Rent Boy: 3
Title: Rent Boy: 3
Author: Me, mistake_arrest
Pairing: Belldom!
Rating: This chapter PG-13-ish, overall NC-17
Warnings: Prostitution, sex, language, FLUFF!!!
Summary: Dom is a prostitute, Matt needs his services.
Feedback: Is greatly appreciated! Tell me what you think about this :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Muse and this is pure fiction.
Note: This was betad by the lovely ms_belle10 !!! I don't know why I still feel so nervous posting in here, because I know you're all so lovely <3 and I just want to thank everyone who's been commenting, it means so much to me! Aaaand, I know I was originally going to write only four chapters I think (?) but this has sort of exploded so there will still be a couple of more chapters to come.
Previous parts:
Part 1a
Part 1b
Part 2
Dom walked down the busy streets of Soho, holding an umbrella in his hands. It had been pissing down rain the whole day, making the dirty central London look even more depressing than usual. Dom turned left into a side street and spotted the black and white logo of the restaurant Matt had asked him to come to.
Dom had the worst day in ages behind him, one of his customers having acted a bit too roughly for his liking. It didn’t happen very often, but when it did, he always felt a little shaken afterwards. Violence was easily the worst part of his job and no matter how many times it happened, it always felt as bad as the first time.
He’d been worried that Matt wouldn’t show up and felt a rush of relief when he saw the familiar figure sitting in a small table situated in the back of the restaurant, in a cosy and secluded area. He waved at Matt and smiled, the brunet answering with a matching smile.
To Dom he looked absolutely gorgeous - he was wearing a different suit this time, a less formal one with a faint pink shirt underneath it and the first couple of buttons opened carelessly. Dom had never thought of suits as attractive, but he’d noticed that opinion quickly changing after he met Matt.
”Hey.” Matt stood up and touched Dom’s arm, beckoning him to sit down, and pulled out the chair opposite himself for Dom to sit onto.
”Hi.” Dom gave Matt’s outfit a quick once-over before sitting down smiling. ”You look good.”
Matt blushed and brushed his hand over his neck self-consciously. “Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself.”
After struggling to keep themselves together for a couple of seconds, they both started giggling at the sheer clichés of their lines.
“Okay” Matt said after a moment, with his cheeks slightly red from laughing. “What would you like to drink, then?”
Dom had already started studying the little drink menu he’d found on the table, but after a moment he put it back down. “Um, what are you having?”
“I think I’ll go for red wine.”
Dom scrunched up his nose. “Oh... um, I’ll just have a JD and Coke myself.”
Matt smiled. “Sure. Didn’t think you would be a wine person anyway. I was right, apparently.”
Dom chuckled and nodded his head. “Right.”
They both got up from their seats to get the drinks; Matt was being a gentleman and paying for Dom’s drink as well. Matt slid his arm around Dom’s waist when they waited for their drinks, making Dom wince when his arm brushed painfully over the fresh bruise on his lower back.
“You all right?” Matt looked at Dom, worry showing clearly on his face, his eyebrows knitting together in a frown.
“Yeah...just pulled my back a little earlier.”
Matt pulled his arm away from Dom’s waist, apologising. “At work?”
“Uh, kind of.” Dom didn’t really want to tell him what had happened with his customer earlier, not as long as they were in a public place.
Matt smirked and put his arm around Dom’s shoulder this time.
“A wild session, eh?”
Dom felt really uncomfortable about Matt’s questions and slumped a little under his arm - not because it was heavy, but because he suddenly wanted to disappear and crawl in a little hole.
“Yeah...”
Matt’s expression turned serious all of a sudden and he cleared his throat.
“Sorry, I know you don’t even like it.”
Dom sighed and took his drink in his hands, thanking the barman. Matt paid for both of them and turned towards Dom, who took a tiny sip of his drink before responding.
“It’s alright sometimes, but most of the time it’s just... shit. Sorry, but can we talk about something else? I’d rather just unwind a bit. Enjoy your company, you know.” He grabbed Matt’s hand in his and dragged him to their table, the smaller man stumbling behind him with a wine glass in his hand.
“Of course we can. Sorry I’m such a babbler... I just can’t shut up when I should, it seems.” They sat down. “So, what do you want to talk about?”
Dom twirled the glass in his hands and took a sip. “Well... I’d like to get to know you a little bit better. I don’t even know what you do for living! Except that it’s something very important and it takes up all your free time, apparently.” He let out a dorky kind of laugh, which to Matt was the most adorable thing he’d heard all day.
“Yeah.” Matt sighed dramatically, his smile fading. “I’m a lawyer, actually.”
Dom’s eyes widened at this, his hands clutching the glass with both hands.
“What? A lawyer?”
Matt waved his hand around, trying to signal Dom that he shouldn’t worry about it. “I know what you’re thinking, and I can assure you that it’s not a big deal, really. It’s not like I’m police or something.”
“But you must know loads of coppers, right?”
