Chapter 12 After-party Suspension
After-party Suspension
Returning to the festival tent after the release of their box-truck quickie made everything feel easier to Miles.
They'd taken care of the used condoms and put themselves back together quickly before hitting up a nearby fruit stand for giant cups of blended watermelon, pineapple, and coconut water with plenty of ice.
Taking extra back for Sarah and Michael, they settled back into tying harnesses for eager festival goers.
The smell of spilled beer began to mix with spray sunscreen, weed, cigarettes and sweat. Gradually, the crowd began to thin enough that Miles could see when people wearing their harnesses went by. Everyone seemed so joyful and unrestrained. It was good to feel like he'd been a small part of that.
A number of people grew more flirtatious and sometimes handsy as the afternoon went on.
No one drew his attention like Chris had, though part of that was being able to tell how much some of them had been drinking.
It was easy enough to demur for the sake of the charity, especially when many of the invitations involved going to the bar.
"We more than tripled our numbers from last year!
" May caught them both up in an excited hug when they finally closed down, smooching Darren on the mouth before repeating with Miles.
"You guys were amazing. We have to do this again next year.
Are you coming to dinner before the after-party? Sarah, you're coming, right?"
"I'll go anywhere with air conditioning," Sarah agreed.
"Dare?"
Darren looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Food? Or do you just wanna grab something on the way to Mal's?"
What Miles truly wanted at that moment was to go home, but they'd made a commitment. "Let's just grab something. I really need to shower before tonight."
Darren looked him up and down with a smirk. "After watching you in those spanks all day, so do I."
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"I wouldn't mind doing it again next year," Miles told him, when they'd finally gotten to Mal's and were washing off the grime of the day in a lukewarm shower in her guest suite. "I honestly didn't realize how much money we'd raise. It feels really good."
Darren nodded, finishing soaping his chest. "Yeah, it does.
The work they do is so important. I've helped out with them a few times before, and I really like them.
It's the kind of organization that really helped me out after my mom died.
But I didn't expect that it would hit so differently now that we have the kids. "
Miles pressed closer to him. "Yeah. And honestly, it's the only thing I miss about being a cop. Actually helping people."
Darren gave a hum of agreement into his kiss. "We'll find more ways to help them."
"I'd really like that. I'm just not sure I'm up to doing something that intense more than once a year, though. That was a lot."
"I'm with you," Darren agreed with a chuckle. "Today was fun, and you did so well. Being in charge takes energy. Are you sure you're up for tonight?"
"Yeah. We promised Mal we'd suspend her. And we have a couple of hours. Can nap once we're clean." The guestroom bed had already been set up with what Miles now easily recognized as waterproof orgy bedding, but Mal had left them with more than enough regular bedding to rest.
"We both deserve some rest," Darren agreed, nuzzling his shoulder. "Maybe we should give it a month or so before offering to do that session at that meetup group."
"A month or so would be nice," Miles agreed, then checked, "you won't mind if we don't find playmates right away?"
Sliding his hands around his waist, Darren pulled him closer. "We will when the time is right. We don't need to rush anything, my love. You're doing amazing."
"I do feel pretty amazing," Miles agreed, drinking in his kisses. "You're a very, very good dom-teacher, Sir, can I do anything to reward you?"
"Definitely," Darren purred. "Let's take advantage of the downtime, and I'll show you."
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A lazy romp and a nap proved just the thing to get re-energized.
Miles felt better being able to actually wear the new leather pants he'd had to abandon that morning, confident and capable.
It was nice to take orders from Mallorie.
Their hostess bustled around the loft space, talking to other guests as they began to trickle in and he and Darren set up the portable suspension rig.
Mal's events always had a good vibe to them.
Miles was sure it was why Darren had chosen one as their first outing together, when they'd first started dating.
They'd been to a number of others in the years since, both more public and more exclusive, but he always enjoyed coming here the most. He'd only seen a few instances of someone behaving badly, usually because of alcohol, which made him slightly anxious but validated his continued sobriety.
When it happened, there were always guests on hand to quietly take control of things to impose a time-out or a gently encouraged exit.
"I thought we'd see a lot more new faces after the street festival," Miles remarked, as the SoHo loft filled up with the regular crowd. "Or gate crashers, at least."
Darren snorted, shaking his head. "Her doorman gets a pretty penny to keep things on lockdown.
List only. And it's really difficult to get on Mal's list if you don't have a sponsor.
That's generally enough to keep out bad actors; she's really choosy.
Honestly, I run every potential new hire by her.
Unofficially, of course. If they've got a reputation, chances are she'll know. "
"How, though?" He'd seen the woman at other events, of course, but even so. "The scene here is so huge."
