I closed my eyes and sighed into Aaron’s hair. I could faintly hear Kelly moving around in the kitchen, and when he started up the stairs, my heart fluttered.
A moment later, he tiptoed into the bedroom. “Is he awake?”
“Not yet.”
“Oh.” He gestured over his shoulder. “I got bagels and coffee. It’s all downstairs.”
“It’ll keep.” I beckoned to him. “Come here.”
He hesitated as if he wasn’t sure he’d heard me right. Then he came closer, and he lay down beside Aaron on top of the covers. Sliding a hand over Aaron’s side, he whispered, “Really put him through the wringer, didn’t we?”
I laughed softly. “Between us and his job? Yeah.”
Kelly smiled. Over Aaron, our eyes met, and when I rested my hand on top of his, he turned it over and loosely clasped his fingers around my wrist. “Our coffee is going to get cold, but…”
“We can always nuke it if we have to.”
“True.”
Between us, Aaron stirred. “Please tell me you guys aren’t microwaving coffee.”
I laughed. “Maybe we are.”
“Mmph. Sadists.” And then he was out cold again.
Kelly and I both chuckled.
“Man, I wish I could sleep like that,” he said.
“Right?” I studied him. “Seemed like you slept pretty hard last night, though.”
“Didn’t you?”
“By my standards, yeah, but that doesn’t say much.”
“So you probably need some coffee.”
“I do, but…” I shrugged, running my thumb alongside his wrist. “There’s no hurry.”
From the way he smiled back—no, there was no hurry.
My mind tried to interrogate me about exactly how this wasn’t too intimate for what we were doing, but I pushed those thoughts aside. I felt too good. Both of my submissives seemed too happy and relaxed. I could worry myself stupid later.
For now, I didn’t let myself read into anything.
I just let this gentle moment be.
On Sunday, Aaron was still tied up, and not in the fun way. While he was at the office, I went over to Kelly’s to help him make some headway on his house.
As we drank coffee in the kitchen, I said, “So what do you want to tackle today?”
Kelly quirked his lips and looked around the living room and kitchen. This part of the house was mostly done. The deep purple accent wall was long since finished, and he’d replaced his dad’s sofa, end tables, and coffee table with a silver-gray upholstered sectional and glass tables framed in brushed stainless. More and more, this place looked like him instead of his dad.
There were still several rooms that he’d barely touched, and I was pretty sure the attic needed a few more hours of attention. The house had no shortage of tasks, that was for sure.
After a moment, Kelly put his coffee cup down. “I think I want to set up my art room today.”
“Yeah?”
He nodded, a hint of a blush blooming in his cheeks. “I’ve been using the dining room, but one of the upstairs bedrooms would be perfect for an actual studio. And I already moved out most of the furniture. I don’t know what else to do with the room, so I might as well use it for art, right?”
“Pfft.” I waved a hand. “You want an art room, don’t you? So it’s not a matter of not knowing what else to do with the room—you know exactly what to do with it.”
He stared at me. “Oh. Huh. Yeah. I, um… I hadn’t thought of it that way.”
“Can I see the room?”
“Um. Sure.” He motioned for me to follow him, and we went upstairs to what I assumed had been a bedroom. There were large windows on two sides, and though it seemed small without any furniture in it, it would probably be perfect once he settled in. Kelly glanced around the room. “So, what do you think? Of using this as a studio?”
I surveyed the room. “Well, with windows this big, you’ve got tons of natural light. Do they all open?”
“Yeah. There’s screens on the outside, too.”
“Perfect, so light and ventilation. That’s definitely a plus. And there’s…” I paused. “Four electrical outlets. More would be better, but a power strip will solve that problem.”
Kelly cocked his head. “How many do you think I need?”
“Depends on how many extra lights you want. And if you want a place to plug in a computer, printer…” I waved a hand. “Really just depends on what you need. But you’ve got a few to start with, and there’s always power strips, so don’t worry about it.”
“Okay. Okay, I can work with that.” He exhaled. “I need some furniture in