Johnny’s hand ghosted across his thigh. “Of course she will. Maybe she’ll end up getting a nice little bungalow in Dingly. Manicured borders, underfloor heating, the works. You can water her lawn in your downtime.”
“Uh-huh. I’m still her nail tech, though.”
Johnny ran a hand up Taylor’s leg, thumb resting in the crease of his groin. It sent little sparks of pleasure straight to Taylor’s balls.
“And how’s your… uh… heating system, Tay?” Johnny said.
Taylor frowned, digging a hand into the bowl of plantain chips Maman had left on the table as a snack. “Could be better. Pretty sure our boiler needs servicing because it’s making that weird grinding noise again.”
Johnny laughed, rubbing little circles across his thigh. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
Taylor noisily crunched the chips, crushing them between his back teeth before going in for more.
Johnny slapped his hand away. “Your rut’s almost here, and I’m pretty sure half the restaurant knows it. I’m asking you what we are going to do about it.”
Taking a breath, Taylor clenched and unclenched his teeth. Swallowing, he shook his head. “We haven’t had the all clear from the clinic. I should probably just?—”
“We have condoms and lube.”
Taylor scoffed. “Those anti-rut things? The ones that crush your knot? Yeah, no thanks. Besides, you’ve never taken a knot.”
Johnny bit his lip, mouth falling into a lopsided grin.
Taylor dropped his head. “Have you?” When he didn’t answer, Taylor pushed a knee between his thighs and leant over Johnny in the chair. “Have you, JP?”
Johnny crossed his arms, leaning back with a self-satisfied smirk.
“Who?” Taylor said, feeling his mood darken. “Tell me who so I can find them, strangle them, then feed them their own cock.”
Johnny’s nostrils flared, and he grabbed the front of Taylor’s shirt. Dropping his voice to a whisper, he said, “Tay, I’ve never taken a knot, but for half our lives I’ve had to think ten steps ahead.Yourmoods,youreating,yourreactions to other people. Did it seriously not occur to you that maybeI’ve thoughtyourrut through too?”
A hot rush ofsomethingshot up Taylor’s spine as Johnny tilted his head and smiled up at him with unwavering confidence. “You rut, I rut,” he continued. “Why do you think I’ve been training your hole for the last week?”
“But—you—training?”
“Did you think I was just going to lie on my back and let you fuck me, Taylor? Knot me up for a few hours until the whole thing blows over?”
Taylor let out a ragged breath. “Well—maybe—eventually—yeah.”
Johnny let out a humourless laugh, pressing his knee up into Taylor’s groin. Taylor pitched forwards, almost climbing into Johnny’s lap as he struggled to stop his hips from twitching.
“Please,” he whispered. “Can we just go home? I’ll use the condoms if I have to.”
Johnny hummed, tilting his head towards the sound of the ladies’ toilet door opening. “What’re we going to tell our date?”
Taylor gave a low growl. “Er, sorry but I need to go home and fuck my boyfriend now?”
Johnny grinned, pressing two fingers against Taylor’s sternum and gently guiding him back towards his chair. “You should let me do the talking.”
Wendy appeared, which did nothing to cool the fire that had taken root in Taylor’s belly. “That’s better,” she said, patting her cheeks. Her hair was slightly damp around the edges, and Taylor realised that she had taken all her make-up off. She looked sweet, like a little old lady in a really nice dress.
Taylor took a napkin from the table, laying it over his lap. “You look great, Wend.”
Unfortunately, they couldn’t avoid the starters, and Taylor found himself picking at the edges of the plate as his eyes kept flicking to Johnny. He gave Johnny a pleading look, and Johnny was doing his best to speed along the conversation, subtly suggesting that they could prepare the food to go if Wendy was tired.
Well, the old beta was not picking up on what Johnny was putting down, and eventually Taylor just groaned and looked out across the tables.
He frowned as he noticed the two customers who had just sat down near the bar, both of them suspiciously familiar.
