When he was a teenager, he’d driven by the Priscilla’s in Gladstone often enough, and his dad had always muttered darkly about it being on a “family street” as he was learning to drive. But he’d never actually stepped inside.
Noah bit his lip and checked his phone to see if Angela had messagedhim. Jake was out of the bathroom now, and supposedly feeling better. So Noah had a few minutes. Right?
His curiosity got the best of him. He pulled the door open and was immediately overwhelmed with the scent of leather. His mouth hung open as he looked around.
He wasn’t sure what he expected, honestly. Maybe red lights and dark walls and dirty floors.
This store, though, was more like a Target. Bright lights, clean tile floors, and aisles full of just about everything Noah could imagine, plus plenty of stuff he definitely could not.
One aisle was nothing but lubricants and condoms. Including his size. Noah’s heart hovered in his throat as he pulled out his phone to try and translate some of the lube packages to make sure they were condom safe. He wondered if he should text Ramin to check if he was allergic to latex, but that waswaytoo forward, right? Maybe he wouldn’t even need them. Maybe they wouldn’t get together again like that.
Or maybe they would, but they’d get interrupted again.
Noah nearly snorted a laugh. It had been awful in the moment, and beyond frustrating, but looking back itwaskind of funny.
Noah grabbed what he needed and was about to head for the inevitably awkward checkout—made even more awkward by the language barrier—but when he turned down the next aisle he finally figured out why it smelled like leather in here.
Caps. Collars. Pants. Chaps. Some… he’d call them harnesses, he supposed, but all the harnesses he wore for work went around the thighs. These were thin, and bright red, and displayed across a mannequin’s chest, and the only place he saw to clip in was right in the center of the chest, but it looked more like the ring on a dog collar than a proper D-ring. Definitely not OSHA-approved, but then, these were clearly not meant for fall arrest.
And opposite all the leather was a bunch of athletic gear. Some tame, like regular jock straps, and some less so, like jock straps that werejust… straps. No jock. Just a loop of elastic that went around the whole package.
But there were singlets, too.
Noah’s blood thundered in his veins and crept into his neck and cheeks as he thought about Ramin’s wet dream. Or dreams. Ramin hadn’t been clear on that part, and now Noah was kicking himself for not getting clarification, because it was… kind of hot, honestly.
Exhilarating.
He half-hardened, imagining Ramin’s dream. Imagining hehaddragged him into a bathroom stall, pushed him to his knees, made him…
Noah shook himself. Okay, maybe he got why Ramin found it so sexy after all. He’d spent most of his life being cautious, but the thought of throwing caution to the wind, of taking what he wanted… well, it was exhilarating.
But he’d think about that later, when he wasn’t surrounded by leather and spandex.
As long as he was here, though…
Noah reached for one of the singlets, felt the sleek material beneath his fingers. Could he really buy one? No, of course not.
He was being ridiculous. Even if hedidwant to do something like that, eventually, it would make more sense to buy it at home, where the exchange rate was better.
But then he imagined Ramin’s eyes, green and needy. His mouth, pink and hungry. Before he could stop himself, he grabbed a blue and silver one—their old high school colors—balled it up, and scurried to the checkout, hoping he wouldn’t see anyone he knew. Yeah, he was in Italy, so the chances were low, but he’d already run into Ramin.Thrice.Clearly his luck was all over the place.
The last thing he wanted to do was buy condoms and lube and sex gear in front of his dentist.
twenty-seven
Ramin
Ramin knew it was after midnight back home. He tried—he really tried—not to call or text too late. But Arya’s schedule was erratic, and David and Farzan both worked in restaurants and kept later hours, so he decided to risk a text.
Ramin
Something happened
He stared at his phone as he power-walked back toward his apartment until he nearly dropped it, stubbing his toe on a particularly tall cobble, and stuffed it back into his pocket.
He needed a shower. He could still feel Noah’s hands all over him. Noah’s mouth on his. And once again, he had a spot of cold precum in his underwear, smearing around his dick as he walked, and he’d put that sensation up there with wet socks as far as unpleasant clothing-related experiences.
Once again, he was making the walk of shame, and once again, he hadn’t even gotten off!
