Page 24 of We Own Each Other

“Uh, yeah. Why do you ask?”

He blinked, eyes going wide, like he hadn’t realized what he had even asked.

Suddenly, his face burned bright red, and that intense look faded from his face. All that was left was a shy Corin, picking up his water to nervously sip off the top. He was staring intently at the table, clearly trying to avoid meeting my gaze again. He was just as cute as always, but that intensity about who I was shacking up with lingered in my mind.

Still, he seemed just as eager as I should have been to move on, responding rather vaguely:

“Just curious. I heard they have whole harems of Subs in those Dom-dominated conglomerate families. So… you ended up having no place to go, right?”

Part of me wanted to poke him with the topic again. I wasn’t sure if this was due to my need to tease and torture as a Dom or because I truly was interested in why he had been so concerned about the Griff family. Either way, logically, I didn’t need to look a gift horse in the mouth.

He wanted to move on, which would save me the agony of confessing all my dirty sins within the Griff household.

“Right. That’s why I’m in a hotel, but it is temporary. I just have to get a job, and I’ll be right as rain…”

Finally, Corin’s gaze lifted from the table to meet mine again. There was a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth — one that was more mischievous than shy.

“That’s too bad. We’ve made some good memories in that room.”

Just when things were getting good, the waiter approached. He stood at the side of our table, pad and pen in hand.

“What can I get you two today?”

I shot him a glare, but he promptly ignored me, focusing instead on Corin, whose attention was back on the menu. He gave his order, and then I quickly rattled off mine as we handed him our menus. Wordlessly, he drifted away, leaving us to our stimulating conversation once more.

To my surprise, Corin already had a very interesting question:

“Have you ever gone into subspace?”

I blinked, picking up my beer.

“No. I’m a Switch, as you’ll recall.”

Corin grinned, nodding.

“Yeah, and we can access subspace with the right partner.”

“And you think you’re that partner? That’s bold of you.”

“Maybe not, but I wouldn’t mind you trying to put me into it. I’ll try you next if you want.”

I had to laugh. It was an adorable idea, being in subspace, but that was something for Subs and Doms. True Subs and Doms. Not people like us who could be neither and both at the same time. I took a heavy swig of my beer before I jokingly said:

“And maybe we’ll be in subspace at the same time.”

To my surprise, Corin didn’t look deterred at all. On the contrary, he was leaning forward, eyes wide and almost sparkling like the ruby-colored jewels they were.

“Really? Think we can?”

I suddenly wished we were back to talking about my shitty living situation or my shitty past. I had heard about subspace and the joys of being a Sub for a good chunk of my life. I had also faked being in subspace too many times to count. I loved how innocent and hopeful Corin seemed, but even that was just too much for me.

Subspace just wasn’t something I would ever experience, whether with a partner as perfect as Corin or not.

“Look, I like to have sex with you and play, but it’s not like we’re fated or anything like that. Switches don’t have that kind of thing.

The waiter was back, steaming plates of food in each hand. I hoped this would mark a change in topic, but even as the plates were set before us, all of Corin’s attention was focused on me.

“Yeah. Isn’t it great? We can create our own fate.”