Matt looked down at his wine, a small smile breaking on his lips. He slid his hand across the table to brush his fingers over Dom’s, making the blond loosen his grip on his own glass. “Calm down, Dom. The last thing I want to do is cause you trouble. I’m a lawyer, so what? And besides, if you know the law, then you also know that it’s not only you who’s done something illegal. I’m as guilty as you are.”
“But it could cause problems to some of my colleagues...”
“I don’t want that, Dom. Don’t you see?” Matt curled his fingers around Dom’s, making the blond stare at their loosely joined hands in astonishment. “Why would I want to cause you or your friends trouble?”
Dom looked up from their hands to meet a pair of warm, blue eyes and a smiling face.
“I see.”
He returned the smile and allowed Matt’s fingers to keep their grip. They looked each other in the eye for a couple of long heartbeats until Dom broke the moment.
“What’s your job like, then? I only have this image in my head of important suits walking around in a hurry carrying one of those leather briefcases with them, shouting some werd pieces of law terminology to everyone who cares to listen.”
Matt started to laugh a strange, high pitched laugh, tilting his head back.
“I wish it was only that! But yes, I wear a suit, as you’ve probably noticed by now, and I do have a briefcase.” He sipped his wine, the glass already half empty. “But most of my job is really boring office stuff, paperwork and calling clients and stuff like that. It’s hardly exciting.”
“Why do you do it, then?”
“Why do you do your job?” Matt shot back defensively and released Dom’s hand, making him arch his eyebrows.
“It pays off, financially at least.”
“There you go,” Matt sighed, eyeing the table below his glass. “I was sort of destined to be a lawyer, to be honest. My father owns this hugely successfull law firm and he wants me to continue the business when he’s too old for it.”
“Is that what you want?”
Matt brushed his hand across his neck, a motion that Dom noticed was some sort of a nervous habit for the lawyer. “I... um, I’m not sure, really. I mean, I’ve only worked there for a short while and I feel like I’m already burnt-out.”
“Must be a lot of pressure from your dad, too.” Dom took a big gulp of his drink, the alcohol warming him pleasantly.
Matt nodded. “Yeah, that... I’ve been thinking about quitting there and trying to get a nicer job in a smaller law firm with less pressure, but I don’t think Dad would appreciate that.”
Dom recognised the bitterness in Matt’s words immediately and guessed that there might be something more behind it than what he had just said. Dom felt a sudden rush of protectiveness towards the man sitting opposite him.
“But it’s your choice, Matt! He shouldn’t be the one who decides what you’ll do with your life.”
Matt shook his head, leaning back in his seat. “Oh, you don’t know him... he’d cut all contact with me if I did something like that.” He nursed the wine glass in his hands, swirling the remainder of the burgundy liquid around and keeping his eyes firmly upon his hands. “But even then, I sometimes think that it would be worth it.”
“You don’t seem to be very close with him, am I right?”
“Yes, you’re right. He, and my whole family, have been pretty much ignored me since I told them I like men. I guess it’s sort of understandable; I’m their only child, after all, and they have always wanted grandchildren. Someone to take up business after me, you know.” Matt sighed and looked the other way, missing Dom’s frown. “I thought maybe they’d appreciate me more if I proved to Dad that I can make something of my life, so I’ve been taking all these extra cases at work, and I volunteered to do some paperwork on weekends and stuff like that.”
“And it’s going to make you break down soon if you don’t slow down.”
Matt turned to face Dom again and blinked a few times; Dom had hit the nail on the head.
“Pretty much, yeah.”
“Fuck, but that’s... that’s fucking awful! I’m so sorry, Matt; I can’t imagine how terrible that must be for you.”
“Oh, I’m used to it.” Matt smiled shyly at Dom and blushed slightly. “Sorry I’m bothering you with this. I don’t normally talk about these things to anyone.”
“Don’t worry... it’s great to know more about you. Besides, I’m a good listener.”
Matt nodded; it had felt really good to talk about it to someone outside of his group of friends normally consisting of people from work. These were the kinds of things he couldn’t tell them. They would think of him as crazy if he complained after being promoted so quickly; there were certainly many people in the office that would trade places with him in a heartbeat.
“Yeah, you are. I just... there are so many things I want to tell you and learn about you as well. This is nice, yeah?”
“Yeah. Very.”
There was a pause again, during which Matt felt brave enough to swipe his foot against Dom’s, their ankles bumping together on first attemp in lack of cordination, eliciting giggles from Dom. Matt tried again and managed to brush Dom’s foot with his own, making them both smile.
“What’s your family like? You didn’t tell me about them,” Matt asked finally.
“Mum and Dad were great. They were like, the most supportive parents ever.” There was a sudden flash of sadness in Dom’s eyes when he said the words, which quickly disappeared, leaving Matt to wonder if he’d seen it in the first place.
Matt didn’t miss the past-tense in Dom’s words and realisation hit him.
“Oh, are they...”
Dom nodded. “They died eight years ago, when I was eighteen. A car accident. I was in the car too but don’t really remember anything, thank god.”
