Chapter 2: Of Toys and Tales

A few days passed by, as they repeated the process of leaving her with her toys firmly embedded in her anus and sex with her glistening bodily fluids covering both to make it look natural and nothing more. Perry alone throughout, didn’t abuse the trust left in him by Cane to leave her be, as he watched Kate’s reaction when she woke roughly at six in the morning again.

She woke up feeling the uncomfortable but familiar pressure in her body once again. She groaned and opened her eyes, the sun shining through the blinds, creating a pattern of light and shadow on her bed. The horror of the past few days was gone replaced by pure embarrassment as she looked down at the sights of the squirming dildo in her anus and felt the sticky wetness of her natural fluids bathe the head of the one in her sex. She had to get these out before anyone came in, she thought with a mix of panic and resentment.

Maybe her body was trying to tell her something important, maybe she needed sex, maybe it was that literal, as she felt the urge to push take out instantly and replace them with something more human, something more alive. Instead, she reached for her phone; it was just after six in the morning. She had time before anyone woke up, she thought to herself. Her hand trembled as she reached for her favorite toy, a sleek black vibrator with silver accents, something she had never felt more embarrassed to use than she did at that moment. She began to pull it out, wincing at the feeling of fullness, her body begging for release as it slid slowly out of her sex’s tightening entrance.

The vibrator hummed to life in her hand, sending a thrill through her that she immediately felt guilty for. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the sensation, pushing it back in, and letting out a soft moan. The pleasure was intense, a stark contrast to the discomfort upon waking. As she moved it in and out, her mind began to wander, trying to reconcile the feelings of disgust with the waves of pleasure that washed over her.

Perry watched from his room, hard as a rock, watching Kate’s morning routine play out on the screen. She had always been a creature of habit, and this was no different. The sight of her using her toys was something he had seen her rarely use before, and it was making him feel ... conflicted. On one hand, he felt guilty for what they had done, but on the other hand, it was incredibly arousing to see his sister in such a vulnerable state. He knew he should feel more remorse, but instead, he found himself getting turned on.

Kate continued to work the dildo in her sex as she began to work the one in her anus in synchronicity.

Her body responded almost too eagerly, muscles clenching around the plastic invaders as if they were the real thing. The guilt and confusion warred with the physical pleasure, creating a tornado of emotion in her mind as she tried to focus on the task at hand, secure in the knowledge that the only other person in the house was her only brother Perry and he was a hard sleeper, with no stamina as a night owl for an eighteen-year-old. It made her smile that he was still so innocent, probably unable to even imagine his big sister being anything but that, let alone a sexual being, as she hit just the right spot, her breath hitching and her hips bucking against the toys.

The room was filled with the soft, rhythmic sounds of plastic sliding in and out of her, the vibrations from the toys melding with the thumping of her heart in her chest. The scent of alcohol vanished as she resigned to ever taking it with her pills, obviously weakening their effect or at the very least making them unpredictable. Having received no new nightmares since she’d done so that further reinforced her reasoning that the alcohol had played a very big part in her suddenly finding her favorite toys lodged in her with no recollection of doing so, opening the floodgates for a whole new impulse her body was trying to communicate.

Right now though, she simply enjoyed herself as she climaxed, her toys slipping out as she lay back on the bed, feeling a mix of relief and sadness. Relief that she had found a way to experience something good out of this recent, strange turn of events and sadness that she was doing so in such a lonely, degrading way, which she couldn’t rectify or supplant with something more lasting and effective at that moment. She took a deep breath and cleaned herself up, placing the toys back in their drawer after cleaning them too and slipping a fresh pair of clothes on, remembering to take her birth control as she did every other morning since she was sixteen, with her mother’s blessing.

Monday afternoon eventually rolled by as Perry worked the aisles in the bookstore. Not all of it was blessedly just physical books, although he loved cracking open a physical tome now and again, but they also dedicated a portion of the store to selling electronic readers for all ages and preferences, which made the store standout as more contemporary and as a result was more successful as they combined the current with the old, along with other more contemporary services.

Perry obviously wasn’t the only employee there as his sister soon found out, going to the main help desk at the center of the store to find an older man she suspected was the manager well into his fifties, maybe even sixties but somehow giving off vibrant energy and approach fullness not wholly common in her experience with much older people in general. He was finishing dealing with a customer and her small daughter, as she bought her, her first electronic e-reader for kids. They both left with smiles so big it warmed her heart as she approached the desk.

