CK gently stroked Andy’s back. Slowly, the man’s movements got firmer, rubbing Andy’s arms and shoulders, and Andy took a shaky breath and lifted his head.
“Welcome back.” CK smiled a little smile, kissing him lightly. “You were amazing.”
Andy just took it in, stayed in that newfound place where it was okay to be praised.
CK massaged his arms, loosening the straps one by one. When Andy’s arms were free, CK kneeled in front of him, repeating the massage on his legs until the only straps holding him up were those attached to the body harness.
“Are you okay to stand by yourself?” CK’s movements were slow and reassuring, and Andy experimentally bent one stiff leg at a time.
“I think so.” CK undid the last fastenings, and even though Andy swayed a bit, he stayed upright. CK led him to the padded table.
“Let me help you out of that; it’s not comfortable lying down with it on.”
Andy could see the reason in that, but he still missed the feeling of the harness when CK removed it.
CK helped him lie down on his stomach, and he sighed when he could stretch out. The table was soft and big enough for him to rest comfortably. He took a deep breath and enjoyed the faint scent of leather from the upholstery.
Then there was oil and CK’s strong hands rubbing it in, firmly pushing his muscles into complete relaxation. It was good and a bit rough, forcing little sounds out of him. The roughness brought him back from that floaty, unreal place he had been about to lose himself in, and it was a little sad to let it go. He tried to ignore CK’s hands on his shoulder, shaking him, and CK slapped his butt none too gently.
“Hey!” He opened his eyes, wanting to glare at CK. CK’s happy smile totally ruined that intention, though, and Andy couldn’t help smiling, too.
“Time to get upright again.” CK might have been rough when he pushed Andy back into real life, but his hands were gentle as he helped Andy up.
This time, Andy was steady on his feet as he stood in the middle of the playroom, taking in the light and quiet and breathing in deeply. He felt taller, grounded, very much alive.
“Don’t daydream, now,” CK grumbled as he rubbed Andy down, the towel coarse against Andy’s oiled skin.
Andy laughed out loud. If anything, he felt awake now. No more hiding.
CK tossed him a pair of sweatpants and waited while he put them on. Then his Dom stepped up close, suddenly serious.
“Are you okay?” He looked searchingly into Andy’s eyes.
Andy just nodded, smiling at CK. He didn’t seem to be able to stop that. CK closed the distance between them and kissed him, so slowly that Andy was a little out of breath when CK pulled back.
“Good. Let’s go make dinner.”
Cooking wasn’t exactly the typical aftercare following a scene, but then again, nothing about CK was typical, so Andy followed him to the kitchen.
“I’m not exactly a chef, but we’re two grown men; it should be within our reach to make something edible.” He asked Andy to start preparing the vegetables.
As Andy was chopping the peppers, CK bumped his shoulder, staying close to him.
“So, you liked the harness?”
Andy snorted. He couldn’t keep the grin off his face, though. “You might say so.”
“What was it about it that you liked?”
Andy had to stop to think about it. “I’m not entirely sure, to be honest. It was just very hot, and I guess I felt kind of... secure in it. I don’t really remember it in detail -- it’s all a bit fuzzy to me.” It had been so good, though.
“Yeah, you went deep in no time. It was beautiful.”
Andy had no idea what to say to that. He shrugged.
“Oh, no, you don’t get off that easily.” CK turned him so they faced each other. “You were beautiful to watch, understand? You were so hot, and your sounds were amazing.”
Andy was very happy that he could use the vegetables as an excuse to turn away again. CK’s huff told him that the man knew exactly what Andy was doing.
“I... I don’t usually talk that much.” That was quite embarrassing to think of now. Especially since “talk” was the understatement of the year; he had been shouting and moaning and begging. But even that didn’t make him ashamed, just a little red in the cheeks.
“I know you don’t. What made you do it this time?”
Damn, this man really liked talking. Andy shrugged, not meeting CK’s eyes. But it was more to drag out time; he had no illusions about getting off this easy.
