CHAPTER FIVE
The next Saturday, from the moment he woke up, Luke bounced from one thing to another, unable to sit still as he came up with a long list of reasons why that evening was going to be a disaster. Jack hadn’t come by the farmer’s market that week, which was probably for the best since Luke would have been a babbling mess.
When Trish called, needing someone to fill in at the diner, he jumped at the chance to have something to do. His only other prospect—an afternoon of shelling beans while watching baseball—was making him lose his mind.
“I’ll have to leave at 7:15,” he told his aunt. If he brought the clothes Jack wanted him to wear, that would give him plenty of time to get to the club and change before meeting Jack.
“Hot date?” she asked.
“Um…”
She whistled. “So it is like that.”
“Aunt Trish, do you want me to take the shift or not?”
“Not with that smart mouth, I don’t.”
Luke rolled his eyes even though she couldn’t see him. “Stop teasing me, and I won’t need to smart-mouth you.”
“You know that’s never going to happen, but I won’t say anything about it when you’re here. Come on as soon as you can. You can leave whenever you have to. Lucy said she could work this evening if I really need her.”
“Okay, I’ll be on my way in a few minutes.”
Things weren’t all that busy when Luke got to the diner. He used the lull in customers to do some cleaning and reorganizing, hoping to avoid Trish. If she caught him alone, she’d demand more information about his plans. Soon enough, the elderly brigade started showing up for the early-bird specials.
Irene and Elsie, the town’s gossip queens, walked through the door around five, followed by a few other women from their church circle. Wondering what wild talk he’d hear tonight, Luke made his way to their table.
“Good evening, ladies, what can I bring you to drink?”
“I need a beer,” Elsie announced.
One of the women with her gasped.
“Oh, hush, Myrtle Ellen; you know I’m no teetotaler and neither was Jesus.”
Myrtle Ellen looked like she might faint, but she didn’t say anything else.
“What kind of beer would you like?” Luke asked.
“Coors Light, honey.”
“You got it.”
“Make that another one for me,” Irene said.
Miss Myrtle Ellen was next to order. She pursed her lips and glanced at the menu as if she didn’t know what the selections were. “I’ll have a sweet tea.”
Miss Linda, the last of the group, nodded. “Same for me.”
“I’ll be right back with those drinks.” Luke fought the urge to laugh as he turned away. Elsie and Irene were studying the menu like they didn’t have a care in the world. Myrtle Ellen was busy glaring at them, and Linda just watched it all, like a nervous hen.
Sometimes this town was too much, but Luke had been here his whole life. He wondered how people who moved here as adults dealt with it all.
“What’s up over there?” Trish asked when he reached the counter.
“Elsie and Irene ordered beer.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake.”
“I don’t think Miss Myrtle Ellen believes heaven wants anything to do with them.”
Trish snorted. “She’s so sanctimonious. She ought to go to the Tabernacle. Too bad she married a Methodist and took his church along with his name.”
Luke laughed as he put the drinks on a tray; then he headed back to the lively table.
“Do you know what you’d like to eat?” he asked as he passed the glasses and bottles around.
“I’ll have the meatloaf special,” Irene said.
Elsie was next. “I’ll take a chicken sandwich with potato salad on the side.”
“Are you sure?” Irene asked. “The meatloaf’s real good.”
“I can order for myself.”
Elsie was in quite a mood tonight.
“I’ll have the grilled-chicken salad with low-fat ranch.” Was Myrtle Ellen on a diet? No wonder she was grumpy.
Linda ordered last again. “Meatloaf for me too, please.”
“Excellent choices, ladies. I’ll have your orders as soon as I can.”
“I haven’t seen you working here in ages,” Elsie said before he could get away.
“I’m filling in for Ava. She needed to get off her feet.”
“Oh, poor thing. I bet she did. She’s due in a few weeks, right?”
Luke nodded.
“Well, how are you? You seem in good health.”
“I’m doing just fine. Same as usual.”
