Chapter 7

7

Connor

"Law! Law, Connor has something to tell us!" The gleeful note in Asad's voice made Connor smile and shake his head. At least he had one friend who would completely back him up. Following Asad and Morgan down the hall into the kitchen, he found Law there with Iris, Q, and Sam. The gang's all here.

He couldn't decide if that was better or worse.

Ripping off the band-aid with Asad had been impulsive, which wasn't like him, but it had been a relief. He'd been fairly certain how Asad would react, and it felt easier to tell just one of his friends instead of all of them. Having Morgan there had been helpful, too. The two of them had become close even before she'd gotten together with Asad, and he'd known she would accept him as he was.

He didn't know Sam or Iris as well. Though he liked both of them, his time with them was due to their being connected to Q and Law. Eventually, that might change, but they hadn't had enough time to get close or anything. A small part of him cared a little about what they thought, but not as much as he did about Law and Q.

Those were the two he didn't want to disappoint.

And as much as part of him enjoyed getting one over on Law, he also didn't want his friend mad at him. He would only be able to enjoy it if Law wasn't actually upset with him. It was the thought that Law might be truly angry that was making his stomach churn. Asad's glee was somewhat reassuring in that he didn't think Law was actually going to be angry, or else he wouldn't be looking forward to the reaction.

"Oh?" Law asked, raising one eyebrow as he looked up from where he was standing behind the counter. It looked like he and Iris were assembling food to go out on the grill. She was beside him, short and cheerful, smiling up at Connor as he came in. Law wasn't that much taller than her, but he packed a presence. Asad liked to joke that he was the Filipino Mr. Clean, and with his bald head and stern demeanor, he'd make a good one, though he'd have to shave his goatee.

Looking back and forth between Law and Connor, Asad made a little circle gesture with his hand. Go on. Tell him.

Connor's courage was failing him, especially with that look on Law's face.

"I had dinner with Mistress Julie last night." There. That was the truth, even if it wasn't everything.

Law frowned and looked over at Asad. He clearly realized something was up because of the way Asad was acting, but he hadn't caught on yet.

"It wasn't just dinner, though, was it?" Asad prodded, stepping over to put his hand on Connor's shoulder. Some of his glee had dissipated, as though he'd realized that something about this was making Connor nervous, so he was stepping in to help. "It was a date. "

"A date?" Law blinked.

Beside him, Iris' eyes widened, and from over to the side, he heard Samantha's small gasp and Q's low murmur. They were picking up what Asad was putting down, but it appeared Law was a little slower on the uptake.

"With Mistress Julie? But…"

It felt like the air in the room stilled, everyone waiting with bated breath to see what Law would say next. His frown deepened.

"Are… are you the secret admirer?" Q asked after the longest moment in the world.

Connor kept his gaze on Law, mostly because he couldn't bring himself to look away as he answered.

"Yes."

Law's deep frown didn't budge, but he didn't turn to sudden anger either.

"Aw, that's so cute!" Iris brightened in a similar manner that Morgan had, putting her hands on her chest over her heart. "Oh my God, I would have never guessed! Wait… so you're submissive? Or a switch, like Q?"

It would be so easy to claim he was a switch, that he liked both sides of the coin, but after last night, he knew that wasn't true. While he could do both, the only side he really wanted to do was the bottom.

"I think I'm a sub," he said apologetically, his shoulders rounding inward.

"Welcome to the club!" Iris said, coming around the counter to hug him in very much the same way Morgan had, except Iris really liked hugs and didn't pull away quickly. Instead, she held him closely while she started chanting, "One of us, one of us!"

Connor burst out laughing.

At least the subs didn't have a problem with him. At least, not so far. He looked over at Law, who was still frowning fiercely, and his eyes had done that unfocused thing Asad's had done…

He met Connor's gaze, and his eyes narrowed even further.

