01-31-2019, 09:39 PM
Beto affected a smile. She was persistent, he'd give her that. It had been a while since he had to carry on extended interactions with people- especially people he saw everyday. With his old secretary, he carried on the persona of a flirty charmer. She was always trying to set him up with her daughter or niece or some other young friend, but he was able to keep her at bay by saying he only had eyes for her. To which she swatted at his shoulder with a laugh- and a comment that if she were younger, she might just teach him a thing or two.
It was always a balance. Just enough charm to be affable and attractive- which elicited trust and openness- but not enough to invite someone into his life.
By far, the most difficult and exhausting was his interaction with his family. Correction. His Puerto Rican family. Thankfully, his responsibilities allowed him to miss all but a handful of the innumerable family affairs- birthdays, quinceañeras, Christenings- a truly astronomical number- and the like.
Jet had been pleasantly standoffish, respectful of his privacy, as he was of the man's own. Idly, he wondered where he had gotten off to. Daiyu still languished while he tried one angle after another. Perhaps another visit to the Guardian might help.
So in many ways, this trip to Moscow was truly liberating. Knowing no one, he was as free as he wished to be as sociable as chose. And he did need to keep up the practice. A deaf person remembering what it was like to speak, how to mouth the sounds, had to practice or their knowledge would change, their words becoming less intelligible.
So Ana was fun to practice with. And he didn't know her so it would be easy enough to blow her off when the time came. He smiled vaguely. "Ahh, yes. Kitties do like sun. And to be petted. I do remember that...from long ago, anyway." He laughed to himself. More like never. Once or twice when he was a teenager he had gotten close. Odd how being disinterested only made him more attractive. Walking the line between aloofness and friendliness was something that had taken him years to learn to perfect.
But even back then, as a girl tried to escalate, something always held him back. He'd read enough. The constellation of patterns that linked sexual pleasure and other experiences- any experience- was powerful. In fact could be the most powerful. And most controlling. It seemed too dangerous to take a chance on. Not if he was to keep control of himself. And so he endured their anger and accusations, borne of their wounded pride.
Another reason he avoided his family. Their expectations.
At that moment the door dinged and a woman walked in. From an objectively male perspective, she was stunning, as if designed to epitomize the perfect fertile woman.
He ignored her and looked back at Ana. At that moment, the woman brushed past him....
His eyes widened as if he had been jolted by electricity, as if something had been switched on. He breathed in sharply as, for the first time in his life, emotion flooded him from chest to fingertips, from head tofoott. He felt intoxicated and timed seemed to stop, his eyes going out of focus.
An eternity seemed to pass before he could breath again, before his eyesight returned. But the feelings remained.
There was something about Ana...
It was always a balance. Just enough charm to be affable and attractive- which elicited trust and openness- but not enough to invite someone into his life.
By far, the most difficult and exhausting was his interaction with his family. Correction. His Puerto Rican family. Thankfully, his responsibilities allowed him to miss all but a handful of the innumerable family affairs- birthdays, quinceañeras, Christenings- a truly astronomical number- and the like.
Jet had been pleasantly standoffish, respectful of his privacy, as he was of the man's own. Idly, he wondered where he had gotten off to. Daiyu still languished while he tried one angle after another. Perhaps another visit to the Guardian might help.
So in many ways, this trip to Moscow was truly liberating. Knowing no one, he was as free as he wished to be as sociable as chose. And he did need to keep up the practice. A deaf person remembering what it was like to speak, how to mouth the sounds, had to practice or their knowledge would change, their words becoming less intelligible.
So Ana was fun to practice with. And he didn't know her so it would be easy enough to blow her off when the time came. He smiled vaguely. "Ahh, yes. Kitties do like sun. And to be petted. I do remember that...from long ago, anyway." He laughed to himself. More like never. Once or twice when he was a teenager he had gotten close. Odd how being disinterested only made him more attractive. Walking the line between aloofness and friendliness was something that had taken him years to learn to perfect.
But even back then, as a girl tried to escalate, something always held him back. He'd read enough. The constellation of patterns that linked sexual pleasure and other experiences- any experience- was powerful. In fact could be the most powerful. And most controlling. It seemed too dangerous to take a chance on. Not if he was to keep control of himself. And so he endured their anger and accusations, borne of their wounded pride.
Another reason he avoided his family. Their expectations.
At that moment the door dinged and a woman walked in. From an objectively male perspective, she was stunning, as if designed to epitomize the perfect fertile woman.
He ignored her and looked back at Ana. At that moment, the woman brushed past him....
His eyes widened as if he had been jolted by electricity, as if something had been switched on. He breathed in sharply as, for the first time in his life, emotion flooded him from chest to fingertips, from head tofoott. He felt intoxicated and timed seemed to stop, his eyes going out of focus.
An eternity seemed to pass before he could breath again, before his eyesight returned. But the feelings remained.
There was something about Ana...