Cathairsis (Part 13) by Fantasy Weaver

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Continued from part twelve.

Part thirteen of "Cathairsis: A Photographic Anthology". Please read the previous parts for context.

-Fantasy Weaver.


Note

1: Foul language ahead

2: Adult content ahead


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Cathairsis: A Photographic Anthology

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Coffee Break 1 - Defensive and Unaware - Part 2

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Pushing the glass door open, Aden stepped out of his still-steaming shower cubicle, dripping wet and reaching for a towel. He dried his body off quickly, securing a second towel around his head to avoid his sopping tresses from wetting his back and stood in front of the condensation-coated mirror.

A wipe with his towel and he could see. And see he did. He turned his face in the glass, watching water drip off his chin and out of the towel over his hair. Stubble today won’t do. He’d already spent an hour in the shower preparing his body for today’s date, more than the usual washing and shampoo: trimming of his subtle smattering of chest hair and pubes, complete removal of pit hair and smoothing of his ass. Jacob had made it clear he was interested in rimming, and Aden was all too happy to provide the guy with a sight worth salivating over. He’s not usually one to think of himself in such a light, but all this pent-up sexual tension was making him more amenable to flaunting his body and its assets, and according to his exes, he has a nice behind. May as well take advantage of that fact.

Focusing back on his reflection, honeyed eyes searched the counter for his shaving gel and a disposable razor. He found both easily and applied the foaming gel to his face with a few quick strokes of his palm. Rushing water from the faucet filled the empty air, and soon, so did the crunching of razor blades against his five o’clock shadow.

He scowled at the pull on his skin, urged himself to go a bit slower along his chin. He envied those guys who could get away with shaving once a week, never having been one of them himself. He’d tried trimmers before, but they never get close enough to the skin to give that soft feeling he enjoyed. Even shaving with a razor had its setbacks.

"Ah-!" he hissed. Too quick, the blades slipped, on the corner of his jaw. He checked in the mirror, found the tiny blood spot where he’d nicked himself. What was he saying about setbacks? Right…

Shaking his head, he finished his shave and rinsed his face, wiped the moisture away. Double-checking, the nick was more-or-less visible, a tiny pinprick of red, but it bothered him. They always appear, no matter how careful he is.

‘I wonder if Rah has any tips for that…’ Eyes focused on the spot. One second. Two. He blinked.

He pulled a disgruntled grimace at his reflection. Think about Jacob. The nick is nothing, just a spot. Jacob won’t care. Jacob wants what he needs, and Aden wouldn’t give a damn about a mistake in grooming on the guy’s part either.

Bending over, he shook the towel over his head, drying the strands roughly before flipping his head back and sending them whipping against his spine. The light waves and minimal curl showed even more when his hair was freshly washed like this, but the length…damn, the added weight was making it flatter than usual. He fingered his chocolate mop, debating whether to put it up in the comfy half-bun or…

He decided to brush it while he considered this. Watching the different shades of wet, dark brown catch the light. Tilt to the right. Fingers pushed the slightly shorter front to the left. Maybe the right? Or tied completely?

…

Loose.

Nodding, he went to his room, discarded his towel in the laundry hamper and eyed the clothes he’d set out for himself on his bedsheets. Light white, loose-collared tee, navy blue button up, dark grey jeans, and his nicer pair of briefs, the ones he knows mould to his body in all the right places.

He pulled his underwear and pants on first, paused while rolling some deodorant on as his phone buzzed. A quick check confirmed Jacob was leaving for the coffee shop soon. He smiled, already looking forward to their meeting. He lingered on his cologne, decided to spray some on, for good measure. Bracelet, on, ring, slipped onto his thumb.

He’d barely finished rolling his sleeves and buttoning his dress-shirt half-way when a second notification appeared on his screen. Jacob again.

His cock jumped in his pants, and Aden had to bite his lip at the sight. Jacob had sent him a selfie of himself in his car, pants button undone, fly down, thumb hooked in his boxers and pulling them down just enough to show his dark happy trail. The picture was accompanied by a cheeky message of "Can’t wait to meet ya ;)"

"You and me both big boy," Aden muttered to himself, admiring the photo with a barely repressed growl.

