by Golden Angel
It suddenly struck her that one of these days, she could be a bride, and Patrick could be a groom. Yeah, okay, she'd always fantasized about that kind of thing, but the reality of the idea, the fact that it could actually happen... that slammed into her like a freight train. Her ass tightened around the plug in it. Yup, way to ruin the romance. A plug in her ass was so not something she'd dreamed about when she'd had wedding bells ringing in her head. One man, for the rest of her life...
Okay, maybe she could understand a little more why Patrick was taking things slowly. Making sure to do them right. They were old enough that this relationship really meant something, especially for him. She hadn't really thought that the age difference would be that big of a deal, but thinking about it, she realized that the women all around her were with men that they could actually picture having a future with. Fun-and-games time was over for them, they were all looking at the long haul. Maria and Olivia were the oldest of the women, and Patrick was a year older than Maria.
For him, a serious relationship with her meant that he was thinking all those same thoughts about her. Heat and icy coolness ran through her as the implications all really started sinking in. Geezus... Patrick was actually thinking about marrying her. Not in an immediate sort of way, but in an "I could see myself with her for the rest of my life" sort of way.
She didn't know why the reality was such a smack in the face, but it felt completely different than when she'd just had the pictures in her head.
Someone touched her hand, and she realized the conversations had been going on around her while she stared into space.
"You okay?" Maria asked, looking a bit worried. "You went kind of pale for a minute."
"Yep. I'm okay..." she smiled a bit weakly. Everyone else was talking to each other in private conversations; Leigh and Olivia; Angel, Jessica and Hilary. Which was good, because Lexie didn't really feel like explaining to all of them all the thoughts that had just rushed through her head. "Just kind of realizing how serious a relationship with Patrick is." Maria looked confused for a moment. "You're all older than me, and I don't really think about it often, but I just realized, you're all at the point in your lives where you're ready to settle down. I am too, but it's just... I've never had a reason to really think about it before now, but Patrick's the guy that I've wanted to have for the rest of my life, and the idea that I might actually get that... well it's a little mind blowing."
Nodding, now that she understood, Maria smiled sympathetically. "I don't think our age has much to do with it, honestly. People are ready when they're ready. My sisters were all ready before me... I couldn't see settling down with any of the guys that I dated, and I am definitely at the point in my life where, if I don't see a future with a guy, I also don't see the point in dating him."
"Exactly," Lexie said with relief that Maria totally got what she'd been trying to say. "I just realized that Patrick must feel that way about me, that there's a point to it. I guess... looking at it that way, waiting a little bit for sex doesn't seem like such a big deal."
"Well that's a good way to look at it," Maria said, laughing.
"What's so funny?" asked Leigh, turning from her conversation with Olivia to look at them.
"Lexie just realized she can deal with waiting for sex, as long as Patrick marries her eventually," Maria said, grinning. Everyone burst out laughing, Jessica shaking her head as she grinned merrily across the table.
"That is not what I said!" Lexie protested, laughing in exasperation. Although it really kind of was.
"Oh my god, do you think he's making her wait till he marries her?" Jessica asked, laughing even harder.
Lexie groaned, putting her face in her hands. "If he is, I will kill him."
******
The dojo was full of men. Not too surprising, since all of their women were at Happy Hour together. Patrick couldn't help but grin. With the club closed, since Angel was on a two-week break from teaching her self-defense classes there, and all of their girlfriends out together, apparently no one had anything better to do than come practice their Kung-Fu. Even Chris was there, and he rarely came, as evidenced by his less than stellar flexibility, which both Liam and Justin were ragging on him for as he tried to touch his toes.
Adam and Rick were side by side in horse stance, watching Chris in the mirror, looking completely relaxed as they joked around. Off to the side, Andrew was doing his own warm-up, also grinning at, although surprisingly not joining in, Chris' teasing.
"Full house tonight," Patrick said, putting down his gym bag next to the others and sitting to pull off his shoes.
"Almost," said Liam, looking up just as Jared walked through the door. "Okay, now it is." He made a face full of pretend-misery. "Damn, nobody had anything better to do? I was looking forward to going home and just having a beer."
"Sure you were, going home to your empty apartment and having a beer, all by yourself," Andrew teased.
"All alone, in the darkness," Chris picked up the thread, obviously looking to get some of his own back.
"In the dark? Really?" asked Liam, dropping his act as he chuckled.
"Sure, why not," chimed in Rick. "Probably jacking off and crying at the same time too."
"That's the best lube," Chris said, nodding sagely. He grunted as Liam put his foot in the middle of Chris back and pressed. Reaching for his toes, this time Chris almost managed to touch them, since Liam was helping.
"You're all a bunch of sick fucks," said Patrick, laughing, one eye on Jared, who actually was looking pretty miserable as he sat down and slid off his shoes. He wasn't sure if anyone else had noticed, they were all too busy joking around.
"He'd spill the beer if he was jacking off," Adam pointed out, as usual the only one interested in applying logic to the ridiculousness.
