“We’ll bring a twelve pack of Coke Zero next week.” Davey was all smiles.
That means he was already prepared to come with me next weekend. I’m gaining ground, maybe only inches at a time, but definitely gaining ground.
“You’d do that for me? I can drink water,” Davey assured him.
“Why should you have to drink water when we can buy the Coke?”
“I don’t want to inconvenience you any more than I have already,” Davey said, head down.
“It’s such a small thing. I’d like to do so much more. Good night, Davey.” Jake walked into his room and closed the door.
§ § §
Saturday Morning
Davey was up early the next morning. He made coffee and went to the restaurant to get Jake his half and half and Splenda packets.
Jake was out of his room when Davey got back. “Where did you go?” Jake grumbled.
“I went to the restaurant to get you half and half.” Davey held up the pitcher. Jake’s grumpy face turned into a smile.
He poured Jake his coffee, put in the cream and Splenda and gave the cup to Jake. “You remembered how I like it. Good boy. I see you slept with the play collar around your neck.”
“You didn’t say I could take it off, so I didn’t.” Davey boiled some water for tea.
“Good boy.”
§ § §
Brian was sitting down for an earlier than normal meal. Saturdays Bear liked to sleep in, but today his morning blow job was given at eight. Tee time was at ten and Bear wanted Brian and his breakfast in that order.
At eight-thirty, Bear was enjoying his first cup of Kona and the doorbell rang. Jake and Davey had arrived. Mrs. Santorre had made strawberry pancakes with bacon and strawberry syrup.
Bear showed them in and Jake handed Davey his jacket. Davey didn’t know what to expect, so Brian took him aside. “If the pillows are on the floor, Bear wants to feed me. But since tee time is at ten, I suspect we’ll be eating at the table. Let me get your jackets.”
Brian took Jake and Davey’s jackets and put them in the coat closet.
They went in to the dining room five minutes later to find Bear at the head of the table with Jake seated to his right and a place for Brian on his left.
“You come sit next to me, boy.” Jake patted the chair beside him for Davey. They finished eating and one by one the other Doms arrived for golf.
Brian told Davey, “Johnny will have lunch for us after we hit the shelters. Usually I don’t let the recipient come with me when I’m picking out their cat. I’m making an exception for you because you have nowhere else to go but the hotel while the Doms play golf. We’ll pick up Jamie, Danny and Robbie. Jim and Greg will meet us at the Humane Society in Tinton Falls. Jim won’t be able to stay long, there’s a collaring tonight.” Brian and Davey sat down and had another cup of tea and soon it was nine-thirty and time for the men to leave.
“I didn’t want to ask before, but what’s a collaring?” Davey eyes were alight with curiosity as they got into the limousine with Junior.
“Junior, this is Davey. He may be joining our group.”
“God help his Master.” Junior pulled out of the driveway. Davey gave Brian a quizzical look.
“Junior drives me everywhere because Papa Bear worries. Papa is always asking him what we do, but unless he’s at Johnny’s with Aubrey, Johnny and Caden’s driver, he stays in the car.”
“I get it, plausible deniability.”
“You’re quick on the uptake,” Brian said, impressed.
“You have to be when you’re a foster kid.”
“To answer your previous question a collaring is like a marriage ceremony in the BDSM community. We get married for the state, but in our community the most important ceremony is the collaring. The Dom buys the best collar he can afford and puts it on his sub in front of their group of friends or the whole club depending on the Dom. Then he demonstrates his skill with his chosen implement. For Jake, that would be his hands. From what I understand, he gives out one hell of a spanking and doesn’t use the spanking bench, only his lap. He’s not big on protocol either.”
“What’s protocol?” Davey asked, confusion evident on his face.
“Having us sit on the pillow on the floor is protocol. Being fed is protocol. Calling a Dom Sir or if he collars you, Master, is the same. If Jake brings you to the club more than twice, you’d have to take Bull’s class on protocol. He doesn’t touch you, he’s not allowed to, but he is one sarcastic and sadistic bastard.” Davey’s mouth opened wide hearing Brian talk about another Dom like that.
“It’s okay, everyone knows and he’s the first to admit it. But Jamie is a pain slut and that makes him perfect for Bull. Jamie is also as strong willed as Bull is so it’s a good match.” Davey nodded his head.
