Brent did pretty good at the grill but cooking wasn’t something that came naturally to him. When they had the weekend barbecues, Brent either manned the grill or put together a salad, so impressing the sub with a real meal wouldn’t be too hard. Looking in the fridge, Calen realized he had everything for lasagna. That was definitely a date meal.
Glancing over at the clock on the stove, he saw that he had a couple of hours before Brent would probably want to meet. As long as he got started now, there would be enough time. He’d already gotten the water boiling for the pasta when his phone chimed.
Maybe I should let you decide on dessert…since you’re the Dom and all ;-)
There was that ridiculous wink again. They were going to have to have a discussion on how grown men texted. Trying not to second-guess himself, he responded back flirtatiously, like he would if it were any other man he was interested in.
I’ll take charge of anything you like…dessert’s a good first step
There was another pause from Brent. This time long enough that the timer for the pasta was going off as his phone chimed. When he had the noodles drained, he went over to the phone.
6 okay?
Was he ignoring the flirting or did he not know how to respond? Maybe a little of both. He was probably unsure exactly how Calen meant it too.
Great...got dinner planned…if you have salad or something like that it would be good…
He was going to leave it there and not push Brent too far, but Calen didn’t want there to be any doubt that he wasn’t simply goofing off.
Don’t forget I’m in charge of dessert
This time it only took seconds for Brent to respond.
There’s no way I’m going to forget.
Calen couldn’t decide if he’d scared Brent or if he was overwhelmed. He’d find out later. Hopefully, his pushing hadn’t backfired. But Brent had clearly been flirting back. His nerves might be going all kind of crazy but he hadn’t been passive in their conversation. Calen grinned; the evening would be interesting.
****
If anyone was watching, it probably looked like he was moving, but at least Brent would be well fed.
He figured just in case Brent was expecting him to show up with an actual dessert, he’d better have one. So he’d whipped up some brownies. Worst case scenario, they’d be good comfort food. And best case, they’d be fun to eat with his fingers.
Calen figured he could probably get Brent to react beautifully if he worked it right.
He was going to have to pay attention to figure out what made Brent react though. Calen had spent so long trying not to notice the people he worked with, he wasn’t sure what Brent’s preferences were.
Sure, they’d gone to the club with the same people. But when you were in a group of Doms and subs who were mostly related, you had to be more careful. He’d done his best not to pay attention to anything the other guys were doing.
If he happened to see one of his friends in a more intimate situation or even something that looked personal, he’d walk away. And with Brent looking for a more serious long-term relationship, Calen hadn’t even seen him flirt with that many men at the club.
Parking his car in front of Brent’s house, Calen walked around to the passenger side to grab the food. As he tried to figure out a way to carry the lasagna and the brownies without dropping them, he heard the door to the house open.
“Need any help? Since you cooked, so the least I could do was help carry it in.”
“I was going to have you work off your debt another way—but I guess this is a start.” Calen’s dirty mind was working overtime. He hoped he hadn’t pushed his luck.
As he stood up and turned around to hand Brent the heavy casserole dish, he caught a little grin and the faint blush that was tinting Brent’s cheeks. Knowing that Brent wasn’t immune to his teasing eased some of his worries. If he could make Brent blush, there was a good chance that the sub didn’t just think of him as a co-worker.
Brent cleared his throat and glanced at the dish. “Smells good.”
“Thank.” Picking up the plate of brownies, he shut the door and locked the car.
Brent gave the brownies a curious look. The fact that Calen showed up with dessert seemed to have thrown him. Not wanting Brent to get the wrong idea, he waited until Brent looked up to speak. He did his best to make sure Brent could see the desire in his eyes and gave him a wicked grin. “I figured this would be a good start to dessert. First course maybe—we’ll figure out what else should go with it.”
Bingo.
Brent’s blush flared back to life, obvious and bright. Then he looked away. He swallowed several times and Calen could tell he was trying not to react, but it wasn’t working. Calen was glad Brent couldn’t hide his reactions. It made him feel more confident about his own decisions.
