“I really am sorry about what I said.” Tom sighed. “I wish I could take it back.”
“Calling me a freak?” Cypress asked calmly.
Tom winced. “Yes. It was cheap, and it was mean, and I’m sorry.”
“You’re new to this.” Cypress raised one of Tom’s arms to rub it down before moving to the other. “I get it. It’s weird, it’s overwhelming. You certainly aren’t the first one to call me that.”
“Maybe I’ll be the last,” Tom said, daring to hope this could be fixed. What he felt for Cypress was real enough, and he hated to think he’d ruined what could be the start of something wonderful.
“Last one to let me down, right?” Cypress teased. “Isn’t that what undertakers say?”
“Yeah, but it’s not about disappointing someone.” Tom laughed. “It’s talking about letting you down into the grave.”
“Mm, learned something new today.” Cypress leaned in close, his beard brushing Tom’s shoulder as he lazily dragged the washcloth over his chest.
Tom smiled, leaning back until he could rest the side of his head against Cypress’s. He enjoyed the warmth, the closeness, and every stroke of the washcloth over his skin was sending him into an absolute state of bliss.
All he could hear was Cypress’s breathing and the water lightly lapping at the sides of the tub. It was peaceful, and Tom gently caught Cypress’s hand to kiss it.
Cypress kissed Tom’s hair, letting their fingers weave together and rest against Tom’s chest.
Tom smiled, feeling his heartbeat beneath their joined hands, holding them there for a long moment. He opened his eyes to look up at Cypress, saying quietly, “I want to try again. I do. I really like you… so, can we start over?”
“I like you, too.” Cypress nosed along Tom’s cheek. “I do appreciate you being honest with me.”
Tom didn’t like that Cypress hadn’t answered the question and tried to ease his anxiety by teasing, “You have any skeletons I need to know about?”
“No,” Cypress replied. “The whole bondage and domination gig is pretty much it.”
“So? Dating?”
“That word is important to you, hmm?” Cypress sounded amused.
“Having something real, yeah.” Tom frowned. “It’s important because I don’t want this to be a casual thing. I want a boyfriend. Maybe even one who isn’t going to blackmail me would be cool.”
Cypress was quiet, rubbing his thumb over Tom’s knuckles. “I’m not going to do that to you. If you wanna be with me, it’s going to be because you want to and not because I’m making you.”
Tom turned around in the tub so he could look at Cypress face to face, grinning excitedly. “Really?”
“Don’t sound so surprised.” Cypress chuckled. “As long as you fully understand I’m still going to be your Dom. I’ll take care of you, make sure you feel good, and teach you everything I know.”
“Okay,” Tom whispered, drawn in with a nudge of Cypress’s hand for a kiss. He wanted to come out of the tub and crawl into his arms, but Cypress held him in place.
“Now, come on. Let’s get you that soup.” Cypress smiled, standing up and grabbing a towel. He helped Tom step out of the tub and dried him off, trading little kisses and hugs.
Tom couldn’t remember ever being pampered like this, but he could definitely get used to it. Bundled up in a towel, he followed Cypress back into the bedroom for his pajamas. He had brought a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, and after got dressed, he pulled the pockets of the sweats out.
To the kitchen they went, and while Cypress was fixing a bowl of soup, he asked, “Why do you do that?”
“What?”
“Pull your pockets out like that.”
“Habit.” Tom laughed, tugging on one of them. “When we pick people up, we have to check their pockets. We call it bunny-earring or rabbit-earring them. It’s to help make sure we don’t miss anything.”
“Expecting to be picked up soon?” Cypress blinked as he offered the bowl out.
“No,” Tom said quickly. “I know it’s silly, but I always think that if I can make my own removal easier, I should? If I happen to drop dead in the middle of the night, at least no one will have to check my pockets. They’ll already see that they’re empty.”