“What about Cisco and Greg?”
“Greg loved Cisco for years but Cisco wasn’t
seeing him
. Bear arranged for Cisco to join the club and when Greg was able, he joined. The first night Greg was introduced as a sub, Cisco scooped him up. Cisco swore he wasn’t in love, but when Greg was almost choked in his office by a patient, Cisco admitted how he felt.”
“That must have been interesting. Cisco doesn’t sound like a man who’d go down easily. What about Danny and Gary? I saw the television interview, when I still had a TV.” Davey gave Brian a self-deprecating chuckle.
“I love Danny dearly but he cries at the drop of a hat. He’s very emotional and Gary is a steadying influence, so they fit.” Brian closed the partition so Junior couldn’t eavesdrop.
Davey seemed to consider what Brian said. “I could see that. Danny cares a lot about the people closest to him and he seems like the type who would give you a lung if you needed one. Gary would have to curb his excess generosity. What about Johnny and Caden?”
“Johnny is oblivious to most everything when he’s writing code. He can’t run his own life, and certainly can’t run his company so Caden takes care of all of it for him. Johnny’s house burned down after I told him to clean the chimneys and he forgot. Caden blames himself because he gave Johnny a hard time because he was pissed that Johnny had so much money and didn’t tell him.”
Davey cocked his head. “I can see that too. Caden is ex-military and has an abundance of pride. Johnny had no choice, if he told him he would have run, if he didn’t, it was a lie of omission. What about Robbie and Tom?”
“They are a new couple, from this last winter. Robbie was homeless and Danny rescued him. Why is a long story that I’ll let Danny tell.”
“That makes sense, Robbie is rather tentative and Tom seemed very protective. What about Jim and Reed?”
“Jim and Reed were together before I met Bear—but Reed wasn’t really committed. He had an old flame that showed up and Jim and Reed broke up because of him. It took almost six months to get them back together although Reed realized he’d made a huge mistake almost right away.” Brian waited for Davey to ask about Bear.
“From what I understand, you met Bear at work and you both fell in love at first sight.”
Brian sighed. “People laugh at that and think it’s not possible—but I believe in soul mates and Bear and I fit the definition.” He laughed. “Turnabout is fair play, what’s the story with you and Jake?”
“I truly don’t know. He’s good looking, smart, kind and generous, what’s not to like? On the other hand, he’s rich, I’m poor, I work for him. I don’t know if I can be a sub. Otherwise, I’m crazy about him. I know it’s too soon, but I can’t help the way I feel. The sub thing is what’s stopping me. What do you do for Bear besides the obvious?” Davey half turned to face Brian.
“I still work for Bear. We do well together. I run his investment portfolio. How did you become a paralegal?”
“I have a photographic memory and it seemed like a profession where that would be useful and I could make a paycheck in only two years. I don’t think I’d like being a lawyer though, too confrontational. I enjoy doing the research and writing the briefs, but I wouldn’t want to be in court. Jake is so good to me. I’ve known him three days and I have a new phone, a wardrobe, the rent is paid on my old apartment and he didn’t turn me in for trying to pick his pocket.” Davey had a few stars in his eyes. “Like I said, the only thing stopping me from running into his arms is the sub thing, I don’t want to disappoint him and after this weekend, I know he’s a real Dominant and I couldn’t ask him not to be what he clearly is. Nor could I watch him be with someone else.” Davey gave a little sniffle.
“If you really are crazy about him you need to see the bad as well as the good,” Brian observed.
“Well, on the other hand, he can be very demanding and won’t stand being questioned which is fine with me because I won’t question his authority. I’ve been by myself for so long, to have someone who cares enough to make decisions for me is a real boon. But I don’t know about anything about relationships or BDSM and what I’ve read scares me,” Davey admitted.
Junior stopped rather abruptly and Brian and Davey were pitched forward. Brian put down the partition. “What happened?”
“That son of a bitch cut me off.” Junior was about to get out of the car and Brian unfastened his seatbelt and stopped him.
“Don’t give that guy the satisfaction of knowing that he riled you.” Brian calmed Junior.
The partition went back up. Davey breathed a sigh of relief. “That was a close call. I mean Junior, not the stop. We would be very vulnerable if he got out of the car.”
“I didn’t think of that.” Brian fastened his belt again.
