Pushing the Limit -Book 2 - 5. Chapter 5

David heard and felt the buzz of a text as he was wrapping up a conversation with his daughter. He had told her that he would probably be coming home soon. In reality, there was no ‘probably’ about it. He knew it was time to go home and face reality again. He was in a better place.

The past couple of weeks had been quite interesting that was for sure. Dr. Charlotte had stuck to her guns and made him go to Bristol. He had followed her directions, knowing that if he didn’t he’d probably get his knuckles rapped like a petulant schoolboy. In retrospect it had been good for him, reintroducing him to a part of himself that had lain dormant for so long.

The conversation that he had with Dr. Charlotte upon his return had been eye-opening, to say the least. He had left on Saturday morning and returned Sunday afternoon, followed her directions, and stopped at the bed and breakfast that she had told him to stay at. The proprietor, Molly, was a surprise. He had pictured an older lady, retired, running a B&B to supplement her retirement income. Instead he was greeted by a pretty woman, close to his own age with a quick smile. Her husband travelled for work and was gone at least two weeks out of any given month. She had inherited the B&B when her mother had passed away. It had been in the family for nearly seventy years. Dr. Charlotte had been friends with her late grandmother and had kept in touch.

Molly had given him the blue room without his having to ask. The B&B had originally been a tavern, built in the mid 1700’s. Thick stone walls weathered the passage of time and over the last century or so, additions, renovations and upgrades had converted the structure into a pleasant bed and breakfast establishment. Now the building housed a beautiful open common area on the ground floor, the original, massive stone fireplace being the central focal piece. There were comfortable chairs and couches, bookcases filled with novels, puzzles and board games. A bright open kitchen and dining room was welcoming to its guests. Upstairs there were six bedrooms, each with it’s own bathroom.

After David had checked in he had several hours to kill before going to the club so he set off on foot to explore. He found a nice Indian restaurant where he enjoyed a pleasant meal, then he headed back to get ready for the club. This is the point where Dr. Charlotte had grilled him.

He had told her that he went to the club just like she instructed and the DM had given him a pass. He had wandered around for a bit, checking things out and had settled in the main lounge area and ordered whiskey on the rocks. He introduced himself to a couple of other Doms who had approached him. Their subs were with them, sitting obediently at their feet quietly. David had enjoyed a pleasant conversation with the men and was invited to observe their scenes. Both Doms were sadists and their subs were masochists. Watching the two Doms wield their instruments of choice was beautiful to watch. One preferred a cane. It was easy to see that his sub was completely in tune with his Sir. Each blow was delivered with precision, designed to inflict maximum pain, without doing permanent harm. The look on the sub’s face was an amazing blend of pain and pleasure. Not one sound ever came from him. The second Dom preferred a flogger. He too, knew exactly how to use it properly. He allowed, and even encouraged his sub to be more vocal, his cries were arousing. David’s own Dominant traits could be seen in the way that he watched with confidence, nodding his approval when the other Dom did something that he himself would have done. He felt excited for the first time since he had come to Europe.

David had stayed well into the night, watching the interactions between Doms and their subs intently. He realized that while he had really missed this part of his life, he didn’t feel the pull to go back to the casual scene playing that he had done previously. Being involved with TC for the past year had planted a seed of longing in him. He wanted a long term relationship. He wanted to fall asleep and wake up to the same person everyday. He knew deep down that he still wanted TC, but watching the interactions of the two Doms and their subs had him thinking that maybe getting out there and dating again wouldn’t be such a bad idea. It was something that he knew he should discuss with Dr. Charlotte when he got back.

Dr.Charlotte had watched closely as David had told her about his evening just observing. He knew she was going to comment and wasn’t surprised when she finally asked “So what was going through your mind while you were being a voyeur?”

“I wasn’t a voyeur, I was observing.” David had corrected.

She had countered with “Did you get sexual satisfaction observing another Dom working with his sub?”

She caught him when he blushed and said “Not during the scenes, I masturbated afterward.”

“Then you were a voyeur.” she replied in her clipped British accent, an amused smile lighting up her face.

He had merely kept silent, knowing that it was useless to disagree. He had been hard the entire time that both Doms were working their scenes.

“So David, tell me, did you feel the urge to have someone that you could control. Could you picture yourself in their place?” she asked.

