from doggy to simply reaming down into me from above. I was one happy bottom when I feel her weight coming down on top of me. Nobody had used my body like this before. No other lover had the size, strength and stamina to give me everything I ever wanted and so much more. Hugging to my pillow again I close my eyes and take every inch and every booty clapping thrust that she had to give.

PLAP! PLAP! PLAP! PLAP! PLAP!

Face pressed to the bed I mewl and coo my bottom bliss as my top destroys my twink body in the best possible way. Even though I was totally soft I think I cum again. It sounds funny to say, but I honestly wasn't sure. I definitely squirted again but with all the other incredible feelings ravaging me I couldn't even make out a nut among it all. My gloriously stretched and pounded ass was SINGING!

"FFFFNNNNGHHH!!!" With as much warning as my orgasm had Winona suddenly drives in deep and busts her load DEEP in my spasming bussy. "Fuuuuck!"

And that is when I feel that oh so wonderful throb, throb, throb of her huge cock depositing her hot, virile semen inside of me.

"Ohhhhhhh!"

WHUMP!

Her passion spent Winona collapses on top of me, pinning me completely beneath her while staying nicely buried in my bum.

"Hohhh." She kisses my sweaty hair then my sweaty cheek. "That was amazing."

"Ohhhhh." Through gasping, panting, whining breaths I huff. "I've never…ever…EVER…b-been fucked…like…that…before!"

"Heh." She smooches me again. "Nobody's ever been able to keep up with me before. Whooooo!" She lets out a long hard breath and wraps me up in the hottest, sweatiest big spoon ever. "God DAMN! Been awhile since I really let loose like that." She squeezes me tight. "I needed that."

"Me…tooooooo."

"Hmm. So?" She nuzzles into my hair. "Am I forgiven?"

Feeling ALL used up and never better in my life my only possible answer is a warbling. "Ohhhhhhhhh."

Chapter 132: One More Time

Chapter Text

I felt so good. Indescribably good. For the first time in my life somebody had finally dicked me down the way I had yearned to be since I was old enough to feel such yearnings. Those moments of mind blanking bliss as I was being pounded were treasures from above that transcended the physical realm. Normally it took a long time of nature and solitude for me to find such snippets of peace but Winona could get to my happy place with just her cock and a bit of effort.

"Hahhhhh."

My butt glowing and the rest of me sore and exhausted she had completely wrecked me. And it was glorious! All those guys and ladies out there with 'normal' girlfriends didn't have a clue what they were missing. Even without the sex I would have been Winona's faithful baby girl, but combining my favorite woman in the world with the best sex I'd ever had? Along with the best post nookie snuggles ever? I was a hopeless addict and she my drug. No rehab in the world could cure me of her.

Spooning me tight to her body from behind Winona gently kisses and sucks at the back of my neck as we both float in this most joyful afterglow. I lay still and so very relaxed savoring her hot flesh wrapped around me and her warm meat inside of me. I could feel her. I could smell her. I could taste her on the air. I was surrounded, permeated, and enveloped by her.

"Did ya like that, Sprout?" She whispers between kisses.

"Mmmmmmm." I hum happily. "Yeahhh."

"I thought you might." She sucks at my ear. "The way you were whimpering, I was worried I was being too rough."

"Mm mm." I shake my head. "Not too r-rough. Just right."

"Mmmm."

We lay for a few more minutes. As I clutch tightly to one of her hands with both of mine her other one pets up and down my body. She strokes my arm, caresses the side of my leg, gropes my titties for awhile, then slides slowly down my tummy to find my penis. At least thrice spent she finds it a shrunken nub of its former self.

"Mmm." She hums as she lightly fondles it then starts to stroke it with just a finger and thumb. "I think she's all tuckered out."

"Yeah." I giggle.

For a few more minutes she continues to gently stroke my dick. I could feel the love in her touch. Even small and soft she loved my penis as she did me, just the way it was.

Somewhere in those passing minutes we had begun to make love again. Her cock had barely softened before swelling with renewed vitality and now her hips were slowly thrusting again.

"Mmmmm." I moan as her member flexes to full hardness to give me that satisfying stretch once more.

Burying her face into my neck she gives me a hard lingering kiss as her inches stroke in and out and in and out. Gentle and unhurried it could not have been more different from the last time. Long and slow and deep Winona makes sweet love to me.

"M-More lube please." I ask softly when things began to grip in uncomfortable ways. With no fuss at all more is added. More than was needed actually, but it did make things all super slick and smooth and lewdly squelchy. "Mmmmmm."

When her finger and thumb return to my dick they were slippery as well. She coats my penis with the lube then engulfs it in a full grip to tenderly stroke and massage it in the same rhythm as her lengthy strokes. If the last fuck was a speedboat blasting through choppy waves this one was a pleasure cruise on sail boat over calm waters during a warm summer breeze. It was lovely. Comfortably, leisurely, Winona makes love to me while continuing to lavish the back of my neck with soft kisses.

I don't know how long we make love. It had to have been close to an hour. And for that hour I felt like the most loved man in all of Ehkollie. She'd been inside of me for so long she felt a part of me now. Her swaddling embrace had been around me so long she felt as one with me as my own skin. And basking in her aura for so long I felt a part of her too. With her body and soul Winona was telling me that no matter what happened out there with the struggles of work or family or just life in general, in here I was loved and accepted and adored. In here I could be Avery or baby girl or Althea or whatever I wished to be. Just as she could be Winona or Daddy or Mommy or Dommy or even the fearsome Lady Ara when the time was right. In our world anything was possible.

"Cum with me." She whispers as her thrusts get just a little bit faster and her grip becomes a little bit tighter.

"Mmmm!" Closing my eyes I focus on the pressure in my ass and balls and do what I can to give in to it.

"Ohhh fuck baby. You feel sooo good." Her voice rises, soft and pleading. She was close to surrender herself. To hear and to feel such a powerful woman losing control was so arousing to me. "Fuck baby. Mmmm! I'm gonna bust."

"Ohhhh." I moan submissively, in that way that I knew she liked, and began to rock my hips in time but opposite of hers. "C-Cum in me." I plead. "I wanna feel youuu."

My moans must have been too much for her as her smooth even strokes falter and she suddenly shudders. Under her breath she grunts. "Fuck!"

The next thing I knew I was once more feeling that exquisite heartbeat like throb pulsing in my bowels! I wasn't cumming yet but damned if I don't wail like a banshee as if I was.

"HAAAHHHHH!!!"

"NNNNNGHHHH!!!" Spurred to greater heights by my orgasmic cry Winona groans deeply as she pumps another hot load into her baby girl boyfriend. It was beautiful! "Hohhhhhh." She sighs as her climax fades away.

"Mmm." I snuggle back into her as happy and cozy as I could be.

With a kiss to my shoulder and a pinch to my tush she huffs. "You little shit."

"Huh?"

She laughs. "You were faking it."

"Oh! Oh no. N-No way." I deny, and then. "Well…m-maybe a little. But it felt amazing!"

"Ha ha ha!" Letting go of my dick she nearly crushes me in a great big hug.

Chapter 133: Lovey Dovey Scrubby

Chapter Text

We lay there spooning for a long happy time while Winona slowly softens inside of me before eventually plopping right out of my gradually tightening hole. I felt so hollow without her in there but ohhhh did my cum burbling butt feel good! We weren't simply cuddling, we were bonding and it was wonderful.

From there Winona takes me to the shower where we squeeze into the cramped space together and let the nice hot water sprays over our tired, sweaty, and in many places sticky bodies. Without it even being discussed she doesn't do one thing to wash herself and neither do I. We could wash ourselves anytime, might as well take advantage to wash the other while we could.

First I wash her and it was SO SEXY! Leaning back against the door she reaches up above her head to hold to the top edge of the stall and holds them there as if she were bound or her hands were glued to the glass. Her shoulders pressed to the glass and her hips pushed out from it by a foot or so she stood there staring straight into my eyes as if daring me to clean her. I took that dare without hesitation!

Taking the detachable shower head, a new addition since last I'd been here, I spray down her long sexy body. I linger extra long on her boobs and dick but I am sure to get every bit of her. Even as I let the water stream over her head to wet her long, raven hair she continues staring at me with those intense hazel eyes. Just the way she was looking at me made me weak in the knees, and I was already wobbly from getting fucked so good. I felt like I was washing a dangerous animal, like a tiger or something, as it just stared and waited to pounce. I love it so much when Winona looks powerful like that.

I soap up my bare hands and lather her up from her toes at the bottom to her fingers at the top. I head to press in real tight to reach up her taller body and we both enjoyed that immensely. I then scrub her down with my hands. I really loved how her slippery boobs would squirt through my grip as I squeezed them and how her cock felt as it slide through my hand as I stroked it and squeezed it like I was milking a cow or something.

"May I eat your p-pussy?" I beg when my hand finds her hot coochie and start to rub it.

"Mmm." She grins and tightens her legs around my hand for just a moment. "Not tonight, baby."

"Your bum?"

"No baby girl. Just clean me."

"Okay." I smile.

I don't know why but I enjoyed permission being denied almost as much as it being given. Perhaps just because it demonstrated how in control she was over both me and her own desires. And that made me feel like I was in good hands.

The front of her body clean she then turns around and has me do her back side. Cramped as it was I get to my knees to rub down her long, shapely legs. From there I give her balls a good cleansing massage then swirl my hands around her beautiful butt cheeks. Remembering how I'd so recently been smothered there in her crotch had me all aflutter. Getting up I work on her back and arms. The shape of her body and her smooth warm skin felt so good gliding across my palms and I adored how her long, straight wet hair shone and how hidden beneath that river of black a raven hid. Her body rinsed I move on.

With shampoo in my hands I stroke down her silky hair then reapply to scrub some into her scalp.

"Oh…ohhhhh." She groans as my fingers scour hard against her scalp. "Ohhh yeah." She liked it so I do it for her a good little while before moving on.

Carefully I rinse out all the suds, squeezing out her long locks with one hand as I spray just behind with the other. And then I do it all again but with conditioner.

Then it was my turn. Instead of having me reach up like she did she turns around and pushes me back then physically takes my arms, crosses my wrists, and pins my hands above my head with one of hers. It was SO forceful and dominant a moan escapes me. "Ohhh!"

She smirks then very lightly bites the tip of my nose.

Holding me firmly against the wall Winona hoses me down, soaps me up, then scrubs me down. Every last bit of me! Like her I stare into her eyes as she washes my filthy body, but unlike hers my gaze was pure submission. She holds my gaze as she washes me. Before Winona I never knew how incredible it felt to allow somebody that you love to clean you. Before Winona I never could have held eye contact for this long with anybody. Before Winona my life had been missing all of this and so much more.

Sensing my lovey-dovey emotions rising she pauses to smile and plant a sweet kiss upon my lips. "Me too."

She then finishes with my penis and balls, handling them in that wonderful rough yet gentle way she had. Front done she turns me around, pins my hands back where they'd been, and goes again. Her free hand roams all over me, washing away the sweat and the lube and the cum. When she scrubbed up and down so vigorously with two fingers between my cheeks I began to wonder if she was about to take me again! My spirit was game but I wasn't so sure my flesh could take another round. But she didn't in the end and simply washed me.

Letting go of my wrists she then gives me the same deep scalp massage treatment as I had to her while she washes my hair.

"Ohhhhhh!"

And then at last she rinses me down. I turn around and step into her, hugging her as tight as I could around her waist as her arms slide around my back.

Loved up and cleaned up we then towel each other off. You couldn't have found two happier people on Ehkolie as we step back into the main room. My nightie and panties already a mess Winona gives me her bathrobe to wear as she slips back into her sweats and sports bra.

When she walks back across the room toward me I giggle. "What?" She asks.

I point. "W-Without your underwear on…he he he…your d-dick looks a big bell clapper or something swinging around in there. He he he he!"

"Ha!" She swats my tush. "Clap dat booty."

"Oh! Well…I suppose I could f-fake it for you one more time."

"Fake if for…!? I swear I will throw you right out that window Sprout!"

"Ha ha ha!" We laugh and share a hug. And a lovely hug it is. Beneath the fuzzy robe my naked body was feeling all sorts of nice as the soft fabric caressed me.

"Brat." She smooches me hard.

"L-Let me make you a snack?" I ask.

"Hell yeah." She says, patting her tummy. "I really worked up an appetite. Ha!"

While I merrily make my woman some food for all her hard work she collects our laundry.

"Mom and Dad are going to start wondering why I'm always doing laundry." She chuckles as she looks at the circular pattern of squirt I'd left when I came as she was doing me from behind. Just by the distribution you could imagine my dick flinging around in circles as I nutted. "Damn we're a mess! Shoulda called you Squirt, not Sprout. Look it all!"

"Pfff! He he he!" I giggle as I lay out little squares of cheese over some crackers. "Hey, the b-big puddle's yours. And I l-like Sprout."

Before long we are on the love seat sitting cross-legged and facing each other. On Winona's legs sat the plate of goodies I'd made while on in my little nest I pet a happily purring Brutus. There was no television or music playing, just a comfortable silence as we sit gazing at each other. Our passion spent for the moment yet neither of us wanted to go to bed yet there was nothing left to do but talk.

Chapter 134: A Fun Idea

Chapter Text

As Winona eats her snack and I pet the kitten we gaze into each other's eyes and talk about whatever came to mind.

We talk about the boat trip with Grandpa that we were hoping to do this Saturday, Winona seeming genuinely excited about it. I discover that outside of a couple fishing trips on small lakes in her youth and the ferry out to Ehkolie that she'd barely been on the water before. She had never slept on a ship before or cruised a coastline or anything. For a little sea dog like me I couldn't imagine my life without the ocean. She was also eager to hear about some of the places we could go to hike or camp that were difficult to reach any other way. The vast majority of her time on the island had been spent in Haven Point and now the garage, the rest of the land was a mystery to her. I was only too happy to be her guide in exploring it.

The topic then turns to her life back on the reservation and how she was going to miss the plains despite the challenges of living there. She confessed that she found the looming mountains claustrophobic and the water that surrounded the island constraining compared to the vast open spaces that she was used to. She told me that back home the summers were too hot, the winters too cold, the spring too mucky, and the autumn too short and yet still she felt a connection to the land and people that went deep.

Setting the plate to the side she turns me around and has me lay back onto body so that my head rested on her chest just below her chin. Wrapping her legs over mine and her arms around my chest she holds me close. As I pet Brutus who now lay on my chest she teases at my hair and we continue our conversation.

Lightly stroking her hand that rested on my belly I ask softly. "D-Do you plan to g-go back someday?"

"Nah." She says, still playing with my hair. "I thought about staying behind but…nah. We're putting down roots here. Closer to Russell. Better opportunities. A better future. I'll always love the Rez but this is our home now."

Patting her hand I tell her. "You'll learn to love it."

With a kiss to my head she whispers. "I'm learning quick."

I smile and snuggle back into her. "Just wait until you s-see the sunset out at sea. And I c-can show you places that are so beautiful here it'll take your breath away."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." I say. "You'll come to love Ehkolie as much m-me. You'll see."

"I can't wait." She says. "You know, Dad was actually asking about your nature walks and stuff."

"Oh?"

"He thought you might know some places to find deer and grouse."

"Oh yeah! Easy." I say. "Just driving around you can…" I pause. "Why deer and grouse?"

"Hunting of course." She chuckles. "You have not had a burger until you've tasted Dad's venison…"

"Amos k-k-kills deer?" I bristle. "He shoots them!"

"He hunts them."

"I…I thought he w-was an animal lover."

"He is. He's a big ol suck with animals." She ruffles the kitten's orange head. "You've seen him with mighty Brutus here."

"But he hunts?"

"Well, yeah. Most Lakota men do. At least in our family. It's important to them."

"Yet he loves animals?"

"You love birds and you eat chicken, don't ya?"

"True. It just…seems different is all."

"I mean, what did ya think the guns were about?"

"I…I forgot about them." I say, despite having seen the empty gun rack in Winona's truck lots of times to remind me. "Are th-they here?"

She leans in to try to look at my face. I look up at her to see her peering down a bit confused. "Of course. He kept the handguns in town and I keep the long guns out here. In case of bears or whatever."

"Th-There's no bears on Ehkolie anymore!"

"Avery. Calm down."

"Sorry." I sigh. "I…don't like g-guns. When D-Dad moved away he took his gun with him. We didn't have any around after th-that. I l-liked it better that way."

"They're in a safe in the storeroom." She says. "You won't even have to see them."

"Okay."

"I can teach you how to use them if you want. They're not as scary as all that once you're comfortable with them." She says. "I could take you to the range or we could just head out back and…"

"Um…I-I d-don't think I'd like that." I say.

"Ya sure? It's pretty fun."

"I l-like to do my shooting with c-cameras, not guns."

"Fair enough." She hugs me. "Everything cool, Sprout?"

"Cool." I answer.

She pats my chest then gives it a brisk rub. "Russell never liked'em either."

"Smart guy."

"Ha!"

Brutus eventually wanders off but we stay snug right where we were. Even though I had to hang my legs over the arm of the loveseat there was nowhere more comfy than in Winona's embrace.

"This is nice."

"Mmm." She hums as she returns to lightly stroking my hair as I lightly caress her opposite forearm.

"Winona?"

"Mmm?"

"D-Did you mean what you said? About the shopping trip?"

"What do you think?"

"I th-think you did." I whisper. "Winona?"

She lets out a soft laugh. "Go ahead."

"Do you…th-think…"

Her arm and legs tighten around me. "It's okay, Avery."

"What d-do you think…K-Kayla and B-Briar would say…if they knew w-we were shopping for me?"

"Well." She ponders a moment. "Kayla would be cool. More than cool. I mean, you probably know her even better than I do. What do you think?"

"I think she'd be c-cool." I say, nerves of a reveal that was only hypothetical at this point already rising. "She m-might laugh though."

"Not in a mean way."

"Yeah."

"And Briar, well, I just don't know her well enough." She says. "She seems sweet enough. So sweet that she's stealing handholds from my man!"

"I w-won't do it again."

"I never said that, Sprout." She kisses my head again. "You guys do your thing. Not my business."

"Mmm." I sigh happily. "I think Briar would be…c-cool."

"I think so too." She says. "You thinking about showing them baby girl?"

"I'm thinking about it." I confess.

"Riley?"

"Mmm." I shake my head no. It was nothing against Riley, but in my gut I didn't trust her like I did the others.

"Yeah. Good plan." She says. "Riley's fun but she's not the most discreet person."

"And, um, I h-had an idea how to d-do it safely first."

