Our eyes meet, and it’s a loaded gaze. I’ve looked Drake in the eye a million times before, but suddenly, any eye contact between us now feels different, as if our connection has been magnified, blown up to one million percent its original size, and I’m not sure how I get it back to the way it was. I’m not sure I even want to.
“Why haven’t you ever settled down?” I ask carefully.
He swallows, gazing back up at the ceiling. When I push his leg a little closer to his body, he winces. “I don’t know. I never felt what Hunter did.”
“What do you mean?”
“I remember the day he saw you for the first time. When you were walking across the street in that emerald green dress and those black sandals, he couldn’t take his eyes off you. Then, he couldn’t stop talking about you, and we started going back to that corner every day just to see you. It was a really big deal, and I just kept waiting to feel what he felt that day, but it never really happened.”
“I remember that dress,” I reply, distracted by the fact that Drake remembered what I was wearing that day ten years ago.
“I never saw you wearing it again after that day.”
“You know…not everyone meets their spouse like that. It’s not actually that normal to be as sure as Hunter was. Some people know their soul mates for years before realizing it.”
“I know,” he says, as I release his leg and move toward the other. “But that’s what I want. I don’t want to settle for less.”
“You’ll find someone,” I say, feeling a hint of disappointment at the thought.
Heaving a sigh, he looks up at me. And just like that, the tension is back. He must feel it too, because he immediately says, “Let’s make a deal to always be open with each other. Whatever you’re feeling, you have to tell me. I don’t want to do anything to hurt you or Hunter.”
“Me neither,” I add.
“So we have to communicate everything. No matter how awkward or painful it is.” There is such sincerity in his eyes.
“I know.”
“Deal?” he asks.
“Deal,” I reply.
Rule #14: Some people need to be tied up.
Hunter
Drake,Isabel, and I are gathered around a table in the back of the Crescent City Kink Club in the middle of a rope bondage workshop. The instructor is a beautiful woman named Silla, tall and slender with a soft voice and a beaming bright smile. It’s hard to focus on what she’s teaching us and the dozen other couples and groups here to learn when she levels those dazzling hazel eyes on us.
Drake is having the same problem. I can tell by the way his eyes cascade down her body, licking his lips as his gaze settles on the shimmering dark flesh busting out of her thin white bra.
“Will you two pay attention, please?” Isabel whispers.
Drake and I both chuckle, hiding our shameless smiles, as Silla instructs us to pick up the long black rope. Each of us holds a strand as she walks us through some basic knots. Isabel picks it up easily while Drake and I fumble, causing more unintentional knots than what we’re supposed to be creating.
Things between us have been surprisingly comfortable today. When they both came back from the gym this morning, they were wearing smiles and joking like they used to. They were both worried about nothing. It’s still us. This changes nothing.
I don’t want to rush things, but last night was so incredible that I can’t wait to do it again. I need to see those two together as badly as I need Isabel for myself. We haven’t even had sex today, which means I’m still a pent-up mess from last night.
“Now, I’d like for you to pick one person in your group to be the rigger and another to be the submissive.” And when Drake and I stare at her blankly, she continues with a playful grin. “The rigger will be the person doing the tying. The submissive will be the one being tied up.”
We look in unison at Isabel, who immediately shakes her head.
“Not it,” she chirps. “I got tied up last time. I think one of you should try it tonight.”
“Well, Drake got to tie you up last time. Isn’t it my turn?” I ask.
“Nope. Why don’t you tie him up tonight?”
My cheeks heat with a flush as I widen my gaze at her. Is she doing this on purpose?