He had replied, “Yes, but I don’t think I could do anything on a casual basis. I don’t think I’d want to contract a boy for the evening. I’m pretty sure I’m at the point in my life where I would need to get to know someone first. Being with TC this past year made me want a long term relationship again. I’m not quite ready to jump into the dating pool yet, but I feel like it’s a possibility that I should consider.”

“Excellent!” Dr. Charlotte nearly yelled at him, causing him to jump.

She laughed and chided “Don’t be so jumpy! I didn’t mean to startle you, but David, you do realize that this is the first time you mentioned TC during this conversation. You’re moving forward and that’s good.”

He had realized that she had been right. Even while he had been at the club, TC had only been a fleeting thought that had breezed through his brain when he saw something that reminded him of how TC would have handled something. He was completely able to function on his own the entire night.

“Wow, you’re right. I feel a lot better now. When I first got here, I felt like my emotions and thoughts were caught up in a category 5 hurricane. They’re still swirling around, but it’s more like a tropical storm now.” David admitted.

“What do you think this means?” Dr. Charlotte prompted.

“I think it means I’m just about ready to go home,” he replied.

Dr. Charlotte had smiled at him, “Home is waiting for you David.”

So here he was, wrapping up a phone call with Lyssa, letting her know he was coming home soon. How soon remained to be seen. He would need to check out flights and see what was available. Before she ended this last call she told him to check his text, she was sending him a reminder of why he needed to come home.

David tapped on his message icon and looked at what she had sent. His heart clenched as he saw a picture that she must have taken the weekend they spent on TC’s boat for the twin’s birthday last year. It was the night that Owen and Lyssa had woken them up to go watch the dolphins play in the light of the newly risen full moon. The moon was in the background, two dolphins caught in mid-air, leaping out of the still water, silhouetted behind him and TC. TC’s arms were wrapped around him, his bearded chin resting on David’s shoulder. Their faces were partially shadowed, but Lyssa had still managed to capture their expressions. David ignored the tear that slid down his cheek as he recognized the look of two people in love. He saved the picture automatically and wiped away the stray tear.

The following morning he looked up flights and found one reasonably priced, but required fourteen days advance notice. He didn’t understand why one way flights were so much more expensive than a round trip. He looked at some of the lower cost carriers, but they were sold out for the next few weeks. Most of them only operated on certain days of the week, not everyday, so their capacity was lower. He was getting frustrated when he remembered a trick that one of his coworkers had told him about. He played around with the dates and was able to find a round trip ticket with a departure date a week and a half away. He would just not use the return portion. He wouldn’t get a refund for the unused flight, but it still worked out in his favor as the round trip price was three hundred dollars less than the one way. Go figure. The airlines didn’t like these throwaway return flights, but hell, if they priced things fairly, people wouldn’t have to screw around with their seat inventory. His flight was now booked and paid for, and with change fees being so expensive, he was pretty much locked in to his departure date, barring an emergency.

He started to call TC several times, but each time he chickened out before the call could connect. It took another few days before he was able to let the call actually start ringing after he hit the icon for TC’s contact info. When he had hit the green little phone picture his hands were shaking.

The phone was silent for a moment, giving his anxiety just enough time to ramp up to a level where he nearly ended the call. The thing finally rang and then David heard the voice that made his heart start beating again.

“Hi.”

“Hi.” David returned.

He cleared his throat, his emotions seemed to trap the air as it tried to leave his lungs. Gaining back his vocal ability he said “It’s good to hear your voice. How are you?”

TC answered “I’m doing better. Actually I’m doing OK finally. What about you?”

“I feel like I’m coming out from a deep, dark cave. The light is there, and it’s getting brighter. I’ve been talking with someone for the past several weeks. She’s been a huge help.” David told him.

“She?” TC questioned.

David let out a little laugh and answered “Yeah, she. Think Dr. Ruth, but with a British accent.”

TC snickered at the mental image that popped into his head and commented “This I have to hear.”

David explained how he had spent several weeks couch surfing and then had spotted her ad for a handyman in exchange for a place to stay. He had stripped and waxed her floors and gotten all of her spare room clutter decluttered. He would see how far he could get with the garage before he left.

“She’s pretty amazing. If anyone had ever told me I’d be getting advice from a four foot eight inch, octogenerian, ex-sex therapist I’d have had them committed. What about you? Lyssa told me you were seeing a therapist too.”

“Yeah, well, I, uh, did something pretty stupid and I’d rather talk about it when you get back, that is if you want to get together and talk,” TC said.

