John awoke with a throbbing erection and a mild hangover. His brain had combined the events of the past day into a bizarre but not unappealing dream, in which he was crouched under the velvet table, sucking Felix off, and as Felix came it tasted like an old fashioned, and he came and came and came and John swallowed it all greedily, until Felix was spent and John was too drunk to do anything but lie down on the ground as the world spun. The velvet had enveloped him then, and he had been wrapped in silky softness and surrounded by sensual, sourceless moans for the rest of the dream.

John quickly dressed and then packed. It was the last day of the convention and he’d be catching his flight back home that evening. John found that the time limit kept him on track. Though he was constantly tempted to slip away and fantasize, he knew that a minute would turn into an hour and he’d lose precious time to squeeze in the last few demos and developer chats that he wanted from the convention. He made a final round to get a few souvenirs, and then with his to-do list finally complete, he made his way back towards the velvet-draped table.

He realized just how much he’d be hoping to see Felix by the heavy disappointment that settled into his chest when he saw that the booth was already packed up, the velvet gone and just the sign and the naked table left.

John fished out his notepad and flipped back through his notes to where he’d jotted down Felix’s contact info. It couldn’t hurt to try, right?

He punched in the number and drafted his text.

Hey Felix, it’s John. Just in case Felix forgot. Or John had written down the number wrong. Or something.

I did indeed put your suggestion to further consideration. Likewise, if the number was wrong, John wanted to be… subtle. I agree that what you proposed is appropriate compensation for your contribution. I fly out tonight and have to be at the airport by 8. Are you free before then?

John reread the draft ten times, convinced himself that he was fretting too much, and hit send. Felix may have been busy regardless, so it could be a moot point anyway. And John certainly didn’t expect Felix to respond immediately, he probably had lots to—

John’s phone vibrated. Felix’s reply was already there. hell yeah, u sound like a sexy ceo do u still have ur room? im at the hotel bar

John looked at his text and then Felix’s and felt like a dinosaur. Capitalization? Punctuation? But John was a writer at heart and the habits were strong, and Felix didn’t seem to mind. ‘Sexy CEO’? John would happily take that. He checked the time. He profusely thanked Past John for opting for the late checkout.

I do, 2 hours till checkout. I’ll join you at the bar?

Felix responded immediately again. perf

Within a few minutes, John found Felix at the hotel bar, still in his black crop top and jeans. Though Felix was at the bar, he’d ordered a Shirley Temple and explained to John that his timing had been perfect. Felix had been about to order something alcoholic but had pivoted because they needed to be sober for their planned activities. John ordered an iced tea.

Felix asked John what was in his bags and John showed him the souvenirs, and they chatted about the corresponding games. John was able to figure that he was maybe four or five years older than Felix, as Felix happily exclaimed “Oh, man, that came out my senior year of high school and I spent the whole summer playing it!” about a game that had come out John’s senior year of college.

Felix was friendly, energetic, and easy to talk to and John wondered whether he had learned that as an escort, or had become an escort because it was already natural to him. It was a chicken and an egg question, and in this case the answer was probably a little of both.

John felt himself being pulled in by Felix’s magnetic energy, and so in a lull in conversation, he said, “So I… I expect this to sort of be a casual thing, right? And we’ll still be in touch for the article and stuff, though—”

“We can have phone sex,” Felix offered eagerly.

“Duly noted,” John said.

“That’s a good reminder though,” Felix said, “When I’m at work, the arrangement is more or less already clear. But, not so much here, right? So, I’m not making any presumptions about how you do or don’t feel, but I figure it’s best to be clear, yeah?”

John nodded, relieved that Felix already had his drift. The young man had an emotional wisdom beyond his years, and John really did want to make sure that they could still collaborate on the article.

“I like you, John, honestly. You’re funny and handsome. This game thing is hot. It’s cool that you’re a writer. And I’m not looking for any ‘relationship’ type things, I actually have a boyfriend, though it’s an open relationship, obviously. Friends with benefits is totally my thing. In town for the night and wanna hook up? Duo queue League? Some casual phone sex? Fortnite marathon? Count me in. Does that clear things up?”

“It really does,” John said. He found himself relaxing. He wasn’t sure why ‘monogamy’ and ‘authenticity’ were so tightly entangled in his mind when it came to sex. John cared deeply about authenticity, the pleasure needed to be genuine. And he and Felix could genuinely enjoy a flirty conversation, a quick blow job, and some phone sex later. And if John ended up not liking it, they could stop at any time, no feelings hurt.

