Page 74 of Dreams and Reptiles

Being full of him while feeling his hands and mouth all over me was almost too much, but just when I thought I’d have to tap out, he grabbed my hips, shortened his strokes, and a look of complete bliss washed over him. He tensed once, twice, and then he exhaled and shuddered as I felt him come inside me.

“Come here, my love.”

He leaned forward, trying to hold up his weight, but I pulled him down to sprawl across my chest. I stroked his scalp, his back, and his shoulders, loving our closeness and the peace I felt being connected to him in such an intimate way.

Meeting Kendall at Pride, kissing him silly, and then discovering we were neighbors were all such surprises, such deviations from the life I’d lived before. Every new surprise with Kendall brought with it more joy, more realizations that I’d needed the change that had been thrust upon me involuntarily. I never would have known love like this, pleasure like this, if I’d stayed in Silicon Valley, in the soul-crushing field of finance that had never brought me any sort of satisfaction.

Fighting what your heart wants is always a recipe for unhappiness. Since moving here, I’d taken up painting again, danced with my new friends, and sang my heart out by myself in my house. I was making people happy! I made Kendall happy, too, and that brought me satisfaction and fulfillment I’d never expected to feel.

“Thank you,” I whispered to Kendall, kissing his forehead.

“You’re welcome. What? Why thank me?”

He sounded half asleep, and I loved that he relaxed so thoroughly after we’d made love. I wrapped my legs around his waist and held him tight.

“For making my new wonderful life even better.”

He moved off me, his limbs heavy with impending sleep, and he curled up to my side.

“Even better. I love you betterer, Francis. Thank you for giving me you.”

“You’re welcome.”

He was out in minutes, snoring a little heavier than before, and I was quite proud of myself. If this was what it took to get him to nap, I was glad to be of service any time.

I was able to disentangle myself and clean up quietly in the bathroom. I dressed quickly and snuck out. I hoped he remembered I said I’d be back. I looked around for paper to leave him a note but didn’t find any, and I worried that texting him would wake him. After the experience we’d just shared, I hated to not stay in bed, but duty called.

Someday soon, Kendall and I would have uninterrupted time together, and I was so looking forward to it.

I decided to walk through the barn and tortoise yard to make sure everything was okay before heading back to the house. I chuckled to myself. Was I about to become Farmer Francis? Tender of dinosaurs?

Sounded splendid to me.

I spied several authors out in the pool yard, enjoying the morning sun before it got too hot, and once I slipped through the slider into my great room, I spotted a new group on the couch chatting and a few sitting at the large dining table.

Mom looked at her watch and raised an eyebrow at me.

“Morning,” I said in my cheeriest voice.

“Not for much longer,” Auntie Judy said with a smirk. “I’m not sure I like it when they stroll right in after a night of debauchery and don’t even try to hide it.”

Mom hmphed and shook her head. “I sent you over to take care of that man and his animals, not to become an animal. Look at your hair. When are you getting it cut? You look like a hillbilly.”

“I’m sorry, who was the one ready to start wearing cowboy boots? Tell me, have you heard from your hot young thing at the Pai Gow tournament?”

She rolled her eyes at me while Auntie Judy cracked up. “You should have seen this man. He was like some cheesy guy from the movies, giving her pickup lines. What did he say to you again?”

“’If I were a lamp, you could rub me and make the genie come out and give you all the wishes you wanted,’ or something ridiculous like that.”

“Did you tell him you’d wish he’d go back where he came from?”

“I said I’d wish for him to find someone else to bother. Not my best, but I was trying to focus on my game. I don’t have time for ridiculous men.”

“No, you were hoping that Mafia-looking guy would hit on you instead.”

I stood a little straighter. “Mafia-looking?”

Mom exhaled and rolled her eyes. “Just because a man wears his collar open and a gold chain doesn’t mean he’s in the Mafia. You’ve watched too much Sopranos.”