“There it is.”
I looked at him, and the euphoric feeling coursing through my system intoxicated me, making him look a bit shimmery.
“There what is?” I asked.
“The bug. It bit your ass hard.”
I nodded, and he continued, “For me, it was like freedom, lust, and need got blended into the best thing ever to exist.”
“That!” I gasped.
He winked at me, giving me a push toward the packed dance floor.
“Go forth and experiment.”
I wandered through the club, taking up a spot on the edge of the dance floor after being told I needed to set up my membership card before I could make purchases. I leaned against a support beam as Shane’s voice told me to do the broody boy thing filtered through all the craziness around me. It was like Antonio said: freedom, lust, and need all blending into one of the two best things I’ve ever experienced.
SIX
SASHA
The club was dark as sin when I walked in. Low lighting made my vision issues more pronounced. My eyes would adjust as they always did. They just needed time, so I made my way through the throng of kinksters to the bar, lit up like a lighthouse on a foggy night.
I perched on the edge of a barstool, watching the bartenders work as my eyes adjusted. The guy closest to me moved with ease and with a grace a guy his size shouldn’t have. He wasn’t enormous, but with thick thighs, a trim waist, broad shoulders, and an expansive, cut chest and arms that could crack a walnut or a few heads, not to mention a face that could make a man weep at how pretty it was, rounded out the package. He could have easily been a defenseman, but something told me his grace came from combat boots and not a set of skates.
He came closer, and I watched as he joked and flirted with the twinks ordering drinks near me. When he set drinks down in front of the boys, who had to be friends because the ribbing was harsh but everyone laughed it off, and the victim didn’t even blink when he tossed a “bitch, please, like youwouldn’t’ve done the same,” at the guy teasing him, he laughed along with him, and I caught a hint of a dimple above his beard.
I watched the boys walk away before turning back when the bartender asked, “Hey man, what can I get you?”
I looked him up and down, and he smirked, “Not on the menu, but thanks for the offer, Daddy.”
I chuckled, “Just my luck. I’m Alex, by the way,” I said, holding my hand out to shake his. I never used Sasha outside of hockey. It helped to keep who I was a secret for a bit longer.
He smirked and gripped my hand in a firm, friendly handshake that told me he knew Alex wasn’t all I went by when he replied, “Ewen. Nice to meet you, Alex. You new in town?”
“Yeah. Kinda. I lived here for a bit. I’ve gotta say, I would’ve killed for a place like this back then.”
“I feel you, man. I grew up in the area and just came back. There was jack shit to do here before I went off to the Marines.”
Bingo.
“There weren’t many places a gay guy could get a drink without having to fight off the chicks and no fucking place for someone in the lifestyle when I lived here. The approval email coming in yesterday was a welcome sight. I expected it to take longer, though.”
“Sometimes it does, but with school opening up, clearing out the inbox is a priority before classes start because we get flooded with applications from students wanting to take a walk on the wild side.”
“You don’t take students?” I asked.
“We do, but you saw the application. You gotta have some knowledge of the lifestyle and community to get through the vetting process.”
I nodded. They had most definitely been thorough.
“Ewen!”
Someone cried out, and he waved with a smile.
“Can I get you anything or do you need a bit?”
“I’ll take a Vodka Collins.”
