Negotiations 52
Finally, the chapter is done! Had some medical issues starting 2022 that took a few months to resolve, so this took awhile. *Please* let me know your thoughts. All feedback & patience appreciated. :) ~Plum
Go back to Negotiations 51 or start from the beginning. Read it on AO3.
NEGOTIATIONS 52
DILL’S POV
Your car was canceled that night to your surprise. While you were finishing up your chores, your phone chimed with a notification from the car service. Before you could figure out what to do, Justin was texting…
Brian wants you to stay. Come upstairs.
You let this news please you for half a second before an unsettling fear set in. Maybe you were taking too long or overstaying your welcome? Maybe you were going to be scolded for doing something wrong? Were they watching you on camera as you did your chores?
************
BRIAN’S POV
forty five minutes earlier…
You were more than halfway through your nightly facial routine when Justin appeared in your bathroom and started to brush his teeth. “He’s all good?” you confirmed.
“He’s great. I had fun. Did you?”
“Absolutely. And tonight has my mind churning out new ideas and scenarios.”
“I figured,” Justin admitted. He spit, rinsed and planted a kiss on your bicep, “Come to bed.”
“Copy that.”
************
Although both of you knew Dill was still in your home, neither of you wanted to delay your impending physical connection. When you joined Justin in bed, he immediately pulled you close, pressing his skin against yours, his face nestled in your collarbone. He scratched your back in your sideways hug. “Feels good,” you murmured.
“Good.”
“Care to share what you guys talked about or did after I left?”
“Do I have to?” Justin asked.
“No, I’m just curious.”
“More like nosey.”
“Okay, so what if I am?”
Justin sighed, “He did ask me why you haven’t fucked him. He’s worried you don’t find him attractive.”
“Hmm…interesting.”
Justin kept going, “So, is there a reason?”
“Sort of. I mean, he’s ours, but he’s yours, you know? I figured you’d let me know when you were ready to hand him over.”
“Hand him over? I don’t know if I like that expression.”
You smiled at your own astuteness, “Exactly my point. Because he’s ours…but he’s yours.”
Justin wasn’t going to let your issue go unchallenged, though. “I thought maybe it’s because he’s the same age as-“
“Don’t say it. Not right now,” you advised him.
Happy that he made his point, Justin relaxed again, “Okay, I won’t say it. Calm down. I mean, you also met me that night, so it doesn’t matter.”
“This conversation is officially over,” you chided him as you rolled Justin onto his back to fuck him, a process made sweeter by his charming little smile as he welcomed your advances. That and the new lube warmers he put on your nightstand and all over the house made him very happy. “This is what you wanted after all that, right? A full serving of finely aged cock?”
“Hmmm, now that’s very appealing. I like that sentiment. Medium rare?”
“Of course, any way you like it.”
“Feel free to take your time,” Justin gifted you as he draped his arms around your neck and kissed you. These moments with him re-energize every inch of you. The act of coming together takes every imbalance inside you and sets it level again. And as is common in your bed, your physical intimacy opened the door to all of its other flavors. “I want to ask you something,” Justin said.
“Sure, go ahead.” Before posing his question, he administered a full dose of his best affection to you which made you a little suspicious. “Just ask me…not that I don’t enjoy this stalling tactic though.”
“Okay. I think I want to go back on Maintenance just one day a week, preferably Mondays.”
This both surprised and intrigued you, “Really?”
“Yes,” he confirmed.
“Tell me why.” To be fair, the reason hardly mattered to you; you didn’t need it because the request alone warmed the section of your heart that he occupies. You had no intention of denying his request.
He explained, “It’s just…I think…it reboots me…emotionally, physically…and mentally. I need it.”
“Hmmm…. So what we do with him, no reboot from that?” you asked, convinced you already knew the answer.
“I love what I get from him, but it’s a completely different thing. Honestly, this really doesn’t have anything to do with him. I just think that adding him in made these feelings come up much more quickly.”
“I know what brought them out,” you revealed.
“What?” Justin asked.
“Seeing him go under the way he did. The way he completely trusted us, let go and then needed you…well, both of us...to get him back safely. That was like watching him eat your favorite kind of ice cream an inch from your face and not getting any yourself.”
“Cute analogy, but okay, maybe that’s part of it, but not all of it.”
“Fair enough. So, when I get home from work?” Just because you were fifty didn’t mean you’d endorse an early bird special at five a.m. on a Monday morning.
Justin nodded against you, “Please.”
“And you’ll wear your collar and only your collar if I want you to?”
“Of course. All the other details are up to you.”
“Consider it on your schedule until further notice.”
“For real? You don’t mind?”
You smiled at his silly question, “Mind? Are you crazy?”
“Maybe…?” Justin pondered.
“When you ask for it, it’s like a jolt of ecstasy in my veins. Plus, Mondays will no longer suck, will they?” You wiggled your eyebrows and planted a kiss on his forehead. “Now, I wanna ask you a question.”
“Sure.”
“You and Dill, you had a different plan for tonight, didn’t you?” you inquired.
Justin tucked your falling hair behind your ear, “Maybe. But I’m not going to divulge any details. That toy showed up so fast and that scene pretty much played itself out. We’ll just save it for a rainy day.”
“So…,” you chose your words carefully, “I would’ve been in a much different role, right?”
“I’m not telling.”
“Just answer that one question. I agreed to your request,” you pointed out.
“Basically, yes.”
“Okay, fair enough. Cancel his car. I want him to stay tonight.”
Justin’s brow furrowed, “Are you serious?”
“I am.”
“Why?”
“Cancel it before it’s too late.”
“Okay, it’s your birthday…whatever you want.” You watched as he grabbed his phone allowing the blue light to illuminate his face. “It’s canceled. Tell me why.”
“You aren’t the only one with ideas, Sunshine.”
************
DILL’S POV
As you entered Brian and Justin’s bedroom for the first time, you were struck by how serene it felt compared to the dungeon. The furniture was regal, the design intentional, the atmosphere romantic compared to the frosty vibe of the dungeon. Quietly, you sloughed your shoes off and lined them up by the door. There were three windows straight ahead of you on the far side of their room. A large one flanked by two that were half its size. The curtains covered the side windows but were left open on the main one inviting confident moonlight to stream into the room. After absorbing the aesthetics, your eyes were immediately fixated on your new found friends fucking in front of you. Justin was on his back with his legs wrapped around Brian’s thighs; he slid his hand off of Brian’s hip, and he laid it on the sheets face up, his fingers signaling to you, “Come here. It’s okay. You’re not in any trouble.” You took careful steps to the bed and when you sat down, Justin tugged on your shirt and said, “Next to me. Lie down.” You glanced at Brian’s face, and he smiled at you. You lined your body up next theirs and Brian rose up onto his knees to make room for you in their cocoon. Justin pulled you down and kissed you, caressing your hair and asked, “Your chores are all done?”
