Even if Tracey couldn’t see the positive side of the situation and had jumped for the first life raft she’d met after their divorce—Pat.
Brandon’s focus would remain on Emma, even if Tracey couldn’t do that.
* * * *
Stuart was sitting in the parking lot in his truck early the next morning when the first guy arrived at the main office. He let Stuart in and started showing him around. That’s where they were when Cedro arrived.
“I hope being prompt is a habit you have normally,” he noted.
“I do, sir.”
“Cedro,” he said. “Actually this works out well. This is Tom, and you’ll be going with him today to the job site.”
After getting that squared away, Stuart got what he needed from his own truck and rode with Tom in one of the company work vans to the development.
It was huge, over three hundred homes plotted to be built.
“The good thing is,” Tom explained, “it’s nothing difficult. And even though some of the houses have custom options, there are only about six main designs, although some are on a reversed floor plan. Super-easy to wire. Nothing crazy.”
The house they were working on today was little more than stud walls inside the shell. The wiring had been started yesterday afternoon, and the plan was to finish it by that afternoon and start on the one next door. There were other houses in the development that more of Cedro’s men were working on.
As they worked, he and Tom talked and Stuart got to learn more about his new boss. “Family guy, really nice. They hold barbecues for all of us and our families. One of their daughters even has her ex and the ex’s fiancée join them.”
“How long have you worked for him?”
“Over fifteen years. Best decision I ever made. My father-in-law told me I was stupid not to go into business for myself, but I’m happy doing this. Figuring in the separate insurance and all that stuff I’d need if I was the boss? I’m happy pulling wire, thank you very much. When I go home at the end of the day, my wife and kids get my full attention. I don’t have to spend hours doing paperwork or worrying if the right permits got pulled, or scheduling inspections.”
Stuart had once toyed with having his own business, but those exact reasons Tom brought up were all things that had stopped him, too. Intimidated him.
By the end of the day, Stuart was exhausted but felt satisfied at the job he’d done. As Tom drove them back to the office, Stuart looked around at his new surroundings.
Not a single damn cornfield in sight.
Sure, it was hot, but so was Iowa in the summer. At least here the shade felt cool with the sea breeze the peninsula got. They hadn’t even needed any fans in the shell house they were working on today.
He’d thought about driving by some of the apartment complexes from the information Cedro had given him, except he found himself using his phone to navigate over to one of the barrier islands.
After kicking off his work boots and socks and leaving them in the truck, he walked along the wooden boardwalk through the dunes and emerged onto the white sand beach.
He stared, slack-jawed at the sight. Like something out of a movie. Beautiful blue-green water, the western horizon starting to turn different shades of orange and purple as the sun drew lower to the water—everything he’d hoped it would be.
His only regret was he couldn’t sit there all evening and do nothing but stare. At least he remembered to snap a picture to post on Facebook.
I definitely made the right decision.
* * * *
Jeff clocked out at the end of the day, exhausted and ready to collapse. He headed home and realized on his way there that he didn’t have anything for dinner.
Or lunch.
Or breakfast, and he was almost out of coffee.
Dammit.
He hated going to the store straight from work, but as tired as he felt, he knew he’d never leave the house again if he went home first. He hadn’t slept well at all last night, his conversation with Brooke running through his head.
He needed to put himself out there more despite his fear. There had to be a guy out there for him, a long-term relationship prospect who was dominant but not domineering.
He stopped at a Publix on his way home and tried to remember what he needed. Living alone wasn’t exactly fun. It was adulting, and that was about the extent of it,
Hell, even if he had a roommate it’d be tolerable. It was a two-bedroom house. He really didn’t need the extra bedroom space.
Maybe that’s what I need to do. Find a roommate.
And it would save him money every month.
Even better, if he could find a kinky roommate—gay or straight—who wouldn’t care if he ended up bringing a guy home to fuck and beat his ass, it would mean no uncomfortable excuses or trying to hook up at someone else’s house.
It was a thought.
As he stood in line to check out, he glanced around. Lots of people from various walks of life, some retirees, some young families, some people making their way home from work.
And…me.
He felt alone.
By the time he returned home, he knew he had to meet up with Brooke and her guys on Saturday. This self-imposed isolation wasn’t healthy and he knew it. It’d be too tempting to sink into a depression at the rate he was going.
* * * *
Brandon was parked outside Emma’s school when it let out. Emma met up with him shortly thereafter, climbing into his car after tossing her backpack into the back seat.
“Hey,” he said when she didn’t speak.
“Hey.”
“Okay, so we’re back to sullen teenager?”
She blew out a breath. “Sorry.” She leaned in and hugged him. “I really don’t want to go back to Mom’s tomorrow.”
“You can make it. Just a couple of weeks.”
“You promise you’ll help me move out?”
“If you promise to do what you said you’ll do. I can’t hand you success in life, sweetheart. You’re almost sixteen. You’re entitled to decide if you want to live with her or me, but I’m not going to start the paperwork process until you do.”
