Author's Note: This is a story that will primarily deal with themes such as unhappiness, verbal (and light physical) relational abuse, temptation, and eventually cheating (though these 2 aspects of the story will not be explored until Ch. 02). While each chapter may/will contain erotic elements and scenes, the primary focus is stil on the actual "story" of the work. In other words, there will be a lot of buildup and character development that leads into the "juicier" parts of work, akin to a novel or novella. Nevertheless, I sincerely hope you all enjoy!
* * * * *
...Now maybe Josh was a romantic, or an idealist. Maybe a few details of that night were obscured, or a few memories of it glossed over or buffed out. It was a nice night, after all, and he liked to keep it that way. Whatever the case, that was the night he met Audrey Filmore. And the night he... lost his virginity. Finally found a girl for himself, the one thing he was missing just when and where he least expected. It was wonderful
Incredible.
He felt on top of the world
But now...
Josh grunted. The strain of the weights on his limbs practically immobilized him. He couldn't take another step forward. It burned. It burned
so
bad.
Now...
"
Uch! God, are you COMING?!
" a bratty voice could be heard yelling. The sweat pouring down Josh's head made his glasses slip, just below his eyes. The blurry figure of a small, petite, perfectly dressed young woman could be seen impatiently waiting far in front of him. The sterile white of the environment only made the weight of the bags more sickening. Josh grunted again.
Now...
"
We don't have all
FUCKING
day you know!
" the voice said again.
Summoning all his strength and willpower, Josh raised a shaking limb to push his glasses back up, just before they fell off his head. The girl came into focus.
Audrey
came into focus. Tapping her bright blue heels that matched perfectly with her bright blue frilly dress. The same bright blue dress that wonderfully contrasted with the remaining red streaks of her now synthetic blonde hair, and her intense, fiery eyes.
Josh knew what'd happen if he kept her waiting, so he didn't tempt fate any further. The skinny young man stumbled over, bags upon bags in tow.
"S-Sorry, babe. Just a little... t-thirsty, is all;
heh...
" he weakly offered
Audrey rolled her eyes "Well then go find a drink stand or something, 'cause I'm not here to
fucking
babysit you
" she snapped before walking off toward yet
another
store at the mall. Josh's face strained in pain, along with the rest of his body. Nevertheless, he did his best to bear the weight and follow along, like a stumbling little puppy behind its master.
Now...
...Things weren't so great
Audrey, of course, always loved to get her Tri-weekly shopping in (usually at the mall). And of course, Josh was always obliged to accompany her whenever she did, giving her a "hand" with whatever trivial items she liked to pick up. Along with listen to a lengthy diatribe about her day (which she was always sure to splice in). And this was...
manageable
, for the most part. Usually. But...
♪ It's the Holiday Season (the Holiday Season!) So hoop-de-doo! and dickory dock... ♪
With Christmas just days away, it was more like her
daily
shopping. And the sheer
bulk
of what she was getting only seemed to get bigger, and bigger, and
heavier
, with each passing day.
Audrey's heels clacked to a stop in front of a
Hot Topic
.
"Hmm... You think my little cousin Wendel would like a shirt or something?" she asked.
Audrey had so many relatives to get gifts for that it was almost physically impossible to keep track of.
Didn't we already get something for Wendel?
Josh finally caught up to her "Uh... I don't know" he huffed
Audrey scoffed "Uch! Of course you don't..."
Audrey pulled out her phone and started tapping.
Tap Tap Tap
, it was always
Tap Tap Tap
. If it wasn't her talking or buying something she was always on her phone. Newest model available, of course.
The familiar ringtone of a text soon hit back, causing another scoff from her.
"Tch. Yeah whatever, let's go in" she said, marching her little legs into the store. Josh took a deep breath and trudged right behind her.
The cramped interior of the
Hot Topic
just made the difficulty of navigating even more compounded for Joshua. The other shoppers, all looking for gifts just like his girlfriend, didn't help either. He'd already gotten everything he was going to get weeks ago, including his gift for Audrey. But her list just seemed to have no end.
"God, this store used to be like, SO COOL, when I was, I don't know,
fourteen?
But
now?
Oof..." he could hear her say.
Audrey was a very... "negative" person, Josh decided. Well, maybe
negative's
kind of a harsh world. She's more... pessimistic? Irritable? Touchy?
Sensitive
. Yeah. She's a very
sensitive
kind of person. Not that that's a bad thing! Of course not! He'd... never tell her this, of course, but...
Audrey was very... "sensitive" to a lot of things. She cared, uh, "
deeply
" a lot about stuff.
Like... if there was a line. If the waiter was a little slow. If some... "Bitchy Ass Motherfucker" cut in front of them in traffic. Or if they didn't quite have her size at the store. Those types of things. And she was very... "
outspoken
" about it too. Not that she'd ever make a "scene" out of it (unless she was REALLY pissed), it's just little things like that. Snarky comments, dismissals...
Just, uh, part of the charm, you know?
"Isn't he into, like...
