Love & Death [Femdom 18+]

9. Befriend the Lonely

        Adrian didn't realize just how much of the world he'd missed out on. Death was the equalizer of human kind. No one escaped it. All destinies led down the same road, all merging with death. When Adrian removed souls from bodies, he never questioned their humanity. He'd seen horrible ways that people die, whether self inflicted, murder, disease, accidental, or old age. 

        When he'd first received the gift of the Reaper, he'd been afraid. He knew his duties but could not complete them. Adrian believed that children shouldn't die. He believed that war was a waste of precious life. He believed that men could be wicked monsters when left to the whims of their ego. But it didn't matter what he believed. He had duty and he was bound by a most viscous and all encompassing power. 

        His frustration led him to bury his feelings. Other Reapers did the same. You could not possess compassion and be capable of stealing a child from his mother. After many years, Adrian managed to feel almost nothing at all. 

        Until Geneva. 

        He was avoiding her now. She was so angry at him for spying that he'd been ashamed of himself. Even at the turn of the century, spying a woman was frowned upon. She called him a stalker and he felt very much like one. His obsession with her was dangerous. Not that he was dangerous. Too much time with Geneva was dangerous. He was falling behind on his work. 

        To make matters worse, Brian Ruiz was befriending him in a most persistent manner. They'd talked at the bar that first night, exchanging superficial conversation. The topics were so light and airy that Adrian didn't see the harm in returning for more. It was companionable. Adrian blamed the Cupid. She'd reminded him of all the feelings he'd locked up. The most poignant of these hidden emotions was loneliness. The bartender was adept at amicability. 

        Before he knew it, Adrian was ensnared in a friendship with the man. They spent a lot of time in bars. Brian was teaching him how to be an effective wingman and Adrian could not quite conceive of why Brian would need such support. He was clearly a good looking man. Tan and tall with broad shoulders and clearly defined muscles. The stature of a laborer. 

        Adrian was suspicious that these trips were for his benefit. More often than not, Adrian found himself declining the drunken affections of women while Brian looked on with amusement. 

        "I'm just trying to help you get over Gen," Brian said with a charming if somewhat distant smile. 

        "I'm sure I don't know what you mean," Adrian replied before he took a half-hearted gulp of his beer. 

        "Listen, I know what a guy looks like when he's been dumped. And you, Adrian, have been capital D, dumped. It's okay, man. I get it. Gen was a heartbreaker and a half."

        "She was more than that. She was..." Adrian paused. He didn't know how to find the right words. There were too many jumbled feelings that welled up when he thought of her. It'd been too long since he could last separate and analyze them but Brian was ever patient.

        "She was?" He prompted very gently, very quietly as if her was afraid Adrian would close off again.

        "She is always on my mind. She drives me crazy! I can't touch her, but she can do as she wishes with me. I hardly know her and I worship the ground she walks on. I am enslaved by her smile!" It came out in a rush of unabashed exclamation. The other patrons turned to give him a strange look. Only Brian seemed to understand. He nodded solemnly as if he too felt these things.

        "I've been taking you to the wrong bar. I think I know exactly what you need. Ever been to the Ball and Chain?" Brian asked with a wicked glint in his eyes.

_______________________

        Lizzy was spending too much time alone. The only time she seemed even a little bit interested was when Geneva talked about kinky sex. She'd only teased her friend about becoming a dominatrix but Lizzy seemed almost invested in that fantasy. 

        "I'm telling you, Genny, you'd look hot in black leather. You've got nice boobs," Lizzy said as she scooped a heaving spoonful of triple chocolate fudge ice cream into her mouth. They indulged after particularly grueling physical therapy sessions.