15. RJ

Chapter fifteen

RJ

G etting ready for work and a date afterwards means my entire wardrobe is laid out on my bed. I haven't dated two people before, let alone a couple at the same time, and I'm both excited and anxious.

Gay and Cin aren't immature like the people I've dated before in high school and college. Kyle acted as if he was wise from the few years he had on me, but my therapist talked to me about how a mature person acts in a relationship. Kyle is an insecure and childish baby of a man.

While I've identified as demisexual for years, Gay and Cin only take a couple meetings to go from unknown to people I want to sleep with. I'm not used to feeling a strong attraction beyond friendship or finding people aesthetically pleasing. But I'm also newly out of a long, sheltered relationship.

A phone call with my therapist this week helps me see I'm not jumping into the first good thing. Gay has been making sure I take things slow and understand my own thoughts and emotions before we go further.

But it has been a long, horny week.

Cin and I message daily, with us trading memes and them teasing me relentlessly. Gay checks in every morning and evening, Daddying me in a way I want to feel offline as well.

Both turn me on and I want more…More easy conversation. More teasing. More care. More.

My you're-going-to-be-late alarm rings out and I start stuffing things into an overnight bag. All of the things I couldn't choose between are obvious when I have to pick or be late. I'm wearing a mesh jock with my stand-to-pee packer, but I toss in my flaccid and erect cocks along with a harness I like for wearing my dick if I'm topping, so I'm covering all my bases.

Honestly, I'm happy topping or bottoming, but it has been a long time for either. I'm sure they have lube, but I add my favorite, my toiletries bag, a casual outfit for tomorrow, and pause on the pj's. Gay said she wanted me to bring a set I'm comfy in. The ones I have halfway in my bag have dinos and I worry they're too juvenile.

They're not Kyle . I remind myself, playing off a phrase my therapist pointed out. She knows I'm kinky as well as everything he put me through. She assures me wanting to feel little is natural and common.

Zipping the bag closed, I slip into black shoes without a heel so I can wear them at work. My outfit is upscale for most offices, and possibly a bit much for dinner and Gay and Cin's, but my boss says there is no such thing as overdressing.

Ana?s Roux is not in her office when I arrive, only five minutes after eight. She tends to either roll in around ten after a night out or sleep in her office after pulling an all-nighter. There is no in between.

Stashing the overnight bag under my desk, I pop up to see Sarah holding two mugs I can smell from across the room. "Coffee?" Sarah nods and hands one to me, leaning a chiffon-covered hip on my desk and tossing her red hair over a shoulder.

"Thank you," I whisper, sipping the drink she doctored exactly the way I like it, with lots of sugar and cream. I didn't sleep much, too excited for my date tonight, and I need some caffeine fortification.

"Was the thank you for me or the coffee?" Sarah asks, her tone conveying she's in a humorous mood. I'm guessing this is her second or third cup, since her pale skin and green eyes have a certain awake glow I haven't achieved yet.

"Both."

"And are you planning to sleep on Ana?s' couch tonight, or do you have plans?"

"No, I–" I start, not sure if I plan to tell her the truth about my sleepover date, but our boss interrupts so I don't have to decide.

"I am the only one allowed to sleep on my couch," Ana?s Roux states in her thick French accent, not looking up from her phone.

"Good morning, Ms. Roux," Sarah rushes to take the large purse from the tiny woman.

Where Sarah has curves, Ana?s Roux looks like a doll with her dark hair wrapped in a silk scarf and couture clothes she tailors to her small frame. I'm taller than both of them, though I'm average height for a man, but these two women exude confidence and competence in a way I never have.

Setting my coffee down, I rush to open the door to her office so she doesn't have to stop, "Good morning, Ms. Roux."

"Bonjour," she mutters, typing away with both thumbs. Sarah and I follow her in, and I pull my phone out of my pocket to take notes, which I know will be needed. "What are my meetings today?"

"You have the call about the textile imports with Malaysia in fifteen minutes," Sarah tells her from memory. "With the twelve hour time difference, they are eager to get you on the phone."

"Oui, that is why I came early," Ana?s waves her hand for Sarah to go on.

"Ten-thirty is the editorial meeting for this season's newsletter," Sarah continues and I make sure my calendar matches. "Lunch is at Ocean Club with–"

"Frisco, oui. We will travel together."

Ana?s mentions the Associate Designer of menswear for her brand, who Sarah and I speculate she also has a friends-with-benefits arrangement with. He's a bearded Latino man who comes off as gay, but we've seen him flirt with our boss. My guess is bi.

"Understood. At three we will have the closet ready to purge."

