A/N: It's another Dwight chapter. The guy has really grown on me. Writing Chain Reaction is my favorite escape. So I just let myself write whatever I feel like writing, and right now, I feel like writing Dwight. I do find it entertaining enough to use all the background characters I've previously kinda developed and how they interact with the main folks (which you'll see later in this chapter).
There will still be more Isabella, Mike, etc. It'll be a bit before Alaric shows up again because putting him through university was stressful enough for me let alone trying to make a story of it.
Dwight
After getting a pointless dancing lesson from my new friend Pedro, I decide to go home. He's convinced me to go to that party tomorrow. I couldn't figure out a good enough reason to get out of it. It'll be Saturday night, after all. Even if, by some strange coincidence, I end up having a good time and staying out all night, I'll have Sunday to recover.
As I brush my teeth, I think about him. He's not the 'bad guy' I had him made out to be in my head. He just has a different lifestyle than I do, one that Marco is a part of. I don't want that, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends.
Finished brushing my teeth, I give myself a pep talk. "You're doing great, Dwight! You can make friends. You'll be fine at the party tomorrow night. Just be yourself. If they don't like it, plum them." I smile. Yeah. I so got this.
I can't sleep yet. That's nothing new, so I just sit on my bed and think. I decide what I'm going to wear. Pedro also told me to wear a swimsuit underneath my clothes. I'm... a bit bashful when it comes to wearing my suit in front of people, but maybe I'll just skip the swimming altogether.
There will probably be famous people at the party tomorrow. Pedro did say it was invite only. I'm going as his plus-one, which kind of makes me wary. Maybe I can pick up a few clients. I smile. Dwight Foster: psychiatrist to the stars. I giggle in spite of myself.
I sigh and look at the adorable bunny rabbit Marco gave me.
'He misses you.'
Suddenly, a ding sounds from my computer. I give the bunny a strange look and walk over to it. As I do, I see it flash on the screen that Marco just IM'ed me. Then the screen fades.
Talking to inanimate objects now: you're losing it, Dwight. I sigh and sit down to pull up Marco's message. Sure enough, the bunny was right.
I miss you.
Crap.
Why?
He won't tell me. I know he won't tell me. At least not what I want to hear. Wait. I want to hear it? Another ding distracts my train of thought.
It's too quiet here now. I don't like an empty house.
I was right. He's bouncing all around it. Still.
So put out an advertisement for another roommate.
Of course, the very idea makes my chest ache.
You're the only roommate I want.
Well, at least there's that.
You badly hurt me, Marco. On purpose.
I know, and I'm sorry. Did you get the little statue I left you? Do you like it?
Yes, and yes, I love the adorable thing.
I don't know why, but it made me think of you.
But he does.
Hey, so tomorrow's Saturday. Would you at least meet me somewhere so we could talk?
Normally, I'd ask him what about, trying to get him to admit how he feels, but I don't this time.
I can't. I've been invited to a party.
I see him typing different things, the little '...' showing up, but nothing pops up on the screen, which tells me he might be deleting it before hitting send.
Okay. I hope you have fun. I gotta go. ttyl
He logs off. I know his final response couldn't have been the first thing he typed. It was too generic. Then again, sometimes he can be that way. But that was a lot of typing for that small message to be the only thing that came through.
Pedro takes me to the party, and I start to wonder if I'm under-dressed for this thing. He's wearing a kind of tux jacket... sans shirt.
"Don't look so nervous, Dwight." He smiles.
"Which is the worst thing to say to someone who's nervous."
"Well, is it better to say, 'don't worry. people will love you. and not many people have arrived yet'?"
"Yes," I answer with a small laugh. I follow him through the house and onto the back deck.
"Wait a minute..." My mouth drops, and my face turns red.
His smile turns genuine. "Oh, okay. Yep, she's my sister."
His husband next to him quietly says, "Charlotte's awesome."
I ask them how she's doing. They tell me. "Three?!" I can't believe it. She's had three kids since we drifted apart. All I've done with my life is get a doctorate.
Mike shrugs. "Charlotte loves kids."
As we talked, the sun set, and I started truly understanding the term 'million dollar view.'
Pedro, who forgot to get me my drink, calls me over to meet our host. Glancing at Mike, I see him grin like he's keeping a secret. I don't have time to ponder what before the owner of the house takes both my hands in his.
"Such a pleasure to meet you, Dwight. I'm Hugh Carter, and I'm always happy to make new friends. Tell me, what do you do for a living?" His eyes study my face. As for his, I'd say he has good taste in glasses.
