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  Matt chuckled when the game was over. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wait so long to take you out for supper. It was a good game, though.”

  “It was. I’m happy.” They didn’t have to move.

  Matt’s stomach growled and the man laughed again. “Okay, like I said, if I’m hungry, then you must be starving.”

  “I’m okay. I am.” He could snuggle forever.

  “Still, we should go eat. And then tomorrow we can hit the market so we have food at home we can make.”

  “Okay. I could murder a pancake.”

  Matt laughed. “All right, pancakes for the bloodthirsty it is.”

  “Bloodthirsty?” That made him laugh, hard.

  “You did say you could murder a pancake.” Matt gave him a wink.

  “Punny. Very punny.”

  Matt laughed, stood. “Come on, lovely. I have my man to feed.”

  God, that was an amazing set of words. Just amazing.

  Matt’s hand wrapped around his, tugging him up. Their lips met for a moment, a little ‘hi, how are you,’ and then they were on their way to the front door. On a date. Him and his Master.

  They headed to the car, Matt humming, holding his hand the entire way.

  “You sound happy.”

  “That’s because I am.” Matt stopped at the side of the car and turned to face him, looking into his eyes. “Very.”

  “Very. Good.”

  “Yeah, it is.” Matt opened the passenger door for him, going around to the other side.

  He eased himself in, back still aching, sore.

  “It’s not far,” murmured Matt as he pulled out onto the road.

  “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

  “I do worry, though.” Matt glanced at him, smiled. “That’s my job.”

  “No. No, it’s my job. I’m here to worry for you, make sure your needs are met.”

  “That works both ways, though, Adam. I know you don’t have experience with a master of your own, but trust me, it’s supposed to work both ways.”

  He chuckled, a little unnerved. He had experience with dozens of masters, but never someone who was there for him.

  Matt turned down the street with the all-night diner, and pulled into the parking lot. “Best pancakes you can find, this time of day. You discover a lot when you’ve just moved in and don’t have anything unpacked.”

  “Midnight pancakes are the best. I used to come out here when I was a teenager in high school.”

  “Really? That’s so neat.”

  “Yeah. When I was a kid, I was a serious night owl.”

  “Were you out back then?”

  “Of the closet? Yeah. Yeah, my folks weren’t worried about that.” His folks had worried about his anorexia then. They still worried a little bit.

  “No? That implies that they were worried about something, though.” Matt came around and opened the door for him.

  “I. Thank you.” He didn’t talk about it. He’d had to talk about it a lot after his year in, during his recovery, and he watched his clothes to make sure he never lost more than ten pounds, ever.

  The waitress led them to a booth and they sat across from each other, Matt ordering them both the short stack.

  When she’d gone, Matt looked right at him, reached and took his hand. “What were they worried about?”

  “Oh, just stuff. My parents were very liberal.” He held Matt’s fingers, looked away.

  “Very liberal? So they were worried you were going to be conservative?”

  “I. Me? No. No. God, no. I was the wild pink and green-haired punk child.”

  “Oh, I hope you have pictures!”

  “Mom does, yeah.” He grinned. “You’ll have to meet her someday when she and Pop come back into town.”

  “They don’t live here anymore?”

  “They travel. A lot. They bought a travel trailer and go and go. All the time.” It was adorable.

  “Sounds like, uh, fun?” Matt grinned, squeezed his hand.

  “They love it. They’re in Florida right now, at the beach.”

  “That sounds nice. Do you spend a lot of time at the beach here? I haven’t really had a chance to check it out yet.”

  “I run there, yeah.”

  “How often do you run?”

  “Every morning after yoga. Well, not this morning, obviously.”

  “So there’s yoga and there’s running and there’s fasting. You don’t do things by halves, do you?”

  “I. No. No, I... I don’t.” This felt a lot like lying.

  Matt tilted his head. “What’s the matter, lovely?”

