Florentine

  “Alex,” Mahiro says softly, and sucks in a breath. “I need to tell you—”

  He’s interrupted by a soft snort. “What?” Alex slurs, and it was obvious he’d dozed off.

  Not tonight, then. But soon. “Nothing,” Mahiro says softly and curls up on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart.

  “GOOD MORNING, Mahiro,” Alex singsongs in his ear, his lips tickling the edge of it. Mahiro swats at him and he giggles. Mahiro burrows further into his chest and groans, then sits bolt upright when he realizes who he’s with and where they are.

  “Oh,” he says, and Alex looks at him, amused.

  “Yes, we crashed out here all night, whoops?” Alex shrugs, completely unconcerned. Mahiro feels like the world has been flipped upside down and then yanked out from under him, his chest seizing up.

  “No,” Mahiro says. “That’s not supposed to happen!”

  “What? Mahiro, it’s no big deal, really. Is it?”

  Mahiro realizes what he must look like, what he must sound like. Fuck. He needs to calm down. “Okay, no, it’s fine, really. I’ve just never had someone sleep over. Never. Especially not in the playroom.”

  “I’m your first?” Alex looks delighted. “I’m so honored!”

  Oh my God, Adam is going to give him so much shit.

  But as he looks at Alex’s brilliant smile and sleep-mussed hair, he really doesn’t care. His heart flutters, and he wonders what it might be like to wake up to that smile every single day. He grips his courage with both hands and takes a deep breath.

  “Would you like to go out for breakfast?” he asks. “There’s a really great diner near here.”

  “I’d love to.” Alex kisses him on the tip of the nose. “Let’s get dressed.”

  “I need to run upstairs for clothes. Meet you by the front door in five?”

  Alex stands and stretches, his back popping a couple of times as he twists himself around. “Oh, ouch. I should have stretched after, I think.”

  Mahiro laughs. “Well, mister ‘Nooo, Mahiro, I don’t waaaaant to take a bath, don’t make me!’ I don’t know what you expected.”

  “Mean.” Alex pouts and moves to untie his robe. Mahiro watches it part, and then Alex shrugs it off to pool around his ankles. Mahiro is drawn to him like a moth to a flame, and presses a kiss to his bare collarbone. “Oh,” Alex breathes as Mahiro draws him close with an arm around his waist.

  “Not mean,” Mahiro whispers. “Remember that.” Mahiro reaches down and strokes Alex’s hardening cock once, then backs away and dives for the playroom door. “Five minutes!” he says brightly and giggles as Alex groans and flops back on the sofa, completely defeated.

  “SETA MAHIRO,” Adam says, standing in Mahiro’s bedroom door with his hands on his hips. “Do you want to explain to me why the same man who was in our playroom last night is still there this morning?”

  “Nope,” Mahiro says and pulls a soft-worn T-shirt and a pair of jeans out of his drawer and drags them on. “I’m already messed up enough about this as it is. Why not just pile another poor decision on top of all the other ones?”

  “You are absolutely in love with him, aren’t you?” Adam leans against his doorframe, blocking his way.

  “Am I?” Mahiro sits down heavily on his bed and squeezes his eyes shut.

  “I’ve never seen you touch someone like you touched him. Never heard you talk to someone like you talk to him. It was… intense. I don’t know if I can ever be in a scene with you guys again. It was sort of freaking me out a little bit.”

  Mahiro swallows heavily. “I am, aren’t I? Oh God, I am.”

  Adam comes into the room and sits next to him on the bed. “But you’re happy with him.”

  “So, so much.”

  “Then I’m happy for you. You deserve to be happy, Mahiro. And if what you’re doing with Alex is making you happy, then I’m glad. Just be careful, okay? Remember to talk to him.”

  Mahiro nods. “I am. I swear.”

  “Then go get him, tiger,” Adam says and pats him on the shoulder.

  Mahiro nods and bounds down the stairs to find Alex waiting for him, sunshine pouring through the transom window above the door and setting Alex’s hair alight. Mahiro feels a clench in his chest when their eyes meet, and he knows now that there’s no turning back. They grin at each other, and Mahiro takes his hand and walks out the door into the bright summer day.