After slipping on his shoes and making sure he had his wallet and keys, he made one last trip to the bathroom and gave himself a final inspection.

Fingering his hair again, Aden searched in his drawers. It wouldn’t hurt to put a little more effort into his appearance. Now where was that spray his sister had given him- Ah!

Styling mousse. Lydia and him shared many traits, including their mother’s wavy hair - and the tedious care routine that came with it. His sister had pestered him more than once about it, with words such as "Just because you’re a guy doesn’t mean you get to neglect your hair." She’d given him the mousse and had recommended the current salon he goes to, in hopes that he would stop hiding the state of his hair in a bun.

It half-worked. Aden used better products, but the half-bun was a non-negotiable. But now? He scrunched the mousse into his waves and worked some of the curls around his face to better emphasise them. The more desirable he looked, the better chance he had of getting Jacob to f*** him hard.

The ride to the coffee shop went by a little slower than he would like due to tourist traffic, but eventually, Aden parked his car and made his way to the terrace. A scan of the area didn’t reveal his date to him at first, but then, his eyes spotted him coming down the sidewalk towards him.

"Hey! Aden, nice to meet you."

He walked over to him, and Aden greeted him in turn, making sure his date saw the appreciative once-over he gave him, and a tilt of the guy’s lips confirmed he’d noticed. Good.

Jacob had a tattered dark green flannel over a dark camisole, some stained jeans with worn cuffs. Aden wondered about the stains. Motor oil perhaps? Going with the guy’s hobbies and all. Chains dangling from his belt. Silver necklace. Pierced right brow. Hair touching his shoulders, slight flip at the end, dark. Slightly taller than himself. Not bad. Not bad at all.

"So, coffee?" Aden asked with a coy smile. Hell if the guy didn’t know what they were both truly here for.

He smirked, "Yeah sure. I pay or you pay?"

Oh, goodness. Jacob slipped his arm around his waist as they went inside. ‘Bold, aren’t you?’ He sniggered internally. "I’ll pay for us, I don’t mind."

"Thanks, you’re sweet."

‘I’ll show you how sweet I can be’. "It’s nothing really."

They took a few minutes at the counter to order their drinks and a little something to eat while they chatted, Aden going for a cappuccino and a cookie, while Jacob took an iced coffee and a fruit muffin. Soon enough though, they’d found a little table by the window and faced each other.

"You know, I still have to say, I’m really surprised," Jacob said as he sipped on his drink, "You and me matching and we both live near Québec? You know how hard it is to get your stars aligned like that?"

Aden laughed, knowing all too well. "I know, it’s ridiculous. I had to filter through way too many eighteen-year-olds, I swear."

"Right? I was thinking the same thing. There had to be some guy around my age that didn’t live half-way across the province."

He gestured to himself with a tilt of his lips, picking at a piece of cookie, "Well, I’m here. Is it everything you hoped for?"

Jacob’s eyelids went heavy for moment, and Aden could see the way he was inspecting him, devouring him with his eyes. Yeah, he could tell the guy was just as antsy as he was. "Everything…and more." He snorted, honeyed irises flicking to his hands. "What about you. Disappointed, or…?"

Disappointed? He tilted his head while making a big deal out of thinking really hard. "Hm…I guess you’re okay."

"Ouch, harsh," but Jacob laughed, sensing the playful jab.

"For real, you’re great. Honestly." He watched the guy’s throat bob as he swallowed, imagined him drinking something else just as eagerly. "Were you working on a motorcycle before coming here?"

Jacob’s eyes widened fractionally. "How’d you guess?"

"The black stuff on your jeans." Blue eyes darted to the pants in question, and his date let out an impressed laugh.

"S**t, I didn’t think it was that apparent."

He zipped his mouth. Mentioning the grease stains also present on Jacob’s fingers was probably a bad idea. He made a mental note to make him wash his hands before doing the deed later. "Hey, it’s fine. The number of times I go out with grass stains on my knees would shock you. What I won’t do for a good picture…"

"Oh yeah, you’re a photographer, right?"

