When I woke up, I was facing outside of the bed while Violet held me from behind. If I was already awake, that meant it wouldn’t be long until Violet had to wake up too to go help serve breakfasts.

Feeling lonely already, I turned around to snuggle against her chest. I thought that had woken her up because she tightened her hold on me and rolled to be on top, starting to rub her nose on my temple as she smooched my face.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“You didn’t,” she hummed lazily. “I’ve been half-asleep for a while.”

I felt one of her hands move to my waist, my abs tensing up a bit as she was indivertibly tickling me. That was the second time I was wrong because she lifted her head, and I saw a playful look on her face.

“Pfft, hehe! No! I haven’t used the toilet yet!” I laughed as she started ticking me, putting her head close to my neck to tickle me there too.

She stopped for a moment to hush me because I was making too much noise.

I covered my mouth, still giggling, and that was good enough for her to tickle me some more.

I was about to tap out, almost starting to leak due to so much laughing, but didn’t have to thanks to her alarm starting to play her designated wake-up music.

She clicked her tongue and shut it off before hiding her face next to mine.

“...Wanted to make love?” I asked.

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I wanted to tickle your feet next.”

I clicked my tongue too, feeling robbed of Violet on a morning she was feeling mischievous.

She let out a disheartened sigh and kissed my face again before sitting on the side of the bed. It was then that I sprung up, latching on her back with my arms and legs. I told her that I refused to let her go while wiggling my toes, hoping she’d get the hint. Whether she did get it or not, I didn’t know, but the result was all the same. Being with a full bladder and legs spread open without a way to shut them while she tickled my feet wasn’t a safe idea, but nothing bad—literally—came of it so it was fine.

“Thanks, honey,” she told me with a smile as she turned her head for us to kiss.

“I did it for myself too, you know?” I argued, giving her a kiss of my own. “Love you.”

“Fufu! I love you too,” she told me as she got up.

“...Love you to bits,” I said, wanting to hear her say it again.

She chuckled and said she loved me more than anything while looking around for something.

She was having a hard time locating her bottoms. I, on the other hand, found them right away. It was still a bit dark, the colour almost matched the floor, and she still had to put on her glasses, so it was no wonder she couldn’t find them. Maybe if she crouched she would.

“Here, they were right next to your feet,” I told her after picking them up. I also took the chance to place her glasses on her face, joking that it’d avoid her trying to use Oliver as a shoe or something.

“Gee, I’m not that visually challenged” she groaned.

“...”

“...Enjoying the show?”

I didn’t answer because it was rhetorical. Violet already knew that I enjoyed seeing her dress as much as I did watching her do the opposite.

I wasn’t fully enjoying it, however. I was mulling over an unreasonable request I just thought and doubted that even Violet, as accepting of my weirdness as she was, would play along.

Violet knew me well enough to notice that I was thinking about something and asked what was wrong.

“No, it’s nothing. I’m just thinking about something.”

“Hmm... About what?”

“It doesn’t matter, really.”

She wasn’t buying it, stopping dressing up to put her hands on my face and making me look into her eyes.

“Even so, I want to hear it.”

“...Ok. Maybe when you get back.”

“Hmm... ok then. I’ll be sure to remember this.”

Of course she would remember, she was fussing about it already. My fault for being an idiot.

Oh, stop self-deprecating yourself! You’ve been doing fine without any of that!

When there wasn’t much else for me to see, I too started getting ready. Instead of thinking about dirty stuff, I should focus on what I had planned to do today.

When she asked, I told her that yes, I was going out for a walk until it was time for her to be back home. I told her that I’d simply be walking around town until then, Violet showing a bit of a pout and grumbling that she knew I was up to something.

“Eek! Abby!” she squeaked when I suddenly groped her chest from behind.

“Trust me, it’ll be worth it!” I told her as I gave her chest a few wiggles.

“E-enough of that! You’ll make me late for work!” she said as she tried to shake me off while I laughed away.

I was the last to leave, crouching down to give Oliver lots of pets as I checked my mental list of stuff I needed to do before heading out.

Oliver’s litter box? Check. His bowls? Check. Tidying up the bed? Check. Turning off the bedroom fan and closing the window? Check. Dishes? Check. Snacks for my way back? Also check, and the final thing on the list too. I was all ready to go... after giving Oliver’s fluffy tummy some more rubs.

The air outside was cool, but already a bit dry. Violet would be red as a tomato when she got home and wrinkly as a prune. If I got home before her, I’d prepare some cold drinks to help us cool off.

“...”

My dirty thoughts were back. Not good at all.

I really need to keep these impulses and ideas in check.

It didn’t help that thinking about Violet made me miss her, that being the origin of the first time I had that stupid idea.

Isn’t wearing her shirts enough for you?

The bus ride would take a bit until it reached my destination, so I considered for a minute to take a page from my girlfriend’s and look it up on my phone but... writing it down and confirming that I was going too far was a bit too scary for me.

...Maybe I should.

I took my phone out and started typing, but midway through I thought it over and turned off the screen.

