Page 28 of Rough

“Good.”

“You aren’t the only one with an imperfect background,” I reminded him. “My drifter of a mother bounced me around from place to place.”

Garret grinned. “Look at the bright side. At least you got to travel a lot. My parents never took me anywhere.”

I didn’t know why this made me feel so profoundly amused, but I erupted into knee-slapping laughter. Garret followed suit. There were tears in my eyes I was laughing so hard.

“So, are you saying that the grass isn’t always greener?”

“Exactly.” Garret roared with amusement.

We composed ourselves after several minutes. I wiped my eyes and sighed with joy. This was the most fun I remembered having in a long time. I loved getting better acquainted with Garret, and I knew he felt the same. I could read it all over his face, he was having a blast too.

“What are you up to this week?” Garret lightly grazed my knee and rubbed it.

“Uh… well… I have to catalog my uncle’s library,” I said rolling my eyes. “Kind of a tedious process, but it needs to be done.”

“Maybe I could come over and help you do the cataloging,” Garret suggested.

I hesitated. I didn’t know why. Part of me wondered what it would be like to hang out with Garret in broad daylight, if we would have the same chemistry as we did in his club.

Garret gave me a telling look and began to show signs of withdrawal. He reached down to grab his shirt off the floor.

“Wait.” I clutched his hand to stop him. My heart dropped into my stomach. “It’s just… I’m sorry, I’m an idiot. I’m screwing this up.”

“You’re fine,” Garret said, but his demeanor wasn’t as chipper as before.

“Do you think we could still have the same…” I trailed off, treading carefully, “connection outside of the club as we do inside the club?”

“Everything takes time to establish,” Garret countered.

I mulled over his response. “I suppose that’s true.”

Garret gave me a scrutinizing glance. “Is your goal here to have both sides of your life integrated, or do you want to keep your sexual preferences and your sexual experiences private and completely separated from your everyday life?”

He stared at me, really invested in my answer.

“I really like the energy we have going on here,” I said and made a circular motion between us. “I would like to have balance there.”

“So, you are striving for harmony in that accord?” Garret asked.

I nodded. “I think so.”

Garret smiled. “Don’t you think that our meeting outside of my club is a step in the right direction for attaining that?”

I didn’t respond at first, but I didn’t want Garret to close himself off either, so I tried to think and act quickly.

“I think there is potential there.”

“Remember, don’t be afraid to explore your options. You never know what kind of joy awaits you if you push yourself outside of your boundaries and comfort zones,” Garret mentioned with an earnest smile.

“I appreciate what you are trying to do here with me,” I said and tried to reflect the same sincere smile, but it was difficult.

I didn’t want Garret to feel like I was a pity case for him to fix. I wanted to make progress, and the best way to do that was to comply with things that made me uncomfortable.

I laughed at the thoughts in my head as they came to light. “I suppose that if I can be a bottom with you twice now, then I can invite you over to my uncle’s library.”

Garret’s eyes gleamed friskily. His lips formed into the most amazing grin I’d ever seen.

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