By His Rules (15 page)

fuck you
? Hollow eyes with shadows beneath them. Skin

too pale, hair in need of a trim, face gaunt and tense.

He heard Keaton’s footsteps going downstairs. He

washed up, then slipped out of the bathroom and into

the guest room. He rummaged in his bag for a tight T-

shirt, removed his button-down, and put on the tee.

Keaton was in the kitchen. “I’m just going to heat

up a pot of leftover chili for dinner,” Keaton said.

“There’s plenty if you want some.”

“I’m not hungry.” Aiden pulled his keys out of his

pocket. “I’m going out.”

He half expected Keaton to forbid it, but Keaton

just said, “Let me give you the garage code, in case

you’re out late. I leave the door from the garage to the

laundry room unlocked.” He wrote the code on a sticky

note. “The chili’ll be in the fridge for later.”

Aiden nodded.
Thanks, Mom
. He bolted for the front

door. For a while, he just drove, trying to convince

himself he hadn’t made a horrible mistake agreeing to

stay with Keaton. What the hell kind of top was Keaton

Hughes? He could have demanded anything of Aiden.

Instead he just calmly announced he didn’t want to have

sex, then offered Aiden leftover chili?

Maybe he’s waiting to reveal his dom side. Maybe he

wants to let me get comfortable first
. Aiden shivered, wishing

he’d brought a jacket. He drove to a local bar and started

drinking, moving on to another bar, then another. He

stumbled out of the last place around two a.m., left his

car, and took a cab to Keaton’s, impressed he’d

remembered the address.

When he arrived, he realized he’d lost the note with

the garage code on it. “Hold on a sec,” he muttered to the

cab driver. He had no wish to discover how pissed

Keaton would be at being woken up in the middle of the

night, especially since Keaton had class the next

morning. He searched his pockets one more time.

“What’s the problem?” the driver asked.

“Could you—could you take me somewhere else?”

The driver rolled his eyes. “Your money.”

Aiden had the driver take him to Hera’s. A light

was on in the house. He knocked on the door. Kim

answered. She didn’t seem surprised or ask him what he

was doing there. She just stepped aside so he could

come in.

He followed her to the kitchen and sat down at the

table. Kim left, and a moment later, Hera entered in her

pajamas. “What’s wrong?” she demanded. “What

happened?”

“Nothing’s—I lost his garage code.”

“What?”

“I was out at some bars, and he gave me the garage

code so I could get back in, but I lost it.”

“So you couldn’t knock? Or call his cell?”

“I didn’t want to wake him up.”

“Why were you out? Did something happen with

Keaton?”

Just the opposite
. “I felt like going out. Who cares?

Just because I’m staying at his place doesn’t mean I have

to hang out with him every second.”

“You sound trashed.”

“I am trashed.”

“You can crash here tonight. I’ll drive you back to

your car in the morning; then you can go to Keaton’s.

Assuming he’ll take you back.”

“Jesus Christ, we’re not dating!”

“Relax. Come on now, you’re going to bed.”

“Did I fuck things up?” Aiden asked, feeling

suddenly small and miserable.

“You’ll be all right. Come on.”

She led him to the living room and helped him onto

the couch. She made him drink a bottle of water, which

reminded him of that first night with Scott. He fell into an

uneasy sleep.

* * * *

bar the next morning, Aiden thought seriously about

getting into his car and driving away—out of town, out

of state, heck, maybe even to Canada. He could start

somewhere new, somewhere no one would know what a

fuckup he was.

Instead he drove to Keaton’s.

Keaton wasn’t home from his morning class yet, so

Aiden parked across the street and waited in his car,

chewing his nails and trying to will his growling stomach

silent. He studied the house. Its exterior was clean, tidy,

relaxed. Like Keaton.

Aiden tensed as Keaton’s Solara turned into the

driveway. He waited until Keaton was in the garage

before making his way slowly up the drive.

Keaton flashed him a grin. “I thought you’d bailed

on me. Was the guest room that disappointing?”

Aiden blushed. “I lost the garage code. I didn’t

want to wake you up, so I slept at Hera’s.”

He felt Keaton studying him, taking in his

disheveled appearance. He knew he stank of alcohol,

smoke, and sweat, and wished he’d showered at Hera’s.

“You can always wake me. I’m a light sleeper

anyway.”

“Yeah, me too.” Aiden swallowed.

Keaton held out a hand. “Come on in.”

It felt natural to take Keaton’s hand; Aiden did it

without even realizing. But the electric jolt that shot

through him when he did made him pull away. Keaton

let him go, not seeming to notice or mind. Aiden

followed Keaton inside.

“Hungry?

I’m

gonna

make

a

couple

of

sandwiches.”

Aiden didn’t feel like eating, but guilt over last

night made him say, “Sure.”

They ate in silence. Keaton didn’t press Aiden for

details about where he’d been and why, just talked about

his morning class. The sandwich was good, and it helped

Aiden’s headache. But almost immediately after he’d

finished, he felt sick. He excused himself to the bathroom

and threw up.

He showered, which made him feel a little better.

He was exhausted and decided to take a nap. He lay

down on the huge, soft guest bed and pulled the covers

up to his chin. The comforter smelled freshly laundered,

and the pillows were plump and downy. He was asleep

in minutes.

He dreamed he heard footsteps pounding up the

stairs. The door flew open, and Scott stormed into the

room. He grabbed Aiden’s hair, trying to drag him out of

the bed. Aiden fought and shouted, kicking off the

covers. Scott raised his other hand to strike Aiden.