"Oh? I'm listening."

"M-Maybe…we could, um, show up t-to the n-next game in costume?" I say. "It w-would give me an excuse to b-be Althea."

"That…is an AWESOME idea! Ha ha ha!" She laughs. "Oh man. That would be rad!"

"Th-Think the others would like it?"

"Kayla getting to dress like a hot, slutty demon dude? She'd love that!"

"He he he!" I giggle. "I n-never thought about that. She would!"

"Her halloween parties are always the best. Oh yeah, we'd make her a gamer for life if we did that. She is gonna go nuts with her costume. You watch."

"Briar m-might be tough. How's she g-gonna be Scourge?"

"With imagination anything is possible." She says excitedly, the idea gaining a momentum of it's own. "She's a gamer. She'll get it. Cain'll be the challenge."

"Oh? N-Not one for costumes?"

"No clue." She says. "But it's not his costume I'm worried about."

"Hoppy Bunbun!"

"Ha ha ha! Exactly. I can see Riley already. Jumping around with her tits flopping out! HA HA HA! She'd do it too!" Beneath me her tight belly was bouncing me up and down. "Brayden on the couch with his mouth hanging open. Cain scowling at him for gawking at his girlfriend. HA HA HA!"

"He he he!"

"I was going to try to get something together Friday night." She says. "Let's do this!"

"Okay!"

Chapter 135: Hint Received

Chapter Text

Winona actually thinks my idea is such a good one that she wastes no time in setting it into motion. With a final hard hug and a kiss to the crown of my head she sits me up and slips out from behind to go get her phone. Hurrying back she flumps down beside me and turns it on.

"Damn." She says. "Kay's tried calling like three times and a bunch of texts."

"Er, I, uh, I kinda t-talked to her first." I confess. "To see what I should do when you're m-mad."

"Ah." She nods. "She probably thought I was out on the warpath or something."

"Something l-like that."

Dialing our mutual friend she brings the phone to her ear. The moment Kayla picks up Winona launches into a whole act, her voice frantic and scared. "Kay! Oh shit, I really fucked up Kay. I'm in trouble. I'm in big trouble." As I clamp a hand over my mouth to stop my giggles I hear Kayla's raised voice asking her what's going on. "I didn't mean to hurt her. Oh God, there's so much blood! It's everywhere!" After a moment's stunned silence Winona gasps. "I-I think she's dead, Kay. What the fuck do I do?"

Kayla looses her shit! She wasn't on speaker phone but she might as well have been as I hear her scream in complete panic. "Oh my God! What have you done!?" Winona tries to reply but she was too busy holding in her laughter. "Okay, okay, okay! Lemme think! Oh shit! Oh fuck! Oh God!"

"BWA HA HA HA HA!" Winona roars with laughter and I giggle up a storm at our poor friend's expense. "I'm fucking with you! HA HA HA!"

"What? THAT'S NOT FUNNY!" Kayla cries. "WINNIEEE!!!"

When Winona was able to breath again she wipes her eyes and says through gasping breaths. "You actually thought I murdered someone! Ha ha ha!" There's some grumbling on the other end before the settle into their conversation. "Nah. I wasn't angry." Winona jests. "Not sure where you got that idea. I was as calm and collected as I always am. A tranquil lake on a calm summer morning." She listens to Kayla a minute. "Yeah, I was freakin a little. It was all a big misunderstanding. My baby came and set me right." She is looking at me as she speaks, reaching out her fingers find my hair and start to lightly twirl around in it. "Speaking of murder though, you and me are going to have a conversation about those cunt friends of yours. Yeah, Becca and Kimmy. They're fucking dead." A pause. "No! Not literally dead. Damn Kay, who do you think I am!" She chuckles. "But you and me are gonna sort those two out. They fucked with the wrong man this time."

It felt weird sitting there being talked about but I had already told myself that I was going to let Winona take care of this and I wasn't going to meddle. Plus, I was super curious what she had in mind for my bullies. Kayla was every bit as pissed off as Winona was and definitely a willing partner but it never actually gets around to the details though as they quickly turn to what Winona had called about. She tells her all about my plan for the group to show up to the next game in costume as our characters both for fun and to help in immersion. She then tells her that this wasn't an unusual thing and that lots of groups would dress in character for their games. Once she runs through the plan there's another brief pause before Kayla cries out again, this time with excitement.

"AHHH! YES!" She yells. "We get to dress up in FoF!? Why didn't you say that the beginning?"

Winona laughs, expecting the response. "Thought you might like that. This Friday? Yep. Cool. I'll text the others." She says. "Shopping trip?"

"Hell yes! I've got ideas. Lots of ideas." Again Kayla's voice raises to the point I can hear it. It wasn't too hard sitting so close and with no other sounds in the room, though soon it lowers again.

"Mm hm. Sure. That'd be cool." Winona's twiddling fingers had now begun to stroke my hair instead. Still she stared at me as she spoke to Kayla, making me feel so very beautiful. "Yeah. Thrift shop? Perfect. Avery would like to join us if that's cool. He thought we might invite Briar too?"

"Hold on a sec!" There's a pause from Kayla. "Avery's coming as Althea!?"

"Uh, yeah. The whole idea is that you all do it together."

"Nooo way!" Kayla squees. "Avery as Althea!? He's gonna be soooo HOT! AHHH!"

My blushing cheeks warm at the compliment that I wasn't supposed to hear.

"Easy girl, he's all mine now." Winona grins as she tenderly pinches my earlobe. "He's a bit intimidated. He's worried someone might laugh at him."

"Laugh!?" She exclaims. "Anybody laughs at my bae lookin fab and I won't need a costume to be a demon. I claw their damned eyes out."

"There ya have it. No one's gonna laugh at you, Sprout." Winona says to me. "Hm? Oh yeah. He's right here." She chuckles. "Yeah, he definitely heard you."

"Winnie!" Kayla protests.

I hold back a laugh.

"Avery!" Kayla yells through the phone, nearly deafening Winona. "Shopping's going to be SO FUN! Lemme talk to him."

"Nah. He can't talk right now." Winona's grin grows as she shoots me a wink. "Let's just say his mouth is otherwise engaged."

My eyebrows shoot up hopefully. Was that a not so subtle hint? There was only one way to find out. As I slide off of the loveseat Winona uses the hand that had been playing with my hair to start to pull down her sweats. Yep! Hint sent and hint received.

"Yes I'm serious." She laughs as I settle into a kneeling position between her legs.

Without any panties on I get to watch her long half aroused dick reveal itself inch by inch as the pants come down. The instant that the knob reveals itself I am on it in a flash. Gently holding her shaft between both hands I open wide and wrap my lips around her fat cock. That wonderful feeling of elation courses through me as I feel her warm meat fill my maw and swell thicker and longer on each stroke.

"Hmmmm." I coo softly, joyfully, as I begin to suckle.

"Fuck." Winona sighs as the pleasure of my oral hits her. "Hm? Nothin." She tries to refocus on the conversation, only for me to suck a little harder. "Oh fuuuck."

"Hmmm." I mewl through a giggle. I LOVED seeing the effect I had on her. "Mmmm."

Winona's eyes roll back and she bites her lip to hold back a moan. "Hm? Yeah. Yep. Sounds good." She turns her head away so Kayla can't hear and gasps. "Fuckin hell baby!"

"Hmmmm!" Already mostly hard I am able to start a full steady bob up and down as I suck her dick as good as I can, which in my case was pretty darn good. "Hm! Hm! Hmmm!"

"Huh?" Her hazel eyes flare as she struggles to maintain concentration on the conversation. "Yeah. Yep. They open that late? Cool. Cool, cool, cool. Whooo." Addressing me she asks. "7pm, Thursday for shopping? Friday the game?"

"Hm." I give her a thumbs up then hit her with an EXTRA hard suck.

"GNGH!" She grabs my hair with her free hand and grips it tight. "Mother fuck…hmmm. Yeah, sorry. Seven'll work. Fuck Kay, I think I gotta go! NO! You can't come over!"

Kayla laughs and sings loudly. "Have a good night you twoooo."

Chapter 136: Plot Twist

Chapter Text

"Hmm. Mmm. Mmmm." I hum softly as I bob up and down on Winona's perfect cock. With one hand I hold the base in a light grip while the other cups her balls as if to warm my coming meal. "Mmmm."

Watching me Winona sighs and settles back, relaxed and contented. As she gazes into my eyes she plays with my hair. "Game day Friday." She says softly. "Can't wait."

"Mmm." I smile with my eyes to show my excitement as well.

She licks her lips and tilts her head, her fingers still playing through my hair. "We need a little one-on-one sesh before then."

"Mmm?"

"Lady Ara has something to share with her vassal." She smiles and tickles my ear. "Would you like to do it now?"

"Mmm!" I nod as best I can without giving up the bob.

"Very well."

Upon her high throne in the center of the gloomily lit grand hall of her castle Lady Ara sits regal and commanding. Her magical armor glints from the low red fires that burns in the braziers at the base of the stairs that lead up to this raised platform. For many a long year the armor had protected every inch of the great warrior and in that time never had she removed a plate, a gauntlet, or a boot. Not one sliver of her flesh had felt the touch of light in all of that time. Even through the eye slit of her mithril helm there was nothing but darkness. On this day however a piece had been removed. The codpiece now rested on the arm of her throne. And through the space it once protected a great pale cock rose up like a tower, over a foot long and as wide as the great blade she carried into battle.

On her knees before the Lady is the elven maiden Althea. She wore a sleek robe of jade colored silk over her petite frame, her fine pink lips wrapped tightly around her Mistress' penis.

"Remove your robe." Lady Ara's voice echoes. "I wish to see your body."

Without hesitation the wizard obeys. Loosening the belt she pulls the robe apart to reveal her fair, lithe body and lets it slide from her shoulders, down her smooth back, until continues to slip halfway down the stairs leaving her completely nude

"Very good, my pet." With a gauntleted hand she brushes a few golden strands from her servant's fine featured face. "Your service is improving."

"Hmmm." Althea moans pleadingly as her head bobs quicker.

"No, my dear." Ara says calmly. "I will not claim your purity this night. I said improving, but you are not there yet."

"Mmmm." Althea whimpers softly, disappointed that her virginity would remain in tact for another few weeks as she was to leave in the morning.

"Patience my little one." Ara runs her steel fingers across the elf's soft, delicate shoulder.

"Hmmm, mmm, mmmmmm." Althea coos as she sucks her Lady slow and deep. One would never have guessed such a sweet maiden could fit a cock like Ara's through her fine lips nor swallow as much of it as she could, but Althea had gifts that went beyond her magic. "Mmmm."

"Verrrry gooood." Lady Ara croons as her huge shaft flexes. "Before I send you back into the world there is something that I must share with you. A secret. My most guarded secret."

"Mmm?" The elf's huge azure eyes widen in curiosity.

"I did not command you to stop."

"Hmm!" Althea hurries back to orally pleasuring her Lady with long, steady sucks.

"Your obedience is admirable." Ara whispers. "But where do your loyalties truly lie, my pet?"

Reaching up beneath her chin Ara begins to fiddle with something. There is a click and then another before the chin straps that held her helm firmly in place fall free. Althea's eyes widen as her Lady slowly lifts her helm.

Pouring out from the back come long locks of flowing silver hair to cascade down over the broad shoulder plates of the armor. A chin, a mouth, a nose, a face is revealed in the flickering firelight. A face proud and strong and as pale as moonlight. Full lips, broad cheekbones, tapered chin, almond shaped eyes, with fierce straight brows she appeared to be a human from the far Eastern Empires. A great scar split her handsome features from her left cheekbone, across her nostril then bisecting her lips to eventually end at the ridge of her right jaw. Magic had been used to cure the wound but had been unable to erase the scar. Like a beautiful face in a cracked mirror it left her with a broken grin. It wasn't the old wound that caught Althea's attention, but the glistening white fangs revealed within the crooked smile.

"Mm!" Althea's gaze snaps up to meet Ara's. Only then does she notice that there were no whites in her eyes. They were a pure dark crimson-black.

Vampire!

"Did I command you to stop?"

"Mmm." Althea moans meekly and returns to her blowjob, this time confused and scared.

"You have nothing to fear my pet." Free from the echoing helm Lady Ara's voice is as rich and smooth as elven wine. "I am the same woman that you offered yourself to those months ago."

"Mmmm."

"That's right Althea." She whispers and rests a hand over the back of Althea's head. "You serve a monster. You gave yourself to a vampire lord, my foolish little one."

"Hmmmm."

"You should have been more cautious." She sighs and relaxes back in her throne. "You should never have come here in the first place." Althea feels the vampire's unnatural will tickle the back of her mind as they gaze into each other. "Have you not wondered at the coolness of my flesh? Or the darkness of my castle?" She laughs a deep, sultry laugh. "I am everything you and your grandmother oppose. Unnatural, unliving, cursed, a blight upon this fair, green world."

"Mmm."

"I share this with you so that when I send you out into the world this time my little bird will know what cage it is that she flies back to." She says. "You should know whom you serve. You should know who it is that you offer your maiden's honor to. You should know the monster that lurks inside this steel."

"Hmmm!"

"Shhhh." Ara soothes Althea with a gentle, steel caress across her bare shoulder. "Be not afraid." Raising her hand she stares at her gauntleted fist. "This armor is my salvation. It keeps the beast at bay. Within it my mind is my own, my appetite tempered, and my flesh protected from the sun's killing light. Although…if ever I am without it, even for a short time…" Her voice trails as her hand returns to the back of Althea's head. Taking a handful of the elf's fine, golden locks she takes control of the blowjob and hurries it along. "In just removing the codpiece I confess to feel the hunger rising again. It's been so long since I felt it. I can feel your life. I yearn for your warmth. Hahhhh. I can hear the beating of your living heart. Hahhhh." Her beautiful face contorts in a rising passion. "Hurry my pet. Hurry. Our time is brief."

Torn between loyalties Althea is at a loss as to what to do. For the moment at least, she chooses obedience.

"Hmm! Mmm! Mmm!" The elf wizard sucks and slurps her Lady's huge member with a passion driven by fear. Fear of what would happen if she didn't finish fast enough and fear of what this revelation would mean for her going forward. Pushing aside any doubts or worries Althea focuses on pleasuring her Lady as best as she could.

"Yessss…ohhhh yessssss!"

"HMMM!"

The cold, hard shaft stretching her lips throbs and Althea feels a great blast of cum pump down her gulping throat. As those unnatural dark eyes pierce her soul Althea swallows all that she can for the monster she called Mistress.

I stare up at a smiling Winona as her salty cum dribbles from my parted, panting lips. "Wh-What!?"

"What?" She chuckles.

"LADY ARA IS A VAMPIRE!?"

Chapter 137: Nodding Off

Chapter Text

As she gently wipes my lips and chin with a tissue Winona tells me that Lady Ara, the 'hero' that my character served, was indeed one of the cursed, blood-sucking undead. No matter how I pry she would not give me further context or back story, simply saying that it was now in Althea's hands as to what to do with that information. When I asked for guidance she replied that it wasn't for her to tell a player how to play their character. I could see in her twinkling eyes that she was loving my reaction to the big lore drop, clearly a secret she'd been holding for some time. I felt honored to be let in on it and happy to see how she was enjoying it. I was also thrilled at the naughty role-playing we'd just shared. It was really fun to give head as Althea, it gave something I already loved a whole fresh twist as I tried to emulate how an innocent elf maiden might go about it. I really hoped that we did it again sometime.

We tidy up and settle in again on the loveseat. Winona had her arm around me with Brutus wriggling in the seam where our legs met in a futile attempt to get one of us to play. We try to watch another show but on my end it was hopeless. After the day I'd had and after all the incredible sex I was done for. Physically, mentally, emotionally I was exhausted. Struggle as I might I simply could not keep my eyelids open. Again and again I would slowly slump into Winona's side and realize that my eyes were closed then snap up and try to concentrate only for the process to start all over again.

Finally she tightens her arm around me and whispers. "Let's get you to bed."

"Mmm?" I sit up straight. "No, I'm g-good. I'm watching."

She chuckles as she pauses the show. "Oh yeah? What's this episode about?"

"Um." I struggle to dredge up anything as I stare at the image on the screen. "S-Something about…um…Jessie in the hospital?"

"Pff! Hospital? That's the aunt's lab!" She shuts it off. "Bed time, baby girl."

I smile in relief. "Yes, Dommy."

Side by side we brush our teeth staring at each other through mirror with greenish foam covering our lips. Lowering her brush she says through the froth. "Kish?"

I giggle and nod.

Right there we smooch, sharing the toothpaste between our open mouths. We laugh at our silliness then spit and rinse.

"Oh. I almost forgot." I turn to her and slip my arms around her waist to squeeze her in a super tight hug. Laying my head on her shoulder and looking at my face smiling back at me I say. "This is f-from Grandpa."

"Oh?"

"He asked earlier that I give it t-to you." She wraps her strong arms around me and gives me a wonderful crushing embrace. "Hmmm."

"Well that's nice." She says softly and kisses my head.

Back out in the room she swats my bum to urge me toward the bed. "I'm just going to go bring your bike in. Just be a sec."

"Okay."

As Winona heads out I shuffle sleepily toward her bed. I smile at the fresh bedding as I remembered why it had to get changed. I consider turning on my phone to check it but quickly let that thought go. The world of mean moms and mystery dads, brothers and sisters, friends and enemies, work and money and all of the myriad demands of life would be waiting for me when the sun came up. For now I content myself with this precious time with HER.

Slipping out of the robe I get under the covers bare ass naked and snuggle in. Brutus is soon to join me. His little engine purring as I pet his fuzzy back he makes biscuits on my pillow as he readies himself to bed down. Winona comes back in, kicks off her shoes then pauses when she spots the two males of her house all snug and comfy.

A big smile brightens her beautiful face. "Now there's a sight I could get used to."

She strides across the room then pulls off her bra and sweats before turning out the light and slipping in beside me. With movements as natural as the waves I turn to my side and she comes up tight behind me to accept my little spoon against her warm, soft body. Her arm pulls me close and she kisses my shoulder a few times.

"G'night, Sprout."

"Good night Winona." I whisper back.

My girlfriend against my back beneath the warm covers and a purring kitty just a few inches from my face I am one happy guy as I close my eyes to put an end to another roller-coaster day. Body relaxed, mind at peace, spirit content I swiftly drift off into a deep, restful slumber.

Chapter 138: Open for Business

Chapter Text

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

"HWAH!?" Winona bolts up in bed, woken as I was by the loud rapping on the door.

