Belonging: Book Two in The Everett Gaming Series

by Drew Sera

  “How did you do with your other writing assignment? About writing five things you like about yourself?” I asked her while Anthony put a slice on her plate.

  “Um, okay I think. I wrote down five things in the notebook.”

  I nodded and told her that I was happy she worked on that today and told her we’d take a look at them tonight. I didn’t bring to her attention to the use of “um.” She was already nervous about the conversation of finding something she actually liked about herself. I wanted her to relax and be able to enjoy dinner.

  We went to the mall on the Las Vegas Strip for our shopping needs. There was a mall on Las Vegas Boulevard that tended to have more upscale stores and we didn’t take her there to flaunt, but it was just where Anthony and I shopped.

  I held her hand as we headed towards Bloomingdale’s and Anthony walked on her other side. The mall was crowded, and as we walked, I kept a firm hold on her. Eventually Anthony walked in front of her to keep people from bumping into her. As we were coming up on a clearing, Sydney squeezed my hand and suddenly stopped walking.

  “Anth,” I caught his attention and turned back to Sydney.

  Her eyes were wide and she was smiling. She was staring at the huge Christmas tree that sprawled upwards from the first floor to the top of the mall.

  “Can we go closer?”

  “Of course, baby. Come on.”

  We took her right up to the base of it and let her take it all in. There were lots of tourists trying to get close to get a picture of it or get pictures of family with it in the background. And there was Sydney. She was mesmerized as she looked upwards at it. Anthony and I watched her for a few moments. There was a sense of innocence with the way she was around the tree that made me feel really good inside. Anthony and I could give her the world. She looked at the ornaments, the lights and reached out to touch the ribbon.

  “Go stand beside her. I’ll get a picture of you two, Col.” He shoved me towards the tree.

  “Come here, baby. Anthony is going to take a picture of us.”

  Sydney slid into my arms and when Anthony finished the picture, I told her to stay put so she could get one with Anthony too. I took his phone and waited for him to get next to her. He ended up standing behind her and wrapped his arms protectively around her and placed them on her stomach. He looked really happy. I mean, really happy. The picture of them turned out great and when he looked down at her, thinking I was done, I grabbed another picture. It was a nice picture. Intimate. Here there was so much going on around them and Sydney was so excited about the decoration and nothing around Anthony made any difference. It was just her that he was interested in. I quickly forwarded the three pictures to my phone.

  “Shopping time. Let’s go.”

  “Did you see all those lights? They were so bright and pretty. I loved the way the silver ornaments reflected all of the colors of the lights. The velvet ribbon was a nice touch too.”

  Sydney talked the entire way to Bloomingdale’s about the tree. Her excitement was infectious.

  We headed to the bedding section first. I wanted everything new and with their input. We roamed around and a nice older lady approached us.

  “Welcome, may I help you find something in particular?”

  I glanced at her nametag. Cassandra. I smiled at her and explained that we were looking for some new linens.

  “Did you have a particular fabric in mind? We have cotton, sateen, flannel…”

  She was carrying on and I couldn’t help but picture the three of us naked and sweating on a pair of heavy, warm, tartan plaid sheets. Not quite the look I was going for. I glanced at Anthony and he gave me an upward nod to let me know to take the lead on this.

  “Cotton of some sort is what we’re looking for.”

  We followed her to a huge section of bedding and she pointed out some interests. She showed us where the nicest sheets were at, which were the Egyptian cotton, then the pima cotton. She said they had some less expensive sets that were combed cotton. Cassandra pointed to the area where those were at and I felt Sydney tug in that direction. No, not a chance. I gripped her hand firmly.

  “We’d like to look at the Egyptian cotton, please,” I said. We followed her to that section and stared at all of the colors on the walls.

