Page 6 of Unravel Me

Looks like Alex's already gone, phew!

He teaches at the college and he often has classes at inhumanly early hours. Maybe that's for the best.

In the bathroom, I wrap my fingers around my cock and close my eyes. It helps speed things along when I imagine fantastical scenes completely detached from my actual life, like something out of movies about wizards, elves, and ancient gods. I never visualize ordinary people; they’re always fairytale-like characters, and I’m enjoying their unreal world, one I have complete control over.

This time, I imagine myself drowning, and just as I’m sinking, the arms of a green, aquatic merman wrap around me, carrying me back to shore, and there… he’s claiming his reward.

My hormones are already running so high, and my body is so starved for release that… a dozen heated strokes later, I spill, aiming the warm stream into the toilet.

Goddamn it. The intensity of my orgasm makes me suspicious. Could my heat be just around the corner?

It couldn't have picked a worse time.

Yeah, I knew it was coming, but the fact that I came so quickly suggests that things are getting dangerous.

Frowning, I leave the bathroom and head upstairs to the small spare room, where I've set up my yoga mat. Lately, for lack of a good gym, I've been doing a mix of Power Yoga and Pilates. I’ve also managed to sneak in a few kettlebells, dumbbells, and resistance bands, but this is still pretty basic stuff, and I’d love to train the way I used to, with more professional equipment.

I work out every day to keep my body in top shape and be ready for a photoshoot at any time. Not that I've had one in months, considering I've been hiding out here, but I haven't let myself slack off. If anything, I've been training even harder, trying to burn off all that pent-up energy and keep my stress under control.

I start with a series of push-ups mixed with squats, but after a while, my body begins to protest. It seems to have something else on its mind. My thoughts drift into a pink haze, and random sexual images start flooding my head, which only frustrates me more.

It’s a fucking preheat, that’s obvious.

What am I supposed to do now?

How is Alex going to handle this? Will he take care of Tommy while I'm curled up in my room for days, riding an inflatable dildo?

Taking a deep breath, trying to push it all away, I walk over to the window and stare into the distance, lost in a fog of distracting thoughts.

The tall hedge separating the row of small houses where Alex lives from the neighboring luxury apartment complex catches my attention, its dark green foliage oddly soothing.

The longer I stand there, shooing the erotic reveries away, the more they're replaced by nagging worries, weighing on me with stress.

My past keeps trying to force its way back into my mind, dragging me toward fear and panic. Dark faces try to emerge from forgotten corners of my memory, and I fight to push them back down.

Damn, I’ll go crazy if I keep tormenting myself with the dreadful thought that they’ll come looking for me. Stop it, Jared!

My muddled mind searches for something to latch onto, and my gaze drifts down to the peace lily sitting on the windowsill.

The leaves have turned yellowish.

Alex must've overwatered it, and the roots are sick.

I gently brush one leaf with my fingertip and bite my lip.

Hmmm, what could I do for you, little green fellow? I rarely do this. That strange, unsettling feeling stirs inside me again; hiding deep, there's a force, or maybe only a dormant bud, something I've carried within me like a bizarre secret.

I let it awaken.

It comes reluctantly because I almost never practice it. The cool, tingling energy flows from my heart toward the plant. And little by little, the leaves regain their color, straighten, and lift.

A huff escapes me. I blink, breaking out of the trance.

Wow, it worked.

My hands fall to my sides, and my head spins. That alien feeling returns, but I smother it. I'm not used to doing this. I don't understand this mysterious power. I don't know what I could ever do with it, so most of the time I pretend it doesn't exist.

Suddenly, I hear a car engine in the driveway. I run to the other side of the house to check who it is through the window overlooking it. The person has already gotten out.