"Not if he did it veeeery carefully." Justin grinned and leaned away as Liam removed his foot from Chris' back and tried to reach for Justin's instead.
As the ribaldry continued, Patrick leaned over towards Jared. The big man wasn't even smiling, Patrick could see, even though his face was somewhat obscured by the way he was leaning over. Jared being quiet wasn't unusual, but there was something more to it. Everything about his body language said that he was unhappy, and that he was holding it in.
"Hey man," Patrick said softly, keeping his voice low enough that the others wouldn't notice. "You okay?"
"I broke up with Marissa." Jared's voice, unlike Patrick, was loud and monotone. It sliced through the laughter and teasing like a knife, Marissa's name dropping into a sudden abrupt silence. "I don't want to hear it. I feel like a piece of shit, but it's over and done with and I don't want to talk about it."
He didn't need to say anything more. While they might all feel like celebrating the end of the toxic relationship, he obviously didn't, and none of them were going to rub it in. It was better to just let him come to terms with it on his own. They all saw Marissa's manipulations for what they were, and even though Jared had managed to actually break up with her this time, not one of them doubted that she'd laid a hell of a guilt trip on him. On the other hand, this was the first time that he'd successfully ended the relationship.
All that and more, an agreement to keep their mouths shut about Marissa while Jared was around, was relayed in quick glances around the room. They'd all been friends for so long, none of them needed to ask what the others were thinking.
"I'm sorry it didn't work out with her the way you wanted," Patrick said, which was true enough. He laid his hand on Jared's shoulder and gave it a short squeeze, before letting it fall away. "Let me know if you need anything. I'm here for you, man."
Standing up, he moved away as the others came over to echo the sentiments, each in their own way. Patrick started his own stretches, leading the way into getting things back to normal. By the time they were all done, Jared looked a lot more relaxed. Maybe he'd been expecting the entire room the break out into happy dances the way Olivia had, but if she'd seen Jared looking like this, sh
e wouldn't have indulged. None of them would. They respected that he was broken up about the end of the relationship, even if the rest of them were internally jumping for joy.
Conversation resumed, a bit more subdued, as they all stretched out and warmed up. Chris was definitely receiving the brunt of Liam's attention, but he deserved it for all the classes he'd missed.
"How are things with you and Lexie?" asked Adam, as he went through a series of increasingly complex arm stretches.
"We're going to her parents’ for dinner tomorrow."
"Uh oh, sounds serious," Chris teased, and then groaned as Liam pushed him down. "What, I can't even talk?"
"Nope, concentrate on your stretches," Liam said sternly. "They can talk because every single one of them is in better shape than you. It was a stupid observation anyway. Of course it's serious, it's Patrick and Lexie."
"Paxie? Lextrick?" Andrew mused. Patrick glared at him.
"I will end you."
"What? You have to admit, it's kind of cute."
"You didn't do it with anyone else, you're not doing it with us," Patrick said firmly. He hated that stupid trend.
"Aw, come on, everyone else was too hard," Andrew protested. "I mean come on," he pointed at Justin and Chris, "there's three of them in that relationship and it's practically impossible to come up with something pronounceable. Lilary and Hiam just doesn't sound right at all. Angel and Adam are even more impossible and so are Rick and Maria."
"He's got a point - ow!" Chris clenched his jaw and leaned farther over his leg, until Liam made a satisfied noise.
"I like Paxie," said Jared, with the first glimmer of a smile that they'd seen so far.
"No." Patrick pointed his finger at him. He didn't care if Jared was feeling shitty, no one was combining his and Lexie's names. His finger moved to each of his friends in turn. "No, no, no, no, no. Just no. And don't you dare mention it to your girlfriends. I'll put you all on Dungeon Monitor duty every night for the next month." Which would mean no scening. They all knew he wasn't serious. Probably. But no one wanted to risk it.
Liam stepped in, a slight smile of amusement on his face. "It's time to start anyway. Form lines."
Thank god. For the next hour, Patrick lost himself in the forms. For him, it was almost like meditating, because his mind was able to focus completely on his body, and he wasn't thinking about anything in particular. This was why he tried to make it to the dojo at least once a month, if not more, although he worked out at home as well. Being part of the class, studying himself in the mirror, knowing that Liam was watching them, all helped him to find a kind of inner peace that he didn't get doing anything else.
However, unlike his usual times at the dojo, as soon as they were done, he started packing up.
"You're not going to stay and spar?" Adam asked, looking surprised as Patrick started putting his shoes back on.
"No, I need to get home."
Justin glanced up at the clock on the wall. "You know that she's not going to be home yet, right? The whole "hour" part of Happy Hour is a joke. They end up just sitting around talking."
Sure enough, checking his phone, Patrick could see that he'd gotten a text from Lexie saying that Happy Hour was running long, and she was going to be home later than she'd thought. Which, he'd already known from the other guys was usually the case. Pleasure coursed through him that she was doing exactly what she was supposed to and letting him know.
"I know," he said, texting Lexie back to let her know that he'd gotten her text and appreciated it. "I have a scene at home to set up."
