(Pictured above is Tai)
Chapter 3 Where the Wild Things Are
Payton
"That's three weeks down Pay, I think we've got this college thing under control," Tommy says as we walk towards our dorm after our Friday classes were over. It's only 1:30 in the afternoon since we both only have 2 classes on Fridays; one from 10 to 11:45 and the other from 12:00 to 1:15.
"Hey, there's Ashton," I point to our friend coming from the other side of campus. We stop and wait for him to catch up. I'd finally gotten over my crush on him, well mostly, and we'd become really good friends. I really respected his easy going demeanor; he was smart, but he didn't need to make sure everyone knew that, and he was one of the few people I could sit with for a long period of time without feeling the need to make conversation. Plus he was really cool, rocking the whole country boy & motorcycle bad boy thing all at once.
Ashton had introduced us to his friends Chris and Tai two weeks ago at Chris' party. We'd met up with them a few times last week and this week to grab dinner when we got sick of campus food. Chris also had us over to his place again on Wednesday night for pizza, beer and a movie. We all got along really well and had kind of formed our own group. Occasionally even Lane joined us, but he was often busy working at his cousin's boyfriend's club, studying or going to house parties held by people he knew from last year. Lane seemed to hook up a lot, like a real lot, but with us he was just a fun guy who liked to hang out. We were friend-zoned, but that was perfectly fine because it seemed like Lane didn't always treat his hook-ups that well. He categorized people into two groups; friends and hook-ups and didn't like to mix the two.
"Hey Ash," we both say in tandem as he catches up.
"Hey, what are you guys up to?"
"Not too much, thinking about grabbing some lunch," Tommy answers, "do you want to walk over to the burrito place on Tenth Street?"
"Sure." Ashton nods and we head back the way we'd been coming since that's the way to the Mexican place we'd discovered. "So, I was thinking you guys might like to come out with us tonight."
"You, Chris and Tai?" I ask, my interest piqued.
"Yeah."
"Where are you going?" Tommy asks.
"Same club we went to last weekend, but I needed to talk to the guy in charge first, so I didn't invite you guys, it's kind of a private club. He said I could bring you as guests though."
"Is this the one with the mature, trustworthy and responsible man who I should let take my virginity?" I ask with a smirk. Since Ashton's comment that time, I'd gotten okay with him knowing about my 'status'. He was totally cool with it, so I didn't feel embarrassed talking about it in front of him anymore. Ashton cracks a smile; the stone face breaks! I cheered internally. Hell, he had a great smile, sexy even, he should flash it more often.
"Yeah."
"Is it a gay club?" Tommy asks.
"Not really, I mean, there are a lot of gays there, but also heterosexuals, bisexuals, pansexuals, it really doesn't discriminate at all. But there's a lot of sex, so if you're gonna freak out if you see a few naked bodies, you won't want to come."
"Really?" Now he has me really intrigued. "What kind of club is this?"
"It's a kink club...you know, bdsm."
"You're kidding right?" I look at Tommy's surprised face.
"Nope."
"Huh. That could be interesting," Tommy replies. I'm curious too. Not that I could see myself doing any of that stuff, but I'm interested to see what it's all about. I'd read a few things about bdsm, fiction and non-fiction, and found reading those books...well, arousing, to say the least. Okay, maybe they turned me on a lot. Like a real lot. Especially the ones about the big, muscly Dominant guy overpowering the smaller guy. I don't know why I find that so hot, but I do. I just...I didn't think I'd be able to do anything in front of an audience and I'm not too keen on the idea of pain, but it all sounds very out of the realm of any of my experience, which makes me curious. I never really thought about where these clubs might be, I always assumed they were in crazy places like L.A. or maybe New York so I'm surprised to find out that there's one here in Chicago and, that my three new friends are members.
"So, like, would we have to do anything?" I ask Ashton.
"No, you wouldn't be allowed to. You'd be our guests. I'm not even fully trained yet, Chris just finished his training, Tai has a Dom though, his first."
"So you're all, um, submissives?" For some reason I'm surprised about this, I just can't see Ashton as a submissive, he struck me more as a Dom.