  Chapter 10

  ALEX IS happy.

  He’s walking hand in hand with a gorgeous man in the brilliant summer sun in one of his favorite cities in the world, and they’re going to get pancakes.

  Alex pulls ahead and walks backward in front of Mahiro, all the while holding on to his hand. “Tell me they have strawberries. There’s no point otherwise. And whipped cream. And sausage. And—”

  Mahiro just laughs and pulls him back to his side. “Yes, they have all of that, I promise. Come on, if we take much longer we’ll be sitting on the sidewalk for an hour.”

  “Okay, we jog, then!”

  “No, Alex, come on, it’s so early—”

  “The early bird gets the strawberries, Mahiro! Come on!”

  Yes, definitely happy. Mahiro rolls his eyes and picks up the pace until he’s reluctantly running, actually sort of keeping up with Alex’s long-legged strides, but Alex still has him beat by a few seconds, and when they get to the restaurant, there are only two groups in front of them. Alex cheers and Mahiro leans against the building, starting to sweat but not nearly as winded as Alex thought he might be. He looks delectable, disheveled hair and faded old T-shirt, thin and clinging in the humidity. Alex leans in and brushes his damp bangs away with careful fingers, and Mahiro gifts him with a shy smile.

  Alex never wants this to end. Soft mornings and blistering hot nights, the steady warmth and clarity of knowing where and with whom you belong. It’s intoxicating, heady. Everything he’s ever wanted.

  Mahiro quirks a puzzled smile, and Alex realizes he’s been staring at him a solid minute. There’s still time to sort out what to do about the impending end of summer, but first, pancakes.

  “SO,” MAHIRO says and spears an orange slice on his fork, “tell me about the book. How is it going?”

  “Well, it’s sort of… changed. A little. From the original premise.”

  Mahiro looks slightly wary. “Changed? In what way?”

  Alex swallows his bite and wipes his lips with his napkin. He’s stalling. He doesn’t want to stall, but…. “Well, it was a mystery, right? A murder mystery.”

  Mahiro nods.

  “But now it’s more… an erotic thriller? If you understand the difference. The focus has changed from the investigation of the murder to, well. The relationship between the detective and the Dominant he’s been shadowing, to learn more about the scene.” Alex clears his throat. “He realizes this person has really become his friend. Maybe more than a friend. And he’s asked him to join in on a scene, to see if he might like it.”

  Mahiro smiles, sly and knowing, and Alex’s cheeks heat. “Oh?” Mahiro says. “And what does your detective think he might do?”

  “There’s no possible way he’s going to say no,” Alex says. Two can play this game. “The tension between them has been growing for weeks. He can barely keep his hands to himself.”

  “Ooooh. What will the Dom try first?” Mahiro swipes one of Alex’s strawberries from his plate and pops it into his mouth, eyes alight.

  “Oh, nothing particularly complicated or painful. I think he just wants to touch him, and be touched.” Alex runs his finger around the rim of his glass and looks up from under his eyelashes. Flirting like this is fun. “He’s watched his friend reduce men to begging, sweaty, needy messes, and he wants it for himself.”

  Mahiro’s eyes go dark. “Sounds like the Dom has picked up on that. Maybe wants to push him around a little, see if he likes it.” Mahiro slides a foot between Alex’s, well out of sight behind the tablecloth, and kicks his ankles apart.

&n
bsp; Alex sucks in a breath and holds it for a beat. “I think he’d like that very much.”

  “Interesting.” Mahiro’s foot, now shoeless—and how did he do that so quickly?—is sliding its way up Alex’s leg, pausing at his knee to massage the swell of bone there, and then up the inside of his thigh.

  “You’re going to kill me,” Alex hisses. “I’m going to die, right here on a white tablecloth in Manhattan, facedown in a pile of strawberries.”

  Mahiro giggles. “And whipped cream.”

  “And whipped cream.”

  “No, you’re not going to die,” Mahiro says, and his foot rests lightly right on Alex’s crotch. He whimpers. “Shhh. Only when you’re ready. And only a little death.”

  “Le petit mort. En fraises,” Alex says, and they both break down snorting and cackling over pancakes, the other patrons of the restaurant giving them dirty looks, which only makes Alex laugh harder.

