I was just considering the idea of having him take off those sweatpants when the front door of Mount Zion opened and closed again. Mark, who was just wiping his hands clean from the oil he'd been using to massage my skin, paused. "They're home."
We heard two sets of footsteps on the entryway tile, which I took as a good thing. However, what I didn't hear were the giggles or other sounds that told me they were engaged in foreplay or other amorous activities. I sat up and looked around for my panties before I realized that I had left all my clothes inside the bathroom. I guess I could have blamed Mark, but that was beside the point.
Getting up, I quickly pulled on a fresh pair of clothes from my dresser and pulled them on. "What are you doing?" Mark whispered, curious.
"I'm going to see what's going on," I replied. “I'm confused."
Mark looked like he was about to object when he caught the look in my eyes, and nodded. Reaching into his drawer, he grabbed an old workout t-shirt and yanked it over his head. "They'll have to forgive the lack of underpants and socks," he muttered to himself. "And I was having so much fun, too."
"That might not be over yet, stud," I teased him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I was just about to ask you to make love with me again when they came in."
Mark's expression changed, brightening up, and he nodded. "Okay, I might just hold you to that."
"Oh, you want to tie me up now?" I teased. It was a credit to Mark, how we could tease each other about things like that, even after his intervention with Mistress Blood.
"Not tonight, but we can definitely do sometime.”
We left our bedroom, and made our way silently towards the kitchen and dining area.
I was surprised by what I found. Tabby and Patrick were sitting in side by side chairs, holding hands and just whispering to each other. It didn't look like anything like I'd expected. If I had to compare it to anything, it looked like something from a sitcom from the nineteen fifties, where two teenagers considered it risqué if they actually kissed anywhere within yelling distance of their homes, and the epitome of a hot date was going to the drive-in after the sock hop. "Guys?"
Tabby looked up, smiling. "Hi Sophie. Hi Mark. Come on in, you're not interrupting anything."
The two of us came in, perplexed. Looking from Patrick to Tabby, I was absolutely confused. What the hell was going on? "Uhm, who are you, and what did you do with my Tabby?" I asked, a nervous smile on my face. "I expected passion, I expected tears, I expected tears and passion at the same time. What I didn't expect was this pod person act."
Patrick looked at Tabby, who looked back at him. "We've had that already," Tabby said, and I realized her tone of voice.
She was over the moon happy. I'd heard it before, but never to such a degree. You see, when Tabby gets truly, absolutely happy, she gets this strange calmness to her voice and body that it almost never, ever shows otherwise. In fact, in all the years I'd known her, the only other people who could get her in such a mood were Mark and I. "And?"
"We've got big news for you guys," Patrick said. "We had our date, and I told Tabby about my history with Scott Pressman."
"Which was the tears," Tabby interjected, "and a few slaps, which you'll be happy to know Mark, your student here took quite well."
Mark flashed a quick smile before tilting his head again. "Okay.... continue, before I blow a few brain cells thinking too hard."
Tabby laughed, a light sort of twitter that I confirmed my suspicions. I still wanted her to say it though, I had to hear the words.
"After I told Tabby, we sat and talked," Patrick continued for us, "in fact, we never even went to the restaurant. We just sat in my apartment, talking about things. A lot of it was about my personal history, and how it might affect our relationship. In the end though, it came down to my ink."
Tabby saw my confused expression. Actually, looking over, Mark was also confused, and I was beginning to wonder if Tabby and Patrick had taken something mind altering. Tabby chuckled and reached over to Patrick, taking his hand. "I think we're being a bit too obtuse. How about we show them."
Patrick smiled and let go of Tabby's hand. He reached for the top button of his shirt and began opening his shirt. He reached his belly and opened his shirt, showing the gryphon on his chest. "Do you guys know about gryphons?"
"Just that they’re on a lot of churches and they are on a lot of old European flags," I replied. "Why?"
"There's a lot of mythical things about gryphons," Patrick replied, "but the reason I have it is because there is something about them that was common regardless of their cultural background. They mate for life."
Mark blinked, then shook his head before putting it in his hands. "I needed to read more classical mythology or something, because I'm getting lost."
"What it means is that Patrick and I have talked, and we've decided to move deeper in terms of our relationship," Tabby said.
"As in?" I asked.