She looks at me disbelievingly, but when I rise from the water, I see her eyes widen at my engorged groin. The visual — my erection forcing the bathing suit fabric out to a ludicrous degree — would be hilarious if the atmosphere wasn’t tense with barely controlled lust.
We do our best to towel off, but we’re too distracted, and water pools around our feet on the wood floor after I slide the glass door closed behind us. Dustin saunters in from the kitchen. His grin is wooden and eyes empty and he speaks in a falsely cheery tone. So he’s chosen denial, I think.
“Dinner’s almost ready. Nothing too fancy, I’m afraid. We better eat soon if we want to make it to the hotel before it gets too late. You said it’s a bit of a hike, right Alan?”
He sees how Beth and I look at each other, but he doesn’t drop his charade until I drop my towel. As expected, his eyes are immediately drawn to my bulge. I let him look.
“Dustin, you’re not going to the Marriott tonight.”
He tears his eyes away and looks up at me wildly. “What the fuck?” He turns to Beth, then back to me. His voice rises and cracks with emotion. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
I speak calmly. This is it. No more games. “You’re both going to spend the night here. You’re going to sleep in the guest room, and I’m going to fuck Beth.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Louder now, panicky. “That’s bullshit. That’s fucking bullshit.”
I say nothing, only reach out to Beth, who takes my hand and lets me pull her to me. She presses her body against mine. She looks at him straight on, no fear. I’m so proud of her.
Dustin watches with horror. He rounds on Beth, tears of rage tracing paths down his cheeks.”You slut. You fucking whore! I can’t believe you’re doing this to me.”
“Be quiet, Dustin,” I say, still calm but with an undercurrent of menace. “Don’t speak to her like that. This isn’t her fault; it’s yours. You couldn’t satisfy her. She deserves better, and she’s going to get it for the first time in her life.”
“You …” He starts toward me.
“Dustin, no!” Beth screams.
He makes to swing at me, but I grab both of his wrists and wrench his arms back down. It’s not hard; I’m much stronger than him, even in his wild, spasmodic rage. He barks a syllable of helpless fury and tries to kick me, head me, anything to make contact. I take one kick off my shin that I barely feel as I force him down to the ground. He tries to wriggle out from under me but I tighten my grip on his wrists until he yelps in pain.
“Dustin, stop,” Beth says, obviously worried, but is there an undercurrent of exasperation? “He’s stronger than you. Stop, before you get hurt.”
I finish subduing him. I’ve got his right arm pinned tightly behind his back and a knee on his flailing legs.
“I’m doing you a favor,” I say. He’s sobbing under me, whether in fear, anger or grief I can’t tell, and he spits muffled curses into the floorboards.
“A favor? Fuck you, you retarded hick.”
“You couldn’t satisfy her,” I say. “And it’s not your fault. You shouldn’t have tried. You never would have been able to.”
“I can satisfy her! I can satisfy her better than you! Tell him Beth!”
“No, you can’t,” Beth says quietly. “You never did. But I know Alan can.” A little more confidently now. “He’s different than you. It’s hard to explain … just … he’s a man.”
“And what am I?” he sobs, straining his neck to make tear-blurred eye contact.
“You’re … pretend,” she says, “play-acting as a man.”
All at once, the fight leaves Dustin’s body. He falls limp on the floor, and I know he won’t be any more trouble. I release him and rise to my feet. He scrambles up to a kneeling position, and I offer him my hand. He accepts the help.
I direct him to an easy chair, then I sit next to Beth, still wrapped in her towel, on the couch. I put my arm around her shoulders. She puts her hand on my bare leg. Dustin, shell shocked, eyes red-ringed, is transfixed by her wandering fingers. My bulge is not as prominent after all the tumult, but it’s still quite evident.
“Listen, Dustin,” I say, settling back against the couch. “I’m sorry it came to that. I don’t blame you for being protective of Beth. She’s an incredibly beautiful woman.”
I’m speaking calmly, matter-of-factly, as if I’m not ripping his throat out with every word. Beth’s fingers tip-toe closer to my cock. She’s eager to get her hands on it again. I already know how aroused she gets watching me dominate Dustin.
“She told me that you were her first sexual partner,” I tell Dustin. “I think if she’d had more experience, seen what the world had to offer her, so to speak, she would have known right away you weren’t up to the task of satisfying her. And I don’t mean satisfying her in some pornographic, jackhammering bullshit way. It is partially physical, but it’s more about matching energies, feeding back to one another on a certain frequency.”
Beth wriggles a little against my side, pulling closer.
“Anyway, I think she would have known right away that you weren’t right for her, then it wouldn’t be so hard for you right now.”
I turn to Beth, “Not that it’s your fault.”
“No, you’re right,” she says. “Just being next to you, feeling you, how you’re different than him. I know you’re right.”
Dustin stares, mouth slightly agape, as Beth’s hand crests the curve of my bulge. Circling my prey like this has me fully erect again, and I flex against her touch, my cock fully discernible against the tight material of my trunks.