Out of the Dungeon (32 page)

"The scene narration was… wow. I don't know
if I have words," Roman said. "Hearing what goes on with the sub,
what he's thinking, how he's feeling, is totally intense. Hearing
it in your voice jacked me right into top space."

"Seriously?" Jeff asked, and he laughed for
the second time in a half an hour. He almost seemed giddy after
these months of tortured conflict.

"Yes," Roman said, and couldn't stand looking
at Jeff's back anymore. "Can you grab the folding chair and sit so
I can see your face?"

Jeff did, and Roman wished he could look at
Jeff and touch him at the same time. "Lean forward. Or come closer,
whatever's comfortable."

"Why?" Jeff asked. "What are you doing?"

"I want you close enough to touch," Roman
said.

"Oh," Jeff said, and half stood while Roman
pulled the chair closer. When Jeff sat down again, his knee rested
between Roman's thighs, and he was smiling.

Roman stared at Jeff's face until Jeff
blurted out an exasperated, "What?"

"Nothing. You're smiling," Roman said. "It's
been a long time."

"Yes," Jeff said, and his bright expression
faded.

The most unattractive thing about Jeff was
his insecurity. It was insane for Roman, a Dom who loved the thrill
of working with multiple subs, to partner with someone who required
constant reassurance. But love rarely makes sense, and life had a
way of working things out.

"I know it doesn't change anything," Roman
said, "but you should have trusted me." When Jeff started to
protest, Roman rested his fingertips on Jeff's lips. "Shh. Listen.
You should not have carried your burden of unhappiness alone. You
should have sent your poetry to me with your journal entries."
Jeff's eyes grew bright with tears, and Roman suspected he would
have jerked away, if not for the Halo. How absolutely wicked he
was, to use Jeff's non-consensual prison against him.

Roman still held Jason with one arm. He gave
the new boy a squeeze, and said, "This is important." Jason nodded,
but his eyes were glossy and he was still more gone than here.

"Transparency, truth, and trust," Roman said,
tracing Jeff's lips with his fingers. "You concealed your true
feelings about Dare. And Dare concealed his true feelings about the
lifestyle. And I was at fault as much as either of you, because I
didn't ask the right questions. I was enjoying the both of you so
much that I let my ego leave me in the dark.

"Nothing will ever be the same, but nothing
ever is. That's life. Doors close and doors open and if we never
walk through any of them, we'll never grow. Our 24/7 lifestyle door
is closed, but we can build a life here. We'll get to know Jason
better, and we'll get Vanessa to come. We'll raise the coolest,
most self-aware kid in the universe, and be the craziest, most
whacked-out family the Midwest has ever seen. What do you
think?"

Jeff was smiling even while tears spilled
down his cheeks. Roman took Jeff's hand and lifted it to his lips.
He placed a light kiss in Jeff's palm, tickled the spot with his
tongue, and then folded Jeff's fingers into a fist. "Well?" he
asked, and hoped Jeff knew how much Roman loved him, but how hard
it was to ask for this.

"Okay," Jeff whispered, not the most
enthusiastic of responses. But then, "Yes. Yes!"

The weight that had been on Roman's chest
since receiving that phone call one beautiful morning in June went
away as quickly as it had come. He held Jason tight to his side,
squeezed Jeff's hand, and asked, "Who wants to tell Vanessa?"

# # #

SM Johnson lives in northern Wisconsin with
one husband, one child, one dog, and one cat. Her favorite winter
activity is hibernating with a great book. To learn more about SM
Johnson's writing, visit her on blogger:
SM Johnson
Writes ~things that go naughty in the night~
(http://smjbookteasers.blogspot.com)

Thank you!