"Yeah, well Chris may be a switch, he's still exploring, but Master Matthias, trained him as a submissive since he was leaning more that way, plus Master Matthias thought he needed more control and discipline before he could even think of dominating anyone. If he proves himself as a sub, and he still wants to try Dominance, Master Matthias or one of the other Doms in charge will work with him."
Yeah, sounds like Chris. He's pretty crazy, I bet he'd be enduring a lot of punishments. "It's kind of hard to explain why I want to be a submissive," he continues, "why I want to submit to someone else. I'd have to say it's the control I'll gain when giving up control, if that makes sense. Yes, you're giving up control to your Dominant but doing that gives you control as well. Your Dominant will take care of you, not only financially because that'd make submissives sound like sugar babies and that's not the case Payton. Dominants take care of their submissives physically, sexually, emotionally and mentally. When you submit to a Dominant, they guide you, they teach you and they protect you. Submissives gain control of their mind, their attitude because all they have left to worry about is themselves since the Dominant takes the burden of everything else away. But for me, becoming a submissive is more about finding sexual pleasure with kinks. To me, becoming a submissive is about finding myself."
Wow, not only am I surprised by the content of his answer, but the length as well. Ashton was usually so succinct, but I appreciate the detailed explanation. Not only does it explain more about what a submissive is and why; it gives me deeper insight into who Ashton is, and I figure he's not that open with too many people, so for him to explain himself so thoroughly is like a compliment to us. I'm sure he was reading the surprise and interest on my face, because he blushes slightly and looks away.
As I think about it, I realize his explanation makes the idea of a being a submissive very inviting. I don't want to say anything right away, but his words really hit home and I definitely want to find out more about this club.
"What about Lane? Should we invite him too?" Tommy asks, causing me to look up, and, speak of the devil, he's walking towards us with a big shit eating grin on his face.
"If he wants, he'd just have to...you know, not be so crazy," Ashton says quietly.
"Hey Lane," we all greet him as he reaches us.
"We're going for burritos," Tommy says, "my treat." Ashton and I look at him, that wasn't part of the original plan.
"I'm done for the day and I never turn down a free meal, count me in," Lane replies dropping his skateboard on the sidewalk and grabbing the strap on my backpack so I'd pull him along. Lazy ass.
"I can pay for my own Tommy," I whisper to my friend as we start walking towards Tenth Street.
"No, I want to treat, I just got my stipend from the accountant and I want to blow some of it."
"Alright." I give in because I know Tommy so well. If he wants to do something, he's pretty stubborn about it.
Once we're seated at a table outside the shop, food in hand, Ashton asks Lane if he wants to come out with us tonight.
"I have to work at Mike's club, but why don't you guys come check it out before you go, have a few drinks. You'll like it, it's the best gay club in Chicago and the food is great. The kitchen's open until about 9 and then it turns into your basic dance club full of hot men, especially the ones working the bar."
"And that would be..."
"Me." He flashes us a huge grin. "And a few other hot guys, but I'm the hottest." Lane tells us the address and that if we get there early, we won't have a hard time getting in. The best part, the name, it's aptly called the Backdoor.
"After The Backdoor, we'll head to the Red Door," Ashton chuckles.
"Do you think they planned that?" Tommy asks.
"I don't know," Lane says between bites, "I don't know if Mike even knows that place."
Later that night we meet Chris at the Backdoor. Tai isn't able to join us, but told Chris he'd meet up with us at the Red Door. Yes, it's getting confusing, but as long as we enter the right door at the right time we're good.
The place is hopping full of gay men dancing, gay men drinking, chatting, flirting, all sorts of gaiety. We make our way to the bar where Lane's putting on a show out of making drinks in perfect Lane style. I have to quickly hide my surprise when I see him up close though; wearing black booty shorts, like really short ones too, a black vest with a nametag and black boots. The vest barely covers his muscular chest and for a few minutes I catch myself staring. I have this weird fixation with men's nipples and Lane has really nice perky ones. Hard little nubs that I really want to...
"Hey guys," he calls out, interrupting my errant thoughts as I lick my dry lips. Eyes up Payton, I tell myself and look up at his smiling face. He gives me a wink and I feel my face heat up and I know I'm blushing once again. I hate my traitorous pale skin that blushes at every turn.