Matt covered his mouth with a hand, his eyes wide in surprise and compassion. “Oh no, that’s horrible! I’m so sorry. That’s... my problems are nothing compared to that.” He felt bad all of a sudden for pouring all that on Dom, even though the blond had obviously experienced something so much worse.
“Thanks. But don’t worry, I’m alright now, although things were pretty bad back then... but I have only good memories of my parents, so it’s fine now. You know, pain and bitterness go away but memories will always be there. That’s how I like to think.”
“Well said.”
When both of them had finished their drinks, they decided to continue the evening in Matt’s hotel room. They got Chinese take away and hopped into the taxi that was waiting for them, Matt having ordered it when they’d decided to leave.
They chatted easily, both glad that they had an excuse to sit close to each other, their thighs bumping together every now and again and Dom’s arm sliding around Matt’s waist without either of them really even realising.
Dom offered to pay for the taxi ride but Matt declined, insisting that Dom was his guest and therefore he should be the one who pays. With a roll of his eyes Dom gave in and followed the brunet into the hotel after Matt had paid.
They were standing in the lift, Dom leaning against the wall and Matt standing next to him. Dom couldn’t help the smile breaking on his lips when he watched the brunet fidgeting, seeming nervous for some reason.
They both knew that this was going to be something completely different from their two previous encounters, and Dom felt a bit bad about the fact that he had been a little bit off that evening due to his aching back and disturbing memories from a couple of hours earlier. He wondered if he should tell Matt. He knew he wanted to, but then again, the evening had been pretty much perfect up until then, and he was scared that the date would be ruined if he started to whine about what had happened. What could be a bigger turn-off on a date than “Hey, I was shagging this other guy earlier today and he was a bit violent with me and hurt my back”?
“Dom?”
He jumped a little when he heard Matt call his name. They’d reached Matt’s floor, and the brunet was currently holding the lift door open and waiting for him to step out.
“Oh, sorry!”
“Everything all right?”
“Yeah, jut zoned out for a while I guess.”
They walked along the corridor, Matt with his hand in his pocket searching for the key card. Quickly he opened the door and held it open, letting Dom walk in first, and flicked the lights on once they were both inside. Dom set the food containers on the table and started to take his leather jacket off while Matt disappeared into the bathroom.
All the food was taken out of the bags and set out on the table by the time Matt emerged from the bathroom. Dom split the food in two containers, one for each of them, and he turned around, handing one of them to Matt.
“Bon appetit!”
Matt lifted the takeout box and sniffed it, the aroma tickling his senses in a pleasant way. “Thanks. Mmm, this smells delicious.”
“I bet it is, too.”
They sat on the bed and ate side by side in silence, the occasional rustling of paper napkins or slurps the only noises in the room.
Once they finished, with their stomachs almost painfully full, Dom fell on the bed, flat on his back, and rubbed his belly. “That was fucking wonderful. I think you’ll have to roll me out of this bed eventually.”
Matt chuckled, taking both his and Dom’s empty containers and putting them back on the table and wiping his mouth with a napkin before tossing it on the table as well. “But who says I want you out of the bed?”
Dom giggled and lifted his upper body up with his arm, the other arm still rubbing soothingly over his stomach.
“You’re right, I guess no one.”
“Damn right.”
Matt scooted higher on the bed and plopped right next to Dom, landing a delicate kiss on his answering lips. Dom shivered and flinched against his own will, making Matt stop with a worried expression on his face.
“What’s wrong?”
The blond bit his lip and looked away, shaking his head. Matt didn’t give up.
“C’mon, you can tell me.” He leaned in again and kissed gently along Dom’s jaw, making him sigh heavily. Dom sat up against the headboard, carefully fluffing a pillow behind his back, with Matt following suit and sitting next to him indian-style.
“It’s just... about my back.”
Matt’s posture staightened when he remembered what Dom had said earlier about having hurt his back. “Oh shit, I’m so sorry, I totally forgot about your back! Does it hurt a lot?”
“Yeah, but that’s not what I meant.”
Matt frowned. “Oh. What is it then? Did something else happen?”
“I... I didn’t hurt it having sex. He threw me against a drawer.”
“He did what?” Matt blinked a few times, trying to process what Dom had just said. How could he have been so stupid in the restaurant, joking about it, when the blond had clearly been assaulted?
“Yeah, that’s right... he just sort of pushed me against it and tried to turn me around and... yeah.” Dom pulled his knees up against his chest, hugging them with his arms.
Matt’s eyes widened in realisation, his fingers bunching into a fist as his whole body tensed in anger. “What kind of a sick fucker does that?”
Dom just shrugged, unable to answer Matt’s rhetorical question. Matt’s expression softened when he saw the blond’s discomfort, and he put his hand to rest on one of Dom’s knees, squeezing gently.
“Did he... uh, you know?”
Dom shook his head. “No, I managed to kick him in his knees and run away. It was fucking terrifying though. I thought he’d follow me or something but luckily he didn’t.” He blinked a couple of times, moved by Matt’s caring.
