Page 25 of We Own Each Other

My throat squeezed.

Fate? Surely such a thing couldn’t exist. Even for Subs and Doms who had the chance at finding their fated partners, I had seen firsthand how easily those hopes could be dashed because of pedigree or expectations. Anthony Griff could’ve been a happy Sub, but he was Anthony Griff, and his name came with expectations.

I was Luke.

Just Luke. I had no money and no home to my name.

If a Griff couldn’t create their own fate, how could I?

Still, Corin was smiling at me across the table. As we sat in silence, his arm fell to the table, reaching out to me. His hand was open, palm facing upward, waiting for my response.

There was some part of me that wanted to believe he was right.

But another part of me was afraid to find out he was wrong.

If there ever was a chance, though, I was sure it was with Corin.

So, I pressed my hand into his. He gave it a reassuring squeeze that seemed to travel up into my chest, giving my heart a similar sensation. If Switches could have fated partners, I imagined this was what it would feel like.

And with that, we spent the rest of the evening chatting about different things and enjoying our meal. It was a nice first date. The first of many, many more, I hoped.

CHAPTER EIGHT

TO MY SURPRISE, our final stop was not my hotel room, but a few buildings before that. As it turned out, Corin’s apartment was only a few blocks away from where I was currently staying. Once again, I felt the strings of fate taunting me.

Unaware of my existential turmoil, Corin guided me to the lobby of his apartment building. Looking back, he gave me a shy smile:

“You’re coming up, right?”

I couldn’t bark the word ‘Yes’ fast enough.

The building was a bit old and unkempt in comparison to some of the newer buildings nearby. Cobwebs gently swayed in various corners, while the big plastic air-conditioning units hummed to life. As we neared the elevator, I was prepared to have a repeat of our first encounter, but a big piece of yellow construction paper with the words:

Out of Order

Dashed those dreams. Corin gave me a sheepish smile, mouthing words of apology as he guided us into the nearby stairwell. Thankfully, his apartment was only on the third floor, but as someone who wasn’t inclined to work out all that often, I was left huffing and puffing by the time we reached his landing.

Once again, pity was bestowed upon me by fate as Corin’s door was immediately left of the stairwell exit. I did my best to casually lean against the wall while he fiddled with the keys on his key ring, but by the time he opened the door, it took much more effort than it should have to stand back up on my own and actually make my way inside. My legs were like jelly, and my chest was still squeezing so tight that I could barely take in a full breath without coughing.

Still, I took in the space.

It was a studio apartment, not all that different from the room I was staying in, though it was much cozier and clearly lived-in than the chaos I was currently existing in.

The walls were painted the standard landlord white, but a giant area rug covered the floor, barely letting the walnut hardwoods peek out along its edges.

At the far end of the room sat a luxurious king-sized bed with a sheer black canopy. The kitchenette was to the right and was rather generous in size, with two cabinets hanging over a sink and a single countertop. A full-size fridge sat in the corner.

In the open space to the left, a desk and chair sat beside a thin bookshelf, packed to the brim with books on top of books. Even the top of it was stacked high with more books. But what really caught my eye was the door to the right of the bookshelf, presumably leading to the bathroom.

I wanted to desperately sit down, and the toilet seemed as good a place as any, and as sweaty as I was, I had the perfect excuse. As Corin led me over to the bed, farther and farther away from my paradise, I groaned:

“I’m sorry. After all that, I really should shower before we do anything.”

Corin hummed and hawed, then suddenly turned around and stepped forward, his nose nearly brushing mine until I reflexively jerked back.

In a quiet, grumbling voice, he asked:

“Did you prep already?”