Chapter 13

When he opened his eyes, he panicked at first.

Where the fuck am I?

This was not an unfamiliar experience to Scott so he stayed calm. Prin snuggled into his shoulders and images from the previous night flashed through his mind. The whole thing had been so much better than he'd expected. It had been years since Scott had been so connected to a lover. The afterglow was still going on. That hadn't happened even with Toby.

He should be alarmed by this rush of emotion but if Tyler and Eddie could navigate their way through this then he could too.

"I wish it was the weekend," Prin said.

Just the sound of his voice and calm was restored.

"God, me too," Scott replied. "Work is going to be a bitch. Totally worth it, mind you."

"Well you slept over. I must have done something right."

He stroked Prin's arm. Scott had more than demonstrated his attraction to Prin. Yet, other than sex, he sensed hesitation had returned. It pained Scott that Prin would consider himself unworthy.

Scott vowed to rid Prin of every trace of that. Mind you, judging by the way he'd thrown his inhibitions off the previous night, most of the work might already be done.

"You did everything right," Scott said. "Look at me. I'm awake early. Believe me, that never happens."

Content, he kissed Prin's hand.

"Fancy making out until the alarm goes?" Prin asked.

Scott spun round and faced him. "Too fucking right, I do."

Sadly, the time eventually came when they had to extract themselves and get their clothes on. Scott was searching for a sock under Prin's sofa while Prin had jumped in the shower. It had been a while since he'd had an unscheduled sleepover on a work night. He'd already texted Eddie to get him clean underwear but he'd have to go to work in something.

His fingers caught on a hard object. Frowning, he peered underneath. To his surprise there was a leather paddle. Next to it a crop. And next to that a collar. Scott gulped. He grabbed his sock and sat back.

"Everything okay?"

Prin stood in the doorway wrapped in a towel.

Scott stood and held his sock up. "I'd lost this bad boy."

They both went into the bedroom. Prin let the towel drop. Scott grabbed him by the waist and drew him close.

"I really enjoyed last night," Scott said, placing a kiss on Prin's neck. A place he'd soon learnt to be one of his pressure points.

Prin squirmed out of his grasp. "Good," he said. "I'm going to resist you or we'll be late for work."

Scott flicked him with his sock. "And that would never do."

They dressed in silence. Scott couldn't get those items under the sofa out of his head. It wasn't that he was a prude. That would be an occupational hazard working at Pleasure Seekers. He'd never gone in for all that.

What he didn't want was this experience ending on a weird note. He had very much enjoyed Prin's company as well as his body. They would absolutely be parting as lovers with no uncertainty. Scott didn't hold any and he hoped to God Prin didn't.

Once they were ready, he turned to Prin. "Are we going to the office together?"

Prin looked startled. "Oh not yet," he said.

"Fine," Scott said. "I'll grab a coffee somewhere when we're nearby. I quite like having a secret affair. It makes me feel sexy."

He kissed Prin. It would be the last one. Until the next time. However, Scott was determined to make it count. He rested his arm in the small of Prin's back and held his head with the other.

That was until Prin wriggled free. "Another time?"

"You bet. I haven't even scratched the surface of all the things I want to do to you."

What is happening? I'm never this corny.

"Ignore that," he said, hurriedly. "My chat gets better."

"Oh, I've seen that. Many times."

Laughing, they left Prin's apartment. Almost immediately, the door across the hallway was flung open. A man in his late forties with wild hair and even wilder eyes stood in front of them. Prin stiffened.

Instinctively, Scott moved toward Prin. This man exuded negative vibes.

"Oh," Prin said. "Good morning, Jeremy."

"Good morning."

Jeremy's gaze flitted from Prin to Scott then back to Prin.

"I thought I heard voices last night."

"So sorry if we disturbed you," Prin said. "We'd better go. It's a workday after all."

Prin grabbed Scott's hand and half dragged him to the stairwell. Before going through the door, Scott glanced over his shoulder. Jeremy scowled at him. Resplendent in a purple silk robe, he reminded Scott of a cut-price Disney villain. He gave him a little wave as he went down the stairs.

Prin didn't live too far from the office and on a sunny morning like they stepped out into, it seemed a shame to get the bus.

"Shall we take the scenic route?" Scott asked.

"I think you're determined to make me late," Prin replied with a twinkle in his eye. "You do remember who I work for."

"Go on," Scott said, nudging him. "Live on the wild side. Richard will have more on his plate soon than your timekeeping skills."

"I guess we've got time."

They fell into step.

"Who was that?" Scott asked.

"Oh, Jeremy. He can be a little odd."

"Odd or threatened?" Scott asked. "Have you…"

"Yes."

Scott didn't know how he felt about that. With his own track record, he didn't have a molecule of a right to be jealous. Even so, he was.

"There's nothing else to it," Prin said. "If you were wondering."

Scott shrugged. "It's none of my business."

"No, of course not."

Did Scott detect a tang of regret in Prin's voice? They walked on in silence. Scott knew that he had been down more dead-end streets than most. He had a good feeling about Prin.

He stopped. Prin did too.

"What about if we weren't to sleep with other people?" Scott blurted out.

Prin seemed taken aback.

"I know it's only been a night but I want to see where this is going," Scott continued with his verbal diarrhoea. "It-it might be nice, that's all. Forget I said anyth?—"

Prin silenced him with a kiss. Scott stared into his eyes.

"You are so different to the person you pretend to be," Prin said.

"Yes well, so are you," Scott replied. "You come across as though butter wouldn't melt. Not only do I know first-hand that isn't the case, it appears so does your neighbour. The scandal of it all."

"Less talk and more walk."

"What have you got planned today?" Prin asked.