"People talk. Ladies talk. The big buff doms might have people lined up, simping for a chance to surrender to them, but don't think for a moment they're in charge of anything but their scene partner," Darren told him with a wink. "The dames rule the social game."
"And you fall somewhere in the middle?" Miles guessed, thinking about how he'd seen Darren interact with people, his female friends especially.
"We," Darren stressed, leaning in to kiss his temple, "get the best of both worlds. Haven't you seen that by now?"
Miles hummed, thinking back. "All the sensitivity and emotional intelligence of woman, but can throw you around like helpless sack of potatoes," he murmured, inadvertently slipping into Sasha's slavic cadence of speech.
Darren laughed, squeezing his ass playfully. "Exactly, my little bearchik."
It was nice to chat and catch up with people, hearing about everyone's experiences at the fair.
More than a couple of people Miles wouldn't have expected talked glowingly about the watersports station.
He still didn't think it would ever be his cup of tea, but experiencing others' passion for it filled him with unexpected warmth and even a strange bit of pride, considering he had nothing to do with it.
Perhaps it was just the experience of being able to listen without judgment and validate that their passion was something to enjoy instead of be ashamed of.
Mal was vibrating with excitement when she finally met them for the suspension.
She had a large canvas bag over one arm with what looked like freshly dyed red jute.
Reaching up to wrap an arm around Miles's neck, she arched up to kiss his cheek, repeating with Darren.
"Thanks for this, guys. It's been ages since I've been able to enjoy a long, slow suspension. "
"It's our pleasure, and the least we can do," Darren said as they made their way to the low staging platform where they'd set up the rig.
When they reached it, Mal set the bag down, sinking to her knees and folding into a full kowtow. "Gracious Masters, may I have your permission to get naked?"
Darren chuckled. "You've worked hard today, little rope bunny. You may."
When Mal had become their shibari model for Darren's most recent beginners class, Miles had found it interesting to watch how his husband interacted with her.
He was used to Darren's friendly, social fondness at her events, but when approaching her as dominant, he shifted to a calm, focused professionalism on top of his regular self-confidence.
It wasn't at all unkind, but it wasn't like the Darren that dominated him, or even how he'd been when they'd first started.
He'd asked Darren about it after their previous event, where they'd tied more practice harnesses on people than Miles could count.
Two of the girls who'd gotten full jute harnesses from Darren were clearly extremely affected by the experience.
The first had perched on the arm of a chair nearby while he worked on her girlfriend.
She tried desperately not to squirm, to follow Darren's soft command to wait.
As soon as the other woman was finished, they'd both raced to the piano loft and tumbled onto the ottoman, writing and grinding against each other and the careful knots Darren had positioned to press into their most sensitive places.
"Is it arousing to know you've done... that?" He'd asked, and Darren gave a hum of contemplation.
"Professionally, yes. Very much so. Physically?
" he shrugged. "More with a man. Emotionally, I like enabling people to explore new things; I always have.
It served me extremely well in my young slutty twink phase.
" He'd pulled Miles into a kiss. "I don't mind if you feel differently.
We won't always feel the same about things, and that's okay.
Just know that I will always be very happy to enable all your fantasies and curiosities, my love. "
After over three years with Darren, it was more clear to Miles than ever that, however strangely he was wired, Darren was clearly the key to jumpstarting his libido, among other things.
Watching him complete Mal's harness, Miles tried to emulate Darren's cool confidence.
Focusing on the calming reassurance of his husband's presence was enough to outweigh his own nervous uncertainties.
He liked Mal very much, even if they hadn't spent much time with her outside of events. It was nice to relax and enjoy her obvious pleasure as he followed Darren's direction, helping Darren connect her chest harness to the rig above them.
"Would you like to go upside-down today, little rope bunny?" Darren asked, and Mal gave a low, eager moan.
"Please, gracious Masters. But - if I may...."
"Of course."
"My ribs have been a bit twingy. But if my Masters were to see fit to tie a takate kote...?"
Darren nodded, then looked at him. "Show me what you've learned, husband. Tie her arms behind her back in a box tie for me. Use the three-rope variant from the last class."
"Of course, Sir. Darren." Miles took one of the new lengths of red-dyed jute from the bag, still a little stiff, and went to work.
"We'll tie you face up, and then perhaps transition to one side," Darren told her, grabbing another bundle and sinking to his knees. "I'll keep your weight distributed as evenly as I can. Feel free to take as much pleasure from it as you want, darling. You've more than earned it."
Mal smiled, sweet and demure. "If my Masters don't mind. I'd be very grateful."
"Just enjoy yourself and let us know when you need to change anything," Miles assured her with a warm rush of anticipation. "We'll take care of you."
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