but I really don’t think I need to,” I teased. She responded with a low, sultry giggle. I brushed my lips against hers. “Are you tired?”
“Mmmm.” She closed her eyes. “I feel like a jellyfish. All rubbery.” She yawned. “Maybe a little tired.”
A little tired?
I stifled my laugh. She’d had maybe four hours of sleep. Probably less. A little tired, indeed.
“I want you to rest for the next few hours. Make yourself some lunch if you want. I’ll take care of myself.” I kissed her again. “You nap.”
After I made myself a sandwich and checked to make sure she was sleeping comfortably, I went into the living room and called Paul.
He picked up on the second ring. “Nathaniel?”
“Hey, Paul,” I replied.
“How’s it going with Abby?” he asked.
He knew how important this weekend was, knew how hard it would be for both Abby and me. I was fortunate to have a friend like him to talk with. I knew how lost I’d be if I didn’t have someone to talk to.
What about Abby?
“Oh, no,” I said as the realization struck me.
Who did Abby have to talk with?
“No one,” I mumbled.
She has no one.
“Nathaniel?” Paul said, worry replacing his previous easygoing tone. “Is everything okay with Abby?”
She had me and no one else. As her dom, did I really count? Who else would she go to? Felicia barely accepted our relationship.Things with her were easier, but I knew she didn’t approve of our lifestyle. Abby spoke frequently with Elaina, but while my best friend’s wife knew of our lifestyle, and accepted it, she wouldn’t be a good support person for a new submissive.
“Fucking hell.” I slumped against the chair. “Failed again.”
“Nathaniel,” Paul snapped, bringing me back to the issue at hand. “How’s Abby?”
“What?” I said, realizing I was still on the phone. “Abby? She’s sleeping.”
“Okay,” he said. “So tell me, how did you fail?”
“I was just thinking how nice it was to have you as a support person, someone to talk things over with, and how hard it would be without that.” I took a deep breath. “Abby doesn’t have anyone.” I squinted my eyes, remembering. “She had a dabbler friend who used to live in the area, but I don’t think they’re still in contact.”
“I see.”
“I mean, she has me. We talk.” I thought back to the library, how hard it still was to get her to speak freely while she wore my collar. “Sometimes.”
“But outside of you, she doesn’t have any friends in the lifestyle?” he asked. “Another submissive to talk with?”
“No, not that she’s mentioned.” She would have mentioned them, right?
“Have you thought about taking her to a party? Somewhere she could meet people?”
I had, actually. It was on my list to call a few community members once Jackson and Felicia’s wedding was over.
“Yes,” I said. “But we’ve got this wedding, and we just started back this weekend. I thought . . . Fuck.” No matter how busy we were, I should have made certain she had the support she needed.
“Remember what I told you when I visited?”
“Visited?” I asked. “Is that what you call it? You mean when you called me out for being a sorry lump of shit?”
“Yes, that.”
“You said a lot of things.” My face heated with shame at the reminder that Paul had had to leave his newborn son to save me from myself. “Which one in particular?”
“How I wanted the two of you to visit when you got back together.”
Okay, truthfully, I’d forgotten that bit. Likely as not, when he said it, I never thought Abby and I
would
get back together.
“I know Jackson’s getting married in two weeks,” he said. “But is there any way possible? Maybe next weekend?”
“Oh?” I asked, trying to work out the timeline in my head . . . It just might work.
“Oh.”
“I’ll talk to Christine, see if her mom can watch Sam for a few hours on Saturday.” He stopped, thinking. “Talk to Abby. Send me your checklists;
David Downing
Sidney Sheldon
Gerbrand Bakker
Tim Junkin
Anthony Destefano
Shadonna Richards
Martin Kee
Sarah Waters
Diane Adams
Edward Lee