He swallowed some coffee. "That’s me."

"Man, that’s cool. Best I can do is put a filter on my selfies," Jacob chuckled sheepishly, earning an entertained smirk from Aden. "What kind of stuff do you do?"

"Well, let’s see. Are we talking work or on my own? ‘Cause that’s two different things."

Those blue eyes twinkled at him, pretty and light and full of so much sexual intent Aden could choke on it, but he’s willing to make this charade of a date last a little longer, just so he can finish his food. Then, he’ll have Jacob for dessert. "Tell me both?"

He wiped his hands of cookie crumbs, fingers circling his coffee cup. "For work, I do your standard stuff: family photos, personal and professional portraits, group photos, pregnancy shoots, weeding shoots, stuff like that."

Jacob whistled. "Man, I heard wedding shoots are expensive. You must make some good money doing that."

He laughed, "Enough to live comfortably."

"So, what do you do by yourself?"

This part, Aden doesn’t often say out loud to anyone. It’s not like it’s anything wrong, but his personal projects are his escape, his way of relaxing and thinking when things get rough. He let’s himself loose, or he focuses so hard on them he can think of nothing else. "It’s…I do a lot of nature photography. Not the animals, most of the time, I don’t have the lenses for that stuff. But stuff like landscapes, cityscapes, whatever catches my eye, really."

"Nothing with people?"

"Huh?" Aden blinked, spying the licentious lilt in Jacob’s voice.

"You know," he whispered, hunkering close to him over their table, "sexy shoots?"

‘He doesn’t know. He’s just f***ing with you. He has to be.’ Slapping the poker face of the century on his features, he willed himself to calm down and keep his voice neutral. "No."

Jacob seemed taken aback, sinking in his chair. "Sorry, it was just a joke. I didn’t mean to-"

"Hey," Aden started, forcing a smile to his lips, and pushing thoughts of Cathairsis far, far away, "Don’t be sorry. I was just not expecting that. In hindsight, it was pretty funny." He slid his hand across the table, fingering his date’s arm.

Jacob’s mood shifted immediately, eyeing the caress with a knowing glint in his eye, back to being flirty. "Does that mean I can look forward to some nice-looking reminders of your body when we’re not in the same room?"

"Ha, you wish."

The guy put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Hey, can’t blame a guy for trying, right?"

Aden found himself relaxing for the first time in weeks, letting himself get dragged into funny conversations and rewarding his date with rare, full-body laughs. Jacob proved to be very touchy, reaching for Aden more often that the photographer did for him, closing the distance over their shared table, leaning forward so close he could make out the pattern of days-old stubble on Jacob’s face. The scent of coffee on his breath.

Every so often, his eyes would try to catch glimpse of the guy’s jeans, figuring out how big he is at a glance, even if he knew it would prove pointless. Only getting the guy alone, preferably in his room so he could kick him out when he was done with him, would truly show the extent of this guy’s seven-point-five rating.

In turn, his own body warmed at the not-so-subtle glances Jacob gave him. The shop bell rung to their right. The licking of lips. Thin lips. But that’s of little importance, so long as those lips know how to- His head turned briefly at the sound and-

‘Holy s**t, what the f*** is HE doing here?’ Aden hunched his shoulders, trying to not stare directly at him from their table. Jacob seemed oblivious to his sudden change in demeanor, going off about his collection of long plays or something, he’s not sure anymore.

"Bonjour, est-ce que je peux prendre votre commande?"

"Oui, je prendrais un café glacé pour emporter, s’il-vous-plaît."

There he was, speaking damn-near perfect f***ing French at the cashier, and if Aden wasn’t so busy trying to melt into the coffee shop décor, he might have been impressed or jealous or a mix of both.

His focus shifted between Jacob and Rah’s stupid f***ing self. Of all times for the barber to enter this shop in particular, why did it have to be now?

He tried his damn best to act natural while the slow teenage barista mixed Rah’s drink behind the counter, nodding along to whatever the hell Jacob was talking about without much thought put into the gesture. At this rate, Rah was bound to notice his incessant staring.

