Amanda picked me up at my apartment. I wore black slacks, and a slightly transparent white button down shirt that accentuated my figure. She wore a gorgeously simple black sun dress, and she looked ethereal. She brought me downtown to a quaint restaurant I could afford, but I had never seen before.

“It’s a little hole-in-the-wall. The food is so good, though.” Amanda said eagerly when we walked in.

“I hear Mexican music coming from the kitchen.” I nodded approvingly. “I already know this is gonna be good.”

Our drinks were served in blue and red plastic cups, and it was nice to share something with Amanda that wasn’t luxury, something that I could relate to. I certainly appreciated everything she provided for me, but knowing that we were just as content eating together at a greasy spoon as a Michelin star was comforting.

“I missed you.” Amanda said, and reached her hand over the table.

“I missed you more.” I gave her a pointed look. “I had forgotten how intoxicating being near you is.”

“Forgotten?” She asked innocently. “Or blocked out, because otherwise you would’ve . .”

Her foot had slipped out of her shoe and moved into my lap, gently moving and caressing my ever-growing cock.

“Cum?” She said with sweetness that rivaled the finest confectionery.

I gulped and nodded.

She grinned, removed her foot, and looked around the place. It was a little grimy, but it had so much character that the hygiene was easily overlooked.

“I used to come here when I was your age.” She said wistfully. “I haven’t been here in so long, and I . . I wanted to share this with you.”

I took her hand. “Thank you.” I said sincerely. “Living in the lap of luxury is nice, but places like these are good for the soul.”

She smiled. “Exactly.”

We ate our delicious food that rivaled the priciest gourmet at a fraction of the cost. While we ate, my decision was fixed into the back of my mind. I was nervous, and I wanted to wait for the right time. In truth, I was terrified.

Indecision is still a decision.

But I don’t even have the ring yet.

Does that matter?

We finished eating, paid and tipped handsomely, and walked outside holding hands. It was a dark night, and we were able to see a few stars in the sky. We strolled down the sidewalk as we stargazed, only a few blocks from Amanda’s car, and I built the courage to ask her the question.

I abruptly became hypervigilant.

As we walked, there was a man who turned a corner and followed us.

“Walk in front of me.” I uttered, placing my hands on her hips and positioning her so that I blocked the man’s view of Amanda.

“What?” She asked, still not aware of the situation.

The man increased his pace.

“Let’s pick it up.” I murmured, nudging her forward.

“What’s going on?” She whispered as she walked faster.

“He- hey-“ I heard the man speak behind us.

Flight isn’t working, fight is the next course since you’re with Amanda.

My fingers and tongue went numb. In a split second I felt a tingling surge wash over my neck and down my shoulders; my body had dispersed sweat through every one of my pores. My heart raced, and my breathing shorted to quarter breaths.

“If it goes down, you run.” I urgently told her.

“Mar-“

“HEY!” The man yelled. He nearly sprinted as he closed the distance between us.

I stopped and spun in place, extending my arms low to my side in front of Amanda.

“How can I help you?” I stated plainly, my eyes narrowed into a laser focus as I caught his image.

He was about my height, wore filthy flannels and torn jeans, had an unkempt beard and scraggly hair. The most import detail my eyes noticed, was that his left hand was to his side, but his right was positioned behind him.

“I wanted your wallet, but now I want her.” He said, raggedly breathing after he had stopped some distance from us.

“The fuck did you just say?” I sliced with derision as my anger welled within, and I stepped towards him.

He whirled his right hand around which held a pistol, and waved it at me.

“I just want a feel, and I won’t have to shoot you.” He sneered as the barrel of the gun drifted to my left, to me, to my right. As he spoke, I moved gently closer, closing the distance so his angle was on me instead of Amanda. “Whatd’ya say, big guy?” He said mockingly.

Well that’s an easy decision, at least.

Two-for-one special, too, if I don’t make it.

I acted like I was thinking it over, and took a slow, deep breath. The barrel moved from my right side to my center, and just as it went past my center and to the left, I exhaled, lunged forward, and my hands reached for his weapon.

The gun fired but he missed, yet somehow when I made contact he managed to punch me in the chest. The wind knocked out of me, but I quickly controlled the angle of the gun and glanced back towards Amanda, checking on her.

She was screaming, but my ears rang terribly from the shot, and it didn’t seem as though she was hit. I controlled the gun, twisted it in his hand, and it clattered to the concrete. As soon as I heard it, I grappled his neck, forced it down, and cemented him in a front headlock. I squeezed with all my force, and he punched me several times as he struggled. The wrestling I did years ago actually paid off.

His punches feel weaker than the first one.

His hair must have been soaked in sweat because my chest felt like a cup of water had been dumped on it. He slowly struggled less as his body’s oxygen supply exhausted, cut off from breathing air.

