“Sweetie, Mason, Lance, and Dean know me better than anyone. They know when I’m reaching my limit. They would have said something or stopped you if they thought you were crossing a line,” I say. “What did Stacy say about it?”
“She said you consented to not having a safe word, so you knew the possibilities of you becoming triggered, and me not stopping,” he explains.
“She’s a smart woman,” I say. “And I knew what it meant to consent to that. Todd… I trust you so much.”
“I apologize if this is… annoying,” he says.
“It’s not,” I say, rolling to face him. “It’s reassuring that you care about me and my comfort. Well, besides the part where you bruised my internal organs.”
“I won’t apologize for that,” Todd laughs.
“Good. Because I enjoyed it. The entire situation was amazing,” I say. “I’m a bit surprised I was out for an hour, though.”
“Yeah, I was a bit concerned for a second,” he laughs. “But you weren’t really sleeping at first. You were just completely out of it.”
“Well, that’s creepy,” I laugh.
“Only creepy if you keep fucking someone who is blacked out,” he shrugs.
“I just remember you moaning my name and then I woke up with Lance,” I say. “By the way, that’s hot.”
“Which part?”
“I mean, all of it. More specifically, you moaning my name in my ear,” I say, and he smiles.
“Can I be honest with you for a second?” he asks.
“You can always be honest,” I say. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong, I just think it’s important I say this if I’m going to be doing things like that. I don’t want you to feel tricked.”
“Okay,” I say. “What’s up?”
“Sadie… I care about you far more than I should. I didn’t fully understand until I thought I hurt you, but I think… I don’t know what exactly I think, but I know I care about you far more than just as a friend.”
“Do the others know this?” I ask.
“Yeah. Everyone knows,” he says. “Stacy apparently figured it out on her own. Mason, Dean, and Lance said they could tell and have been able to for months with both of us.”
I stare at him in silence because I don’t know how to respond to that. When I’m quiet for a while, he smiles. “I don’t really know what to say to that,” I tell him.
“Just understand that I will never be the man to try to get between you and the guys. No matter your response, I’ll always be here for you,” he says.
“Let me think, and I’ll be more equipped to process that,” I say. “I think my brain is fried.”
“Eight too much?” Todd asks as he pulls me up from the bed to stand. I groan, and he laughs.
“You’re too much, sir. You look so... innocent,” I say.
“He is not innocent,” Stacy laughs from the doorway. “He’s a monster. A sweet one, but still a monster.”
“Let’s go eat,” Todd says with a smile, shaking his head.
We go to the dining room to join the others, and I sit between Dean and Mason. I lay my head on Dean’s shoulder, closing my eyes.
“Tired?” Dean asks, wrapping his arm around my body and kissing my head.
“Mhmm,” I sigh.
