I got a little grin, and he bit his lower lip temptingly. “Thanks. Got to go or I’m going to be late, though.”
Had he just thanked me for eye-fucking him?
As he walked out of the apartment, the door shutting behind him, I still wasn’t sure. Straight men did not say thanks for thinking they were hot.
Did they?
To hell with dinner, I needed a drink. Heading for the door, I made a quick detour to grab my wallet and shoes and was out of the apartment in minutes. The drive across town to BJ’s didn’t take long enough. The crazy mixed signals from Reece kept playing over and over in my head.
I entered the bar knowing it was going to be busy, but nearly wall-to-wall roughnecks wasn’t what I was expecting. Making my way to the counter, I found a spot at the far corner and sat down. As packed as it was, I expected to wait a few minutes for Jake, the owner, to get my drink, but it didn’t take long.
Jake gave me a nod and leaned against the smooth wood. “Been a while; what’ll you have?”
“Busy lately; whatever’s on tap.” Watching him move efficiently around the small space, I glanced around the room. “Why’s it so packed?”
The guy sitting next to me turned and sighed dreamily. Andrew was Jake’s partner and a bit of a handful. “Hudson’s angel is working tonight. They’re both here and so hot they nearly combust.”
It was technically a sentence, but it didn’t make enough sense to be any help. Glancing over at Jake, I raised an eyebrow. “Care to translate?”
He barked out a laugh. “Remember the little twink with the big cock?”
“Hard to forget.” He’d been too tiny for my taste, but just a glance had told me he was going to be perfect for some Dom.
“Hudson’s another regular, and they’re a thing now. We’re just going to say those two draw a crowd.” Jake set my beer down and jerked his head toward the other end of the bar. “See?”
I couldn’t see exactly what the two men were doing, but the little one was standing between the taller guy’s legs, squirming like he was getting ready to come. Most of the room was watching their show, and the crowd clearly appreciated it when the Dom’s hand went down and, judging by the server’s moan, smacked his ass.
Andrew was right, they were hot, but not really what I’d gone to the bar to see. I was already frustrated enough. Seeing a Dom and his clearly exhibitionist sub put on a show wasn’t going to improve my mood. I liked to watch as much as the next guy, but not when I knew there was nothing at home but my right hand.
Well, technically there were always guys who were willing to give a hand or trade blowjobs, but that wasn’t what I wanted. And considering what I was wearing under my clothes, I wasn’t going to get naked in front of just anyone.
Some guys didn’t care, but some had entirely too many opinions about shit that wasn’t their business. Besides, there was only one guy that my dick was focused on, and he was out partying with his friends. Partying in fuck-me clothes that did not scream straight guy out to find a girl.
Mixed fuckin’ signals.
“Everything okay?” Andrew’s question cut through the frustration and fog clouding my brain.
“Yeah.” Shrugging, I took a long drink of my beer.
He just snorted. “Sure. They’re so hot half the bar nearly orgasmed when Hudson grabbed Rand’s cock, and you didn’t even notice?”
“Huh?” I looked around to see the Dom carrying the little server over his shoulder toward the back. “Oh.”
“So let’s try the question again, since I no longer have my porn show going.” Andrew turned and propped one elbow up on the bar, cradling his head in his hand. “I only have a few minutes since his break isn’t that long, and I don’t think Hudson’s going to let him out of that cock cage anytime soon. So spill it before my show starts again.”
Jake laughed and headed over toward the other end of the bar. I just shrugged at Andrew. I’d been going there for years, and even though I wasn’t much for sharing, I’d never hidden the fact that I was gay or a Dom. “New roommate. He’s distracting.”
“Oooh.” Andrew’s eyes lit up, and he perked up, leaning in. Nosy little drama queen. “Tell me, is he hot?”
“Yes. But probably straight? Mixed signals, though. Some of his friends seem to be gay, but there are a lot of women too. The only past relationships he’s mentioned have been women, but I think he was checking me out.”