You’re losing strength.

My arms felt weak. They loosened, and he managed to frantically twist away from my grip. He threw my arms away, broke my hold, shoved me backwards and ran away.

You need to breathe.

I can’t.

I tried to breathe in, but my throat gurgled as I inhaled. I had choked on pool water before, when I was younger, and it was a similar feeling. Except, the water was warm instead of cold. I was somehow drowning in dry land. I touched my chest, it was dripping wet.

Warm. Warm and wet.

As I collapsed onto the sidewalk, my hearing transitioned from a deafening ringing to a slow dull drone. I heard Amanda’s muffled screams and she ran towards me. She dropped to her knees and felt over my chest.

Her hands came back red with blood.

Fuck.

She scrambled to grab her phone out of her purse, and I heard her calmly speaking with the operator. After a minute or two, she set the phone down, and listened as the operator told her what to do. She placed both hands on my chest and applied pressure.

“Stay with me Mark. You belong to me, remember?” She pleaded.

I belong to Amanda.

We stayed like that for several minutes, before I heard a siren. It rapidly approached our location, then cut out. I heard a car door slam. Footsteps ran towards my head.

“Mark Sampson? What the fuck?”

I looked up to see a large black man in police uniform.

I rolled my eyes so hard they nearly popped out. “Kanye.” I gurgled between quarter breaths. “Of course you became a cop.”

“What happened? Who shot you?” He asked.

Amanda spoke. “How do you know Mark?”

“School bully.” I stated simply.

Amanda looked pissed. She barked at Kanye. “He wanted me, Mark stopped him and got shot.” She continued to describe the guy and what he was wearing. She nodded towards the direction he went. “Ran that way. Do your job please.”

Kanye had been relaying the information over the radio to his fellow policemen. He stuttered replying to Amanda. “Y-yes Ma’am.”

Hah! Even Kanye is scared of her.

“Mark, medics are on their way. Told them we cleared the scene so they’ll be here in a minute.”

He told his partner who ran up to us to secure the gun, then ran off towards the shooter.

“It’ll be okay, baby. They’ll be here soon.” Amanda whispered, her arms straight as she put her weight into my chest.

I nodded.

I belong to Amanda.

After a minute I heard a different kind of siren approach, then cut off. I heard doors slamming, and several people came and dropped bags of equipment next to me.

“Hey buddy, what’s your name?” A cute man knelt next to my head, and grabbed my wrist. A smaller lady knelt next to me and began cutting my shirt off.

“Mark Sampson.”

“Okay Mark, what year is it?”

“2024.”

“Who’s the president?”

I rolled my eyes.

He chuckled. “Good enough. Is Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?”

“Neither.”

“Fantastic. Alright Mark, we gotta do a bunch of stuff, just keep talking to me, okay?”

One of the medics gently moved Amanda aside, and opened a package of white fabric.

“After the combat gauze, put a chest seal.”

Her fingers dug into the hole in my chest painfully, and I winced with every movement. She was done quickly, and placed a square seal on my chest after wiping the blood away.

“Mark, buddy, say something to me.” The man ordered.

I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn’t form a word. I coughed, and blood seeped out of my mouth.

Belong to Amanda.

“Mark, we have to roll you over to check for an exit wound. Then we’ll get you into the ambulance. Sound good?”

I struggled to breathe. My eyes drooped and closed. I felt like I was drowning in a warm bath, slipping into sleep.

“Mark? Mark!”

Belong. Amanda.

I heard Amanda screaming. I felt her hands on my face. Her tears rained down on me.

“MARK DON’T LEAVE ME! I NEED YOU, DON’T LEAVE ME ALONE!”

Her screams were muffled, as though I heard them through a film of water. My body jerked to the side, back down, then I was lifted up.

My eyes, adjusted to the darkness, were sensitive to the light of the ambulance, but it slowly faded through my eyelids, and the sudden brightness gradually dissipated into the ether.

Amanda.

“C’mon buddy. C’mon.”

I felt pain in the center of my chest and I spasmed uncontrollably. Their voices sounded so far away.

“Still responsive to pain- Mark- If you can’t wake up- This tube- Throat- Big needle- Chest- “

Amanda.

I felt the pain again, but it was only a trickle of sensation light years beyond.

“Unresponsive to pain.”

I was aware of my mouth opening, and something slid past my teeth. I felt another trickle going down my throat. I felt a small pinch between my ribs. I felt a weight lift off my chest, but if I was deep under the waves before, then I was just below the surface, still floating.

Amanda.

“Year old male- GSW- Chest- Through and through, exit wound- Trauma Alert- Decompensating- Intubated- Tension pneumo- Needle Decomp- Five minutes-“

Amanda.

Am.

A.

A.

 .