"Have you figured it out yet, Law?" Asad asked, leaning over the counter to snatch up a strip of green pepper and crunching into it. "How the secret admirer always knew when to send the presents? Cuz I figured it out right away."

"You're the secret admirer." Law's voice was flat, demanding confirmation of what Connor had already admitted.

Iris stopped dancing, pulling away slightly from the hug, though she still kept her arms around Connor. Well, as much as she could, considering he was too big for her to be able to reach fully around him, even when she was snuggled up against him.

"Yes." Connor braced himself, but Law just stared at him.

His nostrils flared.

"Oooh, he's super mad," Iris said, though she didn't sound scared. If anything, she was taunting her boyfriend. "His nostrils only do that when he's super mad."

Law's angry gaze flipped to her, and Connor immediately shifted so he was slightly in front of her. Not that he thought Law would really hurt her, and he was pretty sure she was trying to draw her Dom's ire away from him, but he didn't need her to protect him. Subs stuck together, and she was trying to help, but he'd feel awful if she took a metaphorical hit meant for him.

"It's not a secret anymore, though, since she knows. And now, you know. And probably by tomorrow, everyone else will know since she told Olivia and Camille today, which means Freddy and Luke will know soon, too, if they don't already."

"Also, because Sam is texting all her friends right now," Q said dryly, interjecting and giving Connor a moment to take a breath. Once the words had started coming out, they had been surprisingly hard to stop.

"I am not! I mean, I am, but not about this." Sam looked up from where she was seated at the kitchen table, phone in her hand. "Noelle and Master Damian broke up. That's all that's being talked about, I swear. Though if I could tell them that I know who the secret admirer is, it might help to cheer her up to be one of the first to know."

"Sure, go for it," Connor said tiredly, waving his hand. At this point, the more people who knew already, the fewer people he had to tell himself. They could get it all talked out among themselves without talking to him about it, hopefully. The less he had to talk about it, the happier he'd be.

It was too much to hope that everyone would completely leave him and Julie alone, but he'd prefer not to have to answer questions. Plus, if it cheered someone up, great. Noelle could be difficult at the best of times, though he knew he was a little biased since when she was making difficulties, it was usually for Iris. There were plenty of people in the club who didn't have a problem with her, and she'd been doing a bang-up job of painting Iris in a bad light with those people.

He gave Iris a little squeeze, knowing it would be difficult to hear about Noelle. She completely respected that Sam was friends with her ex-friend and never complained about it, but he knew it made her antsy. Noelle had been a pretty shitty friend, from what he understood, and after joining Marquis, she'd done her best to make it appear the opposite. Recently, she'd even accused Iris and her friends of bullying her because they were ignoring her… which apparently, in her mind, they weren't allowed to do.

He knew part of the reason his brain was getting sidetracked with Iris' issues was because it was so much easier than focusing on his own.

Like the way Law had gone back to glaring at him.

"Why didn't you just tell us?" Law asked, sounding affronted.

Connor blinked. Maybe Law hadn't realized that he'd used things Law had told him to know when to send the gifts yet. That's what he expected Law to be the most upset about.

"That I was her secret admirer? I wasn't sure how you'd react. You seemed pissed that she had one." For a little while, he'd almost wondered if Law had a thing for Julie himself, but that hadn't fit. Eventually, he'd realized Law was just being really protective, but since Connor knew who the secret admirer was and that Julie was in no danger, it had been kind of fun watching Law fuming every time she'd gotten a gift.

There was no way in hell he was going to admit that to Law, though.

"That you had a… crush on her." Law stared at Connor like he was the one making no sense.

Connor was having a little trouble following Law's conversation leaps.

"Julie and Connor, sitting in a tree," Asad started singing.

"Morgan, can you shut him up?" Law tossed a piece of pepper at her as he spoke.

She caught it smoothly and shoved it in Asad's mouth. He grinned, crunching down on it but also catching her wrist in his hand and holding her fingers in front of his mouth for him to nip at once the pepper was in his mouth.

