Page 27 of All Tied Up

He took a second to look around. One of the guys, who was clearly practiced with shibari, was making a gorgeous lattice, but he was going to run out of rope and time.

The man who’d laughed about his skills earlier had apparently given up and was merrily creating a drunken spider web. He was flirting with a laughing boy with the dinosaur stuffy while he made it, so it seemed from the boy’s dedicated cheering that he’d be winning a better reward tonight.

Neil hadn’t cheered for anyone, and he watched them all with fascination. The Dom with the proper shibari style seemed to draw most of his attention, and Sebastian reminded himself that he and Jamie weren’t going to make a move if Neil found someone else.

It would be disappointing, though.

Sebastian wished he’d shown off a bit more of his skill, but at this point it was too late. He made another pair of interlocked Vs between the chair legs at each side and was starting to tie them off just as the first finisher was announced. The second one was the man with the rat’s nest, who apparently realized he could just wind the rest of his rope up faster than anyone else and get a point.

Sebastian would have come in third, but by then no one was counting. That was good anyway because as fun as it would have been to win, he wanted to make sure that guests got all the prizes.

Sebastian stepped back as the boys stepped forward to judge. Jamie handed out little pieces of paper and repeated all the Dom’s names. Then Jamie put his arm around Neil, guiding him around to review each one when he looked like he wasn’t going to move.

It was adorable watching their heads bent over together, Jamie’s loose blond hair and Neil’s shiny bald dome pressed close as they murmured quietly.

The subs all slipped their papers into the bowl, with Dino Pajamas proudly telling Rope Disaster that his chair was the best. It seemed that the matchmaking part of the evening had already been a success.

While Jamie counted the votes, he encouraged the subs to help the Doms untie the chairs, since there were sure to be a lot of knots.

Sebastian had used slip knots to make this part easier, so he freed them with a few tugs and was already mostly done with one side by the time a new boy approached him to industriously free the coils from the other side. Not the one with the tattoos, who’d apparently attached himself to someone else. Sebastian checked in that the boy was having a good time, and received positive reviews for the weekend so far.

So, that part was nice.

Unfortunately, it left Neil to help Shibari Lattice. Was that who Neil wanted to be with, or was that just the chair that needed the most work? Sebastian could hear the other Dom talking with him in a low, soothing voice, but he was too far away to make out the words.

Sebastian's stomach felt tight, but he masked his disappointment as he finished coiling the cord and returned his chair to the wall.

It wasn’t like he had any claim to Neil. And he didn’t exactly feel jealous. He liked Neil from the little he knew him, and he wanted him to be happy.

But this was a short weekend, and he’d really been looking forward to spending more time with the boy and soaking up more of that heady, breathless desire to please.

If Neil chose someone else tonight, that would likely be the end of it.

Sebastian looked up to find Jamie watching Neil as well. No matter what, the two of them still had each other.

He just couldn’t help but think that Neil needed something special that the two of them could give.

5

Neil

“Alright, last game. This one’s for all of our sexy subs.” Jamie sounded like a TV announcer, if TV announcers wore corsets and tiny little skirts that kept making Neil think about the lace panties underneath and how they wrapped around Jamie’s...

Nope. That wasn’t appropriate. Jamie was his friend. Jamie had a Daddy.

A seriously hot Daddy who kept making Neil blush and stammer every time a single word fell out of his mouth.

Lucky, lucky Jamie. That was exactly what Neil wanted. To be just like the two of them. What had his niece called it? Hashtag-relationship-goals. Yeah. That was it. Just like Levi and Saul.

Except that with Levi and Saul, Neil liked hanging out with them. They made him imagine he might one day find a Daddy of his own. With Jamie and Sebastian it was… confusing. They were much more… hands-on in the way they were mentoring him.

Jamie had held his chin so gently while he applied the makeup. It made Neil’s heart flutter, the illicit thrill of wearing makeup, of daring to want to be… pretty?

It wasn’t something Neil thought he would normally want, but Jamie’s flirtatious enthusiasm was infectious. It felt daring and risky, but also like he was stepping a little bit into Jamie’s world. He really liked Jamie’s world.

He’d also liked Jamie’s soft hands cupping his cheeks like he was someone precious. Jamie had landed a little kiss right by his ear when he was finished, and even though it was just between friends, Neil found himself blushing.

Then, at Jamie’s insistence, Neil had squeezed his out-of-shape ass into the leather shorts. He was certain that he looked ridiculous. But Jamie had run his hands all over them to check the fit, sending every one of Neil’s nerves screaming into overdrive while he bit his lip to hide a moan. That really didn’t help with the constriction problem.