He tasted like toothpaste. “Yes. Sorry if I took too long.”
“You didn’t.” You expected a bit of a briefing once you’d come upstairs, but one wasn’t forthcoming. Instead, Justin took your hand and placed it on his chest. His skin was wonderfully warm as he arched his back and guided it lower. He moaned as you took over, “Touch me.”
You took Justin’s hard cock in your hand and massaged it, earning Brian’s praise, “Good boys.” He began to thrust again to Justin’s delight, and you surrendered to your senses, determined to bring him as much pleasure as you could; you forgot about roles and rules and privileges and doled out as much affection as you felt for him which was no small amount. Your eyes were closed and your lips were trailing Justin’s shoulders when you felt Brian’s hand in your hair, “Suck him. He needs to come.” Your lips brushed his torso on your journey to his cock, and as you took him in your mouth, you felt Justin’s hand slide up the back of your shirt. You wrapped one arm around his thigh, and Brian inched your hand to Justin’s balls and showed you how to massage them. You eagerly followed Brian’s leads because Justin was clearly very satisfied with his actions. As Justin’s pleasure increased, he dug his nails into your back, and then Brian slid your hand lower so you were touching Brian’s shaft as it slid deep inside him. “Spread your fingers like this,” Brian licked his fingers and urged you to position yours into a ‘v’ to frame his cock, and the stretched sensation elicited a flurry of breathless joy as Justin expressed, deliciously desperate, “Jesus, god…fuck me.”
To say you had a stellar view of this hedonistic act was an understatement. Both of their addicting musky scents swirled around you so intensely it felt surreal. Justin regulated your oral stroke here and there, teaching you the pace he liked. He was hungry for this. Sometimes you got smothered between them when Brian leaned down to kiss him or just whisper cosmic dirty talk that made you embarrassed to be there, but you got over that because they were sharing this freely with you, pulling you into their universe.
”Brian please…let me come,” Justin begged.
Brian stalled, torturing Justin with mediocre thrusts, “First, tell him what you asked me for.”
”Brian,” he protested.
“Tell him.”
“Ugh, you’re impossible,” Justin’s words sped out of his mouth towards an imaginary finish line, “To be across his lap on Mondays, to go back to a schedule.”
“Because-?” Brian prompted.
“Because you ate my favorite ice cream in front of my face.” You pulled off his cock to respond as you were confuddled, “Huh? Me? I didn’t get any ice cream.”
Brian laughed, “It’s a metaphor. He has a painful need to be painfully humiliated. Don’t you?”
Justin acquiesced, “Yes. It’s terminal.”
You moved up to his face and kissed him on the forehead, “You poor baby.”
“Thank you for your sympathy,” Justin teased back.
“But is there really ice cream?” you wondered.
Brian gently pulled your hair to get you back to sucking Justin off and then told you, “You do what I tell you, and you might get two scoops of something tonight.”
Seemed fair enough to you.
When Justin came, your mouth filled up and listening to him express the associated pleasure made your brain bubble with joy. But in the time it took you to swallow, everything changed. Brian hovered over you with a predatory expression in his face. He asked a poignant question, “Why are your pants still on?”
“Nobody told me to-“ you attempted but that was pointless as Brian had already stripped them off along with your socks and underwear, cavalier as fuck as he threw them on the floor. Justin had moved, too. He was sitting at the head of the bed, his bent legs spread open so your head was between them next to his thighs. He pulled your shirt off over your head and then slid his hands underneath your upper arms and held you in place. You stared at Brian as he knelt between your legs and slid a condom on.
Justin clued you in with a bit of shade towards Brian, “He purposely didn’t come with me so he could do this for you. Right, Brian?”
Brian gave him a sly grin, “Maybe.”
You watched Brian’s large hands as they pressed your thighs apart. “How many guys have fucked you…besides Justin?” he asked.
You replied, “I’m sorry, but I am unavailable for math right now.”
Justin patted your chest, “Ha! Great answer.”
“Thanks.”
Brian resumed, “You probably think this is happening because of that comment you made to Justin?”
“Yes, Sir, I mean, maybe. I don’t know. I don’t think it matters why, honestly.”
Brian nodded, clearly proud of your response, “Exactly. I like a fast learner.” Brian gave your naked body a considerable once over and then smiled at you which awakened endorphins beneath your skin. “Justin, look,” he said, pointing down.
“Huh?”
Brian pointed at you more emphatically and nudged Justin’s knee, “Yo, look.” And then Justin realized what he meant but Brian announced it anyway, “He’s soft.” You looked down at your aforementioned cock which felt like someone else’s; it was just laying there as Brian had assessed, lacking any and all luster. You laughed, “I can’t even feel it right now.” You we’re too nervous to feel any extremities; it was terrified.
“Good job, Henry Dillworth the third,” Brian awarded you.
“Okay, thanks, but seriously, if you use my full name again, I’ll probably stay soft forever.”
Brian liked that, “Ah ha, good to know. We found one of your triggers.” You couldn’t help but chuckle at Brian’s efforts to crack your nervous facade. You had no idea how he planned to fit his dick inside you when you were filled to the brim with anxiety. His hyper-masculine scaffolding began to relax a little as he spoke, “You have to calm down, Dill. You feel like peanut brittle beneath me. It’s okay. I won’t bite.”
“I know,” you blurted out utterly unconvincingly.
Brian’s eyes narrowed a bit, “You do understand that the big bad wolf you like is just a character, right?”
“I’m really trying,” you replied in earnest.
“Don’t take too long. I’m an old man now. Every minute could be my last.”
Justin called an audible, “Um, no. You will not make jokes about your mortality. Not tonight. You’re not the only one getting used to this age acceptance thing.”
“Fair enough,” Brian conceded, “I retract it.”
“Thank you,” Justin affirmed.
Brian refocused his attention on you, “Dill, you’re making this too difficult. You made it into our bed, you got control…somehow…of your own arousal, and I can’t reward you for that because you can’t even relax your face.”
“I know, Sir. I’m-“
“Be quiet and just listen to me, okay?”
“Okay.”
He lowered himself on top of you so that your head, his face and Justin’s inner thighs were in an intense meeting. Justin played with your hair, his fingertips skating across your forehead as Brian spoke words you will never forget in a sweeter tone that was new to you, “If I want to fuck you, I’m going to fuck you. I don’t care how nervous you are.” He paused to torment you with a kiss; you tried to kiss him back but couldn’t access that skill.
“My lips are sort of numb,” you confessed.
“Be quiet and listen. You don’t have any say in who fucks you or when or even in what position. You don’t make those decisions anymore. The only decision you have left is whether or not you’re going to enjoy it. Am I making myself clear?”
