Freeing Michelle

Roy felt the words land in his chest like a weight and a promise all at once.

Thanked you properly.

For a split second, his instinct was to deflect it with humour, to make a joke, to buy himself time. He was so tired he felt weak, like he was running on muscle memory and obligation rather than thought. But his body had already betrayedhim. There was no pretending otherwise. He was aroused, painfully so, and the awareness of it made something sour twist in his stomach. The thin layer of material his underwear provided gave no place for his erection to hide. She could see it. He could feel it.

He hated that he had been able to become aroused so easily. It should have been more of a struggle, a moral dilemma, anything other than the painfully obvious way he wanted Michelle in a way a man his age shouldn't have.

But he also knew what had to happen.

If he hesitated, if he pushed her away, she would stay. If he allowed her, if he didn't take her to bed, she would build her entire life around him, despite the fact that she wasn't actually being given a choice. She, just like all the other women, was a victim of whatever chaotic energy had granted his wish. The most ethical thing he could do, the only thing, really, was to see this through and free her from him as quickly and gently as possible.

Michelle stood there in front of him, hoodie gone, eyes shining with nervous hope. She looked impossibly young in that moment. It made him want to look away, while at the same time he couldn't tear his eyes away.

"Michelle," he started, meaning to slow things down, to say something careful and measured.

She stepped closer instead. Her hands came up to his chest and she kissed him again.

Roy didn't pull away.

The kiss was softer than the last one, but deeper somehow, heavier with intention. He could taste her, salt and breath and skin. The feel of her mouth against his sent a jolt through him that he couldn't deny. He exhaled slowly through his nose, steadying himself, then lifted his hands and settled them at her waist.

Her skin was warm under his palms. He was hyperaware of his erection pressing against her exposed torso.

No shirt. No barrier.

That simple fact made his pulse thrum. He felt the curve of her there, the way her body fit naturally against his, and the wrongness of how good it felt mixed with the terrible relief that at least this meant there was an end in sight.

He guided her backward, gently but without asking, until the backs of her knees brushed the edge of the bed. The mattress dipped as she sat, then leaned back against the pillows, still kissing him, still smiling like this was exactly where she wanted to be.

She broke the kiss just long enough to kick her sneakers off, one foot and then the other, the soft thud of them hitting the floor sounding absurdly loud in the quiet room.

"Sorry," she murmured with a small, embarrassed laugh. "Didn't want them on the bed."

Something about that, about her worrying over shoes at a moment like this, made everything feel far more real than he had hoped it would.

He climbed onto the mattress with her, careful, deliberate, his weight braced on his hands as he hovered over her. He could feel the heat between them, feel his own body pressing insistently against the limits of his self-control.

She hesitated then.

Just a little.

"Roy," she said softly, her voice suddenly unsure. She reached up, fingers brushing his arm as if to anchor herself. "I... I've never had sex before."

The words hit him harder than any accusation her mother had thrown.

His stomach dropped. Guilt flooded in, hot and immediate, washing over everything else. Of course. Of course she hadn't. He'd known it, somewhere in the back of his mind, but hearing it said out loud made it real in a way that terrified him.

She rushed on, clearly worried she'd disappointed him. "I mean... I want to. Just... I don't know how. Maybe you can show me? Or maybe we can take it slow? Is that okay? I just... I don't want to disappoint you. But I still want to..." She swallowed, cheeks flushing. "I just want to make you feel good."

For a moment, Roy couldn't speak.

The idea of taking her virginity made something inside him recoil. That line, once crossed, could never be uncrossed. It would be a theft he couldn't justify, no matter how the wish worked, no matter how tangled reality had become.

He felt like he was standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down at the waves crashing against the rocks. A simple lean one way or the other would be all it would take to push him past the point of no return. He could easily slide his underwear down, climb on top of this poor girl, and show her exactly what she was asking of him. Even after all the compromised positions he'd found himself in the past few days, this felt wrong. She was so innocent, so trusting... Roy had to find another way.

He shifted closer, then took her hand in his, his grip steady despite the storm inside him. He guided it carefully, deliberately, down between them. Her eyes went wide, then a smile crept onto her lips as she realized what he was doing. A moment later he could feel her hand gently exploring the outline of his erection through his underwear.

"Is this," she began, "I mean, do you want me to just..."

She didn't wait for an answer. Her lips met his as her hand slid into his underwear. In the past few days, Roy had experienced new and unexpected sexual experiences, things he'd long ago written off as things that belonged in erotica and not in real life. But nothing had prepared him for the feeling of Michelle's small, soft hand on his erection. Eagerly exploring every ridge, every vein.

Roy had no doubt that Michelle loved him. The wish had taken care of that. But he also now realized how all-encompassing that love was. She didn't just love him for his personality, his character. She loved every part of him. Even physically. Michelle was touching his penis as if it was something she loved. She wanted to care for it, take care of it, bring it joy.

She touched the head, collecting the pre-cum that had accumulated, then began to rub it up and down the length of the shaft. Not in an aggressive way, the way a person might do to themselves when they want to quickly achieve climax, but in a coaxing, eager but gentle way, maximizing how good it would feel, making sure that he knew that what she was doing was important to her.

"Does that feel good?" she asked, pulling out of the kiss for a moment.

Without waiting for an answer, she returned her lips to his and sped up the process. Roy moaned. Having the gorgeous young woman touching him like this, no matter how tired he felt, he knew he wouldn't last long. Instinctively he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her body into his. Not so tightly that she would stop her work, but close enough that he could feel the skin of her stomach on the now-exposed portions of his erection.

And then he began to feel it: the buildup of pressure, the racing of his heart. His whole body got hot, then rigid, then energized. He was about to climax. There was no thought given to the fact that he was about to free Michelle from this sham of a relationship. Nor was there thought about the moral compromise he was having to take to give her the freedom she deserved. The only thought Roy had was how good Michelle's hand felt on his cock.

And then he came.

Fountains. Torrents. A flood of sperm blasted out of him, over and over, coating Michelle's hand, her stomach, Roy's underwear, and the sheets. He moaned louder than before, his entire body shaking. All the while Michelle held his erection in her soft hand, not squeezing, just holding it lovingly. She didn't recoil from his expulsions. She just stared at him in the eyes, a peaceful smile on her face.

Then, when he was done, and they were both filthy, she finally released him.

"Thank you for that," she said with a grin.

"I think I should be thanking you," he responded.

"No," she replied, "I've never done that with a man before. It felt so right, so exciting. I want to do more things, you know, everything, but even that was a lot of fun. Way more fun than the girls at school said it was."

She looked down at the mess on her body.

"Do you mind if I get cleaned up and then we get a little sleep?" she asked. "I mean, I have an early shift, and I should try to get some sleep at least." Then, more quickly, "Unless you want to, you know, do more."

"No, cleaning up and sleeping is a good idea. I'll take care of the sheets. You clean yourself up. I think it's bedtime."

"Thank you," she said again, giving him one last quick kiss before climbing out of the bed. "That was wonderful. You are wonderful. I'll never forget tonight."

Roy smiled back at her and caught himself hoping, just for a moment, that she wouldn't.