"Get yer butt outta bed!" Amos' big voice booms through the door. "We got customers comin."

"Customers?" She struggles through the haze of the rude awakening from a deep slumber. "What…? We're not even open."

"We are now." He announces. "They'll be here in fifteen."

"Fifteen!?" Winona exclaims. "Fuck, shit, fuck!" She starts to scramble before pausing to give me a kiss. "Mornin Sprout." She smiles…then starts scrambling again. Nearly taking the covers with her she launches herself out of bed to hurriedly start pulling clothes. "I'm comin!" She calls with a hair tie clenched in her teeth before quickly pulling back her long hair into a ponytail.

Back in bed a groggy Brutus and I look at each other, both of us discombobulated by the flurry of activity. By the time I sit up, rub my sleepy eyes, and stretch Winona was already in her coveralls and slipping into a pair of steel toes.

Slam!

The next thing I knew I was alone with the kitten. Outside the door I could hear father and daughter's muffled voices.

"Why didn't you call?"

"I did!" Amos chuckles. "Seems your phone was off for some reason? He he he."

"Shaddup!"

Not sure of what else to do I slip out of bed myself and dash naked across the room to duck into the washroom, or start to dash before my achy bottom slows me down a step. Ohhhh, the delicious aftereffects of Winona's hard lovemaking was…wonderful! In the washroom I slip into my clothes from yesterday. As I pulled on my tight, thin white undershirt that you could nearly see the nipples through even when it wasn't wet I make a note to bring some clothes out here for just these occasions. After freshening up I head to the closet looking for something that I could be seen in. Settling on the collared shirt that she'd worn as 'Daddy' that one time I slip in and button up. It was too big for me but after tucking it in and pulling the excess fabric to the back then rolling up the sleeves it actually didn't look too bad. With nothing else to wear on my feet I slip into Winona's special moccasins and head to see what was going on. Excited to see Amos Brutus trundles along at my side.

"Good morning, Avery." Amos' face brightens as I step out blinking against the bright light. The front door, the door to the bays, and both bay doors were wide open to let the sun and fresh morning air come pouring in. "Tea's still hot if you want it." He nods to the counter where he had a big carafe of coffee and donuts from a local bakery laid out. Beside them sat the single cup he was calling my attention to. "I understand you're a tea drinker."

"This is f-for me?" I wrap my hands around the hot cardboard cup and sniff it. Earl Grey.

"There he is." Amos bends down to scoop up the orange kitten attacking his lace. "My tiger."

I take a sip of the warm, bitter tea and smile. "Th-Thank you. And g-g-good morning."

"Winnie's grabbing the breakfast from the truck." He says as he carries Brutus into the bays.

Not thirty seconds later Winona comes jogging in with two stuffed bags of fast food breakfasts. She plops them on the counter and says. "Hope you're hungry." She says. "Dad! You got enough for like ten people here!"

"Figured you two might have worked up an appetite." He quips. "HA!"

"DAAAD!"

Winona rushes into the bay to go give her father the beating she felt he deserved.

"Ow! Hey! Watch it, you'll hit Brutus!"

I giggle as I busy myself with laying out the breakfast sandwiches and crispy hashbrown patties. The pair hurry about getting ready and I make sure to stay tucked behind the counter and out of the way. They come in and out of the office to grab big snarfing bites of food as they talk with each other in raised, hurried voices. I watch quietly, enjoying watching a father and daughter joke and laugh and work together so naturally. That was how it was supposed to be. I unwrap a sandwich for myself but carefully slip out the greasy sausage patty from mine as I only wanted the egg. The patty I slide into another sandwich to make it extra meaty and the next time Winona zips by I push it toward her. She notes the double meat and shows her appreciation with a quick wink before chomping into it.

I was just washing my sandwich down with the yummy tea when I hear Amos announce. "Here they are!"

Leaning forward I see a line of three small, identical vans pulling up from the highway. They were bright green and gaudy pink and on their sides they had the logo of the island's main maid service company who looked after a lot of the offices and vacation properties on Ehkolie. Amos and Winona step out meet their very first customers as the trio of vans come to park at the front of the building.

An older woman and clearly the person in charge was the first out of her van, two much younger women step out of the other two. One of them I knew as a former classmate of mine. Each of them had on green and pink uniforms that matched their vehicles.

"Amos Crow, you are a lifesaver." The older woman says as she shakes his hand. "We've been waiting a damn month to get into Bobbo's."

"He's a busy guy." Amos says, his voice upbeat. "We're happy we could help."

Winona collects the keys and says to her dad. "I'll start giving them the once over."

"Great."

As she heads one way the entire rest of the group turn and head my way! I was spying the door to the bays but they were inside before I could make my escape.

"Coffee and donuts." He offers them. "Breakfast is still fresh too if you're interested."

They avail themselves of the goodies as Amos and the boss lady get down to business.

"Hey Avery!" My old classmate greets me as the other gets distracted by a curious Brutus.

"Hi C-Camille." I say, feeling suddenly very awkward to be standing behind the counter while all this was going on.

"I didn't know you worked here." She says. "I just saw you down at the grocery the other day."

"I, uh, help out s-sometimes." I say. "W-Winona's my g-girlfriend."

"Winona? OH! Win!" She laughs. "Like on the sign. Cool."

"Yeah."

She and her coworker, who was now cooing to the happy kitten in her hands, make small talk with me, very awkwardly on my end, while Amos talks shop and Winona starts to inspect the vans. There was so much going on at once! I was feeling good today though and that urge to flee was thankfully absent. To my pleasant surprise I find Camille to be very amiable and quick with a laugh. A far cry from those years ago when she was one of the hangers on at the periphery of the popular girls. She was never anything like the mean Becca and Kimmy but she was one of the crowd to which they performed. But that was years ago and she was a whole different person now. She now had a husband, a kid, and a job that she seemed to love. She was not at all the immature kid that I remembered her to be. It was really nice to see that at least some of us had matured since back then.

I was just starting to feel at ease in our conversation when suddenly I hear my name.

"Avery." Amos waves me over to the opposite end of the counter. Looking back to the woman, whom I'd over heard was named Sandra, he says. "This is my marketing guy."

"Oh yeah?" Sandra says with interest. Reaching out she shakes my hand.

"Um!" I gulp. Marketing guy!? "Uhhh."

Chewing down the last of what was probably his fifth sandwich he slides a trifold brochure for the maid service my way. He taps it with his thick finger and tells me. "Sandra said she's willing to give us a little space at the back of their pamphlets. They leave these all over the place."

"Uh…y-yeah, I've s-s-seen th-them." I pull the paper closer without a clue as to what Amos was expecting me to do with it.

"We'll have to print them up a new batch." Amos tells me. "Maybe help with the design a little to fit us in?"

"Us?" I say. We were an 'us' now?

"Yes! Could do more than that too. It's way past due to give the old brochure a freshing up anyway. Been using these for nearly a decade now." Sandra says. "I'd like to get Camille and Emily's pictures in here. I'd be sunk without these girls."

"Awww!" Camille grins as she and Emily come to check out what we were talking about.

"Well photography is Mr. Beckett's specialty." Amos brags. "Better than any of those overpriced studios."

"Oh yeah?"

"Heck yeah." Amos pats my shoulder. "I'll leave you to the expert here."

"What!?" I croak as Amos turns and leaves me with the three women. "UM!"

"So I was thinking that you can have the bottom third of the back panel." Sandra gets right into it as she steps across the counter from me to show me the area on the brochure that she had in mind for the garage. "Probably enough for a picture and some basic info, yeah? But if you're thinking a whole new redesign I am all ears."

I look at the pamphlet, I look at her, I look at the grinning Amos as he disappears into the bays to help Winona, then back to the pamphlet again. "Uhhhh."

Chapter 139: Fake It Until You Make It

Chapter Text

Thankfully Sandra does all of the talking for a few minutes as she goes over the brochure and runs through some ideas she has to update and improve the look of it, which gives me time to settle my nerves and actually apply myself to the task at hand. This was way outside of my expertise. I had zero formal training whatsoever in design, layout or any of the stuff being discussed here. In another scenario I would have stopped this before it even got going and bow out due so that I didn't embarrass myself. But this time I wanted to at least try to do it. I wanted to help Amos and show him that I was worthy of the faith he was showing in me. And, now that they'd accepted me, I didn't want to let the Crows down. It was a lot of pressure but I was going to do my best.

As I listen and look at the various panels as Sandra goes through them I lean on the two things I had going in my favor. The first was the countless hours I'd spent pursuing my hobby. I might not have taken any classes but photography had taught me a lot about framing, composition, color theory, and a myriad of other things that might be applicable here with a bit of creativity. The second thing I had, was my Grandpa's life long claim that I had 'the eye'. Even when I was very little drawing with crayons or we were out on a walk where I might notice some obscure detail he had always said that I had a natural knack of seeing the beautiful in things that other people passed by without a glance. It was his encouragement that had lead me to taking up photography in the first place. If Grandpa recognized this talent in me then it must be there. It was now my job to bring it out for others to see.

Amos believed in me. Grandpa believed in me. Winona believed in me. It was about time that I believed in myself.

By the time Sandra was done speaking and looked to me for my input I was ready to provide it. While the pamphlet was charming in that amateurish, small business in a small town kind of way, there was a heck of a lot to improve on.

"Um, d-did you d-design this, Ma'am?"

"I did." She says. "Me and my husband."

"Oh. M-May I offer a c-critique?"

"Of course." She says. "Lay it on me, Avery. Pull no punches."

"Well…" I run my fingers across the open pamphlet. "…the bright p-pink background might grab attention but it is t-terrible for reading. We could keep the pink but p-perhaps as a border instead of a background. And the green t-text is, erm, not ideal."

"We were trying to go with the company colors."

"He's not wrong." Camille says. "Kinda makes my eyes bleed just looking at it."

Forging on before I lost my nerve I continue. "Also, the interior photos." I point at them. "You've got them all in a c-column. It looks so rigid and…um, boring. L-Looks like a textbook or something. I'd l-like to lay them out right-left-right just to break up the monotony."

"Alright." Sandra nods, keenly interested. "I can see that. You're really starting from scratch, huh?"

"Um. Yeah." I clear my throat and swallow, trying hard to ignore my drumming heart and sweaty palms. "And…I think…l-l-less text would be better. Th-There's too much going on. I d-don't think many people are going to read all of this."

"We want to present all of our services and brag up the company though."

"Sure. M-Maybe just a b-bit more concise is all." I say. "Fewer words b-b-but with bigger impact. Stuff p-people can read at a glance."

"Mmm, alright. I'll think about it."

"Um…if I r-remember right C-Camille was a v-v-very good essay writer." I say. "W-Won a big national prize if I recall."

All attention turns to a surprised Camille. "Uh, yeah. Yeah I did. You remember that, Avery?"

"It w-was a big deal. The whole island w-was proud of you." I smile. "You think you could edit th-these down a little?"

"Oh, yeah. Totally." She nods, a little blush coloring her cheeks as a smile played at her lips. "Yeah, I could tighten this all up no problem. Change the font while I'm at it."

"Ha! Here I've had a Shakespeare working for me this whole time." The women laugh and the office is filled with a lovely uplifting energy.

My confidence gaining I pull out a piece of printer paper from under the counter, find a pen in one of the drawers, and go through some of the design ideas I had. I run through the simple but flowing layout I had in mind as well as how we might utilize their bold company colors to attract the eye without detracting from the overall experience. I even manage to negotiate for the garage to get a full half of the rear panel. I demonstrate that their part could be trimmed to a clean and efficient listing of the company email, phone number, website and socials, all of which could be easily fit in half a panel, and how much more attractive it would be overall to split the panel in half instead of two thirds and one third. I had to bluff here and there, pretending that I was more experienced than I was at the software for creating such pamphlets, but I figured that it couldn't be that difficult and I was definitely willing to learn.

Really reaching past my comfort zone I then broach something that had been bothering me since I first saw the brochure.

"I think w-we need something else g-going on on the front panel." I say. "It's f-flat, static, l-like s-something you'd see at a c-clinic."

"A clinic!" Sandra says, aghast.

Emily guffaws. "It does too! 'Learning to live with herpes'. I can see it now."

"Emily!"

"I w-was thinking a design or l-logo or m-mascot or something?" I offer. "Something pleasant that w-will make p-people smile."

"Smiling is better than herpes! What are you thinking?"

"Um." I swallow. "Your vans are cute and everybody s-sees them around. M-Maybe a van logo? Or…um…W-Winona and I w-were watching a show last night. The Anna's Hummingbird can be p-pink and green. They're r-real pretty and n-native to the island."

"A Hummingbird?"

"M-Maybe feeding from a b-bright pink currant flower?"

"Ooo, very elegant." Camille smiles. "I like it."

"I like the van." Says Emily. "Shows we're on the go and ready to work."

"Hmmm." Sandra scratches her chin. "I'll give it some thought."

"You'll p-probably want to hire an artist or s-something though." I say. "If it's g-gonna be the symbol of your b-business."

"Hmm." She ponders.

My mind was already buzzing with ideas for the little patch of real estate Win's Garage would get, but I push them to the back burner for the time being and stay focused. With all of the tough 'fake it until you make it' stuff behind me I at last turn to the one part that I could actually speak with confidence.

"Um, if you d-don't mind me asking, who t-took these pictures?"

"Me of course." Sandra says.

"Oh."

She laughs. "Let me guess, not so good?"

"Um…they're f-fine…"

"But?"

"But…um…it's p-pretty clear they were t-taken by an amateur." I say in as gentle a tone as I could manage. "The l-l-lighting is d-different in every one. The angles are all over the p-place. And the portraits, erm, well…"

"That bad, huh?"

"Respectfully, they l-look like mug shots."

"Ha ha ha!" She chortles, thankfully not taking offense at my criticisms. "You're not the first one to tell me that. What do you have mind, Avery?"

"Well." I look back and forth between them, already thinking about the lens I would use, the time of day and direction that would be ideal, and the reflector that I would have to purchase before then. "Natural light's always best. I thought of a p-picture of each of y-you standing beside one of the vans for the center inner panel. More natural poses f-for sure. I c-can get some photos of jobs you've done or the outsides of h-home or businesses you w-work for for the other panels, with their permission of course. Then maybe one of all th-three of you standing in f-front of your office for the front page. The old b-brick building y-you're in is r-really cool. M-Might as well use it."

"Yeah, it's got character." Sandra laughs under her breath, joined by the other two in some private humor between them. "That all sounds great."

"Th-That's just my initial idea." I clear my throat and force myself to add something I'd held back on until now. "Um…it's c-c-customary f-for the photographer to g-g-get a small, a very small, credit s-somewhere on the…thing. If that's okay?"

"Yeah, sure." She says as if it were nothing. "I'll leave the photo stuff up to you, Avery." She says. "But an artist? Mmm. Could be expensive."

"Probably not as much as you think." Camille says. "And it would make us look really professional. The mainlanders'll love it."

"I might be able to catch you a deal on that artist." Amos says as he strolls back in wiping his big, greasy hands with a rag. "Hey Winnie?" He calls back over his shoulder. "You got any artist boyfriends that I should know about?"

"Artist boyfr…!?" Winona sputters from the garage.

"Girlfriends then?"

"You might be my dad, but I WILL kill you!"

With one of his signature deep, jolly chuckles Amos steps up to join us. "Sounds like everything's going well here?"

"More than well." Sandra says. "Your man here has given me a lot to think about. Our deal is sealed as far as I'm concerned." She grins. "Little charmer even got you half of the back panel. Worth it though. This is going to look so much better."

"A half? Did he, now?" Amos says with a pat to my shoulder. "Didn't I say that he's the best."

I stand there blushing and struck mute by their warm praise. This felt good. Really good! I'd tried to help and I had. I did my best and they weren't disappointed with me. I hadn't embarrassed myself or, more importantly, Amos and Winona. And everybody seemed happy. And this wasn't for anything trivial either. This wasn't simply helping a customer to find the aisle that held the canned tomatoes. This was something important. Something real. Something lasting. Something that would represent a local entrepreneur and her business. I appreciated what that meant. And something that would bear my name. Sandra had said her current design had been floating about the island for nearly a decade. How long would this design, my design, and the photos I took last? My work would be out there for years to come. I couldn't wait to tell Grandpa!

Oblivious to me nearly bursting with pride in myself Amos and Sandra turn to other business.

"Yeah. You're right. Van 2's brakes are shot." He says. "It's not even safe to drive. And the other two…"

As they go through the results of the preliminary inspection I excuse myself and fade off to find my girlfriend.

Chapter 140: What a Ride

Chapter Text

Tinny country music plays from a little one speaker radio in the corner of the garage. I find Winona under one of the vans which was hoisted high up on a lift. Her hands were dirty and somehow she had a smudge of grease streaked across her right cheek. I smile. Somehow that blotch of dark grease made her look as hot or hotter as lipstick and eyeshadow.

"Watch where ya step, Sprout." She says without looking down from one of the van's exposed wheel hubs.

With me still wearing the moccasins that her Unci made for her I understood her concern. Not only did the snug leather slippers provide zero foot protection from bumps or drops they were also far too nice and precious to be stained by nasty car fluids. I take extra care where I step as I enter the work space proper. Pulling one of the heavy duty hand wipes that they kept beside the sink I walk over to her and when she turns to look at me I start to wipe the smudge from her skin.

"Hm?" When I show her the dark blotch she grins. "Oh, thanks. How'd it go in there?"

"Amazing!" I say, keeping my voice low so it wouldn't carry back to the office. "They r-really liked my ideas. I think they're r-really gonna go with the d-design I have in mind." Lowering my voice even more I whisper. "Th-They didn't realize I' n-not really a marketing guy."

She chuckles. "Well you're our marketing guy, according to Pops anyway, so you kinda are."

"It's so c-cool. I think I know h-how it's gonna look b-but I need to actually see it." I say, buzzing with eager energy. "I think I'm g-gonna go home and start looking into s-some software for making pamphlets and see what I can w-work up for them. I've got so much to learn and I've g-gotta do it quick."

"Hey." She goes to touch my face but holds back when she notices how dirty her hands were. Instead she bumps my chest with her elbow. "Don't kill yourself on this, baby. You're workin for free here. Don't let Dad take advantage of you."

"Mmm." I shake my head. "No, I want to d-do it! I want to learn." With a giggle I add. "And it's not for free. He bought me a tea."

"A tea? That's one hell of a bargain."

"F-F-Family discount." I grin brightly.

She grins too. "Sucker's discount more like."

"Well…I do s-suck pretty good."

