Page 5 of Reunion
“W—” No. I refused to say it again. “Oh. So they’ve chosen to gift their wedding party with sex toys. That’s not weird at all.” And they’d taskedmewith picking these items up.Fantastic.
Dane laughed. “I have to say I’d prefer it over another engraved flask, tin of cigars, or set of shot glasses. I’ve got an entire cabinet of those.”
The cabbie nodded an emphatic agreement. “There’s a new Fleshlight I saw advertised the other day. Nowthatwould be a great gift.”
“Oh?” Dane asked with apparent interest as the cabbie nodded. “I haven’t seen that one.”
“It’s got grips built into it. You can also customize ’em now, too.”
“There are some great copycat products, too, but the original is an icon at this point, really, isn’t it?” Dane said sagely, as if they were trading commentary about a work of art.
And then he and the cabbie were off, talking comparisons in texture and sensation while I stared out the window trying not to listen, unable to contribute, and fighting off the semi rising in my pants. Why the hell didn’tIhave a Fleshlight?
* * *
Just inside thedoor of Ace’s Wild, I stopped and marveled. It wasn’t as if I’d never been in a sex shop before, but it’d been a long time, and that place had been a dingy hole-in-the-wall compared to the clean, well-lit, and obviously carefully considered shop I stood in now. Back then, a college buddy and I had gone in to grab a bunch of cheap vibrators to play a prank on one of our other friends, strewing them around his dorm room, his backpack, his closet, and then setting them all to vibrate. Admittedly, I might have eyed some of the dildos and plugs in the shop a little curiously but had then forgotten completely about them. Use of plugs or dildos—or any other sex toys—with a partner had been almost nonexistent. Compared to the fantasies that lived in my mind and the porn I jerked off to, my sex life was surprisingly tame—or lame, depending. But just when I started roaming down the path of whys in that regard, a voice boomed out.
“Hey, fellas, help you with—oh, Dane. Guess I can drop the customer service spiel.”
I snuck a look at Dane. On a first-name basis with this hulk of a man I guessed was the owner? That was interesting. He and the guy exchanged a quick hug, and Dane introduced him to me as Ace, then told him, “Cole’s here to pick up something for Shay.”
“My soon-to-be sister-in-law,” I tacked on, wanting to be clear about the relationship.
Ace’s grin broadened. “You’re practically family, then. I’ve got everything almost ready. Let me just scoot to the back and put it all in a box. Easier to carry that way.” He gestured toward the shop displays. “Feel free to take a look around.”
He was off before I could even say thanks. “He’s got a lot of energy,” I commented.
Dane nodded with a smile and gestured me deeper into the shop. “He and his partner own the place. Good people.” He strolled toward the shelves and displays, seeming completely at ease, while I followed along behind, likely with the expression of a kid who’d just discovered porn for the first time.
My gaze darted from shelf to shelf, display to display, while my dick hardened. I wondered if that was something Ace and his partner considered a hazard of the job: a constant stream of rigid body parts and men adjusting their crotches. Or maybe most people were cooler customers. I attempted a surreptitious glance at Dane’s crotch to confirm my theory, but his back was to me.
While he went left, I went right, stopping in front of an array of dildos that ranged from incredibly lifelike to outlandish and exotic animal shapes. As I eyed a thick, frighteningly realistic dildo complete with skin shading and juicy-looking veins, my stomach flip-flopped. The thing was gigantic.
“One to work up to, huh?” Dane said over my shoulder, and I let out a startled laugh.
“Might as well fuck a horse. Or use your fist at that point,” I said, even as my cheeks heated. Something else I’d only ever experienced via porn but was curious about—the fisting, not the horse. The latter was definitely not my kink.
“I’ve seen one of these used to nice effect before, but never experienced it myself.” Dane gave me another one of those disarmingly self-assured looks that I had to force my attention away from.
“Seen it used. Like…in person? Like a sex-club-type scenario?” I prodded one of the thick veins on the dildo. It had enough squishy give to feel lifelike and was absolutely no help to my burgeoning erection. I shoved my hand in my pocket.
“Mm-hmm.” He nodded matter-of-factly. “I don’t go much anymore, but I used to.”
“Oh. I didn’t even know there were sex clubs in Vintage Ridge.” God, I lived under a rock. Granted I hadn’t spent much time here other than quick visits with my folks since I’d gone off to college. But still, Dane had gone to sex clubs here? That probably shouldn’t have gotten me as hot as it did.
“There are. Good ones, too.” Dane picked up a box and turned it in my direction. “This must be the one the cabbie was talking about.”
I considered the long tube with finger grips through the plastic display window. It looked like it’d been metal plated, and I wasn’t sure it was anything I wanted to stick my cock into, but maybe the exterior was deceiving. “It looks…very serious. And a little ridiculous. Is the metal plating supposed to appeal to the tough guy types, or is it an aesthetic choice, do you think? Metallic finishesarevery in right now.”
“Maybe you can try it and let me know your experiential conclusions,” Dane said, with a wry lift of his brow.
I blinked, unable to discern whether he was flirting with me or teasing. “Oryoucould.”
“I already have three. Four seems like overkill.”
Three?How was I supposed to reply to that? The faint curve of his smile suggested he didn’t expect one as he returned the box to its place on the shelf.
I picked up a sample of what I supposed was another masturbation sleeve, considering its location. Unlike the Fleshlights, it was made of pliant silicone and double-sided, with what looked like a mouth on one end and a tiny, perfectly puckered hole on the other. I stuck my finger inside the mouth and wiggled it around, encountering soft ridges. My dick perked with interest. With a bit of lube, I imagined it could feel…ohyeah.