I wasn’t going to mention the fact that he was checking me out while I was wearing nothing but panties. That wasn’t really their business or something that had come up in conversation before. But considering the fact that I’d had a couple of the other customers on their knees in the back over the years, it probably wasn’t a secret.
“I swear, I have this conversation with someone in here at least once a month. Repeat after me, ‘Straight guys are for jerk-off material but not for crushing on.’” Andrew just shook his head. “They were put on this earth to look cute and give fantasies some variety, but not for actually trying to date or fuck or spank, or whatever you’re into.”
Laughing so hard I had to set my beer down to keep from spilling it, I shook my head. “I’m not going all stalker on a straight guy.” At least, I didn’t think I was. That was still up in the air.
“He’s just hard to read.” Or I was a wuss who wasn’t ready to get shot down.
Andrew cocked his head and gave me a curious look. “And maybe curious enough to set off your gaydar?”
“Possibly.” He set off something. I just wasn’t sure what it was.
“Then go for it. Ask him on a date or walk around naked or something and see what he says.” Andrew’s eyebrows waggled up and down. “If he gets hard, he’s into it; if he moves out then you know he’s not.”
“Great advice.” Jake came up and set down a bowl of pretzels. “You’re going to get him slapped with sexual harassment charges or something.”
Andrew shrugged. “Only if he’s really straight.”
Like that was the only problem with the idea. “And I’m not exactly the most vanilla guy, so I’m not really going to surprise him with that.”
Nope. The lingerie thing had gone over astonishingly well, but I wasn’t sure if the dominant and submissive conversation would. My preference for panties was completely different than wanting to bend him over and spank that high, round ass and watch him squirm and plead to come.
Yup, that conversation would go over like a ton of bricks.
Andrew sighed again. “Yeah, curious about what another guy’s dick is like is one thing, but some guys don’t take the whole let’s see how you like a spanking part very well.”
A loud cry echoed through the room, saving me from having to come up with a response to Andrew. He perked up in his seat and looked toward the back of the building, completely unfazed but excited. “Oh, he got to come. I wonder if Hudson let him out of the cage?”
“Jake, I’m going to need another beer.” It was going to be a long night.
Chapter 10
Reece
“That was weirdly awkward.” Throwing myself into the back seat of Hannah’s car, I closed my eyes. “Tell me it wasn’t just me that thought they were all…”
I wasn’t even sure how to describe it without seeming rude. Luckily, Eli didn’t have the same problem. “Tragically vanilla for a BDSM group?” He sighed dramatically. “Hannah, where did you find them?”
She giggled, and I opened my eyes to see her shrugging. “They weren’t that bad the last time I went.”
Eli snorted. “When was that? The Stone Age?”
“Six months ago! I meet a few nice guys there, but we just didn’t click. I don’t know what happened.” She turned on the car but didn’t put it in gear. “I swear, the last time I went, most of the people had been in the lifestyle for several years, and there were a variety of dominants and submissives.”
“There was variety tonight: tall boring guys, short boring guys, that weird lady with the dog in her purs
e. See, variety, but not the kind of selection you want at a BDSM get-together.” Eli was even more wound up than usual. It’d been a rough photo shoot with Roman.
They’d actually gotten along. It was frightening.
At one point, it’d gotten so quiet I’d stuck my head out the door to make sure I didn’t need to call Preston and tell him there was a dead body in the main studio. Nope. Just two professionals taking photos. It was like they’d been invaded by the pod people.
Unfortunately, something had happened, and they’d gone back to screaming at each other by the end of the session. And Eli had been in a terrible mood the rest of the afternoon, which was why Hannah had suggested he go out to the BDSM group with us.
Supposedly, it was a small group that had meet-and-greet events on a regular basis to introduce single people in the lifestyle. However, something had gone horribly wrong. Most of the men and women there were incredibly new to the scene and had no idea what they were doing. New wasn’t necessarily bad, but some of them were just odd.