“No,” Elsie said after studying him for a few moments. “Something’s changed. You look older somehow.”
“Please tell that to Miss Julianne. When she came to visit she thought I was fifteen.”
Elsie rolled her eyes. “That woman needs her eyes examined.”
Irene huffed. “She’s too stubborn to wear her glasses; always was.” Then she turned to Luke. “What’s a fine young man like you doing free on a Saturday?”
“Um… I’m actually leaving early.”
“There.” Elsie slapped Irene’s arm. “I told you.”
Surely they didn’t know about Jack.
“Well, that is good,” Irene said.
“What is?”
“I’m assuming your mama’s quit trying to keep you home all the time.”
Luke sighed. “She doesn’t exactly know all my plans.”
“Well, I hate to tell anyone to defy their mother,” Irene said, “but good for you for setting some boundaries.”
Luke smiled. “Thank you.”
He hadn’t even told Mama he was leaving work early. She’d probably assume he’d come home when the diner closed and go to bed. Hopefully, she wouldn’t check on him. There’d be hell to pay if she did.
When he brought the bill for Elsie and Irene’s table, Elsie said, “You have fun tonight. Enjoy getting out for a bit.”
Heat filled his face. Partly from the fact that these women had a more active social life than he did, and partly because if anyone knew exactly what he was up to, he’d never be able to show his face at Trish’s again.
“I’m sure I will.”
Elsie grinned. “I bet your date will too.”
“That would make me very happy,” he said as he headed to another of his tables.
Pleasing Jack was the main thing he’d thought about since he’d left the club last week. But how was he supposed to do that when he had no experience? Jack had said they’d take it slow, but what exactly did that mean? He’d never even kissed anyone. Did Jack kiss the subs he played with? He knew some Doms didn’t. Was that all Luke would be to him, a play partner?
He shouldn’t expect more than that, but whatever was between them could grow, right?
Why would Jack want more than that with some inexperienced kid? You had to beg him to agree to see you at all.
That wasn’t precisely true. Jack had been as hard as Luke from the moment they’d entered Richard’s office. Jack wanted Luke’s body, even if he wasn’t sure about anything else.
The diner stayed busy, and 7:15 came before Luke knew it.
“I’ve gotta go,” he told Trish as he took off his apron.
“That’s fine. The crowd is starting to die down.”
He kissed her cheek. “Thanks for calling me.”
“You be careful wherever you’re going.”
He would be. Jack would see to that.
“Aunt Trish?”
“Yes?”
“Would you mind not mentioning that I left early if Mama calls?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I’m not going to lie for you.”
“I’m twenty-one years old, and my mom still thinks I have a curfew.”
Trish sighed. “She worries about you.”
“I know, but—”
“I won’t volunteer any information, but I won’t lie outright.”
“Thank you. That’s all I was asking for.”
“I’m glad to know that. But you should—”
“Tell her what I’m doing, even if it makes her mad.”
Trish beamed. “I knew you were a smart boy.”
“You’re the only one.”
She grabbed his arm. “Luke, if you need to talk about life at home or about this date or anything else, I’m here, and while I don’t lie, I can keep a secret as long as no one’s getting hurt.”
His throat constricted. He was so damn lucky to have people who cared so much about him, even if they drove him nuts sometimes. “Thank you. That means a lot.”
It was all he could do to keep his mind on the road as he drove to the Edge. He was half hard, and he couldn’t stop thinking about all the things he hoped Jack would do to him. Jack had emailed him a long list of kinks and told him to go through it and be ready to tell him the things he wanted to do, things he might want, things he’d be willing to try, and things that were hard limits. Some he could answer right away, but there were others he had to Google because he’d never heard of them; a few of them were things he hadn’t known were humanly possible, and a couple of others were grab-the-eye-bleach horrors. He couldn’t wait to find out how similar his list was to Jack’s.
