Crossing the Line (Anchored 6)

One of the things I love about Anchored is that it allows for personal growth. If you join the club and you just want to watch people playing or performing scenes, that’s completely fine. If you want to jump right in and experience things firsthand, that’s all right, too. And if you change your mind or want to try something different than what you’ve been doing? That’s totally okay, as well.

June is a fantastic owner. She’s given so many people a safe place to play and explore sexual fantasies that they otherwise would never get the chance to. I love the fact that she had this vision for a safe kinky place and she made it happen. More people should have that sort of vision.

More of us should be brave.

“What do you think?” Ryder comes up beside me and jerks his head toward the new bartender. The young woman looks nervous and a little uncomfortable, but June is being really patient. Classic June. She’s always looking out for other people. She’s tough as nails, but she’s also got a heart of gold.

“I think she’s going to be just fine. She seems nervous, but she’ll get over that pretty quickly.”

Ryder chuckles and looks around the room. There are people playing and a couple of scenes happening, but nothing compared to most nights. On the busiest nights, Anchored can be overwhelming even for seasoned members. June was smart to bring in a new bartendress on a night when things aren’t too crazy.

“June is pretty good at calming people down,” Ryder says.

“She’s good at everything,” I agree. “How’s married life treating you, buddy?”

“Better than I ever imagined,” he admits. Ryder and June got engaged on Christmas night and had a quick, private wedding. A couple of people joked about it being a shotgun wedding, but the truth is that we’re all over-the-moon happy for the couple. June and Ryder are both hard workers, honest, and kind. They’re good people and they deserve to be happy.

This doesn’t stop just the tiniest bead of jealousy from forming in my heart.

It’s not that I don’t want them to be happy.

I do.

I just want something like that for me, and selfishly, I want that with Odessa.

“What about you, man?”

“What about me?”

Ryder’s eyes narrow. His Dom face.

“Are you seriously trying to Dom me?” I ask. “That doesn’t work on me, Ryder. I’m not a submissive.”

“What’s wrong, Jasper?”

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“He’s lying,” Zack says, coming up behind me. I turn around to glare at him, but he just smiles mischievously.

“I could have told you that,” Tony says.

“What is this? ‘Gang up on Jasper night’?”

“It’s more of an intervention, really,” Ryder says, and I realize I stupidly walked into their trap. When you’re hanging out with a group of Doms, they’re not going to let the little things slide. They’re not going to let you get by with doing things half-assed or not going after what you want.

“All right,” I sigh. “Just get it over with.”

“We’re worried about you,” Zack says. He’s never been one to beat around the bush. When I first met him, I wasn’t really sure what to think. Self-assured and a little bossy, Zack tells it how it is. He’s not being mean about it. He’s just very blunt. “You’ve been acting weird, and you’ve been avoiding dealing with Odessa.”

“There’s nothing to deal with,” I say.

I’ve never really talked about my feelings about Odessa. Not with the guys. Not with anyone. We had one wonderful night together and then I had to go away. I didn’t say goodbye. I didn’t contact her. I didn’t call her. I couldn’t. Not while I was in the field. As a military man, I’m used to having to leave on a moment’s notice.

I’m not used to leaving someone behind.

If she was my wife or we were living together, I would have told her I was leaving. She would have known right away. Honestly, I should have told her, anyway. I should have called her or texted her before I left. I should have just let her know, but I didn’t.

Why not?