The rest of the bus ride was spent with me arguing back and forth about whether I should type the rest or not.

“Haah! This will help me clear up my mind,” I said out loud. Then, I looked around to make sure that nobody heard me talking alone. I was split about the reason why I did it. One could be that I was so used to saying what came to mind and Violet giving me some sort of feedback that I didn’t even hesitate to talk alone. The other reason could be my loneliness.

It still struck me as weird that I was being this clingy. Sure, that was a good description of my personality pretty much all the time, but I was fine when going to the gym or for a morning run. I was fine too when Violet left to buy groceries alone or was away for an hour.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Meh. For sure it’s because I’m doing this to surprise Violet when we come here,” I said to a pine tree that looked like it was a particularly good listener. They say talking to plants helps them grow and that tree was huge, so it made sense, in a nonsensical way.

I took my phone out to check the map, having reached the point that I needed to leave the trail. Half of my question popped up, bringing to mind that whole other matter again to the front of my mind.

“...Later. Maybe.”

From where I stood, I had to turn so the sun was to my right and move up the lightly inclined hill. Simple enough with a map that updated each second. The signal was also going strong, so there wouldn’t be any issues.

The zone wasn’t exactly dense in terms of forestation, but I still lost sight of the trail faster than expected. The cicadas were also starting to buzz, drowning out every other sound around me. I found it surprisingly peaceful. I was sure Violet would like it too. Or maybe not so much. It was a bit dusty and noisy due to the summer bugs, and she was a bit of a neat freak and not a fan of loud noises. Of course, I say that in the best, most loving way.

“Now what?”

Now, I had to turn and walk a bit more and hope that I’d find a spot I could climb through the small elevation I came across on my designated way. I could pretend to be a monkey, but if I came home too dirty, Violet would toss my clothes in the washer without taking me out of them first. Not exactly a merry-go-round I’d like to ride.

It wasn’t that long until I found a bit that had collapsed and formed a perfectly usable incline for me to walk over. Then, it was straight on in the same direction as before.

“I must be seeing it at any moment,” I hummed as I checked the map again.

I had wandered off a bit off course, but nothing that a couple of minutes of course-correcting didn’t fix. After that, I started seeing grey rocks covering the floor further forward instead of more brown dirt.

“I made it!” I cheered once I was clear of the tree line.

I stood on the dried-out creek bed, but as I looked both ways, I noticed what looked like it could be water further downstream, under the ruins of some old construction that was probably used to collect water and take it somewhere in town, way back when.

My eyes hadn’t deceived me, making me feel very happy for having made the trek. I was even happier when I saw froggies croaking and splashing about in crystal clear water. I found a long branch and used it to measure the deepest part I could reach without wetting my shorts. It seemed to be deep enough for me to immerse myself up to my bellybutton. It also had some shade, that being the reason why there was still water at that spot, and at a nice temperature. Cool, but not cold, the exact thing Violet would appreciate.

Since I still had some time, I decided to take a small break and watch the froggies from a distance. There was still the camping spot left for me to check, but this had been the main reason why I was even doing this, so I was fully satisfied.

“...Sure is peaceful here.”

Violet definitely would love the place. No people around, cool water to cool off, me to tease and play with her... we might as well just build a hut and move in as her house went through renovations.

“...”

Violet would understand. She could not agree to it, but she’d understand. I needed to have more faith in her than that. She was going to be my wife in less than a year, for Pete’s sake!

“...”

I took my phone out again and opened the search engine. The text I typed was still there, waiting for completion.

“Ah! Of course...”

Now that I convinced myself to go through with it, I stopped getting reception on my phone. What was next? The bigfoot?

“...”

That stupid thought managed to creep me out. Why did I have to think about monsters while alone in the woods? I knew there was nothing dangerous out and about, but I still made my way back to the trail in record time.

♥♥♥

At last, I was back home. I hadn't been away that long, but that's how it felt like anyway.

“Honey, I’m home!” I shouted out as I kicked my shoes off before noticing that Abby’s weren’t at their spot. “Not back yet, huh?”

Oliver started meowing from somewhere deeper from home, having grown sick with loneliness and rushing towards me, meowing even more once he saw me.

“I said ‘honey’, not ‘Oliver’ you silly bean,” I told him as I picked him up so he’d be quiet.

He dug his tiny but razor-sharp claws into my clothes as he pulled himself up just so he had his head on my shoulder and close to my neck, scratching me and starting to deafen my left ear with his purrs.

I grumbled to him that he was such a big and spoiled baby, tapping his back. He let out a relaxed sigh, happy to be held by one of his two—make that three, “mamas”.

Just as clingy as Mama Abby, but far more portable. Not portable enough for me to hold him while standing without my back starting to complain, so I sat on the couch.

It was a balancing act to turn on the fan with my foot and sit down without startling him, but I managed. If I didn’t, he’d have sunk his nails in my shoulder to avoid being dropped and forcing me to go to the hospital to have him surgically removed. And for those who are wondering “Couldn’t you have just put him down?”