“It’d get me out of this weekend.”
“And I’d probably still make you go, because it’s her weekend and they spent money on tickets. Though I will concede the fact that it was short-sighted on your mother’s part to decide to take you on a boat.”
“Gee, ya think?”
He pointed to a plastic bag on the backseat. “There’s your seasick medicine, by the way.”
“Thanks, Daddy.”
“Dinner?” He headed for the exit.
“Can we call in a pizza and stay home?”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I don’t feel like going anywhere.”
“Have you talked to your mother today?”
“No.” She stared out the windshield. “I don’t want to, either.”
He decided not to mention his morning conversation with Tracey. “I wish I could wave a magic wand and fix this for you.”
“A fairy godfather?” But the playful smirk on her face told him she was messing with him.
He offered her a fist bump, which she returned.
She was definitely her father’s daughter when it came to snark.
Chapter Five
Brandon kept in touch with Emma all week. Apparently, the small ship they’d be spending the weekend on didn’t have Wi-Fi, and they’d be too far offshore for cell service. It was supposed to be a weekend intensive family bonding kind of experience, according to the mumbo-jumbo he got from Tracey when he pressed her further on Friday afternoon, about an hour before he knew they were due to leave to drive up to St. Pete, where apparently the ship was docked.
He’d called Tracey mostly because he felt obligated to tell her about the seasick meds he’d bought for Emma. He’d looked through their divorce papers and he didn’t want to withhold information in case Tracey might try to use it against him later.
When he told Tracey he’d purchased seasick medicine for Emma, the woman acted crazier than usual.
“I am perfectly capable of parenting my daughter, Brandon. We already told her she wouldn’t need to take those.”
“Uh, do you not remember the ice cream Mickey head she yakked up all over us at Disney that time?”
“She was a kid and had an upset stomach.”
“She threw up at her friend’s birthday party when they took kayaks out.”
“And she reacted to something she ate that day.”
“She vomited at your cousin’s wedding on that sailboat—”
“Grow up, Brandon.” Tracey hung up on him.
Well, I tried.
He hoped Tracey wasn’t really stupid enough to forbid Emma from taking the meds, but if she did, that would be more proof his daughter shouldn’t be living with her.
And it would be worth it to hear if Emma managed to throw up on Pat or not.
* * * *
By the time Saturday afternoon rolled around, Jeff had changed his mind about whether or not to go to Venture at least a dozen times. He knew going was the right choice, but still, he felt…
Scared shitless.
Not for his physical safety, duh. But emotionally, he’d been through enough that, yeah, he was gun-shy.
And he’d engaged in all manner of self-talk about it, too. Trying to logic himself into feeling better about it.
Except…he couldn’t help thinking about his failures.
Heartache spoken here.
It seemed to be the one thing he was naturally good at, ironically enough.
Finally, he showered and dressed and headed for the club. When he arrived, he spotted Brooke, Justin, and Cody getting out of their car.
He pulled in next to them.
“Hey,” Brooke said when he got out. “Was beginning to wonder if you were going to make it.”
“I almost didn’t.” He locked the truck. “I’m nervous as hell.”
“Nothing to be nervous about,” Cody assured him. “Everyone’s really friendly.”
“I don’t have rope or anything.”
“Don’t worry,” Justin said. “This is more a demo than a class. A lot of people are new to this.”
“Okay.”
They escorted him into the office and stayed with him while he filled out the paperwork, even though all they had to do was pay and get checked in. Once he was fitted with a wristband like they were, the woman volunteering at the desk addressed Brooke.
“Do you want me to get Max or Sean to do the newbie orientation, or do you guys want to handle it?”
“We’ll handle it. Oh, this is Cali. She and her guys volunteer here, plus they make those.” Brooke pointed to a section of wall in the office lined with paddles and other implements. The small sign above the section read Two Crafty Bastards Toys.
“You guys make those?”
Cali smiled. “It’s a living. Actually, it’s my living. They have evil day jobs that actually pay most of the bills. I’m in charge of the website and handle all of that for them.”
“Wow. Cool.”
“Let’s get inside and grab good seats,” Cody said. “Leah’s doing this demo, and she usually draws a crowd.”
Jeff followed them inside.
* * * *
Brandon had debated whether or not to come out today. After spending his Saturday morning handling chores and yard work, he’d just about worn himself out.
Still, he didn’t want to miss the rope demo.
And maybe he could pick up a scene later. He’d play with men or women, for that part he wasn’t picky. As long as when he initially talked with them he felt like he could be friends with them, he could play.
For sex or intimate play he was far more choosey, and then he only partnered with men. Playing with a woman was fun, but that only sated his sadistic urges, not his sexual ones. Sex and sadism were two different things for him, although with the right partner, they definitely could play off each other.
That’s how he ended up taking a shower, checking his toybag to make sure everything was in it, and heading out to Venture. He left the toybag in the trunk for now. Maybe he’d need it later, maybe he wouldn’t.
