Landon had stayed with Jack for a week, then Verity had shown up in New York and sent Landon back to California. Jack knew he’d missed Verity, but it had always been a nostalgic kind of thing where the feeling only resonated dully in the back of his mind. Having Verity back in New York with him was invigorating.

Jack was still healing, but getting better every day. Verity had proved to be a useful resource, helping him with basic shit around the house like laundry and cooking. That was how they found themselves sitting on Jack’s couch with BLTs on their laps and a bag of potato chips open between them.

“Tell me about Aaron,” Jack said, not so much asking the question as demanding an answer. Jack hadn’t brought it up before, but he remembered Landon mentioning it while they were in the hospital.

Verity closed their eyes and inhaled a long breath before sitting their sandwich on the table.

“I’d rather not.”

“I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours,” Jack bartered with a playful nudge.

“It’s really nothing to tell.”

“Not accurate. Landon already told me about your half-naked gentleman caller, so just spit it out.”

“He infuriates me,” Verity sighed.

“Is he a dom?”

“Very much.”

“That’s not your type anyway so what’s the fuss?”

Verity ran the palm of their hand across the short, spiky hairs on the back of their head and angled a sidelong look at Jack.

“It’s been fine.”

“Have you been subbing?” Jack popped a chip into his mouth.

Verity shook their head. “Not exactly.”

“I’m so confused. You’re gonna have to help me out a bit here.”

“He won’t dom me,” Verity shrugged and picked their sandwich back up.

“But he’s a dom?”

“Yes.”

“But he won’t dom you?” Jack scrunched his eyebrows in confusion.

“Yes.”

“Alright…” Jack cast a look in Verity’s direction before raising an eyebrow in question.

“He wants me to dom him.”

“Isn’t that good? You know, since you’re a switch?” Jack was so fucking lost. This sounded like it should be right up Verity’s alley.

“He’s not a sub.”

“But he’ll sub for you?”

“So he says.” Verity twisted their hair into a knot at the back of their head and tucked the ends in so the bun stayed put.

“I don’t know what it is with you and Landon not acknowledging that you have good things right in front of your face. You don’t even know how lucky you are to have that.” Jack felt himself getting angry—a tightening of the muscles in his shoulders as he lamented the miles between him and Callum while his two friends played games with the men who willingly offered their devotion—and their proximity.

“I’m thirty-six years old. I’m not in the market to teach someone how to submit,” Verity protested.

Jack scoffed. “You can’t teach someone how to submit. They either do or they don’t. You can show them different types of play, but the submission, that either comes naturally or not. And if he’s volunteering, then it’s there.”

“It’s complicated,” Verity huffed.

“Sounds like you’re making it complicated. And if you’re fucking, then what is the problem? Just give a little.”

Jack would give anything to be with Callum, and that terrified him. The tension in his shoulders snaked up his neck and down his spine. His appetite evaporated and he set the last bite of sandwich on the table.

“Who said we’re fucking?” Verity asked with a cocky lift of their eyebrows.

“You just sleep naked together?”

The longer Verity took to answer that question, the surer Jack grew that Verity did, in fact, just sleep naked with Aaron.

“What about yours, Daddy?” Verity asked, cleverly manipulating Jack into changing the subject.

“I’ve met someone online,” Jack admitted.

“Where does he live?”

“California.” Jack looked away. “He’s a bit unhappy with me, though.”

“What did you do?” Verity smiled. “I have to admit, I’m pleased that, for once, you’re the one fucking things up.”

“I didn’t fuck anything up,” Jack protested, hoping it was true. It had been almost a week since he’d spoken to Callum last, but Jack was doing his best to respect that Callum had asked for space to sort out his feelings.

The relationship they’d found themselves in was hurting them both, and it wasn’t fair. Callum didn’t want to do anything long distance anymore and, at the end of the day, there was nothing between them except distance and maybe the first pangs of an affection beyond lust.

“Maybe I did,” he amended. “I’ll tell you, but it’s between us, okay?”

“Ooh!” Verity grinned, eyes sparkling. “I do love a good secret.”

“You need to know I didn’t know who I was getting involved with when it happened. I just found out.”

“That’s ominous.”

Jack glanced up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. He looked around his apartment, a tiny one bedroom in New York that he paid an arm and a leg for that barely contained the life he’d built for himself then he shifted his attention to Verity.

“It’s Callum,” he blurted.

Verity blinked a few times. “Callum?”

Jack nodded.

