Mercy (MxM) (COMPLETED)

Chapter Thirty Two- Pottery

Chapter Thirty Two-

Elliot

"So why are we here again?" I ask while following Hayes through the school supplies aisle of the store he brought me to.

"You like organization and I had an idea. Grab index cards. We need red, orange, yellow, green, and purple."

"Are you going to explain this at some point?" I ask while grabbing what he asked me to. He gets a pack of black sharpies and walks to another aisle to get four big jars.

"When we get back to my place, we'll discuss it." He answers dismissively.

When we go to check out, he lets he get a candy bar which makes me happy enough to stop grilling him for answers.

He drives us to his house and immediately leads me to the playroom while still carrying the bags.

"Come sit on the floor."

We both sit on the floor as he starts to open everything, finally beginning to explain.

"I want you to always feel controlled and secure. I know that you like to plan and organize because you never had any stability in your life. I want you to have that with me. I'm never going to take you by surprise when it comes to punishments or rewards, and I will never try something new with you without talking to you about it first. These index cards are yours and I want you to to write down punishments and rewards that we come up with."

"You're going to let me have a say in what punishments I'll receive?" I ask, looking down at the cards while he hands me the marker.

"Yes. We'll add more as we go along and try new things, but the way this system will work is based on you. There's four jars for the punishments and rewards and the colors are how bad or good they are. Red is a severe punishment. Orange is a mild punishment. Yellow is a mild reward. And green is a great reward."

"What about purple?"

"Purple is going to be something better than green. You'll only have a few of them and the only way to get a purple card is if you save three green cards to trade in."

"So it's like money?" I ask, actually feeling myself getting excited by the thought. This might actually make me less of a brat. If I'm super good then I'll get a purple card.

"Yes. The purple cards have to be things that aren't normal for me to give you. So it could be like a punishment veto or an expensive item that I wouldn't normally get for you. It could also be something that pushes my soft limits. I don't like to share you, as you know, but you could put that on one of the cards. Maybe then you'll be able to play with Noel like you asked about."

I smile and nod quickly, eager to start thinking of things. "So whenever I have a punishment or reward, I just pick one of the cards from the jar at random and that's what I get?"

"Exactly. And we'll decide together what to put in them, okay?"

"Okay. Well, whipping and caning both have to be reds."

"I agree. Paddling can be red too since it hurts a lot. Flogging and s******g with my hand or belt can be orange if that's alright with you?" He suggests.

I nod and start to write them down, handing each card to him once I'm finished with it. He folds them and puts them in the jar.

"A massage can be yellow. Blowjobs too."

"Blowjobs can be green. I don't like giving them very much." Hayes admits, making me laugh softly.

This is fun actually. It feels almost like a game, and we're both making it. Hayes is very different from Teagan. Teagan likes to have full control and prefers for his subs not to question much of anything or ask about what will happen.

Hayes isn't like that at all. I know that he's the kind of dom that is very adaptable based on the sub he's with. It makes me think that maybe all of this is just because he knows it's what will make me the most happy and comfortable.

That thought makes me smile bigger and feel very special. He's willing to change so much just to make me happy. Who wouldn't want that?

"Alright and we're all done." Hayes tells me while taking the extra cards. He puts them in the top drawer of the dresser before putting the jars on top. We filled each one up and he told me to really think about what I'd like to have on the purple cards.

"Do you think we could write more as I think of them and then change it up every once in a while so I don't pick the same punishment or reward too many times."

"Of course, baby. That's a good idea."

I stand up and walk over to him with a little smile. I lean in and peck his lips gently before humming. "You should f**k me."

"Not right now." He answers, turning to me.

"How come? Am I annoying you or something?"

I thought things were going well. He did something really sweet for me and now we should spend time together, right? Isn't that how relationships work?

"No, you're not annoying me, baby. I'm just not in the mood."

"I could get you in the mood." I answer with a little smirk, starting to take his belt off.

He grabs my wrists and pulls my hand away from him while raising a brow at me. "Is s*x your only hobby?"

I know he didn't mean to hurt my feelings. I'm sure he didn't even think about it, but I can't help the little pang in my chest.

"Of course not. I like shopping too." I answer, yanking my hands away with a little pout. "Look, it's fine if you don't want to sleep with me. I'm not going to force you or anything, but I don't see the problem with it. Are you not attracted to me anymore?"

