When Joy woke up, her face felt taut. She touched it, trying to figure out the dry, shellac-like coating, then smiled.
She'd nearly fallen asleep between his legs last night. Her face had been wet with tears from choking on him, and when she'd lay there in his pubic hair, with his flaccid penis resting in her mouth, she'd felt the wet of her spit beneath her cheek. It was dry now and tight, pulling on her skin in sweet reminder.
"Mmmm," she started to roll over, and bumped into him.
"Good morning, little kitten."
She wiggled around to face him, then laughed to herself, thinking she might look like a kitten that got its face wet in the milk.
"Mew, mew" she tucked her hands up between them like paws. "Good morning, Daddy."
He put his hand on her shoulder, then slid it down to her flank, and then her hip. She closed her eyes and let him rouse her body with his touch.
He stopped there, though, and after a moment she looked at him again.
He was just looking at her, calm and neutral.
"Shall I make us some breakfast?" she offered.
"You said yesterday that we don't know each other well."
Joy nodded quietly. She still couldn't tell how he was feeling, but he didn't seem upset.
"I think you're right," he continued. "I have the day off. So let's get to know each other."
A thread of guilt spring up. She hadn't meant to make Lawrence feel like anything was wrong. She just wanted him to understand why she'd taken the pill, and was worried he'd be upset with her. But he'd hugged her, and everything was alright, wasn't it?
She nodded again, unsure of what to say.
But then he smiled.
It was okay.
Of course it was; he'd done nothing but take care of her since they'd met, and given her everything she'd wanted. More than she'd dreamed of.
He sat up, rising from the bed and coming around to her side, extending his hand. She looked over him-- his hairy chest and flaccid penis-- and felt the flutter of arousal in her belly again. She belonged to him, and it was her calling to please him. She wondered if she should lick and suck on him again.
But he was waiting for her hand, and when she didn't hold his quickly enough, he did it for her, sliding his palm around hers and pulling her up.
"Let's go out for breakfast, kitten."
~~~
"Remember the tall guy at the cafe?" Joy paused cutting up her pancakes to check his face.
Lawrence frowned briefly, so she assumed he didn't remember. "He served us cocoa the first day we met. Oh! You left the letter with him-- that's Cam. And his wife Kashvi was there when I was moving out."
"He seems pretty young to be married, doesn't he?"
He wasn't wrong. And it was even more surprising than he realized: "He's 21 and she's 24. I think they've been married for two years already, and they own the cafe together."
"Impressive."
"Yeah, they work really hard. And they live with her parents. That's why they don't need the room above the cafe."
"You were helping them pay the bills."
"Yeah, but they didn't make me pay much. Cam's kind of like my brother. He was my next door neighbour growing up. It was still nice of them, though, helping me move away from home."
"They must be worried about you moving in with me."
"Cam will worry about it. But I think Kashvi calms him down. She's so nice. And, um... I think they're used to people saying things about them. So they don't say too much about anyone else. You know?"
Lawrence nodded then took a sip of his coffee, so she took another bite of her pancakes, too. They were so sweet and so good. They'd put little sprinkles on top, which had melted into delightful swirls in the butter.
For a little while, they ate and sipped. It was nice to be quiet together, and Joy realised suddenly how uncommon that was; to not feel like someone was waiting for something from her, or vice versa.
She was halfway through her pancake when he spoke again.
"Why did you go with me that night?"
Joy looked up.
"From the store. Why did you get into my car? Weren't you scared?"
She shook her head a little. "No, I think you--"
She paused for a moment, trying to sort out the thought. She'd been excited by the scene they'd witnessed, but a bit ashamed of her pleasure.
Lawrence had been exciting, too, though. Something about him. But then, he'd also been...
"I think you're honest."
It sounded anticlimactic, and she made a face. Her thoughts raced, trying to rectify it. "I mean, I think-- the choices were that you were honest, or that what we'd seen was--"
He waited patiently, sipping his coffee again.
She scrunched up her face, trying to think it through, then went back to her first thought. "It was exciting. You were exciting. I think I--"
She tried to start a sentence a few more times, then dropped almost to a whisper so she could: "I think I hoped you'd take advantage."
She looked around then, making sure nobody had heard. But it was a Tuesday morning. Work had already started for most people, and they were in the farthest corner from the kitchen. The only other people here were an older couple by the front window, having their own conversation too far away to hear.
"That was the start of us, kitten. I think there's much more we can have, too."
He was right, of course. She'd been so carried away by her body's response--to both Lawrence and the scene they'd witnessed--that she'd barely thought about the rest of what a relationship was, even once she'd moved in with him.
She'd put sex before romance, and she laughed thinking about it. Wasn't that the man's place, not hers? "Most people start with the other parts, don't they?"
He smirked. "I don't know about that. Maybe."
"Is that why you're wining and dining me? Because you want us to last?" She could feel the humour bubbling up into her own cheeks. It was sweet of him to take her out to eat, but she doubted it was of much importance in the scheme of things.
"I want so much from you, kitten."
His tone sobered her.
Dare she ask what he meant?
The waitress came by to refill his coffee and Joy's orange juice. When she left, Lawrence spoke first.
"I want everything that comes with a life together. All the rest of it, too. Not just sex."
Joy's shoulders relaxed and let a nervous laugh escape. She'd thought he meant more physical things; but he was being sweet.
It sounded nice, too, when she thought about it. Waking up in his bed and breakfasting together like today, then coming home to each other in the afternoons. They could travel together, relax together.
"I-- I mean, I do still want sex, though."
Lawrence laughed, too, now. "I don't think we'll have any problems there, kitten. Speaking of which,"
He paused, then took a sip of the fresh coffee before continuing. Joy watched him raptly, wondering what was in his mind.
He took his time in small sips, then set the mug down again. "It sounds like you'd be okay with more aggression. Or risk. Something scarier."
She blinked at him. Her immediate thought was of that scene again, and the woman's shoe dropped in the street. But the reality of it, the truth of it...
"I don't--"
Her hands clenched and twisted together with her anxiety. Or was it anxiety?
"I mean I-- I've dreamed about-- being taken by a stranger. Violent. But... I-- it's too dangerous if it's real. I'd be too scared."
Her face was flushed. She'd barely admitted her fantasies to herself before, much less said any out loud. But Lawrence just nodded.
"I'm not ready to try it, but I think I'd like to pretend someday. To not know for sure it was you-- to feel like I really could get hurt."
