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“Are there…” I cleared my throat. I felt more confident around him, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a little voice at the back of my head telling me I was going to fuck up and say the wrong word anytime now. “Are there more surgeries you want to have?”

From what I’d researched, Spain covered trans men and women, but not nonbinary people. And there was only one public hospital in Madrid that covered gender-affirming surgeries, so the waitlists were long. That, coupled with his need to work before he could focus on his studies, told me he’d gone the private route.

I didn’t have private jet kind of money, and I didn’t particularly want to have a sugar baby, but I wanted to take care of him.

Jaime stared at me as if I just dropped a bomb on him. I went over what I’d said, but I couldn’t tell where I’d gone wrong.

I wasn’t sure I’d gone wrong. That wasn’t quite the look he was giving me.

“Um.” Jaime swallowed visibly. “Why are you asking?”

I cocked my head to the side. That wasn’t the follow-up question I’d expected.

“Isn’t it important to you?” I winced. Someone needed to give me a book on how not to say the wrong thing, pronto. “I don’t care one way or another. Well. I care that you’re comfortable, I mean?—”

“I’ve got it.” I wasn’t usually a fan of subs interrupting me. For once, the interruption made me sag in relief. “I don’t know, honestly. I’ve looked into FMS, but T helps, and I don’t want to go through the whole process just yet.”

“What about bottom surgery?”

“I’m good without.” Jaime answered faster this time. “I mean, the only cocks I’m interested in having are my puppy cocks, and no surgery is gonna give me one of those.”

I snorted. I supposed not.

The server Jaime was friends with showed up with two glasses and the bottle of water I’d ordered.

We thanked them, and they told Jaime they had to catch up some time.

I tried to keep things light, but I was soon getting lost in images of those puppy cocks and the way Jaime thrust into any willing hole at the club while wearing one.

Was it getting hotter in here?

In hindsight, I should’ve asked him to meet at my place for takeout. Back when I’d texted him, I’d just been thinking of all the talking we needed to get done. A restaurant seemed more conducive to talking without distractions.

It was a challenge for me, too. Being out in the open with him like this. Another one of those pesky milestones I kept shaming myself for having to conquer.

Not that a vegan tavern was a big place to conquer them. I would be shocked if one single person among the staff—or the clientele—was straight. Hell, I might be the only cis person in attendance.

The idea didn’t make me as uncomfortable as I would’ve thought. It was more of a slight awareness that I might be watched more closely, but I wasn’t so out of it I couldn’t tell it was irrational and only in my head.

“You look weird,” Jaime said slowly. “I don’t know if it’s the weird I can tease about, though.”

“I’m surprised you’re even checking.” I was. A few weeks earlier, I bet he would’ve run his mouth and then dealt with the consequences if it turned out I hadn’t been in the mood for that teasing. “Bring it on, pup.”

For a second, Jaime glanced downward in response to my subtle calling out. That sparkle in his eyes was back when he met my gaze again. I definitely liked the lack of demureness in him, even when it made me nervous for a million other reasons.

Rome wasn’t built in one day. The mantra wasn’t the most effective, but it helped to keep it in mind.

“That means you were thinking about my cocks?” Jaime smirked. “Because we can totally stop by my place before going to yours. Actually, we should do that anyway so I have options there.”

Fucking hell.

“So. Other people want a drawer for clothes and underwear.” I shook my head. “You want one for your…”

“Cocks,” Jaime said, completing the sentence, an almost manic grin on his face as he rested his chin on both hands. “And what can I say? Priorities.”

I shook my head again. “We can drop by your place, and you can grab anything you want.”

It was the perfect segue to talk about everything else I’d planned to tackle this evening, too. I just needed a second to get my wits back. It was probably best if I waited until we got our food, too. I didn’t doubt Jaime knew how to tread the line of what he could say within earshot of other people and what he couldn’t. However, he tended to get too excited or entranced by getting a rise out of me to stay completely aware of his surroundings.