Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
I had a date with Dante.
Chapter 6
Dante
“I can’t tell if the landlord is downstairs, our Dom friend is downstairs, or if your buddy the professor is downstairs, but Malcolm is at the front door and he’s frowning.”
Great.
Gary dashed off before I could ask what Malcolm had said, and I was pretty sure that was deliberate. Gary was a switch who leaned heavily toward his sub side when he was nervous, and a frowning Dom at the door would definitely tip him in the worry direction.
Finishing putting my shoes on, I grabbed my wallet and phone and gave myself one last check in the mirror before heading out of my room. I was aiming for nice casual. I didn’t want to look like a kid or like I was going on a job interview, and I was pretty sure I’d nailed it.
I wasn’t going to volunteer that I’d been stalking a few fashion YouTubers for the past few months to figure out how to look like a grown-up Dom, but I appreciated how it turned out when even Malcolm gave a nod as I met him at the door. “Hey.”
Casual.
Confident.
I hadn’t fucked things up with Ruslan yet, so there was nothing to worry about or feel guilty about.
“Looking good for your date.” Coming from the man who only seemed to wear black, it was kind of funny, but I took it for the compliment it was and nodded again.
“Thanks.” I wasn’t sure what he was there for, so I just leaned against the dresser we used as an entry table. “What’s up?”
His lips twitched but he managed not to smile. “Just wanted to check up on you before your date. Ruslan said you guys had a good time the other night when you were hanging out and I just wanted to touch base with you a bit.”
Was he trying to take care of me or Ruslan?
Both?
It hadn’t taken long for most of us in the house to realize that Malcolm liked renting to people in the lifestyle because he didn’t have to explain his need to hover and protect.
“Let’s go out on the porch.” Everyone was going to assume Ruslan was at least curious about being a little once they realized we were dating, but I wasn’t going to volunteer random information until we reached that point.
Malcolm nodded as I got a very pleased Dom look from him. “Sure.”
So I’d done good about keeping Ruslan’s privacy?
I wasn’t sure what he was happy about, but it made it easier not to start randomly worrying as I followed him out and shut the door.
The old-fashioned porch was wide with a bench swing at one end and wicker chairs at the other side, and the whole thing looked like we should be making tea as we gossiped about the neighbors. But I’d take that over the mess some of the other neighbors lived in any day.
But since it didn’t seem like a cozy-up-on-the-swing kind of conversation, I headed over to the chairs. If they gave me the best view of Ruslan’s house, well, I wouldn’t complain. “I’m confident when I say we both had a good time. We’ve even texted a bit this week, so I know he’s not having too many second-guessing attacks.”
That got a chuckle from Malcolm. “That’s probably as good as you’re going to get.”
“I thought so too.” The fact that after his worries, Ruslan always came back with little comments about how he liked Italian food or that he liked my pictures made it clear I hadn’t needed to worry too much.
“He was very confident when he said he had a good time too.” Malcolm paused, probably thinking of how much to share. “He also admitted to a bit of panic when he transitioned from his little headspace to his grown-up one.”
Hmm.
“I think panic might not be the right word. He was slightly embarrassed and shy, definitely feeling a bit nervous, but it didn’t last long. Once we’d talked it out and he saw that I wasn’t worried about his reaction—and that I wasn’t going to make a hasty exit—we talked for a bit longer and then I left.”
Before Malcolm could open his mouth, I added one last detail. “After I made sure he was in the right headspace and I was as confident as I could be that he would be fine.”
Chuckling softly, he gave a nod. “I’m not worried. If I had any hesitation about how you would take care of him, I’d have never passed along the message.”
Then why was he on my porch?
The rent wasn’t due and we hadn’t done anything stupid, so this was definitely about Ruslan.
“I just wanted to make sure you were feeling good about the date and you didn’t have any questions.” He raised one eyebrow when I just shrugged. “I know you don’t really have anyone besides me and Jack who can see both sides of this.”