to go, but we'll talk later.”
I lived alone, and wasn't dating anyone currently, nor did I have any full-time subs or attachments, but that's the way I liked it. It was necessary to have a sub trained in rope work for my demos, however, one experienced enough to know when there was any danger of nerve damage due to reduced circulation. So I teamed up often with a friend of mine, Tony Arello, who was an architect for a firm not far from my agency in the city. He was proficient in rope work too and had a sub named Cody he was in a serious relationship with. He had trained Cody himself, so often we did scenes and demos together, and he even trusted me to do the occasional demo with Cody on my own. Of course, there was never any sex involved. Tony wasn’t into sharing.
But on the night I’d seen Jordy again, Tony and Cody were supposed to help me. I’d just gotten the call that Tony had an emergency at a job site to come up and wouldn’t be able to make it. I’d been on my way out to cancel when I spotted Jordy in the crowd and couldn’t resist doing a mild version of our normal demo, one that would be suitable for someone new to bondage.
I had no real need of any close attachments, and I wasn’t interested in a full-time sub of my own. I had been in foster care after my parents were killed in a house fire when I was really young. They had literally thrown me out the window to a fireman below who had caught me in his arms. Unfortunately, the firefighters couldn't make it to my mom and dad in time, and they both had perished in the fire.
I lucked out though, and I had no horror stories about foster care. My foster parents were great, and the only reason they didn't adopt me was because of a grandmother who didn't want me herself but blocked their attempts at formal adoption. She passed away while I was in college, so I had no family left, except, of course, for the foster parents who raised me. They still lived in Charlotte, and I went to visit them as often as I could.
Life was actually pretty good, and I had no need of Jordy Halloran in it.
I couldn't believe it when I saw him in the club, looking up at me with those big, hazel eyes, his soft, blond hair falling over his forehead. Those jeans he'd been wearing had left little to the imagination. The strength of my feelings for him grabbed me by the throat and still hadn't let go. It had taken every ounce of willpower I had the night before not to make love to him. But the fact remained that he worked for me, and I wouldn't take advantage of anyone that way. Especially him.
Why, especially? I didn't want to examine that too closely.
I had a brunch meeting late the next morning, and it lasted until the afternoon. Just after five, I called Austin and we discussed what Jordy's reaction might be when I didn’t show up for the meeting I’d promised him and how best to handle this idea he had that he was a Dom. I knew he wasn't, but Austin thought he could possibly be a switch. He wanted to explore that with him, and I agreed that it would be a good idea. At least then he'd know one way or the other, and then he could go on to find someone who could fulfill him and make him happy. That person just wouldn't be me. And the fact that I was eaten up with jealousy every time I tried to picture him with another man should have no bearing on anything. He wasn't right for me, and vice versa. End of story.
I couldn’t stay away without knowing, though, so late that evening, I got in my car and drove to the club. Jackhammer was in an old building downtown that had been remodeled. It didn't look like much on the outside, but it did have three levels and an outside patio. There were three distinct bar spaces—one dance, one sports and one leather, and the club even had an adult shop attached. It was closed for regular business on Sundays, and there was no sign of Jordy Halloran. I hoped he was in Austin's office. That hope was dashed