“Come on. Let’s get the food inside before it gets cold. Right now, it’s hot and should be delicious.” Calen let his voice drop lower, watching as a little shiver raced through Brent.
Calen knew he must have been too obvious because Brent gave him a frustrated look and shook his head.
“Calen.”
Calen pretended innocence, but he knew it wasn’t believable. “Yes?”
“Are you going to do that all night?”
“Oh yeah. Now that I’ve seen your blush, how could I not?”
“You’re going to make me crazy.” There was a feigned frustration in Brent’s voice, but the look on his face made it clear that Brent didn’t mind Calen’s teasing.
“You are going to love the way I make you crazy.” Calen let his desire for Brent fill his eyes and was rewarded with another cute blush.
Watching the man who was always so put together and in charge react was addicting. Calen couldn’t wait to see how far down that blush went and how much more flustered he could make his friend.
Brent simply shook his head at Calen again, then turned to walk back towards the house. Now that he didn’t have to pretend to be immune to the sexy man, Calen enjoyed the view as Brent walked away. The man had the most incredible ass.
He must have realized Calen wasn’t following because Brent turned back, a questioning look on his face. “You forget something?”
Calen gave him a naughty smile. “Nope. Just enjoying the view.”
Brent didn’t seem sure what to say as he turned back to the house and kept walking. It was going to take some time to work out their new dynamics but Calen wasn’t worried. Some people might think going from friends to lovers would be hard but it didn’t seem that way.
The constant questioning about how Brent felt was the most difficult part. Now that he knew the interest wasn’t one-sided, he wasn’t going to let anything scare him away. Not even his own fears about what Brent would say. This was his friend. He trusted Brent.
Pushing away his worries, Calen started walking up to the door. Brent had a cute little cottage-style house that fit him perfectly. It was warm without being fussy and more like a real home than Calen’s place.
Closing the door, he made his way back to the kitchen. If this counted as a first date, it was going to be the most comfortable he’d ever felt on one. Brent’s place was like a second home to him and knowing they were going to hang out was relaxing. Sure, things would hopefully get more interesting as the night went on, but if all they did was hang out and talk, it would be the best time he’d had recently.
Putting the brownies down on the counter, he started getting plates out and setting the table. Brent laughed and walked over to the fridge. When he brought out the salad, Calen couldn’t help but tease. Leaning over to look into the bowl, he gave Brent a concerned look. “Did you burn it?”
“That was one time! And it wasn’t burned. It was supposed to be a charred salad!” Stomping over to the table, he set the bowl down hard.
Laughing, Calen came up behind him, pressing close. “I liked your salad.” Leaning next to Brent’s ear, he whispered low. “I like everything you make.”
> Feeling the shiver that raced through the sexy sub had his own need rising. Why hadn’t he seen this before?
Brent’s breathless reply had Calen even harder. “Thank you.”
Wrapping his arms around Brent, only so he could put the silverware on the table, of course, Calen let Brent hear his desire, dropping his voice and letting the heat flow through his words. “So polite. I can’t wait to see what else you’ll thank me for tonight.”
Brent tried to hide his low moan, but didn’t do a great job of it. Calen couldn’t decide if it was on purpose or if Brent was that affected. “Calen. I can’t think…”
“I don’t want you to. I have a feeling we’ve both been doing too much of that lately. You are going to relax tonight. We’ll think and talk tomorrow. Can you do that for me?” Even to Calen, his voice sounded gravelly and rough. Not that he was trying to disguise his desire.
No, he wanted his intentions to be crystal clear.
Hesitantly, Brent leaned back until he was relaxing in Calen’s arms, not just standing awkwardly. “So this is…you want to…I mean, this is a real date?”
Calen tried not to smile as Brent stumbled through his question. “A very real first date. Is that okay with you? I’ve been thinking about you lately.”
