“Everest and I went to college together,” he says. “We had the same Algebra class freshman year, and well, let’s just say we shared some of the same interests. When I came back to town, I had lunch with him and caught up. I asked about you and whether he’d been in touch. I was surprised to discover that you not only worked with him, but that you were a member at his club.”
“He told you all that?”
“Never underestimate the power of bonding over math problems,” he smiles gently.
“So you’re a Dominant.”
“Something like that.”
“And...when you were away...”
“Was I involved in the lifestyle?”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“Oh.”
“Does that scare you?” He asks, and I start walking again. He matches my pace, staying with me, and I think about the question, but then I shake my head.
“No.”
I knew he moved away after college. He probably needed to clear his damn head. Who could blame him? My mom kept tabs on Aaron throughout the years and even though I made it clear I didn’t want to talk about him, she’d occasionally let me know that he was living in such-and-such town, and would I ever want to go out and visit him?
The answer was always no, and she always dropped it after that.
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“How long have you been in the lifestyle, Mallory?”
“Since my brother let it slip one time that you were into Daddy Domming,” I tell him bluntly. It’s a bold move. I don’t like talking about Matthew. I definitely don’t want to talk about him with Aaron, but there’s not a better time to bring it up, is there?
“He told you that, did he?”
“Yes.”
“And why, oh why, would my college roommate and very best friend tell his little sister that I’m a Daddy Dom?”
He stops walking now, and he turns me to face him. He places his hands on my shoulders and looks into my eyes. There’s no room for lying here. We’re alone on the sidewalk. Everyone is busy: at work or eating lunch. We’re alone in the middle of the sidewalk with the occasional passing car, and this is my chance.
“Because he caught me reading a Daddy Dom book,” I blush, remembering the conversation. “And he told me that I should probably talk to you about that sometime because we had a shared interest.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes.”
Suddenly, the world seems to shrink all around us. Everything else disappears. Is Aaron still a Daddy Dom? Does he have someone special in his life? And why, oh why, is he looking at me like he wants to eat me alive
?
“He never told me,” Aaron smiles gently. “Your brother had many secrets.”
“Apparently.”
Aaron looks around and then back to me.