“In the city you have to think about that all the time,” Davey told Brian.
“Why don’t you suggest that Jake get a house down here?” Brian wanted to see how invested Davey was in Jake.
“I told him he should although it was none of my business, but for what he pays for hotel suites he could easily afford a mortgage here with a house as big as the penthouse.” Davey got frown lines between his brows.
“What did he say?”
“He said if I decided to hang around, he’d consider it, but for now we’ll stay at the Marriott.”
“Hmm, Jake sounds committed.”
“Maybe. But I can’t say he loves me. Really it’s me holding back. My brain tells me that three days is a short time to know someone before you commit to them—but he’s so loveable and no one has paid me this much attention in my life unless you count Kyle who did it for a nefarious purpose. But, frankly, I’m afraid of pain, too many beatings as a kid.”
“My mother abused me so badly, that I blocked it out, I had to see Greg to remember. Bear doesn’t do anything but give me morning discipline. That’s a spanking and it turns me on, not off, unless of course, I’m being punished. Then he treats me like a child, puts me in the corner or sends me to my room to
contemplate my sins.
”
Davey laughed. “It sounds like a great relationship. He loves you very much.”
“We’re at Danny’s—he, Robbie and Jamie should be waiting for us.”
§ § §
Danny, Robbie and Jamie piled into the limo and soon they were on their way to the Tinton Falls shelter. They told him that it took thirty minutes to get to the shelter. The subs chattered all around him but Davey was quiet, he had to think.
If I’m honest with myself, I know I want to have sex with him. The question remains, can I love him? I’m halfway there already, but what if I can’t take the pain? I have an idea.
“Brian, can I ask you something?” All conversation stopped.
“How would I go about getting Jake to spank me—so I can tell if I can take it or not?”
“You realize that you’d have to bare your butt to him and negotiate with him about whether or not you’re willing to have sex. Because afterward, if he asks you, you’ll do it because you’ll be in subspace.” Brian scratched the side of his nose.
“Subspace?”
“Subspace is where you go when you’re riding your endorphins. I love it—but you’ll agree to anything when you’re in subspace, so you tell him what you want ahead of time,” Jamie said.
“I think I’m going to want sex because if this doesn’t go well we’ll only have a working relationship and I’ll miss my chance forever.” Davey’s eyes got cloudy.
“Hah, you are in love with him!” Danny gloated. “I thought you were last night when you stuck up for him to Robbie about the wasted food.”
“I think I am, but it might just be gratitude. I need more time to make sure. But I know he’s not in love with me. That sounds so stupid. It takes longer than this to fall in love.” Davey threw up his hands. “I can’t love someone after three days. I should take more time to determine what I truly feel. I need to wait until I’m sure.”
“Then maybe you should wait for the spanking, he’ll read commitment if you let him spank you,” Brian said.
Robbie, who had been pretty quiet up until now, said, “Not if you tell him ahead of time that you’re just sticking your toe in the water to test the temperature and aren’t going to do laps around the pool.”
Everyone laughed, looked at Robbie, then Davey. “He makes a lot of sense. Let’s run it by Greg.”
Davey smiled. “It must be nice to have on-call psychiatric help.”
“There was a time when Greg needed us. That’s why he puts up with our machinations, even though sometimes he takes strokes for it.”
“Strokes?” Davey asked.
“Different Doms use different methods of punishment. Greg rarely gets punished so when he does it’s an event. Cisco gives him a couple of strokes with the cane.”
“If I even saw a cane in Jake’s hands I’d use that word you talked about.”
“Your safe word.”
“Yes.” They pulled up to the animal shelter. Jim and Greg were waiting for them.
“Did they drive you crazy on the way over?” Jim asked Davey. Brian poked him in the ribs.
Davey watched Brian. There were kennels outside the building. Brian went over to one of the cages.
Jim whispered to the rest of them, “See, true to form. That’s the motliest mutt in the kennels.”
Davey followed Brian to see what dog Brian picked. It only had three legs and one eye. Davey went up to the placard and read what it said about the dog. “He lost his leg and his eye to cancer. He needs a place to die in peace. His family surrendered him because they couldn’t pay for his care anymore.” He took Brian’s hand. “This one will be better off if they euthanize him. He’s probably in a lot of pain.”