“That’s why I’m coming back. We do have a lot to talk about. I’m sorry TC. I’m sorry for running away.” David stated.

“Don’t. We both made mistakes. I never realized how wrong I was until I was forced to face the errors of my ways. I’ve been seeing a therapist and it’s helped me figure out a lot of things. I’ve got a ways to go, but I’m getting there. So when are you coming home?” TC asked.

“The end of the week. I’ll text you my flight information. I’m flying into Tampa so I’ll see if Renee or Owen can pick me up. Can we maybe get together on Saturday? I’ll be too wiped out on Friday.” David said.

“Sure, text me and let me know what time and where you want to meet. I’ll be there. And David? It’s good to know you’re coming home. I’ve missed you.” TC admitted.

“I’ve missed you too, TC. I’ll see you Saturday.” David ended the call, still full of worry about his impending return, but comforted by the fact that TC was willing to get together to talk.

He went back inside Dr. Charlotte’s cottage and the diminutive senior was waiting for him in the living room, a cup of coffee ready along with a tray of biscuits. He smiled as she merely nodded at the chair he usually sat in for their talks.

“So, how did the dreaded phone call go?” she asked, knowing how hard it had been for him to place the call.

“Not half as bad as I had imagined. He sounded good. He said he did something really stupid, but we’re going to wait until we see each other before we get into any nitty gritty details.’ David replied.

‘That’s probably for the best. So, tell me, what are your thoughts about going home?” she wanted to know.

“I’m nervous. I’m also looking forward to it. I’ve missed my life, especially my kids.” he admitted.

“What makes you nervous?” she prompted.

“Well, obviously seeing TC again. I’m not sure where we stand.” he answered.

“David, what is it that you want to see happen with TC? You’re still in love with him. How are you going to approach that, knowing that in all likelihood, he’s still in love with you as well?” She certainly knew how to throw the hardball questions.

“I think for now I just want my best friend back. We should have started there, right from the beginning. I need to talk about that with him. There’s a lot of things we need to figure out. I know I’m going to have to learn how to keep our friendship, knowing that we can’t go back to what we had. He needs to find someone who needs him completely. I need to find someone who needs me, but also who can take care of me when I need to be taken care of. It’s going to be a big shift for both of us. Like I said before, I’m not sure I’m ready to get out into the dating world again, but I’m willing to try. I’m hoping that TC is willing to consider putting himself out there too.” he told her.

Dr. Charlotte smiled at him and said “I’m proud of you David. When I first saw you at the bus station I said to myself, ‘That is a broken man’. Now look at you, you’ve picked up the pieces and are putting them back together. It’s still going to take time and I guarantee it won’t be easy, but I believe you and TC will figure it out. It may not be what you ever envisioned, but you’ll find exactly what you need from each other.”

“Thank you. Thank you for placing that ad. I’ll never forget how much guidance you’ve given me. I’m going to miss you.” David reached over and took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Dr. Charlotte’s eyes were a little misty as she squeezed back with a quiet strength that surprised David “Hmmmpphh, you never know, I just might get the urge to be one of those bird things you have in Florida. I’m rather tired of cold winters!” she tittered.

David outright laughed. He could very well picture Dr. Charlotte taking over at one of the many retirement communities that were scattered across the state. Potluck dinners and Bingo nights would never be the same.

The next few days flew by for David. He spent two days getting as much done in Dr. Charlotte’s garage as he could. He managed to get almost half of it cleared out. She would need to find someone to help her with the rest of it. His flight was scheduled out of London on Friday morning. Dr. Charlotte took him to the local pub for dinner on Wednesday night, a sort of ‘farewell’ dinner. He recognized a few of the locals that he had seen several times on his various outings in the area.

Thursday morning he spent sorting out his belongings and repacking most everything into his backpack. He smiled wistfully when he came across the carved box he had picked up for TC. He made sure it was wrapped up securely before nestling it in with the clothes he was packing. He’d have to check the damn bag, it was too big to be a carry on. He still had the small duffle bag he had used on his flight over so he used that for his tablet and some snacks. Dr. Charlotte insisted on driving him to the airport. He tried to tell her it was not necessary, but once she made up her mind there was no changing it. Besides, she had made arrangements to visit an old colleague for a couple of days.