Brent nodded. “Ever since that night.”
“That night…God, seeing you like that.” Calen let his lips graze Brent’s ear as he whispered. “You were so sexy. Kneeling there, with your chest bare, legs spread…you didn’t even realize how incredible you looked.”
Brent didn’t even try to hide his moan that time. “I never really thought about you as a Dom before. You were always my friend but something about that…”
Calen finished the sentence for him. “Was perfect.”
His sexy sub nodded. “Perfect.”
“You’re my friend, but I’m hoping you want more. I would love to have you kneel for me again.”
Brent didn’t even pause to think. “Yes. Again. More.”
Calen chuckled, making Brent shiver again. “Anything you want.”
“Anything?” Brent’s voice was higher pitched than normal. Calen could see he was struggling to think.
So of course, Calen had to push him even further. Tilting his hips so that his cock would graze Brent’s ass, he flicked his tongue around the sensitive shell of Brent’s ear. “Anything.”
Brent tilted his head, giving Calen better access, and whimpered. It was the sexiest sound, needy and pleading. Calen let his teeth graze Brent’s ear, biting down gently. “I can’t wait to hear what you’re imagining. Such a sexy submissive has to have naughty fantasies. But right now, dinner is getting cold.”
Biting down again, to hear the beautiful music of his moan, Calen chuckled and rubbed his cock against Brent’s sexy ass one last time before stepping away. “Food. Remember?”
“Yes, dinner. Food. You brought food.” Brent straightened up and took a deep breath. Looking around confusedly, he questioned, “What was I doing?”
Calen laughed and gave Brent’s bottom a swat just to watch him jump and blush. “You were sitting down. I’ll get everything ready.”
With a sexy smile, Brent went around the table to sit down. “Yes, Sir.”
Walking over to the fridge to grab some bottles of water, Calen gave Brent a smile. “I like how that sounds coming from you.”
“I thought it would feel weirder.” Brent looked like his brain was starting to clear. “But it didn’t. Why is that? I mean, I’ve always thought you were attractive, but you were just part of our group ever since you met Garrett.”
Calen shrugged. “Maybe we weren’t ready to see anything before. I guess, to me, you were my friend and you don’t notice friends that way. Maybe it would have happened sooner but I’ve never seen you kneel for someone else. When I saw anybody in the group at the club with a Dom or sub, I’ve always tried to give them their space. Seeing you kneeling for me, even though we weren’t in a scene and it was just to get people to leave us alone, it flipped some kind of switch in me.”
“Me too. It seemed odd for a minute but once I was in front of you like that…” he paused. “I guess it just felt right.”
Calen nodded as he set the bottles down on the table. “What do you think your brothers will say?” Besides his preferences, that was his other big worry. Would everyone else be shocked?
Brent laughed, “Evidently, Bryce and Grant already figured it out. They were betting on us getting together.”
Sitting down beside Brent at the table, Calen could only shake his head. He should have expected that. “Garrett’s going to be surprised.”
“He’s always oblivious, but he’ll be okay with it. He wants both of us to be happy.” Then Brent gave Calen a teasing look. “And he’ll support anything that keeps you sober at work.”
“Naughty boys get punished. Don’t forget that.” Calen gave a shrug. “I’ve been distracted lately.”
“Distracted, huh?”
“Oh yes. By a naughty sub who was hiding what he was thinking.”
Reaching out to start serving the pasta, Brent tried to hide his smile. “That’s a very naughty sub. But maybe he should get a break because the Dom in question was just as hard to read?”
Giving Brent an exaggerated frown, Calen wagged his finger at the sub and said in his best deadpan voice, “Oh no. Doms are perfect. It’s the naughty sub who needs to be punished.”
That had Brent nearly rolling off his chair with laughter. When he caught his breath, his eyes were still dancing with suppressed humor. “I forgot that rule.”
Calen lifted one eyebrow and gave him a serious expression. “It’s an important rule to remember.”
