Dante - Daryl Banner Page 0,42

of the two or three apartments you’d find on each of the five floors of the building.

I follow him to his desk, located right by his studio where all the magic of his photography happens.

I do a double take at the studio, something catching my eye.

Stretched on a wooden rack against the wall is a slender, muscled, gorgeous-faced young guy with a buzzed head and … not much else on his body. He’s got a leather studded blindfold over his eyes and a shiny black thong that complements Dante’s. His ankles and wrists are bound spread-eagle to the rack, but he doesn’t seem to be struggling.

Though at the sound of my entrance, he seems to be glancing around, as if trying to look through the blindfold somehow. And then: “Uh, hello …?”

Dante smirks. “Don’t worry, Tye. Just a visitor from the fifth floor, here to drop off his rent. Tye, meet Zak. Zak, meet Tye.”

Tye smiles, then wiggles the fingers of one of his bound hands, as if in an attempt to wave. “Hey there, Zak,” he greets me cheerily.

“Hey there, Tye. Didn’t mean to interrupt … your, uh … photo shoot?” I then presume, lifting an eyebrow at Dante for confirmation.

He only shrugs unhelpfully, then says, “Sure, that’s what this is.”

Then it clicks. “Hey, I remember that name. Tye. Was he that standout model in that big fetish gallery a month ago? Sorry I couldn’t be at your big opening,” I add. “Had to work that night.”

“No prob, man.” Dante takes my rent, files it away somewhere on his desk, then shakes my hand, which catches me by surprise. “If I never said it before, I’m damn glad to have tenants like you, who are never, ever late on their rent. In fact, I might even say you’re the most reliable tenant I got in this building.”

And I thought the handshake was surprising. “I appreciate that,” I make myself say. “Thanks.”

“Thank you, my man. Hey, Tye,” he calls out. “Aren’t you gonna show my tenant Zak here your appreciation, too?”

Tye appears confused for a second, unsure where to turn his head. “Thanks, Zak! You, uh … make Dante’s life a lot easier!”

I chuckle dryly. I don’t know much about this Tye guy, but he’s sure put some kind of spell on Dante, because I barely recognize him. The Dante I knew, he used to never let people in his apartment who weren’t clients or close friends.

Now he’s inviting me in. Letting me see his … rather intimate work. He’s answering the door in a thong. Who is this guy …?

When I see myself out, Dante stops me at the door. “You asked me a question once about dating and age,” he reminds me. “Remember that? Up on the roof? Well, I gotta tell you, fuck everything in the world that makes you question any of that. You gotta make you happy.” He pokes me in the chest for emphasis. “Nobody else’s opinions matter but your own. And when you abandon that road of worrying what everyone else thinks, and you chase your heart into a place that’s filled with stuff that makes you happy … well, shit, the only damn thing you’ll find is happiness.” He gives me a light punch in the shoulder. “Knock ‘em dead, Zak.”

Then he closes the door.

And I stare at it, astonished somehow.

My phone buzzes: Larry gave me your shift. I owe you, Zak. Thanks so much!

I smirk, then reply back with a big thumbs-up. Good thing I haven’t left yet.

Also, I’m pretty sure this surprise news is about to make someone else’s night rather pleasant.

I head back upstairs, enter my apartment, drop my keys and bag on the floor, then head on over to my cam room, where a computer with a webcam, wireless keyboard, and wireless mouse awaits me. The room has nothing else in it except a simplistic bed and a small table to set things on. I sit on the end of the bed, log in to the site, then focus the cam on me. I’m already pretty much fixed up for a night of dancing I was expecting to have, so I look damn good when I pop up on the screen.

And that’s when I see that my top customer is online—and already in my chat room, ready for me.

He private-messages me immediately: Zak! Hey!

“Hey there, Captain.” Captain is what he likes to be called. Despite it being prohibited to share personal info on the cam site, we’ve broken