  “Nothing. Nothing, I just... I have sort of like an old secret and I’m not interested in sharing it, but not saying feels weird.”

  “If not sharing it feels weird... maybe it’s your subconscious saying you should.”

  “Maybe. I don’t want you to treat me differently, though.”

  Matt tilted his head. “I care for you a lot. I want to take care of you. I know you work too hard and until now didn’t have anyone to look after you post-scenes. I know you don’t eat enough. And I know that I’m going to do my best to make all that better. I don’t know if what you’re going to tell me will change any of that. I can’t see it changing things.”

  “I spent a year in a rehabilitation hospital.”

  Matt’s hand squeezed his tighter. “Rehabilitation for what?”

  “Anorexia nervosa. When I was eighteen. I was very ill.”

  “Ah, you said you had food issues. Does it stem from that?”

  “Yes. Yeah. I don’t. I’m very careful not to lose more than ten pounds from my target.”

  “That would be far easier if you ate more than you do.” Matt raised his free hand. “We’re not discussing this until later, though, remember?”

  He nodded. “I’d prefer not to discuss it at all, honestly.”

  “I can’t promise you that.”

  Adam sighed, but smiled. “Later.” It wasn’t a situation he needed disturbed.

  “Much later.”

  Their waitress came back with their pancakes. He took a deep breath, nodded, and grabbed the strawberry jam.

  Matt took his hand again, squeezed it, and then let it go. “These look good.”

  “They do. I like the strawberries on them.”

  Matt grabbed one of the strawberries and offered it to him.

  “Thank you.” The tart sharpness tasted good.

  Matt seemed more interested in watching him and feeding him and than in eating himself.

  “You should eat, hmm?” He drank his coffee.

  “We both should.” Another strawberry was fed to him.

  He chuckled, nibbled, forked up a bite of pancake and offered it over. Smiling, Matt opened up, let him feed his Master. Better. Much better. A piece of pancake was offered in return, a berry sitting on top of it.

  He opened up, hummed. “It’s good.”

  “Yeah, best midnight pancakes in town.” Matt offered him another bite.

  He shook his head. “They’re yours.”

  “So feed me yours.” Matt pressed the fork against his lips.

  He opened, hummed, ate the bite, then offered Matt a huge bite of his.

  Matt laughed and shook his head. “I can’t get my mouth around that, lovely.”

  “No?” He chuckled, cut the bite in half. “Better?”

  “Much. I’ll have it if you’ll eat the other half.”

  He chuckled and popped the bite in Matt’s lips. “Eat.”

  Matt ate, nodding toward his plate. “You, too.”

  He nodded, nibbled, sipped his coffee.

  Matt devoured most of his pancakes, sharing the larger part of his strawberries in one bite after another. “I thought you were starving.”
>
  “I was. I ate.”

  “You nibbled.” Matt smiled, though, and didn’t push the matter.

  “I did. I conquered.”

  Matt chuckled. “You feel like dessert?”

  “God, no. I’m full. You go ahead, though.”

  “No, I just like watching you eat the things you like. It’s very... sensual.”

  That surprised a chuckle out of him. “Really?”

  “Yes Everything you do is graceful, beautiful.” Matt smiled. “Lovely.”

  “Lovely.” That made him smile.

  “You are. My lovely.”

  That made him lick his lips, duck his head.

  Matt made a sound, a hum, a moan. “Very lovely.”

  “I. Thank you, Master.”

  “It’s the truth, and you’re welcome.”

  He nodded, teeth sinking into his bottom lip.

  “I want to take you home and make love to you.” Matt sounded very sure.

  “Is now good for you?”

  “Yeah, now would be very good.” Matt waved to their waitress, make a ‘check please’ sign.

  Adam grabbed his wallet, pulled out a twenty.

  “I have it, lovely.”

  “Are you sure?” He had money.

  “Yes, lovely, I am.” Matt paid for their dinner and held out a hand to him.

