Page 19 of Spinning Out of Control

Heat burned in my eyes, and I might have started crying if I had tear ducts. “On television, it’s the bad people who tie people up. Or they get tied up because they’re bad and need to be tied up.”

Caleb blinked. “Ter, do you think that tying someone up makes you into a villain?”

I heard the tremor in my own voice as I said, “I’ve only seen it in movies, and usually the villain ties up the hero. Or the hero ties up the villain when he is captured. I don’t want to be a villain. I want people to like me and not be afraid of me.”

Caleb let out a very uninhibited laugh that startled me. “Teracht. You aren’t a villain for thinking it’s sexy to tie someone up. It’s so common.”

I frowned. “I know it happens a lot, but it’s the bad guy doing it.”

“Damn, okay, a lot to unpack here,” Caleb said, rolling his eyes to the ceiling thoughtfully for a moment before looking back to me. “Tying someone up is a pretty normal fantasy for humans. And not because they are bad or villains or whatever. Some humans like to be tied up, and some humans like to tie them up, for fun.”

I looked up to meet his eyes, sure my surprise was written all over my face. “For fun? Really?”

Caleb laughed. “Really! Fuck, there’s a whole industry based around it.”

“There is?” I asked, feeling more than a little foolish at my naiveté.

“Yes,” Caleb said. “Bondage is all over porn.”

“That is when humans are naked and pleasuring one another? I have not watched that sort of thing.” I wondered if I was hot enough to just melt into a puddle of goo on the floor. Perhaps Caleb would think me unworthy of his attention if I could not even understand something as simple as human sexuality.

“Yeah. Or themselves, or… all kinds of things. I can show you if you want. Do you like just guys? Girls?”

I blinked. “I like you.”

Caleb grinned. “Oh yeah?”

“Did I say something wrong?” I asked, worried that perhaps I had spoken out of turn.

“No,” Caleb said. “No, it’s fine. Is there sexual orientation in the monster world?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “For my species, we copulate with females to produce young.”

“Humans do that too,” Caleb said. “But not all… copulation is for breeding purposes. Humans do it because it’s fun.”

I hummed thoughtfully. “I suppose when you are not concerned about being eaten, copulation could be made pleasurable.”

“Why do I feel like you mean that literally?” Caleb asked.

“Hmm? You mean, being eaten?” Caleb nodded. “Yes, I mean that literally. Obviously not all monsters eat one another, but with my kind, it is not unexpected that if one is too slow or too small, one could get eaten.”

Caleb wrinkled his nose. “Well, that’s not disturbing. But anyway, I’m going to assign you some homework before I come over again.”

He was planning to return. That thought made me lighthearted. But home… work? “I already work from home,” I said.

Caleb snorted with laughter. “Human term. When we go to school, we get homework, which is school stuff to do at home.”

“Oh.” That made very little sense to me, that school would also be done at home. But then, what did I really know about human education? “So, you are giving me school stuff to do?”

“Kind of,” Caleb replied. “It’s educational, at least. I’m going to send you some videos and some sites to look at. If you’re comfortable with that, of course.”

“Why would I not be?” I asked.

Caleb shrugged. “Not everyone is into porn. Well, most people are, but I’m sure there are a few who aren’t. And stuff like that needs to be consensual.”

I smiled a bit. “Human sex with consent is so different than with my species.”

“Yeah, I’m getting that impression,” Caleb said. “So, I’m going to send you some stuff this week, and then we can have this conversation again, okay?”

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