Chapter Seventeen
Wednesday finally arrived, but Cody still had the entire day to fill while Morgan was at work. He really needed to get brainstorming on some sort of hobby to keep him busy. This retiring at twenty-eight thing wasn’t quite as amazing as he’d hoped it would be. He always thought he would love just kicking back, canoeing, fishing, and hanging with his girl…but sometimes the hours in between just dragged, even with the Cottage Country game stuff to keep him busy.
He still hadn’t touched his Steam Deck or laptop and had no hankering to do so. But he was ripping right through his grandfather’s collection of smutty beastkin literature. The Cornerstone Public Library didn’t have any romance books by the same authors from Grandpa Sam’s collection, or anything remotely close. Librarian Lexi had looked at him like he was a fucking weirdo for asking for books by the same author who penned Married to the Mousekin Maids. He’d have to look into buying some online. Or he could write his own book? His experiences in Velasarin gave him plenty of firsthand knowledge about beastkin women. A story like that would fit right in with the stuff on Grandpa Sam’s shelf.
To kill some time, Cody walked into town and had lunch at Frank’s Diner, where Doris showed him the latest pictures of her grandkids. Doris was basically his surrogate grandma now, and he really didn’t mind chatting with her. But she was the only one he had reached Full Friendship with. Well, her and Morgan, but Morgan zipped right through to Romanceable after their first date. So far, his only theory was that it was because they already had the foundation of a previous friendship and relationship.
Cody needed to go meet those other two Residents, even though they worked in Temica’s shop. That meant he would possibly run into the goddess-witch-bitch herself. But he decided he had to get it done. He just wanted his life to return to normal. No more game shit. Just Morgan and everything else having a life with Morgan meant. He knew he was getting ahead of himself, but he definitely saw marriage and kids in their future, or at least that was what he was hoping for.
And…now would be a moment where Knife would probably have something dick-ish to say about settling down and only banging one woman for the rest of his life and becoming a boring dad. But Knife said nothing. Cody did his best to shake off that empty feeling he got every time he expected Knife to say something and was met with silence.
He reached the gift shop and stepped inside the pink monstrosity. He did a quick survey of the shop, elated that there was no sign of Temica or her creepy parrot. The Resident with white-blonde hair was working. She was wearing a sleeveless white sundress and had a way of moving that looked effortlessly graceful, almost like an elf. He knew from the Resident List that this was Yana, which was a name that did sound kind of familiar. She was about to greet him but stopped short, her brown eyes going wide.
“Oh, gosh! You should not be here!” she said.
“What? Do we know each other?” Cody was still unable to shake the feeling that he’d met this woman before, somewhere at some time.
Yana’s brown eyes shifted side-to-side, looking both nervous and thoughtful. “Um…Nyrah has been in a bit of a mood lately, working extra busy retail shifts and all, and I don’t think she’s in the right frame of mind to speak with you at the moment. She’s in the back unpacking stock. You need to go. Now.”
“Uh…who exactly is Nyrah?” He knew it was the brunette on his list, but the way Yana said it, it was as if he was supposed to know who she was.
“Oh, bother, this whole thing is a mess,” Yana mumbled. “We should have never come here. I’m trying to reel Nyrah in, but…she is very, um…determined.”
“And does this have anything to do with Systemica? The lady who runs this shop?”
Yana nodded. “Yes. She’s the reason we’re here.”
“Wait, do you mean…?”
“We’re from Velasarin,” Yana confirmed. “Nyrah could return from the stockroom any minute now and Temica left us on our own today. I really don’t want anything crazy to happen while she trusted us with her beautiful shop, even if she is a horrible boss lady who barely ever lets us have breaks or days off.”
“You’re from Velasarin,” Cody repeated slowly, feeling dumbfounded. “Why are–”
“Just go!” She grabbed him by the shoulders and guided him back out the door.
