Chapter 15
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
BEAST BOY
I arrive at the Condor far too sober to be arriving at the Condor. At least in my experience.
It’s not really my usual venue, recent events notwithstanding (and as memory of that night gradually resurfaces, I do recall it was me suggesting coming here then too), but hardly my first time here. Obviously.
I remember there was a night a year ago, probably around a New York Comic Con again, when a bunch of creators and some of the gay staff and interns from Excelsior Comics went on a bit of a wild night out to unwind. We hit a number of bars, but sometime after midnight one of the creators we were hosting declared he wanted to try out the Condor, and those that were left (me included, because heaven forbid I put up with a little bit of FOMO) made our way here.
I’d say little did we know it was a full on fetish night that evening, but I kinda suspect that the creator (who shall not be named no matter how much anyone probes me) knew about it somehow.
Now, I’m not squeamish, or uptight, and while I suppose it could be argued I skew a little more vanilla than some folks, I’m not a prim, uptight little princess. I am all for celebrating bodily autonomy, body positivity and sex positivity, and absolutely think there’s space for kink at pride and the gay scene. But needless to say, I don’t think I can ever look at one creator quite the same way again now I’ve seen him on his back, legs in the air and knees by his ears in the middle of a nightclub.
Built into an old warehouse building, the front entrance to the Condor is tucked into a large archway, with a bouncer on the door, checking IDs and I guess making sure everyone knows what they’re letting themselves in for, as he stops me at the door.
“You do know what kinda place this is, right, kid?” he says as he hands me back my ID.
“Uh, yeah, of course! I’m not some vanilla newbie on the scene, honey. But thanks for checking,” I laugh it off, waving away his concerns as I make my way in, climbing the metal grate staircase to the next floor, where the main room and bar are. “I’ve seen it all!”
I turn the corner and stop in my tracks. I had, in fact, not seen it all.
Pausing in the doorway, I survey the scene. Already in full swing, the first thing that grabs my attention is a large ball pit has been inflated and laid out on the central stage. A location that is usually either filled with half-naked muscle daddies dancing and grinding, or even a more X-rated show or two, whether professional or amateur, and surrounded by eager watchers. Instead, the brightly colored inflatable pool is filled with equally colorful balls, some of which are glowing brightly under UV lights (always a questionable inclusion in a bar like this), and three fully grown adults frolicking among them.
I say adults, as it’s hard to make out what their genders are. All are dressed head to toe in rubber, including structured hoods giving them snouts and lolling tongues, and two with erect pointed ears, the other with large flopping ones that sway about their head as they fling balls around the pool with their ‘nose’. One of them is wagging a thick rubber tail that I can only imagine how it’s connected to their body.
Around the room, I realize most people are in some form of this outfit. Some have tails, some are covered up entirely, while others wear harnesses, bare chests on show. Most don’t have any body hair, or sometimes just a little, and some have even artfully matched the stripes in their outfits with their top surgery scars. A handful of the patrons don’t have the dog-shaped hoods and masks, but are still dressed in leather or rubber, and again, nearly everyone has a thick chain or some kind of collar on.
“Oh, I was not expecting this tonight…”
I walk into the room, slowly moving towards the bar, trying not to stare too obviously, but finding myself fascinated by the scene around me. Like an explorer walking into a whole new society in the deepest wilds of an undiscovered country, I watch (and try to do so subtly), as these people cavort like large bipedal canines, or pat each other and give each other scritches behind their leather, rubber or neoprene ‘ears’.
As unusual as the whole thing looks to me, I can’t help but feel the vibe of the room: everyone is having fun. Everyone seems genuinely happy and at ease, and that feeling bleeds into me, and I relax, even if I do stick out like a sore thumb. Even the guys in the oversized dog cages in one corner of the room look to be having a hell of a good night.
I lean against the bar and try and get the attention of the barman, an attractive young otter of a guy wearing just a pair of pleather boxing shorts and sneakers, and has twisted his mustache into fine, curling points either end of his lips. He nods in my direction as he serves an easily six foot four inches tall yellow highlighted pooch-person, to let me know he’s seen me and I’ll be next.
As I lean and wait, I’m startled as something brushes up against my ass. Turning, I see a man who isn’t in the dog-outfit, but a more standard leather waistcoat, a harness underneath, and leather pants. He leers towards me.
“Great ass,” he sloshes.
“Thanks,” I say, frowning. “But I don’t really appreciate someone just grabbing it.”
He stiffens up and sneers. “Your loss,” and he turns and moves off into the crowd, and down into a side room.