“I still can’t believe that lady with the dog. Who brings a biological dog to one of these events? I mean, a pup on a leash I totally get, but not an actual dog.” Eli was still shaking his head.
“The dog was not the weirdest part.” I struggled not to laugh. “When she asked me if I was a real submissive, I thought that was kind of strange, but then she said she was only asking because the last time she brought a guy home who said he was a sub, he refused to clean the floors.”
“She was better than the little twink who’d clearly watched that BDSM movie too many times, because he kept asking everyone their net worth within seconds of being introduced.” Hannah giggled and turned in her seat to look at everyone. “He wasn’t looking for a red room of pain. He was looking for a penthouse hookup.”
Eli smirked. “We escaped without making any tragic mistakes, and we were the most fabulous people there. I’m calling it a win.”
“I’ll take that, but I’m hungry. I was promised food.” I was starving. I’d told a white lie to Houston when I’d said that we were eating over at Hannah’s, but she’d said they’d have food at the party.
“They had a full buffet as part of the entrance fee last time. It was catered and everything. I had a good time. I’m telling you, they must have changed ownership or management or something.” Hannah clearly felt guilty over how the evening had gone, but it wasn’t her fault.
“You can make it up to us by buying the first round. Burgers, then we’ll get drinks somewhere.” Eli leaned against the door and frowned. “I’m not in the mood to be groped by Dom wannabes at a regular club tonight.”
Music sounded like fun, but I kind of agreed with Eli on the rest. I’d gone out hoping to be able to figure out what I wanted, and get Houston out of my head, but no one in there could compare to him. He was sexy and dominant without being overly aggressive in everyday conversations. He was even cute when he grumbled about not getting the lasagna he was promised.
No one in there stood a chance when I had him at home—not that I actually had him.
Hell, I wasn’t even sure he was really a Dom or actually into me. The way he’d looked at me earlier put some of those fears to rest, however. I could almost feel his touch as his eyes raked up my body. I couldn’t help responding, but that didn’t seem to stop his heated gaze. No, he’d focused on my cock more than once. There was no doubt he thought I was hot.
Was that enough, though?
I just wished I knew more about what he liked and needed out of a relationship. When I’d asked about his previous partners, he’d been vague and unhelpful. What was I supposed to do, come right out and ask him if he liked to spank his previous lovers? Hey, what are your thoughts on handcuffs and paddles? Have you ever considered edging a lover? Do you own a cock cage?
Yeah, that would work.
He’d probably kick me out so fast my head would spin.
But no one gave orders like he did without at least being a little bit familiar with BDSM, right? And fuck, he had a look that just made me want to kneel right there and beg for anything he’d give me. Pleasure…pain…I could see it all.
Yeah, yeah, we just met. That didn’t really make much of a difference to me. It wasn’t like I was planning on marrying the guy right away. I just wanted to be bent over his lap and spanked, then fucked while he wore more of those sexy panties.
“Are you even listening to me?” Eli’s voice broke through my fantasy. Bastard.
“Clearly not.” Hannah snorted at my response, and Eli just laughed.
Probably repeating himself for the second or third time, Eli started again. “Drive-thru and then BJ’s, or real restaurant and then go someplace uptown, or some combination of those?”
They’d dragged me to one of the uptown clubs after my first day at work. It was not something I wanted to repeat. “Not that boring one with the guys sitting around too cool to dance. If you want music, we can go to that other one, it wasn’t as bad, but if you just want to drink and bullshit, then let’s just go to BJ’s, that one was okay. And for god’s sake, none of us are dressed for a sit-down restaurant. Drive-thru, Hannah, so we don’t get arrested.”
She giggled and nodded. “We’re not too bad, but naked boy over here would totally get our butts hauled into jail. And I for one don’t want to have to call someone to come bail us out.”