“Thank fuck you were able to run away... but I’d still like to cut his dick off for doing what he did.”
Dom managed a sniffling laugh and looked at Matt, blue and grey eyes locking.
“Me too, believe me,” Dom said with a smile.
They were both silent for a long beat, just looking each other in the eyes and smiling, Matt’s hand caressing Dom’s knee and slowly moving a bit lower until it settled on top of Dom’s hand.
“You look cute when you defend me like that,” Dom whispered.
There was that smile again - a wide, slightly crooked one, one wonky tooth standing out from the others - and Dom couldn’t think of anything quite as adorable right at that moment.
Matt seemed to have an idea all of a sudden, and he shuffled himself out of the bed, padding to the mini bar fridge in one corner of the room. Dom craned his neck to see what Matt was up to over there, but it was only when the brunet turned around that he saw what he was holding. A beer can.
Dom arched his eyebrows questioningly, and Matt kneeled down on the bed, holding the can in his hand.
“Turn around.” Dom did what he was told and shifted lower on the bed, turning around so that he was lying on his stomach. He felt the bed dip beside him as Matt crawled closer, and soon he felt his shirt being lifted up a bit and a soft kiss landing on the bruised area.
“Looks painful.” Matt plopped down on the bed beside Dom and kissed the back of his shoulder.
Dom hummed as an answer, and soon he felt something cold press against his lower back. After the initial surprise it felt rather nice and he relaxed on the bed.
“Better?” Matt whispered, still holding the can in place.
“Yeah. Thanks.”
Dom almost fell asleep as they lay in bed, both feeling too comfortable to want to move anywhere else. After a while, the blond tentatively removed the can from Matt’s grip and placed it on the bedside table. He scooted closer to Matt and snuggled into his chest.
“You all right?” Matt asked after a moment.
“Yeah. Am now.”
“Anything else I can do?”
Dom looked up at Matt and smiled. “Just... lie with me? Please? I just want to sleep.”
“If you promise you’re not going anywhere tonight.”
“I promise.”
“In that case I have no problem with that.”
Matt sat up, carefully pushing Dom on his back. He leaned down and kissed his neck, pushing his hands underneath the blond’s shirt, bunching it up below his underarms and prompting Dom to lift his arms up. Matt stopped his kissing to pull the shirt off before he moved to straddle Dom’s thighs. He dragged his hands down the blond’s chest and stomach until they stopped on the fly of Dom’s black skinnies, pulling it down and popping the button open.
Matt leaned down to kiss Dom’s belly button, breathing a soft “Beautiful” against the soft skin there. He shifted backwards along Dom’s legs until he was sitting on the bed again, and tugged the tight jeans down. After peeling the lime green socks off, Matt tossed the pile of clothes on the floor and much less gracefully got rid of his own clothes before crawling back to lie next to the smirking blond.
Dom didn’t waste any time before he had his head on Matt’s chest again, his arm draped over the brunet’s stomach. Matt pulled the duvet over them and wrapped his arms around Dom’s lean body, hugging him close and kissing the top of his head, both sighing contently.
“Matt? When do you have to leave tomorrow?” Dom mumbled the words against Matt’s chest.
“I think I have to check out by eleven.”
“And you’re going home right after?”
“I... I think I have a couple of hours after that before I have to leave, if you want to hang out. I still need to go to the office in Birmingham to do some paperwork in the evening, though.”
Matt felt, rather than saw, the pout forming on Dom’s face.
“I wish you didn’t have to go so soon.”
“Yeah.” There were a few beats of silence, Matt’s breath tickling Dom’s forehead. “What do you think will happen after this, Dom? After I have gone, I mean.”
“Mmmm. I don’t know.” The blond sounded sleepy.
“I probably sound like a complete idiot, but.... I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in you.”
“Interested in me?”
“Yeah, like... come on, you know what I’m trying to say!”
Dom kissed the pale skin of Matt’s chest and smiled. “I’m trying to milk it out of you.”
“You numpty! That’s cruel.” Matt took a deep breath. “Okay. I like you.”
Dom giggled affectionately, his heart leaping at the words.
“Aaw, Matt. I like you too. And?”
“Like, really like you. And I was thinking maybe you’d like to, um... see me in the future? See what happens? Please say no if you don’t want to.” There was a distinct nervousness in the way Matt spoke the words.
“I’d really like to.”
“Yeah?” Dom could feel Matt smiling against the top of his head and the arms around him tightening.
“Yeah.”
Dom lifted his face off Matt’s chest and they both leaned into a tentative kiss. One kiss turned to two, and three, leading to a series of kisses that made their stomachs flutter and hearts beat faster, both smiling and giggling in between them like schoolgirls.
Dom couldn’t even remember when was the last time he had been able to just lie in someone’s arms without feeling uneasy or having any pressure to do something sexual with them. It was a nice feeling, and he knew he definitely wanted to give them a chance, no matter how difficult it might be in the end.
They fell asleep after a while, feeling content and happy, but at the same time not wanting the next day to come so soon.
