A neighbour in pain

Arriving back at what you were slowly managing to acknowledge was your house, a scene outside announced that you were not the only one having a rather frustrating day. Sara, the single mother from next door, was stood at her gate looking despairingly down at a split bag of groceries and it’s scattered contents across the floor. Even as you watched, the woman made an attempt to bend down and scoop some of them back together, without dropping the other bags she was still holding. It was obvious she was in some sort of pain though, wincing with the futile effort and cursing under her breath.

You hurried over to offer help, your own shopping seeming an infinitesimal load compared to how much she had managed to carry back. Between the two of you, you just about managed to get the whole lot inside and settled upon her kitchen table.

“Thanks… It’s Sam, right?” The 30-something year old sighed, exhaustedly as she flopped down into a precarious-looking wooden chair. “Those blasted things do that all the time!”

You looked around at the messy interior of her and Tomi’s house. It was a far cry from the barely unpacked from its plastic wrapping feel of your new home. Piles of medical textbooks and highschool revision guides covered all surfaces, along with drying racks of skinny jeans and bras. It was chaotic, but cozy… the living space of two people who never had enough time for tidying up or modesty, but who were wholly comfortable around each other.

Sara had spotted your gaze, and possibly felt a little embarrassed about the state of things. “Sorry it’s so messy… I only get one day off a week these days, and there’s always so much to do!”

You shook your head quickly, not wanting to seem critical at all. You had grown up in just such a household, so knew the strains well. “Are you alright? It looked like something was hurting you out there… and that is a lot of shopping!”

The woman couldn’t help but run a hand up to the part of her neck and shoulders which were clearly still aching, though she tried to wave off concern. “Oh, it’s nothing. A lot of the nurses get it… too much running around all day. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

There was a pride and strength to her that you immediately admired, and told you a lot about why Tomi seemed like such a nice, well-raised young man. Yet, you couldn’t just leave a woman in pain… it wasn’t in you. You immediately offered to help her put everything away. It gave you both a little time to chat through the pleasantries of each other’s lives, and expand upon what her son had obviously relayed since meeting you. You caught Sara giving the occasional sideways glance at your… immodest choice of ladies’ attire, but she made no comment and seemed genuinely glad to have someone to unload her troubles upon. In climbing up on chairs to place things in higher cupboards... you were suddenly reminded that you had one of those glinting, silver buttplugs squirreled away behind an unsuitable amount of lacy fabric, but could only hope against hope that your host didn’t notice. The motions of clambering up onto a wobbly platform in your heels while trying to keep your skirt down and knees together began making you quite embarrassingly hot and bothered. It moved the lump inside of you… and kept the possible threat of it falling out with a thunk, ever looming.

Still, the pair of you eventually managed to get everything stored away, without further catastrophe; and by the end were becoming fast friends in the process. It seemed distinctly like Sara’s motherly instincts had kicked in, deciding you were someone precious worth protecting. She seemed a little anxious about what details of your relationship with Ben you’d let slip, a common problem you faced when you didn’t want to reveal the more sexual nature of your arrangements. You supposed it sounded more like you were just a subservient ‘kept woman’, to those who didn’t realise you were actually more of a human sextoy and male by birth. You did your best to emphasize how happy you were in such a situation, but perhaps that made it worse.

Yet, it was obvious that Sara was still in pain… even half an hour later. Whatever muscle she’d pulled or nerve she’d pinched was in no hurry to relent. The desire to help burned furiously inside of you, as ever it did for whomever you could. A creature that devoted his life to the pleasure of others, could not stand by at idle suffering.

“You know… I’ve been trying to teach myself massage… as a surprise for Ben.” You drummed up the courage to admit. “I could use a little practice… if you wanted me to have a go at that?”

The single mother smiled… clearly about to politely refuse… Only then another twinge went right through her. With a shrug of ‘well it can hardly get much worse’, she relented to say:

“Umm… okay, why not? I’ll be your guinea pig!”

Which was how, not ten minutes later… you ended up with a half-dressed woman on your couch, waiting for a little dish of oil to heat up.