Drummer Boy - Down to Earth Ch. 05

[Author's Note: This is the final part of "Down to Earth", folks. Thanks for your support, and on with the show!]

*

The next few days developed a rhythm of their own, as the denizens of the apartment found their way into a routine that worked out for them.

The day would begin with Granny coming back in the morning, right around sunrise. Telly would be getting ready around then, and the two would chit-chat until he left for work, at which point Granny would nap on the couch.

Sometime around eight Jason would awaken. On the kitchen counter he would find a bunch of cash, of various denominations, in the $500 to $1000 range. He'd pocket it, and begin making breakfast.

Pearl would come out when she smelled whatever Jason was cooking, and then wake up Granny so that she could eat with them.

During breakfast Pearl would tease Jason, and do her best to push Granny's buttons. Granny would rebuff Pearl, reiterating, and often re-reiterating, the "no-sex" rule, warning them of the dire consequences. Jason often played referee.

When the food was gone, Granny would retire to the bedroom for a proper sleep. Pearl would grab a stick of butter as an after-breakfast snack and hit the couch, where she'd spend the rest of the morning and afternoon playing video games and streaming movies.

Jason would clean up in the kitchen, and take care of other mundane household duties. When he was sure that Granny was asleep, and he'd retire to the bedroom to get in a couple of hours of much-needed practice.

Around five in the afternoon Granny would wake up, shower, and get ready for work. Telly would be come back not long after, change out of his button-down work clothes and get into nerd gear for a night of gaming with his friends.

The four of them would have some time to catch up and banter before Telly took off, with Granny hitching a ride to her work with him. To Jason's frustration, neither would say where that was, and eventually he gave up trying to get it out of them.

Then it would be Pearl and Jason for the rest of the night. Often they'd go out for a walk. Since it was just the two of them, they'd hit up one of the ubiquitous local food trucks for dinner.

Pearl found this delightful, since there was a wide variety of new foods to be sampled. There were a lot of taco trucks offering Mexican food, but there were occasional Chinese and Thai places. Once they came across a truck that sold soul food. That was a big hit with Pearl. She got a barbecued turkey leg and chowed down on it like a Viking, making a big greasy mess of herself while they strolled around the neighborhood.

Once back home, they'd settle in on the couch and watch some TV. Jason would pick something, and Pearl would curl up with him. Jason tried to keep it platonic ("dire consequences" and all that), but they always ended up touching each other.

Jason would rub Pearl's feet, which she didn't think she'd like at first, until she found out she really did. Or, laying her head in his lap, Jason would play with her hair while Pearl peppered him with questions about the idioms of human culture presented on the screen. Often it was simply him tracing his hands along her body, indulging in the feeling of being close to her. But not in an overtly sexual way.

No, the overtly sexual happened after. Pearl would stretch, making sure that Jason took the sight of her in as she tested the limits of her new wardrobe.

Jason knew exactly what she was doing, but he didn't care. After an evening, hell a whole day, of Pearl's teasing, of her taking every opportunity available to remind Jason of the abundant pleasures she was willing to provide for him, he had a powerful, rock-hard erection that he couldn't hold back. Pearl loved it.

She'd stroke his cock through his jeans, and say "You should put me to bed."

Jason, willing to tease right back, would say, "Should I put you down easy, or hard?"

"Easy," Pearl would say, "then hard. Then easy, and then really, really hard."

They'd take their time undressing each other, with no small amount of edging each other to distraction, as if it was a contest to see which one of them could make the other blow their cool. Pearl would always lose, and end up telling Jason some new filthy thing that she was putting in her "box".

Eventually, Pearl would will herself to sleep. Jason would take a sleeping pill, and then hit the electronic skins with the headphones on until he, too, was ready for sleep.

And when he slept, he dreamed of Kristin. Kristin who, in his dreams at least, grew ever more insistent, boldly giving herself to him, but only to a point. The dreams always stopped short of the release that he longed for. Even in dreams, Jason was still cursed.

Nonetheless, Jason enjoyed a level of freedom he'd never known before. Before all this, the day-to-day grind had been a hassle. Work, Kristin, practicing, both solo and with the band: they'd all been vying for his immediate attention all the time, and he'd felt like he wasn't giving any of them his all.

Now, with everything pared down as it was, he could concentrate. Sure, he felt awful about the situation with Kristin, and he knew he'd have to settle things with her sooner or later. And his "condition", as he'd come to call it, was a constant concern, never too far from the surface. But he was grateful for the chance, maybe the first time in his adult life, to truly focus. And, despite everything else, that felt pretty good.

