Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 64929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
personal life is not my business. I’m also sorry that I made you uncomfortable. It really is research but… but I’ll work on… things when you’re not home.” I was rambling and making a mess of the apology I’d planned out so well. In my head, it had sounded articulate and reasonable. That had been anything but. As the jumble of words came to an end, I just waited to see what he would say.
He was quiet for a moment, quiet enough to make me even more nervous. I didn’t think he was even going to reply at first. But a smirk cracked the mask at last, and he replied, “Oh, don’t hold off on masturbating on my account.” He dropped his voice to a stage whisper. “We all do it, Adri.”
Fuck. Yup, that worked very well as a response. “I… I…” How was I supposed to respond to that? “It was research. I wasn’t… I wasn’t…” I wasn’t sounding reasonable. Taking a deep breath, I tried again. “I’m taking a human sexuality class. It was supposed to be easy, but the big assignment is a research paper about… about, well, a sexual topic of our choice. I picked… I… Mine is about puppy play.”
“Puppy play,” Owen repeated, tilting his head to the side. The motion reminded me uncomfortably of the pup from the video — but his voice was far different, smoother and confident.
He didn’t think I’d been… Had I been? I couldn’t remember where my hands were when he’d walked in. I’d been turning on the video and I’d had the… tail in my hand. Had I been masturbating to the video?
Getting turned on was kind of the point. I had to experience the sexual play to be able to describe it and explain it in the paper. I didn’t think I needed to apologize for that if I was. “I have to research the topic.”
Maybe if I said it enough, he would understand. Maybe it would make more sense to me if I kept saying it too.
“How can you research puppy play by yourself?” Owen asked almost… innocently, though there was nothing innocent about the look in his brown eyes. “Well… I… I had to go through different options and potential topics and while some were… interesting, they had to have other people involved. The puppy… I thought… I don’t think that I have to… I don’t think that it will require another person. I can adapt my research.”
That sounded almost reasonable and was mostly sentences, so I thought I was doing pretty well. It wasn’t really what I wanted to talk about though. I was supposed to be apologizing, not discussing… research.
“I… I’m sorry about what happened, Owen. I really didn’t mean it. And I’ll make sure to lock the door before I… Well, research.” There was just one problem. As soon as I’d said it, I knew something was off.
The doors didn’t lock.
“I… um… I think I’ll go get new door knobs at the store… Um, tomorrow or when I get paid again, maybe.” Money was too tight for random purchases, especially when I didn’t have any idea how much something would cost.
“How many times are you going to say the word ‘research’ tonight?” Owen asked, like I hadn’t spoken at all. “Because I think we’re into the tens or twenties now.” “But… it… It is…” It was research. But now he was making me uncomfortable again. The cool kid and the geek. “I… I want to make sure you know I’m sorry about everything.”
That was a safe topic. I knew how to apologize. I’d been doing it forever. He just needed to stay on topic, and everything would be fine.
Owen shrugged, strolling over to stick his finger into the sauce and stepping into my personal space. He licked it clean, watching me.
I felt like a bug beneath a microscope.
“I’ll just remember that the closed door means happy fun time—” He paused, deliberately. “Oh wait. Research.” He grinned. Everything was spinning. I couldn’t keep up. One minute he was angry, and the next he was teasing me about my… research. And I wasn’t even sure he’d accepted my apology.
“Are you hungry?” I needed something safe. There were too many mixed signals coming from him.
“I don’t know. Are you going to put it in a bowl on the floor for me?” he instantly replied.
My mouth opened and closed but nothing came out.
“Oh, wait,” Owen said with a grin. “You’re probably the one who wants the bowl, huh? Did you get one of those for your class, too?” “No, just the collar and tail. Anything else would have made the project too expensive.” I’d done the math on my budget three times, and even if the professor was disappointed, I just couldn’t see a way to buy anything else for the project. “Besides, any bowl from the kitchen would work. I don’t think I need to eat from one, though.” At least, I hadn’t thought about it.