"Since you guys can't drink, I'm going to make each of you one of my special non-alcoholic concoctions." Lane proceeds to pull out pineapple and coconut juice, splashes some sprite in and a few other things I don't notice as I look around the bar. "Okay, Lane's Special Virgin Colada," he announces as he hands out the drinks. I immediately feel myself blush again, until I realize he's not making a comment about me, it's just what bartenders call alcohol free drinks.
"Why don't you guys go find a table, I have a break in half an hour and I'll come sit with you," Lane calls over as he begins his next order.
We find a free table where it's not too loud. "This place is pretty cool," Tommy almost shouts above the music. "We should dance." Ashton gives him a look that says, 'not likely,' Chris glances over at the crowd with mild interest and I just blush and look down. "Payton...come on. You promised."
"I did?" My brow crinkles in confusion as I try to remember when I promised. I mean, it's quite possible, I always forget things like that and some of the time, though, I'll never tell him, when Tommy's talking a lot I often zone out and think of the book I'm reading or ideas for short stories I want to write. Reading and writing are my hobbies and I always find myself getting caught up when a book is really good, to the point where it's all I can think about until I'm finished.
"You did," he confirms interrupting my thoughts. "Come on, just for a couple of songs."
I stand up and look at Chris, but he's already talking to someone he knows at the table next to us. I look at Ashton, he gives me a small smirk. "Thanks dude," I mumble, "love the compassion." Of course, everyone who knows me, knows that I would do anything for Tommy, just as he would do the same for me. Tommy loves to dance, so I can fake my way through a few songs on the dance floor for him.
Thirty minutes later, after a few, "just one more's," I spot Lane heading to our table. "Let's go see Lane," I shout to Tommy and, before he can answer, bump my way out of the overly touchy feely crowd. Yeah, I'd gotten my ass pinched a dozen times, some dude tried to do that grinding dance against my butt, and some big hairy biker guy placed himself at the edge of the dancefloor and stared at every move I made until I danced my way out of his line of vision.
Tommy, on the other hand, garnered the most attention with his long flowing...perfect hair and his tall, graceful body. His guys just seemed more normal; what is it about a red haired guy that brings out the weirdos.
"Hey, you guys didn't have to come off the dance floor for me," Lane shouts when we get to the table. "It looked like that blonde guy was about to make his move on you Tommy, and Payton, you've got your own daddy bear ready to make you his cub."
Sitting down I glare at Lane who seems to find himself exceptionally funny. "I don't like hairy guys," I grumble. "Some hair, but not a lot, there is such a thing as grooming." I look in the direction of the 'bear' as Lane described him and his dark eyes are trained on me. "Yeah, so we can go any time," I suggest.
"Let's hang out with Lane until his break is over," Chris says, "then we can go, we might be able to hang out with Tai for a bit before he gets tied up with..." Chris begins laughing before he can finish his sentence. "Get it," he blurts out, trying to get his chuckles under control.
"What?" Lane askes.
"Never mind him," Ashton says. "His mouth is bigger than his brain."
Lane seems to know a lot of the people at the Backdoor and introduces us to a lot of them before he has to go back to work. Several guys handed Ashton their phone numbers, but before we leave, I see him drop them in a garbage can. When he catches me watching he shrugs his shoulders slightly with a blank, noncommittal look. I just give him an understanding smile, it's weird to meet people that way. I don't know, the bar scene was never my thing, I only came because my friends wanted to. To me, many of the guys in bars like this seem so...desperate. I mean, yeah, coming from me, but I don't feel desperate. Actually, I'm usually the opposite, I'm not comfortable making the small take that you have to do to meet people in a bar. It all seems so fake. I honestly don't think any of the guys I've met in a bar really care what my major is, what I think of Chicago or what my favourite baseball team is, just like I don't really care the same about them. It seems like it's some dance or game they play as a means to an end and I wasn't good at playing it, so I preferred to stay on the sidelines and watch.