* * *

One Day Earlier

By the time Thursday rolled around, life was almost normal. Jason still had his "condition", but he seemed to have it mostly under control. He'd simply gotten used to living life aroused and semi-erect all the time.

As for the ladies, it was hard to think of the animosity that had existed between them less than a week ago. Granny came through with the cash daily, and seemed a lot less anxious about life in general. Pearl couldn't help being unabashedly sexual, but was less aggro, and more playful, about it.

Telly had been absent more than usual, though. He'd been out gaming every night this week. So Jason was surprised when he came back to the apartment around three that afternoon.

Jason was finally getting around to fixing the holes in the walls from Granny and Pearl's battle. He'd been at it for a couple of hours, with a tub of spackle and a putty knife, scanning the walls for rents, seeming to always find more.

Pearl was playing video games on the couch with her awkward one-armed setup. Engrossed as she was in her game, she still managed to mutter a clipped "Sorry" each time she heard Jason curse under his breath at some newly-discovered bit of damage.

When Telly rolled in, he looked like he'd been in a fight. He was sweaty and kind of exhausted-looking, and had a noticeable abrasion across his forehead. His clothes, normally rumpled, somehow managed to be even moreso.

"Huh," Jason remarked, "what was the line you used on me before? 'Rode hard and put away wet?'"

Telly winced and said, "Truth hurts, among other things." He tossed his bag carelessly onto the floor and slumped into the couch with a groan.

"You're home early," Jason said. "Anything wrong?"

"Nah," Telly said. Then he twitched. "Maybe some internal bruising. I took the day off to go out with Lillian."

"Oh really?" Jason said. "Like a date?"

"Kinda sorta," Telly said. "She's a boffer. We went boffing."

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Either you've suddenly developed a penchant for 80's slang, or I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Boffer swordfighting," Telly explained. "It's a re-enactment thing where they fight like knights. But like, for real. They've got this armor and padded swords."

"Doesn't sound so bad," Jason said.

"You spend an afternoon getting whacked in the head with fifty pounds of padded wooden sword, and then get back to me," Telly said. He groaned again. "She really rolled my sushi out there."

Jason laughed. "Not your usual thing," he said.

Telly nodded. "I'm more into the die rolling and the rumble shock," he said. "Lillian prefers to get physical. She's pretty good, too. She was going easy on me, but I watched her take down some pretty big guys. It was kinda hot."

"Sounds like you really like this gal?" Jason said.

"Yeah, even if she can kick my ass," Telly said.

"That's because women are natural warriors," Pearl said, without taking her eyes off the game. "I suppose you belong to her now?"

"Not how it works," Telly said, "but that brings me to a much scarier topic. Jason, can I ask you a favor?"

"What's that?" Jason said.

"Well, in the afterglow of battle, I opened my big mouth and invited Lillian over tomorrow. For dinner and chillax time."

"First off," Jason said, "don't ever say 'chillax' again. Second, awesome! Me and Pearl can let you have the place for a while."

"Not so fast," Telly said. "I'm kinda hoping to, you know, impress her. And you're pretty good at cooking stuff..."

Jason cocked an eyebrow. "You want me to cook for you?" he said.

"Nothing big," Telly said, "I was just hoping you could throw a little something together, something a bit fancier than pizza or Chinese food. I can pay you, if you want."

"Pssht," Jason said. "Your money's no good here. I'm in. You know what, I'll even go you one better and serve it up for you."

"You don't have to do that," Telly said.

"Hey, I've been a server before. It'll be nice to put my hard-earned skills to use for a good cause," Jason said.

"Make me an offer I can't refuse, why don't ya?" Telly said. He twitched again, and groaned. "At the risk of pushing my luck, I don't suppose you could give me a sponge bath, could you?"

"Now for that I'd have to charge," Jason said. "So, tell me what she likes and I'll put together a shopping list."

Telly went down a list of things that Lillian liked, and things that she didn't, and Jason took mental notes. Telly was very detailed; clearly, he'd been paying attention for a while.

"I think I got it," Jason said. "And after, Pearl and I will make ourselves scarce. So you two can, you know ... do what you're gonna do."

"Just gaming," Telly said, a little too quickly. "Just some gaming, and maybe watch a movie."

"You're not fooling anyone," Jason said. "It's a time-honored tradition. Home-cooked meal, drinks by the fire..."

