Preston
We left the house and headed toward the bar that Kyle knew about. It was called The Haunt. We pulled around back and parked. The entrance was off the back parking lot. As we headed in, I could see that the inside was covered in what looked like reclaimed wood applied like paneling. A couple of pool tables were on one side and a bar ran the entire length of the other. At the far end was another room with additional seating. The place already had people lining the entire bar, so we headed to the back.
We all got a beer and found a tall bar table with stools around it. Jake, Dexter, and I were looking around with wide eyes, taking in what for us was an unusual ambiance. Jake and Dexter had been to bars before, but even they'd never seen anything quite like this before. On the walls were artists' renderings of beautiful, muscular men in leather wearing the same kind of boots that Kyle had me wearing.
A few people were milling around the already occupied bar. There were two open areas, marked with rubber mats, where bartenders were pouring drinks, mostly draft beer. Some of the patrons were wearing leather strap-like garments, much like the pictures on the wall, and a few of the younger ones were dressed in jeans with tapered white t-shirts. A few of the others appeared to be cowboys.
One of them saw us sitting around the table. His eyes widened as a big toothy smile spread across his face. Jumping up, he crossed the bar, walked around the table throwing his arms around Kyle, and gave him a big kiss. "Kyle, I haven't seen you in a month of Sundays. What have you been up to?" he asked.
Kyle introduced me as his 'boy,' following that with my name, which was a first for me.
The man introduced himself as Dave before Kyle had a chance, reaching out and shaking my hand, perhaps a little too long. He had a dark mustache rounding his mouth into a short goatee, and his head was totally shaved. As he shook my hand, he gave me a look like we had a mutual secret. I quickly pulled away realizing Kyle was watching.
"Easy does it, Dave," Kyle said. "That boy's mine."
"Well, you got yerself a pretty one." Running his finger down my neck, he turned again to Kyle. "No collar?"
"It's too early for that. Now, if you'll excuse us, this is Preston's first time in here," Kyle said with a note of irritation in his voice.
In my earlier research about this lifestyle, I'd seen several references to the collar. I didn't understand all the rules, but apparently being collared was a big deal. Everyone who saw a boy wearing a collar knew they were the property of a Sir who was likely near and not to interfere.
Dave said goodbye and joined his friends at the bar.
By this time, the walls of the bar were dotted with men. Most of them were talking, but some of them were casually looking over the other men at the bar. Leaning into Kyle, I whispered into his ear. "Are all these guys either Doms or subs?"
"No. Most of them aren't. There's a whole variety here. Some of these guys like the look and feel of leather. Some are into S & M. There are more ways to be into 'something' than you can count. Almost all of the people here have some kind of preference they're not willing to share with the general public. Ironically, these preferences are a lot more common than most people think."
Having examined several of the patrons coming and going, I noticed something odd. "What's with the scarf in the back pocket thing?"
"Oh that. Well you don't see that as much as you used to, but those colored scarves stand for preferences. Certain guys like to do certain things, but it's not always easy to talk. A colored scarf tells the story. There's a list online if you ever care to check it out."
The later it got, the more enthralled I was by the place. The men varied dramatically. A few were seriously overweight, and one had an unusually long beard. There were men who, to me, almost appeared to be in costume. Others wore no shirt. showing off either their muscled torsos or their hairy chest. Many were sexy as hell. Several of them were wearing heavy leather work boots. Kyle said most of them would be in leather jackets or vests when winter hit.
After an hour or so, I was getting a buzz. The whole environment made me feel like I was somewhere I belonged.
Kyle walked me around the corner toward the restroom. There was a little room off to the left that was probably meant to be an office, but the walls were painted black. There was movement. "You stay out of there," he said. I felt like a voyeur. My curiosity was piqued but I'd been given an order, so that was the way it was going to be. When we returned to the table, Kyle excused himself to greet an old friend.
Leonard took the other guys to see the back room and visit the restroom, leaving me at the table. Within a few seconds Kyle's friend Dave was standing next to me. He leaned against the table, holding himself up by his elbow and explained to me that I was considered available since I wasn't collared, leaving me feeling vulnerable. After a minute or so he started to leave me his phone number.
"I can't take that," I said. "I belong to Kyle and he won't like my having it. I wouldn't do anything to upset him." I'd never told anyone I was Kyle's property before. It made me feel secure and protected. I could see Kyle, over Dave's shoulder, heading back to the table double time. Reaching the table, he sat next to me glaring at Dave who excused himself after a few niceties.
"Did he try to pick you up?"