“I think I kind of... broke, but in a good way. I couldn’t hold anything back anymore, and I didn’t want to. Does that make sense?” He kept his eyes trained on the peppers on the counter in front of him.
CK reached over and pulled the chopping knife out of his hand. Andy looked up in confusion, and then he was in CK’s arms. The solid body felt just as good as always, and he let himself lean into it.
CK was quiet for a minute before he spoke. “It makes a lot of sense. And for the record, it was really, really good for me, too. Thank you for giving me that, Andy.”
Andy pushed a bit closer, not knowing what to do. Then he pulled back, gently kissing CK on the cheek. “Thank you.”
***
Andy was on his way around the house to his front door when Jeff called him.
“Oh, hi, Jeff. Sorry, I totally forgot about calling you. I’m kind of floating.”
“Are you hurt? What did the fucker do to you?” The response in the other end of the line was quick, Jeff’s voice concerned.
“No, I’m good.”
Andy briefly wondered about Jeff’s question. Did Jeff really think that getting hurt was the only way for Andy to feel this good? Then the lingering pleasure won over any thinking, and he grinned while he opened his front door. “Very good, in fact. So’s CK, by the way.”
“Yeah? You’re okay? What did he do to you?”
Andy didn’t get offended by the questions; Jeff worried about him.
“He put me in a harness and tied me up. Then he used an inflatable dildo on me. Well, in me, to be exact. It was fucking hot.”
“And that made you float? Just like that?”
“Well, he’s got really good hands. And a nice voice, and the harness was really hot, but basically, yes, just like that. He didn’t even spank me.” Which should have been a shame, but man, it had been hot.
“Fuck. I’m thinking of taking lessons.”
Andy laughed. It wasn’t like Jeff to be impressed.
“And you’re laughing. It must have been fucking good.”
“It was fucking amazing.” Andy was grinning like a fool. He probably looked silly, but that was definitely a price worth paying for a scene like that.
“So, are you going to meet up with him again?”
“Oh, definitely. We have an appointment next weekend.” CK hadn’t wanted to meet before. Andy felt like going back to see him right away. He hadn’t felt this good in a long time.
“Hey, that’s great. Well, I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. See you on Monday, okay?”
“Okay. Bye.” Andy pushed the red button on his cell and sat down in a chair. He had even forgotten to take off his shoes, so he bent down and untied the laces. When he was done, he put his feet up on the low table in front of him and grinned again. Watch him being all relaxed.
***
It was probably the first time ever that Andy had gone to the club without the intention of hooking up with somebody. He had an appointment with CK on Saturday, and CK didn’t want him to play with anyone else. Andy didn’t want it, either; just thinking about CK made a silly grin spread on his face.
“You look like you’re in a good mood.”
Andy started; he hadn’t been paying any attention to his surroundings at all.
“Oh, sorr
y, I didn’t mean to scare you. Are the lines here really long enough to make you fall asleep?” It was Tom, Mischa’s sub, who had walked up behind Andy while he was waiting at the bar.
“Apparently so. What are you drinking?” The bartender was waiting for Andy’s order.
“Just water. I gave Mischa a vodka and put him at Toby’s table; that man really needs to learn how to relax. I have a feeling I might be driving home tonight.” There was an overbearing note to Tom’s voice.
“You order your Dom to drink?” There were all kinds of relationships in the leather world, but this was strange.
Tom just laughed.
“Well, we’ve both been working far too hard for far too long. I out-stubborned him tonight, and now he’s being a good boy and talking to Toby.” There was a fond look on Tom’s face.
“Good for him.”
“Oh, it’s even better for me. He gets way too serious when he’s crunching numbers all the time. It’s good for him to let go.”
Andy just nodded politely; he didn’t have a clue how Mischa and Tom’s relationship worked.
“Is the library working out for you?”
They took their glasses and sat down at a table.
