“What would you say if I told you I was going to deny you one day for every time you teased me?”
There was a low thrum of music as I ushered Danny in the back door of the club. He glanced my way with a furrowed brow. He knew something was up, but with no cars in the employee lot, he was mostly in the dark.
The music grew louder as we walked down the dark hallway. Danny grumbled under this breath. It was cute how it still hadn’t hit him that DeSires wasn’t his responsibility anymore. “Man, I hope Justice didn’t forget to turn off the control panel last night. That’s one of Sam’s pet peeves.”
“You’re such a rule follower.” I chuckled as I cupped his ass. I bent down, nipping his ear before whispering, “That’s another one of the things I love about you.”
“I’m just sayin’. I don’t want him to get into trouble when he’s finally starting to open up and make friends.”
“I’m sure it’s fine,” I reassured him. “Come on, let’s go see what’s going on.”
The second I pushed open the door between The Lodge and DeSires, there was a loud pop and we were covered in confetti. But because our friends were a bunch of overgrown man-children, it wasn’t just any confetti. No, there were dicks of every color and sperm shaped confetti in purple and gold. I had a bad feeling that no matter how much we tried to clean up, we’d leave a trail of dicks and shiny sperm from here to the Midwest.
“What in the—” Danny turned to face me, slapping my chest. “You knew about this, didn’t you?”
“Yep. Your friends wanted to make sure you wouldn’t forget them now that we’re moving,” I explained, ushering him toward the bar. Maverick and Sam flanked him, pulling him into a group hug.
I stood back, watching the three of them chatter as the boys dragged him away. John joined me, handing me a cup of coffee. It was weird to break out coffee and pastries in a kink club, but it was far too early to drink and I needed to stay sober to drive.
“You’re really doing this, huh?” he asked as he draped an arm over my shoulder. “I have to say, I never saw this coming.”
“Bullshit,” I scoffed. “You were practically shoving me at Danny from the moment you saw the faintest mutual interest.
John shook his head. “Nah, man. I totally figured you and Danny would get together. The sexual tension between the two of you poisoned the air. I mean, I didn’t think you’d pack up and follow a man to live in the same town as his family. You’ve always been the guy who wanted to live just far enough away that you didn’t have to worry about well-meaning family members sticking their noses in your business. “
“What can I say?” I shrugged and my eyes tracked across the room until I spotted Danny surrounded by all of his buddies, a stack of gifts on the table in front of him. “He’s worth it. And from the sounds of it, his mom’s a hell of a baker. I can’t wait to see if she lives up to the hype.”
John and I joined Jack and the rest of the Daddies near the bar. The going away party was more for the boys than anything. Jack handed me a slip of paper. “If you’re looking for a place.”
I unfolded the paper and saw a phone number, and what I could only assume was the name of a club near Harmony Grove. “Thanks, man. I’ve been researching, but you know how hard it can be to find reputable information.”
“Yep. That’s why I made some calls for you. Figured you might be a bit busy selling the house and packing.” Jack ran a finger under the collar of his shirt. He was the only man I knew who wore a suit and tie to work every day when he didn’t have to. It was unusual to see him looking insecure. “And if you’re interested, he sounded interested in the workshops you’ve put on for us. You might be able to start building something for yourself out there.”
“We’ll have to see how things go,” I told him. “For the time being, I think I want to lay low and give my full attention to Danny. He’s had to share me in one way or another since we got together. It’s time for him to be the only boy.”
Jack clamped a hand on my shoulder. “You’re a good man, Blake. We’re going to miss you around here.”
“I’ll be back,” I reassured him. “Once I know when, and if Danny’s up for it, maybe we can arrange a workshop with him as my sub. You know, just as a one-time thing and partly because he needs to explore his exhibitionist side where he feels secure.”
“You name the date and we’ll make it happen. Now, I hate to duck out early, but I promised Sam I’d take care of the schedule and paperwork from last night so he could take the morning off to say goodbye.” Despite the fact we’d never been close friends, Jack pulled me in for a quick one-armed hug. “Drive safe. Let someone know when you get there.”
“Will do,” I promised him.
* * *
Danny
“I can’t believeyou’re really leaving,” Maverick grumbled as he curled up next to me on the couch.
Sam and Corey were playing on the floor, and Colin was in the chair next to me. He wasn’t a boy, but he said he liked hanging out more with us than the Daddies and Blake. That made sense since he was closer to our age. “It’s going to be weird not having you behind the bar sniping at me when I screw up.”
“I pass the torch to you,” I quipped. “Now, you get to be the one barking out orders at Justice. Just take it easy on him. He’s ready to be back there next to you, even if he’s not so confident.”
“Yeah, I’ll look after him.” Colin’s gaze went distant, and I knew exactly what was on his mind.
He was still beating himself up for not prying more the night he’d seen Justice while Colin was out with his partners. He blamed himself, thinking that he could have gotten Justice away from his asshole ex before it got as far as it did.
“You’ve got to forgive yourself, man. If Justice doesn’t blame you or think you were a shitty roommate, you don’t get to wallow.”