Five Nights at Freddy's
or some gay shit?" Audrey could be heard muttering, browsing the shirts. Josh didn't have an answer beside a weak shrug.
Eventually, they ended up at the cashier counter
"Excuse me, where are your Kid's sizes?" Audrey asked.
The Cashier looked like he recognized her "Oh, um... we don't carry a lot of Kid's sizes, m'am" they said as respectfully as possible.
Audrey blinked accordingly "Are you
fucking kidding me right now?
" she hissed, staring them down over the counter. Her eyes could melt steel.
The cashier backed up a little, out of fear "I'm, uh,
a-afraid
the... smallest we have are our
smalls
, m-m'am" he said, holding up a shirt. He looked like he was half-doing it to shield himself.
Audrey just sighed and rolled her eyes "Whatever, he'll grow into them. He's a
fat little fuck
anyway" she spat, digging her credit card out of her purse "Gimme like... I don't know;
twelve?
"
Joshua's eyes widened.
"Oh, and like, some
Funko Pops
or whatever" she said, putting one on the counter.
...Aaand that's how Josh ended up following with bags draped over his neck, because god knows he couldn't fit another on his arms. He grunted again. God, It was bad enough that he was being treated like a mule, but now he looked like one too.
Why the hell don't these places have buggies?!
Audrey's face was once again on her phone as they walked out. Josh was breathing hard at this point, but she didn't look too concerned.
"
Alright, so... that's Jospehine and Wendel..."
she listed off. Josh could barely make out what she was saying. His focus was almost entirely on maintaining the weight.
"...So that just leaves my Aunt Rina and-" she looked up
"*GASP*
Kate?!
" she suddenly exclaimed
A girl in the distance had a similar reaction
"
Audrey?*gasp!* OMG, Hey!
"
"
Hey Girl~!
" Audrey squealed happily, leaving Josh behind in the
Hot Topic
arch. From where he was, Josh could just barely make out the sight of Audrey hugging a similarly well dressed and pretty girl.
Oh,
another one of her friends.
Alright...
It wasn't too uncommon for one of, or MANY of Audrey's friends to tag along while her and Josh went out like this together. They were essentially carbon copies of her, in many ways. Always well dressed, always sporting perfect makeup and accessories, and always handling their Daddy's credit card. There was... maybe 5 of them all together? Audrey was clearly the "Alpha" among them, and they were always giggling and gossiping together like highschoolers. Josh didn't... "mind" them, really. He just hated how they tended to hold things up.
Like now.
Josh grunted. This time there was
another pressure
straining him...
"Uh, b-babe?" he asked, limping over "I REALLY gotta go to the bathroom..."
Audrey looked annoyed that he interrupted her little catch-up "Ugh,
fine...
" she relented
Josh smiled weakly. Sometimes Audrey could be nice
"But don't leave that shit for too long" she said, in reference to the bags "If those
fucking earrings get boosted I'm gonna be PISSED
" she spat.
Josh gave a nod and started toward the stalls.
"
See now he fucking rushes
" he overheard Audrey say, followed by her friend's giggling. Josh just took a deep breath and slogged on.
Come on Josh... don't give up now...
...
....Ahhhhhh. Sweet fuckin relief...
The piss too
Josh finished washing his hands and dried them. He rubbed his sore neck as he exited the restrooms. Thankfully, everything seemed to still be where he left it. He reached over to start piling them back on, but a sharp pain in his neck stopped him.
Gah! Man...
He rubbed his neck deeper and leaned up against the wall. The coolness of his clean hands felt good. Josh decided now would be a good a time as any to stop and catch his breath. Audrey would probably get pissed at him for taking so long, but... he could handle it. That's what he told himself at least...
"
Agh...
" he groaned as his neck loosened up. God...
It wasn't like he had a problem carrying things or whatever. I mean, he's the guy, right? That's his job. He wouldn't want to make Audrey do it, as little as she was... It's just- I don't know; he sees other couples pass by all the time and they're... not like he and Audrey are. Like that black haired guy and what looked like his girlfriend getting
Dippin Dots
. He's got a few bags on him, but he looks like he can handle it. They don't look heavy like Audrey's are, and they look like they're... laughing. Having a good time. Look, she just fed him some of their dots! Would Audrey do that for him? In the entire almost year they've been dating, he... can't really say. Maybe if she was in a good mood...
...Then again Josh isn't exactly like other guys. He'd decided that a long time ago. He wasn't particularly handsome, or muscular. He had no fucking clue how to flirt. He was tall, sure, but it wasn't much of a turn on with how lanky he was. And his interests weren't exactly what scored girls either. Audrey just kinda... fell in his lap. He still has no idea how he got a girl like
her
to go out with a... a
chump
like him. So pretty and, and-
He was lucky, he decided. Lucky to have a girl like her in his life. Sure, she's a little, uh, "sensitive" sometimes, but he's not the best either. This is all new to him. He's still learning, still trying to figure out how to be the best boyfriend he can be. She could have a dozen other guys, but she chose him. He couldn't let a girl like
