I'm glad they're there." Me too. But why would you want me here?" Isn't it obvious?" Uhm..."Aretha chuckled. "I like being in your presence. There's a...warmth about you, a gentleness." I'm not always gentle. I can't be." I know. But you're tough when you have to be, not when it's some sort of power play between men. You've never been a bully, have you?" I hope not." See." You're beautiful," rumbled X quietly. Aretha felt the words between her thighs where the dampness increased."I think you are. Okay?”I nodded.“Good.” Then she faced Vanessa’s door and hammered on it as hard as she could. “Ness! It’s me. Open up.”“Is Paul with you?” Her voice was quiet, and it wasn’t because of the door between us.“No.”“Liar!”“Okay, he is. But he’s helped me collect up all of those things we could find. We think we got them all. Come on, Ness. He just wants to know what happened. And you know he won’t judge. Hell, he’s probably done worse himself. And besides, if you don’t tell him, you know I will. He. Rhodes was inexperienced, broke, and lived in his head. For now he’d have to be satisfied with his darkened slut of a girlfriend, Gotham. And only gaze at little Annie longingly from a distance. Or around the shoulder of Gotham as he’d kiss her cheek between classes. And avoid the spell the others were under and find his own way into her eye-line, heart and her pants without cheating. To advance the mind he always lived in thinking about her as he was falling asleep at night was a predetermined. Hell, you may even get sick of me always being around and will want some time to yourself.”“I could never get sick of Master!” she squealed.“I know, I’m just teasing. I promise you, we’re going to have a great time, so will you give the new place a chance?”“Ok.”“Good, then let’s head downstairs and I’ll cook dinner.”The next day, we loaded our stuff into the car. All of Sonja’s frisbees and tennis balls took up a surprising amount of room, but I was able to convince her that she didn’t need to.