“Callum, the bartender at Rapture, Callum,” they said, not asking, already knowing their Callum was also Jack’s Callum.

Verity rubbed their lips with their fingers and clenched their teeth together in a grimace that looked a lot like an uncomfortable and forced smile.

“Huh.” Verity shrugged their shoulders then nodded as if having a conversation with themself that Jack wasn’t a part of.

“Huh?”

Verity pushed out their lip in thought. “I just never pegged him for a sub.”

“You better have never pegged him at all.”

Verity held their hand to their chest. “That’s such a good line, Daddy, it should have been mine.”

Jack swatted their hands away and faced Verity with a hopeful look on his face.

“He’s mad at me because I went MIA in the hospital. He’s not really talking to me right now and I think it put a lot of things in perspective.”

“And what’s the forecast?”

“He doesn’t want to be involved long distance.” Anymore, Jack amended silently. Callum was far more willing to admit the way he felt for Jack had escalated, and Jack was…well, Jack was scared of losing what he had now by reaching for more.

“That is an issue, you know. All those flyover states between here and there.”

“Believe me, I know.” Jack leaned back into the couch. “The last time we talked, he told me that he needed to think about things, but even before I’d gotten sick I told him I would plan for an August trip so we could meet.”

“That’s not that far,” Verity pointed out.

“I know.” Jack sighed, taking stock of his apartment again. The flat-pack entertainment center he’d put together in the hallway because he didn’t have enough mobility in the living room to get the long pieces of pressboard aligned, his tiny kitchen with the sink shoved into the corner beside the rare, full size refrigerator.

A life with Callum wouldn’t be a bad life, but what about when Callum bored of him? Matured and didn’t want a Daddy hovering around him anymore. His brain and heart were at war and his cock kept jumping in too. Jack didn’t want things to change, but didn’t want to go forever without knowing…

“But.”

“But I don’t think I want to wait that long,” Jack admitted, tracing the parquet pattern of his floor with his eyes. That was such a New York thing, and he used to love it but didn’t even care anymore. He didn’t want New York things; he wanted Callum things.

“Come to LA with me then,” Verity said, as if it were that easy.

“One, that’s ridiculous. Two, I’m slammed at work. I can’t get any time off approved until August anyway.”

“No, I mean come to LA with me,” they repeated with new emphasis.

Jack pulled back and scrunched his eyebrows together in doubt. “I can’t just move to LA, Verity.”

“Of course you can.”

“So, what, then? Give a short notice and find someone to sublet and just move across the country?”

It wasn’t that easy.

“Just like that,” Verity confirmed. “You don’t even need furniture. You can come stay with me and Landon until you get situated.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Maybe,” they agreed.

“Irresponsible,” Jack countered.

“Don’t act like you don’t have a savings account. You make good money and you’ve been single for years.” Verity rolled their eyes.

“When?”

“This weekend.”

“I can’t just…” Jack began to protest before letting his complaints fall mute.

He thought about the last call he’d had with Callum. They’d watched a movie together, but things had still ended poorly. After Callum’s outburst about not wanting to be involved long distance, Jack hadn’t had anything better to offer him.

Beyond his own fears, it seemed insane to move across the country for someone who wasn’t even speaking to him right now. That was more careless than the idea of making the actual move itself. He fished his phone out of his pocket and navigated to Callum’s name, lamenting the physical and emotional distance between them right now.

Before he could even put his phone away he received a reply.

His heart ached. His cock throbbed. It was impossible to think about Callum without both things happening simultaneously.

When was the last time Jack had taken a risk? Was Callum worth it? Worth conquering the barriers his brain kept throwing up? Was it worth losing Callum now because he was scared about losing him later?

“Yeah, you can,” Verity told him.

“Yeah,” Jack said with a nod, vocalizing the decision before he could talk himself out of it. “Okay.”

“You’re going to come to LA with me?” Verity asked, eyes wide.

“Yeah. Fuck it.” Jack stood. “Bowie and Joseph are gone. You and Landon are gone. There’s nothing keeping me here.”

“You’re gonna quit your job and move to LA this weekend?” Verity’s lip tipped up in a smirk.

Jack nodded, getting his brain all the way on board with the idea. The idea of following Verity across the country didn’t seem as far-fetched as it had five minutes ago. Jack was good at his job and could get something in LA for sure. He could sublet the place here. It wouldn’t even sit empty for that long with how on demand apartments were in the city. The technical parts of the move would be easy.

“Are you going to tell Callum?” Verity asked.

“No. I’ll surprise him.”