However, Rah wasn’t the first to take note of his distracted self. Jacob’s brows furrowed. "Is everything okay?"

Quickly peeling his eyes away from the barber, he offered a rushed, "Fine. I’m Fine."

But Jacob had followed his line of sight, and landed on Rah’s form, where the tall man was busy scrolling on his phone.

And Jacob scoffed.

What’s this? Derision? Aden wasn’t sure at first, but Jacob lowered his voice and surreptitiously jerked his head in Rah’s direction. "What, you’ve never seen him before?"

Oh, now Aden is interested more than ever. Jacob knows of Rah? But…no, he doesn’t want to see this date go off the rails for a discussion involving the barber. This is supposed to be a day to relax, let off some steam, get his rocks off, whatever, and not for thinking about anything else, be it work or less professional projects, and definitely not about Rah.

He dismissed the question rapidly, "No. Anyways, what were you-"

"You work here and you’ve never seen him? I mean I guess you stay in your studio a lot," Jacob went on without a care, murmuring under his breath.

He ground his teeth. "I guess. About your-"

Again, his date barely heard him and went off, "Yeah, whatever you do, don’t go to that guy’s salon if you know what’s good for you."

Aden’s mouth hung half-way open, words stuck in his throat. Barring the fact that Rah owns a barbershop and not a salon… A sudden, creeping sensation crawled up his spine, and before he could question why he was ignoring his earlier advice to brush over Rah’s presence and this conversation, he leaned forward, probing for information. "Alright…why not?" Honeyed eyes slipped to Rah’s form, watching to make sure he was still nose-deep in his phone.

Jacob’s blue eyes narrowed, voice taking on a conspiratorial tone. "Okay, oh boy, my friend, Kevin, told me this story that happened to him. He was looking for a place to get his haircut right? And this was like, what, a few months ago? I don’t remember. Anyways. He found that guy’s," here, he pointed to Rah quickly, who was none the wiser, "barbershop and did the usual stuff. You know, read some online reviews, look at the website, stuff like that."

Aden nodded along, keeping his face carefully blank, and keeping an eye on the completion of Rah’s drink.

"So, everything looks pretty normal. There are some good reviews. Apparently, the website looks fine. There’s something called ‘special services’ but he didn’t make much of it."

Aden knew damn well where this was going before Jacob even completed the story, or at least he was ninety percent sure he was, but he let his date rant on, curious to see how this would conclude.

"By this point, Kevin is like ‘screw it’, and goes over there at something like seven at night. With him there, there’s three people in the shop. Kevin, a client and that guy," again, he points to Rah, as if Aden hadn’t already realized who he was talking about. "He’s waiting his turn, right? Minding his own business, but he says it’s weird: he didn’t even get a greeting when he went in, the barber barely even looked at him. He didn’t think much of it. The guy’s just doing his job, that’s all it is. But no. Nuh-uh. You want to know what was really going on? I swear you’re not ready for this."

Unfortunately, Aden was quite ready, too ready in fact.

"The client," Jacob whispered, just as Aden saw the barista at the counter put a lid on Rah’s drink, "was rubbing one out while getting his haircut."

As Rah received his drink and turned towards the door, Aden could barely hear anything beyond the odd ringing in his ears, the echo of Jacob’s words bringing with them images from the den. Submissive men moaning in cuffs. Sticky semen. Dripping. The lewd move of a hand under a cape. Rah. His body encased in leather, mouth forming teasing words, harsh commands, condescending taunts.

Just as the coffee shop door closed behind the man’s retreating form, Jacob’s voice returned to a normal level. He sniffed, sneering, "Can you believe that?"

Had he never known Rah personally, he might have accused Jacob of making up tall tales. But the truth is, Aden knows more than Jacob about the man who owns Cathairsis, and Jacob would probably have a riot if he knew of the more intense things happening in that shop’s basement.

"Kevin got the f*** out of there without saying anything but man," his date said, "I don’t know if I would’ve stayed silent. Anyone could’ve walked in on that sh*t, and that’s bad enough, but can you imagine sitting in the chair right after a guy blew his load in it?" Jacob made an exaggerated gagging noise to emphasize his point.