“Yes, Sir. I won’t forget again.”
“Very good. Now eat your dinner. I’m anxious for dessert.”
Brent’s grin turned wicked. Calen thought his sub was looking forward to it as well.
“Yes, Sir.”
CHAPTER 4
Brent
It was the weirdest first date ever. At least, he was pretty sure it was a date. It was probably a date if the flirting and teasing were any indication. Brent kept thinking that it should be harder or stranger but it wasn’t. When Calen turned that deep sexy voice on him it was easy to see that he was a Dom but other times it was harder to see.
Calen was funny and kept things relaxed, not listing out rules or expectations like so many men Brent had dated. Brent didn’t just want to keep the domination in the bedroom but this was nice. It was almost as if they were hanging out like they would normally but it was more.
It was easier than he expected.
When he’d texted Calen earlier, he’d been hoping for a way to bring up their evening at the club. The way Calen turned things around, making it naughty and funny, had Brent reeling. There had been too many times when he’d simply stared at the phone, not sure how to reply.
He’d been so worried that everything he was feeling was one-sided. It was such an incredible relief to realize how wrong he’d been. But he wasn’t sure what to do next. Let Calen decide how things should go? Which was really tempting. Or take charge and insist they talk first?
The problem was, his brain was saying one thing but everything else in him wanted another. If he looked at it the same way he would work, he could take charge, but it wasn’t what came naturally to him in a relationship. He was halfway through dinner when he decided to shove his brain out the window and go with his gut. He’d let Calen steer things and see where it led them. It was what he’d wanted from the beginning, anyway.
Evidently, Calen needed a little nudge to get things moving in the right direction.
Brent thought it was sweet that Calen had been as nervous as he had been. It showed a vulnerability that Brent hadn’t been expecting. Calen was always a little out there, a little loud, and never quite followed the typical Dom stereotypes, but this was a side Brent had never seen.
He liked it.
When they were both stuffed fro
m too much food, Calen glanced over at Brent, looking relaxed and happy. “How about we put on that new spy movie after we get this cleaned up?”
“Sounds good. Should we take dessert out there?”
Brent meant it innocently but Calen’s thoughts were in another direction entirely. “Oh, dessert’s still on the table. You don’t get to decide when, though, naughty sub.”
He knew his cheeks went so red he probably looked like he was on fire but he couldn’t help it. The wicked look on Calen’s face didn’t help any. He was clearly picturing what he wanted for dessert and it made Brent extremely curious. “I’m sorry?”
He wasn’t sure if an apology to the Dom was the right response but it was all his brain could come up with at first. Then, once he pushed back his surprise, he decided he could tease just as well as Calen could. Looking down at the table, he peeked up through his lashes and bit his lip seductively. “I’ll try not to be naughty, Sir.”
Calen laughed but Brent knew he’d gotten his friend back when he reached down and adjusted his cock. “Come on. You do that innocent slut act too well.”
Brent smirked and got up from the table to put the food away. If he leaned over too many times or brushed up against Calen too often, he could blame it on the small kitchen. Calen’s frustrated growls had Brent trying to not smile. Teasing a Dom had never been his thing, but with Calen, it felt like a natural extension of their friendship.
When they had everything cleaned up, and a plate of brownies ready, Calen casually took his hand and started walking them to the living room. It was nice. They’d been hanging out and working together for years but Brent couldn't remember Calen ever touching him like that.
Calen sat first, taking the plate from Brent and putting it on the side table. Then to Brent’s surprise, his friend stretched out on the couch and pulled Brent to lie down in front of him. It was definitely not how they usually watched TV together but it felt right.
Brent was grateful he’d bought a deep enough couch that he wasn’t hanging off the edge. He felt secure and comfortable. At least his body did, but his mind was still racing, not sure where things were going. His body loved the heat that radiated from his friend and how comfortable it was. Well, mostly comfortable.
Brent: A M/m BDSM Romance (Bound & Controlled Book 2) Page 3