"No. God, no, Elliot. Of course I'm attracted to you, but being in a relationship with someone is more than just sex." He tells me before taking my hand to lead me out of the room. "How about I take you to do something fun that doesn't involve getting naked?"

He grabs his keys and leads me out of the house, making me sigh. "I'm not dressed for anything fancy, Hayes. Let me change first."

I look down at my tee shirt and jeans with a sigh, but Hayes ignores me and opens the door to the car.

I climb in and he shuts it before getting in the driver side. I sit patiently while Hayes drives us somewhere.

We get close to Beau's house and pass by the coffee shop he works at. I even see the bookstore he always talks about, but Hayes ends up pulling up to a building that looks sketchy to say the least.

There's only a few cars here and there's no signs or anything as he walks in with me following.

I look around a bit and see a bunch of pots and plates that are painted and have little price tags on them, but when the lady sees us, she just smiles. "Hayes. It's good to have you back. You know where everything is. Make yourself at home."

"Thanks." He responds, taking my hand and pulling me to the back room that had a very clear 'employees only' sign on the front.

Once we walk in, Hayes turns on the lights, revealing all kinds of things. There's different colored clay as well as little wheels and aprons. It's a pottery studio.

"You like pottery?"

"I love it actually. I think you'll love it too."

He grabs an apron for me before pulling his shirt off and putting it on the counter by the sink. I'm not really sure what he's doing, but I do put my apron on, and eventually he comes to me holding a ball of clay.

"I already got the bubbles out of it, so we can start." He walks to the wheel and it's on the chair, scooting back farther than normal before having me sit with him.

I sit in front of him and smile when I feel his body press against me. He gets a sponge from the water bucket in front of us before pushing the pedal with his foot.

He cleans the wheel, getting it wet before dropping the clay on it. He gets his hands wet next and keeps the wheel spinning while using his hands to center the clay.

"Get your hands wet." He tells me, and I obey, watching him for a moment longer before he takes my hands with his dirty ones and places them on the clay.

I watch as the clay sculpts to the shape of my hands, getting taller when I move them up and shorter when I move them down. Once the shape is good, Hayes moves my fingers to start pressing into it, creating a hole in the center.

I can see why Hayes thought I'd like this it's fun but it feels oddly sensual. His arms are around me, guiding my movements as our hands get dirty and wet because of the clay. It's nice... relaxing.

"How did you get into pottery?"

"I learned about it while I was in college. It's a good form of art therapy. It works very well for people with depression or anxiety." He informs me, making me roll my eyes.

"You know I don't like you trying to be my therapist, Hayes."

It's not rocket science. I don't have to be diagnosed with depression to know that there's times where I'll go weeks without brushing my hair because I'm too sad and exhausted to do anything. Sometimes I stay in bed all day and don't move an inch. Sometimes I'll go days without showering.

It's gross and sad and disgusting, but that's why I have Hayes. He makes me happier, and makes me feel good, but I don't want him to see me as a patient rather than a lover.

I don't need a doctor to tell me that I'm f****d up in the head for thinking all of the dark things I do. I don't need a therapist and I don't want one.

I've done fine on my own since I was a toddler. Every single bit of my trauma has made me who I am, and I'm the person that Hayes loves. I don't want that to change.

"Relax. I do this alone all the time. It's also just a relaxing and fun activity and it's great for couples too."

He has me use my fingers to pinch the clay a bit with one finger in the outside and one on the inside.

I can see it start to take shape when he moves my hands up to make it a bit taller and thin out the sides. It looks like a bowl.

Once we finish, he takes the sponge to smooth out the edges before pulling our hands away. He kisses my cheek and hums. "See? Wasn't that fun."

"Yeah. Do you think we could put something like this on the purple cards?"

"What? Pottery?"

"No. Not necessarily. I just like doing this kind of stuff with you."

"You mean dates?"

I shift slightly and shrug. "I guess."

"Have you never been on a date before?"

"I hang out with my friends and stuff but usually when I'm interested in someone, we just have s*x a lot. Darren didn't really like taking me out places. He said I'm embarrassing and he didn't like for his friends to know that we're together. When he did take me places, it was just to run errands and stuff. Never something like this."

"Right. Well, I love taking you on dates, and we can do this kind of thing whenever you want, Elliot. It's not a reward. It's just something that you deserve to experience. For the record, I love showing you off to everyone and making them jealous that I have a hot and amazing boyfriend."

"Thanks. You're really a great guy, you know?"

"You're great too Elliot." He tells me, making me smile more.

Hayes is good for me. I can feel it.