Page 36 of B is for Beg

I check my watch. “I’ve got to go. Sorry to love you and leave you.”

Gabe grins at me. “You might want to think more carefully before you say stuff like that. A guy could start getting ideas.”

“Oh, yeah, right.” And we’re back to being awkward.

Gabe presses his lips together and gives me an apologetic look. “Too soon?”

I nod. It’s way too soon for jokes like that.

9

Gabe

Cal arrives first, wearing a white linen shirt with a mandarin collar, unbuttoned to his breast bone. I can’t help but notice his pecs or the top of his full-sleeve tattoo.

“Something smells good,” he says.

“I threw a casserole in the slow cooker, so we can eat it whenever we’re ready.”

“Good plan.”

He follows me through to the second bedroom. The advantage of being single and living in a two-bedroom maisonette is that I’ve been able to transform the second bedroom into a playroom. My landlord kindly let me put hooks in the ceiling. He thinks they’re for a hammock or a swinging chair, but I really use them for suspended shibari. So my play partner doesn’t need to find the energy to get to my bedroom after an intense session, I invested in a pull-down bed, which is currently stowed away.

“Were you serious about tying Blake up and taking it in turns to fuck him?” Cal asks.

“Only if he’s genuinely up for it.”

“Of course.” Cal frowns. “Have you ever had sex with a sub who’s suspended from the ceiling?”

“Yes.”

He tugs at his lower lip.

“What are you thinking?” I ask.

“Isn’t there too much movement?”

I throw my head back and laugh. “You’ve got big strong hands to hold him steady, haven’t you?”

“Well, yes…”

“It’s not so different from using a sex swing.”

I aim to sound casual. It’s not like Cal and I haven’t discussed sex and play before, but coffee was ridiculously awkward. For this play session, I want to keep the emphasis on Blake rather than us. After tonight, if we want to carry on playing as a threesome, Cal and I are going to have to figure out the new tension between us and get over it.

“I’ll take your word for it,” Cal says.

As Blake seemed interested in being tied up again, I’ve already prepared all the ropes I’ll need, as well as a knife in case I need to cut Blake free.

The doorbell rings.

Cal and I go to answer the door together. Blake beams at us from the doorstep. He’s wearing a neatly pressed pale blue shirt and black jeans. It would be a pretty smart outfit if he hadn’t teamed it up with his scruffy combat boots.

“I’m not late,” he says.

Cal laughs. “By the skin of your teeth.”

I’m not sure what to do right now. Normally, when I’ve invited a boy to the house to play, I’ve greeted him with a kiss. Should I behave the same way? Blake isn’t justmyboy tonight. Would it make Cal jealous if I kissed Blake? Would it makemejealous if Cal kissed him? This is yet another thing Cal and I are going to have to figure out if we all decide we want to keep playing together.