“We can fight about this later,” I say, checking my watch again.
Dom laughs and a half-open box across the room catches my attention.
“Actually, I have a meeting in a bit. Shouldn’t take too long. We can grab a late dinner after if you’re feeling up for it?”
I walk toward the box and flip the lid open.
“Meeting on a Friday night? Is it with a new buyer?”
“No. A potential business partner,” I say, grabbing the prop out of the box as I turn to face Dom. “Is this for what I think it is?”
His gaze flicks between the mask and my face, a smirk forming on his lips. “Maybe.”
The tag is still on the plastic goalie mask, which is why I hold on to it a bit longer to get a closer look. It’s scratched and splattered with fake blood. It looks like a costume piece from a Halloween store.
“Don’t tell me you’re still into this shit.”
Dom laughs, shaking his head. “Still kink shaming, Aaron? So not cool man.”
“I’m not shaming. It’s just strange.”
Dom rolls his eyes. “We both know your kinks are worse than mine.”
I drop the plastic back into the box. “I’m not that guy anymore.”
That lie slipped out too easily.
He holds up his hands, palms out. The gesture is meant to placate me, but he ruins the effect with a shrug of his shoulders.
Dom is my closest friend. Although we don’t discuss our past or the indulgences we explore after dark, he’s the only one who can read me like an open book. He doesn’t judge me for my choices, yet he also doesn’t sugarcoat his thoughts or tell me what he thinks I want to hear. Instead, he offers a level of honesty that both challenges and reassures me, making our bond unbreakable despite the secrets we keep. And I know for a fact he’s got some heavy secrets.
Which is also why I feel like the biggest dick for lying to his face a second ago.
“Are you sure you’re not that guy anymore, Aaron?” he quips, that familiar mischievous glint in his eye.
“I’m too busy for that lifestyle anyway,” I retort, but there’s no heat in my words. Dom’s unchanging nature is what has always made him so reliable, comforting in a world that’s always shifting under my feet. A world I never truly felt like I belonged in until I decided to change who I was. To be in complete control of my actions, my life, and every outcome.
Everything is within reach and it’s in my control. I am the puppet holder and no one else. I’ll never give anymore the power to control me.
“You want to know what I think?”
“Not really.”
Dom walks over and picks up the mask, looking at me. “I think you should make time for the things you want. Sometimes, a little derailment is just what we need.”
He presses the prop back into my hands.
Looking into the empty eye sockets, I think about his words carefully. Giving them thought when I should be heading out for my meeting.
The distraction is unwarranted, especially now that I’m so close to securing everything I’ve worked for. I’m in complete control of myself—at least, I should be. But maybe I can have it both ways.
The answer is obvious, yet I choose to ignore it as my hand tightens around the mask. This meeting tonight—this business venture—is the perfect opportunity. It might be my only chance to indulge, even if just for one night. I could finally peek behind the door I’ve kept locked for so long.
My gaze zeroes in on Dom’s back as he continues to unpack his clothes, the rhythm of his movements grounding me in the moment.
And that’s when it hits me.
“Are you up for a little derailment yourself, Dom?”
