Indecent Connections

"And in other news..." I had decided to watch the news while finishing up my breakfast with Ava. She was quaintly curled up on the couch. Ava was very quiet since I had finished toying with her. It was a comfortable silence between us though. She was on the couch next to my recliner but was still close enough for me to reach over and hold her hand. We had both finished our food at this point and were relaxing together. I still had a little bit of time before I was supposed to meet Eric at the bar. Ava and I could use the time to just relax anyway. A nice day at home is just what the doctor ordered.

We hadn't gotten many chances to just hang out since we started our relationship. The both of us had been so fixated on spending as much time with each other under the sheets. Unexpectedly Ava got up and took the plates to clean them in the kitchen. It seemed like something was bothering her so I turned off the TV and went after her. She was washing the plates in the sink when I came up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist.

"Whatcha thinkin' about hun?" I asked her giving her a kiss on the cheek. She put the plate down in the soapy water and leaned back into me. She had a smile on her face but there was something deeper playing in that mind of hers. I remained where I was keeping my gentle touch on her.

"You can tell me, there's something going on in there. I can see the dance it's making in that head of yours."

"What are we going to do?" I let my lips grace her shoulders and neck. Ava fit perfectly in my arms just as always.

"Do about what?"

"Us, what is going to happen to us?"

"What do you mean? We're going to be just fine."

"How can you expect what we have to not have consequences? Someday this won't be our secret anymore. When that day comes what are we going to do? We won't be able to be together anymore. I'm not sure how to deal with that."

"So don't think about it. We don't know when or even if we will be found out. There is no need to fret about something you have no control over. It will give you stress lines." She laughed and I could feel her muscles relaxing a little more.

"I wish I could be as optimistic as you."

"It's not optimism it's just that I want to spend my time working on the things that I can control instead of waiting for the things I can't control to happen. The reality is that no matter what I'm going to protect you. So there is no need for you to worry that your world is going to fall apart."

"I love you, you know that."

"How could you not, I mean look at me." She started laughing even harder and turned around in my arms. She put her arms up on my shoulder smiling up at me. I was glad that, for now at least, her fears had been calmed. Bending down I trapped her lips against mine. We were soon making out right there in the kitchen. It didn't bother either of us a bit because we were so fixed on each other that we didn't care about anything else. I could see her point about what we would do if anyone would discover our secret. There was no reason to worry about it though, what would happen in the future should be dealt with when that happened. Ava was important enough to me that I was prepared to give up everything for her. We broke apart and I looked down at her smiling.

'Listen, I have to go out with Eric now. I'll be home later; or do you want me to drop you off at home first."

"No, no you go out with Eric. I can stay another night. So come back to me soon ok?" I gave her a light peck on the cheek.

"Of course, I can't keep my blushing beauty waiting for too long." I gave her another quick kiss and headed out. Ava didn't see me off since she was still in lingerie. I had taken off the nipple clamps so she was more covered, but still she wasn't really fit to be outside. While I couldn't wait to get back to Ava, I was still excited to be going out with Eric. I hadn't spent a lot of man time with him. Even I couldn't deny that I needed some time together. I was also hoping that in some small way I was going to be able to talk about my relationship. Even if he didn't know who she was he would certainly like to hear about how I found love.

I pulled up to the bar and was glad to see that Eric was already there waiting outside for me. He smiled as he saw me parking and waved. I got out and gave him a handshake while we walked into our favorite bar together. We had the usual discussions at first like how we were doing and just what we had been up to. For the first time in a long while Ava wasn't the only thought on my mind. Since we were regulars in the bar we didn't wait that long for the waitress to show up with our drinks. It went on like this for about an hour before Eric finally got down to what he wanted to know.

"So who's the girl man? All I have been hearing about is that you are too busy with her. Come on you have to give me some details." I laughed a little enjoying the buzz I was getting from my beer. This explanation had to be dealt with very delicately so that I wouldn't reveal too much about my girl. It was difficult to put into words my feelings towards Ava. Especially without giving away that it was her I was with all the time.

