Page 9 of The Year of Us: September

Cory

“I got you something,” I said, my arms slipping around Reese from behind to pull him against me.

He wriggled his ass against the bulge in my pants. “I can feel that.”

“Cheeky, but no. That’s not what I was talking about.”

Reese turned his head to look over his shoulder at me. “I love you, but it better not be a bigger butt plug. I still break out in a cold sweat when I think about that thing.”

“Don’t worry, darling. It’s not a giant butt plug.” Rising on my toes, I kissed him. “This time.”

“So reassuring.”

“I figured,” I said as I let go of him to pull my cell out of my pocket. I opened it to the listing of my New York apartment and then turned the screen toward him. “I’m officially no longer a New Yorker in any capacity.”

He stared at the screen, his eyes widening a little at the asking price.

I wondered if he’d ever get used to the wealth disparity between us.

I tried not to call attention to it for the most part.

I wasn’t about to demand he stop working, but he could if he wanted to.

I tried to keep the lavish gifts to a minimum.

In fact, the most expensive thing I’d given him was my own watch.

Reese let out a breath and then shot me a smile that made him glow. Tucking my phone away, I drew him close. “How do you feel?”

He rocked against the bulge in my pants. “Horny.”

“How are you feeling about the move? About your move. About us. About everything. There’s been a lot of changes this year for us both. I don’t want you to feel forgotten or lost in the shuffle.”

“I feel good about it. About us. It’s a lot, but I think I’m okay.”

“You haven’t unpacked.” I hadn’t missed the way Reese had tucked his boxes into an empty closet. Out of sight, out of mind. Maybe his, but definitely not mine. “What’s that about?”

“I unpacked. My hoodies are hanging in the closet. The important things got put away.”

“All of your things are important, Reese. Not just the hoodies.”

“The other stuff is just… stuff. It’s not me, and it’s not you or us. The pictures, they’re important. The hoodies are important.”

“I want you to feel comfortable here. The way you did at your apartment. I want this place to feel like your home because that’s what I loved about your apartment.

” I pulled Reese down onto the bed and sat next to him.

“I want you to unpack your things. I want you to buy new things. I want you to feel like you can leave a damp towel on the bathroom floor, or take an ugly picture off the wall and replace it with something you like better. I want you to be able to argue with me about things like throw rugs and accent pillows.”

“Please don’t bury our bed in a mountain of pillows,” Reese said. “I never understood that. You have two people in a bed and like ten pillows. So you go to bed and have to throw them all on the floor so you have some place to sleep.”

“Well, now I know where you stand on accent pillows. It’s a start. I don’t want this to be a dom-sub thing, Reese. I’m happy to tell you what to do in bed, and I’m happy to look after what’s mine. But I want you to be comfortable here. How can I make that happen?”

He grabbed me by the chin and pulled me into a kiss. “I’ll call Morgan and have her come over and help me unpack my boxes.” Reese furrowed his brow. “You mentioned being allowed to replace a picture? I hope you were referring to that weird abstract thing in the hall that kind of looks like a boob.

“You can change whatever you want. But if you wanted to start there, I wouldn’t argue. And I know you have your own money, but if you see something you love and it’s out of your price range, please let me get it for you.”

Reese looked like I’d just asked him to drink a cup of spit.

“Just think about it. That’s all I ask.”

“I’ll think about it.” Reese relented after a brief hesitation.

“If you’re up to a little celebration, I’d like to go to Rapture tonight. Not for play, just for drinks. I got a shiny new membership, and I thought it might be nice for us to get out of the house for a bit.”

“Do I need to wear anything special?”

“If you wanted to put your harness on, I’d love to see you in it again, but that’s just a humble request. You can go as you are. That’s fine too.”

Reese took my hand and turned it over. He held my gaze and kissed my palm. “I’ll wear the harness, but only because you like it so much.”

He changed into a clean white tee and then slipped his harness on over it. I splayed my fingers and ran them over the span of his chest, feeling the cotton and the leather and the man underneath.

“You’re too good to me. You’re like a dream came true before I even knew I dreamed it.”

Reese didn’t know what to say, so he leaned forward and stole a kiss. “Let me drive?” he asked.

My car was new, and my driving was rustier than I wanted to admit. Acquiescing was easy when he looked at me with his puppy eyes.

The drive took longer than I thought it would because LA traffic could be a beast, but we arrived unscathed and entered the remodeled church.

“Where do you want to sit?” I asked Reese, keeping my hand on his lower back as we wandered up to the bar to order drinks.

“Well, if we’re here to have a look, we should go upstairs where the action is.” Reese glanced at me as the bartender came up to take our orders.

His obvious deference to me in public made my blood run red-hot. I wanted to shove him against the bar and fuck him where he stood. Instead I ordered a whiskey and Coke for both of us and let him lead the way upstairs.

“Look at that,” Reese said, his gaze focused somewhere over my shoulder.

I turned and saw a man being led around on a leash, a heavy-looking rubber puppy tail seated in his ass, and it seemed to wag every time he moved.

“See something you like? I’ve never had a pet before, but I could make an exception.”

He looked at me with his a curious light in his eyes. “Like a real pet or like a kinky pet?”

“Either. Is that something you want to try?”

Reese pretended to think about it, but I could see the answer in his eyes. “That’s best left for others, I think.”

I motioned to a semi-secluded seating area and sat down, pulling Reese down into my lap. I kissed the bare skin of his shoulder.

“What kinds of things have you always wanted to try?”

“Giving or receiving?”

“Either. Both. Doesn’t matter.”

Reese sipped at his whiskey as he contemplated my question. I loved the thought he always put into his answers, that he didn’t just blurt out shit he thought I wanted to hear or the first thing that came to mind.

“I used to think that I’d done all the things I was interested in trying. But then I met you and there are things now I would do that I wouldn’t before.”

“Such as?”

He turned on my lap so he was sideways and could meet my gaze better.

“I’ve never been fisted.”

“It can be a lot to trust someone with. It’s easy to hurt someone.”

He nodded. “I’ve fisted men, but I haven’t ever been comfortable enough with the idea of letting someone else do it to me.” His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “Until now.”