Of course, that would be the exact moment when our deliveryman knocked on the door.
“I’ll get it,” Raleigh said, pushing up from the couch.
As I watched him go, I couldn’t help but hope that this really was the life-changing event we’d been hoping for, but just in case it wasn’t, I shot a quick text to Phoenix, shooting him the date, time and address. After last night, I refused to assume anything ever again, not when assuming could have ended up with Raleigh getting hurt.
And me burning the world to the ground to get justice for him.
4
DADDY DORIAN
It didn’t shock me at all to see the giant wall of muscle accompany Murry and Raleigh through the door of my shop five minutes ahead of their appointment time. There was a story there, I was certain of it. Either he was their partner, or there was a reason he watched over them so intently. Hopefully, he’d see that my offer to have them model for me was on the up and up; I even had contracts prepared and ready for them to sign if they decided that they wished to work for me.
That they were early and dressed in slacks and button-down shirts showed me that they cared about making a good first impression, though the bad boy looked a bit uncomfortable decked out that way. Not that I blamed him; business casual wasn’t my dress of choice either, yet here we all were, looking like we were going to a board meeting. If they signed the contracts, I’d make sure they know that they could show up in comfortable attire, since they’d be changing several times over the course of a fitting or photo session.
“Good afternoon,” I said, reaching out to shake the wall of muscle’s hand first. “Nice to meet you properly this time. I’mDorian McGraff, and this is Aspen Reed; he runs the shop, website, and social media feeds.”
“Phoenix,” the man replied, his grip just short of punishing as he shook my hand.
Yeah, I got the unspoken threat. He was fully capable of breaking me in half if something nefarious befell either of the two men beside him.
“I’m Murry,” the sassy angel said as he held out his hand, shaking with a far more delicate touch than Phoenix had, “and this is Raleigh.”
Raleigh’s smile seemed a tad forced when he reached out and shook my hand; his grip, however, was almost as punishing as Phoenix’s. The biggest difference between the two, besides their size, was that Raleigh couldn’t hold my gaze for more than a moment or two before his eyes flickered to some spot to the left of my face and his face flushed a soft shade of pink.
Ahh. Bad boy was also a shy boy. Now that was an interesting contradiction.
Murry, however, was an inquisitive one and was already looking around the shop with curious excitement, especially when he spotted a trio of gray and black leather bunny headpieces displayed above a row of bunny tail plugs.
“Whoa, these are awesome,” he gushed, doing a little sidestep and hop to get a closer look at them.
“Pups aren’t the only ones who should have badass gear,” I explained. “I like to play with hard and soft when I make gear, so pets have options and aren’t just relegated to fluffy onesies and bodysuits.”
“Are these the pieces we’ll be modeling?” Murry asked.
“No, these are already part of the online catalogue,” I explained. “You two will be modeling the newly completed pieces as we prepare to unveil them.”
“So, would this be a one-time thing for them?” Phoenix asked, his already present scowl growing a bit deeper, highlighting the scar that ran down the left side of his face.
It made the fierce, intimidating man appear even more dangerous, especially with his long, midnight hair pulled back in a ponytail as if to ensure the scar wouldn’t be missed. I wondered if he’d done that deliberately, to add to the air of menace surrounding him.
“Absolutely not,” I explained. “I am constantly designing, fitting, and adjusting new pieces of my collections, so this would be a regular gig for them. Ideally, I’d like to have them here in the studio with me three to four days a week, in addition to offsite photoshoots and the runway show unveilings we do for our clientele, which take place four times a year.”
“Let me get this straight,” Phoenix said. “You make enough clothing for them to try stuff on three to four times a week?”
“I wish,” I replied. “I have a small sewing staff, which helps with production efficiency, but even then, we don’t churn things out that fast. What I am looking for are models who will help me refine the prototypes, and that takes time. The gear is meant to be functional, which means it needs to be played in, and not just for an hour or two. If you will allow me to show you upstairs to the studio, you’ll see the play space I have set up. Most of the time that you are utilizing it, I’ll be drawing, observing, and asking questions about how the gear feels, if anything ispinching you or restricting movements, if it’s itchy or scratchy, if the material grows too hot after you’ve been playing for a while, and other things of that nature. All I ask is that you be as honest and descriptive as you can be, and if there is an interior issue with the gear, show me where the problem is so I can get you out of it and into another piece while I either fix it or work on a redesign.”
“Wait,” Raleigh blurted, his voice holding an unexpectedly musical quality to it. “You’re going to pay us to play with each other?”
“Yes, I am,” I explained. “While it might just be play to you, testing the gear for functionality is an important part of the process.”
“C-can I ask you a question?” Raleigh said, rubbing his fingers along the seam of his pants.
Tactile stemming was something that I’d noticed many in the pet play community engaged in, whether it be with their gear or the accessories that went with them. It was one of the many reasons I’ve begun to design accessories with just that need in mind, something I hope their comments and feedback will be able to help me refine.
“Of course,” I replied. “I want you both to feel free to ask any and all questions you might have, as well as express any thoughts, ideas, and suggestions that might crop up during your playtime.”
“What made you choose pet play gear to create?” he asked. “I-I mean, it’s so awesome; just looking around, I can’t believe you’ve got koala gear. We actually know someone who plays as a koala, and he hates that the only outfits he can find are either koalafootie pajamas or full-bodied furry suits, which are too hot for him unless he removes the headpiece.”