"PFFF!" She laughs and elbows my arm. Leaning in she kisses my cheek. "From what I understand these are a rush job. We'll probably be at it all day and night, unfortunately. Might be late before I'm done."

"Oh."

Glancing back up at the van she says. "Feels good to be working again though."

"I bet." I look her up and down. "I've n-never seen you at work before." Giving her cheek another swipe I say. "Very sexy."

"Sexy as an apron?"

"Sexier!"

"Ha!"

"I've g-got stuff to d-do anyway. I wanna learn this stuff." I say. "And I've g-gotta meet with Joshua after work. Maybe I c-can drum us up some more business."

"Us?" Her smile grows.

"And I thought I m-might spend some time with Grandpa tonight."

"I think that's an awesome idea." She says. "Send my love?"

"Of c-course."

Stepping in close to me she gazes down into my eyes, the morning light reflecting in from the open bay door making her tan skin glow. "I'll miss you, baby."

"I'll m-miss you too." I say softly. "I'm g-glad I have something to r-remember you by though."

"Remember me by?"

Wiggling my happy bum I rise to my tip toes and whisper into her ear. "I can still feel you."

When I lower back down Winona was looking at me with such an intense fiery stare I thought she might just throw me on the hard concrete floor to have me right there. I gaze back and bat my eyes not so innocently, daring her to do it. "You are such a tease!"

"He he he!"

"GAH!"

"Problem?" Amos calls from the office.

"Nah." She says back. "My boyfriend's being too sexy again."

"TMI!" Amos bellows.

There is a burst of laughs from the others as I grin and blush.

"I'll be shuttling the gals back to town soon then picking up some parts if you want a lift." Winona says.

"I'd l-like to go now if, um…you don't mind me borrowing these." I look down at her shirt and moccasins that I wore.

"Course not." She says. "Just look after'em."

"I will! I will!"

"Kiss me."

I kiss her.

"Who loves ya?"

"You?" I say, tears instantly blurring my eyes.

"Say it with conviction."

"You." I say more confidently. "Y-You love me!"

"Don't you ever forget it." She kisses me again. "I had an amazing time last night."

"Yeah. Me too."

"You'll call?"

"Mmm." I nod vigorously. "I p-promise."

"And if you happen to see that trouble-making little hussy Briar…" Her eyes narrow.

"Uh oh."

"You hold her hand if you want, but you tell her that your Dommy would like to have a little word with her at her earliest convenience."

"Oh! He he he. Oh no!"

Her pretend serious expression melts into a chuckle and she shoots me a wink. "Don't be a stranger, Sprout."

"Okay." I say, bouncing on my toes as I back away from her. "I'll miss you! I-I love you!"

"Love you too." She says back loud and proud with the most heart melting look in her eyes.

On wings I flutter back into the office where the four look at me then glance between themselves with little smiles. They'd heard our 'I love yous' and were brightened by hearing our young love. I write down some info from Sandra and Amos then take one of the old brochures as a reference.

"I'll t-try to mock something up f-for you by the weekend." I say. "J-Just to give you a sense of things."

"Sounds good to me." Says Sandra.

"W-We can m-maybe schedule in a photo shoot n-next week?" I say. "W-Weather permitting."

"Photo shoot!" Hoots Emily. "Sounds like a great excuse for a trip to the salon." Then with a hopeful uptick in inflection she adds. "On the company dime?"

Sandra rolls her eyes.

"Hey! It's a business expense. You want us looking our best, don't you?"

"I'll think about it." Sandra grumbles, though it was plain as the sun outside that the answer was already a yes.

"I'll get those blurbs written up when I get the chance and get them to you, Avery." Camille says. "Shouldn't take too long." I jot down Camille's email and give her mine.

I could feel the minutes ticking away and so, at the earliest chance I got, I steal away. Working quickly I head back into the suite to grab my phone and keys, pop outside to feed Mama and the kittens as well as share my exciting news with my old friend, then I am on my bike and on my way.

The morning wind was still cool but the sun was warm as I zip back to town. Just twelve hours ago I was roaring through wind and frigid spray gripped by fear and panic. Half a day later and I am soaring back home again not just with a joy in my heart but a purpose in my belly and a bit between my teeth. Being in love was a ride like no other. One I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

Chapter 141: Brothers

Chapter Text

In the bit of time I had before work I pour over internet resources on pamphlet design and even start on a few test drafts. As I suspected actually seeing the bones of my initial ideas take form in full color had me tweaking and fine-tuning layout and palate in crucial ways that I couldn't have using just my imagination. After a quick text to Sandra to ask permission to shift the shades of her pink and green into more coordinating and eye pleasing tones I already had something that looked ten times better than the primitive design Sandra and her husband had come up with all those years ago. Too soon I am forced to lay the project down to go to work, though it continued to simmer away at the back of my mind all through the day.

Dashing into work mere seconds before my shift began I get myself aproned up in record time and I'm out on the floor just as the second hand hits the top of the hour. Whew! Work was work. I see all the usual faces and do all the usual things, yet it was such a good day. It had nothing to do with the grocery business and everything to do with me. And during those few times that things do start to drag or I feel my mood being pulled down into the humdrum of it all I had to do was wiggle my bum and feel that glorious little remnant of Winona's love. Her riding me last night had been absolutely wonderful but it hadn't left me these deliciously naughty anal echoes that made a bottom like me feel so sexy and good. There was NOTHING so satisfying like the day after ache of a nice hard fucking.

After my shift I call Winona. A more mushy and lovey-dovey call there has never been. We don't talk about anything of substance but just hearing her voice has me soaring all over again.

After getting changed and saying hello to my roomie I meet up for the coffee with Joshua that we'd planned. And it was…awesome! As soon as we sat down I could tell that this was going to be a conversation unlike any we'd had before as his usual closed off gruffness wasn't there, in its place was a very uncharacteristic anxiety. After ordering he starts off by asking about me. Though I had news stacked on top of news going on in my life I keep it brief and focused mostly on Winona as I could tell that he had something he needed to get out, and I very much wanted to listen. Being as gentle as I could be I turn the focus back his way.

It takes some time to get past the usual clipped trite responses but with patience and care I eventually get him to open up. Primed by his therapy, once he got going he couldn't be stopped. Sitting across from my brother I watch a slow transformation take place from the stoic and stony faced truck driver that I knew to a man as wounded and fucked up as I was. I might have been the most vulnerable and sensitive of us but I wasn't the only one suffering the scars of a physically abusive emotionally distant father and emotionally abusive alcoholic mother. Listening to him struggle to put words to our trauma was heart wrenching, even more so as I had lived through much of it myself. Unlike any friend or counselor as his brother I actually had been there to see the shit as it happened.

His challenges had been different than mine. Some things had been easier for him, especially once he got big enough to fight back, but others had actually been harder. He'd just been better at hiding the pain than me. Growing up everybody had always looked at me as a weird sissy and so when I would cry or go quiet or hide away for hours at a time it was just seen as Avery being Avery. But with Joshua, a boy's boy who grew into a man's man, it had been drilled into him that feelings were shameful things to be buried way deep down and left alone. While I would run away, either literally or into myself, Joshua would add another brick to his emotional fortress. The hard inaccessible man that I knew hadn't grown that way naturally, he'd been built brick by brick by brick. He sheds a tear and I shed many as we begin to catch up on a lifetime of bonding.

Grandpa's news hadn't hit him like it had me but it had made him stop and take stock of things, especially after he'd convinced him to go see that therapist. He said that it meant a lot to him to know that someone still gave a shit about him. We talk a bit about what a great grandpa we had and laugh at a few pleasant memories of him.

He then turns to the subject of he and I. He had a lot of regrets about the way he'd treated me over the years. He explained that it felt easier to him to be on the bully's side than the bullied's and he admitted that it was a cowardly thing to do. He doesn't ask for or expect forgiveness, but he does offer an unqualified apology and tells me that he'll be better going forward. I didn't know what to say except to thank him for telling me all that and accepting his apology. And then he drops the most shocking bomb of all. I'd thought the topic was over when out of the blue he tells me that I had made him uncomfortable and that in me he continually had to face the one thing that upset him most of all. It wasn't my size or stutter or soft-spoken fragility or anything like that. It was my bisexuality. I hadn't even had time to process what that might mean when he just went and blurted…

"The shrink and I think that, err, I might be, um, in the closet?" He clears his throat. "Or somethin."

"What!?"

He squirms as his face turns red. "Ya know…erm…"

"You m-mean gay!?"

"Shhh!" He looks back and forth to make sure nobody was listening. "That's just between you and me, Avery." He then shakes his head. "Forget it."

I felt really bad for letting the surprise come through in my voice as the moment that door had been opened it slammed shut again. Shut, bolted, and locked up tight. I tried to coax more from him but back to his old self he shuts me down cold. I wanted to press but I could tell that that was as much as Josh was about to share, and possibly more than he ever meant to.

Deeply touched that he shared this with me but seeing that he was uncomfortable in the extreme and clamming up I steer our talk another way to ease the tension. I broach the topic of Win's Garage, telling him that I was doing a bit of work for them now and that they were going to need all of the help that they could get getting their feet under them on an island where the people's natural inclination was to support 'our own' over newcomers. Relieved to have something else to talk about he asks a few questions then agrees to check them out the next time his van needed work that he couldn't handle himself. He also said that he'd help spread the word among the other drivers. I thanked him, happy I could at least do this for Amos and Winona and hoping it was the start of something good for him as well.

The whole talk only takes just over an hour, but what an hour it had been. We'd sat down as near strangers but as we rise from our table we do so as brothers. He covers the bill and out in the parking lot he actually lets me hug him. After an awkward second he relaxes and hugs me back.

With an approving nod, more to himself than to me, he backs away from me toward his car. "That was good. We'll have to do this again, Avie."

"Avery."

"Yeah. Sorry." He corrects himself. "Avery."

I smile. "Yes. I'd l-like that very much Joshua."

As I watch him drive away I held such a joy in my heart. What a day! What an hour! Life could be pretty darned crappy sometimes but then along comes a day like this to remind you why you were here.

I take a deep breath and slowly let it out again. I'd been planning to head straight to Grandpa's from here but speaking with Joshua had reminded me that I still had some unfinished family business to attend to. One bit of it in particular that had been gnawing at me and causing me problems for a few days now. One that wasn't going to take care of itself. Something only I could do. I told Grandpa to leave it to me, I told Winona to leave it to me, and I was a man of my word. I would never feel better or braver or more confident than I was feeling right now. I'd put it off for long enough. It was time to deal with Jack.

Chapter 142: Just Like Me

Chapter Text

I roll up to Jack's duplex ready for the worst but hoping for the best. If I could catch him at home with Lauren I had a pretty good chance of being able to talk to him like a reasonable person. Around Lauren or the family Jack was generally on his best behavior. It was when he had an audience of other men or, worse, if we were completely alone that things weren't so good. To be at least a little bit fair to him, it really had been awhile since he struck me like he had that day which was part of why it had taken me so off guard. I hoped it was an anomaly and not a return to old ways.

But whether he was alone or not I was going to say my piece. I was done with black eyes and living in fear of my big brother. Correction, half brother. We were only half related, by blood at least. I don't know why but that fact gave me courage. After today I considered Joshua my brother by choice and not obligation. If Jack wanted to continue to disrespect me, so be it. If I needed to I would cut him from my life like Dad had cut us from his. I was tired of my blood acting as chains binding me to people who dragged me down instead of lifting me up. Mom I wouldn't abandon easily, but Jack? Jack I could live without. He'd been nothing but a malignant bully my whole life. Even in his occasional acts of kindness there was an unspoken understanding that they were transactional, a bit of niceness to erase or smooth over any rough feelings until the next time, which made the nice times nearly as unpalatable as the mean ones. I was so done with all of that. I wanted family in my life that treated me like Amos treated Winona, with genuine care and respect. I wanted it and I deserved it!

On my bike I sit a moment to bolster myself for what was to come before getting off. Keeping my helmet held tight to my chest on the off chance I needed to use it as a shield I walk up the cracked sidewalk to the front door. Just before ringing the bell I remind myself that no matter what happened here I was not alone and that I would never be alone again. I press the doorbell.

Predictably the moment I ring the bell the loud barking of Jack's Rottweiler can be heard booming through the house. Just as predictably comes Lauren's raised voice trying to shush it.

"Pepper! Quiet!" A moment later the door swings open to reveal Lauren in jeans and a pink long sleeve button down. All my steely determination is distracted when I see that shirt. Oooo! Pretty. That would look great on baby girl. Chastising myself I focus back on the task at hand. I was so bad at this confrontation stuff. When Lauren sees me I catch her eyes widen just a little then a very quick glance past me to the left and right to scan the street behind me. It lasts only a second, but I catch it. "Avery!" She says, her voice upbeat.

"Hey L-Lauren." I say. A blunt nose nudges my hand and despite myself I laugh. Kneeling down I set my helmet on the ground so I could rustle my hands around the rambunctious rottie's big head. She looked like a killer but anybody who knew her knew she was just a cuddly teddy bear. "And hello Pepper! Long t-time no see." In her glory Pepper takes my pets and gives my mouth and nose a big, wet, slobbery slurp. "Ahhh!"

"Pepper!" Lauren chuckles.

"It's okay." I hug the happy dog and kiss her soft jowl. Standing up I continue to pet the dog as it presses against my leg. "Hey, um, is J-J-Jack here?"

"I'm sorry, no." She says. "Playing pool with the boys. Again!"

"Oh." All of the energy I'd mustered leading up to this moment escapes me like an untied balloon. Damn it! This was the time. I wasn't sure when I was going to feel this bold and confident again. I may have built up my courage but nothing was going to get me into a bar with Jack while he was drinking and around his boys. Bravery was one thing but that was just suicide. "Darn."

Her face and tone softening she asks. "Is it about your grandpa?"

"No."

Reaching out she squeezes my hand. "I was sorry to hear the news."

"Yeah. M-Me t-too."

"You okay?"

"I'm c-c-coping." I sigh. "I'm going to s-see him after this actually."

"Oh, that's nice. Send him my love."

"I w-will."

Once more I notice Lauren's eyes glance past me. And unlike every other time I'd ever been here she hadn't yet invited me inside. She stood at the threshold of her home in a subtle yet unmistakable posture that signaled that I would not be allowed in. It didn't take much thinking to know why. Jack had beat me up because he got the ridiculous idea in his head that Lauren was cheating on him with me. It was so crazy! I'd been with Lauren, she was my first lover, but that was a whole other lifetime ago. When he was threatening me I got the sense that he hadn't yet brought the accusation up to his wife. Judging by her body language now I think the topic had been broached and she did not want any neighbors or passers by to spot me entering their house. Just by being here I was making her uncomfortable. I was going to offer to walk Pepper but instead I would try to make this visit as brief as possible.

"And how's it going with Winona?" She says with a little grin.

"Sooooo good." I say. "W-We're officially b-boyfriend and g-girlfriend. We're in love! AHHH!"

She chuckles, happy for my joy. "That's amazing, Avery. She's a lucky woman."

"I'm the l-lucky one." I say truthfully. "Hey, s-s-sorry to chat and run but Grandpa…"

"Oh no." She says, relief in her voice. "I understand. I'm sorry you missed Jack."

"I'll…c-catch up with him l-later." I say. "Hey, b-before I go. Is that c-cashmere? I was…?" Reaching out I feel the material at the arm of Lauren's pretty sweater, as I do so she winces and pulls away. I freeze. Slowly I pan up to look into her eyes. The moment our eyes meet she lowers hers. No! Gently taking her fingers in one hand I pull her sleeve up with the other…to reveal an nasty, ugly, deep purple bruise on her forearm. "Lauren?"

Pulling away from me she tugs her sleeve back down. "I think you should go, Avery."

"D-D-Did J-Jack do that?"

She glares at me for the indelicate question. Angry because it was a question that we both already knew the answer to. I was reeling and on my heels. As far as I knew Jack had never hurt a woman before. And Lauren!? He loved her! She was carrying his baby! NO!

"He's never done it before." She says, her voice low and clipped. "And he won't do it again. I shouldn't have…talked back. I should have let him cool off. Ever since the news of the pregnancy he's been…stressed. Fatherhood is a big change, Avery. With the news of his grandpa and stuff happening at his work, he's under a lot of pressure right now."

Oh my God! Excuses! She sounded like me! She sounded just like I did!

"Lauren. D-D-Do you n-n-need help?" I ask, though I really didn't know what to do. I'd never been on the other side of this before. In an instant I understood that frustrating feeling of helplessness that got Winona so upset. I felt that instinct to protect. While Winona's personality drove her to want to hunt down the source of the hurt all I wanted to do is give Lauren a hug and take away to somewhere safe. "If you n-n-need help I c-c-can…"

"No, Avery." She smiles sadly. "I'm okay. We're okay. I don't need your help." Taking a step back she pats her leg. "Come on, Pepper." Blissfully oblivious to the grim mood happening above her Pepper slurps my hand then trots into the house. "I'd appreciate your discretion. It's nobody's business, Avery. Yours least of all."

"B-But…"

"Thanks for stopping by." She says. "Good night."

She leaves me on the step staring at her closed door.

Chapter 143: Had to do Something

Chapter Text

"I'd l-l-like to r-report an assault." I say to the kindly looking police woman behind the counter. "Two actually." The hand on my shoulder, Grandpa's hand, tightens in a quiet signal of support.

She looks at me for a moment then says. "Alright."

In a warm and gentle voice she takes my name, address, and contact information. Whenever my stutter gets too bad Grandpa helps me out.

"And you are?"

"His grandfather." Grandpa says, pride coming through his words despite the serious occasion.

I was beyond grateful for him being here with me. I'd been so angry and scared when I first showed up at the Anna Bella that I was twisted inside out. But, as he always did, he settled me down, talked me through things and helped make everything more clear. He would have been here himself had I chickened out. The last time had been his last straw and he'd only held back because I begged him to. But I told him that I wanted to do it. I said that I had been the one assaulted and I had been the one to witness Lauren's bruise and that I would become a part of this one way or the other. From that point forward he was nothing but one hundred percent supportive of me and my decision, saying that I was being very brave and that this was the right thing to do.

I was still uneasy with this course of action and really stressed to be making an official police report on my big brother but I simply had to do something. It wasn't just about me anymore. I knew where Lauren was right now, mentally and emotionally, and I knew that she might never seek the help she needed if left alone. If Jack was willing to hurt his brother and his wife, would he stop at his kid? Would Jack become the next link in the chain of abuse? Jack might have had it rough like the rest of us but that gave him no right to pass that pain onto others. I couldn't do nothing. And, as Grandpa pointed out, even if nothing at all comes of this at least I would start a record on Jack so that if Lauren ever came forward in the future hers would not be a lone accusation. And so, with Grandpa as my courage at every step, I found myself here.

