It was of course huge humiliation for him, being a slave. In the north men were born free and died free without bending the knee. And he had been rais...d a warrior to boot. Not that he had any desire to actually be a warrior, as he was afraid of pain. And he was not afraid to admit it, either, although of course he never had admitted it to a single soul.So far he had avoided battle or the threat of one, and had indeed only recently hit the age that one could finally call himself a man in his. "I still have the keys, dear," he responded in a singsong voice.Ethan shook his head with amusement. "You two are ridiculous. And for as much as I liked what we did and would like to do it again, I'm gonna have to say we probably shouldn't."Tim was genuinely shocked. "What? Why?" It was nice and I'm not saying I won't ever, but... You guys are married. I love you both and don't want to get in the middle of this." Well, damn," I said with open disappointment. "Though it's probably for the best.. ” “You be careful out there.” “Always am.” I stood there awkwardly for a moment and then said, “Well, I better get going. Thanks again.” “You’re very welcome.” “Well, bye.” “Bye.” I turned and started toward my car, which was parked at the edge of the building. When I neared my car, I slowed and looked over my shoulder. He was standing by the door of his truck, but he hadn’t opened it yet. He was watching me. I smiled and then turned to keep walking. I passed my car without even slowing. I. "Hi." Hi," I replied, but there was something about his demeanor thatconcerned me, just a bit. "Everything ok?" Every's fine, hon. I was just concerned about you. How did your firstsession go?"I smiled and accepted the explanation. "It went... well. Really well, Ithink."He smiled. "Good. That's all I was concerned about."We had a lovely meal with lots of chat and laughter. It seemed to comevery easily to Mitch's family, where it never really had to mine. Ienjoyed the feeling of inclusion, of.