Living in the Doghouse

The impact of Emma’s ‘punishment’ didn’t hit me until the next weekend. The week passed as normal—or at least as normal as it could be with this group of friends. Mike was slowly coming out of his shell. Even if he wasn’t with us at lunch, he was making an effort to talk to people. I hung out with him after school to get a read on him and it was like every other time we hung out—only I knew better. I might not be getting the details out of him, but Sarah was more than happy hyping him up to the other girls at lunch.

Seems like he wasn’t going to let something like her avoidance of relationships stop him from playing around. If Sarah was to be believed, he was making an effort to make up for lost time. Her praise seemed to get the interest of the other girls so I figured he had a bright future ahead of him.

My situation… was an interesting question. Emma made good on her promise. The folder had been emptied of all the photos and videos she’d sent me. She’d also made a point to tell all the other guys that she was withdrawing from the Prize Pool for the time being. That got some interested looks from people wanting details, but no one questioned her motives and she offered none.

Friday’s meeting went like usual. Mike placed fifth and left with Nina—who looked like she won the big prize of the week. As for me, I didn’t even compete. There wasn’t much point when Emma wasn’t in the running. It was still a fun time, but I could tell there was something between Emma and me. A separation that wasn’t there before. I understood what she wanted, but now it was even worse. The mood was bad. I didn’t want our first time to be a fucking check box, but it was hard to get over the whole reason our relationship was in this rocky patch was because we weren’t having sex. It was a damn Catch-22. I needed to have sex to clear the air, so to speak, but for the mood to be right for that, I needed to clear the air.

Another week passed and I was remembering how unsatisfying regular porn was. It was fine, but it wasn’t even close to the level Emma’s content got. What astounded me was how Emma seemed perfectly fine going cold turkey. For a girl who was getting action on the regular, she seemed content with abstaining now. If she wasn’t, she certainly hid it well.

Mike, Emma, and I hung out a few times. We watched some TV and talked about seriously continuing DnD. To the outside observer, Emma and my relationship was never better. We spent quite a bit of time snuggling. She seemed to take a liking to stretching out over my legs when we were watching TV. It made for a distracting viewing experience when her body was stretched out in front of me. Emma stayed for dinner a few times and I spent an evening with her family.

It was a perfectly normal relationship and everything I had once wanted with her. Now, it felt wrong. It wasn’t us.

Friday rolled around and I had a moment alone with Mike before the competition started. He seemed lost in thought, which was odd considering how he had been flourishing until now.

“What’s up?” He glanced over at me. “You seem a bit distracted.”

“Yeah. I’m in a situation I never thought I’d be in.”

“Oh?”

He nodded, a grave look on his face. “Prom.”

I blinked. “What about it?”

“I don’t know who to go with.”

“Ah. Well, I’m sure if you ask—”

“They all asked me,” he said suddenly, looking at me with a lost expression. “Well, except Emma of course. What am I supposed to do, Isaac? This is so far beyond me. First Emma, then Sarah, then Nina… I’m having sex with all these girls who are way out of my league…” He sighed.

I nudged him, smiling at him. “You’re saying that like it’s a bad thing. Dude. Guys would kill to be in your position.”

“Don’t I know it. I’m living a dream, but at the same time…” He glanced over at me. “I see you and Emma.”

I felt that familiar twinge in my gut; the long-ignored monster stirring in interest. “She’s not really open to anything right now—”

“Huh? No. Not that. I mean the two of you together. I can see how much you two care about each other. It’s all little things, but those are the brush strokes that make up the bigger picture.”

“Since when did you become a poet?”

He chucked. “Fuck off, dude. I’m being serious.” He took a breath as his grin faded. “The girls are great, but it’s all about sex with them. It’s like being stuck in the friend zone, but you get to sleep with them. Fun, but…” He trailed off.

“Empty?”

“Yeah. I know I can ask any one of them and they’ll accept in a heartbeat. I also know that at the end of the night, I’m getting laid. Beyond that… it’s still nothing more than going as friends.”

There was a brief silence as we let our minds digest. “So,” I started. “You going to stop?”

“Are you serious? Have you seen these girls? I’m not an idiot. No way I’m going to say no to this. Doesn’t mean I can’t wish there was something more there.”

“Sorry about Sarah.”

He shrugged. “I’ll admit that I had a thing for her, but even if she was interested, it would have never worked out. Same reason something between Emma and I wouldn’t work. We don’t move at the same speed.”

I quirked an eyebrow at him. “You sure about that? Seem to be keeping up just fine.”

He grinned. “Just because I can sprint for a bit doesn’t mean I want to sprint all the time. So,” he said, shifting gears slightly. “You get your tickets already?” I stared at him. “To prom.” More silence. “Have you even asked her yet?”

I felt my stomach drop out. It must have been clearly written on my face.

“Dude!”

“To be fair, I might have forgotten about it.”

“Forgot? There are fucking giant banners and fliers everywhere. They make an announcement about it like, every day.”

“Yeah, but who pays attention to that stuff?”

“Emma.”

“I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”

Mike shook his head. “And I thought I had problems…”