As I get served my drink and try to wash the thought of that lecherous, uninvited grope from my mind, I suddenly find myself bounced on by an excitable pup in a black and green rubber bodysuit, a matching puppy mask on their head as they ruff at me, smiling under the mask. I can tell because of their eyes.
“Jesse!” they say, their voice slightly muffled by the hood. “You made it!”
“I did!” I smile back. “I’m sorry, have we met?”
The pup steps back, a light chuckle escaping their costume. They remove their gloves and move their hands up to their mask, unclipping it at the back of the neck and pulling it off, to reveal the smiling face of Will, my date for the evening.
He clips his hood onto a belt loop by his waist as I take him in. Admittedly more covered up than he apparently was on the weekend, I can nonetheless tell he has a thin, lithe body as the skintight rubber of his bodysuit glides over him in straight lines. The green highlights at the side not only match the green in his puppy mask, but also a shock of green hair, a shaved mohawk that right now is a little fluffy and patted down from the hood. He smiles at me, snakebite lip piercing catching the light from behind the bar, as does the piercing in his eyebrow, a tasteful shaven line through his other brow. I realize his eyes are actually green too, but a natural shade and not the violent, neon green of his outfit and hair. He stands quite a bit shorter than me, which is not entirely unusual given my height, but with his overall size it has the effect of making him look adorably tiny, like I could just pick him up even in my arms.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize you weren’t a Pup too,” he laughs, not unkindly. “If I’d known, I’d probably have suggested another night.”
“Er, yeah, got to admit, this is kinda new to me. Wasn’t expecting to walk in on this,” I laugh back, smiling to let him know it’s okay. “What have I walked into exactly?”
“Oh, it’s Pup Night at the Condor. Pups, handlers and their admirers,” Will explains.
I look down at my tastefully ripped jeans, and silky orange shirt with a nice floral pattern. “And what would I be, then?”
“Well, I dunno,” Will says, leaning towards me, as he waves down the barman. “Maybe an admirer,” he gets closer still, fluttering his eyes up at me, “Maybe a handler-to-be, if the night goes well.”
He bites his lip as he leans back, and starts giving the barman his order. I stand there, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, as I feel the lingering heat on my skin where my shirt is open at the top couple of undone buttons, the aftereffect of feeling his breath brush my collarbone.
Oh my.
Will is actually not only devilishly naughty in a very enticing way, but actually incredibly charming. We spend an hour or so talking and drinking, as he takes me around the Condor explaining all the things I’m seeing. He’s not talking down to me, nor is he feeling put upon it seems by my questions when I ask them; instead, he seems pretty delighted to share this part of his life with someone new.
“And this isn’t all just, you know…” I trail off, unable to hold back this particular curiosity anymore.
“A sex thing? Nah, man. At least, not entirely for some, and even not at all for others. It’s just a kind of role play, where people can let go of some of the complexity of being human, you know,” Will explains with a grin.
“Oh, I definitely can understand that. My life feels crazy as all hell at the moment,” I nudge his shoulder, a sign of solidarity in understanding the overwhelming nature of the human experience.
“Oh yeah? How so?”
I take a deep breath and consider how much to tell him. After all, it’s a lot, and I have no idea if it’s at all interesting or if Will is even into comics or whatever. Ultimately, I decide to tell him everything. Well, almost everything.
“…And so now I’m feeling like not only do I need to show how irreplaceable I am working on making this new book a reality, but this could be my opportunity to actually get hired properly as a creator, you know. And, I dunno. I think because all of that side of my life seems to be coming to a head, maybe I need to get everything else in order too, I guess.”
Will looks at me wide eyed for a beat. “Wow,” he sighs, before bursting into laughter and slapping my shoulder, bending double. “You really don’t make it easy on yourself, huh!
“I’m sorry, I’m not laughing at you, but seriously, Jesse, why does it all have to happen at once? You’re definitely right though, it is a lot. Maybe you could do with getting into the pup mindset now and then.”
He gently squeezes my shoulder, as he flashes me his friendly grin, and I have to admit, an electric rush runs from my shoulder and through my chest, making me tingle. It feels like he understood exactly what I mean, even if he doesn’t get why I’m putting pressure on myself. Even if I didn’t tell him the whole truth about my urgency.
“Come on, let’s grab another drink, you definitely need to relax,” he says, biting his lip, and the electric rush in me moves further south. He takes my hand and leads me back towards the bar, and as I watch him walk just in front of me, I can’t help but stare at the form fitting rubber outfit perfectly following the curve of his butt.
I vaguely start to remember the first time I saw him here, when his outfit was far more revealing. I don’t remember seeing him from behind though, just head on. Literally.