Eli wasn’t exactly naked, but his tight jeans had strategic holes in them so his pink panties showed, and the outline of his cock and ass played peek-a-boo with anyone walking by. Yeah, we weren’t taking him to Applebee’s. “I’m not calling Preston and asking him for the name of a lawyer.”
“You could call Houston,” Eli teased, his inner brat coming to the surface. “I bet he’d love to help you, but only after you promised to pay him back with sexual favors—naughty, dirty ones.”
“Dude, we need to get you laid.” But yeah, the idea had merit. I bet Houston could think up some fabulous punishments.
Hannah gave an excited squeal. “Oh, that could be a new idea for the blog…Eli’s wicked wanderings…Eli’s fantastic fantasies…Eli’s—”
I couldn’t help interrupting her while Eli groaned. “Eli’s masturbatory musings!”
Hannah beamed and started the car. “That’s perfect!”
“Preston would laugh his ass off.” Eli's eyes were lit up, and it was clear he loved the idea. He was a bit of an exhibitionist, and driving people insane seemed to turn him on.
“I’m not sure he wants us all to end up on the news, though, so blog away—but we’re not going out in public with you.” But BJ’s wasn’t exactly public. And I didn’t think they’d mind what we were wearing. Although those pink panties Eli was wearing might make a few of the men give us some odd looks.
He didn’t seem concerned, however, so I wasn’t going to worry about it. I had better things to obsess over. Houston. I was like some kind of pathetic teenager with a crush on the cool kid who’d never notice them.
Well, he’d noticed me—knowing what to do next was the problem.
After grabbing food and making our way across town, we parked and headed into BJ’s. We got a few teasing grins, and some comments about Eli waving a red flag in front of the bulls, but overall it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Like the first time Eli had dragged me in, most of the guys looked rough, but they seemed to be a live-and-let-live group.
Except for the little server who’d had the hard-on last time we’d seen him; leaving him alone hadn’t seemed to be part of the game.
I’d nearly fallen out of the booth the first time I’d seen him walk in. Yeah, he’d been sexy, but that hadn’t been what was so surprising. It had been the way the guys had cheered and the crazy comments that started flying that had really shocked me. He’d just blushed, and the snake in his pants had gotten even harder. When his boyfriend/Dom showed up, things had really heated up.
Evidently, his work schedule was a pretty big secret, but Eli evidently had an in with
the owner’s partner and had wanted to surprise the new guy. Me.
As we made our way across the room to a booth that had just opened up, Eli’s smile turned into a cat-that-ate-the-canary grin. “Guess who decided to get out of the house for the night?”
“Huh?” The table was still filled with bottles, but I knew someone would come by to clean it before long. They might overlook someone having sex in the bathroom, but not the cleanliness of the tables. It was all a bit odd.
When they both started laughing, I started to look around.
Shit.
“What’s he doing here?” Houston was sitting over at the bar. I wasn’t sure if he’d seen us yet because he was hunched over the bar looking at some guy’s phone.
“Getting drunk?” Eli gave me a look like I was crazy.
“He said he was staying home.” Hadn’t he? Thinking back, I couldn’t remember.
“Does it matter? Didn’t you say he was just your roommate?” Hannah gave me a too-innocent look but ruined it when she grinned.
“He is.” I wasn’t lying.
Eli snorted. “But that’s not what you want.”
“We don’t always get what we want.” I shrugged, trying to look casual and keep my gaze away from Houston. “I don’t think he’s interested.”
“Yeah, keep saying that. It’s not going to make it more believable,” Eli teased.
“What?” Something in his eyes had me looking over at Houston.
He was staring at me, intent and heated. Houston was leaning against the bar, one hand wrapped around a half-empty glass, his body language casual, but something about the look on his face said he was anything but relaxed.
Hannah’s voice dropped low. “He’s watching you like you’re some kind of dessert he wants to dive into.”
Eli laughed. “You’re such a girl. Reece isn’t a brownie. Houston’s watching him like he wants to devour him. No chocolate necessary.”
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