Author: Me, mistake_arrest
Pairing: Belldom!
Rating: This chapter PG-13-ish, overall NC-17
Warnings: Prostitution, sex, language, FLUFF!!!
Summary: Dom is a prostitute, Matt needs his services.
Feedback: Is greatly appreciated! Tell me what you think about this :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Muse and this is pure fiction.
Note: This was betad by the lovely ms_belle10 !!! I don't know why I still feel so nervous posting in here, because I know you're all so lovely <3 and I just want to thank everyone who's been commenting, it means so much to me! Aaaand, I know I was originally going to write only four chapters I think (?) but this has sort of exploded so there will still be a couple of more chapters to come.
Previous parts:
Part 1a
Part 1b
Part 2
Dom walked down the busy streets of Soho, holding an umbrella in his hands. It had been pissing down rain the whole day, making the dirty central London look even more depressing than usual. Dom turned left into a side street and spotted the black and white logo of the restaurant Matt had asked him to come to.
Dom had the worst day in ages behind him, one of his customers having acted a bit too roughly for his liking. It didn’t happen very often, but when it did, he always felt a little shaken afterwards. Violence was easily the worst part of his job and no matter how many times it happened, it always felt as bad as the first time.
He’d been worried that Matt wouldn’t show up and felt a rush of relief when he saw the familiar figure sitting in a small table situated in the back of the restaurant, in a cosy and secluded area. He waved at Matt and smiled, the brunet answering with a matching smile.
To Dom he looked absolutely gorgeous - he was wearing a different suit this time, a less formal one with a faint pink shirt underneath it and the first couple of buttons opened carelessly. Dom had never thought of suits as attractive, but he’d noticed that opinion quickly changing after he met Matt.
”Hey.” Matt stood up and touched Dom’s arm, beckoning him to sit down, and pulled out the chair opposite himself for Dom to sit onto.
”Hi.” Dom gave Matt’s outfit a quick once-over before sitting down smiling. ”You look good.”
Matt blushed and brushed his hand over his neck self-consciously. “Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself.”
After struggling to keep themselves together for a couple of seconds, they both started giggling at the sheer clichés of their lines.
“Okay” Matt said after a moment, with his cheeks slightly red from laughing. “What would you like to drink, then?”
Dom had already started studying the little drink menu he’d found on the table, but after a moment he put it back down. “Um, what are you having?”
“I think I’ll go for red wine.”
Dom scrunched up his nose. “Oh... um, I’ll just have a JD and Coke myself.”
Matt smiled. “Sure. Didn’t think you would be a wine person anyway. I was right, apparently.”
Dom chuckled and nodded his head. “Right.”
They both got up from their seats to get the drinks; Matt was being a gentleman and paying for Dom’s drink as well. Matt slid his arm around Dom’s waist when they waited for their drinks, making Dom wince when his arm brushed painfully over the fresh bruise on his lower back.
“You all right?” Matt looked at Dom, worry showing clearly on his face, his eyebrows knitting together in a frown.
“Yeah...just pulled my back a little earlier.”
Matt pulled his arm away from Dom’s waist, apologising. “At work?”
“Uh, kind of.” Dom didn’t really want to tell him what had happened with his customer earlier, not as long as they were in a public place.
Matt smirked and put his arm around Dom’s shoulder this time.
“A wild session, eh?”
Dom felt really uncomfortable about Matt’s questions and slumped a little under his arm - not because it was heavy, but because he suddenly wanted to disappear and crawl in a little hole.
“Yeah...”
Matt’s expression turned serious all of a sudden and he cleared his throat.
“Sorry, I know you don’t even like it.”
Dom sighed and took his drink in his hands, thanking the barman. Matt paid for both of them and turned towards Dom, who took a tiny sip of his drink before responding.
“It’s alright sometimes, but most of the time it’s just... shit. Sorry, but can we talk about something else? I’d rather just unwind a bit. Enjoy your company, you know.” He grabbed Matt’s hand in his and dragged him to their table, the smaller man stumbling behind him with a wine glass in his hand.
“Of course we can. Sorry I’m such a babbler... I just can’t shut up when I should, it seems.” They sat down. “So, what do you want to talk about?”
Dom twirled the glass in his hands and took a sip. “Well... I’d like to get to know you a little bit better. I don’t even know what you do for living! Except that it’s something very important and it takes up all your free time, apparently.” He let out a dorky kind of laugh, which to Matt was the most adorable thing he’d heard all day.
“Yeah.” Matt sighed dramatically, his smile fading. “I’m a lawyer, actually.”
Dom’s eyes widened at this, his hands clutching the glass with both hands.
“What? A lawyer?”
Matt waved his hand around, trying to signal Dom that he shouldn’t worry about it. “I know what you’re thinking, and I can assure you that it’s not a big deal, really. It’s not like I’m police or something.”
“But you must know loads of coppers, right?”