Shaking his head, Adam sighed. "Part of me wants to high five you, and the other part of me can't forget exactly who you're setting the scene up for."
Patrick laughed, too lighthearted to be bothered. "You'll get used to it."
Chapter 16
Happy Hour had dragged into Happy Hours. Lexie had only had one more drink though, following the rules of the contract to the letter. But she had finally given in and had that second drink after she realized they were - as usual - going to be there a lot longer than they'd planned. She didn't know why she always thought that this time they weren't going to do that; she should really just plan ahead that girl time was going to run long.
Knocking on Patrick's door, she tried not to feel guilty for being so much later than she'd planned. She'd texted him, of course, to let him know, and they'd spent the last two nights together, but she was still shifting restlessly. Although, that might be because of the plug that was still in her butt. She didn't even have the panties to help hold it in. The past two days she'd taken them off in the car so that he couldn't punish her for having them on before she had a chance to take them off. She didn't know what she was going to do when it got way too cold for skirts without stockings. Her legs were already a little cold even though she’d gotten inside as quickly as she could.
Not that she minded the spankings, since she knew he wouldn't actually be upset with her for breaking that particular rule, but she'd gotten a lot of amusement out of his disappointment when he'd checked and found her uncovered. Followed quickly by a lot of enjoyment as he'd taken advantage of her bared state. Even if they hadn't had sex yet, she was having more orgasms than she'd ever had with any other boyfriend. Patrick literally couldn't keep his hands off of her. Or his mouth, for that matter.
She really was kind of greedy, when she thought about it.
She was also feeling high on happiness and love, after time with the girls. Yeah, the reality of this new relationship, and possibly the last relationship she'd ever have in her life, was kind of huge and overwhelming when she thought of the whole picture, but it was also really fulfilling. Exciting. Joyful.
The door opened, and she beamed up at him as he smiled down at her.
"I know I need to get you a key," he said, as he leaned down to kiss her. "But I have to admit that I really love opening my door and seeing you standing there."
There was no chance to respond before his lips were on hers, but that didn't matter. He actually hadn't mentioned getting her a key before, and her heart did little tripping leaps and twirls that he was already thinking that. He really did want her to move in, didn't he? Not that she was going to. Lexie was taking a page from Angel's book with that one... she was happy to spend her nights here and probably move some of her stuff over, but she was keeping her own place. At least for a little bit. Adam had dealt with it, and so could Patrick. As much as she loved him and wanted to jump into the relationship wholeheartedly, holding on to her own place seemed like something she needed to do. A small part of control over her own life that she needed to hold on to, just for now. Especially since Patrick's condo was... Patrick's. He'd had it for years, and she didn't know how he would feel about her stuff invading it.
Honestly, if they moved in together, she'd rather they pick out a place together that was theirs. Not just her moving into his space. With Adam and Angel, it was more understandable because Adam already had a house. A really awesome house. She didn't know if Patrick planned to live in a condo for the rest of his life, but she really didn't see where in it there was room for her stuff. It felt like his place.
So she was going to keep her place, for a little while at least. She'd probably get him a key to it too, even though she knew he hated her mattress.
Leaning into the kiss, she still couldn't believe that this was actually her life now. Coming to Patrick's every night. Kissing Patrick. Sleeping in Patrick's bed. Patrick's hands coming down to grope her ass...
Yeah. This was the good life.
Lifting his head, he smiled down at her, and then they both jumped a bit as one of the other doors in the hall started to open. Swiftly, he pulled her out of the doorway and into his condo, so that his neighbors couldn't see him groping her. Lexie giggled helplessly as she ended up pinned between his hard body and the wall. No complaints about that.
"Did you have fun at happy hour?"
"Yes," she said, going up on tiptoes for another soft kiss. H
e smelled good. Freshly showered.
Their lips parted by just an inch, his hovering over hers in between kisses.
"Did you drink more than two drinks?"
"No."
Kiss.
"Did you wait an hour after drinking the second one before driving?"
"Yes."
Kiss.
"Pixie, Pixie... how am I supposed to punish you if you're always being good?" He murmured.
Kiss.
"I'm sure you'll make up a reason."
Dropping her purse to the floor she wound her arms around his neck, and jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist. Unfortunately, there were two things she didn't consider when doing so. The first was that she didn't have any panties on. The second thing was that she'd somehow managed to forget about the plug.
It made a thumping sound as it hit the floor.
Even with his hands on her ass, holding her against him, Patrick burst out laughing as red flames seemed to explode in her cheeks. She couldn't believe that had just happened. When she'd jumped, her legs had spread and so had her ass cheeks, and she hadn't been concentrating on keeping it inside of her and the slender thing had just slipped out.
"Oh my god..." she mumbled, completely mortified, as she pressed her forehead against his shoulder. He was practically vibrating with laughter, although she could tell that he was trying not to laugh too hard, for her sake. The slick emptiness of her rear channel clenched, a little too late. "I think that is the most unsexy thing that's ever happened to me."
Still chuckling, Patrick set her down, and she leaned down to gingerly pick up the plug by its base, still shiny with lube.
