Finally unwilling to mentally throw around what-if’s, I climbed out of the car and headed for the building. We wouldn’t figure things out by worrying or burying our heads in the sand, and that was what we all wanted…maybe in different ways and for different reasons, but we had the same goals.
I’d learned that they’d had the same apartment since they’d gotten out of school. Both of them had made it clear it wasn’t fancy but they weren’t ready to find someplace new. They’d given different excuses, but to me it’d boiled down to them not wanting to risk upsetting the balance they had. Moving meant the chance that they might end up going in different directions.
I could understand their fears, but their apartment was designed for poor college kids, not two professionals with good jobs. The small building was long and only had two levels with just a staircase to access the second floor. The paint was peeling and the overall feel was dingy. The fact that there were two teenagers making what looked to be a drug deal farther down the complex made it all the more interesting.
Once we were all on the same page with needs and desires, we were going to talk about their living conditions. I wasn’t controlling beyond what my partner, or in this case partners, wanted but this was ridiculous—especially since they both knew there was a problem.
As I got closer to their unit, the door opened and I saw two heads pop out. They seemed to be having a quiet shoving match and I didn’t even attempt to hide how funny they were. “Are we putting on a comedy show for the neighbors?”
Ryan snickered and Scott blushed but they stilled and straightened. Ryan spoke first. “He wanted to open the door first and I said we needed to wait until you knocked.”
Scott scoffed and shoved his elbow into Ryan’s side. “Liar.”
Laughing, I walked up to the door and gave them both quick pecks. “Are you going to invite me in?”
They both blushed and stepped back, inviting me in as Scott mumbled a low apology. As I entered the apartment I saw that while the outside of the building looked rough, they’d clearly taken care of their place. It was a home, not just some place they lived. After a small entryway, it opened up into the living room. A large couch took up one long wall with a TV opposite it, but it was the pictures and little touches that made it feel like a home. Their home.
Almost every picture was of the two of them, even what looked like vacation pictures and possibly drunk selfies on the wall over the couch. If I’d met them for the first time in their house, at a party or just hanging out, I’d have thought they were clearly a couple. Everything in the house screamed family…not roommates.
“You’ve got a great place.” They were still waiting awkwardly by the door, so I smiled and went back over to them, sliding into the tight space between them. They each reached out a hand to hold me. “Don’t I get a more exciting greeting than that?”
They moved closer in unison, pressing their bodies tighter against mine. It was a delicious feeling of being almost trapped but knowing that they were mine and were doing it because they were trying to please me. It was a perfect mix of control and a hint of submission that I knew most people wouldn’t understand but I loved.
From the outside looking in, it would seem like they were in charge and could do whatever they wanted with me, but that wasn’t the truth. It wouldn’t ever matter to me what other people thought—I’d moved past that years ago—but even if I was the only one who understood their submission, it would be wonderful.
Ryan was pressed against my back so it was Scott who leaned down to kiss me. As he got closer, he stilled and I could see his mind whirling. His voice came out low but I could hear the underlying worry in it. “Can I kiss you?”
“Yes, handsome. I want to feel your lips pressed against mine.” He wanted to ask permission and maybe almost needed to ask for it to feel right, but with Ryan standing there he was second-guessing himself.
It wasn’t an odd question or out of place, so there wasn’t anything to worry about, but with the conversation fresh in both of their minds I knew they were both overly focused on it.
With my permission, Scott’s lips started getting closer, and when I stretched up to make it easier on him we were suddenly kissing. For Scott, that little bit of me taking charge was enough that it took it from a simple kiss to something more erotic. He gave a low moan as our lips and tongues moved against each other and I could feel his body stiffening. I couldn’t wait to see how beautifully he reacted when there was nothing holding us back and no one had to be careful of what the other thought.
When I finally let him pull back, he was breathless and his gaze had a hazy look that said how easily my handsome man would fall into subspace. Giving Scott a smile, I reached up and touched his cheek. “That’s a much better way to say hello.”
Turning in their arms, I leaned back against Scott and looked up at Ryan. I wanted to tease him about the way he’d been rocking his erection against me, but with our conversation still unsaid, it might come out meaner than I’d intended, so I kept it to myself.
But God…the things we could do if he liked getting himself off by rubbing up against me.
“Come here and give me a proper hello, sexy.” I knew he could see some of the things I wanted to say in my eyes because he blushed as he leaned down to kiss me.
When our lips touched I reached up and stretched so I could wrap my arms around his neck comfortably. Softness and strength poured out of him but it was that hint of begging in his kiss that made me moan. He desperately wanted someone else to take charge and just let everything else go.
I threaded my fingers up through his hair and poured everything I was feeling into the kiss. My emotions weren’t easy to define at this stage of our relationship but he needed to know he wasn’t alone.
Neither of them were, no matter how worried they were.
As our kiss eased and pulled away, I smiled up at Ryan. “That’s much better.”
They both stepped back as I started to move. Reaching for their hands, I gave them a squeeze. “I can’t wait for dinner and to hang out with you guys tonight, but I think we have a few things to talk about first. Let’s go sit down.”
Two quiet subs followed me over to the couch, both steadfastly refusing to look at the other. Refusing to believe the worst, I knew it would be stressful, but once everything got out in the open we could finally move forward.
They just had to do the hard work first.
