“Of course, myboy.”
He trudged towards the bathroom, and I began to strip his bed of the damp sheets. My finger caught on something, and when I held up the sheet, I saw the six to seven-inch tear in the material. I looked back down at the mattress; nothing sharp was there that would have done this. I could fit my whole hand through the gash in the sheets. It would have been near the foot of the bed on his side. I was perplexed. The material near the hole had pilled; they had been washed likethis.
Motion caught my eye, and I looked up to see Ryan standing outside his bathroom door. He was looking at the sheets in my hand. From where I stood on the opposite side of the room, I could see the redness of his embarrassedcheeks.
“Ryan.”
“I’m sorry. You didn’t have to take the sheets off. I would have slept on thatside.”
I found it interesting that his first comment had been about sleeping on the wet sheets rather than a comment about the largehole.
“You’re not sleeping on damp, cold sheets.” I looked down at my hand that poked through the hole. “Why—”
“I don’t have other sheets to change to. That’s why I would have slept on it. You don’t have toleave.”
“Ryan, I’m not leaving. But, I would like to know why you’re sleeping on sheets withholes?”
He shrugged. Ryan had the means to purchase sheets. He wasn’t destitute. He made good money with his job, and I knew he was smart with his money. But this, this wasn’tacceptable.
“They’re good enough for me,” hereplied.
“No, Ryan. They’re not. Holes in sheets are not good enough for you. How did ittear?”
I examined the hole again. Given the poor quality of the material, I would have believed him if he had said the agitator in the washer tore it. But no. Ryan was brutally honest withme.
“Myfoot.”
“Some wild nights?” I lightlyasked.
“I don’t have sex in my bed. My heel did it one night. It was a nightmare, and I was digging my heels into thebed.”
Jesus.To think his dreams can cause this. Despite the material being cheap and thin, his heels must have finally torn a hole inthem.
I slowly bundled the sheets and set them on his dresser. I picked up his quilt and spread it out on his bed. The top sheet was only slightly damp so I laid it on top of the quilt to serve as our cover. I noticed there was a chill in the air and went to his thermostat to turn the heat up. On my way back to his room, I began to wonder what else he had scrimpedon.
Ryan’s hands were curled under the leg band of his underwear when I crossed the room to him. I wrapped him up in an embrace this time and guided him back to bed. I pulled the sheet up around us and slid my hand under his shirt to hold his quiveringstomach.
“I have a need to care for you,” I reminded him and kissed his ear. “Tomorrow, you will accompany me on a shopping trip to find some newbedding.”
We went to my house the following afternoon after our shopping trip to have lunch. Before we had lunch though, I took him to my bedroom and explained to him something new that we were going to implement beginningtoday.
“Each time you come over, I have a new task we’re going to add to yourroutine.”
“Okay,” he said eagerly. So willing to please and make meproud.
I had his play collar in my hand, and when I removed it this morning at his house, I returned the tag to him for his wallet. I set the play collar down on my nightstand and pointed toit.
“On days that we’re going to have a session, after you undress and hang your clothes up, you will collect your collar and kneel in front of the couch with it. Make sure to bring the tag from your wallet.” I walked over to the leather loveseat that I have in the bedroom. “Understand?”
“Yes. But, what about on days that we’re not having asession?”
“Then, when you arrive, you’ll bypass undressing, collect your collar and kneel in front of thecouch.”
“You…you still want to put it on me even if we’re notplaying?”
I crossed the room to him, took his face into my hands, and kissedhim.
“Yes, Ryan.” He nodded and looked at the nightstand that held his collar. “Ryan, do you know why I want to always put this on you inhere?”