I’m about to ask about the piercing when I see the leather guy from earlier, and notice his hand swaying out in a wide arc. The look on his face is the most forced look of absent-mindedness I’ve ever seen, his hand clearly careening towards my crotch. I dance back and use my free hand to intercept his, brushing him aside as I hiss in his direction, “I am not interested.”
“You okay?” Will has turned to look back at me, and as I glance at the consent-avoiding asshole as he casually floats past, holding his head up high, I return to Will.
“Yeah, just lost my balance a second there.”
“You been hitting something harder than the drink to relax? I didn’t have you pegged for that,” Will jokes.
I give him my best mock aghast, letting him know my body is a temple, just as we reach the bar.
Fresh drinks in hand, we find a spot to crowd around a table as the carousing pups continue to play around us. I don’t know why I’m so disarmed by Will, but I do like how understanding he seems. So I tell him about Hank, the maybe suggested proposition and my argument with Cal earlier.
“Wow, okay, that definitely adds another wrinkle to your stress, huh.”
“You’re telling me. I just can’t believe Cal could be such an ass to me about it, he knows how hard I’ve been working,” I moan, and realize I probably sound really tedious now, but Will just smiles, reaching over and stroking the back of my hand. The contact again sends heat through me.
“No, I get it. I mean, we can all say stupid things in the moment, and his anger is not just about you. Sounds like he’s been working hard too and maybe is worried about being left behind if you suddenly get this quicker path, you know? No one likes to be left behind, no matter how it happens.”
Will looks a little sad for a moment, before seeming to literally shake it off, his bright smile returning to his face. I wonder for a moment if he’s experienced being left behind, and if that’s where his understanding comes from. Despite knowing him for so short a time, I already hate to think that ever happened to him.
“Anyway, so what you’re saying is if I want to play with you, I might be running out of time before some silver daddy comes and sweeps you away,” Will jokes, a cocked eyebrow making his piercing jump up and glint as the grin turns sinful.
I blush, but sink into the sinful feeling myself. “Who knows. Maybe,” I sip my drink, and then lock eyes with him again. “So, earlier you said the pup play wasn’t a sex thing, or at least not entirely for some. What is it for you?”
Will’s grin spreads into a full smile, as he bites his lip. “Yeah, I like to ‘play’ too. I like it for the other aspects I mentioned, of course. But I also like rutting with others pups too, and guys who aren’t pups even.” He winks at me.
I let my foot move forward, touching his. “You said maybe I’d be a ‘handler’ earlier?”
“Yeah, so a handler is someone who maybe doesn’t partake in the pup play outfit themself, but might be responsible for some pups.”
“Responsible for them? Like, their master,” I ask, genuinely curious.
“Maybe. It could be a dom/sub thing, sure. Could be just someone who likes to serve by looking out for the pups. Like I say, the whole thing isn’t just a sex thing, it really can be flexible.
“You see how some of the pups are wearing collars or chains, sometimes with padlocks?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, that typically means those pups have a handler, who may be a master or may be their partner. So if you want to pet or play with that pup, you’d best check with their handler first. Sometimes their handler may be another pup themself too, of course. So it’s really flexible.”
“I notice you have a chain on,” I say, pointing at the thick metal link chain around his neck.
“Aye, yeah, I do, but I just like the aesthetic, if I’m honest. I’ve not got a handler. I’m single.” He flashes his eyes at me, and I smile back. “I’m not even sure if I’d want one, I like playing a lot, so I guess I’d be looking for someone like that, whether they be a pup or not. I guess I’m a bit of a beta that way.”
“Beta?” I ask, tilting my head.
“Yeah, I can be dominant, I can be submissive. I’m versatile,” he winks at me.
The conversation going right to there is making the heat between us more palpable, just like it’s making other things more obvious too.
“That’s good to know,” I say. “Thanks for sharing with me, I really appreciate it.” I take a sip of my drink, before adding, “I’m pretty versatile too.”
Will laughs, before grabbing my hand. “Come on, I want to dance for a bit.”
Suddenly, I’m filled with nerves. “With me? I-I’m not a very good dancer, just so you know.”
“Yes, with you,” Will laughs. He drags me to a space in the room where we can dance, a few other patrons already dancing there.
I stand there, awkwardly swaying, not knowing quite what to do with my arms. I’m still feeling a little out of my element, so haven’t quite found it in me to cut loose and enjoy the dancing quite yet. Will, meanwhile, moves with a confidence that is wildly alluring.
“Come on, you just have to loosen up a bit,” he says, and he places his hands on my hips and sways me slowly, with the beat. Slowly, I move closer to him, until our hips are touching, as best they can given our height difference. I’m sure he must be able to feel me pressed against him, but he sure doesn’t seem to mind.
