He looked relieved. "Thanks. I'd appreciate that. I know a place I think you'll love."
Six
We headed out of Oak Park and through some more of the urban landscape. I was surprised when the countryside was soon all around us.
"This is just an illusion," Tristan told me. "This green belt we're driving through is surrounded by dense suburbia. It just happens that parts have been kept clear."
"It's a beautiful drive. Where are we headed?"
"To another place from my youth. A very happy place." He turned off the parkway onto a long drive that eventually led to the entrance to Brookfield Zoo. "This is one of the world's greatest zoos. I loved coming here as a kid, but in the last twenty years, there has been so much progress. The animals aren't caged up in sad little spaces, here the habitats are incredible."
"How did you know I love zoos?" I was delighted. There wasn't much I'd rather do than spend the beautiful afternoon seeing lions and bears and apes.
"Our wild monkey sex was a clue." He reached over and tweaked one of my nipples, causing them both to instantly come to attention. I thought a break from the heavy morning was a good idea. Playing at the zoo was a great way to take a break. "It won't be gourmet dining, but we can get a decent sandwich here. We'll have to decide which animals to see. We can't possibly do the whole place in a few hours."
When we got to the gate, we studied the map and decided to go to the "Great Bear Wilderness" first. I have always had a fascination with polar bears and Tristan told me Brookfield had one of the finest exhibits of the great white beasts in the world.
"This zoo has been around since the thirties. My mother used to come here with her family. She told me that her older brother would always bring marshmallows to throw to the polar bears, who apparently have a sweet tooth. She said he would throw whole bags of them into the exhibit just to watch the bears tear the packages open and gorge on the sugar."
"Obviously, in this day and age, that isn't allowed anymore."
"Better for the bears, I guess, but it sounded like fun to me."
We hopped on the 'motor safari' and wound our way through the vast park. The gardens and fountains were a treat in and of themselves. Autumn chrysanthemums filled every available flower bed and lent their own brilliance to the russet and gold palette of the day.
The bears didn't disappoint. We laughed like children watching them play. Viewing from the underwater lookout, the grace of the big animals under the surface was marvelous and delightful to watch. The grizzlies looked as ferocious as their reputation and they, too, cavorted in their own personal water park.
We walked over to the wolf exhibit where visitors can get into a concealed blind and observe the pack.
"It isn't hard to spot the alpha male, is it?" Tristan remarked as the obvious leader passed by.
I put my hand behind him and pinched the tight cheek of his ass. "No, he's standing right beside me. The 'king' is hard to miss."
"I'm glad you recognize that," he answered with mock superiority. "We don't want there to be any question about who is number one, do we?"
"Oh, absolutely not," I agreed. "I never forget 'he who must be obeyed'."
"See that you don't." He inclined his head and looked regally down his nose at me. I stuck my tongue out at him. "You'll pay for that later," he growled into my ear.
"I hope so."
We stopped in at the penguin exhibit. The tuxedoed birds seemed to have endless energy for play and never tired of sliding on their bellies into their cold, clear pool.
'Baboon Island' was next. We stood across the moat from them making fools of ourselves with the rest of the humans trying to attract their attention. Making monkey noises, Tristan stood behind me and began picking at my hair as if grooming me like the animals were doing.
"You're crazy," I laughed at him.
"Crazy about you, my little simian siren."
"I hope I'm better looking than those girls. They look mean as hell."
"Ah, but to a baboon dude, they're lovely. Look at the ass on that one!" He pointed to a mother with an infant clinging to her back. Her rear end was swollen, red and angry looking.
"Yikes! That looks positively painful."
"Speaking of painful…how is your lovely pink ass today?" He pulled me back against him and looped his arms around my waist.
I blushed at the reminder of what he had done to me the night before. Mostly I was blushing at how wantonly I had reacted to what he had done to me. He caught my embarrassment.
"You have nothing to be ashamed of, darling. You were wonderful. Abandoned to me in your sweet lust. I loved fucking your ass and I want to do it again and again."
Although he had whispered it into my ear, I still glanced around wondering if anyone else had heard. His breath tickled my ear and his words sent messages all the way through my body. Tristan had that way of making everything tingle within me.
He kissed my neck, oblivious to anything going on around us. I couldn't help but sigh and tilt my head to give him better access to my skin. His touch ignited my skin and made me want to melt into him. And while I couldn't characterize my new feelings for him as pity, there was definitely an element in me that wanted to mother him, if only just a little. I liked knowing his vulnerabilities, even if I found the source of them heartbreaking.
He held me close against him as we watched the carefree animals chasing each other wildly around the little island. Even though they looked fearsome, I could see that it was all in fun for them. They screeched and hollered at one another, tearing around the tree trunks that served as their jungle gym. I pressed my bottom back against him and wiggled it playfully against his groin. He rewarded me with a growling grunty ape noise that made me giggle.
We took a leisurely walk back to the parking lot. It was mid afternoon and time to start wending our way back to the city. Tristan left the top up this time because the afternoon had turned cool as the sun slanted lower in the sky.
It was the first time we had spent time together doing something completely ordinary. We weren't in a private plane, or on a yacht, or in a five star restaurant. Our lunch had pulled pork sandwiches washed down with a micro brew from the "Bison Bistro" at the zoo. We shared some cotton candy as we walked around the little lake by the bear exhibit. It was an afternoon that made me feel as if maybe there was a chance for something a little like a normal life with Tristan.
We passed a roadside stand selling mums, pumpkins and gourds to decorate yards for the season. Tristan pulled over and bought a big pot with three different colors of flower plants, a bunch of Indian corn and several decorative gourds.