"We don't have a fireplace," Telly said.

"...and then, BAM, the sound of bumping uglies fills the night air," Jason said.

"Gross," Telly said. "That makes it sound so tawdry. I was thinking more like a slow shedding of clothing as we retreat to my moonlit boudoir..."

"I wouldn't call your bedroom a boudoir, either," Jason said.

"...and then, BAM, magic happens," Telly said. "Man, you should have seen her out there today. You know that scene in Resident Evil: Extinction where Milla Jovovich is just kicking zombie ass and making it rain fire?"

"Not in the slightest," Jason said, "and I wouldn't cop to it if I did."

Telly continued, undaunted. "It was just like that, only knight-ier." Then, barely audible, "That's going in the spank bank for sure."

"Whoa!" Jason said. "Over-freaking-sharing."

"Sorry," Telly said. "But it is, though," he muttered.

Jason shook his head, and Telly painfully hauled himself off the couch.

"Now if you'll excuse me," Telly said, "I'm gonna have a nice warm soak before gaming tonight. We're hitting the Obsidian Fields tonight to take down the Goat King, and I'm on heals."

"That literally made no sense to me," Jason said. "How is it you can turn regular words into gibberish?"

"It's a kind of magic," Telly said. He exited, and Jason went back to fixing holes. A few minutes passed, and then Pearl paused her game.

"I want to help," she said.

"Help? You mean cook?" Jason said. Then, apprehensively, "Why?"

"What do you mean, 'why'?" Pearl said. "Telly's a friend, right? People do good things for their friends."

"People do," Jason said, "but you're not people. You're a demon, with ulterior motives and stuff."

"Not this time," Pearl said. "This is out of the goodness of my heart. And I still feel like I owe your roommate. I feel bad about, you know, what I did."

She gestured broadly around the room, indicating the off-color patch jobs still drying on the walls.

Jason gave her a good, hard look, trying to figure out if she was being honest or if this was a ploy.

"Okay," Jason said finally.

Pearl beamed.

"But there are a few rules," Jason said.

"Rules are meant to be..." Pearl began.

Jason glared at her.

"...followed," she concluded.

Jason nodded, then said, "Rule number one: Don't."

"Don't what?" said Pearl.

"Don't improvise. Don't 'have an idea'," Jason said. "Don't screw it up."

"What makes you think I'm gonna screw it up?" Pearl said, with an innocent pout.

"Because you always do," Jason said. "Somehow, you always make things messier than they need to be."

"I like messy," Pearl said. She made a point of stretching. The game controller tumbled off her bosom-shelf, revealing several days worth of butter stains where she'd wiped her hands after her mid-morning "snacks". The oversize t-shirt she wore around the house was severely filthy, but Pearl didn't seem to mind.

"What do you like, Jason?" Pearl said. "You wanna clean me up, or get me messier?"

Jason's cock instantly surged to full hardness.

"Jeez, that's what I'm talking about!" he said. "Look, I'm trying to win back some karma here. Telly likes this girl, and I don't want you pulling stuff like that. You'll probably upstage her, or worse, scare her off. So ... don't. Okay?"

"Fine," Pearl said. "Now that that's out of the way -"

"Rule number two," Jason said, "When we're in the kitchen, I'm the boss."

"Not without a fight," Pearl said. "Of course, I might let you win..."

"You know what I mean," Jason said. "When we're cooking you do what I say, and it's all business. Strictly food prep. One slip up and you're out."

Pearl frowned. "Yes sir," she said sullenly. She closed her eyes. "This is turning you on, isn't it? I can feel it. Laying down the law for your busty little demon."

Of course it was. "Yeah," Jason said. "What about it?"

Pearl crooked her finger at him, gesturing him over. Jason stood up and walked over to the couch.

"Have a seat," Pearl said, parting her legs slightly.

"Hey, I'm the boss, remember?" Jason said.

"Not yet," Pearl said.

Jason sat down on Pearl's thighs, facing her. Jason's lap was completely obscured by Pearl's mountainous breasts, and despite the several layers of clothing between them, Jason was overcome by the heat and size of Pearl's tits as they surrounded his dick.

"It's gonna be really hard," Pearl purred. "Harder than you are right now. But I can be good for you. I'll give you what you want. I'll do you right."

As Pearl said this, she shook her torso, buffeting Jason's dick with her tits. Her boobs jiggled mightily underneath the stained t-shirt, and Jason couldn't help but breathlessly dry hump those big, bouncing breasts.