Scott groaned. "First things first I need to persuade Barry to give me the CCTV as it stands at the moment."

The streets of Brighton were almost deserted. Only the odd van making a delivery to a café. Of course, the ever-present soundtrack of gulls screeching was all around them.

Scott pinched Prin's bum, making him leap.

"Hey," Prin said.

"Chill out, I couldn't resist," Scott said, doing it again.

Prin laughed and grabbed his hand.

"Be very careful. When I was a kid, my uncle sent me to learn Muay Thai. It was supposed to toughen me up."

Judging by the strength of his grip, it had worked.

"I surrender," Scott said, laughing.

All the shops were closed, but even so a gorgeous pair of oversized khaki pants caught his eye. He might have to call into town on his way home. That was if the fatigue from the night before hadn't caught up with him.

"What do you need the CCTV footage from Barry for?" Prin asked. "I gave you the file."

"Because I want to show the comparison," Scott explained. "I'm leaving no stone unturned."

"So I can see," Prin replied. "I can see I'm going to have to keep an eye on you. Such a devious mind."

Swiftly, Prin pinched Scott's bum.

They carried on the way to work. Scott was dangerously close to having a spring in his step.

"It's definitely him," Carla said.

"Told you."

They were both studying Scott's laptop. He'd finally got his evidence together. Once Barry had handed over the doctored version of the CCTV, Scott had managed to splice them together to show the changes. He was quite proud of himself. All those TikTok and Insta videos were paying off.

Carla rubbed her forehead. "I was half hoping you were wrong. Fuck."

"Sorry."

"Not your fault, love," Carla said. "Hey, you've done a first-class job. You should be proud of yourself."

Scott blushed. "Thank you. What are you going to do?"

"I've no idea," she replied. "Richard will turn it into a shitstorm. That is for sure. Can you email me the files?"

"Already done."

She grinned at him. "You're after my job, you little sod."

Scott cackled. "Not in the least. I like being your bitch too much."

"We do make a good team."

"Plus, it's handy leaving you to handle this. Sorry but not sorry."

"Thanks. I always get the shitty end of things."

"That's why you get the big bucks, my love." Scott got up. "Let me know if you need anything else."

Scott let himself out of the meeting room. The team were watching him intently. As he made his way to his desk, he didn't dare look over at the IT department. People knew he'd been investigating the thefts. Whoever his gaze landed on could be suspected of being a snitch. Scott absolutely would not let that be Prin.

Instead, he grabbed his lunch and made his way out of the office. As usual, Charlotte was in reception.

"Hello, mister. Not seen you for a while."

"We'll have a catch up soon. I reckon I might have some gossip for you in the not-too-distant future."

Charlotte scowled. "Teaser. I'd better be the first person you come to. After your cock squad, of course."

Scott roared with laughter. "Cock squad. I love that. I'm getting us T-shirts."

The lift came and he stepped in. As he travelled down to the ground floor, he caught sight of himself in the mirror. He had a stupid contented expression on his face.

Oh God, I'm turning into one of them.

When he got outside, Tyler and Eddie were sitting in the little garden area usually frequented by the smokers. When Scott had got into the office, he'd told them an emergency lunch meeting was required. Although, as they always ate together, it was a little redundant.

"What's the situation?" Tyler asked.

Scott sat in between them.

"You can't have finished with him already," Eddie added.

"Of course not," Scott said.

Now he was here, he didn't have the words. Every opening sentence he'd rehearsed had sounded incredibly lame.

"Please spit it out," Eddie said. "We've only got an hour."

"Okay," Scott replied. "Basically, I stayed at Prin's last night as you know. This morning, I went to get my sock from under the sofa and found…"

"Found what?" Tyler asked. "A body?"

"No, things we sell here. A crop, a paddle and stuff like that."

Tyler whistled. "Wow. Prin really is a dark horse, isn't he?"

"Exciting," Eddie said.

Scott spun round to face him. "Exciting?"

"Are you telling me you don't experiment?" Eddie asked.

"I'm not a prude if that's what you're saying," Scott replied.

"Listen, a few months ago, I felt like you," Tyler said. "Let's say, being with Danny has been an education."

Scott stared at him. "Really? I presumed with the noises stopping from your room, you'd lost your enthusiasm."

Tyler chuckled. "No, Scott. We're going through a gag phase at the moment."

Scott held his hand up. "I don't want to know."

"For someone who has bedded most of Brighton and a considerable part of Hove, you're very vanilla," Eddie said.

"I am not!"

"Sounds like it to me."

"Listen," Tyler said. "If you're not comfortable, I'm sure Prin won't make you."

"I never said I was uncomfortable," Scott said, standing up. "Is it possible to take me seriously for a second? I really like this guy. More than anyone for ages. I don't want to mess it up and we know the chances of that are high."

Eddie reached out to him. "Scott, come on. I wasn't meaning anything by it."

Scott allowed himself to be dragged back down. Tyler and Eddie snuggled into him from both sides.

"Our innocent little Scottie," Tyler said. "What are we going to do with you?"

"Fuck off," he snarled, although he couldn't hide the mirth much longer.

"Take courage, brave soldier," Eddie added. "You must choose your weapon and do it for the greater good."

Scott squirmed free of him. "Who says I haven't?"

He rummaged in his pocket and got out his phone. Holding it up so they could read his screen, he opened a message to Prin.

Urgent. After work debrief required. Location TBC. Time 7pm. Please await further instruction. DO NOT REPLY.

He pressed Send.

"There, you pair of pigs. I'll show you who's vanilla. That's the last time I come to you two for advice."

He got up for a second time and dusted his trousers off.

"Where are you going now?" Eddie asked.

"To see Stan in the warehouse."