"She's a very special girl man. I love being with her. Her...ah, just everything about her is so wonderful. She's so beautiful, and funny. Just too much to say about her, and I don't have enough words to describe it all." He smiled and took some peanuts from the tray on our table. I continued to blabber on about all the things I could think of about Ava while Eric nodded his head smiling. My driveling came to an end and I took a long swig of my drink to finish off the sentence. Eric was silent to take another sip from his cup.

"So when does the part come when you tell me that your girl is Ava?" My drink fell out of my hand and spilled all over the table. The waitress was quick to come over and start cleaning the mess. My focus was on my best friend though. In the aftermath of the statement my mind went back to what Ava and I had just discussed. When we had discussed getting caught I had never expected it to be so soon. What was I even going to tell him at this point? Did he know about all the other things that went on between the two of us? The waitress finally shuffled away and Eric was calmly leaning against his chair.

"How did you find out?" At first was the only question I could ask.

"You two have always been close. When I heard that you were spending a lot of time with a secret girlfriend; and her over your house I just made the leap. Part of me was hoping it wasn't true but after I saw her run away from me like a bat out of hell into your house I think I knew. I know it's a little bit ridiculous but I think you two are good together."

"Excuse me, what?"

"I know I'm supposed to be really angry and disgusted but I'm not alright. Ava loves you, and from what you just described so do you. Though, I have a condition to keeping my mouth shut about it." My eyes rolled, I knew now was the time he was going to try to get something out of me. He was definitely about to blackmail me in some form. But, I knew I couldn't deny him either. So I just accepted my fate and asked him what he wanted.

"I want to see you two in action. Call me a freak but I think it's hot." I nearly dropped my cup again but caught it this time. It wouldn't have been very gentlemanly to spill a second drink for her to clean up.

"Eric that is disgusting, even for you."

"Look if I can't get into Ava's pants then I might as well see what she's like under the sheets with someone else."

"Who else thinks like that; and what are you going to do if I say no."

"You're not going to say no."

"You are so sure of this fact because?"

"Because you have no choice; come on you won't even know I'm there."

"Yes I will, and more importantly so will Ava. But, because you have me by the balls here, literally, I will bring it up with Ava. By bring it up with Ava I mean go get in your car and we're going to my house. If I'm going to die it's at least going to be with the person whose fault it is." For the moment I didn't have much of a choice but to try and salvage this situation. Ava was going to hate me when she found all this out. I tried to keep a cool head as I drove home but my heart was beating out of my chest. My relationship with Ava would be destroyed after this. Our love filled world was about to be crushed into little bitty pieces.

I parked the car and sighed looking at the light of the living room. The inside of the house was unseen since the window shades were down. Ava must have heard both our cars pulling in and didn't know what was going on. I could have called her but I thought it would be better if I didn't. Eric got out of his car and knocked on my window. Reluctantly I got out of the car and headed towards the house. He was going to go in when I stopped him.

"Actually, on second thought let me go in first and talk to her. It will be easier if I tell her without the added stress of you being there. More importantly I don't want you to think that what you want will actually happen. If Ava says no then it's going to be a definite no." He nodded his head realizing just how real this actually was. When you are just about to get what you want there is always some form of realizing fear associated with it. Like you've wanted it for so long but actually getting it is a very different feeling. I was very quiet as I opened the door to the house. Ava came rushing to the doorway with a big smile on her face. It made me feel guilty for what I was about to do to her.

"I didn't expect you back so early. But, I can't say that I'm really disappointed." She told me jumping up into my arms and wrapping her arms around my neck. I gave a solemn smile and pushed some of her hair behind her ear.

"You may not be saying that after I tell you why I came home earlier." She tilted her head looking confused. For everything I was worth I couldn't tell her the truth. I was quiet as a mouse roaming my hands up and down her back and waist. She noticed my distress and touched my cheek. Ava tried to plead with me to tell her what was wrong. My worry was causing her to worry and it was just an unending circle that was making both of us feel more worried. I wanted to stop it but my voice was stuck in my throat. It wasn't until tears started to threaten in Ava's eyes that I finally decided that I needed to come clean.