"You better watch it," Jason said. "That kinda talk'll get you kicked out of my kitchen."

"Right, gotcha," Pearl said, and ceased her breastacular gyrations. "I meant to say, I'll do right by you."

"Better," Jason said. He reached out, grabbing Pearl's breasts, filling his hands with them, and then squeezing their soft bountifulness together firmly, around his hard dick.

"Don't you think we should stop?" Pearl said, with a smirk.

"Not yet," Jason said. "Damn Pearl, you've got the biggest, best, most fantastically fuckable tits."

"I know," Pearl said, "and you're gonna show me how much you like them. Very soon."

Jason imagined pounding his dick through Pearl's endless cleavage, steaming towards an orgasm that would leave her face and breasts covered in the gooey product of his lust...very soon.

"But not now," Pearl said. She then surprised him by pushing him away.

"Now, go," said Pearl. "I have to make up ground for the time I spent pleasuring you with my 'fantastically fuckable tits'."

Jason was so taken aback by Pearl's restraint, he backed off her lap with more respect than frustration. Maybe she was truly ready to play by the rules?

"Fine," Jason said, "I'm surrounded by nerds." Then a thought hit him. "Do you even know anything about cooking?" he said.

Pearl shot him a scathing look.

"I am adept at preparing alchemical potions, opening dimensional gateways, enchanting mystic items, and can perfectly comprehend texts written in the three ancient arcanic languages of Tarterus," she said. "I'm pretty sure I can slop together some animal food."

"Animal food?" Jason said teasingly. "Maybe you don't quite have the right attitude for this."

"But..." Pearl hastened to add, "I'll do what you say. And only what you say. I'll be your perfect little helper."

"All right," Jason said. "But remember; no funny business."

"Hmmmph," Pearl said, and then went back to her simulated killing.

* * *

Later that night, after the others had left, Pearl and Jason went for a walk around the neighborhood. Despite having eaten dinner earlier, Pearl still wanted more.

They stopped by the "Cinco El Pastor" taco truck a few blocks away. And as enthusiastic as Pearl was about the street tacos, she was more excited about peeking into the minds of nearby people as they passed by in the night.

"There's so much wanting!" she exclaimed. "You humans are never satisfied."

"It's not like you demons are any better," Jason said.

"Oh, hush," Pearl said. "It's different with us. We just want one thing at a time, and we focus on that."

"Humans do that too," Jason said.

"Nuh-uh," Pearl said. "You tell yourselves that, but you can't hide it from me. Everything's all mixed up together in your heads. There's money stuff, and food stuff, and social stuff and job stuff and just stuff stuff. Sometimes it's for things you actually need, but a lot of the time it's just wanting for wanting's sake."

"I don't disagree," Jason said with a nod.

"And sex," Pearl concluded. "So much wanting sex. It's not always in the forefront, but it's everywhere. How do you stand it?"

Jason shrugged. "We find ways," he said. "Hobbies, habits, helping people, that sorta thing."

"Or," Pearl said, "you could just fuck."

"Oh, that'd be too easy," Jason said. "Besides there are ... logistical problems with that."

"Like what?" said Pearl.

"Well," Jason said. "What if another woman wanted to have sex with me?"

"That's fine," Pearl said.

"Really?" Jason said. "You'd be okay with that?"

"Of course," Pearl said. "As long as I'm not using you."

That's demon loyalty for you, Jason thought wryly. "Okay, but think about this," he said. "What if this other woman wanted me to only have sex with her?"

"Then I'd have to slay her," Pearl said, "in fair combat."

"See, you can't do that," Jason said.

"Why not?" Pearl said. "I said 'fair'."

"Pearl, we don't go around killing each other over stuff like that," Jason said.

With a catty smile on her lips, Pearl said, "Your own entertainment says otherwise."

Jeez. She had been watching a lot of movies, and apparently picking up all the wrong lessons.

"Okay, but still, those are movies, not what real people do," Jason said.

Pearl shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not," she said. "I've seen some pretty dark thoughts in you people. You never know what you're capable of until you're pushed."

"Okay, granted," Jason said. "But let's take it a step further. What if I didn't want to have sex with you?"

"As if!" Pearl said.

"No, really," Jason said, "what if I told you I only wanted to have sex with someone who isn't you?"

Pearl stopped walking. She stared Jason in the eyes, very serious.

"You'd be lying," Pearl said. "And if you weren't, I'd make you change your mind."