Queenie(16)

“Shhhh,” Adi whispered, smacking my bottom once. I winced as I stared out the back window, trying to direct my attention to something completely removed from the car. I focused on a streetlight in the distance.

He smacked my bottom again. “You like that, yeah?” I glanced at Adi, and he flashed the charming smile again. I looked at the streetlight.

“Yep,” I said.

“Nice, nice.” He smacked me again and this time kissed the area. It stung as his facial hair grazed the skin.

“Do you want to see my tings? I’m hard.” Adi gestured to his crotch.

“Your . . . ?”

“My tings, my dick, innit.” He smiled.

“No, I know what you mean when you say your ‘tings,’ but why are you asking? I assumed that at some point in the evening I would see everything, you don’t need to ask.” I laughed.

“You’ve always got to make man feel dumb, innit? I didn’t go uni and I don’t talk all posh like you, but I’m not a idiot,” Adi grumbled.

“No, no, I’m not, sorry, go on,” I encouraged him. “I didn’t mean to. Please, Adi. Let me see your ‘tings.’?”

“All right.” He smiled, his angry pride retreating. “That’s more like it.”

His hands shook as he unzipped his jeans and pulled them, along with his long johns, down. It was cold, but not cold enough for so many layers. When he got himself naked from the waist down, he, very proudly, presented me with his “tings.” Circumcised. Along with having sex with men in cars, another first for me.

“What do you think?” Adi asked, flashing a nervous grin.

“Of your penis?” I asked politely.

“Yeah, of my tings, innit.” He shrugged.

“Nice?” I asked. What was the right answer here?

“Is it big, though?” Adi questioned, almost agitated that I wasn’t showering his manhood with praise.

“Why does that matter? That shouldn’t matter,” I said.

“So what you saying, that it’s small?!”

My eyes must spend at least 50 percent of any given day rolled to the back of my head. “No, Adi. It’s huge. The hugest I have ever seen in my little life. How will it fit?” I said flatly.

“Yeah, that’s it, that’s what I’m talking about.” Adi bounced in his seat excitedly. “Do you want to touch it?”

I placed my hand around it and, as I started to move my hand rhythmically, was struck by how odd a dick feels when it’s exactly that: an anatomical penis from a science book, and not the familiar and less hostile penis of the person that you love.

? ? ?

“Queenie, wake up!”

“I’m up!” I said. “I’m up. What’s going on? Where am I?”

Light from Tom’s lamp filled the room. “You’re okay. We’re at mine,” he said, stroking my arm. “I think you were having a nightmare.”

“Oh God, I’m so sorry,” I groaned, and turned away from him, embarrassed.

“I thought the house was being robbed, you landed a punch right on my jaw and started shouting at me.”

“What was I saying?” I asked quickly, looking at him. What had I revealed?

“Nothing I could work out,” Tom said, touching his jaw tenderly. Relief filled me.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, rubbing my eyes. “I meant to warn you, but we must have fallen straight to sleep.”

“You fell straight to sleep, you were hammered.” Tom handed me a glass of water.

I sat up and downed it. “I should have warned you I was a cheap date too.”

“Two glasses of wine,” he said. “Two.”

“I hadn’t eaten!” I said, handing the glass back.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Tom asked, wrapping his arms around me and covering us with the duvet in one move.

“Are you? Sorry for the punch.” I wriggled around so that we faced each other.

Tom shrugged. “Nothing I don’t deserve.”

“I can’t guarantee that it won’t happen again,” I said quietly. “It’s a ‘thing.’?”

“That’s all right. Everyone’s got a thing,” Tom said, kissing my forehead.

“Yeah, but my thing could have knocked you out.”

“I think you’re overestimating your strength, Queenie.” Tom laughed.

“Maybe I can kiss it better?” I kissed Tom softly on the jaw.

“That feels better,” he said.

“Okay, I’ll stop,” I said, closing my eyes.

“No, no, it’s actually really hurting again, I think you need to keep doing that.” Tom stuck his jaw out.

I went to kiss his jaw again and he moved so that our mouths connected. As we kissed, he moved again so that he was on top of me.

“Hold on, Tom, you’re leaning on my hair,” I said, trying to pull my head free.

“Shit, sorry!” Tom said, lifting his arm. “Are you okay?”

I nodded and smiled up at him. We kissed again, me enjoying his weight on top of me. I felt safe underneath him.

“How easily do these things come out?” Tom stopped to ask, lifting a handful of my twists from the pillow.