You exhaled, “Yes.”
“Good. Because I can take that decision away from you, too, and I will if you don’t at least show me that you are trying to calibrate your anxiety.”
“I understand.”
You desperately wanted Brian to fuck you, not really for the pleasure but rather for the sugar-high of validation it gave you; you were just thrown off because you’d assumed you’d get a heads up about it and be able to categorize all of your emotions before it happened. That’s how you operate. Spontaneity was not a trait in your repertoire. Brian must’ve figured this out and decided to make an end run around your obsessive need to plan things out. But your anxiety reduction progress wasn’t quick enough for either of them, though, and it was Justin who ordered an adjustment, “Let’s flip him over. That way he’s not staring at your face.”
“No, I want him helpless on his back just like this,” Brian objected. He queried you with his nose an inch from yours, “And do you know why?”
Despite your deepest desires to appear calmer, you stuttered a little, “No, uh, no…Sir.”
Brian’s hot breath brushed your cheek as he spoke, “Because I want you to feel every millimeter of my cock inside you while every ounce of your free will disappears. And be warned, I listened very carefully to every single word you told us outside tonight.” Your stomach dropped out as Justin’s hands clamped around your ankles hard, positioning you into the equivalent of an upside down roller coaster ride. Brian whispered the last part, ”And while I’m fucking you, picture what a crumpled mess your clothes are in all over the floor right now.”
God, he’s so cruel.
Your systems came back on line, so you raised up and kissed him before he could get away, and Brian gave you an evil grin for your little stunt as you told him, “I’ll endure anything for you, Sir.”
His eyebrows went up several floors on his face, “You can be a little smart ass, you know that?”
“Yes, Sir.”
And then he addressed Justin, “When I’m done with him, I want him plugged until five o’clock tomorrow afternoon.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Justin promised.
When it happened, when Brian fucked you, it was a wonderfully way too much sensation that burned like a lit flame below your waist. His thick cock, it straightened your spine; you could feel it all the way up to your brain stem. “Jesus, you’re a ridiculously tight little slut, aren’t you?” Brian accused.
“I hope so, Sir.”
He pushed deeper to get to Justin forcing unknown muscles in your body to stretch even more as they made out above you, trapping you in their dark sensual world. It was over before you could form another thought, and Brian collapsed on top of you and moaned from exhausted pleasure. “You’re not soft anymore,” he teased you as your bodies melted together as one spent heap of sweaty ecstasy.
************
Brian fell into a deep sleep afterwards, his snore background music as you and Justin extricated yourselves from the pile. Jusitn held you against his chest. “Did you like that? Him fucking you?”
“Yes, thank you for making that happen.”
“I didn’t. It was his idea; he took the initiative-“
“After you told him what I said?”
“Yep. We know what’s best for you. Not you. Not anymore.”
“I understand.” Accepting that reality set you so free, like you stepped off a cliff on a whim only to be cradled by a healthy breeze all the way down. Justin’s hand was exploring between your legs, and you moaned when he felt your still hard cock. “You want to come one last time?”
“Please,” you begged him.
“Have you used a plug before?”
“I tried; I bought one a year ago, but it’s too small or too heavy, I guess.”
“Okay, let me up for a sec.” Jusitn released you and went into their closet and then motioned for you to join him. You stood next to Brian’s expensive suits as Jusitn showed you a three piece hot pink silicone anal training set still in its original box.”We get these for free all the time because Brian buys so much stuff for the dungeon.”
“Wow, it’s flashy,” you laughed.
“Hot pink not your thing?” he asked you.
“Not really.”
“Well, the color doesn’t matter. Hmmm….” Justin’s voice trailed off.
“What?”
“Since he’s asleep, let’s go to my studio to do this. Come on.”
“Okay.”
Justin pulled their bedroom door closed as you followed him down the hall. He stopped halfway to the studio and grabbed a towel out of the linen closet. There was a futon about three feet inside his studio against the wall, and Justin left the hall light on, took your hand and brought you into the dark space. Almost immediately, his warm aura was pulsing around both of you. The room, filled with the scent of paint, turpentine and raw creativity, became wonderfully still the moment the two of you sat down together. Justin put his arm around your shoulders and pulled you close as he praised you, “You made me very very proud tonight.”
“You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Activating this insane warmth; I feel like a cinnamon bun baking in the oven.”
“Good, I want you to feel that. You trusted Brian and I every step of the way. You surrendered. We liked that.” He kissed you for several seconds.
“You take very good care of me. I appreciate it.”
“Well, you can demonstrate that appreciation right now. Lie down on your back. Pretend you’re on the exam table.”
You laughed as you laid back, “Okay.” Justin had you raise your hips so he could slide a towel underneath you. You were pretty sure the set Justin was unboxing was for women, not men, but there was something secretly thrilling about being automatically feminized like that. Justin coated the largest plug with hot lube and worked it inside you. A shudder ripped through your body once it was completely inside, pleasure balancing on just a sliver of pain.
“You okay?” he asked you. You took a few shallow breaths and nodded. “You feel like you’re gonna come?” You nodded again. “Okay, just relax for a couple minutes. Let your body adjust.”
“Okay.”
“Regulate your breathing.”
“I am.”
Justin rubbed your inner thigh from your knee to the edge of the plug. You reached for his hand and held it still for a few seconds. “Tell me what’s going through your mind.”
“Something…different,” you admitted.
Justin moved so you could lay your head in his lap. He stroked your head, “Tell me.”
You couldn’t really explain what was happening in words; the buzzing intensity was overwhelming and everywhere. As you tried to form a thought, Justin was doing something he often does: caressing your cheek. You touched his hand and moved it to your ear lobe. You moved his thumb and index finger into position and showed him how you like to be massaged there. Justin smiled while asking,“This turns you on?”
“It’s oddly comforting to me.”
“Good to know,” he admitted, “I’m still listening.”
“Can I come first? Maybe that will help?” you asked.
“Sure. Roll toward me on your side.” You did as requested and Justin pressed your face against his belly and then guided your hand between your legs. As you began to play with yourself, Justin held you still while pressing on the plug. It activated a wicked ecstasy inside you; he’d found the right spot and he knew it. The feeling was almost too good; your hips battled for control you wouldn’t get, pressing all of the trapped pleasure inside you against the hold he had you in. You moaned into his skin; the orgasm felt almost like a mini-tantrum inside you; it shook your entire body for a few seconds.
And then-all of a sudden-it was over.
Cum coated your fingers…as you started to…fucking…cry.
Not sobbing, not overly dramatic, just unstoppable tears skimming down your face. Justin covered you with an afghan and reassured you, “Just let it out. You’ve had an intense night.”
“I don’t get this,” you admitted.
“Remember downstairs, I told you that I might have stopped you too soon on the machine?”