  “Thank you, Master.”

  “You’re welcome.” His hand slid into Matt’s, his Master leading him back out to the car.

  Lovely. Someone thought he was lovely.

  How cool.

  Chapter Six

  The alarm went off and Matt groaned. He looked over at Adam’s little alarm clock and groaned again. Four fucking a.m. That was just too damn early.

  Adam slipped out of bed, almost silently, dressing and gathering running shoes.

  “Give me a minute and I’ll join you.” He wanted to see what all the fuss was for himself.

  “You want to come to yoga and run?”

  “Yes.” Okay, not particularly, but he wasn’t going to judge it without having taken part.

  “Okay. Yoga is first, then running. I usually go five K. Do you have running shoes?”

  “Yeah, I brought them to go do the yoga with, is that okay?”

  “Yes. Of course. I’ll make some water for us.”

  “Make some water?” What did that mean?

  “Bottles of water for hydration? I put vinegar in mine.”

  “Ah, see -- it was the ‘make’ that had me wondering, but if you doctor it, then it makes more sense.”

  Adam nodded and headed to the kitchenette, seeming to be running mostly on autopilot.

  Shaking his head, Matt quickly got dressed and joined Adam. “Are we having breakfast first?”

  “I don’t eat before working out. Would you like something?”

  “No, no. I want to follow your routine this morning. Get an idea of how everything works.” No food before two hours of yoga... he supposed he maybe could see the value in that.

  “Let’s go. Dan gets mad if you’re late.”

  “I’m ready. Is this my vinegar water?” He picked up one of the reusable bottles.

  “It is.” Adam smiled at him and they headed out, walking quickly through the dark streets to a dimly lit place in a strip mall.

  There were five people with mats, and they all turned when the door opened. A huge, bearded man in the front of class smiled hugely. “Oh, thank the Goddess. I was worried about you, Adam. I’m so glad to see you.”

  The huge bear grabbed Adam up in a hug, then turned that smile on Matt. “Hey, there. Welcome. Please sign in and grab a mat. Are you new to yoga?”

  “Matt, this is Dan. Dan, this is my Master, Matt.”

  Dan’s eyes widened. “Like in not a job?”

  Adam nodded. “Like in not a job.”

  “Wow. Welcome. This is Cara, Lesley, Hank, and Robin.”

  Matt smiled and nodded at everyone. “Hi.” Man, there were five other people crazy enough to be up at four a.m. for two hours of yoga. Who knew?

  Adam grabbed two mats while he signed in, and then they got started. Up. Down. In. Out. Bending. Jesus.

  By half an hour in, he was sweating, breathing hard, and Adam looked like a pretzel. At the end of the two hours, he was utterly exhausted. Utterly. And Adam usually went running now? Was the man insane?

  Adam looked at him, frowned. “Dan, can you drop Matt off at my place? He looks tired, and I have my cardio to get in.”

  Matt shook his head. “I don’t think that’s necessary. I’ll join you.” He could at least walk Adam to the beach and sit to watch the waves while he waited.

  “Are you sure?” Dan met Adam’s eyes. “You know, you could...”

  “Shh. Running.” Adam winked, fingers on the big man’s lips. “Stop worrying, Big Daddy. I’ve been weighing, I’m in my range.”

  Matt felt himself bristle, more than a little. “He’s good, Dan. I’m making sure he eats.”

  “Excellent.” Dan offered him a wide, pleased smile. “He’s been my cousin for his whole life. I worry.”

  Matt backed down, smiled. “Cool. I’m gonna take good care of him.”

  A cousin. Wow. The man couldn’t look more different from his lean, blond, fine-boned lovely.

  “Is this the only course you offer, Dan?”

  “You mean Hatha yoga? No. I teach a ton of classes. Restorative, Ashtanga, flow -- would you like a schedule?”

  “I would. Maybe there’s something that would be less early that we could do.”