Suddenly Scott disappeared.

There was a weight on the bed beside Aiden. The

covers were once more drawn up to his chin. He tried to

open his eyes to see if Scott was still there. A hand

smoothed his hair. Aiden whimpered and went still

under the touch. He couldn’t tell if he was asleep or

awake.

When he woke, it was late afternoon. He went

downstairs. No sign of Keaton at first, but then Aiden

heard him clear his throat in the den. Aiden wandered

the house, restless and anxious. He wished he could

make himself settle down and read or watch TV. He

walked around the house, looking at the paintings on the

walls. Some were Keaton’s; others were by artists Aiden

didn’t know.

By dinnertime, Aiden was stressed and irritable.

“I’m going to the store to get some stuff for dinner,”

Keaton said. “You’re welcome to come.”

“No, thanks,” Aiden muttered.

Keaton left, and Aiden considered hitting the bars

again, but he didn’t have the energy. How was it

possible to be exhausted and restless at the same time?

He suddenly resented Keaton for leaving—and for

refusing to have sex with him. Sex would definitely calm

Aiden down, distract him from the mess in his mind.

He was too hot. He took off his sweatshirt and

threw it on the couch, pleased with how it detracted from

the room’s tidiness. He lay on the couch and turned on

the TV, and watched two episodes of some stupid

sitcom. When Keaton came home, Aiden didn’t return

his greeting.

“Anything good on?” Keaton asked, entering the

living room.

“No,” Aiden said. “A bunch of shit.” He tossed the

remote as hard as he dared. It lodged between the

cushion and the arm on the other end of the couch.

“Something bothering you?” Keaton asked.

“Nope.”

“Nothing you want to discuss?”

“I just want some fucking time alone, if that’s all

right.” He held his breath, waiting to see how Keaton

would react.

Keaton just nodded. “Sure.” He left the room and

busied himself in the kitchen.

Aiden seethed his way through another episode of

the sitcom. A movie came on that he used to like, but

tonight found irredeemably boring. He thought about

Keaton in the next room—Keaton’s eyes, Keaton’s hands,

Keaton’s ass… He wondered what that ass looked like

bare. He wondered what Keaton’s cock looked like.

Thick? Long? Cut? He rolled over, ran a hand over the

front of his pants. Decided that, even if he hated Keaton,

it was bad manners as a guest to jack off on his host’s

couch.

He slid off the couch and went into the kitchen,

where Keaton was putting groceries away. “Need help?”

he muttered.

Keaton glanced at him. “I’m almost done.”

“What are your plans for tonight?”

“I was going to shut myself in the studio for a

couple of hours. You?”

Aiden shrugged. “I might go out again.”

Keaton nodded.

“You don’t go out much?” Aiden asked.

“Once in a while,” Keaton said. “I’m kind of a

homebody.”

“I’d never seen you at Obey before that one night.”

“I’ve only been a couple of times. It’s not really my

scene.”

“What is your scene?”

Keaton seemed unfazed by Aiden’s prying. “Hard

to explain. Not clubs.”

“But you are a top?”

“Yes. I’m just not into chains and leather and toys.”

“So what are you into?”

“Submission,” Keaton said simply.

Aiden didn’t understand this man. All at once, it

seemed that every nerve in him was alive and whipping

back and forth; he didn’t want to sit or stand or lie down.

He didn’t particularly want to exist. “Scott was into that

too.”

“I don’t think Scott’s and my definitions of

submission are the same.”

“He said I had to stop thinking about what I want

and do what he wants, no matter what.”

Keaton put a couple of boxes of pasta into the

cupboard. “I don’t think what a sub wants and what a

dom wants have to be—or should be—mutually

exclusive.”

“If a sub didn’t cooperate with you, what would

you do?”

“I’d try to find out the reason for the sub’s

resistance. I make it clear at the beginning of a

relationship what my expectations are, and what the

consequences are for not meeting those expectations.

Sometimes a sub will accept the consequences in the

abstract, as part of a discussion, but when he actually

finds himself facing them, he gets anxious and fights.”

“And that’s when the fun begins,” Aiden said

softly, almost to himself.

“What do you mean?” Keaton sounded curious.

Aiden swallowed. “Do you think it’s hot, when they

fight you? When they’re scared?”

“No,” Keaton said quietly. “That might be fun in

play, as long as both parties are into the fantasy. But I

don’t really play games.”

“Neither did Scott.”

Keaton studied him for a long moment. “No. I

guess he didn’t.” Keaton got himself a glass of water and

handed Aiden one too, even though Aiden hadn’t asked.

Keaton drank, then set the glass down and said, “I

believe in a mutually fulfilling D/s partnership. I don’t

believe a dominant partner has the right to harm or

frighten a sub. Submission is about trust.”

Aiden’s throat suddenly felt tight. “I think I’m

gonna go for a walk.”

“Want some company?”

Aiden shook his head.

“Remember the garage code?”

Aiden managed a small smile. “Yeah.”

Aiden left the house and started walking, not caring

where he went. The sky was dark, the moon clouded

over, and Aiden ignored the lit windows of the houses

he passed, the families watching TV, eating a late dinner,

or trying to get the kids to bed. A dog barked at him

from a fenced yard. He felt completely alone, like he

could disappear and it wouldn’t change a thing about

the universe.
Keaton would probably be glad. He’s probably

regretting that he ever asked me to stay with him.