“Yeah.”
“This is where you were headed. You were probably mid-journey. Welcome to subspace. Please leave your tray table in the upright position.” You sniffed and laughed loudly, basically just snorting. “This is why Brian wants you filled; he doesn’t want you to crash later when you’re home. He wants to keep you level.”
“He likes me, doesn’t he?”
Justin laughed, “Uh, yeah. I would say so. He wouldn’t have brought you into our bed if he didn’t, trust me. You’ll stay with us tonight; I’ll get a car for you in the morning.”
“I can sleep in the dungeon. I’m not afraid to be down there by myself.”
“No, you’ll be right beside me. That’s where I want you. Understand?”
“Yes, Sir. Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome. You earned it.”
You concentrated on getting your hitched breath under control as you laid in his lap. Justin rubbed your back and let you process. His voice was calm and caring when he spoke next, “This is the second time tonight you’ve felt childlike in my arms. You know, in the tub?”
“Right.”
“It’s really important to us to understand your aftercare needs because they matter as much as the scene, if not more. Without it, and especially with the intensity of play you‘re into, you can experience sub or even scene drop. I want you to be aware of these things, okay?”
“Okay.” You pulled the blanket around your shoulders and tucked it against him.
“Having a long-held fantasy fulfilled can be both thrilling during the scene and then grief-inducing after your needs are finally met. You might experience a sense of loss or nothingness as the adrenaline and endorphins drain out. You might feel disconnected afterwards. All of this is normal-“
“This is why you plugged me.”
“Right. To slow your physical transition and help mitigate the rate of those feelings, to help you feel connected.”
“I think my emotions are in a blender right now,” you admitted to him.
He smiled, “Then make them into a delicious smoothie and drink them right back down. You’ve had these desires for so long without resolution that any resolution might make you feel sad or unsettled. And I know you have things to do tomorrow, that you’re getting packed up to move out of your dorm-“
“Yep.”
“So these feelings might get delayed and show up in a few days or something. That's also normal.”
Your response was sincere, “If something feels off, I’ll let you know. I really appreciate how well you take care of me.”
“And make you come until your eyes cross.”
“Yeah, that, too,” you laughed.
Justin then confided in you, “At first, I was really confused when Brian told me to cancel your car, but this is a good thing for us.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, because for us to run a scene instead of him, he needs to have complete trust in each of us-independently and together. And he clearly does based on what he did tonight. And he wanted you to know it, too.”
“I felt like I leveled up with him-“
“Oh, you did. And he asked me if we had something planned tonight.”
“Yeah? Really?”
Justin continued, “He asked me point blank if he would’ve been in a different role. I only said yes; I gave no details. But if we’re going to do this for him, you have to be one hundred percent comfortable with all sides of Brian. You can’t get nervous or jittery. You have to trust me completely and follow my lead.”
You reassured him, “I don’t have a problem with that. I would never break character in a situation like that.”
“How do you know that though?” Justin asked, “Sometimes your nerves get the best of you.”
You pondered his question for a few seconds, “Because Brian would never do that to me. He respects my desires and my mental, uh….“
“Headspace?”
“Right. Exactly. I would never jeopardize his. I swear.”
“Good. That’s what I need to hear. Are you ready to go back to bed?”
“Sure, but may I at least put the sheets in the dryer? I won’t be able to sleep if I don’t.”
Justin laughed at your earnest request, “Of course, go right ahead. Then come right back to me. I want you right next to me tonight.”
**************
JUSTIN’S POV
We all want the same thing out of life, right? We want, at our core level, our humanity acknowledged by someone, and then, if we can secure that, we want a little bit more. We want it cherished. And then, if we’re really honest with ourselves, we’d also like our humanity, our capacity to care for and pleasure one another, to be admired. The key to happiness, you supposed, is securing each one of those golden gifts in the right order, no jumping around. You placed each cement paver along your journey with Dill with care and purpose before using it as your next stepping stone: a bridge between acknowledgment and cherished.
Once Dill made it back upstairs, you were waiting for him in your bed. Brian was sleeping hard, his back turned away from you. In silence, Dill picked his clothes up, folded them and stacked them in a chair. You slid to the middle and pulled him close to spoon him. You kissed the back of his neck, breathing in his fleeting college boy scent and listened carefully to his breathing as he fell asleep.
The following morning, you awoke around seven and both you and Dill snuck out of the bedroom and went to the kitchen. You pulled out eggs, bacon and toast and cooked breakfast while Dill folded the sheets and put them back in the dungeon. Dill was crunching a piece of bacon when you asked him, “You feel okay today?”
“I feel fantastic,” he confirmed.
“Good. When you remove the plug after five, be sure to text Brian and thank him for that gesture. You can jerk off tonight if you want to, but you need to text us first and ask permission. Understood?”
You adore Dill’s unforced brutal honesty, “This conversation is making me horny.”
“Too bad. Nothing before five o’clock and nothing on your own.”
“Because I don’t make those decisions anymore,” he reiterated.
“Exactly.”
Dill lobbed back with a laugh, “But that in itself is what’s making me horny.”
“Again, too bad.”
Brian appeared in the kitchen a minute or so later, nude save an open robe. He kissed you as you gave him his coffee, sat him down at the table, and served him his breakfast. The conversation turned to Dill’s plans for the day as Brian asked, “So where are you moving to?”
Dill explained, “I’m taking my stuff to a storage place for now. I can’t move into my apartment until June first.”
You asked, “So where are you staying until then?”
“Crashing at a friend’s place who already has an apartment.”
You glanced up at Brian, and he met your gaze briefly before going back to his phone. His Sunday morning phone scroll was a forty minute routine. You felt confident to offer, “You can stay here for a couple weeks or at the loft if you want.”
“I don’t want to impose. I’m okay.”
“Don’t you start your job soon?” Brian asked.
Dill nodded, “Yes, but the first couple of weeks are just training and orientation for like half a day. There’s a security protocol there. Government contract.”
“So you need to be in the city to get there?” you queried. “So just stay at the loft. That okay with you, Brian?”
“Of course. Stay with your friend tonight, and then come by my office tomorrow, and I’ll give you a key.”
“You’re too generous,” Dill replied.
Brian then locked you in an intense gaze for several seconds before responding to Dill, “Not really. It won’t be free.”
Dill lobbed back, his fear of Brian waning a bit, “What about a payment plan?”
Brian grinned while never taking his eyes off his screen, “That’s already been worked out. Lucky for you, you had a co-signer.”
“I do?” Dill questioned.
“It’s me,” you offered as conjecture. “It’s always me. Brian makes the money and I pay for everything, right?”
Brian looked up and raised his eyebrow as he responded to you, “Apparently, his college education was so thorough, it’s contagious.”