The creeping sensation multiplied. Shivers wracked his body and made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, but more than that, Aden’s brows furrowed every so slowly.

When he’d stayed behind to allow Rah to massage him, hadn’t he also questioned the sanitary aspect of the shop? Even further back, when he’d first went into the den, the entire basement had smelled of disinfectant. He had seen the care Rah puts into keeping his space and tools clean, hell, he’d watched him put his tools in a sterilizer for crying out loud. The man had given him a medical-grade sheet to put on the chair, sheets he no doubt offers to any one of those patrons bold enough to beat their meat in the chair. And the cape, God, Rah has dozens of capes, he’s seen the laundry basket full of them before.

Jacob has no clue. He’s only assuming stuff based on his friend’s experience with the place. But then that opens up another discussion about this Kevin friend of his, and Aden doesn’t know why he’s not just dismissing the subject at this point, but something in him won’t let his booty-call make assumptions about someone he doesn’t even know.

Pushing his lukewarm coffee to the side, Aden started as non-confrontational as possible, "Not to diss on your friend or anything, but if he had taken two seconds to read the notice on the barbershop door…"

Realizing too late he’d revealed he knew information about the shop, Aden bit the inner corner of his mouth while Jacob’s blue eyes pinned him in place with an inquisitive stare. He didn’t inquire about how he knew of the eighteen-plus notice, instead asking, "What are you saying?"

Teeth gnawing more insistently on the flesh between them, Aden huffed. He can’t believe he’s going to say this but, "There’s a notice right outside the barbershop door that says something like they only serve adults. The owner, or barber, whatever," Aden tried to sound less knowledgeable than he actually was, "The guy’s just serving his clients and they get a little extra, what’s the big deal? So long as they’re consenting. If your friend…"

"Kevin."

"Right. Kevin saw the notice and, hell, you even said he went on the shop’s website and saw the uh, ‘special services’…if he wasn’t able to put two and two together, than Kevin is dumber than a box of rocks."

"Woah!" Jacob furrowed his brow and smiled, but the grin didn’t go to his offended eyes. He put his hands out, "That was uncalled for, man."

Something was burning, Aden thought, as he focused too intently on his date’s patchy chin stubble. He snorted, unthinkingly, "If he’d read through the site, he’d probably have seen that the staff offer a ‘pleasurable’ experience too."

Jacob wasn’t smiling now. "Have you…have you checked the website out? I thought you said you didn’t know the guy."

Heat flooded his neck and he brushed over the question about Rah specifically. "I stumbled on it when I was looking for a salon. Didn’t end up going but," the lies spewed forth without conscious consent, spilling over like water overflowing from a bathtub, "I don’t see what the harm is in the place."

"Dude, it’s disgusting. He should go do that sh*t in some other place."

Disgusting.

Conversations in the barbershop. Words Rah had told him with a sad smile. ‘Maybe because a lot of people would have already called me vile or perverted.’

He’s defending Rah before he even knows what he’s saying. "What, it’s not like a ‘happy ending’ doesn’t happen in massage parlors too, you know." The urge to say ‘You can’t be as thick as Kevin too’ was strong, but part of him was hoping to maybe salvage this whole date and calling Jacob an idiot would certainly not win him any dick.

"Look," Jacob blurted, crossing his arms, "I just think if he wants to have sex with his clients or whatever the f*** he’s doing, he should do it someplace else or not at all."

Burning. Burning still. Agitatedly, Aden pushed his napkin around on the table, a derisive noise leaving his mouth as his thought-to-word censoring left the room, "You sound like the kind of guy who thinks sex workers aren’t actual workers."

His date replies, serious, "They aren’t."

Pause. "Excuse me?" he utters as evenly as possible.

"What, they aren’t! I think these people just don’t want to work a real job-"

As Jacob was trying to explain his perspective, Aden interrupted him with a nearly feral glare, "Sex work is a real job. Have you been living out in the wilderness for the past twenty years? What kind of thinking is that?"

