Page 24

Kennedy

“No, they were all very nice. It was like sitting down with lawyers. Lots of talk about rules and studying each other. And me.” I hadn’t felt like a bug or a criminal, though. “But Anson and Mr. Jasper were there to keep the conversation going and they didn’t let me get overwhelmed.”

By the men who wanted to let me borrow their penises.

“They’re really volunteering for that?” Francis looked just as confused as I felt as he leaned over the edge of the couch and frowned at me. “And you didn’t think they were creepy or just…I don’t know…weird?”

“No.” But that in itself was probably weird. “They treated it very normally and seemed to think it would be fun. Like going to a baseball game and getting to play for a bit.”

Tops were weird sometimes.

That’d been what had surprised me the most…they’d been a mix of Doms and subs.

“They kept looking at each other’s laps and I think they were trying to gauge dick sizes.” Shaking my head, I sighed. “They just don’t understand how it’s going to work.”

I knew I was right, but it was rude to point that out to them.

Francis shrugged and flopped back on the couch. “You think you know how it’s going to work out. Sometimes scientists are wrong about their experiment.”

Bullshit.

But that would be rude to say.

“We’ll see.” Very soon. “We’re going back this weekend to do my experiment.”

There’d been a few men who’d come over to hang out who just hadn’t felt right, but the core group of men that Anson and Conner had clearly picked out were very nice. None of them were Anson or Mr. Jasper, but they’d been polite and not creepy.

“I thought you were going to have lunch with him this weekend.” Francis’s head peeked out over the side of the couch again. “It sounds like you’re dating him. He touched your ass and now you’re having food.”

“I don’t think that’s the right way to define dating someone. What happens if a guy on the bus accidentally touches your ass and then offers you a piece of gum?” That wasn’t dating. “Besides, I have Anson, and Mr. Jasper just helped touch my butt. There’s a difference.”

Francis’s face scrunched up.

“It’s not like I blew him or anything.” I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t, but the evening had been a success, so I wasn’t going to worry about it.

Mr. Jasper was the kind of guy who didn’t want to hurt Anson’s feelings, and blow jobs just might be more personal than other forms of penis insertions.

“I don’t know what to say to that.” So he hid, lying back on the couch and pretending to watch the movie. “I just don’t know what to say.”

“Say you’re happy I had fun and you’re glad that I got good orgasms and lots of attention.” That was what mattered. “And then say you hope I have a great time this weekend at lunch and getting fucked.”

“No.” Huffing, Francis reached over the side of the couch and patted my chest. “I won’t say that. It’s weird. But I hope you have a fun weekend.”

That was more than I’d expected, so I squeezed his hand. “Thanks.”

“But they were all nice?” Francis’s worries seemed to take precedence over his desire not to talk about sex. “All of them?”

“The ones Anson and Conner picked out.” They’d done a good job. “A few guys came around to chat and probably to see why they looked like they were having a business meeting at the club, but they weren’t my handpicked people.”

They’d been random penises who’d just shown up.

“I did not want to do anything with them.” No. “One was a penis attached to a penis, and he was kind of slimy.”

But all it’d taken was one look at Conner’s face to make it clear he wasn’t going to let penis man anywhere near my butt.

Anson was wonderfully protective, but it was nice to have an added layer of protection that was slightly scarier.

“The rest were nice.” I’d probably said that too many times but it seemed like I needed to keep reinforcing it. For some reason, Francis kept forgetting that part. “Like you could go out to dinner and have a good time nice but not want to keep them long term. I have Anson for that. He’s my long term.”

And Francis leaned over and frowned again.

“If I tell you I don’t understand, are you going to say they’re nice again?”

Um.

“Probably?” Mostly because I wasn’t sure why he was so…grumpy. “It might help if you actually ask what’s on your mind.”

I was pretty sure he hadn’t tried that yet and the way he glared at me said I was right.

“No.”

He was so dramatic.

“Okay, well, are you trying to understand why I want to do my experiment?”

Nothing.

“Are you trying to understand why Anson is willing to do my experiment?”

Nothing.

He might’ve even glared harder.

Hmm.

“Are you asking why I didn’t invite you to be in my experiment?”

Oh, if his eyes got any wider, they’d fall out.

We were going to call that a maybe.

“Are you upset I haven’t asked if you wanted to come to the club?”

Hmm.

Smaller eyes.

“Have you made an appointment with your therapist yet?”

He sighed.

“No.”

We were going to fix that first and then figure out why he was so insane.

“How do we do that? Email? Do they have a portal thing?” I really hoped we didn’t have to find a way for him to call during regular business hours.

“Patient portal.”

Bingo.

“Let’s find your phone.” We could finish the movie later. “Then I’ll get a reward from Anson for being a good friend.”

And for not killing Francis.

****

“So, what you’re saying is that you deserve a reward for making sure he signed up for an appointment to see his therapist, but he was completely unhelpful in telling you why he was frustrated?” Anson sighed when I nodded. “Okay, I agree, rewards for both.”

Told him so.

Pulling me deeper into the house, Anson kissed my head and led me into the living room. “Alright, lap time.”

Yep, I agreed with that plan too.

When he had me snuggled on his lap, he frowned as he stroked my back. “He wasn’t jealous about not being asked to come to the club?”

“I thought that was a good starting point too, but no. He didn’t react to that at all.” I’d done my best to be helpful. “I even asked if he was upset that I hadn’t asked him to be part of the experiment.”