Dill leaned forward on the table, “Uh, my car’s outside so I’m outta here. This room just got really really small.”
Negotiations 53
Go back to Negotiations 51 or start from the beginning. Read it on AO3.
NEGOTIATIONS 52
DILL’S POV
Your car was canceled that night to your surprise. While you were finishing up your chores, your phone chimed with a notification from the car service. Before you could figure out what to do, Justin was texting…
Brian wants you to stay. Come upstairs.
You let this news please you for half a second before an unsettling fear set in. Maybe you were taking too long or overstaying your welcome? Maybe you were going to be scolded for doing something wrong? Were they watching you on camera as you did your chores?
************
BRIAN’S POV
forty five minutes earlier…
You were more than halfway through your nightly facial routine when Justin appeared in your bathroom and started to brush his teeth. “He’s all good?” you confirmed.
“He’s great. I had fun. Did you?”
“Absolutely. And tonight has my mind churning out new ideas and scenarios.”
“I figured,” Justin admitted. He spit, rinsed and planted a kiss on your bicep, “Come to bed.”
“Copy that.”
************
Although both of you knew Dill was still in your home, neither of you wanted to delay your impending physical connection. When you joined Justin in bed, he immediately pulled you close, pressing his skin against yours, his face nestled in your collarbone. He scratched your back in your sideways hug. “Feels good,” you murmured.
“Good.”
“Care to share what you guys talked about or did after I left?”
“Do I have to?” Justin asked.
“No, I’m just curious.”
“More like nosey.”
“Okay, so what if I am?”
Justin sighed, “He did ask me why you haven’t fucked him. He’s worried you don’t find him attractive.”
“Hmm…interesting.”
Justin kept going, “So, is there a reason?”
“Sort of. I mean, he’s ours, but he’s yours, you know? I figured you’d let me know when you were ready to hand him over.”
“Hand him over? I don’t know if I like that expression.”
You smiled at your own astuteness, “Exactly my point. Because he’s ours…but he’s yours.”
Justin wasn’t going to let your issue go unchallenged, though. “I thought maybe it’s because he’s the same age as-“
“Don’t say it. Not right now,” you advised him.
Happy that he made his point, Justin relaxed again, “Okay, I won’t say it. Calm down. I mean, you also met me that night, so it doesn’t matter.”
“This conversation is officially over,” you chided him as you rolled Justin onto his back to fuck him, a process made sweeter by his charming little smile as he welcomed your advances. That and the new lube warmers he put on your nightstand and all over the house made him very happy. “This is what you wanted after all that, right? A full serving of finely aged cock?”
“Hmmm, now that’s very appealing. I like that sentiment. Medium rare?”
“Of course, any way you like it.”
“Feel free to take your time,” Justin gifted you as he draped his arms around your neck and kissed you. These moments with him re-energize every inch of you. The act of coming together takes every imbalance inside you and sets it level again. And as is common in your bed, your physical intimacy opened the door to all of its other flavors. “I want to ask you something,” Justin said.
“Sure, go ahead.” Before posing his question, he administered a full dose of his best affection to you which made you a little suspicious. “Just ask me…not that I don’t enjoy this stalling tactic though.”
“Okay. I think I want to go back on Maintenance just one day a week, preferably Mondays.”
This both surprised and intrigued you, “Really?”
“Yes,” he confirmed.
“Tell me why.” To be fair, the reason hardly mattered to you; you didn’t need it because the request alone warmed the section of your heart that he occupies. You had no intention of denying his request.
He explained, “It’s just…I think…it reboots me…emotionally, physically…and mentally. I need it.”
“Hmmm…. So what we do with him, no reboot from that?” you asked, convinced you already knew the answer.
“I love what I get from him, but it’s a completely different thing. Honestly, this really doesn’t have anything to do with him. I just think that adding him in made these feelings come up much more quickly.”
“I know what brought them out,” you revealed.
“What?” Justin asked.
“Seeing him go under the way he did. The way he completely trusted us, let go and then needed you…well, both of us...to get him back safely. That was like watching him eat your favorite kind of ice cream an inch from your face and not getting any yourself.”
“Cute analogy, but okay, maybe that’s part of it, but not all of it.”
“Fair enough. So, when I get home from work?” Just because you were fifty didn’t mean you’d endorse an early bird special at five a.m. on a Monday morning.
Justin nodded against you, “Please.”
“And you’ll wear your collar and only your collar if I want you to?”
“Of course. All the other details are up to you.”
“Consider it on your schedule until further notice.”
“For real? You don’t mind?”
You smiled at his silly question, “Mind? Are you crazy?”
“Maybe…?” Justin pondered.
“When you ask for it, it’s like a jolt of ecstasy in my veins. Plus, Mondays will no longer suck, will they?” You wiggled your eyebrows and planted a kiss on his forehead. “Now, I wanna ask you a question.”
“Sure.”
“You and Dill, you had a different plan for tonight, didn’t you?” you inquired.
Justin tucked your falling hair behind your ear, “Maybe. But I’m not going to divulge any details. That toy showed up so fast and that scene pretty much played itself out. We’ll just save it for a rainy day.”
“So…,” you chose your words carefully, “I would’ve been in a much different role, right?”
“I’m not telling.”
“Just answer that one question. I agreed to your request,” you pointed out.
“Basically, yes.”
“Okay, fair enough. Cancel his car. I want him to stay tonight.”
Justin’s brow furrowed, “Are you serious?”
“I am.”
“Why?”
“Cancel it before it’s too late.”
“Okay, it’s your birthday…whatever you want.” You watched as he grabbed his phone allowing the blue light to illuminate his face. “It’s canceled. Tell me why.”
“You aren’t the only one with ideas, Sunshine.”
************
DILL’S POV
As you entered Brian and Justin’s bedroom for the first time, you were struck by how serene it felt compared to the dungeon. The furniture was regal, the design intentional, the atmosphere romantic compared to the frosty vibe of the dungeon. Quietly, you sloughed your shoes off and lined them up by the door. There were three windows straight ahead of you on the far side of their room. A large one flanked by two that were half its size. The curtains covered the side windows but were left open on the main one inviting confident moonlight to stream into the room. After absorbing the aesthetics, your eyes were immediately fixated on your new found friends fucking in front of you. Justin was on his back with his legs wrapped around Brian’s thighs; he slid his hand off of Brian’s hip, and he laid it on the sheets face up, his fingers signaling to you, “Come here. It’s okay. You’re not in any trouble.” You took careful steps to the bed and when you sat down, Justin tugged on your shirt and said, “Next to me. Lie down.” You glanced at Brian’s face, and he smiled at you. You lined your body up next theirs and Brian rose up onto his knees to make room for you in their cocoon. Justin pulled you down and kissed you, caressing your hair and asked, “Your chores are all done?”