***
Jack drained the last of his club soda and lime. When he set down the glass, he saw Luke headed his way. Good thing he hadn’t still been drinking, or he’d have been in danger of choking. Luke had dressed exactly as Jack had told him to—those damn too-tight jeans and a blue button-down that matched his eyes. He looked unbelievably gorgeous and so damn young.
Enjoy this while it lasts.
That’s what he needed to do. In scene space, their age difference wouldn’t matter.
Luke stopped in front of Jack’s barstool, his uncertain gaze cast down.
“You can meet my eyes. I want to see your reactions.”
When Luke glanced up, Jack’s breath caught. “Besides, your eyes are gorgeous.”
Luke started to turn away, but Jack caught his chin. “I said I like eye contact.”
“Yes…Sir.”
Jack softened his expression. “I have a private room reserved, but first we’re going to talk about the list I sent you.”
“Out here?”
Jack inclined his head toward a secluded corner. “Yes. There’s an empty booth over there.”
Jack picked up a duffel bag that had been hanging from the back of his stool. Luke hoped it contained toys for their scene. He followed Jack to the table, and they slid into seats facing each other.
“I love how you instinctively submitted to me, but while we’re here talking, I don’t expect that from you. You can answer my questions any way you want.”
“Okay,” Luke said.
He seemed uncomfortable, more so than when he’d entered. Jack laid a hand over his. “I know this isn’t easy, but I don’t like to negotiate limits while we’re in the scene space. If we talk out here, then once we enter our private room, we can take on our roles and keep to them until we’re done.”
Luke nodded. “That makes sense.”
He still looked nervous, but hopefully Jack would be able to put him at ease. He reached into his bag, pulled out his iPad, and opened the spreadsheet he’d made combining Luke’s list and his own. Then he turned the tablet so Luke could see.
“You made a spreadsheet of our kinks?”
Luke’s incredulous expression brought heat to Jack’s face. “I know that’s not very sexy.”
Luke grinned. “Actually… I kind of love it, but then I do want to get a degree in accounting.”
Just one more reason why Luke was perfect for him. “We have a lot in common.”
Luke glanced down and scrolled through the columns. “Yeah, we do.”
“There’s nothing on your hard-limits list that I’m interested in. And nothing you want that I’m not willing to try.”
“T-that’s good.”
Jack smiled. “It is, but I also know that seeing or thinking about something is different from experiencing it. I want to challenge you and help you overcome any fears about trying the things on this list, but I will also understand if you change your mind, because fantasy and reality are very different. You can use your safeword anytime, for any reason, even if it’s to tell me your hair is tickling your face or a cuff is too tight or you want to try something slightly different. Using it is never wrong, and you will never be punished for it.”
“W-will I be punished for other things?” Luke asked.
“Not while you’re learning and not like you may be thinking.”
“H-how would you do it?”
“I’d like to save that for a surprise, but since spanking is something you desire, it won’t be that.”
“Oh…okay.” His cheeks were flushed, and he was chewing his lower lip in that way that drove Jack wild. Jack wanted to yank him across the table and kiss him until he couldn’t breathe. Instead he took a deep breath.
“Do you have any questions?”
“When you said you’d teach me about waiting today, does that mean we aren’t going to have sex this time?”
“You do know that some people don’t ever include sex as part of their scenes, right?”
Luke frowned. “I read that, but I don’t get it. I started fantasizing about this stuff when I was jerking off, and then I found porn that showed what I wanted, and I realized I wasn’t the only one.”
Jack grinned. “No, you certainly aren’t, but for some people the pleasure is all in the power exchange.”
“Don’t they get turned on just thinking about it?”
“Some do, even if they don’t have sex with their play partners, but all that matters to us is that we do and we both want our time together to include sex.”
“But it won’t today?”
“That’s right, because we are taking things slowly.”
Luke groaned. “I want to give you pleasure.”
Nicely phrased. “I think we’ll both find pleasure in what we do today, but it won’t end in fucking. Before we go further, I want to be sure you’re comfortable with the type of submission I desire.” He gave Luke a slow once-over, wearing his best Dom expression. “You do want to learn to submit, right?”
