Big Mike Ch. 22

I furrowed my brow at him.

"Don't be basic. I just want you to know. I want you to understand how sexy you are to women. I think one reason why you're so yang is because you've got all this mojo built up and I'm the only girl you can dispense it on. I think if you understand how much power you have over women then you wouldn't feel the need to treat me like a hooker."

Mike looked perplexed and engaged.

"I...see. So you're spreading out my mojo."

"Yup. Like vegemite on toast. Can't have too much in one spot. I'm playing the long game with you. To make you a more responsible boyfriend."

His attention turned to a cunning smirk as he leaned into me more.

"Alright. But aren't you worried about me getting too comfortable with...other women? I thought girls were supposed to get clingy in relationships."

"Oh, it'll hit me sooner or later, I'm sure." I leaned back into the booth seat and unclasped my hands in a helpless gesture. "Can't be helped. You need to level up and understand your power. Because...with great power...comes great responsibility."

Mike's mouth gaped, stunned.

"That...was well done. You're smart."

"I'm more than a pretty face."

"And bonus points for the Spiderman reference. You deserve a reward."

"Then kiss me. Now."

Mike floated for only a second before collapsing over me with a hungry, powerful kiss. His right arm wrapped around my waist and his fat lips pressed hard into me. My body turned to jelly instantly, as it always did when gripped with his bearhug kisses. We stayed like that for a few long seconds until footsteps interrupted us.

"Oh...sorry for interrupting guys. Butterscotch milkshake."

Mike looked up to our waitress and thanked her but I remained dead from his kiss. I stared up at where his face had been a moment ago until she left us alone again and I could take another living breath.

"Oh shit..." Mike said. I grabbed the cold metal tumbler as he continued. "You're right. Her face...she was jealous...wow."

I let that moment sink in for him while I took out a gob of butterscotch ice cream with the long metal spoon. It was pretty damn good.

"Yup. Now consider that women all over have been eyeing you without you realizing it, sizing you up, staring at your big hands and hairy knuckles, wondering what else is big..."

Mike leaned back into the booth seat, seeming completely uninterested in his milkshake at the moment. He had a genuine smile on his face. I enjoyed that calm, delighted expression light up his face, and juxtaposed it to the defensive, suspicious guy that I'd met in the comic book shop one month prior. He looked like a completely different person at that moment.

I slid the tall parfait glass over to him. "Drink up, big guy. You deserve it. You just leveled up."

Mike smirked at me and made the glass shrink by taking it in one of his big mitts. His thick lips wrapped around the red and white straw, and he sucked back half the milkshake in a few seconds. These little details would've been unremarkable if performed by some other man, but Mike's size turned mundane tasks into impressive feats for the right audience. I imagined how much more he could swell up in confidence, power, and size.

It wasn't long before Mike had demolished his milkshake and we were grabbing the bill. I honestly like going Dutch on a date, but I would never have spoiled Mike's opportunity to pay for me in front of this witness. She and I both observed his big hands thumbing through a fat wallet, noticed the disregard he employed as he tossed cash over the bill, and then listened to the slap of his wallet as he closed it and told her to keep the change. I'd leaned back without revealing the slightest interest in the amount or paying it, but I had been doing the math in my head and I could ballpark how much of a tip he had just given her. I saw her face, still holding a touch of interest and jealousy, then light up in surprise as she did the same math I had done. It was a silent joke between Mike and I as we heard her voice betray an eager interest in us.

"I haven't seen you around here before. I'm Jessica."

"Felicia."

"Okay, cool. So, Mike, Sid is in the back if you need to talk to him."

"Oh shit, right. I forgot. I'll text Niko and I'll just be a few minutes with Sid."

We moved the table aside and Mike left me waiting near the entrance. Most of the diners had left and Jessica was the only girl left working the front. We were evidently observing each other so soon enough we just started talking.

"So Mike comes here with his buddies, he said?" She wiped a table as she responded to me.

"Yeah...yeah, he used to. At first just to collect but then he'd stop by with his friends. They'd stay here late and I'd serve them all night."

I nodded along with the slightest confusion.

"Cool. What do you mean collect?"

She stopped wiping her table and stood upright, her mouth slightly agape.

"You know...rent and stuff. Mike's dad is the property owner."

"Oh." Then it was me whose face revealed something. Jessica seemed ever-so-slightly pleased that I'd been unaware of that fact. Mike had only ever referred to his family briefly and begrudgingly, so I really knew little about them. She seized upon that moment to become more chatty.

"Yeah. They own this whole block and collect rent from pretty much everything west of the train tracks. Say, how long have you two been dating?" I was preoccupied in thought just enough to stutter in my response.

"Uhh...a month, I guess."

"Oh, that's great." She turned and left before I could say anything else, leaving me to reflect upon my limited knowledge of my upcoming boyfriend. I'd been so vixen-minded over the last month, I hadn't pressed him for more intimate details or expectations about the rest of his life.

Mike emerged from the back of the kitchen with another man trailing behind him. Sid looked pretty much exactly what I'd expect of a diner-owner named Sid. He was mid-fifties, rather short, fat, balding, and his black hair looked mostly all greyed. Despite those superficial knocks against him, he wasn't unattractive, and he seemed to have a charming way of speaking with his hands as he talked to Mike. Sid was a few inches shorter than I was, so of course he made Mike look gigantic by comparison. They talked and walked through the diner towards me.

