I opened my eyes slowly. Reality and fantasy rearranged themselves in my mind until everything was clear. I smiled when I saw Livvie standing by the side of the bed. She raised her arm and tickled my face with a long feather. I rubbed my nose.
“That’s not what that’s for,” I said. My voice was rough. I yawned and stretched.
“Want me to tickle your penis?” She flicked the feather over the tent in the sheets.
I put my hand over my erection and turned away.
“No. That’s not for you. I have to go to the bathroom.”
“Well get up! I have a whole day of birthday activities planned and you’re spoiling my fun with your sleeping… and your pee boner.”
I laughed.
“I hate when you call it that.”
“Yeah? Well I hate that I can’t play with it. Why the hell is it so hard if I’m not supposed to play with it? That’s false advertising, Mister.”
I flopped onto my back and threw my arms across my eyes.
“Fine. Ravage me. But don’t expect to go anywhere for a while.” The last time she mounted my morning erection I couldn’t come for over an hour. Livvie had to take a nap when we finished and the whole morning had been appropriated.
“Le sigh. It’s going to have to wait. We have plans. Now, get up!” Livvie put her hands on my stomach and bounced me up and down.
“Stop!” I really had to piss. I grabbed Livvie around her waist and pulled her into the bed with me. She squealed as I tickled her. “I’m going to do this until you pee!” Her legs were kicking, but I threw the comforter over them until she was trapped.
“Oh, god! Oh, please. Please stop!” She was laughing despite the panic I could see in her eyes.
“Are you sorry?” I teased.
“Yes! Please!” Livvie was panting by the time I stopped tickling her. She smiled up at me.
“Can I kiss you?” I asked.
“You haven’t brushed your teeth.” She wrinkled her nose.
“I know. That’s why I asked.” I was already leaning down toward her mouth. I kept it brief. I hopped off of her quickly and made my way into the bathroom before she could try to retaliate.
There was a knock on the door.
“Meet me downstairs when you’re done. I made breakfast.”
“Okay,” I said.
Once I was done using the bathroom, I washed my hands and brushed my teeth. As I wiped my face on a purple hand towel (Livvie had worked her frilly girl-magic in our bathroom), I stared at myself in the mirror. It was my first birthday. I was twenty-eight. The feeling was surreal. I wondered if I looked my age.
This is my life. I was a whore in my youth, a killer since my adolescence, and a monster as a man. Who am I now? What am I now? I shrugged.
Livvie and I had been living together for about four months. It had taken some getting used to in the beginning. I wasn’t accustomed to having another person around me every day. Although, having already spent so much time with Livvie during her captivity and also having made every effort to see her often while we were dating made it somewhat easier to adjust. If I needed to hide out for a while, I would usually go upstairs to work on Livvie’s library/office some more. Otherwise, I was downstairs working on building new sets to exorcise my perversions (a few of the perversions were her ideas). Livvie made me put a lock on the door so no one would accidentally stumble across it.
Livvie didn’t seem to have much of an adjusting issue at all. She explained she was used to a house full of loud people. If anything, she sometimes didn’t like the size of the house. She said it was so big it felt empty sometimes. However, Claudia and Rubio practically lived with us, so that didn’t last very long. On the days Livvie needed to be alone, she was usually upstairs writing on her laptop.
I was ever changing and discovered that while some things would always make me uncomfortable—Livvie’s new phone-relationship with her mother, meeting new people, attending film festivals (I love Livvie, but some of those people are so dull!), and explaining my lack of actual employment—I was happy being James. Admittedly, there were moments when I missed my former life, but for the most part I was becoming more comfortable with my new life and the things that came with it: Livvie, friends, and… birthdays.
Livvie was impatiently waiting for me once I reached the bottom of the stairs. She’d made small pancakes with strawberries and bacon. They were arranged in a smile on my plate.
“I was expecting a bowl of cereal,” I quipped.
“Don’t worry, I’m saving that for tomorrow,” she replied. She came around the counter and put her hands on my face. “Happy birthday, Sexy.” She pressed her lips to mine. She tasted like orange juice and syrup. I chased the sweetness of her tongue, pulling her toward me until I felt her go soft in my arms.