“Welcome, Dusty.” Gray smiled broadly and gestured for us to step inside.
Gabe and Gray made some quick small talk while my eyes darted around the living room that was visible from where we stood. This was my last chance to back out if anything screamed “body chop shop.” I imagined Gray had done all sorts of things to people’s bodies at their requests.
I was lost deep in my own thoughts but quickly turned when I heard Gabe call for me by whistling. He’d whistle like that to get my attention when we were in the yard and I was playing or splashing in the pool. I walked into his open arms. He held me tightly against him with one hand splayed on my upper back and the other hand on the back of my head.
“I love you, Dusty. Be good for Gray, but don’t be afraid to speak. I’ll be back to pick you up on Wednesday afternoon.”
“Okay. Then I’ll be your forever friend,” I whispered and squeezed him to me.
“I love you, Dusty boy,” Gabe said and kissed my lips.
He slowly pulled his mouth away from mine, and I said, “I love you too, Gabe.” I stayed where I was while Gray walked Gabe to the door.
“Try not to worry, Gabe. I will take excellent care of Dusty. I’ll make sure he is warm each night and comfortable.”
“Thank you, Gray. I’ll see you Wednesday at noon.” Gabe waved to me before Gray shut the door.
“Well, shall we get started?” Gray asked once he turned away from the door.
“Yes, I’m ready,” I answered and followed him up a few flights of stairs.
He led the way to a well-lit but cold room. I stayed in my spot just inside the doorway as Gray crossed the room to the other side. He reached inside another room and flicked the light on, revealing the bathroom. Against the wall next to the bathroom was an oak dresser with three drawers that Gray stood beside.
“You can take a few minutes and change. Take everything off, and use the bathroom if you need to. These drawers are for you to put your clothes and bag in. You may leave your toothbrush in the bathroom. Depending upon how you’re feeling this evening, I’ll assist you with moving to the bathroom to brush your teeth. Not all of my pets can move around as I work on them, but I don’t anticipate you to have much difficulty tonight.”
I nodded and pulled my black t-shirt off as I walked toward the bathroom. No sense in being shy. He’d already seen my body and was about to spend a few days staring at it. I set my bag on top of the dresser and opened the top drawer. I folded my t-shirt and set it inside and then unzipped my bag. I put the two pairs of socks and the clean pair of underwear on top of the t-shirt and toed off my sneakers. I set them next to the dresser and then pushed down my sweatpants. After placing those inside the dresser with the socks that I wore, I took my toothbrush into the bathroom and set it on the stainless steel rectangular tray.
Even though I knew Gray had already seen me naked, I waited until I was inside the bathroom before I took off my underwear. Normally, I wasn’t shy with my body. I’d worked hard to keep it in eye-catching shape, but I wasn’t strutting around at The Pound, so my confidence wasn’t as high as usual. I set my boxer briefs on the counter and tried to pee. I didn’t really feel like I had to go, but I went ahead and tried anyway. It didn’t sound like I’d be able to get up much on my own today. As it turned out, I ended up going and then washed my hands before going out to the main room.
I walked the short distance from the bathroom to the dresser, and I immediately felt the drop in temperature between the two rooms. After I put my boxer briefs in the drawer, I turned around and waited for my next instructions. Gray had his back to me and was doing something in front of a counter. While I waited, I could feel my balls pull up.Fuck, it was cold in here.I glanced at my arms and was surprised to see that goose bumps had already formed.
I turned my attention to the bed that was situated in the center of the room. It had plenty of room around it for Gray to walk around and have full access to his patients.Were we really patients?I liked how he referenced his subjects as “pets”. I felt very comfortable with that term.
The bed had white sheets on it, and there were two folded beige blankets at the foot of the bed.I could go for one of those right now.Dangling slightly from the metal bed frame were several black and silver buckles. I bet those were the restraints and that they would attach to the bed frame on the other side. I was impressed. The restraints didn’t appear to be barbaric and weren’t old leather eye and hook type of closures. It was actually quite innovative to have restraints that were nothing more than seatbelts. Or bed belts. I quickly counted eight of them and hoped Gray wouldn’t feel the need to buckle me down that much.
“Cold?” Gray asked, pulling my attention away from the bed.
I laughed and looked down briefly.
“Yeah, a little. The bathroom was kind of warm.”
Gray slowly walked toward me with a grin on his face.
“I keep it cool because it helps me work and keeps my pets from getting lethargic on me.” He stopped a few feet in front of me and took a deep breath. “Come on, let’s get you comfortable and ready to begin.”
“I’m ready,” I replied as I followed him to the bed.
I sat on the firm mattress while he adjusted the back and headrest of the bed.Okay, so I’ll be upright today.At his direction, I leaned back and was startled by the coldness of the sheet against my back.
“Today we’re going to do the injections for the titanium foam,” Gray reminded me as he walked over to the counter against the wall. He pulled over a stainless steel tray that was on wheels and started to put things on the tray as he talked to me. “I’ll inject a nerve blocker into the areas first. This will take effect in about twenty minutes. Then I’ll spray something on your hands, knees, feet and ankles that will help to numb the area where I’ll inject the titanium and help prevent swelling. The topical spray will numb it immediately, so you won’t feel the titanium injections in case the nerve block hasn’t kicked in yet. But once that nerve block gets in the system, you shouldn’t feel anything with regard to the titanium shots.”
“Okay,” I acknowledged. So far, everything sounded exactly like what we had agreed to and planned for.
“The nerve block is going to last for a while. The dosage I’m giving you will cover you for one to two weeks. I did thorough research on the titanium foam that is being used on athletes over in Europe, and so far, none have reported any excessive discomfort after the nerve block wears off. After it does wear off, you might experience some tightness and soreness for a while as your bones continue to absorb the titanium.”
“Okay, that sounds manageable.”
“It will be.” Gray stopped what he was doing and looked over at me. “Most athletes reported taking some over the counter ibuprofen to relieve discomfort.”