We are passed onto another officer who takes us down to the other end of the counter where there was a sort of privacy cubicle and begins the official report. Unlike the woman at the front desk he wasn't warm nor kindly. He was cold and very much to the point as he takes the who, what, where, when, why and how of my assault. Just the facts, as they say. Another difference from the woman was that he wouldn't allow Grandpa to answer for me when I needed yet seemed annoyed at my constant stuttering. He was a very difficult man to talk to and he scared me because he reminded me of my dad but I soldier through his questions, for Lauren's sake. With both hands on my shoulders Grandpa continued to stay close while pouring his love and support into me even without talking.

Without looking up from the keyboard the officer asks. "You said that you had a witness for your scuffle?"

"It wasn't a scuffle." Grandpa corrects him, growing increasingly annoyed at the man's brusque treatment of me. "My grandson was assaulted by his brother."

"Mmm." He hums. "You had a witness?"

I swallow hard. "Y-Y-Yes S-S-Sir."

I look back over my shoulder to where Brayden sat by himself nervously bouncing his knee in the completely empty waiting area of the quiet Haven Point Police Station. Before coming down here Grandpa and I had stopped by the apartment to warn my roommate what he was about to become involved in. When I told him what I was going to do I expected protests from him, Brayden detested any sort of fuss that required effort on his part, but instead he looked at me for a few seconds before turning off his game and saying that he was coming with me. Unbeknown to me that day Jack hurt me left a pretty big impression on him as well. He said that it had been eating at him how he just stood there and watched the nicest person he'd ever known get slapped up. He said he'd had nightmares about it. And he said that he and Jack hadn't been close in a very long time precisely because of my brother's erratic temper. Once we were on the way and I told him about Lauren he was more determined than ever to help in whatever way he could.

"M-M-My r-r-r-r-r…HMM!" I snort, frustrated at my stutter, as the stony policeman stares me down. The grip on my shoulders tighten just a little. "M-My r-roommate Bradyen w-was there."

Noticing us looking at him Brayden gets to his feet and starts our way. The policeman waves him to sit down again. "I'll take you statement after."

"Oh, uh, right." Brayden heads back to take the same seat, his nervous knee bobbing once more.

Looking over the report the officer finishes that file with a muttered. "You should have reported this immediately." After a few clicks and taps of the keyboard we start the process all over again, this time as it related to Lauren. I tell him all that I knew to the best of my ability. He asks me question after question, a lot of them that I did not have answers to. Every time I had a question I couldn't answer I started feeling more nervous, which got me stuttering more, which made me even more nervous. I felt like I was letting Lauren down!

"Just stick to what you know." Grandpa whispers. "You're doing fine, Avery."

I nod and regather myself before continuing on.

When we were at last finished he ends it in a dubious tone. "Domestics are difficult. Especially if the spouse doesn't cooperate. And by what you're telling me she isn't going to. We'll do our best." He clicks his mouse. "We'll be in touch."

"Oh! Um. Th-that's it?"

He looks at me. "Do you feel you need victim services?"

"Um…wh-what is…that? I d-d-don't…know…um…?"

"You'll have to come back in the morning." He nods to a little tray of cards on my side of the counter.

Just wanting to get out of there I shake my head. "I'm f-f-fine."

Grandpa takes a card and slips it into his pocket. Having held his tongue for as long as he could he says as he puts an arm around me. "You may want to consider a different line of work, officer. Your people skills are not groovy. Not groovy at all."

"Hrm." The man snorts. "I could always fall back on panhandling I suppose."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Grandpa bristles. "Are you insinuating something?"

"Nothing at all." He says, blank faced. "It was just a comment." Looking to me he says. "If you could send your roommate this way on your way out, Avie."

Avie?

Leading me from the desk Grandpa glowers back at him. "We'll be expecting to hear something."

"You will." He says. "We take these matters very seriously."

When we get to Brayden Grandpa says. "He's ready for you now. Need us to stick around?"

"Nah." Patting my shoulder Brayden gives me a nod. "You guys go chill. I got this, dude."

"Th-Thank you." I say softly. "This m-means a lot to m-m-me."

"After all the times you bailed me out of rent and shit? This ain't nothin, man. Besides, Jack's an asshole." He waves for us to go. "Get outta here."

As Brayden heads toward the desk Grandpa and I walk out the front doors and into the dark night.

Chapter 144: Tell Me

Chapter Text

"You did the right thing, Buttercup." Grandpa squeezes my shoulder on his way by to sit on the chair beside me. Opening a can of beer he passes it to me. I take it, though I really wasn't in the mood for one, then he opens one for himself and settles in. As we look out over the calm harbor he takes a long drink. "I am so proud of you, Avery."

"I d-don't feel like I r-really did anything."

"You did a lot. More than many would." He says. "It took real courage to do what you did today."

"I j-just d-don't want him to h-hurt anyone anymore."

"Jack." He sighs, shaking his head. "We all thought that he'd outgrown that stuff. That he'd put it behind him. I wonder what set him off."

I swallow hard and set my beer down untouched. "I-I think it was the pregnancy. I w-was reading that a lot of d-d-domestic abuse happens for the f-first time during pregnancy."

"Dear God. That's terrible."

"Yeah." I grip my hands together to keep them from shaking. "I d-don't understand how…a m-man could do that. How…" My voice trails off.

"Me neither." Reaching across Grandpa rubs my back. "A real man wouldn't."

"Yeah." Leaning forward I stare down into the water. "What d-do we d-do about Lauren?"

"We let her know we care." He says grimly. "She wouldn't talk much when I called, but she knows there's a room here for her if she needs it."

"W-W-Winona's g-got lots of space up there." I say. "Sh-She m-might be able to take P-Pepper for a l-little if I asked."

"One step at a time, Avery."

"Yeah." I sigh. "That officer c-called me Avie."

"Like your brothers do."

I shake my head. "Not J-Joshua. N-Not anymore." My heart brightens, just a little. "Josh and I, um, we've turned a n-new page."

"You don't say?"

I look over at him. "That therapy has r-really done a lot for him. It meant a lot. He really appreciates it. He l-l-loves you, Grandpa. He j-just has t-trouble saying it."

"I know that." He pats my shoulder and sits back. "That hard shell of his. He's a tough nut to crack. Always was."

I consider sharing the bombshell that Joshua had shared with me, but not for long. That was not my secret to tell and I would not betray my brother's trust, not now that we'd started over on the right foot.

Taking another sip of beer and clears his throat a few times as he stifles a cough. "Even if that policeman does know Jack, he's still got a job to do. The cops and I have never been on great terms, the hippy in me ya know, but I've found most of 'em to be pretty decent folks behind that badge. Trust in that."

"I g-guess I'll have to."

"You scared, Avery?"

"Not f-f-for myself." I say softly. "I j-just don't want him hurting L-Lauren or…Winona."

"Winona?"

"She w-wants to fight Jack." I say. "She w-w-wants to protect me." My head bows. "I w-would n-never f-f-forgive myself if he ever hurt her, Grandpa."

"Hey." He scooches closer and pats my knee. "It's gonna be okay."

"I hope so." I whisper.

"A bully's weakness is someone who can stand up to them. She'll be fine." He says. "Besides, Jack's a coward and Winnie's dad is the biggest dude on the island. He won't want any part of Amos."

I let out an almost laugh. "I h-hadn't thought of that." I take a deep breath then look up at the twinkling stars above. "What a n-night."

"Mmm." He leans back and stretches out to gaze up at the sky. "Cleared up nicely. Hope it stays this way for our trip."

"Yeah."

Just then Grandpa starts coughing. He tries to push it back with another slug of beer but this time it wasn't enough. Rocking forward his body heaves in its futile attempts to expel the cancer from out of the lungs. I am at his side, rubbing and patting his back, as he hacks through his worst coughing fit yet.

Red faced and gasping he slumps back when it is finally over. "Whooo." He slaps his chest. "This cool air is gettin to me I think."

"Then l-let's get you where it's w-warm." He doesn't put up a fuss as I help him to his feet. I get in under his arm and put my arm around his body. With my free hand I grab his half drunk beer. "Come on, G-Grandpa." He lets me take some of his weight as I guide him into the Anna Bella. His breathing is labored but steady. I take him straight to the salon which acted as the living room and get him into his favorite old rocking chair.

"I'm okay." He wheezes as relaxes back into the soft cushiony chair. "Hahhh."

To focused to be scared I set the beer down on the table beside him and grab the blanket he kept over the back of his sofa to drape over his legs. I rush back to close the outside hatch then turn the heat up five degrees before I am right back at his side.

"D-Do you n-need anything Grandpa?" I ask, trying hard to keep my emotions to check. "I'm gonna make you a tea, okay?" I rub his arms, clueless on what to do but needing to do something. "A nice hot tea. L-Like you used to m-make me?"

He looks up at me and smiles, his blue sparkling. "My boy."

"C-C-Can I get you t-tea Grandpa?"

He nods and pats my cheek. "I'd like that."

"Okay, okay." I say. "I'll b-be quick."

"Take your time, Buttercup." He lets out a long, rattly breath. "I'm okay."

With a task to focus on I brew us up a pot of black tea as quick as I could. I make us each a mug then head back into the salon to find him waiting for me, his hands folded across his lap. "Mmm." He smiles as he takes his mug and sniffs the fresh made tea. "Perfect."

"It's h-hot." I say as I sit as close to him as I could on the sofa. "C-Careful."

"No worries." He winks. "I've drank a cup or two in my time. I think I got it."

"I d-didn't mean…sorry."

He chuckles and pats my knee. "So talk to me."

"Talk?"

"Yeah. We barely got to chat with all this…ungroovy business." He says. "Tell me about your day."

"It's n-n-not important. M-Maybe we should…"

"Avery." He says, his voice low and calm. "It's important to me."

"Um. Ok-kay."

With my thoughts on him and his condition my account begins haltingly but once I got going I remember the things and I was off and running. I tell him about the morning and Amos setting me up as his 'marketing guy'. I tell him about Sandra, whom I was not surprised to learn he knew, and how I would be designing her new pamphlet. He was as excited about it all as I was. I then tell him about work and my awesome meeting with Joshua afterward. It did his heart good to hear that Josh and I were building a bond saying 'it was never too late'. The Lauren stuff he already knew about so I quickly rewind to tell him an edited version of the night before with Winona's jealous worries about Briar and our making up afterward.

"Ha ha ha!" He slaps his knees. "You've had your first fight and come out the other side Yep, you're stuck with her now."

"He he he!" I giggle. "Yeah."

With a knowing grin he quips just before another sip. "Nothing quite like makin up, mmm?"

I giggle again as I remember Winona and I's magical night together. "No Sir, n-nothing like making up."

"Ha ha!"

"And t-tomorrow night w-we're going shopping." I say excited. "Just the girls! Just me and her and B-Briar and Kayla." I laugh. "It's g-gonna be so fun! We're g-gonna go sh-shopping for costumes at the s-second hand shop. T-To dress up as our characters for F-Friday night's game."

"Just the girls?"

"Oh, um….I mean…" I rub my hands. "I m-mean…m-my character is a g-girl."

With a warm smile he says. "Okay. That does sound fun."

"I think it will be." I say softly. "I'm r-really looking f-forward to it."

"I can see that." He says. "Tell me about your character."

"M-My character?"

"What's her name again?"

"Um…" I glance up into his eyes then back down again. "Althea. Her n-name is…Althea."

"That's right. Althea. Pretty name." He says. "Tell me about Althea, Avery."

Chapter 145: Shades of Gray

Chapter Text

I sit a moment to gather my thoughts. My warm mug cupped in my hands I stare down into the reflective black of my tea to see myself looking back from behind the steam.

"Well." I say softly. "She's an elf."

"Pointy ears and all that?"

"Mmm." I nod. "And slender and petite. S-S-Small b-breasts, willowy b-body, light boned. She c-comes from a f-fair skinned lineage. She's b-blond w-w-with eyes the c-color of the azure sky."

"I can almost see her." Grandpa takes a sip of his drink. "I bet she has nice smile."

"Yeah." I grin. "Sh-She's really s-super p-pretty." With a giggle I recall Winona's reaction when I rolled my Charm. "She one of th-the m-most beautiful women in all the w-world. F-For real too! She's g-got the stats that s-say so."

"Mm." He hums dubiously. "I think beauty is about a bit more than a number, don't you Avery?"

"Yeah." I glance up at him. "I t-try to play her as b-being nice and k-kind and good. I think her s-soul is beautiful too b-but there's no s-score for that."

"Some things just can't be measured." He says. "I bet she's even more beautiful on the inside."

"I h-hope so." I say. "She's clever. Smarter than m-me. Which m-makes it t-tricky to be her."

"You're pretty smart, Buttercup."

"Mm." I shrug. "I d-did one thing that was p-pretty cool though." I go on to tell him the big moment in our first game where I made all the fungus grow to free the noble's son along with what happened next. Smiling as I hear all those raucous cheers from my friends in my memory I finish by saying. "Th-That was k-kinda clever I guess."

"Ha ha ha! Sharp as a tack I'd say." He chortles. "Althea's a smart one alright."

"Yeah. She's awesome." I say. "What else? Um…she l-loves nature. In fact she is a n-nature mage. I g-guess it's something that n-not many people play."

"Oh yeah?"

"Mm. B-Briar says it's not optimal." I say. "In f-fact it's really weak, wh-which is why I gotta be c-clever sometimes. But I like her that way. I l-like that I c-can make the others f-feel strong and h-heroic. I l-like helping them be awesome."

"A natural helper. What a sweetie."

I giggle. "Yeah."

"How did she come to like nature so much?"

My smile grows. "Her g-grandma."

"Grandma's a gardener or something?"

I giggle. "No way! She's v-very powerful. An archmage! Powerful and caring and respected b-b-by all the g-good peoples. Everyone, ev-verywhere l-looks up to her." I take a little sip of my tea and watch my reflection waver back into focus. "She l-lives in a high tower in a v-vast elven forest. I'm her apprentice. Her b-b-best pupil ever. Sh-She taught me all I know about magic and n-nature."

"Groovy."

"The g-grooviest." I say, my voice softening like when I play Althea. "Grandma is v-very old. She's seen a lot. And b-because she's an elf…she'll n-n-never ever die. Not ever." There is a rustle and I feel a warm hand come to clutch my shoulder. I look up and Grandpa and smile. "Althea loves her grandma more than anything."

"I am sure the feeling is mutual." He smiles back.

"Oh!" I peep as he sits back again. "I d-didn't tell you about my b-best friend."

"I can't wait to hear."

"He's a raven!" I laugh. "He's my f-familiar."

"Your best friend is a bird?"

"Yeah! He he he. N-Not a normal bird. He c-can talk to me and everything. He's kinda funny. Clever. D-Definitely wiser than me." I say. "He w-watches over me and helps me and n-nothing could ever m-make him turn on me."

"A friend to the end."

"Mm hm." I nod. "He w-was wary of my M-Mistress. Turns out he was r-right to be."

"Mistress?"

"That's L-Lady Ara. W-Winona's old character. She's an NPC n-now."

"NPC?"

"Just m-means the Fable Master controls her." I explain. "M-My people s-sent me to her to s-secure a valuable alliance against d-dark forces that are rising."

"Can't have that happening."

"Exactly." I say. "B-But it turns out…Ara is a vampire lord!"

"A vampire?"

"Yeah! N-Nobody knew it. It w-was a secret. Lady Ara's d-deepest secret." I say. "B-But she t-told me. She l-let me in on it. N-Now I don't know what to do about it."

"She's a bad guy?"

"I j-just don't know. M-Maybe. W-Winona's not telling me." I say. "She s-says it's up t-to me what to do. I'm in a r-real dilemma. N-Not only d-did I swear to serve her, b-but…um…" I squirm. "…I'm…she's kinda attracted to her t-t-too."

"Attracted?"

"She's s-so cool and p-powerful and mysterious and HOT!"

"Hot? The game's certainly come a long way since my day." He chuckles. "Back when I tried it it was all about killing monsters and taking treasure."

"W-We do that too." I laugh. "I'm not sure ours is a r-regular kind of g-group."

"As long as you're all havin fun."

"We are! W-We laugh so much."

"Awesome." He says as he slowly nods. "I like Althea. She sounds like a really cool dudette."

"Yeah." I swallow and stare back down into my drink. "I'm…really looking f-forward to shopping for h-her." I glance his way to find him patiently watching and waiting for me to continue. "I hope I can find an emerald colored robe or dress. Th-That's what she w-wears." I pause. "I m-might g-get…other stuff." I hurry to add. "In case we…d-d-do c-c-cosplay again."

"Good idea, Avery."

"M-Maybe…m-make up?" I glance nervously again to see if I was upsetting him. He sat with that same gentle smile waiting for me to talk. "And other th-things, m-maybe?"

"An elf girl's gotta be prepared." He says. "I think you should do that."

"I, um, I'm a l-little n-nervous to shop." I say. "In a st-store. P-People m-might see me. B-But I'm r-really looking forward to it."

"You all will have a great time. You'll see."

"Yeah. K-Kayla thinks I'll l-look hot. I th-think B-Briar will be cool t-too. And I know W-Winona will be happy."

"They sound like really good friends." His blue eyes twinkle. "Whatever you choose I am sure Althea will be stunning. You'll be the belle of the ball."

"I hope s-so." I whisper. "Would…you…b-be angry…if maybe…I showed you Althea s-s-sometime?"

"Of course not! I would love to meet Althea."

"I w-wouldn't…embarrass y-you or d-d-disappoint you?"

"Disappoint me? You could never do that." He leans closer to look me in the eyes. "You are my pride and joy, Avery."

"Mmm. Thank you!" My chest was tight and my nerves taut. Grandpa was being his amazing, supportive self yet still this was so hard to get out. But out it was going to come. Right now. Grandpa's scary coughing fit was yet another reminder of the ticking clock that was our time together. "Hey…um…Grandpa?"

"Yes?"

"You c-cross-dressed f-for Halloween?"

"Me and Anna both did. You saw the pictures."

"Yeah. You were p-pretty. She was h-handsome."

"So handsome."

"Um. When you d-did it….did…you…um…" I take a deep breath. "…ever…f-f-f-feel…like a g-g-girl? Sometimes? Like…for r-real?"

His voice warm and low he answers. "No, Avery, I didn't."

"Oh."

"Do you feel like a girl, Avery?"

