Dating: Afternoon Delight

"Are you bleeding?" he asked. She looked at him. "There's blood on the bed." he nodded to a small stain on the mattress.

She looked puzzled, shook her head and checked her body. "No, I don't think so. Not that I noticed. Is there blood on me?" she asked, lifting her legs one at a time then spinning round. He shook his head. "Oh. I don't know, no. Sorry!" she said, feeling awkward. He told her reassuringly not to worry. They started to get dressed in silence, she didn't look at him and felt awkward. "Where are my pants?" she asked, shaking out her trouser leg.

He looked round the bed clothes on the floor at his feet and lifted up her pants. "These?" he asked, handing them to her. She tried to get dressed quickly but he was dressed just as quick as he'd got undressed and lifted the bed clothes from the floor in a bundle before walking past her and downstairs. She took a breath and fixed her clothes then walked downstairs. The high glucose alarm sounded on her phone again and she tutted and grumbled at her phone as she dismissed it. Tom walked from the kitchen into the living room as she walked downstairs. "I don't know how you manage all the bells and whistles!" he said. She heard the washing machine start as she got to the bottom of the stairs and sat on the stairs to put on her shoes. She stood up, got her keys from her bag and put on her coat. Tom came into the hallway. "You don't have to leave just yet, I was going to make us tea." he said, stepping into the kitchen.

"Oh... really? Ok. Ehhh yeah. Tea would be nice." she said surprised, walking towards the living room.

"Take a seat." he said, gesturing into the living room as he boiled the kettle.

"OK. Milk, no sugar please. I'm sweet enough." she giggled. She went in to the living room and sat on the sofa, she tried to seem relaxed but she felt awkward and self-conscious.

He came into the living room and handed her a cup of tea and then went to give her a mini chocolate sponge cake. She shook her head. "No I'm OK, thanks." she said. She was disappointed that he didn't sit beside her on the sofa and instead moved the arm chair round to face her and sat in it with his legs stretched out on the foot stool. They chatted briefly about the work on his house. Then he asked if everything was OK, gesturing upstairs. Her eyes widened and she laughed out loud as she realised what he was asking. "You want feedback?!" She asked, disbelievingly, as she laughed.

He looked surprised and his head jerked back. "Well, yeah. I mean... why not?" he asked.

She realised he was serious so she stopped laughing and looked him in the eye. "Ok, yeah. 10/10, would come again!" she smirked. He looked at her like he didn't belive her. "Seriously, yeah." He still looked unconvinced. She nodded quickly.

"Ok..." he replied. She could see him thinking as he looked out the window. "But how does it compare?" he asked.

"to a woman..." he said, blushing and shifting awkwardly in his chair.

"Oh my God." she said under her breath, rubbing her forehead with her hand and looking round the room before taking a deep breath. "If the last person I had sex with was a man, would you want to know this?" she asked.

"No!" he said, looking horrified.

"OK then." she nodded. "I'm not giving you any fodder!" she said with a laugh.

"You need to communicate more." he said with an awkward arrogance.

"Really?" she asked, surprised and wondering what bullshit this guy was on about. He nodded. "Cos that's the first time in my life anyone has ever said that to me." she said. He nodded quickly. "I'm pretty good at communicating. How's this? That was good and I came." she said with a laugh, looking him dead in the eye.

He blushed and nodded, looking away from her gaze. She sipped her tea and looked around the room. "Is it easy for you to come?" he asked. She looked at him and shook her head. "No? OK." He said quietly. She figured he was congratulating himself and she was surprised to realise this guy was really insecure.

"For a split second I worried I was taking so long but..." she shrugged.

He looked panicked. "You mean taking so long to do or you felt like you were taking a long time to...?" he asked.

She interrupted. "No, I felt like I was taking so long to get there." She explained.

He shook his head. "No, the build up was good. You didn't... you weren't... it wasn't a problem." he smiled as he stumbled over his words.

Selina felt strange talking so candidly to a stranger about the sex they'd just had. She smiled to herself realising the irony of that feeling. They were in full-on post-mortem mode. It was good but also weird. "What's your feedback then?" she asked.

He sat back in the chair and stretched out his legs on the foot stool. "That was a great blow job. A really great blow job." he said as he felt his dick over his jeans.

"Thanks." she said wryly with a smirk, looking at him from under her eyelids. She didn't tell him she'd always been complimented on her blow job skills and it was nice to know a stranger felt the same. "What was so good about it?'she asked.

"That was a proper dirty blow job, properly dirty." he said, looking at her.

She frowned. "In what way?" she asked.

"Well, it was a very dominant position for me. I like that feeling of dominance and that position was hot." He said. She nodded once. "And letting me come in your mouth and on your face... that doesn't really..." he sighed. "Most women don't like that because they say it makes them feel degraded or undignified or whatever." he looked at her.

He'd used the 'most women' phrase. She chose to ignore it. She shrugged. "It doesn't bother me, depending on what's happening. Plus, in that moment you aren't the most powerful person." she smirked. He raised his eyebrows and she could see him thinking.

"It's strange going from a long-term relationship to not and having to wear condoms. I hate condoms." he said, looking at her curiously.

"Who doesn't?! I haven't met anyone who says they love using condoms, have you?" she asked.

"No, obviously not. I just mean it feels much better if I...enter you without." he said awkwardly. She cringed at his use of the word 'enter'. "And I would pull out way ahead of time, and just toss myself off." he said. She cringed again. She didn't tell him she loved the feeling of a man fucking her until he came inside her. The feeling of him inside her at that moment was the most intimate, vulnerable, powerful feeling and she relished it.

