Page 5 of Love Lessons: Expanded Edition

Casey took a deep breath. “Thanks, I think I needed to hear that.”

“Is there anything else that’s going through your head?”

“So much. I mean… it’s hard right now. After everything that Jason said, I feel like no one else would ever want me. I lost twenty-five pounds to try to keep his attention and I used to feel good about my body, you know?”

Casey definitely had some heft on him, his belly hanging out over his waist and straining his plain black t-shirt. Landon realized that he’d probably chosen his shirt and roomy jeans, not to show off his body but to hide it.

“Did Jason tell you that you needed to lose weight, too?”

“I mean, not really. He just said a few times that he finds thinner men attractive, but he didn’t really mind my body. But I wanted… I wanted to make him happy. Which is stupid, right?”

What a fucking asshole. “Everything that you’re saying? That’s emotional abuse. It wears you down and it makes you doubt yourself. It might not be as bad as what you experienced before, but if he’s making you scared again, making you have flashbacks when he could just do something else that you like instead of tying you up? That’s abuse. Telling you he prefers skinnier guys? That’s abuse. You should run far and fast.”

“I moved out today, but he keeps calling me.” It looked like a great weight lifted from Casey’s chest when he said it.

“Do you have a place to stay?” Landon’s place was tiny, but he definitely had friends he could suggest.

“Yeah. I’m living with my parents for the moment. And I have money. I just needed to get out fast.”

“Good. You should be proud of yourself. Are you answering his calls?”

“No. I told him why I was leaving a couple times and now I’m out. I just… I still kind of feel like I love him. Even though I shouldn’t.”

“It sounds like you’re much wiser and stronger than you realize.”

“I… I appreciate that. It’s hard to feel that way right now. I just feel… unlovable.”

Landon couldn’t imagine going through what Casey had, but he knew what unlovable felt like.

“Casey,” Landon put on his Dom voice, sitting up and making himself look bigger and taller. “You are a beautiful sub. You’re strong, and you’re doing the right thing to take care of yourself. If you want to take a break from relationships for a while, there are friends who will support you. And when you’re ready, there are tons of Doms or Daddies out there who would be proud to have you as their boy. People who would love your body and respect your limits.”

Casey looked up at him, skeptical and hopeful all at once. “I’ve never met any.”

Landon looked around the club. It was starting to fill up. There were two Daddy Doms he was thinking of who would be great for Casey to talk to. And there was Daddy Zvi now.

Landon motioned him over and spent the next hour or so hanging out with both of them. He didn’t tell Zvi anything other than that Casey needed a friend. His goal wasn’t to set them up, just show Casey that there were other, better options out there.

Landon and Zvi talked about relationships that they’d had and times that they’d each used safewords, including when a Dom needed to stop a scene to protect a sub. Casey shared a bit more of his story, and Zvi called over a few other friends for Casey to meet.

When the conversation got harder to follow, Landon stepped away from the table. He felt good about the choice he’d made to reach out to Casey, and knew that he was in good hands now. It was nice to know that he’d been able to help, and he’d enjoyed talking to both men.

But he still had that itchy feeling of too-tight skin that only a scene would fix.

Now that he wasn’t distracted, his frustration was growing with both the school situation and Casey’s abusive ex. He had half a mind to march up to the office and demand that Jason be expelled from the club immediately, but Zvi had said that he’d help Casey to take care of it, and that was honestly the right set of steps to give Casey back some agency.

It didn’t help that Landon would have loved to have had a scene with Zvi himself. The man was mostly into role play and caretaking, but Landon could get behind a little “Sorry, Daddy, I was so bad” even if it always felt a little fake and scripted to him. He’d felt Zvi’s hand on his ass before, though, and he didn’t hold back.

Landon just needed to get out of his head.

He was meandering back over to the bar, mostly scanning the crowd as he went, when he felt a tug on his arm. Nothing hard, just enough to get his attention. He got kind of annoyed when people did that, since waving in his peripheral vision worked just as well, but people didn’t always know how to deal with his Deafness.

It was Jillian, a sub he mostly knew by association. She was wearing kitty ears, which may have made her feel like she could just walk up and touch people, but he didn’t have much patience to spare tonight.

“Hey, Landon. Are you…?” She paused as she looked down at his wrist. “Oh, you’re not Dominant tonight.”

Then she walked away, swinging her fluffy tail behind her. What the fuck was that? Like he wasn’t even worth simple courtesy if he wasn’t going to do a scene with her?

Usually he would have brushed it off, probably part of her kitty persona or something, but it made him feel like he was invisible.