"Um…a little, m-maybe. But…not?" I swallow again, trying to put down the lump in my throat. "I'm a m-man…I know I am. But…um…sometimes…just s-sometimes…um…"

"Sometimes it's not so clear?"

"Yes!" I gasp. "Not so c-clear."

"Sometimes black and white turns gray?"

"Yes! Yes!" I say. "That's it. G-Gray. I'm gray. Is that…wrong?"

"No. It's not wrong, Avery. The world is never so simple as black and white, no matter how comforting that surety would be sometimes. What is real and true is always shades of gray."

"S-Sometimes I…feel like…I wanna be a g-girl too. I d-dress up…W-Winona lets me w-wear my n-nightie…and it f-f-feels good. Really g-good. Inside and outside. G-Good. S-Sometimes I j-j-just…um…feel…um…I f-f-feel…d-d-different…and…um…scared and c-confused and…happy? Hah! I w-wish I w-was only a g-g-girl, b-but I'm not! I'm a m-man b-but…not all the t-time? I d-don't know wh-what I'm trying t-to say. Grr! It's n-not fitting together right in my w-words."

"It's okay." He sets down his tea. "Come here." He waves me in. "Come here."

I slip from the sofa and walk on my knees into my grandpa's waiting arms. He pulls me in and hugs me in that way only he can. My cheek against his shoulder I take deep, shuddering breath and wrap my arms around him. "Sometimes I d-don't know what I am G-Grandpa!"

"Oh Avery." Hugging me tight he kisses my head. "You are my Buttercup. And you always will be."

Chapter 146: Turning In

Chapter Text

I don't know why I was ever nervous about opening up to Grandpa about my gender confusion. Wrapped up in his hug I am reminded yet again of just how much he loved me and accepted me. Why did I ever doubt him? Why was I ever scared? Why had I waited so long? No matter. Now that I had gotten over that hurtle of fear and worry it felt SO GOOD to have this out in the open between us.

When the hug parts I sit back, still at Grandpa's feet, and gaze up at him happily. "D-Did you ever s-suspect?"

"Suspect?"

"That I h-had some g-girl in me?"

"I hadn't given it much thought. You were just you." He says. "I remember your mom getting very upset a few times when you wouldn't dress how she wanted or play how she thought you should. I didn't see the big whoopty-doo. Let him shine, I'd say." He holds out his near hand and I take it in both of mine. "Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I don't think labels make anything better or easier. I think folks just ought to be who they are. They should let their soul shine through. It makes the world a brighter place around them."

"I d-don't think that's old-fashioned Grandpa." I giggle. "I think you're g-groovy."

"Oh yeah?" He ponders that a moment. "You sayin I'm still with it? That I can dig it? That I'm a hip dude for an old dude? Ha ha! Far out, man."

I laugh harder and kiss his calloused hand before returning to my seat. We leave the unpleasantness from earlier behind us and sit for a time talking and sipping tea and just soaking in each other's company. Grandpa tells a few stories that I'd heard at least dozen times before but I hang on his every word. After the relief of my tense confession and the love and support I received afterward I felt as light as hummingbird. Grandpa didn't treat me any different than he had before I told him and that meant everything to me. With the hour getting late though Grandpa was fading fast.

After one last yawn he downs his drink and leans in to pat my knee. "This ol' sea dog is turnin in."

"Okay." I say. "D-Do you need help?"

He chuckles and rolls his eyes. "No, my boy. I'm okay."

"Okay." As he rises so do I so that I could give him a good night hug and kiss to the cheek.

"I was proud of you tonight." He pats my cheek. "Love you, Avery."

"I love y-you too, Grandpa." I smile. "Sleep well."

After watching him shuffle toward his quarters I sit back to take a quiet moment for myself. As I ponder my own 'coming out', messy as it was since I wasn't really standing all the way on either side of the door, it is brought home to me just how much trust Joshua had shown in me by being the first person beyond his therapist that he had come out to. The more I thought about it the more it touched me that he came to me of all people. Thinking about his super masculine friends and the way the rest of our family felt about such things perhaps I was the only safe person he could reach out to. It didn't touch me any less though. I was so happy that I could be there for him when he needed me. I hoped that he felt as good as I did by letting his 'soul shine through'.

After a bit I let out a little private giggle as I think about the burly beefcake that Joshua was. I could be wrong but I would put a serious bet on him being a top. He probably didn't have a clue just how popular he could become among the right crowd once he came out all the way. He was a daddy bear in the making if I ever saw one. I had no doubt that he'd make some lucky guy very happy some day. Hmmm, I wonder what Eddie was up to nowadays?

Gah! Kayla was rubbing off on me! It wasn't my place to play matchmaker. Although…if I happened to get them in the same place at the same time…maybe… No! Leave it be, Avery, leave it be. With Grandma looking down at me from her framed picture among the knick-knacks I could almost hear her, 'Concentrate on your own love life you little meddler.'

"Yes Ma'am." I titter then pull my phone and dial my soulmate.

"Sprout!" Winona answers after just a ring. "I was getting worried. I didn't want to interrupt you and Mike but…I missed you!"

"I m-missed you too." I am grinning from ear to ear. "How w-was your day?"

"Long. Tiring. Awesome." She reports. "I love my job."

"That's great!" I could feel her joy in my own heart. "So S-Sandra's happy?"

"Oh yeah. We've got two of her vans back on the road and as good as new. The third will be ready in the morning." She says, her professional pride shining through her words. "We've got our first regular. And she's gonna spread the word."

"Speaking of that, I met with my b-brother." I say. "He s-said he'll come to you g-guys the next time he needed something he c-couldn't handle. He's g-gonna tell the other d-drivers too."

"We're talking Josh, yeah?"

"Yes."

"Well, cool." She says. "You can go ahead and tell your other brother to fuck right off though. He's not welcome up here. Ever."

"Y-Yeah." I say softly. "I know."

I think about sharing what had happened earlier with Lauren and the police visit but right now I just wanted to enjoy a moment with my girlfriend before I went to bed. That crap could wait for later.

"Hey, Dad and Sandra were talking about you some more."

"Oh no!" I was already blushing.

"It was SO cool watching him brag you up like you were his own." She says. "He's really taken a shine to you. I think Mom's still a bit on the fence about you, but Pops is all in." She laughs. "I think it's because you're so small and harmless."

"Hey!" I say with joking indignity. "I c-can be v-vicious when I wanna be."

"Ha ha ha ha! You're like the human version of Brutus." She jests. "Helps that you work for just tea and breakfast too."

"He he he."

"AHHH! I wish I could come see you!"

"Tomorrow." I promise. "We're still sh-shopping?"

"Hell yeah." She says. "Everyone's looking forward to it. When's your shift tomorrow?"

"8:30 to 5."

"Pick you up at 5 sharp?"

"Yeah. That'd be c-cool." I take a breath. "Hey, y-you'll never guess wh-what I did today?"

"I'm all ears."

"I…k-kinda…told Grandpa about b-baby girl."

"Oh yeah!?"

"Not the k-kinky stuff of c-course."

"I would hope not! EEESH! I wanna be able to look him in the eyes again."

I giggle. "I just t-t-told him I f-feel like a g-girl sometimes."

"Go on, go on."

"He was s-so cool about it! It doesn't m-matter to h-him what I am. He was all s-supportive about sh-shopping and…stuff. He s-s-said I c-could show him Althea. He w-wants to meet her."

"Awww!"

"He c-called me his p-pride and joy. He s-said I c-could never disappoint him." I sniffle and wipe away some happy tears. "And he g-gave me a hug and s-said I'll always be his B-Buttercup! He was so g-great."

"Ohhh, Avery! You're makin me tear up here!"

"He he he. Yeah. Me too." I say. "He r-really is the b-best."

We talk for the next hour about our days. I tell her about the work I'd started for Sandra, the bonding meeting with my brother, and about Grandpa's scary coughing fit. She in turn regales me with detailed accounts of seals, struts and tie rod ends. I hadn't a clue what she was talking about but I was more than happy to listen. After that we just…talk. About whatever strikes our fancy. And it is wonderful. By the end of the conversation I am laying on my side with my eyes closed in a sort of self hug, imagining that I was safe and warm in my girlfriend's strong spooning embrace, as all of my attention clung to the voice coming through my phone.

"I miss you." I whisper when it was clear our time was coming to an end. "I m-miss you so much."

"Ohhh, Sprout." She sighs. "I wish you were here in my arms. I wanna touch you, baby. I just want to…touch you. Hold you. See you. When you're not here…it fuckin sucks. It like…hurts, ya know?"

"I know." My smile grows as I knew EXACTLY what she was talking about. That yearning, that need, that aching empty feeling as if a part of you had been torn away, it was the flip side of the joy we felt when we were together.

"You're staying here tomorrow night."

It wasn't a question, it was a command. One I that had every intention of obeying. "Yes, Dommy."

"Good boy." She says softly. "Good night my lover."

"I love you, Winona."

"Oh!" She gasps. "Damn it!"

"Hm?"

"You made me cry after all!"

I smile. "I love youuuu!"

"Love you too, baby."

Chapter 147: Interrogation

Chapter Text

Despite the heavy West coast rain that I'd had to ride through on my to work I am feeling upbeat and energized as I go through my day. I was still aglow from Winona's ILY, Grandpa and I had had a really nice breakfast together, I was excited for the shopping trip, and despite everything I was feeling at peace by what I had done last night in reporting my brother. He'd been allowed to be a terror for far too long and it was way past time for somebody to seriously stand up to him. I did a good thing and I was proud of myself for doing it.

Last night's actions however becomes todays reality. Just after 11 I see a pair of police officers at the tills asking for me and I knew what it was about. I didn't think they'd come and bother me at work. I didn't really want this situation known by my coworkers but the police had a job to do and I was heartened to see them following up. After that desk officer last night I had begun to worry that my issue was going to be swept under the rug.

With a lot of curious looks from my coworkers I meet with the officers in the quiet nook beside the deli counter. My mouth was dry, my palms moist, and my heart beating fast as I answer the two tall and imposing policeman's questions. After a brief introduction they begin.

"We're following up on your report from last night." The one asks as the other writes things down in his notepad. "We've talked to your brother and sister-in-law this morning to get their side of things."

They talked to Jack but didn't arrest him? Weren't they supposed to arrest him? "Ok-kay."

"Mmm, yeah. So your sister-in-law, Lauren. I am afraid that she did not corroborate your story." He says. "She explained how she received the bruise that you saw. She said that you jumped to conclusions without even letting her explain."

"Sh-She's s-scared of h-him. Sh-She w-wouldn't s-say anything in f-f-front of him."

"Are you okay, Mr. Beckett?" The other looks up from his writing to give me a hard look.

"I have a s-s-stutter. S-S-Sorry."

"No matter." The first one says. "We spoke with her alone. Your brother wasn't there to intimidate her. She seemed quite concerned about you actually."

"M-M-Me?"

"We understand there's some recent health issue with your grandfather. And that you've been quite upset by it."

"Um…"

"Your mother tells us you broke down the other day and ran out into traffic?" He says. "We have a witness that tells us they saw you crying and running down the street."

"M-M-Mom s-said that?"

"Yes. She did." He says grimly. "Is this true?"

"Um, y-yeah. B-B-But she was…sh-she m-made me upset."

"Do you often get upset, Mr. Beckett?

"Um…"

"We're told you have a history of…emotional outbursts."

"Mmmm." At my sides I nervously start to rub my palms with my fingers. I wanted to get away. I wanted this to stop. I didn't like the way they were looking at me. Why weren't they getting Jack? He's the bad guy. I didn't do anything wrong!

"Are you sure you're okay, Mr. Beckett?"

"Mmm." I nod. "S-S-Sorry."

"Your brother Jack is worried about you as well."

"J-J-Jack?"

"He said that you've been unbalanced since meeting some new girl. He says there was an incident here last week between you two. He claims that you tried to strike him. He says he was able to subdue you without hurting you. Is this true, Mr. Beckett?"

"Um…Um…I-I-I…"

"Is this true, Mr. Beckett?" He says more sternly. "We will be looking at the security tapes."

"Y-Yes. Th-That h-h-happened but…um…I d-don't know wh-what to say."

"It's okay, Avie." He says. "Remain calm. We are just here to get to the truth. So you don't deny attempting to strike your brother here last week?"

"No." I bow my head. "I d-don't d-d-deny it."

"Very good. Stick with the truth and this will work out for everyone." He says. "Your brother tells us that he went to speak to you about the incident later. He and his wife came to you and told you their news about having a child then Lauren went down to the vehicle to wait while you and your brother spoke."

"Y-Yeah."

"Jack tells us that you attacked him again."

"N-No! Th-That's n-n-not what happened."

"Please. Remain calm." He says flatly. "He says that he was able to subdue you again but this time he did strike you, but it was in self defense."

"No."

"Mr. Beckett. Your witness, Brandon?"

"B-Brayden."

"Yes. Jack tells us that you cover his bills sometimes?"

What did that have anything to do with anything!? "Um, y-yeah."

"So you might say that he's indebted to you?"

"N-N-No. No!" I say, my breath quickening.

"Do you buy his drugs for him?"

"Wh-What? No. No. It's n-n-not like that. You're t-t-twisting…everything."

"We're just trying to establish the facts."

"Sir, p-p-please. He's h-hurting his w-w-wife. D-Don't l-let him hurt her!"

"We only have your word to go on, Mr. Beckett." He says. "Do you have any other witnesses or evidence that might back up your claims? If so we would very much appreciate that you bring it forward now."

"Um…no?"

The cops look at each other. The one writing closes his notepad. "Listen, Mr. Beckett. We will continue looking into this but it might be best for all parties involved to let this go."

"L-Let it g-go?"

"Give things time to breath. Smooth out."

"But…"

"Your brother says he has no interest in filing an attempted assault charge. He's simply worried about you. He's hoping that you get the help that you need."

The other one speaks up. "Your mother is worried about you, Avie. Your family all care for you very much, that much is clear. You're lucky to have them."

My eyes are locked on the pattern of the floor tiles. I couldn't bear to look at them anymore. I needed them to go away. I needed to get away! I NEEDED TO GET AWAY! No! No, not now Avery. Be strong. Just do what they want and this would end. I just had to say what they wanted me to say and they would go away and leave me alone.

"We understand that you were seeing a therapist? And that you stopped going recently?"

"Mmm." I nod.

"You might want to rethink that decision. Therapy can help people like you, Avie."

"Y-Yes, S-Sir."

"And lean on your family. They say you've been cutting them out of your life recently." He says. "Don't become isolated. Talk to them, be with them, let them help you. Nobody loves you like your family."

"And nobody's got your back like Mom." Says the other. "Whenever I was having trouble she'd help me through it."

"Y-Y-Yes, Sir. I'll d-d-do that, S-Sir." I swallow hard, trying so, so, so hard not to freak out and run away. "I'm…s-s-sorry…I…c-c-caused so m-much trouble."

A hand lays over my shoulder and I force myself not to shrink from the unwelcome touch violating my private bubble. "Everything is going to be fine, Mr. Beckett." The hand is soon withdrawn thank goodness. "Now. Would you be able to lead us to your manager's office? We do need to see those security tapes."

"Y-Yes, Sir."

My head is down but I can feel the eyes of the customers and the other employees follow me as I lead the policemen to Brenda's office. She'd been watching my interaction with them from afar and so joins us along the way. I didn't look at her but I could tell that she was not pleased. Who could blame her?

When we get to the door of her office I mumble. "Am I f-f-free to g-go?"

"Yes, Mr. Beckett. That's all the questions we have for you today."

"Th-Thank you, S-Sirs." I turn to Brenda, eyes still on the floor. "M-M-May I t-t-take my b-b-break now?"

"Yes." She says. "I think that would be a good idea, Avery."

"Th-Thank y-you."

Not wishing to be seen running away I instead hurry for the washroom. I'd messed everything up. I let Lauren down. I let everyone down. Everybody would be mad at me now. I tried do something good but only made everything bad. I screwed it all up like I always did. I'm so stupid! I'm so stupid! Why am I always so stupid!? Locked in one of the stalls I huddle down beside the toilet, cover my face, and cry.

Chapter 148: Whiplash!

Chapter Text

"Are you listening, Avery?"

"Hm?" I look up. "S-Sorry Brenda."

She sighs. "You didn't hear a word I said, did you?"

"I'm s-sorry."

With sympathy in her eyes she shakes her head. "Officially it is a suspension without pay." She says. "But I want you to think about it as some time off. You rarely take vacation. Take one now."

"But…I n-n-need my p-pay for b-bills and r-rent."

"I know." She says. "But a police visit has to be reported to Mr. Morris. He'll want to know what happened. I'll have to tell him. And he'll want to see the tape. You did take a swing at your brother, Avery. Attacking a customer is grounds for instant dismissal."

"I know."

"I never reported it when it happened. I'm going to catch some flak from this too you know."

Now Brenda had to suffer for my stupidity too. "I'm s-sorry."

"I get it. Family is complicated. Yours more than most." She says. "Listen. I'm going go to bat for you. You're my best clerk and the nicest guy I've ever met. But…I can't guarantee anything. There is a chance that Mr. Morris will fire you for this."

I sit small with my arms tight to my sides, my hands clasped on my lap, and my head down. "I n-n-need…this j-job." I say, trying to my best to keep my emotions in check. "I'm s-sorry B-Brenda." I kept saying sorry because I just didn't know what else to say. "I d-d-didn't mean to b-be so st-stu-stup…"

Just then a shouted voice comes ringing through the store, so loud we could hear it through Brenda's closed door. "AVERYYYYYY!"

At once both Brenda and I turn to look at the big screen which showed the views of the various security cameras. On the one that showed the aisle along the ends of the tills toward the exit door stood Winona in her garage coveralls, arms wide, with a big helium balloon in one hand, a bouquet of flowers in the other, and a humongous smile on her face.

"WHERE MY BOY AT!" She calls as the other employees look at each other wondering what to make of this loud interruption. "Avery Beckett, get your cute little tushie out here!"

Brenda brings a hand to her face to hide her smile, even as she pretends to be annoyed. "Oh Lord! Another thing!? You're turning this store into a circus! You used to be the quiet one!"

"Um…I…?"

"Go." She says. "Go take of…whatever that is. I'll call you later."

"Yes B-Brenda." I say as a much needed ray of sunshine breaks through the clouds surrounding my heart. "And…s-sorry."

"Go!"