"Ohhhh wow. Look at this lady. You clearly hit the jackpot, Mikey. You grab her and don't let go."

Sid was campy how he greeted me, like a typical older guy talking to his younger companion. He had a mustache and some sideburns, and the mildest accent that I couldn't place at all. I instantly liked him. We greeted and chatted quickly amidst awkward confusion over whether we were staying or going.

"Okay, so you'll talk to the big man for me...oh, look who I'm talking to. You're the big man now." Sid laughed and Mike nodded along a bit sheepishly.

"Yep, yep. I'll tell him. No problem." Mike was clearly more polite and reverential than I'd ever seen him before, although I'd never seen him speak with anyone but Aron and Craig, both his juniors. He nodded as we backed out of the diner.

"Alright. Have a great night. Lovely to meet you, Felicia. You come back anytime."

We waved goodbye and found Niko waiting for us outside. Mike opened the door for me in a gentlemanly manner and then shook the whole SUV as he got in on his side.

"How was the meal?" Niko asked me through the rear-view mirror.

"It was...fantastic," I replied.

We headed across the tracks towards my end of town. I felt that sedated post-date satisfaction, surely some combination of evening fatigue and sex hormones being released. We hadn't discussed what was happening next, and I felt a slight conflict within me. Mike looked so damn good in his black outfit and jacket, with his groomed beard and slicked back hair, I could barely resist asking him to come back to my place.

"How're you doin?" he asked, smiling down at me.

"So good." I smiled and looked away, briefly hesitating. "I mean...I'm kinda tired. Still sore from all that...yoga." I emphasized that last word with heavy sarcasm.

"Right." Mike nodded. "From that...stretching."

"Big stretch."

He winced a bit and glanced up to Niko.

"Hey, Nik, we're gonna drop her off. And...can you turn this song up?"

Niko obliged and intuitively increased the volume so we could whisper with some privacy.

"Do you, uh...need a break, then?" He leaned in and asked quietly.

I seriously weighed my lust versus my physical integrity.

"Half of me does. But the rest is good to go. Tomorrow, maybe? My schedule is still clear except for that one day." Mike smiled and nodded.

"Alright. So you can finish your second week then." He slapped his big right hand down on my left thigh, making sure I understood that my service wasn't over. I looked down at that fat, hairy hand gripping me.

"Yes, sir."

Mike smiled and let out a little grumble of satisfaction.

"Good. I can give you an opportunity to practice that safety word." My lips parted and I released a little breath at the sensation of his fingers squeezing into the inside of my thigh.

"Right...I guess I need practice." Mike gripped me further, inching his fingers up my thigh.

"Well...I've got a week to whip you into shape." Mike's mojo spilled all over me with those words. He made it hard for me not to beg him to come up to my apartment. I flushed a bit with a small laugh.

"Well...I'm flexible enough...I can be whatever shape you want."

My response was lame, and I just pressed my left hand onto his right. We stayed silent the rest of the ride home, not making eye contact. I enjoyed the coarse hair and the meaty bulk of his huge hand, and the strength of his fingers clutching my thigh.

The car eventually pulled up and Mike motioned to get my door for me, but I stopped him. Even though he was in gentlemen-mode, I didn't want him to be inconvenienced by having to move unnecessarily; Mike had that wealthy fat man aura about him.

"No, no. I'm good. Let's say goodnight here." Mike turned a bit to face me instead, as much as his incredible girth allowed.

"Okay...so, you ready to go back to work tomorrow?"

"No, I don't work until Thursday."

Mike glanced towards Niko ever so quickly, who looked down at his phone in wait.

"I mean...your other job." He furrowed his brow suggestively. He didn't mean the restaurant; he meant the start of my second week as his personal hooker.

"Ahh...right. Yes. Back at work, sharp and proper. Umm...you're at the store tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Till five or six."

"Alright. So I'll come by and see you after. What should I bring for dinner?"

Mike smiled at my offer of bringing him dinner. "Surprise me."

We sat there smiling at each other like idiots for a minute. It was pretty cute.

"Okay."

"Alright."

Mike hesitated for a second, but he leaned in with a hand around my waist and planted a goodnight kiss on my lips. I saw him coming in, closed my eyes, and let out the slightest whimper as his mouth smothered mine. The scruff of his beard swamped my chin and the hot breath of his nose steamed me like shrimp dumpling.

We parted slowly, and I recovered my composure.

"Your kisses make me feel like food."

Mike smiled and I heard a little snort of laughter from Niko.

"Well...you'd better head up to bed or else you'll end up getting eaten."

I smiled and put my hand on the door handle, not wanting to depart from our flirty little moment. Mike licked his lips, urging me to open the door with a quick threat of being devoured.

"Bye!" I yelled as I skipped up to my front door.

I took a while fumbling with my keys so I could glance back and look at them talking. I wondered what they were saying through the tinted windows. I imagined Niko was complimenting Mike on the job he'd done on me, using his older-brotherly wisdom to spot a thoroughly snared woman. I wondered what details of my sexual proclivities Mike was revealing. I wondered who Niko was to Mike, as he clearly wasn't just a driver. I imagined some brief story that connected Niko and Sid and Mike's father, some story that belonged on the wrong side of the train tracks. I looked forward to meeting these characters in the deeper ring of Mike's story. I looked forward to becoming one of them.

I entered my building with a giddy curiosity.