She shrugged with one shoulder. "Well, I have always had an abject fear of getting pregnant. I don't want to have kids and if that happened I'd have to procure an abortion and..." she shrugged and he looked alarmed.

"I know that fear, I remember that feeling when I was younger." he said. She nodded. "I'm careful not to blow my load inside." he said, looking at her with a curious expression.

"Well, unless I'm in a long-term, committed relationship I'm not going to let someone come inside me." she said.

He looked disappointed. "Fair enough." he said. He changed the subject to talk about his daughter, his relationship with her and the differences in parenting styles between himself and his ex. He spent the next hour unburdening himself of all his gripes, dissatisfaction and woes of single fatherhood and how he struggled with it. The disdain and bitterness he felt towards his ex, her influence on their daughter, and the difficulties he was experiencing with his daughter's school and the other parents, mainly the mothers, was conspicuous though she knew he thought he was just airing his views.

She didn't give her opinion on what he said since she didn't have children, didn't want them and didn't know anything about this fractured family. She counteracted some of his statements, making her feminist standpoint known. It wasn't necessarily in opposition to him. He didn't take it kindly. She looked at her watch. This guy had been sounding off to her for a couple of hours about a situation he obviously played a major part in creating and was still regretting 3 years later. Time to leave.

She finished her tea and stated her intention to leave. It seemed to startle him out of his self-pity party. "Thank you for your hospitality." she said lightly as she stood up.

"Is that what you call it?" he asked. She laughed. "You're welcome." he said. He laughed and reached out his hand for her tea cup. "Thanks for the blow job!" he said.

"You're welcome!" she smirked. She glanced towards the TV where he had paused Netflix at the start of Hustle. "Are you gonna spend the afternoon watching a film about lapdancers?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"No, that's not... that's an Adam Sandler film." he said nodding towards the TV. "You're thinking of..." he started.

She interrupted him. "The Jennifer Lopez one, yeah. Have you seen it?" she asked. He shook his head. "You should. I'd recommend it." she smirked and raised her eyebrows.

"Really? OK. Nope, wrong film kid." he said playfully. He followed her out in to the hall and she lifted her bag. She didn't realise he was so close behind her when she turned round from the front door and he leaned down to kiss her in short, sucking kisses. She stopped and looked at him before kissing him again and he exhaled loudly and slipped his tongue into her mouth. She stepped back on her feet and he groaned quietly and stopped kissing her. "You better go or I'll want another blow job." he said with a smirk. She sighed a laugh. She half wanted to ask if he wanted to see her again but something in her mind made her think it wasn't a good idea. She turned to leave and they said a mutual sing-song of "Bye" as she stepped out of his house and walked down the driveway.

Later that night she gave in and texted him. He agreed he wanted to see her again and he would like 'that blow job most times'.

Selina didn't reply until the following day, she told him she didn't realise until he'd said that she needed to communicate more. She told him she was more vocal and less submissive once she got to know someone better. He replied saying he didn't remember saying that. She rolled her eyes. He said he'd like to see her again but it wouldn't be for a while because 'he had a lot of parenting to do'. She replied telling him she had a lot of things planned for the next few weeks, which was the truth, and she was glad she had. He replied with a half-hearted 'I love having plans to look forward to.'

She wasn't sure she really wanted to see him again. She wasn't expecting him to want a relationship so it didn't hinder her swiping on the dating apps. She knew she didn't want to have a FWB situation. They were both too old for that and the fact that he had a kid and didn't drive would mean Selina would have to do all the travelling and fit in with him. It didn't sit well with her. The sex was great, she was pleasantly surprised at how caring and affectionate Tom had been and how safe she felt. She spent the next few days expecting feelings of guilt or shame or regret but they never appeared.

She felt empowered and liberated and proud. Her confidence had been boosted that without freshly shaved armpits, with chipped toe nail polish, at her heaviest weight and wearing her insulin pump, she had had great sex with a complete stranger.

As the days passed, she thought more about the post-coital conversation she and Tom had, she reflected on lots of things he said. They popped into her head at random times, when she was washing her hair or driving or at work, things she'd not really taken much notice of at the time. She realised how unhappy Tom was in his life. How he had just wanted a break from it for a few hours and some company that wasn't his sassy 5 year old daughter.

The following weekend it was Father's Day. Selina sent Tom a message wishing him a Happy Father's Day. He replied right away, thanking her, telling her they'd started the day with a bacon sandwich and sharing a picture of his daughter sitting on the sofa with him eating said sandwich. She replied telling him his daughter was beautiful and wishing them a good day together. They shared a brief message in the evening to say they'd had a nice day.

The weeks continued and neither Selina or Tom messaged each other. They kept each other on WhatsApp. Selina noticed he changed his profile photo to one of him with his hair shaved into a faux mohawk. It looked dreadful, it didn't suit him and she thought to herself he was having a slight crisis. She was glad to not be involved with him, glad he wasn't interested in messaging or seeing her again. She found herself feeling sorry for him and grateful for her own life and choices she'd made. She knew she didn't want to date a man with children. At least not one as unhappy as poor Tom, who seemed stuck in a rut and unsure how to help himself get out of it.

She continued to feel empowered and confident about her encounter with Tom and relieved it was only a one time thing.

Back to swiping.