Moving as fast as my feet would carry me without breaking into a run I exit the manager's office and hurry for my girlfriend. As I round the tills and Winona catches sight of me her already smiling face lights up. The bouquet is a rainbow of bright happy blooms and on the floating balloon in big pink letters is the phrase 'Happy Anniversary!'.

When I stop to take it all in Winona approaches and in warm, loving voice says. "Happy Anniversary, baby."

Overwhelmed I say. "Anniversary?"

"It's been one week since I stumbled upon you up at the garage." She says. "One week week ago you were a stranger. You were Sprout, the good lookin guy I played FoF with once. And in that one week you changed my world and made EVERYTHING better. You've given me the best, most wonderful, most happiest week of my life!" She passes me the balloon then pushes the flowers into my other hand. She drops to her knees, not one knee but both! Kneeling in front of me for all to see she digs into her pocket and pulls out…a silver ring! Nervously she polishes it against her chest. "Listen. I know it's not much and I know that you Ehkolie folks are way too sophisticated for things like promise rings, but I'm givin you one anyway." She swallows hard. "With this ring I promise to be yours. I promise that I will treasure you and cherish you and support you in everything that you do. I promise that for as long you'll be my boy I will be your girl." She takes a deep breath. "I love you, Avery. I love you and I want to the world to know that I love you." In a dramatic gesture she throw her head back and shouts as loud as she can. "I LOVE YOU AVERY BECKETT!" Looking back to me she holds out the ring and in a voice suddenly soft, fragile even, says again. "I love you, Avery."

I stand in disbelief as Winona gazes up into my eyes. The ring held between her thumb and middle finger sparkled under the wan grocery store lights. It was simple, slender, elegant, with a single tiny pink stone in the shape of a heart. It was so pretty! It was the prettiest ring I ever saw!

Moving on it's own my hand reaches out…letting the string of the balloon slip from it's grip. "Oh no!" I gasp as I watch her gift drift to the ceiling. In a hopeless effort to catch the string I reach out for it…only to drop the flowers to the floor! "Oh n-no!"

"Never mind." She takes my hand, finds my ring finger, and slips the ring on. A perfect fit. Holding my hand she bows her head and kisses it then looks up with the most joyous smile. "I am the luckiest woman in the whole world."

I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to say. It all felt like some heavenly dream. Too good to be real. But that loving look in her eyes was too pure to be false. At the darkest hour a shining hero had come to save her damsel.

Winona! Oh Winona! You beautiful fool!

Glancing to her right where all the people were watching us then back to me she whispers with an self-conscious cringe. "Too much?"

"Mmmm!" The tears begin to well.

Chapter 149: Superhero

Chapter Text

"Heyyy." Winona is on her feet. Pulling me into a hug she shields my face so the others wouldn't see my overwhelmed tears. She hugs me tight and kisses my head. Into my ear she whispers. "I hope I didn't embarrass you. Oh. I embarrassed you, didn't I? It was too much."

"Nooo." I gasp and cling to my woman with all my strength as the tears flow free. "I love youuuu."

"Ohhh." She holds me and pets me and kisses me. "I didn't think you'd cry this much. It's okay, baby. I love you too."

Just then a most unwelcome quip reaches our ears from the tills. "I wonder if this is something to do with the police talking to him?"

As I feel Winona tense up I close my eyes wishing they hadn't said that. Couldn't they have at least let me have a couple of minutes to enjoy this moment?

"The cops were here?" She says.

Though the question was for me one of my meddling coworkers is quick to chime in. "Yeah. They were talking to him about half an hour ago."

"Looked pretty serious." Says another.

"What it looked like is none of your business." Brenda breaks in. "Get back to work."

"Baby? Why were the cops here? Are you in trouble? What's going on, Sprout?"

I continue to cling to her, my eyes shut, as I wished with all of my heart that we could go back to just a moment ago.

"Avery's had quite a day." Brenda says in a voice low enough not to carry as she pats my shoulder. "Take him home, Winona."

"He doesn't have to work?"

"I'll let him explain things." She says. "Avery. If you've got anything in the back you need to get…"

I sigh. All the wishing in the world wasn't going to make this go away. "J-Just m-my helmet and j-jacket and ph-phone." Swallowing hard I dry my tears as best I can on Winona's overalls and stand up straight.

"Are you firing him?" Winona says, her protective anger beginning to surface. "What's going on?"

"It's okay." I slip my hand into hers, our fingers interlocking, and squeeze it tight.

Her hazel eyes full of worry she squeezes right back. She hadn't a clue just how much her hand in mine meant right now. After a turbulent morning I felt like I had an anchor again. Keeping hold of her I bend down and pick up my flowers. I look to the ceiling and abandon any hope of getting my balloon. I hated to leave it but I just needed to get out of here right now.

"It's this w-way."

Hand in hand I lead Winona through the store. Flowers in my arm and a ring on my finger I felt like her bride as we made our way down the long canned goods aisle. It was a good feeling. At my side Winona walked proudly, staring down anybody who would give me a funny look. Normally I would have appreciated that. Right now however I didn't mind being seen. The most wonderful and gorgeous woman who ever lived loved me and was proud to love me. She loved me because I was sweet and funny and flawed and beautiful just the way I was. She saw that I had a good heart and I tried to do the right things and I wasn't nearly as stupid as I thought I was. She said she wanted the world to know that she loved me and I wanted that too.

I take her into the back. She wasn't allowed to be back here but right now I couldn't have let her go if I tried. In the break room I hang up my apron and wonder if it was for the last time. Gathering my things I lead her out the staff entrance to the smelly alley behind the store.

As the door slams shut behind us I am pulled into another all encompassing hug. For a good long time she asks no questions and makes no comment, she simply holds me and lets me know that I am safe.

When at last the hug eases she still doesn't pry. Caressing my cheek she gazes deeply into my eyes and asks. "Where are we goin?"

"Anywhere." I say. "Anywhere b-but here."

"You got it, baby."

This time she leads the way, taking me around the store to where her truck is parked. She guides me into the passenger seat, takes my keys from my pocket, kisses my cheek, and says. "I'll be right back."

I nod, looking at her fawningly like the superhero that she was.

She jogs to my motorbike and rolls it back to the truck where she heaves it into the back. I giggle as I notice an older couple catch sight of Winona's feat of strength. She jumps into the cab and after looking over to check on me starts it up and begins to drive.

I didn't know where we were going. I didn't care. I didn't care about brothers or sister-in-laws or rude cops or jobs or how much of my savings for a new bike that I would burn through paying my bills. I was with her and that was all that mattered to me right now.

While she drives I keep staring down at the ring she'd put on my finger. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. It was so pretty. Boldly and unapologetically pretty. Some would think it feminine, because it was, but it was the perfect slender ring for my slender hand. The two were made for each other. She could have gotten me a boring old plain band, thick like men usually wear, and I would have treasured it. But she knew that this would make me happier. And, ohhh, the tiny pink heart made my own heart melt.

But as pretty as it was, it paled in comparison to the beauty of the bond that it represented. A tangible symbol of our love and a reminder that whatever happened she was always there for me. Had I been wearing this I bet I would have been a little braver with those policemen.

I look over at my true love and see the furrows of worry on her lovely face. She glances my way then quickly back to the road. She was dying to know what had happened but was giving the space to open up on my own. She knew me so well. I could talk now but I wait. What I was going to tell her was going to upset her and I didn't want her to be driving when that happened.

My eyes drift back down to the ring again. Her promise ring was on my finger. HER ring. I was hers. Even dreams didn't get this good.

Chapter 150: A Helping Hand

Chapter Text

When I look up next I find that we are pulling up alongside a picnic area that looked down onto the beach. I knew it well as Grandpa and I had eaten many an ice cream cone from the quaint shop just across the street. In sunny weather and during the tourist season you'd be lucky to find an open table but with today being cool and wet the area was deserted.

Winona parks the truck and looks over at me as I look back at her. Before I can get a word out she exits her door then walks around to my side to open mine. She offers me her hand. I am happy to take it. Hand in hand we walk to the furthest table where we sit facing the ocean, our backs resting against the table. She slides her arm around me and pulls me close. Our butts were getting wet on the bench and a light patter of drizzle sprinkled down from above but all I can feel is the warm body at my side.

I look to my ring again and let all that it represented buoy my courage before looking to her. "You're g-gonna get mad."

"Maybe." She says honestly. "But I'd still like to hear it."

I let out a long breath and melt into her side. "Okay."

And so, as we stare out at a gray and turbulent sea, I tell her. I tell all of the terrible details that I had held back from speaking about the last time we spoke. As calmly as I could I tell her about Lauren, the nighttime visit to the station, the visit from the police just a short time ago, and the meeting with Brenda afterward. I lay it all out with nothing held back.

For her part Winona sits quietly and patiently as I go through my story. When I needed a hug, she hugs me and when I needed a bit of prodding, she gives it. Otherwise she simply listens. A small flinch of her eye and tensing of her body follows my account of seeing Lauren's bruise but she holds her anger inside of her until, by the time I was done, the flash of hot rage had cooled.

Laying my head on her shoulder I softly sigh. "I sh-shoulda known better. J-J-Jack always w-wins."

"The hell he does." Winona says. "No. Jack is the biggest fucking…" She takes a deep breath to calm herself again. "Jack is the biggest loser on this island. He's losing his brother. He'll lose his wife and kid, eventually. Probably lose everyone he ever loved. And if I ever spot him in a quiet alley…"

"Winona."

"…he'll lose a lot fucking more than that!" Her lips twitch into a near snarl as her nostrils flare with pent up fury. "Piece of shit! If he thinks he can…"

"Winona." I lay a hand on her chest and whisper. "P-Please."

She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "Sorry."

"The p-police are st-still looking into it. Maybe…I d-don't know."

"Yeah." She says in a clipped tone. "Maybe."

"You're m-mad at me?"

She looks at me and shakes her head. "No, baby. I'm not mad at you."

"I shoulda t-told you l-last night."

"You had your reasons." She kisses my head. "Probably good ones. Had I been alone when I heard that I might have done something…stupid." I lay my hand on her thigh. She lays her hand over mine and with interlocking fingers takes a hold. Against my side I could literally feel her tension drain from her. We sit for a long, quiet moment, each of us using the other as our anchor. "Brayden really came through last night, huh?"

"Yeah." I say.

"Son of a bitch. He surprises me."

"J-Jack and his f-friends don't t-treat him very good. Never did." I say. "They think h-he's a loser. B-Because he d-doesn't drink and p-party like they do. B-But th-they're the only f-friends Brayden has."

"Brayden's a big boy. He'll be okay."

"I hope so." I say. "J-J-Jack c-can really hold a grudge. If he f-figures out who my w-witness was…and it c-can only be one person…ohhh boy. I r-really messed everything up this t-time."

"No, Avery." She says. "You did what you thought was right. Don't ever beat yourself up for following your conscience."

"But w-was it r-right?"

"Mmm." She grumbles. "Honestly?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't know." She looks at me and pulls one my long, wet bangs away from my face. "Where I'm from you deal with this stuff directly. And we never snitch on family. No matter how bad it is."

"You…th-think I'm a snitch?"

She smiles. "I didn't say that, Sprout. I'm just telling you things from where I come from. Not saying it's better or worse."

"Oh."

"Your grandpa's a lot wiser than I am. He's a proper elder. His words carry weight. You can feel that when you are with him. Besides, this sure as hell isn't the Rez. Things are different here." She gives me a squeeze. "It was probably the right thing in the end."

"I hope so." I let out a long breath and look up into the cold drizzle. "I hope I'm n-not suspended f-for long. I h-hope th-they don't fire me."

"They'd be stupid if they do."

"I'm g-glad Brayden's g-got a job now." I say as, for the first time, my mind starts to focus in on practicalities. "M-Maybe he c-can repay some of the m-money he owes me s-s-so I d-don't have to tap into my savings too bad."

"Mmm."

"I know w-we w-were gonna go shopping t-tonight…" I sigh. "…but…g-given the circumstances…"

"No way. Uh uh."

"Huh?"

"You think I'm gonna let an asshole like Jack ruin my baby girl's shopping trip? Pah! You don't know me if you think that."

"But…"

"You're gonna come shopping with us and that's that." She nods. "You let me worry about the bill."

I smile as my heart lifts. "Y-You sure?"

"Sure I'm sure." She says, then after a beat quips. "And I'll pass it right on to Pops."

"Pffft!" I start to giggle. "What?"

"He really thinks he's getting my man to work for biscuits and tea? Fat chance, ya cheap old gorilla!"

"Ha ha ha!"

She chuckles and gives me a shake. "You just enjoy yourself tonight and let me worry about the rest."

"Okay." I am grinning from ear to ear.

Her chuckles subside. Her hand slips from the top of mine to slide in underneath to hold it from below where she takes it in a tight grip. Staring down at it she runs her hand over the tiny pink heart. "Hey…Avery."

"Yeah?"

She swallows hard, prickling with a sudden nervous energy. "I, um, I mean…"

"Wh-What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." She says. "I was just thinking…um, maybe…maybe I could help you?"

"Help me? You're already h-helping me."

"No." She says. "I mean…um…financially."

Flattered as I was I was also taken aback. "I d-don't w-want your m-money Winona."

"No." She shakes her head. "Not like that. I mean…maybe can help out with, um, rent and…bills and…stuff."

"I don't…" Just as I am about to say that I didn't understand I suddenly did. It comes on a like a light bulb.

"I know it's sudden and…I know we've only known each other a week and…I know it's just a small room and…smells like a garage and…I know it would be cramped and…um…I know you deserve better but…"

"Winona?"

Rain spattered over her glasses and dripping from her hair, just like the first time she said 'I love you', she looks me in the eyes. "Baby, I would give you a palace in the sky if I could. Until then…could you settle for what I got?"

Chapter 151: Kinky Caper

Chapter Text

I couldn't believe my ears. First the promise ring and now Winona was asking me to move in with her!? Everything with her was happening SO FAST! So fast, yet nearly not fast enough. With caution nowhere to be seen we were hurtling into the unknown at light speed. It was stupidly reckless. It was carelessly foolish. But we were young and in love. The perfect combination for making mistakes. Big mistakes. Huge, life altering mistakes. But if I was going make just one big mistake in my life…I wanted it to be her.

"Well?" She says, her nerves cracking through the brittle calm at her surface. I had her on tenterhooks and then some. "I get it if you don't want to. It's too quick and I got no space but…damn it! Do you wanna shack up or what? Tell me!"

"Shack up?"

"Well do you!?"

"Sounds s-so…tawdry. L-Like we're living in s-sin."

"Avery!"

"Though cohabitate d-doesn't sound s-so romantic either, does it?"

"AVERY!"

I turn to face her and take both her hands in mine. "Winona."

"Yes? Yes!?"

"Do you w-wanna get some ice c-cream?"

"Do I…? Ice cream!? You're asking about me ice cream!?"

I nod to the side. "There's a r-really good spot r-right over there. The Rocky Road triple ripple dipple is t-to die for."

She looks at me, flabbergasted, before picking me up and throwing me over her shoulder. "You're going for a swim."

"Whaaaa!" I giggle and wriggle as she starts walking around looking for a way down to the choppy waves. "Noooo!"

Twirling me around she laughs the brings me to the front to hold me cradled in her arms. We look at each other for a split second before she plants a hard kiss on my lips. "If you don't answer me right now…"

"Yes!" I cry out. "Ha ha ha!"

"Yes?"

"YES!"

"Oh!" She gasps before dropping me to my feet and wrapping me up in a great big hug. "Oh, Avery!"

I hug her back with all my strength. "I j-just wanna be w-with you."

"And I wanna be with you!"

We smooch again, oblivious to the steadily increasing rain. "S-So when? How? Wh-What do you…?"

"Avery."

"Yeah?"

"Discuss it over ice cream?"

I smile. "Excellent idea. Why d-didn't I think of that?"

We take each other's arms and tip toe on air as we make our way to the shop. As we cross the street the sky opens up. Pelted by a deluge of frigid rain Winona and I sprint the last ten yards to burst into the empty and formerly quiet ice cream parlor laughing and hooting up a storm. The woman behind the counter snorts and startles to her feet, rubbing her eyes in a clear sign that she'd been snoozing on the job.

"Whooeee!" Winona shakes the rain from her arms. "Lovely weather we're havin, huh?"

"Er, yeah." The woman says. I think she was mildly annoyed at us for disturbing her rest. "Not much call for ice cream on a day like this."

"Well we're celebrating." Winona hooks an arm around me again and yanks me into her side. "My baby just accepted my promise ring. We're moving in together!"

I giggle and nod as best I can being smashed up against her shoulder. "Yep!"

"Er, congratulations?"

Winona strides to the counter, me riveted to her flank, and says. "The Rocky Road triple dipple ripple."

"Ripple dipple."

"Huh?"

"It's ripple dipple, not dipple ripple."

"Whatever!" Winona was already digging in her pocket for her card. "Biggest size you have. And whatever my man wants."

"Um. C-Can I just sh-share?"

"You wanna share ice cream?" Winona swoons, we were both in a very swoony mood right now. "That's so romantic! Yes. Extra large dipple ripple…"

"Ripple dipple."

"Whatever. One of those with two spoons, please."

"Inside or out?"

Glancing back at the sheets of rain streaming down the windows Winona looks back at the woman. "Uh, what do you think?"

"Oh, right." The woman sighs. "Coming right up."

The bill is paid, a big bowl of the chocolaty sweet stuff scooped, and soon Winona and I are sitting opposite in a booth by the window staring into each other's eyes. Neither the raging elements nor my treasured new ring could tear my gaze from her. With the bowl in the center of the table as we nibble away from each side with our spoon, sometimes even feeding each other, we must have looked like a Norman Rockwell come to life. It was cheesy, it was corny, it was a sugarcoated fantasy and we couldn't care less. No two people had ever been in love as hard as we were.

As we bask we talk about the exciting next phase of our relationship.

"Once I'm w-working I can pay some room and b-board. Whatever you w-want."

"I'm not worried about that, Sprout." She says, the middle finger of her free hand playing back and forth over my ring. "Chip in as you can. We'll manage."

We. We! God how I have come to love that word. "I'll d-do my fair share. I can c-cook and…"

"I don't care, baby." She sighs. "I just want you home with me. It'll all work, somehow. It'll just work."

"Yeah." I sigh back. "I'll b-be further away from G-Grandpa."

"Not so far." She says. "If you need to get there in a hurry I'll run every red if I have to."

I titter. "He's not g-gonna believe this. This is even f-faster than him and Grandma."

"Why wait on what's inevitable?"

"Yeah. What'll P-Pops say?"