He tasted like toothpaste. “Yes. Sorry if I took too long.”
“You didn’t.” You expected a bit of a briefing once you’d come upstairs, but one wasn’t forthcoming. Instead, Justin took your hand and placed it on his chest. His skin was wonderfully warm as he arched his back and guided it lower. He moaned as you took over, “Touch me.”
You took Justin’s hard cock in your hand and massaged it, earning Brian’s praise, “Good boys.” He began to thrust again to Justin’s delight, and you surrendered to your senses, determined to bring him as much pleasure as you could; you forgot about roles and rules and privileges and doled out as much affection as you felt for him which was no small amount. Your eyes were closed and your lips were trailing Justin’s shoulders when you felt Brian’s hand in your hair, “Suck him. He needs to come.” Your lips brushed his torso on your journey to his cock, and as you took him in your mouth, you felt Justin’s hand slide up the back of your shirt. You wrapped one arm around his thigh, and Brian inched your hand to Justin’s balls and showed you how to massage them. You eagerly followed Brian’s leads because Justin was clearly very satisfied with his actions. As Justin’s pleasure increased, he dug his nails into your back, and then Brian slid your hand lower so you were touching Brian’s shaft as it slid deep inside him. “Spread your fingers like this,” Brian licked his fingers and urged you to position yours into a ‘v’ to frame his cock, and the stretched sensation elicited a flurry of breathless joy as Justin expressed, deliciously desperate, “Jesus, god…fuck me.”
To say you had a stellar view of this hedonistic act was an understatement. Both of their addicting musky scents swirled around you so intensely it felt surreal. Justin regulated your oral stroke here and there, teaching you the pace he liked. He was hungry for this. Sometimes you got smothered between them when Brian leaned down to kiss him or just whisper cosmic dirty talk that made you embarrassed to be there, but you got over that because they were sharing this freely with you, pulling you into their universe.
”Brian please…let me come,” Justin begged.
Brian stalled, torturing Justin with mediocre thrusts, “First, tell him what you asked me for.”
”Brian,” he protested.
“Tell him.”
“Ugh, you’re impossible,” Justin’s words sped out of his mouth towards an imaginary finish line, “To be across his lap on Mondays, to go back to a schedule.”
“Because-?” Brian prompted.
“Because you ate my favorite ice cream in front of my face.” You pulled off his cock to respond as you were confuddled, “Huh? Me? I didn’t get any ice cream.”
Brian laughed, “It’s a metaphor. He has a painful need to be painfully humiliated. Don’t you?”
Justin acquiesced, “Yes. It’s terminal.”
You moved up to his face and kissed him on the forehead, “You poor baby.”
“Thank you for your sympathy,” Justin teased back.
“But is there really ice cream?” you wondered.
Brian gently pulled your hair to get you back to sucking Justin off and then told you, “You do what I tell you, and you might get two scoops of something tonight.”
Seemed fair enough to you.
When Justin came, your mouth filled up and listening to him express the associated pleasure made your brain bubble with joy. But in the time it took you to swallow, everything changed. Brian hovered over you with a predatory expression in his face. He asked a poignant question, “Why are your pants still on?”
“Nobody told me to-“ you attempted but that was pointless as Brian had already stripped them off along with your socks and underwear, cavalier as fuck as he threw them on the floor. Justin had moved, too. He was sitting at the head of the bed, his bent legs spread open so your head was between them next to his thighs. He pulled your shirt off over your head and then slid his hands underneath your upper arms and held you in place. You stared at Brian as he knelt between your legs and slid a condom on.
Justin clued you in with a bit of shade towards Brian, “He purposely didn’t come with me so he could do this for you. Right, Brian?”
Brian gave him a sly grin, “Maybe.”
You watched Brian’s large hands as they pressed your thighs apart. “How many guys have fucked you…besides Justin?” he asked.
You replied, “I’m sorry, but I am unavailable for math right now.”
Justin patted your chest, “Ha! Great answer.”
“Thanks.”
Brian resumed, “You probably think this is happening because of that comment you made to Justin?”
“Yes, Sir, I mean, maybe. I don’t know. I don’t think it matters why, honestly.”
Brian nodded, clearly proud of your response, “Exactly. I like a fast learner.” Brian gave your naked body a considerable once over and then smiled at you which awakened endorphins beneath your skin. “Justin, look,” he said, pointing down.
“Huh?”
Brian pointed at you more emphatically and nudged Justin’s knee, “Yo, look.” And then Justin realized what he meant but Brian announced it anyway, “He’s soft.” You looked down at your aforementioned cock which felt like someone else’s; it was just laying there as Brian had assessed, lacking any and all luster. You laughed, “I can’t even feel it right now.” You we’re too nervous to feel any extremities; it was terrified.
“Good job, Henry Dillworth the third,” Brian awarded you.
“Okay, thanks, but seriously, if you use my full name again, I’ll probably stay soft forever.”
Brian liked that, “Ah ha, good to know. We found one of your triggers.” You couldn’t help but chuckle at Brian’s efforts to crack your nervous facade. You had no idea how he planned to fit his dick inside you when you were filled to the brim with anxiety. His hyper-masculine scaffolding began to relax a little as he spoke, “You have to calm down, Dill. You feel like peanut brittle beneath me. It’s okay. I won’t bite.”
“I know,” you blurted out utterly unconvincingly.
Brian’s eyes narrowed a bit, “You do understand that the big bad wolf you like is just a character, right?”
“I’m really trying,” you replied in earnest.
“Don’t take too long. I’m an old man now. Every minute could be my last.”
Justin called an audible, “Um, no. You will not make jokes about your mortality. Not tonight. You’re not the only one getting used to this age acceptance thing.”
“Fair enough,” Brian conceded, “I retract it.”
“Thank you,” Justin affirmed.
Brian refocused his attention on you, “Dill, you’re making this too difficult. You made it into our bed, you got control…somehow…of your own arousal, and I can’t reward you for that because you can’t even relax your face.”
“I know, Sir. I’m-“
“Be quiet and just listen to me, okay?”
“Okay.”
He lowered himself on top of you so that your head, his face and Justin’s inner thighs were in an intense meeting. Justin played with your hair, his fingertips skating across your forehead as Brian spoke words you will never forget in a sweeter tone that was new to you, “If I want to fuck you, I’m going to fuck you. I don’t care how nervous you are.” He paused to torment you with a kiss; you tried to kiss him back but couldn’t access that skill.
“My lips are sort of numb,” you confessed.
“Be quiet and listen. You don’t have any say in who fucks you or when or even in what position. You don’t make those decisions anymore. The only decision you have left is whether or not you’re going to enjoy it. Am I making myself clear?”
You exhaled, “Yes.”