As the heat of the club starts to make me sweat, I figure ‘fuck it’ and unbutton my shirt and let it hang open, feeling a drop of sweat run from my neck, along my collarbone and then unobstructed down my chest. Will moves his hand up, his fingers in the arch of my back, as I let my arms rise above my head and move with the flow.
Suddenly, Will leans in, breathing me in, like he’s taking my scent, before resting his chin on my chest and looking up at me. “This okay?” he asks. Wordlessly, I nod.
He peels off and still swaying to the music, unzips the top half of his rubber bodysuit, pulling his arms out as casually as he can manage. He lets it hang around his waist as he rejoins the dance. His skin glistens with sweat from the rubber, but it just enhances the raw, animal sexuality he’s exuding.
I slowly take in his now unveiled skin, biting my own lip. Will’s body isn’t just skinny, it’s taut with muscle in his arms and shoulders, and his chest. Tattoos decorate his arms, with a paw print tattoo just above his Adonis belt on his right hand side. While not as ripped as his upper body looks, his belly is thin but with a gentle curve, a line of dark brown hair trailing down his navel until it thickens out into a thatch as it hides under the remaining part of his outfit, a slight silver glint of a metal ring glistening out from amongst the soft looking hair.
Will closes the distance until we’re touching again, skin to skin, sweat intermingling. We writhe together on the floor, and I can’t lie, I am rock hard. This is the most erotic I have ever felt in my entire life, and it’s all because of this adorable, yet also insanely hot little guy. I lean in slowly, as Will tilts his head back welcoming me, and we kiss heatedly right there on the dance floor.
I feel one hand up in my hair, slightly tugging me closer. His other is on my chest, his thumb playing at my exposed nipple. His other has gripped and squeezed my ass so forcefully it almost hurts.
Wait a minute.
I shoot my hand back and grab the thick wrist of the hand on my ass, as I spin around. Sure enough, it’s the lecherous leather guy yet again.
“No means no, guy! How I’m dressed is not an invite!” I yell, causing several people to turn towards us. Out of the corner of my eye, I see another leather daddy look from me to the guy whose wrist is in my hand, and he rolls his eyes.
“Yo, is this guy bothering you, Jesse?” Will comes booming around from behind me, shoulders hunched to his ears, almost like an animal trying to make itself look bigger. “Oi, you skeezy fuck, get your hands off him. Right. The fuck. Now!”
Will squares up to the man, who is almost twice his height. “It was just a compliment, jeez. You young guys are so fuckin’ uptight these days,” mutters Mr Grabbyhands.
“Compliments involve words, motherfucker, and I didn’t hear you asking’,” Will doesn’t back down, standing between me and the scumbag.
It’s weirdly both incredibly adorable, watching Will act like a puppy trying to stand up to a bull, but also really hot too. I’m not usually into machismo or toxic displays of masculinity, but knowing that this is him wanting to protect me, a guy he barely knows, is triggering some sort of damsel response in me I didn’t even know I had, I guess.
“What’s the problem here?” The bouncer from the door has come to the dance floor and grabs the man by his shoulder, “Oh, it’s you again? How did I just know it was going to be you. Come on now, time to go, buddy,” he grabs the guy, who rolls his eyes and throws up his hands, shouting about people being too damn sensitive these days again.
Then, the other leather daddy walks up and stops them. He points at the guy, “You’ve been warned, Alan. You’re still being a complete scumbag, so if you can’t understand consent, you’re done. Your membership is revoked, don’t come to our events anymore, you’ll be wasting all our time.”
The guy swears and lets everyone know about his annoyance as he’s carted out of the Condor. The Leather Daddy comes up to me and Will, looking to me first, “I’m sorry about him. We don’t tolerate that kind of behavior at the NY Fetishmen events, and we especially won’t tolerate anyone making prospective new members feel threatened or uncomfortable. Please don’t let the experience color your opinion of us or the scene. We’re all a big family really, if you’ll have us. Will.” He nods towards Will, and leaves us to carry on together.
Will whirls around and grabs my hands. “You okay? I am so sorry about that, I hate that that happened to you. You okay?”
“You already asked that,” I smile. Then I lean in, so my lips are a fraction of distance from Will’s ear. “I’m fine. You just really, really turned me on just then.”
I lean back, and Will smiles broadly, a slightly jagged canine running along his lip. He grabs my hand.
“Come on.”
We move swiftly up some more stairs, moving to another floor, as we hit each corner in the turn of the steps, we slam against them, our lips unable to stay off each other for long.
We keep moving, eventually making it up to the next floor, an area that seems to be split into some wider spaces, some with doors, some without, and winding corridors, lined with men.
