Page 66 of Love Lessons: Expanded Edition

She had a point. And Lena couldn’t help but think of Dustin. He was coming over soon and… he really did make her relax. Forced her to, sometimes.

Hey! What are you thinking about?

Lena felt herself blushing. Which never happened. She and Maggie were close, even if they didn’t spend a lot of time together that wasn’t playing Chutes and Ladders with the kiddos or talking about them once the little monsters were in bed.

But it wasn’t like they had a lot of secrets. She even texted Maggie when she was going home with people, not that it happened that often since going to Escape was easier.

Nothing. Just… a guy. Right? They’d met up six times now. Six. He would get over her and move on soon. Or maybe she’d get bored, though she couldn’t quite imagine that happening.

There was just something about his determined honesty, the way he could be so dominant and so open at the same time. The way he really seemed to care about her. She shook it all off.

Maggie looked thrilled. A guy?

Yeah. We hook up sometimes. She put on a smirk. I’m giving him lessons.

Kinky lessons?

You know me well.

Well, invite him over sometime. I’d like to meet him.

I don’t think it’s that kind of thing. He’s learning how to be a Dom. Which kind of sucked, because he’d probably get along great with Maggie and love the kids. But that wasn’t what this was about.

Well, he’s always welcome here. Let me know what time you’re stopping by tomorrow.

Lena agreed, and then with several more rounds of goodbyes and some virtual tickles, got off the phone.

She was thinking too much now, though. Thinking like she’d promised herself not to do.

She’d pathetically thrown herself into too many relationships before, and it had never worked out. People got too busy. Or they wanted different things. Or didn’t have time for her. It always came down to Lena sobbing on the couch for a few days and throwing herself back into work. It was just easier to skip the angsty parts and move on.

She had plenty of things that she loved to do, and her life was full. And maybe one day she’d try some self-care like Maggie suggested. Did running count? That was relaxing.

And scenes at the club were relaxing, too. Even if they’d been feeling empty for a while and she hadn’t felt like going recently.

They never did with Dustin, though, which was why she was so excited for tonight.

She finished up the last touch of lip gloss and rubbed her lips together. Then she pulled her hair out of the soft band and gave it a quick brush. She smiled at herself, and then tried out a frown.

Everything was more intense when she was Lena. When she was strong, which was most of the time, she was fiercer and braver. When she was sad or angry, it blew through her like a hurricane. And when she was worried it shook her like waves.

Tonight she wasn’t sure how she felt. She rubbed the silky fabric of her dress between her fingers, comforted by the texture. Comforted that it was there. That she could be Lena and just feel.

Dustin would be here in a few minutes, and she felt nervous and euphoric in equal measure.

This was only the second time she’d be seeing Dustin since game night at his place. Part of it was that she’d legitimately been busier the past few weeks than she expected. Work for her committees had piled up, and getting her National Board Certification for teaching was much harder than she’d expected. One of her chronically ill students was in the hospital again, so she’d visited a few times with homework and support. On top of all of her regular activities, it left her with little extra time.

But honestly, she still felt tentative about spending too much time with Dustin.

The evening after game night, he’d set up a Skype call and made her jerk off, edging herself for nearly an hour, before he let her come.

The next time they’d met up, he’d taken her out to dinner at this amazing Mexican place, just like a real date. Then he’d brought her home and strung rows of clothespins along her sensitive sides and attached clamps to her nipples. He’d stroked her cock so gently it made her want to scream, drawing out her pleasure until she was shaking and weak.

So, basically, the sex was fucking phenomenal. Maybe better than with anyone else she’d ever been with.

Which was weird because Dustin was still clearly a newbie, and his nervousness was sometimes just as apparent as his innate dominance. That clothespin thing had been hot, but she was pretty sure he was also trying to avoid any type of impact play for his own mysterious reasons. He checked in with her often, sometimes asking for a color, but more often searching her face to confirm that everything was alright.

Sometimes it felt like he was the sweetest lover imaginable, and sometimes it was just cute watching him transform from sexy and confident to awkward and adorably worried. Either way, she had to remind herself that the conscientious attention wasn’t about her. It was about Dustin getting comfortable as a Dom.