Matt looked down at his wine, a small smile breaking on his lips. He slid his hand across the table to brush his fingers over Dom’s, making the blond loosen his grip on his own glass. “Calm down, Dom. The last thing I want to do is cause you trouble. I’m a lawyer, so what? And besides, if you know the law, then you also know that it’s not only you who’s done something illegal. I’m as guilty as you are.”
“But it could cause problems to some of my colleagues...”
“I don’t want that, Dom. Don’t you see?” Matt curled his fingers around Dom’s, making the blond stare at their loosely joined hands in astonishment. “Why would I want to cause you or your friends trouble?”
Dom looked up from their hands to meet a pair of warm, blue eyes and a smiling face.
“I see.”
He returned the smile and allowed Matt’s fingers to keep their grip. They looked each other in the eye for a couple of long heartbeats until Dom broke the moment.
“What’s your job like, then? I only have this image in my head of important suits walking around in a hurry carrying one of those leather briefcases with them, shouting some werd pieces of law terminology to everyone who cares to listen.”
Matt started to laugh a strange, high pitched laugh, tilting his head back.
“I wish it was only that! But yes, I wear a suit, as you’ve probably noticed by now, and I do have a briefcase.” He sipped his wine, the glass already half empty. “But most of my job is really boring office stuff, paperwork and calling clients and stuff like that. It’s hardly exciting.”
“Why do you do it, then?”
“Why do you do your job?” Matt shot back defensively and released Dom’s hand, making him arch his eyebrows.
“It pays off, financially at least.”
“There you go,” Matt sighed, eyeing the table below his glass. “I was sort of destined to be a lawyer, to be honest. My father owns this hugely successfull law firm and he wants me to continue the business when he’s too old for it.”
“Is that what you want?”
Matt brushed his hand across his neck, a motion that Dom noticed was some sort of a nervous habit for the lawyer. “I... um, I’m not sure, really. I mean, I’ve only worked there for a short while and I feel like I’m already burnt-out.”
“Must be a lot of pressure from your dad, too.” Dom took a big gulp of his drink, the alcohol warming him pleasantly.
Matt nodded. “Yeah, that... I’ve been thinking about quitting there and trying to get a nicer job in a smaller law firm with less pressure, but I don’t think Dad would appreciate that.”
Dom recognised the bitterness in Matt’s words immediately and guessed that there might be something more behind it than what he had just said. Dom felt a sudden rush of protectiveness towards the man sitting opposite him.
“But it’s your choice, Matt! He shouldn’t be the one who decides what you’ll do with your life.”
Matt shook his head, leaning back in his seat. “Oh, you don’t know him... he’d cut all contact with me if I did something like that.” He nursed the wine glass in his hands, swirling the remainder of the burgundy liquid around and keeping his eyes firmly upon his hands. “But even then, I sometimes think that it would be worth it.”
“You don’t seem to be very close with him, am I right?”
“Yes, you’re right. He, and my whole family, have been pretty much ignored me since I told them I like men. I guess it’s sort of understandable; I’m their only child, after all, and they have always wanted grandchildren. Someone to take up business after me, you know.” Matt sighed and looked the other way, missing Dom’s frown. “I thought maybe they’d appreciate me more if I proved to Dad that I can make something of my life, so I’ve been taking all these extra cases at work, and I volunteered to do some paperwork on weekends and stuff like that.”
“And it’s going to make you break down soon if you don’t slow down.”
Matt turned to face Dom again and blinked a few times; Dom had hit the nail on the head.
“Pretty much, yeah.”
“Fuck, but that’s... that’s fucking awful! I’m so sorry, Matt; I can’t imagine how terrible that must be for you.”
“Oh, I’m used to it.” Matt smiled shyly at Dom and blushed slightly. “Sorry I’m bothering you with this. I don’t normally talk about these things to anyone.”
“Don’t worry... it’s great to know more about you. Besides, I’m a good listener.”
Matt nodded; it had felt really good to talk about it to someone outside of his group of friends normally consisting of people from work. These were the kinds of things he couldn’t tell them. They would think of him as crazy if he complained after being promoted so quickly; there were certainly many people in the office that would trade places with him in a heartbeat.
“Yeah, you are. I just... there are so many things I want to tell you and learn about you as well. This is nice, yeah?”
“Yeah. Very.”
There was a pause again, during which Matt felt brave enough to swipe his foot against Dom’s, their ankles bumping together on first attemp in lack of cordination, eliciting giggles from Dom. Matt tried again and managed to brush Dom’s foot with his own, making them both smile.
“What’s your family like? You didn’t tell me about them,” Matt asked finally.
“Mum and Dad were great. They were like, the most supportive parents ever.” There was a sudden flash of sadness in Dom’s eyes when he said the words, which quickly disappeared, leaving Matt to wonder if he’d seen it in the first place.
Matt didn’t miss the past-tense in Dom’s words and realisation hit him.
“Oh, are they...”
Dom nodded. “They died eight years ago, when I was eighteen. A car accident. I was in the car too but don’t really remember anything, thank god.”