“It’s stunning. I use it every day. And thank you, by the way; I didn’t get a chance to say that when you were there.”
Andy saw the blush in Tom’s cheeks; they were clearly both thinking about last time they had met, Tom kneeling at his master’s feet.
“Yes. It was really something,” Andy said.
“The shelves are beautiful.” Tom nodded.
“No, actually I meant...” Andy couldn’t continue. The images of Tom had been haunting him since the days he had spent at Mischa’s house, building a library for Tom when Tom moved in with Mischa.
Tom was confident, smart, and seemed completely secure in the relationship with Mischa. That had been an eye-opener in itself to Andy, but it was what he had seen the second day in the house that kept him awake at night. He didn’t know what Mischa had done to get Tom so deep into what Andy now knew was called subspace, so perfectly, blissfully happy, but it stirred something deep in Andy.
“Yeah. I was... It was good.” Tom’s voice was low.
“I keep thinking of you sitting on the floor.” Andy hadn’t meant to say that.
Tom just nodded. “It was really peaceful. We normally don’t play like that -- you know, with kneeling and all that stuff -- but it just seemed right that day, you know?”
Andy shrugged. “I’m not sure.” His eyes met Tom’s questioning expression before he looked away. “I haven’t been doing anything right up until recently.”
“There’s no wrong way to do this.” Tom sounded very convinced, but Andy wasn’t going to let it go. Not anymore.
“No, Tom. There are really, really wrong ways of doing this.” He managed to look up. “There are wrong ways, and I’ve only just started to understand that. Now I have to learn everything all over again.”
“How do you mean?” Tom didn’t sound angry at being contradicted, just genuinely interested in the answer.
“For example, the thing you said when I told you to guess whether I’m a Dom or a sub. You said that submission isn’t only in your head; it’s in your body, too. The thing is, I’d never, ever known that it could be anywhere but in your body. I thought it was all about taking as much pain as possible, to get as far out of your body as you could get.”
“That doesn’t sound good. I mean, I don’t want to criticize something if it works for you, but...”
“It didn’t work for me.” Andy took a deep breath. “Sorry, I’m not normally this rude. I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”
“You’re not rude. Why did you do it if it didn’t work for you?”
“I thought it was the right way, and now I’ve met someone who wants everything differently. It’s really confusing at the moment.” Andy shrugged apologetically.
“Sounds that way. It’s exhausting enough to learn it all from scratch; having to scrap old habits on top of that must be even harder.”
“You seemed very experienced.” It had to take a lot of trust to submit the way Tom had been doing, sitting at his Dom’s feet and being fully at ease with it even when a stranger entered the room.
Tom laughed out loud, and Andy looked at him in surprise. “I’m so incredibly inexperienced! Or, you know, I was until Mischa started initiating me into every kink known to mankind and then some.” God, that man could blush.
“Really?”
“Really. I’ve just been lucky, I guess. We fit together.”
“Do you trust him?” Andy blinked when he heard his own words. This really wasn’t like him.
“Yes.” Tom’s answer came without hesitation. “It only works if you trust the one you play with. For me, at least.”
Andy nodded, slowly. “Submission is in your head?”
Tom grinned. “I really like it when someone quotes me. And yes, I’ll stand by that one.”
He was about to say something more when there was a commotion and someone crying out at the other end of the bar.
“Mischa?” Tom quickly got up and walked around the bar. Andy followed him and almost walked into him when he stopped abruptly. Andy had to look around him to see what had happened.
Mischa was on the floor, the sorry remains of a chair shattered around him. The Dom was staring quizzically at them and rubbing his ass.
“Please tell me you didn’t just fall off your chair, Mischa?” Tom had his hands on his hips.
“Uhm. I didn’t?” Mischa blinked slowly, grinning up at Tom. He patted the floor as if to check that it was still there, shuffling to get up. His attempt was hindered by the fact that his feet were through the back of the chair. Andy didn’t have a clue how the Dom had managed that.