  “We’ll take the check when you can,” he says to the waiter between giggles.

  “Vous êtes deux idiots,” the waiter hisses at them, and after a startled moment of silence, he and Mahiro almost fall out of their chairs laughing.

  THEY DECIDE to walk back to Alex and Chris’s apartment, and Mahiro says he’ll get a cab back once they get there.

  “You can come up,” Alex says and swings their clasped hands between them. “It is Saturday, after all.”

  “Oh, that’s really sweet, and I’d love to. But.” Mahiro sighs. “I have to clean up the mess in the playroom so Adam can have it tonight, and I’ve got some choreography to finish up. I didn’t have time this week, between actual work and planning for… well. You.”

  Alex preens, smug. “Was it worth the time?”

  Mahiro stops in the middle of the sidewalk and pulls Alex flush against his body. People grumble and snark as they weave around the little island they’ve created, but Mahiro ignores them and nudges his lips against Alex’s in a soft, thorough, delicious kiss. Alex can feel the strong arc of Mahiro’s body against his, already so intimately familiar. Mahiro pulls back a fraction, eyes still closed.

  “You know you’re worth everything,” he whispers, and Alex feels that fluttering in his chest again, that warm contentment spreading through his limbs. Mahiro didn’t really answer his declaration last night, looking almost stunned to the point Alex was worried he pushed too far.

  But perhaps not. He smiles and takes Mahiro’s hand, kisses him on the knuckles before turning it over to press a lingering kiss to the underside of his wrist. Mahiro blushes but smiles, and Alex knows he understands what might be simply too soon to say.

  They walk a few more minutes in companionable silence, enjoying the day before the heat really sets in. All too soon, he can see his own building coming up. He’s not ready to let Mahiro go just yet, but he understands obligations better than most, so he prepares to let him leave for the moment.

  “Alex,” Mahiro starts, as Alex turns toward the front door of his building. “Instead of coming to the house Friday, would you be interested in doing something else Saturday?”

  Alex’s heart drops. “Instead of Friday?” His voice isn’t nearly as normal as he wishes it were. He looks forward to Fridays. He doesn’t want to give any of them up.

  “Oh, um.” Mahiro directs him to the side of the door and lowers his voice. “It’s a party, Saturday. One of my friends his having it. Invitation only. I’m allowed to bring someone, though.”

  Understanding dawns. “Oh, that kind of party! Like where we met.”

  Mahiro nods and smiles. “Precisely. I just didn’t know how open you wanted to be, and if you would want to be out like that. With me. As… as my submissive.”

  His submissive. Mahiro’s. “Of course!” The words are out of Alex’s mouth before he even thinks about them, but once he does, the internal voice that has been regulating his behavior since he was a young teen makes itself heard. “Oh, um. There will probably be a lot of people there I don’t know, right? I would have to be pretty careful. Not exactly low profile, you know?”

  Mahiro considers. “Yes, I did think about that. Adam will be there, and I bet Chris will be too. He’s invited to everything. But I think a mask would work well, and it’s expected that anyone who comes to these parties be discreet, on pain of social banishment. They’d never be invited anywhere ever again if anything got out, you know?”

  “Okay.” He thinks back to the party he saw before, and another worry starts to surface. “Will you expect me to… do anything? With anyone else?”

  “Absolutely not,” Mahiro says, and the flash in his eyes makes Alex’s heart stir. “I have no intention of sharing you. You won’t be wearing a collar, but it will be very obvious who you belong to.”

  Alex grins. “I can’t wait. What should I wear? What time do I need to be ready? What—”

  Mahiro puts his hand over Alex’s mouth. Alex shuts up immediately, but then can’t help himself and licks Mahiro’s palm. Mahiro squeals and jumps back, scrubbing his hand over his hip.

  “Seriously? I’d swear you’re twelve.” Alex just laughs. “Anyway, don’t worry about any of that. Just come to the house around eight. I mean, close to eight. Whatever. I’m not picky.”

  Alex raises an eyebrow. “Yes, you are.”

