6. In Which We End at the Thrift Store Thrift Store

6

In Which We End at the Thrift Store Thrift Store

I am a horrible accidental friend with benefits or whatever Matthew and I are because it takes me a whole day to figure out my next move: Thrift Store Thrift Store

I need to go back to the kid. He knew something was weird about the pants. He’s my best bet. I spend a lot of time trying to work through the best approach. Should I bring the pants? Should I get Dale to come with me? Should I be blunt and straightforward or work it into the conversation?

I don’t have any answers to those questions by the time my hand is reaching for the door and pulling it open. Armed with the pants draped over my arm, I march up to the counter and find myself in luck. The same grumpy-looking kid is standing by the register.

His eyes flick over toward me. It takes him a second, but as soon as he recognizes me, he drops a “register closed” sign on the counter and starts to head toward the back.

I pick up my pace and cut him off by the dresses. “Hey, I need to talk to you.”

“Look, I don’t know anything about the pants.”

I shake my head. “You totally know something about the pants. What’s going on with them?” I drop my voice to a whisper. “How do I fix things for the person bound to them?”

He rolls his eyes and sighs. “Look, I don’t know much about that stuff…”

“But?”

He sighs again. “My mom does.”

He leads me to the back, where a couple of people are sorting clothes. A tall, beautiful woman with dark blonde hair is standing at a table full of jeans. She doesn’t ask my name—she just looks up at me, then at the pants in my hands.

“Let’s go to the breakroom.”

I follow her to a tiny room with a microwave and a mini-fridge. We sit at a table in mismatched chairs, and she takes the pants from me.

“You’re already involved, aren’t you?”

I nod. “I’ve been there several times. He’s been there since 1987, I can’t just leave him…”

She eyes me sternly. “Are you in love with this man?”

I shake my head. “I’ve only met him four times, I can’t say.”

“Just…” she pauses. “Don’t go into this thinking it will be happy ever after in the end. I thought it’d be my happily ever after, too, and then suddenly I was a single mom and he was free.”

I nod. “I’ll be careful.”

“I don’t know how to say this delicately, so I’m going to be blunt. He can’t stay where he’s bound. That time and place no longer exist. He will have to agree to come to this timeline.”

“And then?”

She takes a deep breath. “You travel back and forth inside him. He will have to travel back and forth while inside of you. You’ll have to have sex with him.”

If she’s going to be blunt, I guess I will have to be, too. “But we’ve already had sex, accidentally. He never came back with me.”

“There is something that binds him to that time and place. You will have to find out what it is."

"Before he changed… his mother made him put a ring on and then said—" I stop talking, not wanting to repeat her creepy words.

"What did she say?"

"With this ring, I thee bind."

"That's it then. With him still… attached to you… you’ll have to remove it and say 'with this ring, I thee unbind.' That’s your best shot.”

“Okay, got it. Thank you.” I stand up and realize I have one more question. “What do I do if it doesn’t work?”

She shrugs. “That, I don’t know.”

***

I decide that there’s no point in waiting. If I’m going to do this, I have to do it now. First thing I do is text Dale.

Me: Can you call and make sure I’m up tomorrow morning?

Dale: Sure? You pulling an all nighter?

Me: Sort of. Thanks!

I don’t want to tell him what I’m about to do, but I also don’t want to leave Stanley alone if… I’m not sure what’s at the end of that if. Could Matthew’s mom bind me too? I guess anything is possible. Just because she hasn’t tried so far doesn’t mean it’s outside the realm of possibility.

I take a warm shower, turn the temperature down so I’ll be more comfortable under the blankets, and take some melatonin. I don’t trust full-on sleeping pills for this, but I have to make sure I actually fall asleep.

Eventually I drift off and wake to find Matthew’s sweatpants body pressed up to mine, his arm wrapped around me protectively. It’s sweet, in a way, being cuddled by pants.

“Matthew… Matthew,” I hiss, turning in his embrace and trying to gently shake him awake. “Hmmm…what’s wrong, Kaitlyn?”

“I’m the wrong Kaitlyn, Matthew.” This seems to get something going in his mind.

He huffs a laugh. “If it’s really 2025, then mom’s right and you’re the only Kaitlyn. The other one is still probably pissed at me for disappearing on her.”

“Matthew, we don’t have a lot of time. Do you want out?” I whisper.

That seems to wake him up. “Of course I do.”

“Enough to come to 2025 with me?”

“2025? What do you mean?”

“I mean, if you want, we can try to bring you to my time. It’s not a guarantee. But that’s the only option I have for getting you out of here.”

“Okay, yes, sure. What do I need to do?”

I swallow, suddenly embarrassed. “It wasn’t my idea,” I start.

“What do you mean? You don’t want me to go to 2025?”