Luke licked his lips. “Yeah, I do.” His words were breathy and low.
Perfect. Jack had been hoping he could affect him with a look as easily as Luke affected him. “Are you ready to go to our scene room now?”
Luke nodded. “Yes, Sir.”
“Then follow me.”
He rose and walked away, certain Luke would follow. The thrill that certainty sent through him was enough to have his cock questioning the idea of going slow.
He unlocked the door and gestured for Luke to enter. The room had a cushioned table about as wide as a twin bed, with ring bolts placed around the edge for restraints. There were also a few chairs and a spanking bench. Jack didn’t intend to use anything but the chairs today, but he loved watching Luke’s expression as he took in the room’s possibilities.
“Stand by the table, arms at your sides. Don’t move or speak unless I ask you to.”
Luke did as he was told. Jack took several moments to simply observe him. His hands were shaking, and he held himself rigid.
Jack moved behind Luke and laid his hands on his shoulders. Luke jumped.
“I’m sorry, Sir.”
“Relax.” Jack whispered the word right by his ear. He squeezed Luke’s shoulders, massaging them to work out the tension.
“I want you to give me your honest reactions to what I ask of you. I want your obedience, but I also need you to be honest about what you’re feeling.”
“I… I will, Sir.”
Jack moved his hands down Luke’s back, massaging the muscles along his spine, and felt some of his tension melt away.
“What are you feeling right now?”
“I—I’m scared.”
“I won’t do anything to you that you don’t want. You understand that, right?”
Luke nodded. “That’s not what I’m scared of.”
“Then tell me what it is.”
“I’m scared I won’t please you.”
Jack moved in front of him and tilted his head up. “The fact that you care about pleasing me is all I need today.”
He took one of Luke’s hands and pressed it to his erection. “You feel that? I’ve been hard since you walked in.”
Luke’s eyes widened. “You have?”
“Yes. And it’s not the first time I’ve had that reaction around you. I’ve wanted you for months. Since I started coming to the market.”
“Really?”
“Just seeing you is all it takes to make my cock swell. After learning that you’re a sub, I was in danger of being like this permanently.” He rubbed Luke’s palm along the length of his erection.
Luke moaned.
“Mmm, that’s the kind of response I want—relaxed, honest.”
“I want to suck you,” Luke said.
“I know, but you’re not ready for that yet.”
“Please.”
Jack raised his brows. “I’m the one who determines what we do and when.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“What do you want to use as your safeword?”
Luke frowned. “I’m not sure.”
“Some people use red, especially when they’re starting out, because most of us associate it with stop, but if there’s something you’ll remember more easily, use that instead.”
“How about ‘Nebraska’?”
That was one he hadn’t heard before. “Sure.”
“It’s like the least sexy place I can think of.”
Jack laughed. “Then it’ll work great. You say ‘Nebraska,’ and I’ll stop immediately.”
“Okay. Um, Jack? Sir?”
“Yes?”
“I’ve got scars. On my chest. From all the surgeries.”
Jack brushed Luke’s hair off his face and cupped his cheek. “I figured you did. That doesn’t bother me, not one bit.”
“Al-all right. I just didn’t want to shock you.”
Jack’s heart swelled. Luke deserved to be cared for, cherished, but not because he was fragile; because he was so strong, so willing to pursue what mattered to him, even when he was scared of being found lacking.
Jack undid the first button on Luke’s shirt. Luke held completely still as Jack’s fingers skimmed over his chest.
“Don’t hold your breath.”
Air whooshed out; then Luke inhaled slowly, his chest rising under Jack’s hands.
“Much better.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
That soft voice, the way Luke knew how to respond without any coaxing, was such a fucking turn-on. Luke might be nervous, but once he got more comfortable with his role, he could easily be the hottest sub Jack had ever been with.
And you really think you’ll walk away from him after you’ve taught him what he needs to know?
I’ll have to.
Jack could feel his conscience laughing at him.