Felix put his chin in his hand and looked at John, a sort of dreamy haze in his eyes as he waited for the bar tender to make their way over to the other side of the bar, and John knew he was thinking about something sexual.

“You seem to like denial games,” he said, “You ever use a cock cage?”

“I’ve never even heard of a cock cage,” John said.

“Oh, look them up! Here, I’ll text you my favorite site.” Felix pulled out his phone, and John followed suit, the URL buzzing over a moment later. He loaded it and was greeted by the image of a flaccid dick and balls wrapped in spiraling steel which would make erection impossible.

Felix leaned over to look with John, and his breath tickled the base of John’s neck.

“That’s a more extreme model, obviously,” Felix said, “But if you scroll down a bit, the plastic ones can be better for beginners. One with different sized cock rings is best to start out.”

The plastic ones came in a variety of colors, a single piece of plastic molded to encase the flaccid shaft, a slit in the tip to allow for urination, and a cock ring for behind the balls to hold the whole thing in place. The cock ring had a loop for a tiny padlock. The product descriptions referred to a ‘keyholder’ as the one who had the key and therefore control over whether the cage could be removed or not.

“Color me intrigued,” John said. “I’ll have to ask Arya about that, I wouldn’t be surprised if she has one that works with the black box.”

Felix considered. “All she’d really need is the remote lock, too, if you find one there that you want to try.”

“That’s true, good point.”

Felix grinned. “And that’s not even my best point.”

“Let me guess, your best point is your dick?”

“Exactly. And this talk of cock cages is getting me all hot and bothered. And your whole thing, too. You all… throbbing and aching and full and only barely holding yourself together.”

Felix’s words washed over John like a heat wave, and John’s thoughts melted for a moment.

“It’s been days, hasn’t it?” Felix said.

John could only nod.

“And it’ll still be a bit longer, won’t it? And you’ll have seen me come twice in that time, won’t you?” Felix’s eyes darted down to John’s crotch where his erection was becoming obvious behind his jeans, and Felix grinned.

“You don’t have to look so smug, y’know,” John grumbled.

“Then why don’t you come fill out this smug grin,” Felix crooned.

“Wait, I’m blowing you, remember?”

“Oh, right! Then why don’t you come turn this smug grin into ahegao, hm?”

John’s mouth watered and again he could only nod. John paid for their drinks and as he stood, he carefully arranged his bags of souvenirs so that they hid his erection. He lead Felix over to the elevators and punched in his floor.

It was a fairly tall building and John was towards the top. The elevator was empty as they stepped inside and John could see the wheels turning and then clicking into place in Felix’s mind. As soon as the doors slid shut, Felix’s hand was softly over the front of John’s jeans, rubbing him through the fabric, sending John’s whole body quivering.

A few floors before John’s the elevator started to slow, and Felix pulled his hand back and leaned against the elevator railing nonchalant. John knew his face was flushed, his expression bewildered, and he clutched his bags in front of him as his dick twitched.

A cleaner nodded at them and wheeled her cart into the elevator, then rode it one floor up. She stepped off, and John’s floor was next. They started down the hallway.

“Why are you walking so slowly?” Felix teased. “I thought you’d be excited to get back to your room.”

“You know why!”

“Yeah, but I want to hear you say it.”

John sighed, though both his frustration and his eagerness to please Felix were genuine. He could let them meet in the middle by gently mocking Felix. “Because, I have this big, hard, throbbing cock down my pant leg, thanks to you.”

“Oooh, tell me more, big daddy.”

John hesitated. “I don’t think the ‘daddy’ thing is… a thing for me.”

“Okay, can I call you Johnny boy?”

“Yeah, that works.” They reached the door and John started to shift his bags to one hand so that he could fish out his wallet, which was in his front pants pocket.

“Oh, let me get that for you,” Felix said, and he slipped his hand into John’s pocket and reached over and around his wallet, pressing his fingertips against John’s erection through just the thin pocket fabric. Just like with getting the last samples out of the box, Felix made it a sensual, lingering thing. John’s eyelids fluttered and he nearly fell against the door. Just as his knees started to buckle, Felix relented, pulling out the hotel key card and opening the door.