Tommy once told me I was an introvert, I knew roughly what it meant, but when I googled it, I realized he was absolutely right. The online dictionary described it as "A term introduced by the psychologist Carl Jung to describe a person whose motives and actions are directed inward. Introverts tend to be preoccupied with their own thoughts and feelings and minimize their contact with other people." What really hit home was something I read on Wikipedia, that introverts are people "whose energy tends to expand through reflection and dwindle during interaction." That was totally me, I always needed to recharge after socializing too much. It did say that people have both traits, just that one sometimes dominates over the other and I guess I got too much of the introvert side. I was pretty sure Ashton was like that too, but we all knew that Tommy and Chris were our group's extroverts and I was pretty sure that Tai was somewhere in between.
So basically, what it came down to was, that I'm screwed because I suck at the kind of interaction you have to do to find a boyfriend. I'm doomed.
"Why the long face," Tommy asks.
"Huh, oh nothing, just thinking about stuff."
"Well the guys want to head over to this Red Door place, are you ready to get out of here?"
"Yes!" I quickly stand up causing Tommy to chuckle at me. I had been thinking about what Ashton said all afternoon and I was really, uncharacteristically, excited to check out this private club. Maybe it's different, maybe it's the kind of place I'll do better in...I just don't know.
"Okay guys, a few house rules," Chris announces as we walk down the block to our next destination. "No staring, no gawking, no making fun of things that you see, it's gonna be different, just be cool and don't act like it's your first rodeo."
I look at Chris, "what does that even mean? We're not stupid."
"Chris, you're leaving out the real important stuff," Ashton mutters.
"Fine, you tell them."
"So, you know there are Doms and there are subs; you'll pretty much be able to tell who is who, but when in doubt, better to assume they're a Dom," Ashton explains.
"Don't piss off a Dom!" Chris warns.
"How would we piss them off?" Tommy asks.
"Don't stare at them, don't question their authority, if they ask you something answer politely, look down unless they say otherwise, just..."
"Kiss their asses," Chris finishes. Tommy and I both look at him with the same expression on our faces, 'really?'
"No," Ashton sighs, "just be polite and treat them with respect. Don't be overly loud or stupid and you'll be fine. You'll have to sign an NDA and read a waiver anyway, it will list some of the important rules also."
"An NDA?"
"Non-Disclosure Agreement, just that you can't talk about anybody or anything you see in the club outside of it. A lot of the people who go here are businessmen or...just important people and they like their privacy."
"What goes on at the Red Door stays in the Red Door," Chris adds.
"I think we can handle this," Tommy says rolling his eyes.
"And don't ever do that at a Dom," Chris cautions.
"Yeah, yeah, we all saw the movie, read the book." Everyone looks at me like I have two heads. "What? I...I read a lot."
"Whatever, come on, let's go." We follow Chris and soon approach the building. There's a long line in front, but Chris takes us to a side door, a metal door with two bouncers sitting on stools on either side of it. Chris and Ashton show them some sort of ID cards and when they look at us Ashton says something which makes them nod and open the door. As we step forward one of the bouncers stops me and Tommy.
"Um, we're with them," I say nervously, these guys are big and even their muscles have muscles.
"Yeah, you need bracelets. Red or white?"
Tommy and I look at each other. "It's not a fashion statement," the guy growls, "white - nobody talks to you, red - they can talk, but no sex. You're not a member, so you have to choose one."
"White," I say at the same time Tommy says, "Red."
"Red," I correct as everyone looks at me and my face heats up. We're handed the bracelets and made to put them on in front of the bouncers. "Stop at the sign-in table and talk to Cindy, tell her it's your first time, there's some paperwork."
"Okay," Tommy says, flashing a smile and pulls me inside with him. "You could have gone with white if you felt more comfortable," Tommy whispers.
"Nah, I'm okay." Inside, Chris points out a door to the public part of the club that people waiting in the long line out front are going to, we went the other way and there, surprisingly enough is a red door with another bouncer who opens it right away after looking at Chris, Ashton and checking our bracelets. Inside Ashton points out the registration desk we have to go to and after reading and signing the proper paperwork we head into a large room with what looks like a main stage, with smaller stages spread out in other parts of the room. The lighting is dim in parts and brighter in others, there's erotic music playing and a few dancers are writhing on small podiums with stripper poles near the bar.