Without missing a beat he turned towards her, the creaking wooden floors beneath her, probably having given her away as she approached noisily in her black, neatly laced combat boots. Looking him over, he had a grandfather’s charm set in a build that seemed to defy it, radiating a natural strength and vitality she’d only barely glimpsed from afar before. Other than that she didn’t or couldn’t recognize anything else about him, even though her brother Perry had probably mentioned him before.

“Hi, I’m Cane Gideon, how can I help you?” he asked sounding every bit as earthy in his tone as she could have imagined, finding her focus grounded in him unwilling or unable to pull away. “I’m Kate”, was all she could blurt out awkwardly in a small voice before she recovered herself and said more confidently “I’m here to see my little brother after work unless he’s already gone, his name is Perry”, smiling warmly as she regained her confidence with the knowledge that she had come to the right place.

“Oh yes Kate, dear Perry only has good things to say about his big sister”, he said with genuine warmth in his voice that was infectious. “But, he’s just in the back room, stocking up on our newest arrivals. Let me go grab him for you,” with that, Gideon disappeared into the small labyrinth of bookshelves, leaving Kate to take in the charming, atmosphere of the bookstore. For a moment the thought came unbidden about what it would feel like to ride him. His tall, solid build and obvious vitality made her wonder, just what other parts of him were equally large in proportion to the rest of him, as she scolded herself internally knowing he was Perry’s boss, having noted the lack of a wedding band decorating his ring finger, which made him at least available if Perry ever quit his job here, she mused to herself.

A few minutes later Cane reappeared by himself. “It seems he’s adamant in his stocking duties”, Cane said “Always had a good work ethic your brother, to a fault as they say”, he smiled charmingly “I do wish he would take it easy though, coffee, tea”, he offered, as he indicated to a reading area nearby with semi-circular space filled with parents and their kids as the current staff member by the name of “Joey” on his heavily articulated metal name badge that matched the blue and yellow of “Gideon’s” on the storefront, read a classic story of Dr.Seuss, his overly dramatic reading of the children’s tale capturing the children’s as well as the adults rapt attention and reactions, as it warmed Kate’s heart, even as cameras posted around him recorded his reading from several well-placed angles, with signs advising not to block the camera’s line of sight, with thanks.

She retrieved a cup offered by Cane, she had settled on warm cocoa, which they also offered. It felt warm and tingly on her tongue as she waited for her brother to return from his duties.

Cane was certainly a character, Kate thought to herself as she listened to the man’s story about his travels and how he came to own the bookstore. His tales were filled with adventure and knowledge, and she found herself drawn to him in a way she hadn’t anticipated. He had a certain charm that was hard to ignore, and she couldn’t help but wonder if that was what had drawn her brother to him in the first place.

He told her how even though he had been born here in the States his family which consisted of his mother and his uncle had been the only ones to survive a tragic family accident involving a drunk driver over in England where they had originally immigrated from. Cane himself had returned from time to time to his parent’s country of origin, notably during the prevalent punk rock era, which tickled Kate’s fancy, as she had always had a rebellious streak and had a soft spot for the culture and music of that age.

But ultimately he invested in and eventually ran his uncle’s bookstore, starting with less than a quarter of the vast dedicated space they presently had. As he told her more and more about his life she found herself helplessly intrigued, as he set himself apart from most and by comparison the majority if not all the boys she had dated but never clicked with on a personal level. She reflected it was probably because they didn’t have stories to tell set in any basis of truth she could often rely on.

But Cane seemed different, healthy despite his age, and never once marred by a cynicism she’d found in a lot of people her age, let alone anyone above her age group. He seemed like a welcome surprise, as he went a little further into his personal history and the love of his life he lost to unpredictable circumstances surrounding a pregnancy, citing possessive behavior and addiction and how something as simple as alcohol had poisoned her perceptions and ended their relationship. But reflecting how it now gave him a better appreciation for a life shared rather than squandered, Kate resonated with that, her recent episode with her alcohol-riddled medication making her feel like she’d stared into the abyss of unwitting self-destruction or at least self-deprecation and had, had the good sense to step back.

“But life moves on”, Cane said simply “It must, whether we want to allow it to or not, we should only be so lucky to welcome its surprises as they come to us and learn not to instantly pre-judge or close ourselves off to them or their new experiences” he said with a wistful smile “lest they pass us by in our ignorance, no matter how well-founded eh?”, he asked with an almost comical light shove, as he appreciated her punk rock look like a man reflecting in his former lifestyle, seeing in her a part of himself he would always treasure.