I tell him, but I get interrupted from saying anything else by Pedro.
"Don't you start, Hugh. He's not your type."
Hugh winks at him. "Everyone's my type."
Oh boy. That little 'network' thing I'd imagined last night immediately comes to mind, and I have a feeling the king of it is standing in front of me. And he won't let go of my hands.
"So what do you think of my humble abode, Dr. Foster?" His thumbs play on my knuckles, but he manages to grip tightly whenever I try to pull my hands back.
"It's nice. The castle on the hill." I can feel it. This man has a kind of magnetism and knows it. I'm willing to bet it's what's made him successful. And the way he called me Dr. Foster instead of just Dwight made me feel more special, something he's probably very good at. But I don't know if I like feeling special. The way he grips my hands when I try to pull away is very like a boa constrictor with its prey. He's like a boa constrictor. Anaconda maybe?
His mouth opens in a smile. "I love that! Yes, it's my castle on a hill. So what do you like to do for fun, Dr. Foster?" He's treating me like, to him, I'm the only one here.
"I like to read." Next, he's going to want to start discussing books. Anything to keep my attention. I don't want to be rude, but he's starting to suffocate me.
Pedro comes to my rescue. "Stop it, Hugh. You're scaring him. After all, he's my guest."
That distracts Hugh enough to free my hands.
"I'm sorry if I come on a little strong, Dr. Foster." No. He's proud of that fact. "I've just always had a high appreciation for Pedro's taste."
"Uh, what?" He sees me as Pedro's date?
Pedro saves me. Again. "We came as friends, Hugh."
Hugh's smiling eyes return to me. "Well then, what kind of host would I be if I didn't give my newest guest a tour?" He reaches for my hands again.
Hugh maintains his smile, though. "Fair enough. You certainly know the place well. I think the best spot tonight, though, is the balcony off my room."
Huh?
Pedro pulls me away from the host. "Sorry. I didn't suspect he'd act like that with you," he says once we're out of earshot. Hugh has moved on to talking to Mike and his husband.
After showing me the impressive downstairs, Pedro and I ascend a staircase on the outside of the house. It leads to the aforementioned balcony outside Hugh's bedroom. It faces away from the party, which sounds like a distant gathering of laughter and music.
"Oh! He got new furniture out here," Pedro tells me and proceeds to have a seat on the small sofa. I shrug and sit down next to him.
"Well, yeah. You told me he was frequently your photographer." I suspect more, but...
"And lover."
"Oh." I was right.
"He broke my heart."
My mouth falls open at how readily he admitted that. I imagine how it must be to constantly be around the man who broke your heart, watching him flirt with other people, yet needing to stay around him for your career. "I'm sorry. That must be really hard for you." Crap. That sounded more like one of my auto-responses, but I doubt he could tell. Thing is, I mean it this time.
"It waaaaas." He scoots over right next to me as he says 'was.'
I feel my ears redden. "I wouldn't have expected it either, so no big deal." The guy has models all around him after all!
"But you're so adorable that I should have."
"You've said that before. I don't get it." After all, it's you who's smoking hot here.
"I can't explain it. You just are." He takes my hand in his before putting it in his other one, and he lightly strokes my fingers. I have no idea what to do here, so I mutely watch.
"Me?" My voice almost cracks, and my breathing picks up speed. How does doing something as simple as stroking my hand repeatedly DO that to me? Everything inside me is tensing up.
"I've seen the way you look at me, and I like it." He listens to my little h-h-hu-h noise and lifts the corners of his mouth. "I want to start something with you. Ever since I first saw you, I've wanted you. Imagine my happy surprise to see you'd moved into the empty flat behind me. I didn't have to think up some crazy excuse for showing up at your old house."
"Me?" I ask again and watch as he scoots even closer.
"Yes, you, Dwight," he replies and almost sits in my lap. Then he holds my head and crushes his lips to mine.
I'm shaking but not from fear. I can't believe Pedro would want me. I'm a dork. A nerd. And now I have a Fabercrombie and Stitch model whimpering into my mouth, kissing me like he can't get enough.
He pulls back, panting. "Is everything about you this sweet?" His lips ravenously reclaim mine before I can answer, not that I'd know how to answer. My head spins enough as it is. I have to breathe.
I pull back this time, but Pedro doesn't stop. Instead of my lips, he kisses my face and neck, hunting and testing his earlier question. When he moans and starts going for the buttons of my vest, I push him back. "Pedro, wait."