“Good. Because I can take that decision away from you, too, and I will if you don’t at least show me that you are trying to calibrate your anxiety.”
“I understand.”
You desperately wanted Brian to fuck you, not really for the pleasure but rather for the sugar-high of validation it gave you; you were just thrown off because you’d assumed you’d get a heads up about it and be able to categorize all of your emotions before it happened. That’s how you operate. Spontaneity was not a trait in your repertoire. Brian must’ve figured this out and decided to make an end run around your obsessive need to plan things out. But your anxiety reduction progress wasn’t quick enough for either of them, though, and it was Justin who ordered an adjustment, “Let’s flip him over. That way he’s not staring at your face.”
“No, I want him helpless on his back just like this,” Brian objected. He queried you with his nose an inch from yours, “And do you know why?”
Despite your deepest desires to appear calmer, you stuttered a little, “No, uh, no…Sir.”
Brian’s hot breath brushed your cheek as he spoke, “Because I want you to feel every millimeter of my cock inside you while every ounce of your free will disappears. And be warned, I listened very carefully to every single word you told us outside tonight.” Your stomach dropped out as Justin’s hands clamped around your ankles hard, positioning you into the equivalent of an upside down roller coaster ride. Brian whispered the last part, ”And while I’m fucking you, picture what a crumpled mess your clothes are in all over the floor right now.”
God, he’s so cruel.
Your systems came back on line, so you raised up and kissed him before he could get away, and Brian gave you an evil grin for your little stunt as you told him, “I’ll endure anything for you, Sir.”
His eyebrows went up several floors on his face, “You can be a little smart ass, you know that?”
“Yes, Sir.”
And then he addressed Justin, “When I’m done with him, I want him plugged until five o’clock tomorrow afternoon.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Justin promised.
When it happened, when Brian fucked you, it was a wonderfully way too much sensation that burned like a lit flame below your waist. His thick cock, it straightened your spine; you could feel it all the way up to your brain stem. “Jesus, you’re a ridiculously tight little slut, aren’t you?” Brian accused.
“I hope so, Sir.”
He pushed deeper to get to Justin forcing unknown muscles in your body to stretch even more as they made out above you, trapping you in their dark sensual world. It was over before you could form another thought, and Brian collapsed on top of you and moaned from exhausted pleasure. “You’re not soft anymore,” he teased you as your bodies melted together as one spent heap of sweaty ecstasy.
************
Brian fell into a deep sleep afterwards, his snore background music as you and Justin extricated yourselves from the pile. Jusitn held you against his chest. “Did you like that? Him fucking you?”
“Yes, thank you for making that happen.”
“I didn’t. It was his idea; he took the initiative-“
“After you told him what I said?”
“Yep. We know what’s best for you. Not you. Not anymore.”
“I understand.” Accepting that reality set you so free, like you stepped off a cliff on a whim only to be cradled by a healthy breeze all the way down. Justin’s hand was exploring between your legs, and you moaned when he felt your still hard cock. “You want to come one last time?”
“Please,” you begged him.
“Have you used a plug before?”
“I tried; I bought one a year ago, but it’s too small or too heavy, I guess.”
“Okay, let me up for a sec.” Jusitn released you and went into their closet and then motioned for you to join him. You stood next to Brian’s expensive suits as Jusitn showed you a three piece hot pink silicone anal training set still in its original box.”We get these for free all the time because Brian buys so much stuff for the dungeon.”
“Wow, it’s flashy,” you laughed.
“Hot pink not your thing?” he asked you.
“Not really.”
“Well, the color doesn’t matter. Hmmm….” Justin’s voice trailed off.
“What?”
“Since he’s asleep, let’s go to my studio to do this. Come on.”
“Okay.”
Justin pulled their bedroom door closed as you followed him down the hall. He stopped halfway to the studio and grabbed a towel out of the linen closet. There was a futon about three feet inside his studio against the wall, and Justin left the hall light on, took your hand and brought you into the dark space. Almost immediately, his warm aura was pulsing around both of you. The room, filled with the scent of paint, turpentine and raw creativity, became wonderfully still the moment the two of you sat down together. Justin put his arm around your shoulders and pulled you close as he praised you, “You made me very very proud tonight.”
“You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Activating this insane warmth; I feel like a cinnamon bun baking in the oven.”
“Good, I want you to feel that. You trusted Brian and I every step of the way. You surrendered. We liked that.” He kissed you for several seconds.
“You take very good care of me. I appreciate it.”
“Well, you can demonstrate that appreciation right now. Lie down on your back. Pretend you’re on the exam table.”
You laughed as you laid back, “Okay.” Justin had you raise your hips so he could slide a towel underneath you. You were pretty sure the set Justin was unboxing was for women, not men, but there was something secretly thrilling about being automatically feminized like that. Justin coated the largest plug with hot lube and worked it inside you. A shudder ripped through your body once it was completely inside, pleasure balancing on just a sliver of pain.
“You okay?” he asked you. You took a few shallow breaths and nodded. “You feel like you’re gonna come?” You nodded again. “Okay, just relax for a couple minutes. Let your body adjust.”
“Okay.”
“Regulate your breathing.”
“I am.”
Justin rubbed your inner thigh from your knee to the edge of the plug. You reached for his hand and held it still for a few seconds. “Tell me what’s going through your mind.”
“Something…different,” you admitted.
Justin moved so you could lay your head in his lap. He stroked your head, “Tell me.”
You couldn’t really explain what was happening in words; the buzzing intensity was overwhelming and everywhere. As you tried to form a thought, Justin was doing something he often does: caressing your cheek. You touched his hand and moved it to your ear lobe. You moved his thumb and index finger into position and showed him how you like to be massaged there. Justin smiled while asking,“This turns you on?”
“It’s oddly comforting to me.”
“Good to know,” he admitted, “I’m still listening.”
“Can I come first? Maybe that will help?” you asked.
“Sure. Roll toward me on your side.” You did as requested and Justin pressed your face against his belly and then guided your hand between your legs. As you began to play with yourself, Justin held you still while pressing on the plug. It activated a wicked ecstasy inside you; he’d found the right spot and he knew it. The feeling was almost too good; your hips battled for control you wouldn’t get, pressing all of the trapped pleasure inside you against the hold he had you in. You moaned into his skin; the orgasm felt almost like a mini-tantrum inside you; it shook your entire body for a few seconds.
And then-all of a sudden-it was over.
Cum coated your fingers…as you started to…fucking…cry.
Not sobbing, not overly dramatic, just unstoppable tears skimming down your face. Justin covered you with an afghan and reassured you, “Just let it out. You’ve had an intense night.”
“I don’t get this,” you admitted.
“Remember downstairs, I told you that I might have stopped you too soon on the machine?”
“Yeah.”