"Honey come sit down at the table with me there's something I need to talk to you about." I took her hand and led her to a chair to sit down. Then I took a seat across from her and then took both her hands. My thumbs rubbed the back of her hand gently and I was ready come clean.

"Ava something happened with Eric when we were out. Honey I don't know how to tell you this, but..."

"Aiden what is it you're scaring me?" I tried to calm her down a little by continuing to rub soothing circles on her hands. Her grip on me tightened a little and I knew that she wanted to know and not drag this on.

"Ava, I know you are not going to like this at all. Baby Eric knows about us. I don't know how but he guessed we were together." Ava started crying and pulled her hands away from me. I did everything in my power to calm her down. Kicking the chair away from me I kneeled in front of the distraught Ava to beg her to calm down. I knew this was hard on her; it was just as hard for me.

"Baby, I know you're scared; and trust me so am I. But, Eric doesn't want to out us to anyone. He doesn't want to hurt us Ava."

"How can you believe that? I told you something like this would happen! What are we going to do? You'll lose everything, and it's entirely my fault." She started sobbing into her knees, but couldn't let go of my hands. I could feel the tears coming down my own cheeks at this point. I had hurt her so badly and she still was blaming herself for the problem we were facing. One of my hands gently touched her cheek and ran through her hair. It was all I could do at the moment to try and still the crying women in front of me.

"It's not your fault Ava, it is nobody's fault. Listen I know it's a little unconventional but I really believe that Eric is not going to tell anyone about us. Mostly because what he wants in return for his silence." She sniffled and looked up from her knees. I gave her a small smile and wiped some of her tears away.

"What does he want?" She asked definitely wary of what was going on. I didn't really know how to break the news to her. There was nothing except to do it quickly in the hopes that it would make the blow less harsh.

"He wants to watch."

"Watch what Aiden?" I didn't grace the question with an answer and just raised my eyebrow at her. She got the meaning of it and gasped quite shocked that I would even bring it up.

"Oh, Aiden, I don't think...I mean how could we...why would he?" She just couldn't stop the babbling in light of the new information. I tried to put my hands on her shoulder but she threw me off. She got up and walked away from me with her back to me. I replaced myself in my chair. Ava needed some time with her thoughts for the moment. There was nothing that I could do at this point for her. I had promised to protect her and couldn't do that. The first sign of trouble I was planning to take the easy way out. One of the things Ava was afraid of was for others to see her relationships. Not because of our special case but the embarrassment of someone seeing her in such a private state. I could understand, and I didn't want to put our love on display. But, I didn't know what other choice we had.

"Does he know everything?" She finally spoke up but didn't look back at me.

"He knows that we're a couple; what do you mean everything?" Ava turned around and I saw she was holding onto the collar still locked to her neck. I understood what she was asking about. My mind was running around by how much more complicated this situation just became. I didn't think about the other technicalities that were part of our relationship. There was no possibility that Eric could guess this part of our connection. That brought up whether or not we wanted him to know. Either way we would just have to talk this out.

"No, there was no way that he could know anything about that. Listen sweetie I want you to understand something. I will never force you to do this. You are the most important person in this whole mess. If you don't want to do this we won't. Above everything you need to be able to live with this decision. I will not force you into anything. I will find a way to get us out of this some other way if that's what you want." She turned around fully. Her hands were shaking a little as she clung to the collar. I wanted to give her a hug or simply do something to make her feel better but I knew she didn't want that right now. Her choice was clear before when she had moved away from me that she did not want to be near me right now.

"What did he say, about you know watching?"

"Just that he wants to see us together; I decided that any further discussion would have to be with you. There was no possibility I would ever make a decision like this for you."