"What is it?" he asks. "I mean, you are attracted to me, right?"
"Then what is it?" The fingers of his free hand start skimming my forearm, up and down, making it harder for me to think.
"I'm still trying to recover from the surprise that you're interested in me when you start going too fast."
"That was too fast? Dwight, I could eat you alive right now." He licks his lips. "I wanna do this."
"Do what?"
"Us. Be a couple. I know we could make it work. Forget Marco. Give me a chance."
"I... I don't know."
He leans in. "You don't have to answer right away." Then he's kissing me again.
Pedro distracts me again.
"You have big feet," he tells me, which seems strange right now. I grip his forearm tightly while he whispers, "Open your legs more."
"Please. I can't think."
"Thinking is overrated." He kisses me again, his hand pushing between my legs, his fingers ceaselessly halting any kind of rational thought. "I want it," he whispers.
"Wait!" I cry when he gets on his knees in front of me.
"Why?"
Then I do it: I tell him. I tell him and expect him to freak out like Marco did when I told him I'm a virgin.
"You don't care that I'm a thirty-year-old virgin," I state rather than question.
He smiles. "I don't. But in fact, I will say that I think it's high time that changed, and I'd love to, no, I'd be honored to be the one to show you what it's like on the other side."
Don't cry. All I have to do is say the word, and Pedro will... whatever. But I can't speak. I try opening my mouth to say something, but all I get is silence. Guess I'm just a chicken after all.
Pedro parts my knees, stands up more on his, and kisses my forehead. "How about this: you let me do things to you, and if you don't like it, you can stop me, but it has to be that you don't like it instead of nervousness taking over, okay?"
I can live with that. "Okay," I whisper. He kisses me deeply, but a sudden thought occurs to me. "What, here?"
"At first, yes." He sits back again, and his hands run up my thighs.
"What, there first?" I bite my finger.
"Yes," he answers simply, freeing me from the confines of my clothing. "Plum, you're beautiful." He looks up at me, and I see compassion in his eyes as he stands on his knees to kiss me again. My nerves are making me want to scream. Then he starts kissing my chest, and I know where he's going. Oh plum.
"Pedro, stop!" I'm panting, and he immediately does. I move to the other end of the couch.
He looks crestfallen. "Did I do something wrong?"
I try to cover myself back up, but my hands are shaking. He reaches over and holds them. "No." I take a breath. "No. You did nothing wrong. I'm just more nervous than I thought I'd be."
His fingers stroke my hands. "Please push past it. I want this to happen. Trust me. And let yourself enjoy it. It's okay to like it."
I think he just figured me out, better than I can do myself, and I'm the one with the doctorate in that sort of thing! "Okay."
He smiles. "Just let it happen."
Then he moans, and I can't take it anymore! It's too much! It's too good! Oh f--k! I let loose, and he takes it.
After I've managed to collect myself, Pedro continues with the 'tour' he was giving me earlier, having it end in the guest bedroom at the end of the hall. I stumble along behind him in my big feet, and our clothing ends up strewn all over the floor.
Again, I'm nervous--but much less so than I thought I'd be. I guess getting over that first hurdle really helped. And Pedro once more takes his time, making what might've been a very painful experience bearable. It's still a thrill this man thinks I'm hot.
After I'd dozed a little, I find him standing in front of a large window, naked and gorgeous. He watches me watch him, and he holds out his hand. Once I've walked over to him, he turns around. I'm so ready.
I push inside him just fine, but now... "What do I do?" It's a stupid question, and I can't believe I asked it.
If he thinks it's a stupid question, he doesn't let on that he does. "Well, what do you want to do?"
"Then that's what you should do. Enjoy it, Dwight."
I do. Oh, f--k, I do. I faintly wonder what we might look like to anyone looking in the window, but in truth, I don't care. I have to hold onto Pedro more and more as I go on because he keeps gasping and acting like he wants to fall, but I don't stop. I fully let myself enjoy this gorgeous man. Then, holding his shoulders, I throw my head back. I'm free. All the tension leaves my body as I find sweet bliss at last.
After this, Pedro and I take a shower together, something else that's new for me. He's playful as we bathe each other. Then we go to bed...
...and mess around a little before finally passing out, asleep.
The morning comes too soon.
And what's worse: Pedro is my neighbor, so it's not like I can ghost him, if I could even do that to someone. But what about Marco? Pedro said forget him, but I can't.
What now?
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Hugh's house:
I wish I could've shown it off better, but I probably will in future.
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