Troy bowed to him, folding in half, forehead on the ground. “Namaste.”
“Oh, I like that. Good boy.” He should’ve returned the gesture, but as Troy’s Dom he chose not to. “Thank you for teaching me.”
“Thank you for sharing a practice with me.” Troy smiled as he sat up and stretched tall. “That was a lovely thing.”
“It was. It felt good, I’m just stiff. That was real work, but I’d like to do it again.” He hooked a finger under Troy’s chin. “Put the mats away please, and then join me by the fire.” He needed to dig a couple of things out of his bag and then see if he could breathe more life into the fire without adding more fuel. They’d need the wood, and the warmth, more at night.
Troy pushed himself up and shook out the mats, before gathering up socks and sweatshirts. Troy handed Saul his half with a peaceful, easy smile,
“Thanks. Shoes are fine for you, no shirt yet though. I’ll hold onto your sweatshirt.” He held his hand out for it.
“Yes, Sir.” Troy handed him the sweatshirt and worked on his shoes.
He smiled, leaving Troy to puzzle things out. He folded Troy’s sweatshirt and set it on the picnic table, took his time dressing and getting what he needed, and went back to the fire. “Hm. This might be about done.” There was still heat, but the ashes needed to be cleared before they built the nighttime fire.
The sun was well up now and it was a gorgeous morning. He didn’t have a watch on and his phone was off and in the glove compartment, so he didn’t know for sure what time it was, but he didn’t care. They weren’t on any kind of clock.
It was the finest Monday he’d had in a long time.
Troy settled beside him, silent as a mouse, arms just brushing together.
“Last night was so powerful, I want to keep you in that space today. Be honest, were you able to stay hard through morning practice?”
“I don’t know, Sir. I was focused on our practice.” Troy glanced at him. “I didn’t have anything but our breath in my mind.”
“That’s fine, boy. I didn’t expect it, I’ll be clearer next time. I was just curious. I’ll assume you are now, however.” If Troy wasn’t he would be in about fifteen seconds.
Saul pulled the soft leather collar out of his pocket and held it out where his boy could see it. “Training collar. Have you worn one before?”
“No, Sir.” Troy’s cheeks flamed as he shook his head. “I-No. I haven’t.”
Oh, he’d been hoping that was the answer. He felt as if his shoulders were suddenly four feet wide. He turned the collar over in his fingers, letting his boy look at it, so Troy could see the pattern stamped into the sides, the lock at the back, and the circular ring in front. “Now, this is not my collar, it’s a training collar. Do you know the difference?”
“Yes, Sir. This isn’t a show of commitment, but a tool.” His boy was having no trouble staying erect now, was he?
“Exactly. This one is a tool, well said. It’s important you understand that.” When they got to that point, Troy would be the first boy to wear his collar. After last night, he pretty much knew they’d get there, which was crazy when he really thought about it. He wasn’t anxious about any of that, he was just awed. It was all new to him. “Face me and I’ll put it on you.”
“Yes Sir.” Troy turned toward him, fingers opening and closing a couple of times.
He thought about that and slowed down a little. “Your words are yellow and red, and I’m listening for them. Are you cool, or do I need to know something?”
“I’m excited, Sir.”
What was that in Troy’s voice? Curiosity? Shame? Eagerness?
Whatever it was, he’d find out soon enough. He reached up and circled Troy’s neck with the leather, then moved around behind Troy to check the fit and set the lock in place. He kept his hands on his boy, the contact meant to be reassuring and grounding.
“Good boy. Oh, it looks great.” He smiled, tracing the line where the collar crossed his boy’s throat.
The sight of his boy swallowing, testing the way the collar moved against the tanned throat, was inspiring. “Thank you, Sir.”
“If it starts to feel tight, if you feel anxious or panicky, if you just need it off, I want to know right away. No matter what we’re doing. Is that clear?”
“Do people feel panicked?” Troy sounded honestly confused.
That made him laugh gently. “No one you know, clearly. Good.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out two tiny keys. One was on a keychain and one a ribbon. The one with the ribbon he hung around his neck and tucked into his sweatshirt. The other one he handed to Troy. “Put this one in your glove compartment with our phones, please.”
Troy nodded in approval. “Yes, Sir. Smart call.”
“Your safety is important. Run along.” He’d learned well, sometimes with training, occasionally the hard way. But locks weren’t something you wanted to learn about the hard way.
While Troy was gone, he watched the embers smolder and thought about how the afternoon would go. He wanted to work, but he wanted to have some fun too.
Saul heard Troy lock the doors, and he sat up as his boy came back and handed him the truck keys.
“Oh.” Surprised, he took them, then closed his fingers around the ring carefully. He hadn’t asked, he hadn’t even had plans to. “This is unexpected. Thank you.” He smiled at Troy and rewarded his boy with a kiss.
Troy hummed on his exhale, the pretty eyelines going deep.
He put the keys in his pocket as he pulled away. “I’ll keep them safe. Close your eyes.” He ran his hand over his boy’s barely stubbled head and down to where the collar sat, perfect against Troy’s skin. “You can keep them closed as long as you like but when you open them again, you’re to keep them low and not look me in the eye again. At all, for any reason, until I say it’s all right.”
“Yes, Sir.” Troy inhaled deeply and released it in a slow breath.
“Good boy.” Saul wandered back to the picnic table to get Troy’s sweatshirt, wondering how many times his boy would forget between now and nightfall. He was looking forward to adding stripes to the single one Troy had earned this morning.
Troy stood where he was, solid, strong, steady as a rock. No, it was a mountain, right?
He watched quietly from a short distance. Troy’s level of concentration was a little intimidating. It was going to take him a while to piece his sub together. The boy hadn’t ever worn a collar, didn’t seem to have training at all really, but had no trouble finding the headspace to serve. Troy had been around Doms and their subs for twenty years or more but had mostly been observing rather than participating.
He realized he didn’t know what his boy’s goals were yet. He didn’t know why Troy wanted or needed to serve. He wasn’t sure Troy even knew. And he didn’t completely understand his boy’s relationship with pain yet either. He did know his boy was athletic, generous, and remarkably willing to try, in bed and out. What Saul had to decide was whether he was going to be excited about all they had to learn together or nervous about all he didn’t know.
Or maybe just go with it and be both. He was totally ready for the ride.