“Are you going to pull up in a white limo and hang out the sunroof with an umbrella?” Verity laughed and held their hand up in the air like they were wielding a sword.

“No,” Jack said with a laugh. “I’ll just come to the club with you when we get there.”

“We should book a flight then.”

Everything that happened after Jack and Verity landed at LAX was a blur. The ride to the bar had been spent in a silence that was somehow both nervous and exhausted. Jack was astounded to see Rapture in person for the first time; pictures he’d seen had never really done it justice.

The old church building was grand with gorgeous brickwork that was still crumbling in some places, the stained glass that reflected the parking lot lights with an unmatched splendor. Jack hadn’t ever been prouder of his friends and what they’d done since leaving New York.

He told Verity as much before they went inside.

Once through the doors, the whirlwind accelerated with an overly-excited Landon practically jumping into his arms. Landon hauled him toward the bar, introducing him to the infamous Gregory and a spattering of other friends, including Aaron, the physically impressive specimen of a man that had caught Verity’s eye.

After searching the space and not finding Callum anywhere, Jack settled for making small talk with a man named Justin, who he found out worked at Cedars Sinai. Jack, of course, disclosed he was a physical therapist and nearly doubled over in shock when Justin said the hospital was looking for one. He offered Jack an in with an interview the following week, which was enough to boost Jack’s optimism about the move to LA being the right decision.

Then…a voice behind him.

“Daddy?”

Jack would recognize that mid-range rasp anywhere and his fucking blood heated in his veins. To hear Callum’s beautiful voice echo in his ears for the first time without the interference of a phone or computer connection was jarring…in the most delicious way.

He’d known Callum would be here, his nerves abating slightly when he’d walked in and found him absent, but his appearance now had sent him right back to his pre-flight jitters. This had been his plan all along, to come to LA with Verity, but repeating that in his head wasn’t enough to balance the shock of finally seeing Callum in the flesh. In person, he was far more handsome than Jack could have dreamed, his green eyes nearly fluorescent they glowed so bright.

Jack opened his mouth to speak and found himself at a loss for words. His kitten, his precious Callum, was only feet away from him for the first time. Jack grinned, counting his good luck.

“Kitten.”

Callum grabbed the edge of the bar and stared at Jack, his mouth hanging open in shock. His knees wobbled, and Jack rushed to him, wrapping his arms around Callum and holding him up.

“Is there someplace private we can go?” Jack asked over Callum’s shoulder, completely uninterested in the gossip and confusion going on between the other people in the room.

“There’s a room upstairs in the loft.” Landon pointed, his face etched with confusion.

Jack walked Callum past his friends and up the stairs, opening the first door he came to then guided Callum inside. Callum’s body was trembling; his shoulders shook with restraint. Jack rubbed his hands reassuringly up and down Callum’s back, whispering sweet words and promises into his ear.

Callum sniffled and rubbed his forehead from side to side across Jack’s shirt before he pulled back and looked up.

God, his fucking eyes looked like gemstones.

“Why are you here?” Callum asked with a whimper.

“Because it’s where you are,” Jack admitted, using his thumbs to wipe the tears from Callum’s cheeks, but as fast as he wiped, more took their place.

“When do you go back home?” Callum asked.

“I am home, kitten.”

“What?” Callum choked on a full sob, burying his face back against Jack’s tear-soaked shirt.

“I’m moving.”

“Because of me?” Callum asked with the absolute slightest edge of hope in his voice.

“You were an attractive selling point, kitten, I won’t lie.”

“The past week was awful. I was trying to figure out how to break up with you.” Callum laughed bitterly.

Jack’s heart skipped a beat and he pushed Callum back so he could see his face. “You don’t want to be with me?”

“No!” Callum nearly shouted, his hands coming up, fingers fisting into Jack’s shirt and holding him in place. “I do! I do. I really do, but you know why.”

“The distance,” Jack assumed.

Callum nodded, his tears finally slowing then stopping.

“Do you still want to break up with me?” Jack asked hesitantly, but needing to know where they stood.

“God, no.” Callum refreshed his hold on Jack’s shirt and pulled their bodies closer together.

Jack enveloped Callum in his arms and held him, breathing in the smell of his soap, his hair, his cologne. He ran a hand down the back of his head and felt the silky brown strands of hair under his fingers as his other hand counted the knobs of Callum’s spine. He was met with a sudden urgency to make up for the last three months that had them held a continent apart. He pressed his cheek against Callum’s temple near his ear before he whispered.

“Then let’s get you out of here, kitten.”