The young woman was surprisingly strong. Even if he wanted to push back, it felt like she would win. Once she finished shoving him out of the shop, she slammed the door shut behind him. Cody looked up and saw Doug, watching him through the window of the Food Mart, just across the street. Doug narrowed his eyes at Cody and crossed his arms over his chest.
Great, Cody thought. The perfect person to witness him being shoved out of a girly gift shop.
* * *
Cody spent the rest of the afternoon fishing and agonizing over how he knew Yana and what it meant if Temica was bringing other people from Velasarin to Cornerstone. Were these two women her so-called ‘minions’? What exactly did that mean? Why did Yana talk to him as if they had met before? And who exactly was this Nyrah chick he had on his Resident List?
Twice he thought about apologizing to Knife and asking for advice, but he decided against it. Knife had been a dick. He was almost always a dick. And Knife probably saw him struggling and making the conscious decision to not apologize, so was still giving him the silent treatment.
He was low-key hoping for a ‘Getting Ready for My Date’ montage to happen so he could breeze through all the boring getting ready stuff, like showering, shaving, and getting dressed. But there were no notifications, no cheesy songs, and he was forced to do it all in real time. Finally, he drove over to Morgan’s apartment, parking behind the grocery store next to her car, as she had previously instructed him.
Just as he was heading to her door, he pulled some wildflowers out of his [Inventory] and made an impromptu bouquet. They looked just as fresh as the day he picked them and stashed them away. Having a personal inventory might be the one thing he missed if he ever broke free of this game nonsense.
He climbed the metal steps at the back of the building, which led up to her door, and knocked. When Morgan answered, her eyes went from his face to the flowers, and she lit up with a smile. Morgan looked absolutely stunning. She was wearing a form-fitting denim dress that showed off her curves and cleavage. Her bright copper-colored hair fell in soft waves over her shoulders, and she had done her makeup fancier than what she wore to work, with some light gold eyeshadow that matched the golden frames of her glasses and made her blue eyes really pop.
“Wow…” Cody said.
She grabbed him by the hand and tugged him inside, shutting the door behind him.
“Same.” She unabashedly gave him an elevator look, taking him in from head to toe.
“These are for you.” He did a little bow as he presented her with the flowers.
She accepted the flowers, smiling. “They’re beautiful! Thank you.”
Cody followed her into the kitchen. He noticed she had a glass vase in the middle of the table, full of water but empty of flowers. She carefully put the bouquet he had just given her into the vase.
“You were prepared?” he asked with a laugh.
“Yeah, it’s almost like we’ve dated before and I knew what to expect.”
She walked over, putting her hands on his shoulders and looking up at him expectantly.
“Is dinner–” Before he could finish his sentence she pulled him into an eager kiss. She moaned into the kiss, pressing her body against his and he grabbed onto her waist, holding her nice and close. She started walking backwards, refusing to unlock her lips from his, until they were all the way in the bedroom. They bumped up against the bed and Cody broke free from the kiss.
“What about din–”
“I want dessert first.” She removed her glasses, placing them on her dresser, and then started unbuttoning the gold buttons that ran all the way down the front of her dress. “Don’t you?”
“Are you my dessert?”
She smiled softly and nodded, unbuttoning her third button. It was enough to set her breasts free, and she wasn’t wearing a bra. The boob-pic she had sent didn’t do them justice. Her nipples were a soft pink, only a few shades deeper than her pale, creamy skin. They were the kind of breasts that might look too big on a tinier girl, but Morgan’s generous curves made them look just right.
Cody mentally blocked Knife. Even if they weren’t talking, he was still in there, and he wanted Morgan all to himself. Cody felt a very mild headache in his temples, which meant Knife wasn’t putting up much of a fight to be blocked out. Good.
“God, I missed dessert so fucking much.” Cody palmed her tits and she moaned as his fingers dug into the soft, warm flesh of her breasts, her nipples pebbling under his palms. He only stopped the boob massage so he could help her with the rest of the buttons and peel the dress off. He was pleasantly surprised to find out she hadn’t only opted out of bra, she also decided to skip underwear.