David wasn’t sure he would survive three hours in her little car, the ride to Bristol had barely been tolerable, especially when you threw in the fact that he had to drive on the opposite side of the road from what he was used to. He would just have to deal with it.

In the end, he managed. The passenger seat got pushed all the way back and by leaning the seat back a couple of inches he was able to give his legs just enough room. The top of his head brushed the roof of the car and he really hoped there were no big bumps.

Dr. Charlotte was a pistol behind the wheel, especially when you considered that she could barely see over the steering wheel, even while sitting on a cushion. How she even managed to reach the pedals he never did figure out. She drove fast, not fast as in unsafe fast, but more like he did back home. If the speed limit was 70mph, you did 80. He still had trouble converting miles to kilometers, for some reason his brain just didn’t want to do the calculations. Whenever he drove on I-75 he got a kick out of the overhead signs indicating how long it would take to get to the next exit. He and most everyone he knew, looked at one of those signs ‘Exit 217, 5 miles ahead, 5-7 minutes’ and thought to themselves “Challenge accepted” before pushing down on the gas pedal just a little bit more.

They made it around London, on the outskirts to the hotel that David had booked for the night. His flight left at 8:30 the following morning and he would need to be at the terminal before 6:30am to get through security. The hotel provided a free shuttle and the rate wasn’t too bad considering it was the middle of the summer tourist season. .

He got his stuff out of the boot of Dr. Charlotte’s little car and she got out of the driver’s side to come around. David had tears in his eyes as he said good-bye to the wonderful lady who had become a good friend. She promised to keep in touch and told him she was going to look into coming across the pond for a month or two in the winter. She was dead serious too.

David went down on one knee to give her a genuine, heartfelt hug. She kissed his cheek and made him promise to keep her up to date on his progress with TC. That was one promise he knew he wouldn’t break. She’d haunt him for the rest of his life if he didn’t, he was sure about that. He had a feeling that weekly phone calls and texts to her would be part of his routine for quite some time. He knew that he would still need her guidance navigating the new waters that he and TC were going to attempt to ford.

David watched her get back into her car, pretending to ignore the tears that he had seen in her eyes. He turned and waved as she went by, giving a little toot to her horn. Once she was out of sight he grabbed his bags and stepped into the hotel’s lobby to check in. He spent a quiet evening watching TV and playing on his phone. Reality was only one day away and he tried not to think about what might happen when he finally saw TC again.

The following morning came much too quickly. After a quick shower he gathered his things and went down to the lobby to catch the shuttle over to the terminal. It was only a ten minute ride to reach the airport, but another ten minutes to reach the proper terminal. London Heathrow was a behemoth of an airport, covering nearly five square miles. The shuttle driver dropped him off at the terminal for British Airways international departures and he made his way inside. This early in the morning foot traffic was light, but there were still a fair amount of people at the counters checking in and checking their bags. David had already checked in online so all he needed to do was drop off his bag. It didn’t take long and soon enough he was queued up in the security line, passport in hand, barcode on his phone pulled up.

Like so many other things it was hurry up and wait. Once through security David found his gate, then wandered over to one of the open stores and checked out their wares. He bought t-shirts for both Lyssa and Owen, one last souvenir. He also added a couple of bottles of water and some snacks, knowing he had a long flight.

He sat back down in the waiting area and passed the time people watching. He could overhear the gate attendants talking about the seating situation. It looked like the flight wasn’t full and he listened carefully as they discussed the number of open seats in business class. When he heard one of them mention that they would make an announcement offering discounted upgrades, he immediately stood up and positioned himself close to the counter, When the announcement came five minutes later he was ready. Happily he handed over his credit card which took a hit for an extra 200 British pounds and in exchange he was given a new boarding pass. He and three other passengers took advantage of the discounted upgrade and he was happy he did. Even with the additional people added to business class, it still wasn’t full. As an extra bonus he got a window seat, which he preferred on longer flights. It would be nice to put his feet up and not have to worry about banging into the person next to him.

The hours flew by quickly, he had a connection in New York at JFK. He made it through customs, pleasantly surprised when the customs agent scanned his passport and welcomed him home. He had a two hour connection and by the time he made it through customs and grabbed a bite to eat he was at his next gate with forty-five minutes to spare. There was no upgrade on this flight, but he had lucked out and even though he was at the back of the plane, the middle seat was empty and his companion on the aisle merely nodded at him when he sat down and then stuck his ear buds into his ears.