Matt covered his mouth with a hand, his eyes wide in surprise and compassion. “Oh no, that’s horrible! I’m so sorry. That’s... my problems are nothing compared to that.” He felt bad all of a sudden for pouring all that on Dom, even though the blond had obviously experienced something so much worse.
“Thanks. But don’t worry, I’m alright now, although things were pretty bad back then... but I have only good memories of my parents, so it’s fine now. You know, pain and bitterness go away but memories will always be there. That’s how I like to think.”
“Well said.”
When both of them had finished their drinks, they decided to continue the evening in Matt’s hotel room. They got Chinese take away and hopped into the taxi that was waiting for them, Matt having ordered it when they’d decided to leave.
They chatted easily, both glad that they had an excuse to sit close to each other, their thighs bumping together every now and again and Dom’s arm sliding around Matt’s waist without either of them really even realising.
Dom offered to pay for the taxi ride but Matt declined, insisting that Dom was his guest and therefore he should be the one who pays. With a roll of his eyes Dom gave in and followed the brunet into the hotel after Matt had paid.
They were standing in the lift, Dom leaning against the wall and Matt standing next to him. Dom couldn’t help the smile breaking on his lips when he watched the brunet fidgeting, seeming nervous for some reason.
They both knew that this was going to be something completely different from their two previous encounters, and Dom felt a bit bad about the fact that he had been a little bit off that evening due to his aching back and disturbing memories from a couple of hours earlier. He wondered if he should tell Matt. He knew he wanted to, but then again, the evening had been pretty much perfect up until then, and he was scared that the date would be ruined if he started to whine about what had happened. What could be a bigger turn-off on a date than “Hey, I was shagging this other guy earlier today and he was a bit violent with me and hurt my back”?
“Dom?”
He jumped a little when he heard Matt call his name. They’d reached Matt’s floor, and the brunet was currently holding the lift door open and waiting for him to step out.
“Oh, sorry!”
“Everything all right?”
“Yeah, jut zoned out for a while I guess.”
They walked along the corridor, Matt with his hand in his pocket searching for the key card. Quickly he opened the door and held it open, letting Dom walk in first, and flicked the lights on once they were both inside. Dom set the food containers on the table and started to take his leather jacket off while Matt disappeared into the bathroom.
All the food was taken out of the bags and set out on the table by the time Matt emerged from the bathroom. Dom split the food in two containers, one for each of them, and he turned around, handing one of them to Matt.
“Bon appetit!”
Matt lifted the takeout box and sniffed it, the aroma tickling his senses in a pleasant way. “Thanks. Mmm, this smells delicious.”
“I bet it is, too.”
They sat on the bed and ate side by side in silence, the occasional rustling of paper napkins or slurps the only noises in the room.
Once they finished, with their stomachs almost painfully full, Dom fell on the bed, flat on his back, and rubbed his belly. “That was fucking wonderful. I think you’ll have to roll me out of this bed eventually.”
Matt chuckled, taking both his and Dom’s empty containers and putting them back on the table and wiping his mouth with a napkin before tossing it on the table as well. “But who says I want you out of the bed?”
Dom giggled and lifted his upper body up with his arm, the other arm still rubbing soothingly over his stomach.
“You’re right, I guess no one.”
“Damn right.”
Matt scooted higher on the bed and plopped right next to Dom, landing a delicate kiss on his answering lips. Dom shivered and flinched against his own will, making Matt stop with a worried expression on his face.
“What’s wrong?”
The blond bit his lip and looked away, shaking his head. Matt didn’t give up.
“C’mon, you can tell me.” He leaned in again and kissed gently along Dom’s jaw, making him sigh heavily. Dom sat up against the headboard, carefully fluffing a pillow behind his back, with Matt following suit and sitting next to him indian-style.
“It’s just... about my back.”
Matt’s posture staightened when he remembered what Dom had said earlier about having hurt his back. “Oh shit, I’m so sorry, I totally forgot about your back! Does it hurt a lot?”
“Yeah, but that’s not what I meant.”
Matt frowned. “Oh. What is it then? Did something else happen?”
“I... I didn’t hurt it having sex. He threw me against a drawer.”
“He did what?” Matt blinked a few times, trying to process what Dom had just said. How could he have been so stupid in the restaurant, joking about it, when the blond had clearly been assaulted?
“Yeah, that’s right... he just sort of pushed me against it and tried to turn me around and... yeah.” Dom pulled his knees up against his chest, hugging them with his arms.
Matt’s eyes widened in realisation, his fingers bunching into a fist as his whole body tensed in anger. “What kind of a sick fucker does that?”
Dom just shrugged, unable to answer Matt’s rhetorical question. Matt’s expression softened when he saw the blond’s discomfort, and he put his hand to rest on one of Dom’s knees, squeezing gently.
“Did he... uh, you know?”
Dom shook his head. “No, I managed to kick him in his knees and run away. It was fucking terrifying though. I thought he’d follow me or something but luckily he didn’t.” He blinked a couple of times, moved by Matt’s caring.
