Page 58 of Surviving the Merge
Damon sat on the ottoman in front of me with his legs spread wide. His cock hung lewdly over the edge. His big, smooth, body on full display. It cast a shadow over me. He watched me silently, letting the tension build before he said, “I told him that you were being fucked within an inch of your life, with this”—he took himself in hand, stroking it like a lover would—“big cock. That first, I spanked you for your indiscretions, and then I did all the dirty things that he could imagine?and some that his inexperienced mind can’t?to you all night.”
I tried to turn away, but he held me in place by my chin.
“Then I told him that if Ieversee his lips on my property again, he’ll be the one that the neighbors hear screaming fromtheirbedroom.”
I knocked his hand away. “You have no right to?”
“I have every fucking right,” he said in a type of calm fury. I wisely kept my peace. Arguing with him would only delay me in finding Max to apologize.
Damon left me sitting there without another word. I hadn’t moved from my spot when, shortly after, he came down, hair wet and fully dressed. I flinched when the front door slammed behind him. I should’ve probably chased after him, but between my battered body, my bruised ego, and my blackened mood, I couldn’t move. My brain tried to send the signal to my limbs, but when I no longer heard the sound of his car engine in the distance, I knew it was too late. “Shit,”I said to myself, burying my face in my hands.
16
Damon never returned; he must’ve gone back to the city. I worked on the front of the house that day—grunting and wincing—but hadn’t done much else. Purely killing time until Max got home so I could clear up the misunderstanding. I took a couple more ibuprofen to get some of the swelling to my lips and face down, but there was only so much that modern medicine could do. It would go down on its own in a few days.
I debated waiting until then to approach Max, but I wouldn’t leave him hanging simply to reduce my embarrassment.He won’t understand why I look like this,I thought.
I’d just have to face the wrath of his judgment. It was the right thing to do.
Nighttime approached, and I’d all but given up, deciding to head inside to throw myself a pity party. In the middle of making a drink, my ears picked up Pluto’s barks. I went to the window and watched Max enter his house via the rear door, Pluto at his heels. I exhaled, trying to garner the courage to make my way across the yard. I thought better of it and decided to walk around the block to ring his bell. Crossing his yard and knocking on the back door seemed like stepping over a boundary I was sure he had in place now. Plus, this bought me more time.
I rang the bell, then stepped back to wait. I heard Pluto getting closer, the sounds of his dog tags jingling going from distant to near. The door opened, and I came face to face with a surprised Max. Pluto happily ran around my legs, and I bent down to rub his flank. Anything to not have to bear the look of anger and pity on Max’s face. I swallowed my grimace of pain that the action of bending caused to my overused body. “Hey, boy, did you miss me?”
“Pluto, inside,” Max said. He didn’t want the dog to be my friend. Childish, but I couldn’t fault him for it. Pluto looked between the two of us a few times and then reluctantly went, releasing a whine from his throat.
“Did he do that to you?” Max asked. At my confused expression, he pointed to my face and elaborated. “Your face. Did yourhusbanddo that to you?”
“Oh.” I touched my cheekbone. “No. I bit my lip, and the swelling of my eyes and cheeks are due to... lack of sleep. It’ll be fine by morning.”
Max didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t take it any further either. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited for me to state my business.
“I wanted to apologize. First, for not mentioning that I was married. I knew you were interested. I should’ve told you right away that I wasn’t available.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? What was your goal, Justin?”
“A part of me thought that maybe I might be available,” I ended lamely.
Max uncrossed his arms and put one hand on the door, about to shut it in my face. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”
I reached out a hand and held the door open, speaking quickly. “Look, I’m sorry. It was a shitty thing to do. You’re a great guy, and I’d still like to be friends if it’s at all possible. I’d still like to teach the kids down at the community center.” I held my breath, waiting for his reply.
“I can’t pretend to understand your actions. You’re not really giving me much to consider here. And sometimes, Justin, ‘I’m sorry’ isn’t enough.” His voice lost some of its frost. “However, I would never let those kids suffer because my feelings were hurt. I’ll be in touch regarding the build-out, but no, we can’t be friends.” The door closed, and I hung my head, unsure of what to do next.
* * *
By midweek,I’d managed to complete the front of the house, with no intentions of doing the back. I could look at myself in the mirror again?sort of. The evidence of my night with Damon had faded, but the humiliation from what I did to Max taunted me.
I busied myself by going through some basic moves in the studio, trying to get a routine put together for the kids at the center. Only thing left to do was work on a playlist. Something not too intimidating. Not until I saw what they could do.
Dancing always aided in relieving stress, but needing something more challenging for myself, I put on one of my favorite tracks: “Lonely Ballet.” It reflected my current mood, the title and the chords. I ran through my own sequence of leaps, extensions, and poses, with the somber soft notes of the piano as my backdrop. Lost in my own head, unsure of how long I’d been dancing, I was forced to halt mid-pirouette at the sound of an impatient bark. And then my arms were full of dog. I lost my balance, and we wound up on the floor. Smiling at how exuberantly he licked my face, I rubbed under both ears and raised my eyes to see Max filling the door frame.
“Sorry about that. We may really need to get a proper fence put up.” He sounded put-out.
“No, it’s fine, I don’t mind. It’s good to see that someone still likes me.” I pushed myself off the ground to Pluto’s disappointment. Max ignored my comment.
“The construction should be done by Saturday. You can come by anytime to check it out and let me know if any adjustments need to be made. I’ll be at the center all day.”
“All rig?”
