Page 10 of Love Limits

Cool. Zhong considered that. Maybe he should ask to meet Ash. Especially if they were important to Dustin and his new flame. It was hard enough finding friends who were Deaf, and he trusted Dustin’s judgment.

She wasn’t really paying attention to me, though, Dustin went on. So I thought it was kind of over. But then in the parking lot she asked me to come over and… well, I might have overstepped, but I said I didn’t want to hook up if we couldn’t have a regular date, too.

Zhong laughed out loud, though of course he couldn’t hear it. That sounds awkward as fuck.

It was totally awkward. But she just… It’s like she’s terrified of intimacy and dating, but she wants it too. I’m probably fucking this up and coming on too strong.

Yeah, probably. Zhong agreed helpfully.

Dustin gave him a glare. But then we had an amazing day together.

What did you do?

Cuddles. Made dinner. Watched some movies. She got some work done and I answered a few emails on my phone.

Ooh! Sounds like my kind of date! He wasn’t even kidding. If he could find someone who wanted that—and just that—it would be perfect.

I know, right? We did actually do some sexual things at the end, but it was like… Dustin wriggled his fingers, showing that he was still thinking. It was like the whole thing was still kinky somehow.

So you had kinky cuddles and kinky dinner and kinky movies and kinky work?

Yeah. Dustin looked giddy with excitement. That’s exactly it.

So a power exchange thing, then.

Dustin gave him a skeptical look.

What? I read about it. I was curious. And it sounds like you’re describing a power exchange relationship.

Why do you always know these things before me? I think I need to read more.

I’ll send you the blog and the website that I liked. Meanwhile, when do I get to meet her? Anyone who was this important to Dustin, he wanted to know. If she was shitty, he was going to warn Dustin off. And if she was nice, well… maybe the three of them could spend more time together or something.

I told her we’d have a game night. Is that OK?

Yes! Any time there’s a game night, you know I’m in. Do you want to invite Lena’s friend? The one who you said was funny? The one that Dustin said he would like. The one who would keep him from feeling like a third wheel.

Oh, great idea. I’ll have Lena invite Ash. That should be a nice group. It’s been hard to find good Deaf friends around here.

Seriously. It had been so much easier in college. Sometimes Zhong even imagined moving back to DC just for the Deaf population that surrounded Gallaudet. But that would mean leaving Dustin, and he wasn’t quite ready to do that yet.

He was looking forward to game night, though. They hadn’t had one in ages. And if Dustin thought it would be a good group of people, that sounded amazing. Just tell me when. You know my schedule’s open.

Sounds good. I’ll check with Lena and figure it out. Oh, and speaking of new friends, how did the ace meet-up go? Are you still going?

Zhong sighed. Fine. I have a date, I suppose.

A date? Really? You finally met the Deaf people in your group?

One of them. Her name is Diane.

What’s she like?

I dunno. She didn’t say much during the meet-up. I just kind of got her number in case. We’re going to get dinner a week from Friday.

So no chemistry?

Not really. Even with my own definition of the word. Usually chemistry seemed to mean wanting sex or something like it. When Dustin had explained it before, it sounded like your whole body was electrified with sexual desire, and your mutual body language expressed how much you wanted to touch and be with the other person. Definitely not something Zhong had ever experienced.