  Cassandra was very chatty now that she saw where my intentions were. She showed us where to look on the shelf for the king sized sheets and then backed up to give us some space. The three of us scanned the wall of colors. Most of the colors were pretty tame and muted, which suited Anthony and I just fine. But this was Sydney’s home too. She was used to not having much and Anthony and I wanted her to be a part of this decision. Sydney was used to getting items in whatever color was on sale or the cheapest. She was done with that and we wanted her input.

  “What color do you like, baby?”

  “Um,”

  Anthony and I quickly looked down at her. Was she nervous or just indecisive? She had her lower lip between her teeth and she was looking at all the colors. She reached out and picked up a package of light blue sheets and flipped it over. I could tell that the price tag was hanging her up. Anthony noticed it too. She turned around and looked in the direction of the combed cotton sheets. I took the blue package from her hand and flipped it back over.

  “Baby, look at these.”

  “But, they’re so much money. I think your existing sheets are probably fine for us.”

  “No, that’s not the point, Sydney. I want that room to be ours. Not mine with you two staying there. You both live there and are not sleeping on my old sheets.”

  Anthony was quick to lighten the mood with Sydney and he did a great job.

  “Yeah, Sydney. We’re absolutely not sleeping on Colin’s sheets.”

  Sydney smiled and returned her attention to me.

  “We are getting new ones, baby. Something soft for your body. These are the nice Egyptian cotton ones.”

  This kind of stuff would always end up being a battle with her. She was used to not much of anything and the thought of spending $290 on a single flat sheet didn’t sit well with her. Honestly, I understood. But just because she was used to barely having enough to scrimp by didn’t mean she would continue that way. Not anymore. I was putting the finest material down on that bed for her body to lie on. It’s been beat on, raped and tortured repeatedly over the course of seven years. That body will be pampered and cherished from here on out.

  “Anth, pick out a color. I think we should get a few sets. Our activities might require them to be changed multiple times during the week.”

  Sydney blushed but Anthony was wearing his cocky smile. Anthony and I decided two sets worth would be gray, two sets white and we were still waiting on Sydney to pick the last two. I didn’t want her surrounded in all dark or bland stuff so I was hoping she’d pick something light. Sydney just needed a little pushing but was afraid to make a decision.

  “You liked the light blue, right?” I asked her.

  She nodded and I picked up the matching pieces for the light blue. Anthony had all the gray and white stuff already in his arms and I piled the light blue ones on. He took them with Cassandra over to the counter. She was very excited to help. It was probably going to be a month’s worth of commission just in our purchase tonight. I’m sure that excited her in addition to eye candy Anthony. She was probably in her seventies but kept eyeing him and smiling.

  “Pillows, mattress pad and a new comforter, Cassandra,” I said and we followed the chipper lady over to the next section.

  “Are you interested in down or down alternative?” She asked.

  We picked out new pillows, the mattress pad and the comforter much quicker than the sheets. I was pleased with the down alternative as it was cooler for Las Vegas weather but would also provide warmth. I never ended up with sweaty feet buried under a down alternative one.

  “What are we missing?” I asked as I glanced around.

  “Blankets and maybe some new throws. You could use new throws
, man.” Anthony made me laugh. He made linen shopping sound so masculine.

  “Nice, Anth.” I playfully punched him in the arm and tugged Sydney towards the blanket section.

  I was a pro at picking out throws and Anthony and I knew exactly what to look for. It was important for a Dom to have one in reach. He and I walked up and down the throw section touching all of them and then rubbing it over the backs of our hands. Sydney followed closely behind me and when I found some that I thought would be nice, I rubbed it over her hand.

  “What do you think, baby?”

  She looked at the sign that showed the price and paled. I put my hand over the sign and looked deep in her eyes.

  “Sydney, I didn’t ask what you thought about the sign that has the price tag. I asked you what you thought of the material.”

  She stood staring down at the throw. It was nice, soft cotton. I always liked cotton or fleece for sub throws because they did the best in the washer. I could hear Anthony asking Cassandra to give us a few minutes.