Nope. If I tried to put him down and he didn’t want that, something that was very likely with how happy he was, then the result would be the same as startling him.

“Say, you don’t happen to where Mama Abby scampered off to, do you?”

He let out a low meow that had an uncanny similarity to the word “no” as a response.

“Yeah, thought as much,” I grumbled as I took out my phone. “Tsk! Out of battery.”

And I wasn’t about to get up and go through the hassle of not startling Oliver again to charge it. If Abby wasn’t back during the following fifteen minutes, then I’d do that, but until then, I’d be patting our murderous furball.

“Wakey-wakey,” my girlfriend’s soft voice called out. I could feel the lingering sweet taste of her lips and a bit of salt as I came to my senses.

I greeted her and eagerly waited for her to sit by me to kiss her face but kind of regretted it.

“Erm, Abby? Why are you back home again covered in dirt?”

“Is it that bad?” she asked, rubbing her forehead with her hand.

“‘That bad?’ you ask? I just exfoliated my lips on you!”

“Then I guess I need someone to give me a good bath, wouldn’t you agree?” she asked, leaning over me with a naughty look.

It wasn’t just her, I needed a shower too. Going to B&B was no problem because it was super early in the morning, but I was only done when it was a half past ten, meaning that I was at the mercy of the sun and heat. The only reason why I didn’t go straight away to the bathroom was because Oliver latched on to me like he hadn’t seen me in decades.

“Yeah, he’s a very, very clingy boy,” Abby giggled as she peeled him off me.

That was the understatement of the decade.

I was the first to leave the bathroom to go open the window and turn on the fan of our bedroom.

I was sitting on the bed when her phone’s screen came to life, having received a message.

Since I saw that Mathilda was the sender and my name in the small notification window, I unlocked her phone to read it. It was something we both did all the time and had verbally and mutually agreed to early on in our relationship, so there really was no invasion of privacy.

The first thing I saw was a search window loading up results that appeared even faster than I could react. When I read what she had searched, my brain broke for a second.

“Was this... was this what she was thinking this morning?”

I clicked the top article and skimmed over it. I did the same for the second article. Then, I started to draw conclusions from what I read, what I knew about Abby and how I felt about the subject. That was the plan, but come on, how realistic was that? I only got to skim the selected paragraph of the first search result when she came into the room and saw me holding her phone.

“...You saw it?” she asked, already looking panicked.

“I did,” I told her as calmly as possible while tapping the free spot by my side.

“Violet, I swear, I wouldn’t do it without telling you! I was going to—”

“I know, I know. I just want to hear why you want to do that?”

“...I thought I could get less lonely,” she admitted while looking down.

“...Hmm... I see...” I hummed, trying not to judge. “Are my clothes not enough? You already wear my shirts and stuff.”

“...It’s not so... intimate... I guess,” she mumbled, barely making sense.

Was this... a kink? It wasn’t sounding like it. Then again, maybe she was avoiding touching that side to avoid weirding me out even further. Because yes, this time, I was a bit weirded out.

“Used”, huh?

It was a very sensitive topic for her, so I’d make an extra effort to try to understand where this was coming from before telling her that I didn’t want her doing it. I excused myself for a second, giving her a gentle kiss to let her know I wasn’t mad or anything.

I went back to the bathroom and looked at the washing machine. Only she’d make me do what I was about to do.

...These are the ones she was using...

Out of all the clothes we wore daily, there was only one thing in which we shared the same size after I had my growth spur. That was exactly what I put on before sitting on the toilet seat to wait and see what conclusion I drew.

“...Crap, I totally get her now!”

Not in a thousand years would I have expected that.

I sighed, feeling very relieved for having avoided a possible catastrophe in our relationship, but also a great deal of shame. With each passing day, I was more and more convinced that there was something wrong with our heads.

Part of my mind tried to rationalise why I should stay feeling repulsed but... we showered every day and... well, there were lots of reasons why those arguments, while still valid, didn’t hold.

“Haah, no point in dilly-dallying,” I said to myself, getting up and tossing back in the washer what I had just removed a moment ago.

As soon as I opened the door, Abby shot up from her spot and came rushing to me, tears barely being held back.

“Babe, I swear, it’s nothing sexual, it’s—”

“I put yours on!” I blurted out, making Abby hang her mouth open for a moment.

“You mean... just now?”

“...Hmm.”

“...Erm, babe... those were dirty.”

“I-I don’t want to hear that from you!” I barked. “It was exactly because of that that I—”

“Ah! N-no! What I meant was, they were mixed in with the laundry from the last three days! That was... erm... you know...”

“...I’ll go wash out reality quick,” I blurted, having realised the very nasty mistake I made. I really needed to learn to think things through before doing them when Abby was on my mind.

I opened the door again, but before I left, I turned to face Abby. She wasn't about to cry anymore, but she was far more nervous.

“...Honey?” I said, readying myself to tell her my decision about the matter.

“Y-yeah?”

“...I’d like to do it too...” I told her.

Her mouth and eyes were left wide open, and that was the last thing I saw before turning away and going back to the bathroom.