“Thank fuck you were able to run away... but I’d still like to cut his dick off for doing what he did.”
Dom managed a sniffling laugh and looked at Matt, blue and grey eyes locking.
“Me too, believe me,” Dom said with a smile.
They were both silent for a long beat, just looking each other in the eyes and smiling, Matt’s hand caressing Dom’s knee and slowly moving a bit lower until it settled on top of Dom’s hand.
“You look cute when you defend me like that,” Dom whispered.
There was that smile again - a wide, slightly crooked one, one wonky tooth standing out from the others - and Dom couldn’t think of anything quite as adorable right at that moment.
Matt seemed to have an idea all of a sudden, and he shuffled himself out of the bed, padding to the mini bar fridge in one corner of the room. Dom craned his neck to see what Matt was up to over there, but it was only when the brunet turned around that he saw what he was holding. A beer can.
Dom arched his eyebrows questioningly, and Matt kneeled down on the bed, holding the can in his hand.
“Turn around.” Dom did what he was told and shifted lower on the bed, turning around so that he was lying on his stomach. He felt the bed dip beside him as Matt crawled closer, and soon he felt his shirt being lifted up a bit and a soft kiss landing on the bruised area.
“Looks painful.” Matt plopped down on the bed beside Dom and kissed the back of his shoulder.
Dom hummed as an answer, and soon he felt something cold press against his lower back. After the initial surprise it felt rather nice and he relaxed on the bed.
“Better?” Matt whispered, still holding the can in place.
“Yeah. Thanks.”
Dom almost fell asleep as they lay in bed, both feeling too comfortable to want to move anywhere else. After a while, the blond tentatively removed the can from Matt’s grip and placed it on the bedside table. He scooted closer to Matt and snuggled into his chest.
“You all right?” Matt asked after a moment.
“Yeah. Am now.”
“Anything else I can do?”
Dom looked up at Matt and smiled. “Just... lie with me? Please? I just want to sleep.”
“If you promise you’re not going anywhere tonight.”
“I promise.”
“In that case I have no problem with that.”
Matt sat up, carefully pushing Dom on his back. He leaned down and kissed his neck, pushing his hands underneath the blond’s shirt, bunching it up below his underarms and prompting Dom to lift his arms up. Matt stopped his kissing to pull the shirt off before he moved to straddle Dom’s thighs. He dragged his hands down the blond’s chest and stomach until they stopped on the fly of Dom’s black skinnies, pulling it down and popping the button open.
Matt leaned down to kiss Dom’s belly button, breathing a soft “Beautiful” against the soft skin there. He shifted backwards along Dom’s legs until he was sitting on the bed again, and tugged the tight jeans down. After peeling the lime green socks off, Matt tossed the pile of clothes on the floor and much less gracefully got rid of his own clothes before crawling back to lie next to the smirking blond.
Dom didn’t waste any time before he had his head on Matt’s chest again, his arm draped over the brunet’s stomach. Matt pulled the duvet over them and wrapped his arms around Dom’s lean body, hugging him close and kissing the top of his head, both sighing contently.
“Matt? When do you have to leave tomorrow?” Dom mumbled the words against Matt’s chest.
“I think I have to check out by eleven.”
“And you’re going home right after?”
“I... I think I have a couple of hours after that before I have to leave, if you want to hang out. I still need to go to the office in Birmingham to do some paperwork in the evening, though.”
Matt felt, rather than saw, the pout forming on Dom’s face.
“I wish you didn’t have to go so soon.”
“Yeah.” There were a few beats of silence, Matt’s breath tickling Dom’s forehead. “What do you think will happen after this, Dom? After I have gone, I mean.”
“Mmmm. I don’t know.” The blond sounded sleepy.
“I probably sound like a complete idiot, but.... I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in you.”
“Interested in me?”
“Yeah, like... come on, you know what I’m trying to say!”
Dom kissed the pale skin of Matt’s chest and smiled. “I’m trying to milk it out of you.”
“You numpty! That’s cruel.” Matt took a deep breath. “Okay. I like you.”
Dom giggled affectionately, his heart leaping at the words.
“Aaw, Matt. I like you too. And?”
“Like, really like you. And I was thinking maybe you’d like to, um... see me in the future? See what happens? Please say no if you don’t want to.” There was a distinct nervousness in the way Matt spoke the words.
“I’d really like to.”
“Yeah?” Dom could feel Matt smiling against the top of his head and the arms around him tightening.
“Yeah.”
Dom lifted his face off Matt’s chest and they both leaned into a tentative kiss. One kiss turned to two, and three, leading to a series of kisses that made their stomachs flutter and hearts beat faster, both smiling and giggling in between them like schoolgirls.
Dom couldn’t even remember when was the last time he had been able to just lie in someone’s arms without feeling uneasy or having any pressure to do something sexual with them. It was a nice feeling, and he knew he definitely wanted to give them a chance, no matter how difficult it might be in the end.
They fell asleep after a while, feeling content and happy, but at the same time not wanting the next day to come so soon.