Kate felt herself heartening to this man, who had been nothing but accepting and even grateful for her presence like an old friend already warmed to her presence. Where most people unaccustomed to her outward appearance would sometimes barely bother throwing a look of disdain in her direction and others would just feign acknowledging her existence altogether with obvious effort, making it somehow worse. It was a comforting warmth she hadn’t felt from anyone outside of her immediate family or close friends for a very long time. As she took a sip of her cocoa, she felt the warmth spread throughout her body, and the weight of the day’s confusion and fear slowly melted away.

Not for the first time, she looked him over as discreetly as she could, wondering idly as she turned her focus back to the reading, what sexual prowess he had lost to his youth if any, marking his big, physical stature, noting his definite lack of pudgy middle over his shirt belly and the strong sense of immovable stability he had from his broad shoulders reaching down from his muscular arms to his solid legs and his stature towering over her with a natural strength needed to power the body that had carried him through his life.

Oddly enough it didn’t feel intimidating and his caring nature made him gentle, whereas others would have seen only the towering frame of his outward appearance and felt intimidated. She could relate to that at least a little, wondering how softly he would treat her if they ever coupled together in bed, she felt almost convinced that he’d take her softly, allowing her to shed her virginity with him at her own pace. Then if his dick was as perfectly huge as she thought it ought to be, she’d let him fuck her senseless, with contraception of course. The last thing she wanted was to become a young mother, although if he was a big sexually as his otherwise physical size suggested, even safe sex could be no guarantee against his potential thunderous release, though his obvious age would play a factor in his fertility she reminded herself.

She smiled as she tipped the cup back to her lips, sipping the sweet warmth of the cocoa, letting the comforting scent fill her nose and the sweetness spread across her tongue. “So, how long have you known Perry?” Kate asked her curiosity piqued by the affectionate way Gideon talked about her brother. “A few months now, he’s always seemed a little introverted, but nothing I don’t appreciate, life needs all kinds of characters to flourish”, he said warmly, speaking from experience of a life lived full of all sorts of people. She nodded in agreement, her thoughts wandering to how Perry had been acting lately, how strange it was that she hadn’t noticed the friendship blossoming between them.

“But as you can see before you, if we may but appreciate the sum of our parts more, maybe society as a whole could be more welcoming”, he offered with a nod to the diverse group of customers scattered around the store, their faces buried in their books, the occasional page turning, or sip of coffee, or childish giggle piercing the serene silence or even reading from an eBook reader or even their phones taking advantage of the free wifi and the posted links in the store to their online gallery or sorts posting readings like the one being recorded now. “It’s one of the reasons why I decided to keep the store running, to be that haven for people like your brother and myself to find solace in the tales of the past, the present, and the future.”

Kate felt a kinship growing with this man she had just met, and she nodded in agreement “I can see that, books have always been my escape too,” she said with a smile. She had always been the dreamer in the family, the one who’d get lost in fantasy novels, dreaming of worlds beyond the small town she had grown up in.

Perry almost by design decided to pop up just then, as the reading concluded and the crowd of gathered listeners of all ages avidly cheered “Joey” on as they clapped in unison.

“Kate, I’m sorry to keep you waiting,” Perry said, as he settled in beside them, the group that had been listening raptly began to disperse and wander to strategically placed tables with tales from Dr.Seuss’ bibliography spread out for their ease of purchase.

“It’s alright,” she replied, her voice tinged with the comfort Cane’s presence had brought her; “I’ve been enjoying Mr. Gideon’s company.”

Perry shot his boss a grateful look, seemingly oblivious to the undercurrents of Kate’s words. “He’s quite the storyteller,” he said, and Cane chuckled, his eyes twinkling with a hint of mischief that Kate hadn’t noticed before, but found charming all the same like a hint of youth stolen away, saved for a rainy day.

They excused themselves as they said their goodbyes and left the store. Perry switched the subject to their mom and dad, asking if they’d given any sign of when they’d be coming back from visiting their deathly aunt. Kate did inform him with a heavy heart that even though they’d left Friday and arrived there promptly, the cancerous ailment had not been kind in its slow lethargy and the funeral date would be any day this upcoming week. Being Monday they understandably wanted to get back to their kids, but had explained it was better if they did this in one go than be forced to relive these emotionally and physically draining experiences a second time, at a later date.

Perry understood, his eyes reflecting the sadness of the situation, and they both fell into a somber silence as they stepped out into the cool afternoon air. Kate took a deep breath, trying to shake off the sudden heaviness that had settled in her chest. “So, what do you say we grab some dinner?” she suggested, hoping to lighten the mood. Perry agreed, and they decided on a nearby diner that they both frequented, Julio’s.