Shaking off the temptation to reach out and fondle Jay’s face, Aaron extended his hand. “I’m Aaron. And yes, it’s my first time here. I just moved to Chicago a few months ago.”
Jay slid his fingers around Aaron’s with a gentle squeeze, lingering just a moment too long. “Nice to meet you. I was born and raised here, so I can offer some Chicago tips. But before that, I actually came up to make a suggestion.”
Aaron tensed. Mesmerized by Jay’s good looks and easy charm, he’d almost forgotten where he was and what he was supposed to be doing. Watching. Learning. Not fucking the first impossibly gorgeous stranger that came along.
“Oh, Aaron.” Jay burst into laughter. “You should see your face. Don’t worry, your virtue is safe. For now.” He added another over-the-top wink.
“I didn’t mean… It’s just that I’m not looking for anything tonight.”
“I get it. That’s exactly why I’m here. If you don’t want attention, we can’t sit at the bar.”
Aaron didn’t miss thewein that statement. It sent a thrill through him. Did Jay want to spend more time together?
“What do you have in mind?” he asked, finally taking in his surroundings. He’d only gotten small glimpses of the club so far, but now, buoyed by Jay’s presence, he took a closer look.
The only well-lit area had a small crowd of people around a raised platform where a petite woman covered in latex was tying up a mountain of a man. The rest of the space was dim, nothing but vague silhouettes.
“Come on.” Jay brushed his fingers down Aaron’s bicep in invitation. Heat radiated from his body, the heady aroma of cinnamon and cloves filling Aaron’s lungs with every breath, making his head swim.
He slid off the stool carefully, taking care not to bump into Jay. He might not be able to control his reactions if they kept touching. Suddenly, he felt like a hormonal teenager rather than a cool and composed middle-aged man.
Jay’s palm whispered against his lower back, giving him a gentle nudge. Aaron walked on autopilot, the soft pressure of Jay’s touch clinging to him as leather couches lining the back wall came into view. Men and women in various states of undress occupied most of them, but two were still vacant. One was next to a couple in the middle of a scene—a man wearing a collar and a jockstrap kneeled in front of his fully clothed Dom, who appeared completely relaxed as he trailed his fingers down his sub’s face and said something Aaron couldn’t hear.
It was such an intimate thing to witness—the naked devotion in the sub’s eyes, the smug smirk playing on the Dom’s lips. The two of them were in the middle of a busy club, yet they were alone, completely lost in each other and the charged moment between them.
Aaron’s gaze lingered beyond what he knew was polite, trying to figure out if they were an established couple or two strangers going their separate ways after the scene was over. Could they be strangers? According to the internet, people did that all the time, yet to Aaron, it seemed impossible to make yourself so vulnerable without any real trust or foundation.
Impossible to submit without love.
Jay tugged him to the other vacant couch, and Aaron followed, casting one final glance at the couple. This was why he was here—to understand these nuances, to see things he’d only read about with his own eyes.
He sat next to Jay, both of them gravitating toward the middle. Their thighs nearly touched, Jay’s heat radiating across the narrow space between them. Jay seemed unfazed, draping his arm across the back of the couch behind Aaron. There was no reason to read into the gesture, yet Aaron’s heart pounded like a drum, and he took a slow breath, fighting the urge to lean in.
They were in a much better lurking spot than the bar, which, he now realized, was at the center of everything. No wonder he’d drawn so much attention. If it hadn’t been for Jay coming along, Aaron would have spent the entire night fending off curious Doms.
“There’s a lot more people here than I expected,” Aaron said before the silence got awkward. It was small talk, barely a step above discussing the weather, but the surprise was real. He’d chosen a Wednesday night assuming the club would be quiet, making it easier to find his footing. Instead, the main spacebuzzed with bodies and movement, alive in ways Aaron hadn’t prepared for.
He wanted to explore. Why hadn’t anyone offered him a map? A guide? An audio tour? A few people had already disappeared down the stairs near the entrance, and Aaron wondered, based on the muffled sounds of house music drifting in the air, if there was a dance floor.
“Yeah, it’s usually like this. More packed on the weekends, but it’s never even close to empty.”
“And yet you could tell I was new.” Aaron glared at Jay in mock accusation. “Was that a line, or are you keeping a Rolodex of everyone you’ve ever met?”
Jay laughed. “Really? Rolodex? You look great for eighty, Grandpa.”
“Hey, I’m not claiming to have one.” Aaron tried to keep from smiling. There was a sudden lightness spreading through his chest, a giddy feeling that usually accompanied casual flirtation. He’d forgotten how good it felt. “What should I say instead, an Excel spreadsheet? What do you young whippersnappers use to keep track of people these days?”
“I’ll have you know I’m almost thirty, hardly a whippersnapper.”
“If I’m a Grandpa, then you’re a whippersnapper,” Aaron teased.
“It’s just your references that are Grandpa-esque. The mind of an eighty-year-old in the body of a thirty-year-old. Better?” Jay’s eyes sparkled with amusement.
“Barely,” Aaron huffed. His age was becoming a sore spot as he neared forty, and while his boyish looks hadn’t faded yet, he knew better than to compare himself to younger men.
Still, he appreciated the compliment.
“To answer your question, I’ve been coming here a lot recently, and I have an excellent memory for faces. I don’t knoweveryoneby name, but I could probably…” Jay trailed off and swiveled his head around before leaning in to whisper, “The couple on the platform are Mistress Onyx and Shane. She likes to tie up the big ones. The guy in front of the stage with all the chains hanging off his belt is Peter, although when he’s in the mood, he prefers Pyotr. He thinks it sounds more intimidating. The woman talking to him, the one that came up to you earlier, that’s Autumn. She leans toward women, but something about you must have caught her eye.” Jay chuckled, his warm breath grazing Aaron’s neck, sending a shiver through him.