Law was already hyperfocused back on Connor again.

"Why didn't you just tell us you were the secret admirer so I wouldn't be so worried?"

Oh. Right. That made sense.

"Because I wasn't sure how you'd take knowing that I'm a sub." There, he'd said it, out loud, to the people most important to him. No ‘think.' No hedging. He'd said he was a sub. And it felt scary and good at the same time. It felt right.

"Why would I care that you're a sub?" Law threw his hands up in the air, one of them coming down to scrub over his bald head in frustration. "I mean, of course, I care because I care about you, but not in a bad way."

"Is it because everyone thought you were a Dom?" Q asked, his voice full of sympathetic understanding. Connor nodded, relieved that one of them got it. He should have realized Q would get it first—after all, he'd thought he was a Dom at first, then realized he was a switch. Of course, being a switch meant he was both. People hadn't been completely wrong about him like they were with Connor.

"I… I didn't want to tell you that you were wrong." He snuck a peek at Law. It was hard to tell what the other man was thinking. "Or that I wasn't like you. Or that I wasn't the person you thought I was."

"Oh, buddy, you're still the guy we thought you were." Asad released his hold on Morgan, coming over to nudge Iris out of the way. She went willingly, though she stood off to the side, looking over at Law, appearing to be ready to jump back to Connor's side if she felt it was necessary.

Asad patted Connor on the back of his shoulder.

"You're still like us. You're kinky. We serve our subs. You serve… well, your mistress. Okay, that's going to take some getting used to," he admitted. "But it doesn't really change who you are."

"If you have any questions, let me know," Q chimed in. "You can come join the cool club that these guys don't get to be a part of."

Frowning, Asad looked around Connor at Q.

"Cool club?"

"Yeah, you know…" Q grinned. "The pegging pack."

"Oh my God, that is not what you call yourselves." Sam put down her phone and shoved it away from her across the table with one hand, the other one coming up to cover her face as she groaned.

"Freddy came up with it," Q insisted, grinning wider, even as he reached over to take Sam's hand. "We're talking about getting t-shirts. Only people who have been pegged get one."

"I could get pegged if I wanted to." Asad frowned. "You don't have to be a sub to get pegged. And not all subs get pegged."

"Know a lot of Doms who have been pegged, do you?" Q asked, raising his eyebrow.

"That doesn't mean we couldn't be." Asad put his hands on his hips, looking highly affronted. "I did the course. I've been plugged."

"Plugged isn't pegged."

Behind the counter, Law groaned and leaned forward, elbows braced on the counter, as he buried his head in his hands. Giggling, Iris scooted back around to his side of the island and patted him on the shoulder.

"I'll peg you if you want, honey," she said.

His head jerked up so fast, Connor was almost worried Law was going to need his services. But he didn't seem to have hurt himself, or if he did, it was hidden under his epic glare.

"The fuck you will."

"What's wrong with getting pegged?"

"Nothing's wrong with it, but we're not doing it."

"What if it was something I really wanted to try?" Iris asked so earnestly, it seemed to stop Law in his tracks. His mouth snapped shut, and a muscle worked in his jaw where he was clenching his teeth.

Rather than answering her, he turned toward Q and Asad, who were still arguing over whether Asad would actually go through with getting pegged.

"Would you two shut up?" Law threw more pieces of pepper at them, this time fast and hard enough that one of them bounced off of Asad's forehead, which made Morgan start cracking up.

Chuckling, Connor ambled over to the other side of the kitchen table, out of the firing line, and sat down. An odd feeling of contentment stole over him as he watched his friends bicker like they always did, as if nothing had changed.

Because it hadn't.

He still wondered what it would be like at the club when he was actually there with Mistress Julie or when people saw him submitting, but at least his closest friends had his back.

Whether or not Law had worked out that he'd played a part in Connor's ability to be Julie's secret admirer remained to be seen.