  “Sunshine, we want to wrap you up in the softest stuff out there. Don’t feel bad for us wanting to do that.”

  She nodded and looked back down. “It’s just so much money. I’m not worth a hundred dollar blanket.”

  “You’re worth more than a hundred dollar blanket,” I told her as I bent to kiss her and pull her against me. I nodded at Anthony to grab a few throws.

  “Get however many you think we need, Anth.”

  While he headed over to the counter, Sydney and I walked up and down some rows of duvets. Anthony joined our hunt for the perfect duvet cover. There were some real hideous ones. I saw one that was a mixture of browns, golds, oranges and some reds. It was an absolute nightmare from a lost decade. A few minutes later from the other side of the aisle Anthony called out to us that he found one. We turned the corner and I stopped. He was holding up the matching pillow to the hideous brown, gold, orange, red mess. He was kidding of course but was doing it to try to lighten Sydney up. And, he’s always successful at that. She giggled next to me and looked up at me.

  “I’m going to be honest, I don’t like that one at all.”

  “I don’t either, baby.”

  At least she had laughed though. We stopped in front of a gray one that had light blue lines running through it in different directions. It was very contemporary and I looked at it for a few moments with Sydney. Somehow, it seemed perfect and I couldn’t quite say what it was that I liked so much about it exactly. I just knew I liked this one the best.

  “Hey it matches the bedding we picked out,” Anthony said as he came up to stand next to me. “It’s like us. Dark and all but weaving in us is this little light.” I stared at him. Then he added, “Sydney.”

  How the fuck did he come up with that? Next time Matt or I say he’s not a deep, emotional guy, I’ll have to remember back to this night in Bloomingdale’s. I slapped him on the shoulder and motioned for Cassandra.

  “We’ll take this in the king size please.” I looked down at Sydney. She was our light. “Did you like that one too?”

  “Yes, Sir. It matches the sheets. I like how it looks gray from the distance but once you get closer, you can see the blue pattern.”

  Last thing we needed were some new towels. I wanted to get the big fluffy bath sheets. Anthony and I were both tall and the bath sheets fully cover taller frames, so I was looking for those. Cassandra led us to the Egyptian cotton ones and we quickly went with a combination of the gray and white bath sheets and gray hand towels. Sydney came over with some light blue washcloths. I was happy that she seemed to be working past the dollar sign. I knew that we go through washcloths quickly whether it’s due to nightmares or cleaning ourselves up after sex. So I made sure we grabbed lots of washcloths in a combination of the gray and light blue. Anthony grabbed new bath rugs too.

  “Okay, the gray washcloths are for the two dicks and the pussy. Light blue ones are for faces,” I suggested as we headed towards the counter. We were done with our linen shopping.

  As Cassandra started to ring things up I suggested that Anthony take her over to Macy’s and start looking for some clothes. I didn’t want her standing here when this thing totaled out. He understood and from his blazer, he pulled out a small bag of M&M’s. He opened them and poured the handful into his palm and Sydney immediately collected the green ones.

  “We’ll meet you in Macy’s,” Anthony said and then headed off with Sydney.

  I turned my attention back to Cassandra and the sound of us helping out the economy. There were so many washcloths. But we needed them. I’d make sure the housekeeper gathered all of the existing bedding, towels and throws and would see that they’re donated.

  “Ok, your total is $8,135.94.” Cassandra sounded nervous when she fed me to total. I looked up at her and raised an eyebrow.

  “Egyptian cotton?” I asked.

  “Yes, it’s the finest out there. Would you like to take a look at the pima?” She asked nervously.

  “No, I’m just giving you a hard time. It’s fine.”

  I pulled out my wallet and asked her if cash would be okay. When I saw the shock on her face and told her I was kidding and swiped my card. I felt really good about our purchases. Thankfully Bloomingdale’s had car service and would be meeting me in the parking garage with the bags. I moved the car to the loading zone and sent Anthony a quick text telling him I’d be there shortly.

