Copyright (c) 2019 James Miehoff, All Rights Reserved.
This work may not be published whether for fee or free without this copyright.
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The following is a work of fiction and as such all characters mentioned herein are fictional and any resemblance to any persons living or fictional is coincidental.
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When I hit the bed I heard something snap. Again. But I just didn't care. I ached everywhere and it was blessed relief when blackness took me.
I woke up to the sound of the shower and my favorite smell. Honey was home. Groaning, I sat up and regretted it. "My body is the instrument of my will. My will is the instrument of my mind. My will does what I tell it. My body does what I tell it. Thought becomes action. Body, will and mind are one." I ran through the litany aloud three times before I started tearing the Velcro stays on my clothes.
By the time I reached the bathroom I felt better. Not good, but better. My underwear joined the line of clothes on the floor as I pushed open the door. A flood of steam and feminine scents washed over me as I stood in the doorway drinking them in. "This is why I do this," I told myself.
"Hey lover boy, sorry I was trying not to wake you when I came in." Those words floating out of the shower were the balm I needed. Glancing in the mist covered mirror I didn't recognize the shape I saw anymore. Gone was the skinny kid that had hung out in coffee shops drinking bad coffee and hacking unsuspecting rubes bank accounts. Now, my muscles had muscles and my bruises had bruises.
"Can you hand me a wash cloth?"
"Sure," I replied smiling as I draped it over my rampant member while stepping into the torrent of water.
Honey smiled as she saw where her washcloth was. "Oh you brought me a towel instead," she said with a grin. The smile faded as she saw the bruises. "I am going to kill Leopold when I see him," she muttered.
"No, you are not," I said. "You are going to smile and thank him for making me what I am."
"But did he have to drop you off a building to do it?"
"That was an accident," I said automatically. "Today, we just did a little sparring ..."
"Sparring my ass," she said harshly. "Was it brass knuckles and batons or baseball bats and bricks?"
"Barehanded," I said lamely. "No weapons."
"Oh baby," she said with genuine concern. "Let's switch places so you get some warm water on those muscles."
As I got under the hot water facing the wall and let the heat soak in, Honey began to stroke my tired muscles. I let her go for a few minutes before capturing one of her delicate hands and placing where I really wanted the attention.
She just clucked her tongue and said, "You are incorrigible." But she said it in a tone that I knew meant that she wasn't really mad. Plus she kept stroking me.
After a minute, she pulled one of my hands back and placed it in the corresponding place on her front. I was more than happy to play that game.
Sometime later, we finally turned off the water and climbed out of the shower, pruney but satisfied. One of the fringe benefits of living in a building powered by a nuclear reactor is unlimited hot water.
As we toweled off, Honey looked up at me and said sweetly as she said, "Usually I make the gentleman buy me dinner and drinks before I engage in such behavior."
I crushed her to me and kissed her long and thoroughly and then whispered, "I never said I was a gentleman.
An hour or so later found us in the cafeteria.
After placing our orders, we briefly looked for a place to sit. Honey spotted Leopold sitting by himself and marched off in that direction at full speed.
I was just barely able to catch up to her just as she got to his table. As she opened her mouth to unload on him, he looked up at her and then the unimaginable happened. She set her tray down and said, "Oh my god. What happened to you?"
Leopold smiled and said in that smooth baritone voice of his, "Your boyfriend."
Honey turned to me and suddenly, I was the bad guy.
"Oh my god," she repeated as she looked back at Leopold. "You look like you should be wearing that steak, not eating it."
"Please join me," Leopold said sweetly. Flashed me a grin and said, "You too, Smith."
Honey fussed over him while I flagged the waiter carrying our dinners over. Honey's salad looked amazing but I needed the protein and my steak smelled delicious.
After the first mouthfuls, Honey looked over at Leopold and asked, "Ok. So what happened between you two today?"
"Nothing," we both said in unison. That got us both laughing and earned us glares from the lady.
Leopold stopped first and said, "We were sparring and your boy got in a good left hand..."
I interrupted with, "Finally."
"And I went down like a sack of shit," he continued. "So I am on concussion protocol for the next couple of days."
"Does that mean he gets a couple of days off?" Honey asked hopefully.
"No," said Leopold, "I have a stand-in lined up for the next few days."
"Great," Honey and I said together.
"Can you at least not beat him up so bad on Friday?" she continued.
Leopold cocked an eyebrow.
"I want to go dancing and it is really annoying when my partner is groaning and telling me not to touch him there or there or there."
"Any special reason?" Leopold asked.
"Yes," Honey said. "It is our anniversary and I would like to make it special."
"Anniversary?" Leopold asked. I just cocked an eyebrow.
She glanced at me and then said, "It has been three months since I moved into that closet he calls an apartment. Around here, three months can be a long time."
I just made a big show of cutting my steak up into little pieces while my face had to have been radiating heat like a small oven.