"Let's talk to him then. We're not going to get much figured out just sitting here talking about the elephant in the room. Um, I guess we can go into the living room." I opened my arm out to allow her entrance into the living room. She quickly shuffled over to the couch and planted herself. I went to the door to open it up for Eric but quickly stepped back to the couch. Ava gave me a raised eyebrow look as I came back over and took her hands to pick her up from the couch. She followed me all the way to my bedroom where I proceeded to unlock the collar affixed to her neck. I was very reluctant to see it leave her neck so soon but I knew it would be for the best to make her more comfortable. The collar went back in the box and I turned around to see Ava watching me with a solemn expression.

"What's the matter honey?" I tried to get her to talk about it even though I knew what was bothering her.

"I don't know, I just don't like taking it off so soon."

"Don't you worry; I'll put it back on the minute we're alone again. That is assuming you ever want to see me again." Ava suddenly ran into me and locked our lips together. I was shocked but didn't fight her in any way. When we broke apart Ava had a pouty face on. I put my hand on her cheek and traced her bottom lip with my thumb.

"I want to stay with you." Ava said.

"Excuse me?" I thought I had misheard her.

"I don't care what Eric wants or says I want to stay with you. You said it right? I'm yours; that is why you put that collar on me. So don't let me leave, and don't let anyone take me. I belong to you so you have to keep me ok?" I captured Ava again in another kiss. There were no words to describe how hearing her say those things made me feel. When we separated again I took Ava's hand and led her back into the living room to sit on the couch. I walked to the door and with another deep breath and a glance at Ava I let Eric in. He smiled and went to walk in but I stopped him again. I kept him planted at the doorway with my hand on his chest.

"Let's get this straight man. If you hurt her in any way you will get hurt. This is something that I don't exactly know how to handle so I suggest you tread lightly." He nodded his head so I knew he understood what I was saying. Only then did I let him in and told him to go into the living room. Ava had already taken a seat on the couch. Eric entered first and sat on a chair farther away from Ava. I looked at Ava to see if she would allow me to sit beside her. She read my thoughts and smiled. She graciously drew her eyes to the spot next to her to tell me to sit there without words. I was more than relieved to sit next to her and lace our fingers together. My hand brought her hand up and I gave it a kiss. Ava repositioned herself to lean closer to me.

It was a very awkward silence between the three of us. How does one even start a conversation of this magnitude? I was very aware that Ava, nor I, would be the first to speak up. It was up to Eric to get this conversation going. It even came to a point where Ava and I were basically ignoring him because we were so engrossed with each other. In an attempt to be subtle Eric cleared his throat. Our attention went back to him. I felt Ava's body tense seeing that this conversation was actually about to happen.

"So you two seem really happy. It's a little different seeing you two together than just knowing you are a couple. You two are cute." Ava buried herself into my shoulder. I thought it was a bad sign but when I looked down I could see her blush extending to the tips of her ears. I kissed her forehead and let go of her hand to put my arm around her shoulders. She moved in closer to me on instinct. I made sure she knew that I was there and wasn't going anywhere so she would come out of hiding. Eric swallowed hard and continued with his discussion.

"So I'm going to take a guess that Aiden already told you what I want. Ava you know how I feel about you. I thought I made that abundantly clear the other day. Look I'm not aiming to get in between you two; I just want to see...see what it would be like." Ava looked up at me for some reason. My hand went up and down her arm to give her some more comfort. It was very brave the way she was handling the situation.

"Eric I don't have those feelings for you. I've never had them. I'm also not that sure how we are supposed to just let you watch. Pretending that you are not there, I don't see how that could be possible. Why do you even want to do this?"

"I want this for the same reason that you two chose to be together. It's unconventional, and could be considered quite strange, but if I don't at least try I'll regret it forever. For years now I have wanted to be with you. It is very clear now that I never will be. But, I still want to know what it would have been like. This blackmail for silence thing is just a tool so I can see my fantasy." This reasoning made absolutely no sense to me but I was going to let Ava handle this so I stayed silent. There was nothing I could add to the conversation so I let them continue talking without interruption.