Page 50 of Rough

“Are you going to come to the club tonight?” I asked, hoping that I sounded enthusiastic enough for him to want to join me there later.

He turned his head and looked at me. Sincerity flickered in his eyes. “Of course.” He sounded surprised that I would even ask.

“Good.” I nodded, looking out the window.

I realized then that the foundation between us was stronger than I had given it credit for in the beginning. Sure, we had argued, but a little back and forth bickering on an already touchy subject didn’t change the fact that we were blossoming in our relationship.

Felix walked me to the door, but things still felt strained between us. Maybe we weren’t making as much progress as I had assumed.

Were we even building anything other than a rocky relationship that was destined to fail? I hated going back and forth with myself. It was like every thought in my head was a ping pong ball on a string, bouncing from one idea to the next.

As if reading my mind, Felix lingered in the doorway, staring at me.

“What?” I finally asked. I hated being left in suspense.

“I just want to point something out before you go,” Felix said.

“Okay…” I trailed off as trepidation began to increase in my mind.

“I find it odd that you want to know everything there is to know about me and be my Dom, but yet, you aren’t willing to reciprocate by allowing me into your life at all. It has to be an equal partnership in order for this to work.”

Felix gave me a fiercely bold look that I had to admire. He meant what he said with absolutely no regrets.

Before I had time to think of an answer, my phone started ringing. It was Carol.

“I’m sorry, I have to answer this, it’s work,” I said hastily.

Felix nodded, standing there stoically as he stared at the floor.

“Hello?” I said into the phone.

“I need to show you the books,” she urged.

I looked at Felix and we locked eyes.

“I’ll be right there,” I said to Carol. “This is important, but I want to finish our conversation later,” I explained to Felix.

Felix nodded. His jaw was tense. “Fine.”

I hesitated to kiss him, but I did stroke the small of his back once before I turned to walk away. I wanted to give him more, I just wasn’t sure how to do it yet. I had to pull myself out of the trenches of these nightmare issues encircling my club before I would be able to focus on anything else.

13

Felix

I walked up the street in the direction of Garret’s club. It was taking all my strength and willpower to bring myself back there since we had left things on uncertain, shaky ground.

I didn’t know if Garret would be excited to see me, but I had to try my luck. It was a funny paradox, really, being in this new relationship with Garret. Ironically, I had never felt this in control and more relaxed in an experience with another man than I did with Garret.

I was doing my best to guide and steer Garret in the right direction. I wanted nothing more than to help him find viable solutions to his problems for the best outcome.

I prepared myself to see him before I entered the club. I didn’t want to fight with him anymore. I wanted to let him know that I was fully involved and willing to support him in any way he needed. It was this reason, plus my growing emotions for Garret, that had compelled me to come back to the club tonight.

When I arrived, I saw an unexpected scene unfolding in front of me. People were pouring out of the club in droves. Some of them had perplexed looks on their faces. Other’s looked slightly disgusted.

I saw Bubba standing by the door, leading people out and apologizing for the short notice closure and any inconvenience it caused them that night.

“We will be sure to send out an email notification to all the club members alerting them as to when the club will reopen,” Bubba said in a regretful tone as he motioned for people to filter out of the doors.