  “Well, I mean, don’t be really late or anything, we’ve got—

  “I’ll be there at 8:00 p.m.,” Alex says with a laugh. “No worries.”

  “Okay, then. Eight on Saturday. I’ll take care of everything.” Mahiro edges up to Alex for another kiss, and it seems now that he’s allowed himself the indulgence, he kisses Alex whenever he can, whenever the mood strikes him, and that’s fairly often. Alex doesn’t mind, not one bit, not when Mahiro’s kisses never seem the same from one to the next. This one is careful and soft, a lingering goodbye, and Alex watches him hail a cab and drive away, looking at Alex through the back window until the Saturday traffic swallows him up.

  HE DOESN’T get to see Mahiro again the entire week. He tries to text him Tuesday, maybe have a lunch date, but Mahiro texts back regrets.

  10:14 a.m. Mahiro

  Sorry, it’s testing week. I’ve got a lot of protocols to get through. I’m really sorry. Miss you.

  10:16 a.m.

  Miss you too. Thought about your cock today. Need you. Want you to fuck me.

  10:17 a.m. Mahiro

  Be good for me and we’ll get to Saturday. I want you so badly right now, and I can’t leave this test protocol to even jerk off.

  10:18 a.m. Mahiro

  I’ll call you tonight.

  Alex reads the last text with a huge grin. Mahiro usually stops work around five thirty. He putters around the house, finishes laundry, sits down to the laptop, and cranks out another 5,000ish words. Chris comes back from a quick on-ice session where he’s working out some new choreo with the Stars on Ice crew, and Alex tries not to watch the clock as they bicker and figure out some sort of dinner together and hassle each other over the remote.

  “No, not another episode of Kardashians, Chris, fuck I hate that show.” Alex grabs the remote from his hand. “Can’t I at least watch something reasonable? What about Supernatural?”

  “Fine, gay angels it is,” Chris says and settles himself into the corner of the sofa. “Oh, I was going to tell you, I got invited to a great party next Saturday. Want to come with?”

  “Oh, is it the party Mahiro was telling me about? A play party?”

  Chris’s eyebrows shoot up. “Yes, why, are you… oh my God, are you going with Mahiro?”

  “Well, yes. He invited me.”

  “To go with him. Like, with him, with him. As his sub.”

  Alex puzzles over this a minute. “Yes, is that okay? What’s wrong?”

  Chris has the biggest grin on his face. “Nothing, unless you count the fact I’ve never seen Mahiro at a party with anyone, ever before. He’s had people he’s met there for scenes, but he’s never brought someone.” Chris cocks his head and studies Alex, and after a momen
t he brightens. “Does that mean he’s going to collar you?”

  Alex’s stomach turns somersaults. “What? No, no, he said I’m not wearing a collar, but that it will be very obvious who I belong to. I think that’s what he said. What’s that mean, then?”

  “Huh.” Chris narrows his eyes a moment, looking thoughtful. “Well, I’m sure he’s got that all figured out. Just trust him, I suppose. But on to bigger and better topics! What on earth are you wearing? You own exactly nothing appropriate for this party.”

  “Mahiro said not to worry about it, that he’s going to dress me.” Alex can feel nerves twisting in his stomach. “Am I going to be in leather?” Oh God, that’s all he needs. A picture of himself looking like everyone’s gay fetish dream getting out on the internet for the world to speculate over. Maybe this is a bad idea after all.

  “Alex, of all the people in the universe you can trust to not dress you like Leather Daddy Ken, Mahiro is one of them. Me, however, well. Glad I brought all my harnesses, is all I’m saying.”

  “Oh my God.” Alex pushes Chris over by the side of the face. “Seriously, how do you even survive with that complete lack of self-awareness?”

  “Oh, darling, I’m very aware. I just don’t give a shit. Now. You have until Saturday to get your act together. Mani-pedi, haircut, wax. You’re going to look hot as fuck. You may not have a collar yet, but we’re going to make sure he wants to get you one. I will see that man finally make a commitment before we all die of old age.”

  Alex bites his lip. A collar for him. He knows Chris is mostly just kidding around, but…. A mark of possession he can wear while they play, something to remind him who he belongs to. A promise between the two of them of commitment and exclusivity.