Page 31 of A is for Aftercare

“That doesn’t mean they’re not.”

“True, but I didn’t get that vibe from them. I do think they’re both into Blake though.”

Lucky Blake, having two guys vying to impress him.

“So…what do you want to do?” Corey asks.

“Get a drink?”

We move over to the drinks table and pour ourselves some water. I really don’t want anything fizzy in my system if I am going to end up getting spanked, flogged, or otherwise.

“We’re being watched,” Corey whispers.

He's right. The four remaining guys in the room are definitely eyeing us up. They're a mixed bag from overweight to well toned. None of them are as huge and ripped as Calvin or as bearlike as Hamish. I pay attention to their wristbands. A Dom, a sub, and a switch. It sounds like the start of a joke. They've all got yellow and green loops, indicating they're probably up for pretty much anything. The fourth guy doesn't have any loops on his band. He's the burliest of them all, which makes me wonder if he's here to play or to make sure nothing gets out of hand. Given we've met two bouncers already, I wouldn't be surprised if there's one in every room.

“We’re new,” I remind Corey. “We’ll probably get a lot of attention. It’s not a bad thing.”

“I wonder where we put our clothes,” Corey muses. “Ifwe want to take anything off.”

“If? I bet Blake’s already down to his underwear.”

Corey laughs. “He’s only been gone three minutes.”

“Yeah, exactly.” I look around, but there’s nowhere obvious to put anything, and I can’t see any rogue items of clothing lying around. “Maybe there are lockers in the toilets or something?”

We go and check them out.

“Bingo,” Corey says as we find a block of lockers.

They’re not big, and none of them has locks on them. There’s probably no need. Everyone is here because Hamish invited them or because someone he knows and trusts asked them to come.

We go back out into the lounge without taking anything off.

“So…” Corey taps his fingers on the side of his glass. “Are we going to hang out here all night or go and check out the other rooms?”

I open my mouth to answer when the door Blake, Calvin, and Gabe went through opens. Hamish walks out, his stare instantly finding Corey and me. He stops dead, jaw slack. He’s wearing a heavy black kilt with silver D-rings down one side, which grazes his knees. His legs are hairy tree trunks, and his feet are bare. He’s topless, and he looks exactly as I imagined: a furry bear of a man. Except I didn’t imagine the nipple piercings that make me weak at the knees. I wonder what else he’s got pierced.

At that moment, I know what I'm going to do. I hand my glass of water to Corey and then pull my T-shirt off, revealing the harness I'm wearing underneath. After passing the shirt to Corey, I pull myself up tall and stare straight into Hamish's eyes.

8

Hamish

It’s still early, so I'm not worried that I haven't found a sub to play with yet. I'm sitting in the relaxed playroom, partly watching couples having fun, partly talking to a couple of acquaintances who have been coming to my parties for the past year or so. They're a couple who never want to play with a third but come because they enjoy watching and being watched.

My attention is diverted from them as Calvin enters the room. I'm about to smile at him when I notice he's not alone. He's got a young man with him. My mouth hangs open as I stare at him, resisting the urge to rub my eyes as I do a double take. He looks so much like Archie it makes my chest clench tight. There's no way they're not brothers. Does Archie have a twin? If so, what the fuck is he doing here?

I stand and storm over, needing answers.

“Who are you?” My voice is too rough and stern, but I’m too confused and angry to moderate it right now.

The young man blinks at me. “Blake.”

"He's a model," Calvin says far too fucking nonchalantly. "Gabe invited him."

I briefly glare at Calvin before looking back to Blake. “You look like…” I shake my head. Maybe I’m just imagining the similarity because deep down IwantArchie to be here.

“Archie?” Blake says.