Page 19 of Stripping the Sub
Staring at her computer screen, Ellie made a face.
Not because the current design she was working on looked bad - it didn’t - but because she was having serious trouble focusing for the fourth day in a row. Fortunately, she didn’t have anything urgent this week, but since she was a freelance graphic artist, the faster she worked the better. After all, she couldn’t take on new projects if she was already working on too many unfinished ones.
This week she was working particularly slowly. Her mind kept wandering, back to the weekend and her scene with Michael and forward to this upcoming weekend and fantasizing about what this scene might be like. What he might do. What he might try to surprise her with. How she might act.
Whether or not they’d have sex this time.
It was weird; before scening with him, she’d fantasized, of course, but it hadn’t made her so antsy. Hadn’t made her feel so impatient and needy. Scening with him had awoken some kind of itch inside of her, and she couldn’t scratch it, not with a regular dildo, a vibrator, a plug, her Hitachi, or even a combination of toys. She just stayed… itchy.
When her phone buzzed with an incoming text message, it was a relief to turn away from the computer screen.
Angel -I’m bored at home. Wanna go to lunch? Olivia’s in the area so she’s coming too.
Ellie grinned. Distraction? Yes, please! Plus she could give Angel the present she’d ordered for her last week, which had come in yesterday.
Sure, where?
Murphy’s Meals in half an hour?
The restaurant Maria was the day manager of… duh. She should have guessed; Murphy’s was the go-to place for all of the girls in the group if Maria was working. Fortunately, it was also really good food and affordable.
Sounds good, see you there.
Strangely, having a new distraction in the form of going out to lunch actually helped her get some work done in the fifteen minutes before she had to leave, which meant she didn’t feel so bad about going out to lunch. When she got to the restaurant, Angel was already sitting in a booth with Maria and Olivia, all of them chatting animatedly. As soon as Angel saw Ellie, she perked up and waved, making the other two turn.
Olivia was dressed in a red power suit that somehow managed to not clash with her red hair, which was pulled back into a neat bun. Next to her, Maria’s messy bun of curly hair looked even messier, although just as cute; she was wearing a basic teal-blue, button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. As always, the most casually dressed was Angel, whose purple t-shirt featured a white, maniacally laughing bunny running with a chainsaw in each hand and the words “My Spirit Animal” emblazoned above the bunny’s gleeful countenance. Ellie’s lips twitched. The t-shirt was definitely getting a little tight over Angel’s bump, which was starting to become too big for her to wear her regular clothes.
Grinning, Ellie handed over the plastic bag she was carrying to Angel as she slid into the booth next to her.
“Hey guys.”
“Hey Ellie! I’m so glad you could make it out!” Maria said, with a warm smile of welcome. Olivia smiled at her too, although she was more interested in the bag Angel was peering into.
“What’s this?” Angel asked, pulling out the shirt.
“A pregnancy present,” Ellie said, feeling her lips spread even wider as she waited for the revelation.
Angel pulled up the shirt so the back was facing Olivia and Maria, and cackled with gleeful amusement. “Oh my god, it’s perfect!”
“What does it say?” Olivia asked, already sounding amused just from witnessing Angel’s reaction. They all enjoyed Angel’s continued torture of Adam, who was not always a fan of her t-shirts. He wasn’t uptight exactly… except he kind of was.
Angel flipped it around so Olivia and Maria could see the Death Star on the stomach of the t-shirt, right where her pregnant belly was rapidly expanding and the words ‘That’s No Moon’ floating in space above it. It was meant for a pregnant woman, so it was both large and stretchy, and the material was super soft for comfort. Maria snorted with laughter as Olivia cracked up.
“Thank you, Ellie!” Angel practically sang out as she put the shirt back in the bag and turned to hug her.
“You’re welcome,” said Ellie giggling. “I just saw it and thought of you.” And now she was basking in the glow of how nice it was to have friends and to be able to give a simple gift in exchange for such a happy reaction.
“It’s perfect,” Angel said happily. “Adam might even face palm.”
Maria shook her head. “You two have the weirdest relationship.”
“Nah, she’s perfect for him,” Olivia said. She rolled her grey eyes expressively. “Adam needs regular shaking up and someone to make him smile.”
“Smile. Sigh. Face palm.” Angel stuck her tongue out at Maria. “Like you don’t try to find ways to get under Rick’s skin.”
“Yeah, but he’s not bothered byt-shirts.”
“I bet I could find a t-shirt that would bother him. But in order to prove it, you have to wear it for his reaction, you can’t just show it to him.”
