Shortly after midnight, Dana walks into the middle of the crowd and shouts to get everyone's attention. "Everyone! Please quiet down a moment!" One after the other the guests end their conversations, their eyes set on Dana. She smiles.
"Thank you. I would now like to hand our gift to my brother." She picks an envelope out of her purse and holds it up for everyone to see. "Daniel, we all collected money so we could buy you something good. And I think you will enjoy it." She scans the crowd. "Daniel, please step forward."
At this moment Steven coughs lightly and speaks up "Miss Dana, I think Mister Smith already left with Teacher Alex some time ago."
Dana's eyes grow wide and her face twists in anger. "That ungrateful brat! How could he!"
"After the kid, Michael, gave them his present they quickly slipped away."
The crowd starts to murmur. All of them came across the not so little boy Michael more than once. What kind of present did this child give their boss?
Dana lets out a deep sigh. "I can't believe them... Well, everyone I guess we have to celebrate without the birthday boy. Let us all take our revenge by ravaging his best scotch. I will take the blame!" The men all cheer when they see the mischievous grin of their boss' sister. This woman was one you don't want to mess with. Everyone knows that this scotch is worth a hundred bucks the bottle. But right when hesitation about crossing their boss creeps up in them, Steven steps out courageously, holding out a glass to be filled. Next to Dana he speaks in a voice that only she can hear "Miss Dana, please fill up. The boss can't blame me for a bit of petty revenge after everything those two did on the backseat while I was driving."
Dana looks at him with a shocked expression while her imagination runs wild. Then she pats on his shoulder, filling the cup generously. "Drink up, Steven. We are comrades in sorrow."
But while both of them shamelessly start on the bottle of scotch they smile towards each other in a silent understanding. Dana as his sister and Steven as someone who worked for the family the second longest after Carlo both feel glad that Daniel finally found happiness again.
Smiling, they cling their classes and toast to the happy couple. This evening four bottles of high grade scotch are emptied.
__________________________
Meanwhile in Alex' apartment: Half an hour earlier the two of them snugged out of the party. Daniel couldn't bear it any longer looking at Alex fidgeting in front of him while occasionally blushing. No matter how he begged Alex wouldn't let him peak inside the package. Daniel nearly went wild with anticipation. So decisively he grabbed Alex' hand and lead him outside to hail a cab. They could have gone upstairs in the mansion, but Daniel doesn't want Alex to have to hold himself back in fear of the guests downstairs hearing him. So, without a second thought he left his own birthday party.
Finally, they sit on Alex' bed inside his apartment. "Love, now let me finally have a look. I am dying of anticipation."
Alex bites his lower lip as he hands over the package. "Well, we don't have to use it if you don't want to." Alex' voice is quiet and Daniel nearly laughs. "Who would believe you after you fidgeted the last hour? Whatever it is I am willing to try it out just for the sake of it. Afterwards we can decide whether we like it or not."
He finally gets to glimpse inside the present. Alex beside him glances at him out of the corner of his eyes. He can't believe he expressed so clearly that he would want to try it out. What if Daniel thinks of him as a pervert? But ... he really is curious.
"Oh." Daniel's eyes light up when he sees the contents. He smiles at Alex. "Don't worry, love. I know how to operate these."
Alex feels his heart clench. How would Daniel know how to handle those? Has he tried it out before with someone else?
Daniel sees the uneasiness in his lover's eyes. He presses his lips tightly together. "Love, don't worry about it. Jeremy and I were pretty wild in that aspect. But right now you can profit from this because something like this can only be done if you study up on it first. It would not be safe otherwise. I don't want to hurt you."
Alex knows he makes sense. He can't change his past and after their encounter earlier he knows that he doesn't have to fear Jeremy. But still he can't help but be a little petty.
"Who says you are the one to use them on me? What if I say I want to use them on you?" Alex looks at him challengingly. But he is surprised when Daniel only answers "Then you better take good note of how I use them today. Because I will be in your care next time."
Alex' gaze starts to waver. Him being in control? A rush of fear and excitement flushes through him. He can guess that it is a huge responsibility when you use toys on the other one. It depends on a lot of mutual trust. But he also feels excited because Daniel really trusts him to this extent and an image of him lying beneath him flashes through Alex' mind.
Daniel smiles at him when he sees the excitement flush Alex' cheeks. It would be an interesting experience for the both of them. But today they have other plans.
"Alex, we have to do this right. Come here." He pulls Alex a bit closer. Alex hearing his boyfriend calling him by his name knows that the next part is something serious.
Daniel opens the package and pours the contents on the bed. "We don't have to use everything. Just one or two would be enough for today. What would you like to try out?"
Alex' face flushes. What an embarrassing question. His heartbeat quickens and his hands tremble slightly. He picks two items. But his gaze shifts to a third and fourth one.
Daniel chuckles. "We can pick more if you want to." Alex gaze flickers towards Daniel before he chooses the last items. His whole body is trembling.
Daniel reaches out his hand and interlinks his fingers with his boyfriend's. "Okay. These four it is?" Alex nods slightly. Daniel strokes his hand reassuringly. He feels his lover's body tremble from the anticipation and nervousness.
"Okay, love. Don't worry. We will try it out one after the other and if you don't like it, you just say the word and we will immediately stop. You are the one in control the whole time."
Daniel's hand reaches towards Alex' chin, lifting it up. His gaze locks on the other's eyes. "You have to let me know what you like and what you don't like. I also have more fun in this if I manage to make you feel good properly."
He sees Alex swallow hard but then determination shows in his eyes and he nods.
"Good." Daniel smiles. "How about we work with safe words? Like colours?"
Alex looks at him questioningly, so Daniel explains. "If you are okay with something, you tell me green. If you need a pause, you tell me yellow and if we need to stop the play you tell me red. Like a traffic light." Alex looks at him a bit frustrated at being treated like a child. But he can see the sense in this rule, so he nods.
"I will also ask you from time to time to give me a colour. Like I said, I won't do anything you don't want me to."
"Okay." Alex' voice shows determination. Daniel leans in and kisses him lightly. He feels his body trembling through his lips.
"Alright love, then let us play." Alex shudders when he sees the evil smirk on Daniel's face. This night will be full of new experiences and he is at the mercy of his lover.
Oh my, I am such a tease. What items did they pick?
But don't worry. I already wrote the next chapter, so tomorrow you will see more.