  “Sure.”

  Adam was waiting for him, talking to one of the girls from the class. He thanked Dan for the schedule and joined Adam by the door.

  “Are you sure you want to come running?”

  “No, I’m pretty sure I don’t. I do, however, want to see what your mornings are usually like.” Used to be like, anyway. Matt didn’t see why Adam had to do all this every day, especially without eating.

  “I. Okay?” Adam looked at him, a little panicked. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you want me to do.”

  “I want to take you running.” He stroked Adam’s arm, not entirely sure why Adam was panicked.

  “I just. You don’t want to, but I have to.”

  “What do you mean, you have to?” He took Adam’s arm and headed toward the beach.

  “I just do. I run every morning. Keep myself in shape.”

  “You do yoga for two hours every morning, too.”

  “I do.” Adam put his running shoes on.

  “I think you need to rethink this.”

  “Rethink what?”

  “We’ll talk after the run.” He couldn’t run and talk at the same time. Not as wiped as he already was from the yoga.

  “’Kay.” Adam started running, feet hitting the ground hard.

  Groaning, Matt took off after him, doing his best to keep up. Adam ran like a man possessed, head down, feet slamming. No music. No expression. Just this drive. At some point, Matt had to give up on keeping up, and he slowed to a light jog.

  Adam turned, jogging in place. “You okay?”

  He nodded, managed a, “Hungry.”

  Adam stopped, came to him. “Okay. Okay, come on, lover. Come on. There’s a Carl’s Jr. right there. Breakfast sandwich for you.”

  “You have to eat, too.”

  “I-- Come on. Sit.” Adam eased him down and headed inside.

  Matt snorted, trying to figure out how Adam managed all this on no food, on as little food as the man seemed to eat altogether.

  Soon Adam came out with two coffees and a bag. “Here we go. Something for you.”

  “Something for both of us.” He took the bag, looked inside. There was one sandwich, a bag of hash browns.
/>   “I have a coffee.”

  “You can have some of my sandwich. You can’t do all that running without anything to fuel you.”

  “I do it every morning.” Adam sat across from him, nodded. “Now eat.”

  He took half the sandwich and handed it over to Adam. “You, too.”

  “I don’t eat before I work out.”

  “And you’re not shaky and tired afterward?”

  Adam shook his head. “Only if I’ve been fasting more than a day or two.”

  He shook his head, eating his sandwich. “You’re pushing yourself too hard, lovely.”

  Adam murmured noncommittally, sipping his coffee, sweat drying as the sun shone on them.

  “Have a hash brown.”

  Adam’s nose wrinkled. “No, thank you.”

  Matt laughed. “You shouldn’t feed me stuff you won’t eat yourself, lovely.”

  “This was an emergency situation.”

  “I’d have been fine.” He reached for Adam’s hand, though, squeezed. “Thank you.”

  “I care for you. I’ll take care of you.”

  “Yes, that works both ways, too.” He kissed Adam’s hand and stood, stretched. “God, sorry I put a wrench in your run.”

  “Don’t be sorry. I go every morning.”

  “I think you should alternate. Or run in the afternoon or something.” He grinned, winked. “All this exercise can’t be healthy.”

  “I could run in the afternoon.”

  “You could.” He couldn’t help but think it made more sense for Adam not to run for an hour right after doing two hours of yoga, and he thought it was a huge step to have Adam consider moving the time that he ran at Matt’s suggestion.

  “We’ll see how it goes. Maybe.”

  “Your ability at yoga is very impressive. It’s sexy, you know, all that bendiness.”

  “It’s good for focus. For releasing tension.”

  “It’s also damn good exercise.” He’d been ready to quit long before the second hour.

  “Yes. I try to get no more than twenty hours a week.”

  He stared at Adam, sure he’d heard wrong.

  “Eat your sandwich.”

  “It’s almost done.” He had the last few bites and finished off his coffee.