“Now you.” Morgan’s hands went to his shirt buttons. He noticed her hands were shaking a bit, and he clasped them in his own.
“You okay?” he asked.
She visibly swallowed but looked up at him and nodded. “I mean, I am nervous, but I want this. I want you.”
He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it, before letting her go. She sat herself on the edge of the bed, breasts heaving with every breath as she watched him undress. He slipped out of his shirt and kicked off his pants and boxers, followed by his shoes and socks.
He noticed her eyes darted to his cock, but then she looked right back up at him, smiling shyly. He smiled back. “Lay down, Morgan.”
She kept her eyes locked on his as she lay back. She started to scoot herself up the bed, but he leaned down, gently grabbing her by the waist and keeping her right where she was, on the edge of the bed. He kneeled down, pushing her thighs apart. The sweet scent of her arousal was already in the air. He leaned in, tentatively licking up her slit and he felt her entire body tense up.
“Oh…” she gasped as he licked her again. “C-Cody…?”
“Hmm?” he said, not stopping his ministrations and letting his tongue get reacquainted with her clit. She arched her back, pushing into him. She seemed to have forgotten what she was going to say, so he kept at it, reveling in all the gasps and moans she was making, and the way her body was trembling and silently begging for more.
He focused his tongue on her clit, remembering the way she used to like things. He was banking on her still enjoying the same pussy-pleasuring techniques from before, and so far, it seemed like he was right. It wasn’t long before she was continuously gasping with pleasure and bucking her pussy into his mouth relentlessly. She let out a final gasp of ecstasy as her thighs clamped on his ears. She was reaching down, patting at his head and begging him to stop, just as a notification popped up:
He wondered just how many levels they were about to accomplish in a single session. The marriage thing was a bit of a surprise the first time it popped up, but who was he kidding? That’s exactly where he wanted this to go.
He gave her one final lick before grabbing her ass cheeks and pushing her higher on the bed. She giggled and made room for him, right between her legs.
“Come here.” She held her arms out to him. He leaned in, letting her embrace him and meeting her in a kiss. “I meant what I said…the other day…” she said softly, between kisses. “I want you to fuck me raw.”
He pushed himself up on his elbow so he could look at her, this beautiful woman he had fought so hard to return to. She was so fucking worth it. He lined up the head of his cock with her–
Fuck no, we’re not, Cody thought. He froze, not pushing into Morgan’s dripping, eager pussy. It was torture.
“Cody?” she asked. “Are you okay?”
The sexy twang of bass sounded through the room accompanied by a saxophone. He had no idea if Morgan could hear it, but she gave no indication that she could. She had seemed confused when the fishing montage song had ended, but she didn’t seem to remember the actual song the way he did. He couldn’t get that mother fucking Fishin’ Montage song out of his head for days afterwards.
The music began to build, and a deep, sultry voice started to hum. Cody rolled off the bed, getting to his feet. If he didn’t start fucking her, maybe the fuck music would go away. Maybe the sex montage wouldn’t happen. He did not want it to happen. He wanted this. He wanted to fully, one hundred percent experience this. Every single moment. He’d been waiting for this and so had Morgan. He didn’t want it to be glossed over by some shitty saxophone sex song.
“I’ll…I’ll be right back.” He awkwardly stumbled into her bathroom, locking the door behind him.
“Cancel!” he whispered fiercely as he attempted to bring up the game screen, his fingers digging into his scalp as an intense headache began to bloom. “End montage song! Do not engage!” Nothing happened, and he could still hear the music building. “Control-Alt-Delete!” The music halted and Cody froze, not quite believing that worked.
“Cody?” came Morgan’s voice from the other side of the door. “Are you okay?”
He waited a moment, making extra certain the music was gone.