Some are undressed, others unzipped, most have their hands on their dicks as they watch others play around them. Many have kept their pup hoods on no matter what they’re doing. In one of the rooms, there’s a large padded mat, and on it two pups are fucking as others watch and play with themselves or each other. Pants and moans almost takeover entirely from the sound of the music downstairs, the beat from it felt through the floor yet somehow adding to the sexual atmosphere throughout.
Will turns to me again. “This okay? You okay?”
“Sure,” I breathe out, looking around. “What is this place?”
“The play area,” Will says. “If you don’t want to, it’s cool, I just, well, I really want you. But if I misread this…”
I fix him in place with a look. “You didn’t misread. I want you.”
“Cool. Awesome,” Will smiles. “We can find a private area, or?—”
I slam into him, hands on his face, pulling him deep into me, breathing in a heady musk of sweat and rubber as I push him against the wall. After a startled pause, Will leans into it, a low growl in his throat that for some reason sends me wild.
He flips me so my back is against the wall, his hands sliding down my back, until he’s in the back of my pants. I feel his hands cup my bare ass under my jeans, increasing the pressure against my cock as it strains to get out.
My hand moves down his body, until I find the zip. “This okay?” I ask.
He lets out a short, soft bark in response, before he moves his lips to my nipple, biting gently.
As I gasp in pleasure, I unzip as far as I can reach, realizing the zipper goes down and around and back up behind him. But it’s low enough to let his own hard dick drop out into the palm of my hand, and I stroke him as he licks and bites my nipple, vibrating with the low grunts and growls at the back of his throat.
I pull back, releasing my nipple from his mouth, so I can lean in again and kiss him. As I breathe out across his lips, I stare into his green eyes, feeling like an animal in heat. I drop slowly to my knees until I’m looking at his dick, pierced, and surprisingly…
“You’re uncut?”
“Heh, yeah. I know, not so common, right?”
I smile up at him, before gently pulling his foreskin back, revealing his head and more of the ring piercing through it. My fascination overtakes me, I’ve never had a pierced dick before, or one with foreskin. I lean in, burying my nose in the thatch of thick, brown hair at his base. I breathe it in deep, amazed that the scent of him is actually turning me on even more. I’m usually an awful clean freak, but for some reason his musk and sweat is making me feel rampant.
I kiss along his shaft, letting my hand gently stroke his balls until my lips find his head. I kiss the ring of his piercing, delighting momentarily in the slightly metallic taste, before bringing my hand back to wrap my fingers around the base of his shaft and squeeze. My lips part, and I take him in.
I hear him whimper and growl in the dark above me, as his cock feels like it pushes further back into my throat than anyone has before. His dick isn’t the biggest I’ve seen or had before, but it’s like the piercing gives it the sensation of pushing back further.
Licking the tip, I rise back up, kissing him so he can taste himself on my lips.
“Fuck, you are so hot,” Will sighs. In this moment, I actually believe him.
Will pushes me back, kissing me hard as his hands move down, fisting my hard dick through my pants. I can feel his desire in the animal way he kisses me, and his hands start working at my pants so he can get them off me, so he can let me out, so he can?—
No.
I put my hand on his shoulder and hold him back just as he’s about to move to his knees. He stops and looks at me, the look of confusion on his features still clear in the dark.
“You okay?”
“I, I can’t do this right now,” I say, feeling like an absolute asshole. “I’m sorry, I just…everything’s on my mind and I just…I just feel too tense.”
I hate lying to him, even partially. He doesn’t deserve that, but I’m still not ready to face the truth. Especially not alone.
Will just touches my cheek, making me look at him, “Hey, hey, it’s okay. We don’t have to do anything else now. I’m happy enough knowing you want to.”
“Oh, I do.”
“I can tell,” he laughs, as our naked cocks are distractingly brushing against each other. “But hey, we don’t need to rush. Like you said, you got a lot on. We can come at this again with our proper heads on, not just our horny, lusty ones,” he smiles, and I feel bemused that this guy isn’t snatched up already.
We pull up our pants, and I close my shirt as Will zips back up to the neck. “Thank you for understanding, I’m so sorry for being a total tease.”
“Hey, none of that, man. Consent is a constant thing, when it ends, it ends. There’ll be other times,” he nudges me, looking up at me hopefully. “I hope, anyway.”
I take his hands and kiss him, “Me too.”
We stand there smiling at each other, and then we hear someone moan and look over as a man cums loudly over three pups on their knees before him.
“This is a really oddly sincere discussion to be having here in this environment, right?”
“Just a bit,” Will laughs. “Come on, let me buy you another drink.”