The bar separates two parts of the club, the other having a dance floor with several guys dancing, or actually grinding each other to music. We wander through and I try not to stare at the outfits some of the people are wearing. I mean, it was straight out of the sites I had seen when I did some quick research before we came. Lots of black leather, pants on men, corsets and short skirts on women, lots of chains, a whole lot of skin to the point of near nakedness. Leashes, collars, submissives kneeling at their Doms feet. I even see a sub giving his Dom a blowjob, but I quickly avert my eyes. It's almost unnerving to figure out where I should keep my eyes, so I finally just look at Chris' heels as they walk ahead of me.
"Where should we sit?" Ashton asks Chris.
"How about that table over there, it has the best view of the dancefloor and the area where all the sexiest Doms sit, and it's not too far from the bar."
We claim the free table and I let out a sigh of relief. It seems relatively safe to look at the dancefloor so I let my eyes unfocus for a few minutes in that direction.
Ashton
"Drinks?" I ask, my voice coming out low like always, yet they're all able to hear me over the music.
With the orders in mind, I make my way towards the bar. Maneuvering my way through the packed dance floor is a bit of a struggle with my ass getting grabbed and my shirt getting pulled on. Seriously, some of these subs need to be taught how to keep their damn hands to themselves. Shouldering my way past them all, I reach the bar and wait my turn to order. I let my eyes wander the club slowly, taking in all the dancing twinks, prowling Doms, and the big man, Master Matthias, watching over the club from his throne in the VIP area where his friends surround him.
As I continue scanning the club my eyes skim over something, or someone, that makes me do a double take. An intense gaze burns into me from across the room and I feel my breath hitch. From the distance, I can't tell his eye color but his face is that of a God. His sculpted high cheekbones compliment the slight almond shape of his eyes. His broad shoulders are on display as he's shirtless and I swallow the pool of saliva that forms in my mouth at his exposed torso. He doesn't have the cliché washboard abs but the faint outline of a six-pack is present and a nice v-line teasing me as it disappears into his leathers. Fuck. I take a deep breath and try to draw my eyes away from what I can't, but want to see.
I wouldn't mind kneeling at his feet and calling him Master. I blink in surprise at my own thoughts and it suddenly feels as if the temperature in the room is rising. My stomach clenches, my cock strains against my jeans and my hands start sweating. I look back up, not meeting his eyes out of respect to our different statuses in the club. Looking at his lips tells me he's still turned in my direction and the intense feeling tells me he's still watching me. I've never seen him before, not surprising as I only come here for my biweekly training and whenever Chris drags me, at least until I'm fully trained and get my full membership.
"Hey, Ashton!" Someone calls making me look over to see Jacobi watching me with a knowing yet annoyed smirk.
"What?" I ask and he rolls his eyes.
"What? Come give me your order because you're causing a line. Besides, if you keep staring, Master Gideon will probably come bend you over the bar and fuck you if his expression says anything." He laughs and I quickly place the drink orders, all soda since we're still underage.
"His expression?" I mumble over the music as he gets the drinks causing him to nod.
"Yeah, he looked just about ready to eat you alive. Maybe if you didn't look bored out of your mind he would have approached you," he says with a smirk as he hands me the tray of drinks.
"Bored? I didn't look bored," I grumble causing him to raise a brow.
"Ashton, you can't see your own face without a mirror but I can. You looked as uninterested as I am when it comes to doing laundry. Smile sometime, it'll have the Doms dropping everything and running at the chance to talk to you. Now go away, I have orders to take," he says while waving me away so I take the tray and make my way back to the table all the while feeling his gaze on me.
Master Gideon. Staring at me.
"Do I look bored all the time?" I asked Payton as I sat down next to him. Tommy is talking to Chris and it looks like Chris is discreetly pointing out people around the room.
"Not all the time Ash...just sometimes...but...I mean, you still look good like that. Your bored look is still hotter than most of the guys I know, so I wouldn't worry about it." He blushes and looks away.
"Hm."
"But, it wouldn't hurt you to smile more," he adds as he peeks around the room. I smile at the way he tries to look without seeming like he's looking. See, I smile sometimes.