Page 39 of The Funnel to You

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Matt

Caramel Pecan Latte

Social Post: The winning candy this year was the peanut butter M&Ms. These things are not talked about enough and they went from the basket so quickly. Now time to see if we can get rid of all of these Starbursts.

Image Description: Candy basket half-filled with various candies, mostly Starbursts and Hershey’s milk chocolate are left.

As the night continues on, our friends gradually bow out. Ashley and Tilly along with Tilly’s roommate, Corinne, are the first to leave since they want to get back before all the parties get out tonight. I live in a quiet area, but Ashley is bringing the others back to campus tonight before she heads home and things might get a little crazy. At least I know these three haven’t been drinking.

We’ve settled onto the couch and a few of the chairs – Jonathan is on the floor – that man does not like sitting in chairs if a clean floor is available and it’s not weird to utilize it. I never did figure out why he does that, but it’s one of his quirks. I have an oversized floor pillow just for that reason so he can prop it against the wall and still be a part of the conversation.

Topics flow quickly as we go through hobbies, sports, superheros, and favorite childhood Halloween memories. I finally get to hear a little more from Sasha about her childhood.

“So, I actually didn’t celebrate my first Halloween until college.” She starts softly. This is hard for her to start talking about for some reason so I reach over and hold her hand, softly stroking her skin with my thumb to encourage her to continue. “I grew up in a very religious household and Halloween was seen as ‘Satan’s birthday’ so we usually hid in the basement to avoid any trick or treaters. We didn’t do any dress up things or harvest festivals either. I didn’t get to enjoy a lot of things that you all probably see as staples of your childhood. When I went to college I did a lot of study into it and have gradually changed my mindset on a lot of things – including Halloween. It’s usually pretty chill for me now, but those first few years, I was so nervous about dressing up and taking part in the traditions.” She settles into my body a little as she takes a deep breath.

“I’m proud of you. That feels like it was hard to voice.” I whisper in her ear as I move my arm to go around her shoulders and pull her into me.

“It’s definitely interesting to see how each family and religion handles things like Halloween. I took a few comparative religion classes in college and had roommates that were part of different backgrounds so I was exposed to a lot over the years. How are you feeling about things now?” Max asks her.

“You mean your degree isn’t in bartending?” Carter jokes with him.

“No – it’s actually in Creative Writing and Journalism. I focused on modern religions and organizations with most of my assignments in college. I was always fascinated. Hence, why I would love to hear what Sasha has to say to my earlier question.” Max responds with a bit of a teasing tone then directs his attention back to Sasha.

Sasha doesn’t take long before she responds, “I’m still learning. Eighteen years of pretty strict religious teaching and culture is a lot to work through. It’s a lot of mindset switches and understanding how I want to treat different things, not just how I was taught to think about certain things. It’s a process and I’m thankful for therapy and good friends who give me the grace to try things out and then talk it out afterwards.” I give her a light kiss on her temple in encouragement. I knew a bit about this before, but hearing her talk about it just shows me again how strong she is.

“Now that we are done with the deep conversations, how about we help clean up and call it a night?” Jonathan says as he stands up and starts gathering cups from the others.

We all start working on cleaning up while Kylie mans the door to pass out the last of the candy. Why there are still kids out at 9:45, I have no idea, but I don’t want them to not get candy. It’s mostly teens at this stage and it’s good to see a few of them stop by. At ten, we are saying final goodbyes to our guests. And then, it’s just us.

“Did you have a good time tonight?” Sasha asks me as she finishes wiping down the counter.

“I did. Having mostly friendly faces helped.”

“Me too. It was nice meeting your friends. I hope I passed the test.” She smiles at me as I come up behind her at the sink and wrap my arms around her waist, resting my head on her shoulder.

“They loved you. I’ve told them a lot about you so I’m glad they got to meet you. They both work a lot, so it was cool that tonight worked out for everyone.” I start lightly kissing her neck and can feel her breathing hitch a bit.

“Are you ready to try messing up this lipstick?” She asks, bracing her hands on the counter a bit as I continue my exploration.

“I’d like to do a lot more than that if you’re okay with it, babe.” I slip my thumbs into the waistband of her skirt as I nip a little on her ear. She has a sharp intake of breath as she pushes her body back into mine.

“I think I’d like that.”

“You think?” I whisper as I run my fingers up and down her side.

“Or do you know?” I slowly spin her around so she is looking at me. Her pupils are wide and I can practically see how much she wants this. God, I want this. I want her.

“I know. I want you, Matt.” She responds breathily.

“So, can I take you to my room and help you get out of this insanely hot outfit?” I trace the outline of her corset with my fingers. Her breasts look incredible in this thing and I hope I get to see her in it again.

“I would love that. I may have put an overnight bag in there when I got here earlier.”

My eyes come up to meet hers. “Not gonna lie, I’m not mad about that.” Then I grab her hand, flip the lock on the door, and lead her down to my room.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

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