A New Day
Eric woke to the pleasing scent of bacon teasing at his nose, beckoning him to wake. He inhaled deeply through his nostrils, flaring them, drawing in the rich smell on the air as the bacon crackled in a skillet nearby.
Eric sat up on the couch with some difficulty, easing himself up, rolling his shoulders to and fro trying to work the stiffness out. He hadn't sleep well on the couch with only a small throw pillow and throw blanket for comfort; but after last night with Julia, after what she'd done to him, he just couldn't bring himself to sleep next to her in the bedroom. Spending the night alone had been the only option. He wasn't alone any longer, though.
Julia was in the kitchen cooking breakfast wearing a black, sweetheart apron with white polka dots that looked like a short, sexy dress from the front with the back open revealing her black, chiffon nightgown underneath. She was minding a skillet on the stove with a spatula while her curvaceous ass swayed almost hypnotically about. Given the large open floor-plan of the apartment, she was less than a dozen feet away, with little more than the back of the couch between them. She was humming some nondescript tune as she cooked, seemingly happy and content. It was a harsh contrast to how Eric felt.
After yesterday and last night, with everything Julia had done to him, his whole world was upside-down. He had no idea where he stood with her. She had manipulated, threatened, and dominated him, practically forcing him to do her bidding, making him feel more like a servant than her spouse. Then, later, she handcuffed him and used him for her sexual pleasure, abandoning his needs entirely, humiliating him so deeply it had carved a mark in his psyche.
When she finally released him from the cuffs, he felt so debased, he slinked out of the bedroom, retreating with her panties still covering his face. He just wanted out of the bedroom. He wasn't even able to look at her when he fled. She said nothing to him as he left the room. Nothing. Like everything that she had done that day was fine, normal, maybe even proper, and his feelings just didn't matter. After throwing himself to the couch, he finally mustered the courage to pull her wretched panties off his face and hurled them back towards the bedroom. She'd left him there, all night, never bothering to check on him or say a word to him. It had taken hours to fall asleep. That she was actually cooking breakfast now seemed more than odd.
He watched her bouncing about in the kitchen, in her cute apron dress and nightgown, humming pleasantly to herself. She appeared genuinely happy as she bounced around the kitchen. He didn't know what to think. That she seemed to be making enough breakfast for both of them reminded him of the old Julia.
He shook his head trying to make sense of the last twenty-four hours. It was impossible to reconcile the loving and nurturing Julia that he had always known from the one he met yesterday. Which one was she today? Was she trying to apologize for the horrors of yesterday? Was this a peace offering?
Watching her work away in the kitchen, swaying around in the short skirt of her nightgown, she looked tantalizing and delicious. In the past, it was an invitation to closing in behind her for a sweet hug and maybe more. But now, he was actually a bit afraid to let her know he was even awake. It was easier to watch her and remember how things used to be, like being in a pleasant dream, just enjoying the moment and not wanting it to end. Still, all dreams, regardless of how pleasant they are or how much we wish the moment could last forever, eventually end.
Julia finished making breakfast, bringing a big bowl of scrambled eggs and a plate heaped with scrumptious breakfast meats to their small dinette table. She then turned her attention to Eric, looking straight at him. His heart almost skipped a beat when she locked eyes on him. Then for some reason, without even thinking about it, he bolted up from the couch and stood straight up to face her, his face flush like a child who got caught doing something naughty. It was a reflex to stand and that bothered him. Quickly, as an after thought, he grabbed the light throw blanket from the couch and pulled it around his waist.
"Good morning, Eric," Julia said cheerily. Her eyes were bright and welcoming. The greeting seemed so genuinely warm and inviting it made him wonder if the previous day had been some terrible nightmare or something. It was only a moment of wishful thinking though. Yesterday had been all too real. His tongue still ached from Julia's demands of service last night and, despite the heavenly scent of breakfast permeating the room, he was fairly certain he could still detect the stale odors of her womanhood on his face.
"Good morning, Eric," she said again, a little louder, wresting him away from the painful memories of the night before.
"Morning," Eric replied hesitantly, quietly.
"See, that wasn't so hard was it?" she asked rhetorically. "Come on. I want to talk. Like we used to," she said encouragingly. "Come on. I've made breakfast for us," she said. "No punishments or anything like that this morning," she added.
Eric swallowed hard at the mention of punishments, the memories from yesterday still far to painful and recent to forget. "Okay," was all he could manage. Eric tucked the blanket, he'd hastily grabbed, around his waist as he moved towards the kitchen. Naked underneath, he felt a bit vulnerable, but at least he was covered.
Julia smiled as she discarded the apron and sat down at one of the two chairs of the dinette while Eric crossed over from the living room and into their kitchen.
"I made your favorites," she said. "Scrambled eggs with cheese, sausages and bacon, and some toast with jelly".
Reaching the table, Eric stood there for a moment, struggling with uncertainty. Julia sat there, looking up at him from the other side of the table, smiling warmly at him. She looked delightful in her little black nightgown. From his angle, he could see deeply into her cleavage, it looked so warm and inviting in there. He wanted nothing more than to bury his head between her breasts, to discover that it had all been some horrible mistake and that his old Julia was back.
"Don't just stand there. Sit," she encouraged, gesturing to the chair in front of him.
Eric knitted his eyebrows briefly with trepidation. Pulling the chair out, he carefully sat down, adjusting the blanket as he lowered himself into the chair. After yesterday, things felt so different between them.
"That's better," she said approvingly. "Eggs? Some bacon?" she asked.
Eric nodded.
Julia smiled and heaped a few scoopfuls of scrambled eggs onto the plate in front of him. She added a small heap of crisp bacon, serving breakfast like she had done countless times before. When she made breakfast for them, she would often prepare a plate for him. It had always made Eric feel special and cared for.