“Cody? Do you need…um, help?” Morgan asked. “Because it’s okay, babe. I’m still a bit nervous, too. It’s been awhile and–”
“No! It’s not that! Not that at all!” he called back and then opened the door to find Morgan waiting in all her naked glory. “Where were we?”
She furrowed her brow as he hugged her. “Are you sure you’re okay? Are you having second thoughts about the no condom thing?”
“Nope.” He shook his head and guided her back to the bed. “I’m good. Everything is good.”
She didn’t look entirely convinced, but she laid back down and he re-positioned himself on top of her. She looked up into his eyes, as if trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with him. A lot, he wanted to say. Fucking heaps of weird shit is happening to me right now. But he didn’t want her to have to worry about any of that. He kissed her, slow and soft. She moaned into the kiss, pushing her hips into his. He lined the head of his cock up again, and paused, waiting to see if the music was going to start up again.
“Cody, are you–Oh!” She gasped as he finally pushed inside her warm pussy. Her breath hitched and she gripped his shoulders as he pushed in more. She felt as tight as the first day they ever fucked. He let out a long breath, feeling like he’d finally, fully come back to Earth, and then pushed himself in all the way, fully enjoying the sensation of being squeezed by her pussy walls.
“Oh, fuck, I missed you so much,” Morgan said breathlessly.
Cody grinned. “You have no fucking idea how much I missed you.”
Now that the stupid song was gone, everything about the moment felt perfect. Her usual sweet smell of honey filled the room, mixed with the scent of sex. Her supple body and soft skin felt amazing, and her kisses were eager and urgent.
“You're mine,” she said between kisses. “Say it.”
“I’m all yours.” He could feel his release steadily building with every thrust into her welcoming depths.
“You’re never leaving me again.” Her hands now cupped his face, so he was looking down at her, eyes locked with hers.
“No, I’m not,” he said.
“Say it. Promise me.”
“I’m never leaving you again. I promise.”
She pressed her hands to his face harder as she closed her eyes, wincing and looking like she was about to cum again.
“You almost there, babe?”
She nodded, her eyes still squeezed shut. “Don’t…don’t forget to…ah, Cody! Fuck! Cum inside me! Now!”
He was more than ready. He thrust into her extra hard, pushing her into the pillows. She cried out, pussy clamping on his dick, and he let himself release. She opened her eyes again, looking up at him as he filled her, and then she pulled him into a kiss.
“I love you,” she said, barely unlocking her lips from his.
He felt another wave of pleasure rush through him, almost as if he just came a second time. Those were the words he’d been dreaming about for a very long time. But then the moment was ruined by a new notification:
He blinked away the notification and refocused on Morgan’s beautiful face. “I love you, too.”
“And you’re never leaving me.”
He laughed. “Pretty sure I just promised that already.”
“I want to hear it again.”
“I am never leaving you,” he said, and kissed her again.
Cody rolled off of Morgan and she immediately cuddled up to him, her head resting on his chest as he wrapped his free arm around her.
“Should I go make dinner now?” Morgan asked, but Cody was so warm and cozy and happy he never wanted to leave her bed. He’d sooner starve to death than leave this bed.
“Can we stay here just a little bit longer?” he suggested.
Morgan laughed softly. “Yes, please.”
He closed his eyes, trailing his fingers through her silky hair, breathing in and out and trying not to think about anything but this moment. He breathed in her honey-scented shampoo or lip gloss or whatever it was that made her smell so sweet. Or maybe she just naturally smelled like honey. Either way, she smelled amazing, and he wanted to bottle it up and put it in his inventory so he could keep it with him forever.
Morgan let out a long sigh, her breath tickling his bare chest. “I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to do this sooner. I’ve just been so busy with working at the store and helping Doug with Gracie and everything.”
“Hey, uh, what’s the story there?” Cody said. “I mean, if you don’t mind me asking. Where is Gracie’s mom?”
