Part Fourteen: Fireworks
As he got up from his knees, while Miss Meryn was seeing Miss Natasha and Scott to the door, Jeremy was very anxious. Though he had never encountered it before he knew that Miss Meryn was upset, and had been for much of the evening. He just didn't know why. He had tried so hard to do everything he could to make the night a success for her, so that she would be proud of him in front of Miss Natasha. But he had obviously failed. This was made all the more apparent to him when she walked briskly past him from the foyer and proceeded into her bedroom without saying a word.
Jeremy didn't know what to do with himself so he stood there numbly as if in a trance. If only she would tell him what he had done wrong, so he could beg forgiveness and promise never to do it again. An even more frightening thought began to occur to him. What if tonight had just been another opportunity for her to compare him directly to someone like Scott, and he had come up wanting again. He thought back to the cryptic conversation Miss Meryn and Mis Natasha at the end of the night. Was Miss Natasha offering to find someone new and better, like Scott, for Miss Meryn as she had threatened to do once before? And was Miss Meryn considering it, and was just struggling to find any excuse to tell him he had to go. Jeremy was beginning to panic.
His fear rose to a new level when he heard her sharply call him to come into the bedroom. He entered nervously and saw that she had changed into her nightgown, covered by a long robe, and was sitting on the side of her bed. She indicated that he should kneel before her.
As he looked up at her from his knees he could sense that she was still upset and very tense. For several long moments she just stared down at him frowning.
"So Jeremy." She broke the silence sternly. "Explain to me why you felt it so necessary to take off your clothes tonight."
He took a deep breath before answering. "I'm so sorry Miss Meryn. I know you don't like me to undress, but when I saw from the kitchen that Scott had done so, I didn't want Miss Natasha to think you didn't have the same control and respect from me."
"And you think that prancing around nearly naked is a sign of respect for me? As Natasha said, Jeremy, this is my house, and I make the rules. Don't you ever forget it."
"Never again Miss Meryn. I swear."
"And that footstool stunt Jeremy" she added, "what on earth could you ever have been thinking?"
He bowed his head. He knew now he had completely failed her tonight. Every choice he had made had been wrong. But he would answer her question truthfully, no matter what the consequences.
"I was thinking" he admitted quietly "that at that moment there was no place in the world I would rather be."
Meryn lowered her head and allowed herself a small smile. She could never remain angry for long with Jeremy. And, in reality, she hadn't really been angry with him now. She knew that everything he had done tonight had been an attempt to please her. She understood that it was another issue entirely that was really bothering her. It was time to broach it, but she didn't quite know how to proceed.
"Jeremy" she began tentatively.
She paused a moment longer
"Do you masturbate?"
His face reddened. "Yes, Miss Meryn."
Of course he did. How could she think otherwise. The more important question.
"How often?"
He hung his head. "Almost every day."
"Sometimes more?" She asked.
"Sometimes more."
Natasha he been right. Meryn didn't know if it was that fact, or Jeremy's admission that was refueling her anger.
"How dare you. How dare you do that in my house. Under my roof."
Jeremy's head snapped up. "Oh no Miss Meryn. Not at all. Not here. Never."
"What do you mean? You just told me you jerk off a couple of times a day, but now you're trying to tell me you don't do it here." Her eyes widened. "You mean that you do it at work?"
"God no, Miss Meryn. I would never do that. Please believe me. You don't understand."
"Don't play games with me Jeremy. You say you do it several times a day, but that you don't do it anywhere. Explain to me what I don't understand."
He swallowed. "You asked me if I masturbate, Miss Meryn, and I do. But never here. I wouldn't ... I haven't ... Not since ..." He paused.
"Since when Jeremy?"
"Since I met you Miss Meryn."
Now it was Meryn's turn to pause. Then...
"You're telling me that you haven't done anything like that since the day you met me?"
He could only nod.
"Why not?" She was perplexed. "Doesn't being here ... All of this ... Don't I turn you on?"
"Oh God yes Miss Meryn. Since the day I met you I have never been so stimulated. Every day, every minute that I'm with you."