Chapter 11 - Truth and Consequences
It was early morning and Daniel was stepping out of the shower and wrapping himself in a towel as thoughts of last night's naughtiness with Candy swirled through his mind. Images of her mouth wrapped around his shaft punctured through and threatened to overtake him with arousal when a loud rumbling noise filled the bathroom. Glancing over to the sink to see that his phone screen was lit up and vibrating, inching closer to the edge with every silent ring, at risk of falling to the floor if he didn't intervene.
Stepping across the room Daniel checked the screen to see who was calling, curious to see who it could be. It was Louise. They hadn't spoken since he was staying at the pub weeks earlier and so much had happened between him and Candy since then. In truth, he had been putting off speaking to her, knowing that it would be a difficult and potentially emotional conversation to have. While they had agreed not to be a couple a long time ago he and Louise were still incredibly close, living together and sharing and enjoying their bodies with each other on a regular basis. Daniel had been conflicted about what his new relationship with Candy meant for himself and Louise. He had even found himself feeling guilty at times, like he was cheating on her, but he knew that in reality this wasn't the case, but despite this, the voices in his head had repeatedly told him that he was in the wrong. Sighing deeply, he figured it was time to take the plunge and face up to what needed to be done, answering the call from his friend and lover.
"Hi Daniel!" Louise exclaimed excitedly when he picked up, "how are you doing?"
"I'm doing good thanks, how about you? Finished all your exams now?"
"Yeah, the last one was really tough, especially the essay at the end but I think I did ok."
"Good, good," Daniel replied as an awkward silence hung between them. Both of them were well aware of the elephant in the room, but they were both hesitant to be the first to address it.
"So how's Candy?" Louise eventually asked, a slight hint of nervousness in her voice.
"Yeah she's good thanks, she's just downstairs while I'm in the shower, reading her book I think."
"She didn't join you?" Louise asked cheekily, breaking the tension as they both laughed together. Daniel spent the next few minutes getting Louise caught up with everything that had gone on over the past couple of weeks as Louise listened patiently, aside from the occasional gasp of shock or reassuring 'mhm." As Daniel unburdened his conscience he felt himself relax, the built up tension slowly leaving his body as he waited anxiously for Louise's response.
"Wow..." she said after a few moments of silence, "so all those times I called you a motherfucker, I was right!"
Daniel burst out laughing, nearly dropping his phone as he stood over the sink looking at himself in the mirror. "Well, technically we haven't fucked yet," he replied quickly.
"You said yet!" Louise teased, "you bad boy!"
"Guilty as charged, you know me!" Daniel replied, chuckling softly. "So, you aren't mad about it?"
"Sweetie," Louise replied, "of course I'm not mad. We had an agreement, we aren't exclusive, you're free to be with anyone you want to, even if it is your own long lost mother!"
"Ok, good, that's a relief, I've been stressing out about it a bit," Daniel admitted.
"Well, you didn't need to," Louise reassured him, "but she knows about me though, right?" Louise asked.
"Well, she knows you're my friend and roommate, but she doesn't know about us sleeping together," Daniel admitted, a little sheepishly.
"DANIEL!" she exclaimed, her disapproval obvious in her voice. Daniel could even picture the exact face she was probably pulling at this moment and the thought made him crack a little smile.
"I know, I know," Daniel replied, clamping his eyes shut and rubbing his forehead wearily as he realized that she was right, "I am going to tell her soon though, I promise."
"You better had," Louise growled jokingly, making Daniel snigger. Tension suitably alleviated, the two friends continued to talk, discussing her plans for the summer, the books she'd read recently and her journey back home to her parents house. Apparently the trains had been a nightmare, which was hardly a surprise. Eventually Daniel explained that he better go and get dry and check on Candy, both bidding each other farewell and promising to keep in touch.
After hanging up the phone, Daniel sighed deeply, happy with how the conversation had gone. Of course she would be ok with it. Deep down he'd always known that, but his fear of being abandoned had drowned out any logic in his mind. Probably another consequence of being left in that hospital so many years earlier. Pushing those negative thoughts from his mind, he started to finish drying himself off before pulling on a pair of joggers and an old loose tee. Replacing the towel on the rack to dry, he made his way downstairs, glad that he wouldn't have to go back to work for a couple of days as he felt his muscles ache with every step, although not as much as they had the day before.