Morgan was quiet for a moment, but then said: “She passed away just last winter. Car accident in the snow. It’s uh…it’s been a rough couple of years. It’s why I came back to Cornerstone. Up until three years ago, I was still living in Toronto. I moved back after my parents passed away, to help Doug with the store.”
“Oh, wow, sorry. Poor kid. And I’m sorry for your loss, Morgan. I had no idea. Were you close with your sister-in-law?”
“We were friends, yes. And this is why I’ve been helping with Gracie so much. Doug has been kind of…messed up, understandably. And Gracie…Gracie has night terrors about losing the people she loves, specifically her daddy and me. She wakes up crying, and Doug can barely calm her down. She wants to know that both of us are okay. Sometimes it works if Doug just calls me on the phone, or if we facetime, but sometimes it’s just…really, really bad. I need to drive out there and see her in person and I hold her until she falls back to sleep.”
“Oh, Morgan…I’m so sorry.” His heart hurt for this poor little girl who lost her mom, and for Morgan, who’d been through a lot the past few years. And he also felt kind of bad for being a dick to Doug, now that Cody knew the shit he’d been dealt. Cody pulled Morgan into a tighter embrace.
“Gracie was also really close with your Grandpa Sam,” Morgan added. “So, losing him was just another blow to the string of already bad things that have been happening lately.”
“I know I already said it, but I'm so sorry you and your family have been going through some rough stuff.”
“Thank you. Doug goes with her to a children’s therapist, and she's been improving, but she still has the night terrors once in a while. I’ve offered to move in with them, but Doug insists I keep my apartment and try to have a normal life on my own. He’s confident they’ll get through this.”
“You are an amazing sister and aunt,” Cody told her.
She huffed. “Thank you.”
They let a few more moments pass, just enjoying each other’s presence and warmth.
“Cody, is everything okay with you?” Morgan asked. “I feel like we haven’t really talked about, you know, the night I was waiting for you at your cottage. You were a bit of a mess.”
“I’m fine,” Cody said, quickly brushing her off.
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. Especially now that I have the best damn girlfriend in the entire world.”
Morgan laughed. “So, we’re official then? Boyfriend and girlfriend?”
“Well, yeah.” Cody gave her a squeeze. “We did just share ‘I love yous’. It would be kind of weird if we said that and then decided not to be boyfriend and girlfriend.”
“I guess you’re right. And I do. Love you.”
“And I love you,” Cody said, and kissed her.
Morgan slowly broke the kiss and looked into his eyes. “If you ever needed to talk to someone, you know I'm here for you, right?”
“I know. And I’m fine, really.” Cody was half expecting Knife to jump in and make some quip about how fucked up he was or something about how mushy he and Morgan were being. But he didn’t.
Morgan pushed herself up to sit. “Well, I’m getting really hungry. I’m going to go wash up and make dinner.”
“Can I help?” Cody asked.
“Help me wipe up your cum that’s currently dribbling out of my pussy or help me cook dinner?”
“Both?”
“I’ll clean myself up, but thanks.” She smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “But can you chop up some carrots? You do know what carrots are, right Mr. Sweet Tooth?”
Cody grabbed her and wrestled her back into a hug as she giggled. “Yes, I know what a carrot is.”
They shared another slow, meandering kiss before Morgan slipped from his grasp and got out of bed. He let his gaze linger over her sexy as fuck body as she found her denim dress on the floor. She slipped it back on, doing up all the buttons.
She noticed him watching and she tilted her head. “What?”
“Just admiring the view,” he said with a goofy grin.
Morgan shook her head. “I’ll meet you in the kitchen in five minutes.”
Current Inventory Total: 398
Residents Met: 9/10
Friendship Moments: Doris: 5/5, William: 4/5, Gracie: 1/5
Romance Moments: Morgan: 3/10
Relationship Status: Definitely in a Relationship