Too late to take the insult back. Jacob sighed, clearly frustrated, "Dude, we’re talking about a barbershop letting their clients jack off-"

"And what of it?" Aden spat, "Is it impacting you in any way if you’re not going there? Let the guy do what he wants with his customers if it makes them happy."

Jacob leaned back, an insincere laugh puffing out of his still-sneering mouth, "To think you’re taking his side over the guy that’s going to f*** your brains out later."

Aden’s ears heated with angry mortification at that loud statement. He was sure he heard the two employees behind the counter snigger to themselves, and their mockery only added to the steadily increasing intensity of the flame burning in his chest and constricting his windpipe. Why the hell is Jacob such a c**t about this, acting like he’s right, like he’s the damn best when he has the personality of a teenager’s gym bag.

As he continued to stew across the table, forcing himself to shut up, Jacob…sealed the deal, for a lack of a better term.

"I mean," he chuckled, "I get why he’s resorting to offering sex, but come on, he’s just being lazy."

Aden, deadly calm, asks, "What the f*** does that mean?"

His date laughs, and here, the tempting morsel he’d thought Jacob to be began to rot rapidly before his very eyes. "Come on, you know indians don’t like working, doesn’t mix with their ‘way of life’, bunch of sava-"

Red. Everything and everyone and every surface or visual stimuli. Crismon, dripping, saturating his psyche.

This f***ing twat of a booty call…Aden was ready to lie in bed and offer his ass up to this- this absolute-

Words evaded him. There isn’t any vocabulary strong enough to insult the guy in front of him, no slur vile enough to scream at him. He’s angry, he’s tired, frustrated, pent-up and beyond f***ing enraged that this motherf***er he was about to willingly f*** is this f***ing dense and-

With a loud screech, Aden stands from his chair and grabs his cold-ass coffee, uncaring for the words coming out of his mouth while Jacob stares after him with that dumb look on his stupid face, "I don’t know what I expected out of a f***boy like you. I though I could land someone with at least half a brain and a decent cock to ride, but this conversation has proven to me that you possess at most half a braincell, and have a dick closer to the size of a Tic-Tac-" His "date" gave him an affronted look and his jaw hung open while Aden laughed at himself and continued unapologetically, "But oh, at least if I sucked it my breath would be minty fresh for the rest of the day, unlike the stink that comes from your mouth after spewing all that f***ing bullsh*t at me on a first date. Stupid me for wanting decency!"

There are eyes watching them from the counter and the other booths, but at this point, Aden is far too pissed-off to give a single ounce of crap that he’s making a scene. His date is a disaster, his mind is in shambles and he’s still horny but now, all it was doing was making him compare every one of Jacobs features to that of someone who pulls off the alternative, dark style so much better. Jacob’s piercing is nothing compared to Rah’s dozens of them, his cheap chains look like they’d break if you so much as pulled on them whereas Rah’s den has actual useful hardware that could drag lesser mortals to their feet, and Jacob’s clothes look sloppy and dirty whereas Rah’s wardrobe has style and is clean and looks hot and Jacob’s hair is greasy and stupid-looking and Rah’s looks like he actually f***ing gives a damn about his appearance and-

F***.

This.

Sh*t.

He’s taking steps towards the entrance of the café, with Jacob standing and saying something behind him, but he doesn’t care anymore. In fact, he turns back around to face the guy and goes, "Oh, and, by the way," Aden steals the last bite of Jacob’s muffin that he paid for as he says this, "That guy you just called a savage is my client, so good job there, buddy. Ten points for being a bigger dick than the thing between your legs, you f***wad."

"What the fu- Aden wait!"

But no, there is no stopping him. He’s already made up his mind about this and walks purposefully towards the door, practically jogging his way back to his car without looking back to see if Jacob is following him. Honestly, what the hell was he even thinking, why did he expect for a random guy he met on some dating app to actually offer him a nice time? He should know better.

So what if Jacob knew about his affiliation with Rah now? Screw that guy and his probably smaller-than-average dick and his mediocre sex appeal. To think he’d shaved his ass for this! Hours of his time he can never get back! How could a gay man like Jacob be so stuck-up and caught in old-fashioned thoughts like that? God, how did he even fall for the guy in the first place?