The closet is a magical place I love to be in, ironically. It's more of a swanky warehouse for Fantasie Mode's seasonal styles and accessories to go with them. My main task today is sorting clothes for Ana?s to review.

Ana?s and Sarah confirm the schedule and we exit her corner office with the view of Boston's seaport. Me to the closet where there are no windows to damage the fabrics, and Sarah to connect the call.

A large center island where I set up shop is covered in white granite and full of drawers to go through. The day passes quickly, and I don't realize I've skipped my lunch break until Sarah, Ana?s Roux, Frisco, and his design intern, Jack, arrive to go through the closet. I kill the music playing on my phone and stand to attention.

The autumn designs are already being sold and the winter line will be out in November, but we have to work months ahead. Ana?s and Frisco make quick work of sorting what should go into stores, what goes to storage, and what to give away. The most recent designs can be sent to celebrities and influencers so they can promote the brand, and I'm in charge of who gets what. Sarah and I take notes and Frisco's assistant starts the process of boxing things.

Jack carries two boxes out of the room and the door closes behind him when he accidentally dislodges the doorstop, causing a breeze to flow in from the change in pressure. The fabrics barely ruffle, but the pages of my notebook flip to a design I was sketching at home this week. I only have the book with me to take notes so my phone doesn't die while playing music all day.

"What is this?" Frisco asks, reaching out to stop the pages on an unfinished sketch I'm drawing for Cin.

They want to see a design from me, and I decided to make it for Cin's smaller frame and gender-fluid style. I did not plan to show my boss or anyone else at Fantasie Mode .

"Oh, um. Just something I'm sketching for a friend. I promise that was on my own time." I feel my cheeks heat as I stammer through an explanation.

"Your own design?" Ana?s steps up beside Frisco to get a closer look. "Proportions are off."

"My friend isn't model height, only five-two, and has no hips or breasts, but loves design," I explain, not mentioning Cin's gender while implying their shape.

"My height and frame," Ana?s says with a frown and I worry I've disappointed her. Does she think I'm lying about it being for a friend? She turns the page to another design I've finished, a dress with a high neck, long, sheer sleeves, and pockets. "What color were you thinking?"

"Black," I answer automatically, still unsure why she is giving my scribbles attention. "It's all they wear."

"They?" Ana?s tilts her head and I wonder if judgment will come next. " Androgyne . I can see that."

Letting out a breath I don't realize I am holding, I glance at Sarah to find her smiling. She wouldn't be smiling if I'm in trouble, right?

"Sarah, get me the jumpsuit from my personal collection," Ana?s commands, turning another page and reminding me that my boss is looking at drawings no one has seen before.

"The one you wore to the gallery showing?" Sarah clarifies.

Ana?s raises a brow and glances at Sarah but doesn't speak. She reminds me of Gay's easy dominance, and I feel myself blushing at the comparison. Sarah goes to the corner where we keep the clothing Ana?s has had tailored for her, but she won't wear ever again after being pictured in them.

Sarah pulls the garment bag out and lays it next to my notebook, unzipping the white bag to reveal a black jumpsuit in a shimmery Cervelt fabric. I gasp, remembering the pictures of her in this exact outfit. I'm dying to touch the garment in a material so expensive I've never seen it in person.

"I would like to discuss an androgyne line with you." Ana?s nods and taps my sketchbook. I'm too in shock at her words to take in what she says next. "You can give this to your friend."

"Are we done here?" Frisco asks, looking up from his phone and pulling Ana?s' attention back to the task of sorting.

"Oui," Ana?s takes Frisco's offered hand, and they follow Jack out with the last arm-full of garment bags for storage.

Gaping after them, I startle at the sound of a zipper and see Sarah closing the bag on the closet island. "Did that really happen?" I ask myself out loud.

"It did, well done," Sarah praises, folding the white bag over an arm and collecting her phone. "I'll leave this at your desk."

"She can't really mean for me to give that to my friend? Cin is a paralegal, not anyone famous or influential."

"Ana?s has given me numerous things from the closet, for myself or others in my life. She meant it." Sarah pauses on the way out, a patient expression on her face. "And she has designers as assistants for a reason. If Ana?s Roux says she wants your input, she means it."

Sarah leaves the closet and I'm left with my notebook and shock to mull over. Ana?s Roux wants me to consult on a line with her. A gender-fluid line people might wear in a fashion show or even on celebrities. Doing a little happy dance, I'm interrupted by an alarm on my phone.

Only one hour before Gay and Cin pick me up for our date.

Running my hand over the hidden gift for Cin, I'm glad we're going to their place instead of a restaurant. I hope Cin will model the jumpsuit for me and Gay… And then get naked with me.