  AG: Jackets and coats here are limited. We need to go to a different store for a coat for her. Some of what’s here are grandparent coats.

  It was already December and most people who needed coats would already have them by now. Except our girl. And we certainly didn’t want her in a “have to” jacket or coat. She was twenty-seven and shouldn’t have a field coat unless she wanted a field coat. I caught up to them and we headed to the store where Anthony got all of Sydney’s clothes. He refers to it as the “nightclub” store.

  I had never been in the store but I had to agree with him. It was loud and the heavy perfume or cologne could be smelled way out into the mall. Gina shopped here on occasion because I know I’ve seen this logo on stuff of hers before.

  “Hey, ‘sup.” A guy said as we entered the store and went back to standing by a plant. Amazing. As Anthony helped Sydney look at some coats on a rack, I watched this guy standing uselessly by the door. He kept adjusting his pants so the indentations running into his tight jeans would be more noticeable. What was he doing anyhow? Keeping the plant from falling over? I shook my head and turned around to face Anthony and Sydney.

  He had helped her into a navy blue coat. It had a hood, lots of pockets, buttons and zipper closures and a fleece collar that came up high on the neck. It also had a nice heavy lining and hugged her body. The thing was perfect. How on earth did this store have such a weird atmosphere and sad display of youth working in it, yet produce some of the nicest clothing?

  “Do you like it Sydney?” I asked her as Anthony and I were checking the zippers and the sleeves. It was a really nice coat and she looked cute in it. It had a nice, youthful look to it. It was a twenty-something’s coat.

  “I do. I really, really do.”

  As she took it off, she reached for the price tag but wasn’t quick enough. Anthony grabbed it out of her reach. I glanced around for anything else that looked like it might serve a purpose. All of her clothes were really nice from here and this coat was perfect. Anthony and I helped convince her to get a few pairs of jeans as well.

  We made it to the register and another college aged guy and girl rang us up. It took both of them. While the girl watched over his shoulder the guy carefully pushed buttons on the register.

  “Did I get it?” He asked the girl.

  “Yeah, you’re so rad,” she replied and took the coat and jeans to the back counter, removed the security tags and put them in the bag. Words couldn’t describe the bag. The bag was something else.

  “Here you go. Thanks for coming in.” The guy handed Anthony the bag and w
e headed out through the maze.

  As we were leaving there were some college girls giggling and flirting with the guy holding up the plant and they were posing to take a picture with him. I had to watch. He pulled his pants down some more and smiled big for the girl with the cell phone.

  Those pants go any lower he’s going to be showing those girls his dick. There can’t be any underwear in there. I glanced at the bag Anthony was carrying.

  “You’re not bringing that bag into the house,” I told him.

  He held it up looking at it and laughing. The bag had two college aged looking guys on it leaning against each other both without shirts and their jeans dangerously close to revealing their dicks.

  “Come on, we can decorate our room with it,” Anthony suggested.

  “Thank you for the coat and jeans.”

  “You’re more than welcome, baby.”

  “Yeah, sunshine needs to stay warm. Her dark Doms need her warmth.”

  Fucking Anthony and his greeting card sayings for Doms and subs. He was on a roll tonight. He was excited to help her try on the coat because it gave him a reason to touch her. He’s been pretty restrained for most of the evening.

  When we got to the car, he asked if I cared if he rode in the back with her. I knew he needed to be near her and I encouraged it. He put the bag with her coat in the front seat and joked about the guys on the bag keeping me company.

  On the way home Anthony and I talked to Sydney about the Christmas party next weekend for work. I knew that she was planning on going shopping tomorrow with Gina and told her she should start looking for a dress for that party and for the Irons party the following weekend. We explained the auction and she said it sounded nice and asked if she could do anything to help or auction off. Anthony and I firmly said she would not be auctioning off anything.