“You’re drunk!” Tom sounded incredulous. “How the fuck did you manage to get drunk in less than an hour?”
Mischa stopped his attempt at getting up to think about that. “I tried real hard?” He looked up at Tom as if to see if that was the right answer.
“God, you’re a lightweight, Mischa.” Tom shook his head and turned to Andy. “Care to give me a hand here? It seems I have a tipsy boyfriend who needs a little help.”
“Am not ‘tipsy!’ Girls get tipsy. Not Doms.” Mischa was grumbling as Andy and Tom picked the drunken man up from the floor, disentangling Mischa’s legs from the remains of the chair. Tom’s hands were surprisingly gentle in spite of the sarcasm. Andy thought that he saw the sub trying to hide a smile, too.
“You just keep telling yourself that, Mischa. Let’s get you home.”
The cool air outside the club helped sober Mischa enough that he walked reasonably straight with only a little help. Andy still went with them, waiting until Tom had put the drunken Dom securely into the car.
“That’ll teach me to order my Dom to drink! I guess it came as a surprise that the meanest Dom around can’t hold his liquor.” Tom shook his head overbearingly. Then he got serious.
“Take care of yourself, Andy, okay? Promise me you won’t play with people who aren’t good for you.”
Andy blinked. Was it that simple? He suddenly had a lot of unanswered questions.
But Mischa had started singing, and Tom looked alarmed. “I really have to put an end to that. Sorry, we have to talk again some other day. Ask Toby for my number and call me, okay?”
Andy nodded, and he couldn’t help grinning when Tom opened the car door and something that sounded like Russian was belted out by Mischa. The last thing he heard was Tom’s muttered “Jesus!” before Mischa’s sub closed the door and took off.
Andy stood back on the sidewalk, staring after the car without really seeing it.
5
CK was fastening the bindings to the padded table in his playroom. Andy was going to be he
re soon, and CK could just as well do the preparations in advance; that way, he would have more time with his sub.
His very sexy sub. The man had gone straight into subspace last weekend, and Andy had been grounded and confident afterward. Happy. Even now, CK’s heart leaped at the thought. He had never met anyone like Andy before, and he hadn’t thought that he would be able to get the cautious sub so far in such a short period of time.
Andy had wanted another scene right away, but CK had refused. Getting a crush on your Dom was a normal reaction after a good scene, and CK didn’t want to take advantage of the rush Andy had experienced, particularly after their previous scene. Having a week between seeing each other gave Andy time to think about what had happened and to work with that.
Except that they hadn’t really had a week between seeing each other. It had been a coincidence that CK ran into Andy on the street last Wednesday, but since they had seen each other, it would have been downright impolite not to say hello, wouldn’t it? They had been talking on the street corner for more than half an hour before CK felt his stomach rumble and noticed how hungry he was.
“Hey, I’m starving. Do you want to go catch some food?”
Andy had seemed crestfallen, and for a moment, CK worried how his offer could be that unacceptable.
“But I’m in my work clothes! I’m filthy!” Andy pointed at his clothes.
CK skeptically eyed the pale gray trousers with the little streak of varnish on one leg. Andy didn’t exactly look as if he had been mud wrestling.
“No, you’re not. And we’re not going to L’Espalier; there’s a diner around the corner that I like.”
Andy was about to protest again when CK continued. “But of course, if you don’t want to have dinner with me...” CK winked, taking the edge off his offended remark.
“Of course I do! I mean...” The big carpenter bordered on being cute when he was as flustered as he was now.
CK decided to take mercy on Andy. At least that was what he told himself he was doing when he dragged his reluctant dinner partner around the corner to the diner.
Andy calmed down when he saw how informal the place was, and they had a really nice time. The food was good, and Andy easily kept up his part of the conversation. It was good to see the relaxed man from their first meeting again; Andy outside of the scene was both confident and interesting to talk to. Time flew by, and CK was almost reluctant to say goodbye when they were standing on the street afterward. CK looked around.
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