"That we're moving too fast. That we should wait. That we're a couple of fools blinded by love. Emphasis on the fools. Kayla's gonna say the same. Hell, everyone will."

"Guilty on all ch-charges.

"I love'em, but fuck'em. This is our life."

"He he he! And y-your Mom?"

"She won't like it. Especially once she's learned that you might be jobless right away. But there's not a damn thing she can do to stop it." She smirks and licks a bit of chocolate from the corner of her mouth. Dang. I was hoping I could do that. "Which will bother her even more. She hates not having control. He he he. I can't wait to tell her."

"You are t-trouble."

"Me?" She says with mock offense. "Never." With that she scoops another big spoonful and licks it down. "You have to give notice I assume?"

"Yeah." I say. "I might be on the hook for one m-more month. And I d-don't want to abandon B-Brayden with no warning. I've g-got the s-savings I was holding for a n-new bike. I'll be able to cover it." Taking a spoonful, carefully making sure to get both ripple and dipple in it, she reaches across and slips it into my mouth. Gazing into her eyes with smoldering desire…I wrap my lips around the shaft the spoon and slowly pull back. "Mmmmm." A brow raises, but she says nothing. "I'll have to t-talk to Brayden about it. Maybe I c-can get out quicker."

"You can still move either way."

"Yeah." I smile. "What about the g-game? Whose gonna host?"

"No worry. Now that Kayla's actually into it she'll be happy to have it at her place. I'm just going to have to get used to being spied on by her nosy house. Ugh."

"You and b-babe are going to have to m-make friends."

"Oh, hell no!" We chuckle…then fall silent, our eyes locked, as we each are thinking the same thing. Lowering her spoon she whispers. "Fuck, I want you right now."

Her hungry tone alone makes my pussy and pecker twitch. "I w-want that too." I whisper back. "I want you."

"Unfortunately dad's at the shop."

"We could do it at my place." I smile. "My old place."

"Mmm." She grins. A grin that becomes particularly devilish the more she thinks. "Or…" Without turning her head she looks toward the counter. The woman was nowhere in sight. Leaning in her voice lowers even more. "…we could do it here?"

"Here?"

"Mm." She nods.

"Now?"

"Mm." She nods again.

"It?"

"Well, maybe not it, it. But…" Her hazel gaze lowers to linger on my lips. "…something." With a flit of her eyes she motions toward the corner. Silently she mouths the word. 'Washroom.'

My heart jumping to double its usual resting rate I shrink lower with an impish grin. "F-For real?"

"I dunno. Maybe?"

"Maybe?"

"You ever do it before?"

"N-No. You?"

"Uh uh." She shakes her head. "Kayla tried to convince me once…"

"Me too!" We share a nervous laugh. "It's so b-bad!"

"Downright wicked. Tawdry even."

"Definitely s-sinful. He he he! I'll d-do it if you do it."

"I'll do it if you do it."

"Serious?"

Her eyes narrow. "Absolutely."

"Oh geez!" A loud giggle burbles out of me.

"Shhh!" She laughs. "I think she's sleeping again."

Rising up Winona looks around then huddles back down close again, the half finished ice cream sitting ignored between us. "Coast is clear." She says like we were about to commit a caper, which we sort of were. This was so risky and naughty, which made it all the more exciting. And for a taste of her cock I was willing to take some risks. I had some serious thanking to do for this beautiful ring on my finger. "We go separately."

"Together."

"Mmm." She shakes her head. "Separate." With a glance up she says. "Cameras. She might be watching right now. Less suspicious going one at a time."

"Spoken like a t-true criminal."

"I'm a dangerous woman." She winks. "Go. I'll follow in a bit."

"Pffffft!" I can't believe we were really doing this! AHHH! "He he he he!"

"Shhh!" She chortles just as loud as me. "Sneaky, Sprout."

"Right! Men's or L-Lady's?"

"Men's." Winona says, motioning toward the counter. "Just in case nature calls."

"He he he he."

Sliding her hand across the table she pinches my nipple through my shirt. "Go!"

"Eep!"

The next thing I knew I was on my feet and striding swiftly toward the washrooms. Though I couldn't see her I swear I could feel the woman's eyes following me as I went. I try to act cool, I try to act calm, but inside my kinky little heart was beating like a rock and roll drum solo.

Chapter 152: Kinky Caper Continued

Chapter Text

With butterflies in my stomach and my skin crackling with an electric charge I duck into the washroom and look around. It was small. Just two urinals and a single booth. But the booth was big, big enough for those who needed the extra space, so that was good. Unfortunately the space beneath the privacy walls was just high enough that you could see well into the booth along the floor. If it we were even going to attempt to hide what we were doing I would have to be all the way in the far back corner.

I catch my eye as I pass the mirror and there I see a man with wide excited blue eyes and the goofiest damn smile on his face. "What are y-you lookin at?" I giggle and hurry inside of the stall. We weren't actually doing this? Were we!? AAAHHHH!

A stroke of luck. The toilet had a proper full lid on it. At least I'd have a place to sit. While the place was as clean as one could hope for a public facility I hadn't been wild about the idea of kneeling in here. For Winona I would have done it but I was grateful for the seat.

As I sat there giddy and feeling naughtier than I ever had I was finding the excitement already starting to crumble. For a guy like me who got picked on a lot when I was growing up the men's washroom was not my most favorite place. In retrospect I wish that I'd insisted on the ladies washroom. I think I would have felt a little safer and more at ease in there. My knee bouncing up and down with nervous energy I narrow my focus onto my new ring as I whisper to myself. "Come on Winona. H-Hurry up."

I'd no sooner spoken it when I hear the washroom door open just enough to let a person in then glide shut again. "Sprout?"

"In here." I click the latch open.

Hastily she slips into the stall and locks the door behind her. The instant that she enters all of my former misgivings evaporate. With Winona I knew that I was safe. Without yet facing me rises to her tip toes to peek over the stall. "I saw some customers heading for the shop just before I ducked in. There was a dude with them I think. Let's hope he doesn't have to go."

"Oh no!"

"It's okay. He won't see anything if we stay in here." Her tone was confident but I could tell that she was as nervous as I was. And she had more reason to be. Not only was she not supposed to be in here she also had her big secret to hide as well. She was taking quite a risk here. A risk that only made this all the more spicy. "Let's be quick about this." Turning around she only now realizes that I was seated, my face conveniently at just the right height already. "Oh!" A smile grows as she looks down at me staring back up at her. She caresses my cheek. "Well, hello there beautiful. Fancy meeting you in a place like this."

"Hi." I say with a cute bat of my eyes. "C-Cum here often?"

She chuckles as she catches my joke. "First time actually."

"Mmm." With a confidence that I never possessed with my previous lovers I go ahead and search for her bulge beneath her baggy coveralls. Already sporting a chubby Winona's penis was not difficult to find. The moment I find it I begin to rub.

Softly running her fingers through my hair she asks a question she already knew the answer to. "You wanna suck my big dick, don't you?"

Without breaking eye contact I nod an enthusiastic yes. For just one taste of her perfect cock I would forgo Rocky Road triple ripple dipples for a whole year.

"Right here in the john?" She says as if this hadn't been the plan all along. Still playing with my hair her other hand slowly pulls the long zipper all the way down. "You are such a naughty girl."

With kinky mischief twinkling in my eyes I nod again.

"I do so spoil you." She lightly pinches the lobe of my ear. "Make it quick then."

With dick on the line I am suddenly fearless and I did not need to be asked twice. Parting her coveralls I discover that beneath it she was in a simple combo of gray sweats and a white t shirt. The t shirt was thin enough I could see she wasn't wearing a bra and the waist of her pants untied which allowed a naughty girl quick access to what she was after. As Winona rolls her t shirt up and out of the way, revealing that wonderful firm tummy of hers, I am pulling down her sweats and panties.

"Ohhhh." I sigh as I at last get a proper skin to skin grip of her fat cock. Precisely one second later it is in my mouth. With her soft, heavy, squishy penis nestled between my lips all of my worries melt away. THIS was my happy place. "Hmmmmm."

"Ohhhh fuuuck."

"Hm. Mmm. Hmm." I coo blissfully as I begin to suckle. She tasted salty from the sweat of the day. Contrasted against the super sweet ice cream I'd just been eating I had tasted anything more succulent. "Mmm." Peering up I see that Winona had her eyes closed to bask in the good feelings I was giving her. Giving head always felt like giving a gift, even though I enjoyed as much as my partner, but to see my efforts enjoyed so much by somebody I loved so dearly made it extra special. "Mmmmmm."

"Good boyyy." She whispers as she pets my still damp hair.

I was still in my work clothes and giving a blowie in a public washroom and yet I felt SO sexy right now. And I let that inspiring sexiness flow through to my oral love. Worshiping her swiftly stiffening schlong like it deserved to be I suck and slurp and mewl happy little mewls as I give her my best. It is not long before she is rock hard and I am bobbing away, a finger and thumb gripped around her base while taking her deep and fast while sucking hard. "Mmm! Mmm! Mmm!"

"Ohhh fuck, baby." Her breath is getting stronger and quicker and her hand that had once been petting my blond locks now had them in a firm grip. Eyes still closed she was giving herself over completely to the pleasure as she wanted to cum as quick as she could. "Ohhhh my…fuuuck!"

Seeing it as a fresh challenge, and wanting to make my Dommy proud, I focus entirely on getting her off as efficiently as possible. There is no pausing or extra flourishes. Keeping the suction to the max and her big knob constantly under the lash of my furious tongue I bob forward and back at a quick and relentless pace. Drool gathers and drips from my sucking lips to the floor below, and I let it. I wanted everything slick and sloppy so that nothing would slow me down. Going full bore with a big, hard dick in my mouth? Needless to say I was in my glory!

"Mmm! Mmm! Shhlrm!"

"Hnngh! Fuck! Ohhh, gngh!" Cracking her eyes she looks down at me, looking so big and so powerful towering over me. By the contortions of her gorgeous face and that lusty look in her hazel eyes I could tell that my spirited head was getting her there in record time. "Hahhh, fuck. I fucking love you. I love you so fucking much, baby."

"MMMM!" Somehow I find a new gear and suck even faster and harder. Letting go of her dick I grip onto her hips, encouraging her to take control.

My head controlled in one hand as the other holds her shirt up Winona begins to thrust in time with my sucks. "Mrrrmm!" I moan with wild arousal at her turning my blowjob into a face fuck. Ohhhh yes! Spittle flies as her long, thick shaft pistons in and out of my wet, sucking lips. "Mm! Mm! Mm! Mm!"

"Ohhh shit. Ohhh fuck. I'm getting close baby." She huffs, her eyes aflame with rising passion. "Mmm!"

Just then…the washroom door opens!

Chapter 153: A Little Dipple

Chapter Text

With her hand on my head and my mouth around her cock Winona and I both freeze in place, our wide eyes meeting as a shared panic hits us at the same time. Right away I pull my feet up off of the floor to perch cross-legged on the toilet seat. Had I done it quick enough not to be seen by our interloper? Not if he was paying attention. Eeek! We were surely about to be caught!

With all the sucking and moaning ceased the washroom is a void of sound…until the soft clunk of the door as it closes. One, two, three, four foot steps, each one closer than the last until the brown leather shoes of the man can be seen under the wall. He walks up to the urinal directly beside the stall. There is a rustle of clothes and then, such was the quiet in the room, I can actually hear the zipper of his fly pull down. Thank goodness he didn't need the toilet! And if he saw or suspected anything going on in here there was not sign of it yet.

"Some rain we had there, huh?"

Winona and I both startle at the unexpected breaking of silence. Just our luck we get the one dude in a thousand who wants to chat in the men's room! On the bright side I didn't recognize the voice. For a second Winona was at a loss as to what to do. She couldn't ignore the guy but she couldn't let on that there was a girl in here either. The moment only lasts a couple of seconds but if felt like an eternity.

"Um, y-yeah." She says in her best imitation of my soft voice.

"Clnch!" I snort and nearly spit her dick out from stifling a laugh.

'Shhh!' She mouths without actually making a noise.

"Yep. Supposed to be off and on all day." The man grunts and at long last there comes a weak trickle of piss against porcelain. "Clearing up tomorrow though."

"Um, y-yeah. That's g-good." The tone wasn't quite right but she had my stammer to a tee. Seeing her looking so nervous and mimicking my voice struck me in the moment as one of the funniest damned things I had ever seen. If I didn't do something quick I was going to giggle! And so…I suck. "Nngh!"

"You too, huh?" He huffs.

"Uhhh…"

"Fuckin prostate."

Honest to God, had I not had a cock in my mouth I would have laughed SO HARD! As quiet as the evening star I bob forward and back, gently suckling as I cradle her balls in one hand and hold her shaft with the other. In Winona's language I was being such a 'little shit', and I knew it too. Winona had been riding the edge just a few seconds ago. But I just could not help myself.

Her nostrils flare and eyes bulge at the blowie resuming without warning. "Hmmph!"

"I find it helps if you concentrate on just relaxing everything." The odd over-sharing man suggests, oh so helpfully. "And think about something else."

"Mmm." Winona nods, though he could not see the gestures. He also could not see how, just a couple of feet to his left, my pink lips were gliding up and down a beautiful woman's beautiful cock. This was so naughty! I felt ready to burst with naughty energy. Her hand in my hair takes a hold again. She doesn't stop me though but resumes her gentle thrusting. Trying to hide her rising breath and hold in her lusty moans, and almost succeeding, Winona was right back to riding that edge of orgasm. Never had I heard such a relieved woman when the urinal's flush allows her to let out a breathy gasp. "Hahhhh."

My eyes straining downward I watch the man shake, turn, then walk out of sight toward the sink to wash his hands. There follows the ka-chunk, ka-chunk, ka-chunk of the paper towel dispenser then a swift tear then the rustle of drying hands then the crinkle of the used the towel hitting the trash and finally, mercifully, the noise of the door swinging open then slowly closed again.

Feeling triumphant that we were alone again I peer up at Winona just in time to feel her shaft throb between my lips! "GNNNNNGHH!!!"

"CLRCHHH!" Not prepared for it and not able to pull away thanks to Winona's grip on my head I darn near gag as the first powerful jet of hot, thick jizz blasts straight to the back of my throat. Hurrying to catch up I just start swallowing as fast and as much as I can. "Glp! Glp! Glp! Glp!" Holding very still I, my brows furrowed in effort, I dutifully gulp down my creamy surprise. Many would disagree but I'd take Winona's yummy cummies over a Rocky Road any day and everyday. "Hnnnmmmm!"

"Ffffffff!" Winona trembles and hisses through her hard climax, still holding back her cries as best she could so they didn't carry. "Hnnngh!" After a wonderful minute or so she shudders to a conclusion. No sooner had I suckled her dry when she pulls her thick wet dick from my mouth and bops my nose with it. "You little…"

"Shit?" I giggle.

"Ha ha ha!" She starts up one of her signature belly laughs before slapping a hand over her mouth. Moving swiftly I put her away, arranging her just so inside of her panties, then pull up her sweats. She lets go her t shirt and zips up the coveralls. Both of holding in titters the whole time. In a loud whisper she says. "We actually did it!"

"Y-Yeah! He he he he!"

"Shhhh!"

"He he he he he!"

"Shit."

"What?"

"Now, how do we get outta here?" She says. "There are customers out there now."

"Oh, uh, I d-didn't think about that."

"Me neither. Um." She helps me to my feet and smooths my hair with a swift swipe across my head. "You go first. And…uh…if it looks like anyone is looking…er…cause a distraction or something."

"Right." I nod.

The very next moment I had been pushed out of the stall, the door slamming shut behind me. "Hurry!" She whispers from behind the door.

"R-Right!" I give my hands a quick rinse and dry as Winona is prodding me to 'go, go, go' and before I knew it I was striding back out of the washroom.

If I was nervous going in I was doubly so coming out. I felt like I'd just committed the crime of the century and all there was left to do was the getaway. Not only that but now I had a boner to hide as well. Where was my clitty cage when I needed it? Thankfully mine wasn't nearly as obvious as Winona's would be. The place wasn't deserted as before. There was now a table of three two booths over from Winona and I's spot and another couple at the counter pondering their order and facing in this direction! Ack! My instinct is to spin around and retreat back into the washroom but that would only look suspicious, and so I forge on.

Doing all I could to act naturally I walk with overacted casualness back toward our booth, my eyes darting this way and that. I notice the man at the other booth wore brown leather shoes. When he spots me glancing his way he gives me a friendly nod and a smirk. Did he know? Or was he just saying 'bravo' on a piss well taken? Who knows! A hot blush rushing to my face I nod back then scurry the rest of the way to our booth.

With the hits of the 50's playing softly in the background and the salty taste of our kinky escapade coating my tongue I sit there for a few seconds staring down at the half melted triple ripple dipple as the rain pattered against the glass beside me. Looking back at the exposed doors of the washrooms against the far wall I scramble at what to do. There were too many people here now. Those doors were too obvious. We'd chosen a really bad place to pull this off. Cause a distraction, she said. What kind of…?

Just then the men's room door cracks open!

"EVERYBODY!" I hear my own voice call out from my own mouth. The three in the booth, the two at the counter, and the lady behind it, all heads turn my way at my sudden exclamation. EEEK! Though I freeze up it does provide just enough of a diversion for Winona to slip through the door. Shuffling to her left she kicks the women's washroom door open behind her then walks forward as if she'd just come from there. Smooth! Looking around at everyone staring back at me I blurt out the first thing I can think of. "Um…w-we're celebrating." I hold up my ring to show them all. "She g-g-gave me a p-promise ring! W-We're g-g-going st-steady!"

To my surprise I am not faced with cringes or weird looks, but a round of warm and understanding smiles. Well, except for the lady behind the counter.

Awkward as only I could be I then blurt out. "Um…um…um…I j-just wanted to s-s-say that. Th-That's all. Um! Thank you!" With that proclaimed I shrink down into the booth and await the aftermath. The aftermath turns out to be a light round of applause and wishes of 'good luck' and 'congratulations'.

As proud as a peacock Winona strides up to our booth and slides in beside me. Her arm around me she kisses my cheek. "That's my baby. Such a romantic."

Leaning into her I hide my face in her shoulder. There is some laughter but soon everybody goes back about their own business.

I look up at Winona, her hazel eyes gleaming just as my blue ones must have been. We'd done it! We'd gotten away with it! AHHHH!

Back and forth we start to sputter and titter at our own private joke. As we do she takes a napkin and dabs it at the corner of my mouth. "You got a little, heh, dipple there, Sprout."

Unable to hold it back any longer, we laugh. Ohhhh, how we laugh!