Anson went still. “I hadn’t thought about that.”

“He likes topping, so I thought maybe that would be part of it, but his eyes went very wide.” Cartoon sized. “I don’t know what that means.”

“Hmm.” Making thinking sounds, Anson kept processing. “He doesn’t seem like he wants to date you. But it almost sounds like jealousy.”

That was so weird to think about I sat up like a spring, making him laugh. “No.”

Still snickering, Anson nodded. “Okay, we’ll discount that idea.”

“It’s weird.” There was no way he saw me like that. “I hope it’s not that.”

Shaking his head, Anson snuggled me back against him so my head was resting on his shoulder again. “I don’t get that vibe from him but I was mostly just putting it out there to make sure we covered all our bases.”

“Yeah, I tried to think of a variety of reasons but he just kept glaring at me. The only responses I got were weird and unhelpful.” Sighing, I shifted so I was stretched down the couch more and I could rub my face against his chest. “But I made him sign up for an appointment and I’m going to nag him next week to actually go. I warned him that I was going to be a pain in the ass.”

Well, that I’d be a deliberate pain in the ass, not an accidental one.

“Because you’re a good friend.” Anson mumbled something that sounded like doesn’t deserve him but I missed it since it was so low. “But you’re home now and you did a wonderful job of managing the situation.”

“Thank you.” Petting his chest, I closed my eyes and relaxed against him. “I thought explaining going to the club this weekend would be the hardest to tell him about but he seemed more worried about me having lunch with Mr. Jasper than anything else. Oh, but I told him how nice the men were.”

Lots.

Anson chuckled. “He’s probably worrying about a lot of things. The lunch one might just be him worrying that it will mess up our relationship?”

It didn’t sound like Anson thought that was a problem, which made me feel better since I hadn’t been worrying about that. “It’s only lunch, but somehow touching my butt and having a meal together means that I should be dating Mr. Jasper.”

There was no logic in that, so I kind of thought it was a Francis needs therapy kind of issue. “It’s…it’s confusing but I told him that wasn’t how dating worked and that you’re my long term, so nothing else matters.”

Anson made a pleased hum that went right to my dick. “I’m your long term, huh?”

Just the tone in his voice made it clear that was a good thing, so I giggled and pressed my face against his chest when he squeezed me tight. “Yes. You’re my long term.”

Now that I’d found him, I wasn’t letting him go…experiments or not.

He got me.

“Because I give you rules and make you talk to me?” He was trying to sound curious and serious, but it wasn’t believable. “You seem to like that rule.”

He liked that rule too because I’d told him about a fantasy I’d had when I was leaving Francis’s place.

“No. That’s not why you’re my long term.” The way he snickered said he knew that. “Can you guess anything else?”

Anson made more thinking sounds, loud, dramatic ones like we were in a movie or a cartoon. “Because I give you lots of orgasms?”

I managed not to laugh but it was hard. “No, but that is a nice bonus.”

Sighing, he sounded like the game was so difficult he wasn’t sure what to do next. “Well, it can’t be because I make you eat your vegetables and spank you. That’s just not logical at all.”

Well, the spanking part was, so I barely held back laughter.

“Probably not logical, but you said I’m a good eater.” Anson liked not having to worry about that because it gave him room in his brain to worry about more important things like when I went to bed and where I was.

“You’re right.” Anson sounded cheerful as he patted my back. “You do a good job with that.”

He was so silly sometimes.

“Thank you.” I did a good job keeping my tone serious, but it was painfully hard. “I appreciate you noticing.”

That time Anson’s chest shook with laughter, but he didn’t let it out. He wanted to laugh just as much as me, but I was winning. “You’re welcome, but I’m not done thinking yet. I’ll get it.”

I hoped so.

No giggles.

No giggles.

He finally made more thinking sounds and sighed. “It can’t be because you love me. That’s just too obvious.”

Very obvious.

“Sometimes the obvious answer is the right one, though.” I shrugged, still doing a good job of playing it straight because I didn’t laugh out loud yet. “You keep telling me not to overthink things.”

But I did so well at that I didn’t always take his advice.

Anson scoffed, shaking his head. “That can’t be right. You always overthink everything.”

And my giggles finally escaped.

“It’s one of my strong suits.” And we shouldn’t ignore things we did well…everyone knew that.

Anson laughed, kissing my head once the booming sound faded. “You’re right. You are amazing at it, but I’m glad I was wrong.”

“You are?” I knew he would be but it was good to hear him say it. “You had a hard time guessing it.”

Making a soft, happy sound, Anson kissed my head and snuggled me close against him. “I’m glad I finally got it right then. Because I love you too.”

It was my turn to hug him tight as I wrapped my arms around him. “I knew you did. You take good care of me and you make me feel so special.”

I wasn’t sure I could explain it any better, but after seeing how much Francis was struggling, I didn’t want to hide from what I was feeling. I loved Anson and I wasn’t going to let myself hide from that. It hadn’t made Francis happy and I wasn’t going to suffer through learning that lesson on my own.

“You take good care of me, baby, and you make me feel special.” Sinking lower into the couch, Anson stroked my head before turning it so he could kiss me. “You’re funny and you’re sexy and you fill me up. You make me feel like the most important man in the entire world.”

Because he was.

He was my Anson.