“This is where you were headed. You were probably mid-journey. Welcome to subspace. Please leave your tray table in the upright position.” You sniffed and laughed loudly, basically just snorting. “This is why Brian wants you filled; he doesn’t want you to crash later when you’re home. He wants to keep you level.”
“He likes me, doesn’t he?”
Justin laughed, “Uh, yeah. I would say so. He wouldn’t have brought you into our bed if he didn’t, trust me. You’ll stay with us tonight; I’ll get a car for you in the morning.”
“I can sleep in the dungeon. I’m not afraid to be down there by myself.”
“No, you’ll be right beside me. That’s where I want you. Understand?”
“Yes, Sir. Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome. You earned it.”
You concentrated on getting your hitched breath under control as you laid in his lap. Justin rubbed your back and let you process. His voice was calm and caring when he spoke next, “This is the second time tonight you’ve felt childlike in my arms. You know, in the tub?”
“Right.”
“It’s really important to us to understand your aftercare needs because they matter as much as the scene, if not more. Without it, and especially with the intensity of play you‘re into, you can experience sub or even scene drop. I want you to be aware of these things, okay?”
“Okay.” You pulled the blanket around your shoulders and tucked it against him.
“Having a long-held fantasy fulfilled can be both thrilling during the scene and then grief-inducing after your needs are finally met. You might experience a sense of loss or nothingness as the adrenaline and endorphins drain out. You might feel disconnected afterwards. All of this is normal-“
“This is why you plugged me.”
“Right. To slow your physical transition and help mitigate the rate of those feelings, to help you feel connected.”
“I think my emotions are in a blender right now,” you admitted to him.
He smiled, “Then make them into a delicious smoothie and drink them right back down. You’ve had these desires for so long without resolution that any resolution might make you feel sad or unsettled. And I know you have things to do tomorrow, that you’re getting packed up to move out of your dorm-“
“Yep.”
“So these feelings might get delayed and show up in a few days or something. That's also normal.”
Your response was sincere, “If something feels off, I’ll let you know. I really appreciate how well you take care of me.”
“And make you come until your eyes cross.”
“Yeah, that, too,” you laughed.
Justin then confided in you, “At first, I was really confused when Brian told me to cancel your car, but this is a good thing for us.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, because for us to run a scene instead of him, he needs to have complete trust in each of us-independently and together. And he clearly does based on what he did tonight. And he wanted you to know it, too.”
“I felt like I leveled up with him-“
“Oh, you did. And he asked me if we had something planned tonight.”
“Yeah? Really?”
Justin continued, “He asked me point blank if he would’ve been in a different role. I only said yes; I gave no details. But if we’re going to do this for him, you have to be one hundred percent comfortable with all sides of Brian. You can’t get nervous or jittery. You have to trust me completely and follow my lead.”
You reassured him, “I don’t have a problem with that. I would never break character in a situation like that.”
“How do you know that though?” Justin asked, “Sometimes your nerves get the best of you.”
You pondered his question for a few seconds, “Because Brian would never do that to me. He respects my desires and my mental, uh….“
“Headspace?”
“Right. Exactly. I would never jeopardize his. I swear.”
“Good. That’s what I need to hear. Are you ready to go back to bed?”
“Sure, but may I at least put the sheets in the dryer? I won’t be able to sleep if I don’t.”
Justin laughed at your earnest request, “Of course, go right ahead. Then come right back to me. I want you right next to me tonight.”
**************
JUSTIN’S POV
We all want the same thing out of life, right? We want, at our core level, our humanity acknowledged by someone, and then, if we can secure that, we want a little bit more. We want it cherished. And then, if we’re really honest with ourselves, we’d also like our humanity, our capacity to care for and pleasure one another, to be admired. The key to happiness, you supposed, is securing each one of those golden gifts in the right order, no jumping around. You placed each cement paver along your journey with Dill with care and purpose before using it as your next stepping stone: a bridge between acknowledgment and cherished.
Once Dill made it back upstairs, you were waiting for him in your bed. Brian was sleeping hard, his back turned away from you. In silence, Dill picked his clothes up, folded them and stacked them in a chair. You slid to the middle and pulled him close to spoon him. You kissed the back of his neck, breathing in his fleeting college boy scent and listened carefully to his breathing as he fell asleep.
The following morning, you awoke around seven and both you and Dill snuck out of the bedroom and went to the kitchen. You pulled out eggs, bacon and toast and cooked breakfast while Dill folded the sheets and put them back in the dungeon. Dill was crunching a piece of bacon when you asked him, “You feel okay today?”
“I feel fantastic,” he confirmed.
“Good. When you remove the plug after five, be sure to text Brian and thank him for that gesture. You can jerk off tonight if you want to, but you need to text us first and ask permission. Understood?”
You adore Dill’s unforced brutal honesty, “This conversation is making me horny.”
“Too bad. Nothing before five o’clock and nothing on your own.”
“Because I don’t make those decisions anymore,” he reiterated.
“Exactly.”
Dill lobbed back with a laugh, “But that in itself is what’s making me horny.”
“Again, too bad.”
Brian appeared in the kitchen a minute or so later, nude save an open robe. He kissed you as you gave him his coffee, sat him down at the table, and served him his breakfast. The conversation turned to Dill’s plans for the day as Brian asked, “So where are you moving to?”
Dill explained, “I’m taking my stuff to a storage place for now. I can’t move into my apartment until June first.”
You asked, “So where are you staying until then?”
“Crashing at a friend’s place who already has an apartment.”
You glanced up at Brian, and he met your gaze briefly before going back to his phone. His Sunday morning phone scroll was a forty minute routine. You felt confident to offer, “You can stay here for a couple weeks or at the loft if you want.”
“I don’t want to impose. I’m okay.”
“Don’t you start your job soon?” Brian asked.
Dill nodded, “Yes, but the first couple of weeks are just training and orientation for like half a day. There’s a security protocol there. Government contract.”
“So you need to be in the city to get there?” you queried. “So just stay at the loft. That okay with you, Brian?”
“Of course. Stay with your friend tonight, and then come by my office tomorrow, and I’ll give you a key.”
“You’re too generous,” Dill replied.
Brian then locked you in an intense gaze for several seconds before responding to Dill, “Not really. It won’t be free.”
Dill lobbed back, his fear of Brian waning a bit, “What about a payment plan?”
Brian grinned while never taking his eyes off his screen, “That’s already been worked out. Lucky for you, you had a co-signer.”
“I do?” Dill questioned.
“It’s me,” you offered as conjecture. “It’s always me. Brian makes the money and I pay for everything, right?”
Brian looked up and raised his eyebrow as he responded to you, “Apparently, his college education was so thorough, it’s contagious.”
Dill leaned forward on the table, “Uh, my car’s outside so I’m outta here. This room just got really really small.”
Negotiations 53