"Look, I won't lie to you, but please don't give him a hard time. He was going to give me his number, but I told him I belonged to you, and not to bother. He won't be back, but please don't be mad at him."
Kyle looked at me like he was trying to judge whether he had a reason to worry about my motivation to keep the peace. In a minute, he sat back and relaxed. "He knows better. I'll let it slide for now, but only because you asked me to. If I ever catch him trying that again…"
Kyle's comments were interrupted by the boys returning to the table. It was getting late and Leonard suggested we all head back home, so we started toward the door to the parking lot.
When we got back home and the boys headed out, I thanked Kyle for letting me have this dinner party and showing us the bar. It must have been obvious how happy I was.
He said, "Leonard and I really liked Robert. He's a natural, you know. I kind of fell into this whole lifestyle over a year or so, but from what I hear, Robert had the characteristics of a Dom before he even knew what it was. We gave him a few pointers when we were talking in the living room. Poor Jake won't know what hit him. Robert didn't really know the range of activities available to him. I told him that everything isn't for everybody. I hope he was paying attention to the parameters we laid down."
"I'm going to have to call Jake tomorrow. I'm dying to find out what happened."
"I wouldn't be surprised if Robert hasn't put a gag order on Jake by then, not to mention a gag."
"Gag, what are you talking about? Is that stuff we haven't done yet?"
"Yep, but don't worry, that's… usually not my thing."
"What do you mean usually?"
"Well some guys can get a little loud. That's when I make the exception." I made a mental note that I should control my outbursts. Then again, if I wanted to try it, I could crank it up a bit. "I hope the gag order isn't in place yet. I want to hear everything."
Dropping it for now, I finished the dishes and headed back into the living room. By then, Kyle had his computer open again and was making a few notes. He turned and told me to sit down. "I have some news for you."
Sitting down, I leaned forward with my knees together with my hands trapped between them. Something about the look on his face told me this was important.
"We're going to be doing something to help out Leonard and Dexter. You see, Leonard seems to be giving up on Dexter. He likes him a lot, but before he gets too attached he thinks he needs to break it off. Leonard guards his heart. If someone isn't just right, he moves on."
"Why would he do that? That'll kill Dexter. He's falling for Leonard. He told me he can feel that something's wrong. It won't surprise him, but I think he'll take it hard. Is it the flip-flop thing? I think Dexter called it a switch?"
"Yes. He thinks Dexter isn't a pure submissive, at least not the kind of submissive he seems to think he needs. He's afraid he has a lot of Dom in his veins and nothing he can do will ever change that. This is Leonard's problem. There's nothing wrong with being a switch. They moved in together, which actually was a good thing. Living around each other is how he was able to see Dexter's dominant characteristics. He knows he'll never be able to live with that. By living together, he was better able to determine who Dexter actually is."
"Is that it? Isn't he just being a bit sensitive? I mean he's a Dom and all, why can't he deal with that?"
"You have a point, but for Leonard, it's a very real problem. He fell in love with a guy when he first got involved in the lifestyle. The guy left Leonard and switched, becoming a Dom to a different guy that he's still with. Lots of guys are switches, but Leonard can't be a sub to anyone, and he thinks if he's with a switch they'll resent him or cheat on him after a while. So a switch makes him insecure, which doesn't sit well with his nature, but don't tell him I said that. Frankly, that's why Leonard and I never turned into a thing. He could tell I had a strong dominant side."
I knew that Kyle had been trained as a sub, but couldn't imagine him ever doing the things I did. I think he saw the worry in my face but was only too quick to put that to rest saying, "You don't have to worry about me. Part of the reason Leonard and I are still friends is that I knew I could live the rest of my life without subbing again, but I was dying to do with others what he'd done to me. Anyway, I agreed to let Dexter use the spare room until he gets back on his feet. So, if Dexter's okay with it, we're going to have a roommate for a while."
I wasn't surprised. Kyle was like that. He had a kindness about him. I was glad we could be a safety net for my best friends. "Dexter was telling me he thought this might be coming. Apparently, Leonard's been correcting his behavior more than he likes. He just thought it would go away as they got to know each other. He said he feels like letting go completely when he subs with Leonard, but sometimes he just wants to reverse roles and Leonard just can't. He doesn't want to cheat on him, so he just has to hold it in."
"He could be here as early as tomorrow. We'd better get some sleep tonight; tomorrow could be a busy day."
"After everything I saw in that bar tonight I was kind of hoping…"
"Tomorrow; tonight, we need our sleep."