I shake my head, painfully aware that I’m wasting time. “No. I spoke to people who could tell by looking at the pants that you were bound. A woman told me that just as I leave this place inside the pants…”

“Yeah?”

“The only way for you to leave is inside of me.”

He says nothing for a long moment. “Like?”

“We have to have sex. And then, while you’re still in me, I have to remove the ring.”

He chuckles softly. “You made it sound horrible.”

“Well, there’s still the real Kaitlyn. The other times we slept together, you thought it was her. This is the first time you’ll know it’s me.”

He runs a hand along the outside of my ear, brushing against the piercings. “Look, I’m not going to lie and say this isn’t weird and crazy, but this isn’t exactly a hardship on my end. You’re hot and I’m sweatpants at the moment. Will I be normal in 2025?”

“No clue.”

“Carpe diem, Kaitlyn.”

I try not to laugh at how painfully nerdy that sounds and throw my leg over him. His body is still the variegated gray of the sweat pants… I’m actually going to do this. I’m having sex with sweatpants.

“So you’re just going for it? No warm up?” he says.

“We don’t have time for a warm up,” I whisper back. My hands run down his belly until I find his hips. He’s still wearing the sweats. I tug them down a little and grab hold of his cock. He wiggles out of them and kicks them to the floor.

“As an approach to the last time I may ever have sex, I find it lacking.”

I lean over. “Matthew,” I say, in a warning tone. “We’re running out of time.”

He looks at me for a long moment, as his finger trails a path down the side of my face. I know he’s joking, but there’s probably a kernel of truth in it, too. He could literally be stuck here forever. “Look, as soon as we get out of here, I’ll make it up to you.”

“Kaitlyn, I’m not trying to guilt you—” I stop his words with my mouth, forgetting his cock for a moment as Matthew’s lips meet mine. He kisses me breathless, holding me in place with hands that soothingly run through my hair, massaging my scalp. “Kaitlyn, even if this doesn’t work, thank you,” he whispers in my ear as he releases me. “You’re the bravest person I know.”

I rest my forehead against his. “This will work.” I find his cock again, much harder and more in the mood for activities than before our kiss. I rest a hand near his shoulder and lean over him so I can use his cock like a toy, rubbing the head of it against my clit in slow, hard circles. I’m ready quickly with just this alone and line us up, settling down on top of him all at once.

He groans softly as our bodies meet. Despite the very serious nature of this particular sex act, I still hear him mutter, “Fuck Kaitlyn, you feel so good.” His hands grip my ass as he helps me move.

Being on top was a mistake. The bed creaks with each thrust, but soon, I lose all sense of time or purpose. I need to move faster and faster even as I hear the door slam down the hall.

Matthew is determined to enjoy this, no matter what. He moves almost in defiance of the footsteps moving down the hall. “MATTHEW!” his mother screeches from just beyond the door.

“Come on my cock, Kaitlyn. You feel so fucking good,” he whispers. My body obeys, the orgasm shooting through me just as the door slams open.

“WHORE!”

I remember the ring suddenly and reach for his hand, tugging at the piece of metal. “With this ring, I thee unbind.”

Light seems to emanate from the ring. It fills the room, blinding me. I close my eyes, but the light is still bright against my eyelids. Hands grip mine, a body pulls me close, and then there is the sound of a cat hissing as my eyes adjust to the light.

The light seems to fade, and when I can no longer see a glow against my eyelids, I open my eyes. I’m in Matthew’s arms on my bed, much to Stanley’s annoyance. Matthew has me practically in a death grip as Stanley paws at his shoulder with as threatening a MREOW as he can muster.

“I think I pissed off your cat,” he says with amusement in his voice.

“It’s a natural state for Stanley.”

“So this is 2025?”

“Yep, welcome to the future.”

“Are there flying cars?”

I shake my head. “Not even close.”

“This is going to be interesting.”

“You have no idea.”

I can’t see his expression, but his body stiffens suddenly. “Oh, God… I’m afraid to ask—”

“What?”

He leans back from me and tries to look down, but the room is dark. “Am I still pants?”

I flip on the light and can’t help but laugh. There are creases on his forehead that look a lot like an elastic waistband, but he’s no longer variegated gray. “Well, you might have to grow your hair out a little, but I think you’re mostly back to normal.”

I get up and grab a hand mirror from the bathroom. He takes it from me and examines his forehead, his fingers trailing along the lines. “Do you think anyone will know?”

“That you were pants?”

He laughs. “That I’m not from this time?”

I shrug. “People aren’t really fond of Baby Boomers, but I think they’ll make an exception for you.”

He looks at me quizzically, but I just smile and pat his knee.

“Oh, my polyester friend, this is going to be an adventure.”