Two and half hours later he was once again watching the Gulf of Mexico glide by beneath them. They had flown along the Florida coast and went a little further than the airport before swinging back to approach the south runway. David could see the Sunshine Skyway bridge spanning the bay. He smiled as he realized how close to home he was.

The plane landed with a firm thump as the wheels hit the runway. He had to wait for all of the rows in front of him to empty before he stood up and grabbed his bag. He was the last one off and got the ubiquitous “buh-bye” from both flight attendants manning the door. He caught the tram right before the doors shut and the ride to the main terminal wasn’t even two minutes.

David exited the secure area and as he walked toward the escalator down to baggage claim he heard a familiar voice cry “DaaaaddddYYYY!!!” He saw Lyssa skip-hopping toward him, still not quite fully functional on her injured leg. He walked briskly toward her, a massive smile lighting up his face as he dropped his bags and scooped her up in his arms. His little girl wrapped herself around him and the tears let loose from both of them. He felt another strong set of arms engulf both of them as Owen threw himself into the hugfest.

It took a minute or two before they untangled themselves. He spotted Renee standing close by and he greeted his ex-wife with a hug of her own as well as a kiss on her cheek.

“Welcome home David. Wow, you look different.” she greeted him.

Constant travel, stress and taking care of all of the manual labor at Dr. Charlotte’s cottage had resulted in him finally shedding the extra twenty pounds that had clung to him over the past fifteen years or so. He wasn’t ripped and cut by any means, but his waist was leaner and his abs actually had a little of the definition that he thought he had left behind in his twenties.

Lyssa had attached herself to his side once again and she reached up and ran her hands over the wiry bristles of the beard that had filled in over the past couple of months. It had been too much of a hassle to shave everyday while travelling.

“Hmmmm, the jury's still out over this.” Lyssa declared.

“I like it Dad, it suits you.” Owen told him.

“Well, we’ll see what happens.” he replied.

They all made their way down the escalator to the baggage claim, which had just started spitting out bags onto the conveyor belt from the abyss behind the rubber flaps. It took another five minutes or so before David spotted the bulky backpack that had been his constant travelling companion for over two months and snatched it off the belt.

“Are you hungry? Owen can order pizza and we can pick it up on our way to your house.” Renee offered.

“Sounds good to me. I was planning on ordering something anyway.” David declared.

“I stocked you up on basics by the way. You have fresh milk, eggs, some fruit, bread, that kind of stuff. I figured you’d be wiped out for your first day or so.” Renee told him.

“Thanks, you’re the best,” he replied.

Exiting the terminal David was hit with a blast of heat and humidity. Damn, Florida summers were brutal. He was grateful when the A/C in Renee’s SUV kicked in quickly. They stopped at Joey D’s to pick up the pizza that Owen had ordered. David sat in the car, his mind drifting as the fatigue from a full day of travelling caught up to him. It wasn’t a long drive from there to his house and he noted gratefully that the house had been well taken care of in his absence.

Renee and the kids took care of getting plates and drinks and David gave them some of the highlights from his time in Europe, showing off some of the pictures he had taken on his phone. When he scrolled to the ones of Dr. Charlotte, both kids tried to grill him about who she was. He told them that he would tell them all about her another time. He gave the kids the t-shirts he had picked up, both of them liking the addition to their wardrobes. Even though it was only six o’clock in Florida, it was midnight back in the UK and that’s where his body’s time clock was set to. He knew that he needed to stay up another few hours, as it would help reset him back to Florida time.

Renee made the kids clean up and she took David aside to ask him if he was really OK.

David looked at Renee, her concern quite evident and said “Ren, I’m in a much better place right now. I made a lot of mistakes, but I’ve learned from them. I spoke to TC this week and we’re getting together tomorrow to talk. Thank you for being you and worrying about me, but I really am OK.” he assured her.

“OK, I’m going to take the kids and leave you be. If you need anything you just let us know, alright?” she said.

“I will.” he promised.

Renee prodded both kids and after another round of hugs and ‘I love yous’, David was once again left alone with his thoughts. Thoughts that were now under control, rather than blowing like an out of control tempest in his head. As tired as he was, he stayed up for another couple of hours before finally giving in to the call of his own bed and pillow, which thanks to Renee had fresh sheets and pillowcases.

Drifting off he thought about TC and hoped that tomorrow would mark a new beginning for them.