Author's Note: Thank you again to Secretsxywriter for helping me edit this story.
***
The elevator ride up to Haley's place was just as scary as the first time. The car's rattling made me wish I'd used the stairs instead. Haley and I had agreed to meet to talk about everything that had happened. We both had wanted to do it on Monday, but our schedules had disagreed. So Tuesday it was.
I had rushed to her apartment straight from work, taking only a quick detour to get something to eat. Now, strengthened by a meatball sandwich, I was ready to face her.
The shame of what had transpired during the weekend still weighed down on me. I had come so much while listening to Brie fuck Haley and playing with my toys. It had been hard to look into the mirror after all that. My mouth had still ached from sucking the dildo. I could still feel the plug in my ass, and that was making my cock hard even now.
I took a better grip of the strap of my backpack like it was the straw keeping me afloat. If my coworkers had wondered why I was smiling all last week, now they must think I was getting sick. I had been all over the place for the past two days: copying the wrong documents, coming late to meetings, forgetting simple tasks.
Something big was shifting inside me...like my mind was suffering a continental drift. There didn't seem to be any other way to deal with this than push forward. I was done wallowing in my own misery.
I rang the doorbell before the nervousness could turn into anxiety. I had no idea what she wanted to say. Her escapade with Brie had come out of nowhere, not that I had minded it. Sometimes people you'd known for years managed to surprise you.
The door opened revealing Brie in black yoga pants and a yellow tank top. There were beads of sweat on her dark skin. "Oh, hi. It's Tom, isn't it? Come on in. Haley will be here soon."
I stood in the doorway staring at the wall behind her. She vanished into the kitchen. The smell of honey and roasted nuts poured out of the apartment. What was I supposed to do now? Haley hadn't said anything about Brie being home. Let alone that she herself was running late.
"Hi," I said to the emptiness and immediately felt like a dolt. I inched in and closed the door then hung my coat on the rack, clutching the backpack in my arms.
My pale face greeted me from the mirror when I forced myself to look into it. To see my completely normal, not-enslaved self. I had the collar in my backpack so I could give it back to Haley. Maybe I could just leave it there and sneak out. I was about to escape into Haley's room when Brie popped into the hall again.
"You want some coffee or tea?" she asked...wearing the flower-patterned apron I'd worn—naked—just couple of days prior.
"S-sure." Sheepishly, I followed her back into the kitchen.
It was warm in the small room. A big cast-iron skillet rested on the corner of the stove, still giving off heat. The small table was occupied by several greased pans and a big bowl full of brown goo. That goo seemed to be the source of the mouth-watering smell lingering in the apartment. The only recognizable thing I saw in it was crushed nuts.
"I make my own energy bars." She took a mug from the cupboard. "Tea or coffee?"
"Coffee, please." I sat on the closest chair. The one Haley had sat on when I'd massaged her Saturday. My nervousness wasn't a match for my wild imagination, and I felt my pants tighten again. I hid my erection with my backpack.
"Now I get it." Brie turned to make coffee, but she took her phone out then turned it face me. "Haley meant to send this to you."
My face grew warm from reading the message that said Haley was running late and would be home in half an hour.
"I did wonder why she put all those hearts at the end. We were chatting about groceries, so she probably sent this to me by accident."
"Doesn't matter," I mumbled, "if you don't mind me being here."
"Of course not." She grinned and finally put the coffee on before continuing to make the dough into flat squares. "I'll be out of your hair in a minute."
"So, you work out a lot?" I noticed how uncouth my comment was only after I had uttered it. "I mean, of course you do. Look at you. You're gorgeous. Fuck. Didn't mean that in a creepy way."
She laughed. "Don't worry about it."
"Okay." I tried to will the coffee to be ready faster.
"Yeah, I'm going to hit the gym after I finish these, and then I'll go to my boyfriend's for the night." She emphasized the last part. All that was missing was a wink at me.
I nodded at the bowl. "It smells really good."
"You want a taste?" She took a spoon and gave me a dab of the dough.
The mix of roasted nuts, honey, and fruits exploded in my mouth. "Damn! This is really good!"
"Thanks. It took years to perfect."
