This had never happened to me before. I was a Dom without strings attached. I have never pined after a guy that I had only done one scene with before. I mean, maybe I would have chased them a bit for one or two more scenes if they were hot, but it never went as far as kissing and dropping them off at work.Or forcing my best friend to go get the guy’s address through desperation.
What happened with Jamie is so left field I don’t know how to deal with it, and not being in control is driving me round the bend. If I found out he was just dodging responsibility and pissing his life away, then I would tie him to my Saint Andrew’s cross as soon as I got him back to my attic, and he would get an unthinkable thrashing.
Mags appears 10 minutes later than his promise of 5 minutes, and his sleek bun, which he had when he left, is now askew. Hairs flying out from every end, he looks rumpled and flustered.
He places a torn piece of paper in front of me and collapses into the office chair opposite, a huff coming from him as he melts down the seat.
“You owe me, Arnie,” he coughs while still catching his breath.
He furrows his brows and pouts his lips. He’s unamused when he sees me laughing at his attempts to intimidate me.
“What the hell happened to you? How did you get his address that quickly?” The piece of paper just had one word with a number next to it.
It was the dorm name and room number for Jamie.
I was hoping he didn’t fight someone for that, but it didn’t seem like Mags’ style. Despite his pointed, glitter nails I’m sure could take an eye out or two.
“Gerry and I.... uh, well, we indulge play others at times,” Mags admits while looking anywhere but at me. The curtains to match the armchairs seem interesting to look at suddenly.
What? I shake my head in slight disbelief that after all these years, my best friend could still surprise me.
“You and Gerry? Play with others that include, and I’m roughly guessing here, the owner of Cheeks? That’s how you got this?” I ask, waving the paper in front of him with two fingers.
I can’t help the obscene grin I'm sporting as Mags looks mortified; his face is redder than before.
“You kinky little bitch. You know all about me and my sexual proclivities. But this is how I find out about you?” Shocked is not the word for finding out my best friend of all these years had been hiding a sexy little secret of his own.
“Yes, well, it helped find your Jamie, didn’t it? So, let’s drop it for now or forever. Go find him. Make sure he is okay. Beau said he didn’t show up for work after that meeting, and his messages aren’t even going through. They were ready to send someone over tonight if he still hadn’t shown.”
He sits upright in his office chair, making shooing gestures with his hands at me.
“Fuck. I think it’s serious, Mags. I need to go.”
I kiss the top of his head and thank him for the address. I'malready at the bottom of the stairs when I hear him yell for me to keep him updated.
I would. Just as soon as I knew Jamie was okay.
Chapter 14
Arnie
I bang on his door to no avail. I knock on a few other doors, but no one knows Jamie. One kid shrugs and says the quiet guy in the room at the end of the hall hasn’t appeared for days.
I’m worried that his family may have contacted him.
He didn’t tell me exactly why he left his family home, but from the flinching look he gave me that night in my house when we spoke about Dom types, I think I can guess why he left. Intention never to go back.
Surely, he wouldn’t have packed up and left with them without telling the university or Simmons? My worry takes over, and I pound the door again, calling his name until another student opens their door and tells me to shut the fuck up.
I wave an apologetic salute to them as they slam the door. What do I do now? What if he is in there unconscious…or worse?
As I stand on the other side of God knows what, I decide that enough is enough.
Given no choice other than to break his door in, I hold on to either side of the frame and boot the slab of wood until it breaks. I stumble to a stop inside a tiny, bleak room. Wood chips dance their way to the floor as I scan around for life of Jamie. Patting around the wall beside me, I find the light switch, flicking it on.
I find him lying heaped under some heavy blankets. My stomach knots at the sight of him in here in the dark alone. Thank God I’ve finally got eyes on him though.
I’ve found him. I can keep him safe with me. Choosing to analyze my thoughts on keeping him safe later, I assess the situation by looking him over for signs of harm.