Cali was manning the desk that afternoon. “Hey.”
“Hey, Brandon. You here to see Sean get strung up?”
He smiled. “You are a lucky lady, I’ll give you that.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.” She took his money and gave him a wristband. “Brooke and her guys have a newbie friend in there with them. She already gave me a heads-up earlier this week, but wasn’t sure he’d make it. Single, gay, and, in my opinion, not bad looking.”
Brandon’s ears perked up. “You saying this as my friend, or as a member of the Frightful Five?”
She grinned. “Yes.”
“Thanks.”
“Any time.”
He headed inside, trying not to be obvious, but immediately looking around to find Brooke and her guys.
The third man with her had to be the newbie.
Rawr.
Cali had called that one right. He was good-looking, maybe a couple inches shorter than his own six two, and with dark blond hair and hazel eyes. Looked a little younger than him, maybe mid-thirties.
He walked over to say hi. Brooke immediately smiled upon seeing him and took over. “Hey, Brandon. Perfect timing. This is Jeff, a friend of ours. He’s new-new.”
* * * *
Jeff had to swallow. The guy was hunky, blue eyes and dark brown hair with a little grey here and there.
“Hi,” he finally managed, shaking with him. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise. Are you here with anyone?”
Brooke gently shoved him toward Brandon. “Not anymore.” He glanced back and spotted her grin. “Feel free to steal him away from us. We just wanted to get him out of the house for the night. He’s all yours.”
When he turned his attention back to Brandon, Jeff spotted his smile. “I think we’ve been set up,” Brandon said.
Jeff took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah. I think so.”
“I’m not complaining.”
“Neither am I.”
“Then let me get this right out of the way so there aren’t any misunderstandings. I’m gay, definitely a Top, single, and looking.”
Jeff’s nerves settled. “All of that, except I’m a bottom. A little switchy sometimes, under the right circumstances.”
“Have you ever been here before?”
“Not here, no, but I’ve been to the munches and up to the Toucan. I’m not a complete beginner in the lifestyle. I know Brooke and her guys from elsewhere and stumbled across the fact that they’re kinky, too. I’m going to dinner with them and some of their friends after the class.”
“Sigalo’s?”
“Yeah. Are you going?”
“I was thinking about it.” Brandon smiled again, and Jeff felt his cock harden. There was something so…calm about the guy. Soothing. He didn’t appear arrogant.
So far, the guy was checking every good mental box Jeff had, in a scary-fast way.
“If you’d like to join us, that’d be cool,” Jeff offered.
“So you aren’t here to meet anyone to play tonight?”
“I hadn’t arranged anything yet.” Jeff found himself adding, “But if you’re offering, let’s talk about it. I’m open to that. It’s been a while since I’ve played and I could use a good ass-beating.”
Brandon’s smile widened. “Okay. That’s a deal.”
* * * *
Brandon could sense Jeff was nervous. He wouldn’t push him to play, but if they could talk and Jeff was still wanting to play after dinner, hell yeah, he’d play with the cutie.
“I haven’t given a good ass-beating in a while,” he told Jeff. “Sounds like we do have a lot in common.”
Jeff’s smile widened. “Hope you don’t mind I’m not the kind of guy who will jump into bed though.”
; “You’re still not scaring me off. I have to be cautious. I have a teenaged daughter. I don’t take risks because I have her to think about.”
Brandon knew that would either put the brakes on things and scare Jeff off, or it would open the door a little wider.
“We keep talking like this and you’re going to have me bent over a bench in about ten minutes.”
He could tell Jeff had a good sense of humor, sensed a vulnerability about him. The man was trying to deflect a little with humor, and Brandon decided to go with it, see where it led them.
“Let’s keep talking then.” They settled into chairs while waiting for Leah’s demo to start.
There were still several minutes, and as more people arrived, Brandon spotted friends he hadn’t seen in a while. Tony and Shayla walked over to say hi, and that’s who he and Jeff were talking to when Cali opened the office door, seemed to be looking for someone, then called to Tony before she disappeared.
“That didn’t look good,” Brooke noted from where she and her guys sat a row behind them.
“No, it didn’t,” Brandon said.
It wasn’t long before Cali had summoned Ross, Max, and Sean out to the office. Then, another long moment later, she opened the office door, pointed at Brandon, and crooked a finger at him before disappearing again.
“That’s…weird.” Now a feeling of disquiet filled him.
“What’s going on?” Jeff asked.
“I don’t know. I’ll be right back.” He rose and walked out to the office.
Cali, Sean, Max, Ross, and Tony all wore dark looks. They were surrounding a young guy Brandon had never seen before, all of them staring at his phone.
“What’s going on?” Brandon asked.
Tony looked up. “We need to talk.”
Chapter Six
With his stomach feeling like it was somewhere in his throat, Stuart prepared to go to Venture to the rope class Saturday afternoon. He had no idea what to expect, except that their website made the place sound safe.
And Albert was supposed to be there, although Albert didn’t know he was coming, too.