I ran my tongue over my teeth to savor every bit of the deliciousness. "I really should cook more. I make a mean chili, but work takes all my energy and I just eat whatever in the evening."
"So, you in the chocolate school of chili making?"
"Sometimes. My mom didn't use it, so if I want to go for her taste, I leave it out."
"Nothing ever tastes as good as mum used to make."
"True."
Brie poured the coffee and gave it to me. "We don't have to go into it any deeper, and I know Haley probably already told you, but I'm really sorry about Saturday."
"It's okay." I hid behind my mug and hoped she didn't notice my burning cheeks. Sure, she had busted in on us having sex, but it had been an accident. "I don't know what the normal reaction to something like that is. At least you didn't call the police."
"Only if you'd hurt Haley, and that was the opposite." Brie leaned closer. "If you want my two cents, Haley is one of those people who feel someone is always watching them. Judging them. She's really bad at just letting go."
"I'm no master either." I stared into the coffee. It was a darker roast than I was used to, but asking for milk was too high of a mountain to climb. "I'm just clad it didn't cause bad blood between the two of you."
"No, as was evident. For the record, I'm not going to keep fucking her. It just got out of hand. I did whip myself for it yesterday." She chuckled. "Metaphorically, that is. I hope you really were okay with it."
I nodded and stared at anything but her. All the hope I'd had for distracting my cock went out the window. "I'm not good at this. Talking about sex."
"We don't have to. Haley's important to me, and you seem to be good for her. That's why I feared I ended messing things up. My impulse control is shoddy at best."
I put the mug on the table and finally looked her in the eye. She didn't blink. "Okay, real talk. It was hot listening you two. I don't really know what else to say about it."
"Then don't." She went back to molding the dough. "It's communication, you know. Sex."
I leaned back and nodded. The anxiety of being alone with Brie was slowly easing up. She seemed to be a more welcoming person than I'd thought. Carol had always had something against her, probably because she was so upfront. Carol didn't deal well with people who spoke their mind. She was a planner through and through.
"Thanks for helping Haley," I said. "I'm glad she has someone to talk to. I don't, and it's hard sometimes."
"I'm here for her, always." Brie was finally scraping the bottom of the bowl. "It sucks when you can't pour your heart out if you need to."
"It's weird how little I knew about Haley's life. She and Carol were kinda close."
"Haley didn't want to open up to Carol. She could be the overbearing big sister."
"Carol's always been good at pointing out mistakes. Her own and other's."
Brie covered the energy bars with a parchment paper and stuffed the pans into the refrigerator. "I have to run, but you can probably manage here until she comes?"
"Sure."
She filled the bowl with water and left it in the sink. "This was nice. I'm happy Haley has found someone like you."
"Thanks."
Brie rushed to her room, and I stayed in the kitchen thinking what I should do. I felt awkward like I was somewhere I didn't belong.
My salvation came in the form of a rustle of keys. I peeked into the hall just as Haley emerged from the door. I bounced up and greeted her, still holding the backpack over my crotch.
"Hi." Haley unwrapped her long, purple scarf. "You decided to come here to wait?"
"You sent the message to Brie by accident."
She took her phone out and checked. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay. Brie kept me company."
She glanced towards Brie's room and lowered her voice. "How did it go?"
"We had a chat."
Brie stormed out of her room just then, gym bag on her shoulder. "Finally! I thought I'd have to leave Tom here alone. How's your day?"
"Good." Haley clutched her purse. "You going then?"
"See ya tomorrow." Brie grinned at Haley and vanished into the corridor, slamming the door shut behind her.
The temperature in the apartment seemed to rise as Brie's steps faded. I looked at Haley, and she smiled nervously.
"Should we..." she started, moving towards her room, "like, talk first? I mean, we agreed to talk, didn't we?"
"Sure." I brought my backpack with me, but then I just stood in the middle of her room while she sat on the bed.
She stared at the wall and played with a strand of hair that had escaped from her ponytail. "Um, are we cool?"
"Sure." The office chair creaked when I sat on it. And I chastised myself for not being able to say more than that one word. "Uh, I talked with Brie. She was surprisingly nice. But the first meeting was kind of a mess."