The answer is so damn obvious, Aden knows it, and hates it, and it’s the very same reason why, despite being his client, he’s attracted to Rah. Jacob is his type: the edgy style and personality, the dark hair, the confidence, the teasing. He doesn’t know why it gets him so worked up, but Aden is weak to a guy like that, and it’s so much worse when he can’t control his damn arousal.

Of all things…if his date hadn’t said anything, he’d be at Aden’s place balls deep inside him. Instead, he had to open his big mouth and spout all those nasty and downright racist things at him. How the hell are there still people thinking like this in the twenty-first century? He doesn’t even know why he’s mad. Would he have wanted to stay ignorant and let Jacob have sex with him anyway? Agh. He doesn’t know. He’s so mad he’s afraid he’s going to bust a vein. He probably would have f***ed Jacob if things hadn’t gone so horribly wrong so terribly fast. If Rah hadn’t shown up-

His cell rang in his pocket. Pulling it up to his face as he made it to the next sidewalk, Aden cringed. Jacob is trying to call him? Really? After everything that just happened? Aden may be desperate for sexual release, but not that desperate. Growling, he quickly declined the call and blocked Jacob’s number as well as his dating account.

Finally, he got to his car and started fishing for his keys, grumbling under his breath about how his whole day has been ruined-

Honeyed irises flicked to the other side of the street where people were walking. Is that…It is. Rah, walking, talking on his cell, hand around the drink he’d gone to the café to get. He must have stopped somewhere else after he’d left for them to be here at the same time.

Aden watched him from afar, but before he could shake himself and climb into his car, the man turned and saw him. He froze, unsure what to do; panic crested in his chest…and dissolved just as quickly when Rah just smiled and waved at him. Awkwardly, Aden reciprocated the gesture, albeit with a less enthusiastic smile, and observed as Rah went on his way, disappearing inside a black and dark pink building.

Looking closer, Aden made out the name of the shop: Eros.

‘That’s a sex shop’ his mind provided.

Sighing harder than intended, he yanked his car door open, got in, slammed it shut and started his car. As soon as he had his seatbelt on, he was out of there.

That night, alone at home with more pent-up arousal than entirely healthy, he angrily kneeled naked in his shower with his phone. If he couldn’t f***ing have a real, flesh and blood cock, he’d pretend this lifeless hunk of silicone was better than anything natural.

At least a dildo doesn’t speak.

XXXXX

"Who wants another pint?"

"Hell yeah, I’ll take some. Aden? You drinking, or what?"

"Hm?" Aden tore his eyes away from the bottom of his empty beer glass. "Yeah, yeah, I’ll take some."

After a rather disappointing start to his weekend, Aden had accepted an invitation to the bar with three of his friends, hoping perhaps to find some respite or answers at the bottom of froth-filled mugs. Loic, Charles and Zack had all been available for some catching-up, and while they provided chatter, stories, and distractions in the form of pool, he wasn’t all that sure he was all there, mentally that is.

Loic came back and filled their glasses with some local craft beer of which Aden couldn’t remember the name. Zack had just finished his turn at the pool table. "Sh*t. Aden, you’re up."

After a healthy swig from his glass, he took some time to map out the colorful balls on the worn green table, deciding how best to place himself. While he pondered this decision and twisted his pool cue, Charles and Loic sat on some stools, watching him, and Zack leaned back with another mouthful of alcohol.

"Careful Aden; there’s smoke coming out of your ears," Zack poked with a playful sneer.

He sent his friend a small glare. "Shut up. I’m concentrating."

"Yeah Zack, don’t you see, he’s concentrating," Charles repeated mockingly, all while Aden started placing the end of his cue against the white ball. "Are you gonna take the shot or what?"

"I will if you shut up."

"Damn okay, I’ll zip it," his friend chuckled.

Loic sat back as Aden finally took his shot, balls clacking softly together under the dingy bar lights. "You’ve been damn quiet tonight. You know, when you’re not telling us to f*** off."

Honeyed eyes watched as two balls fell into mesh pockets. His turn again. Moving around towards the cue ball, he said, "Can a guy not take his time to line his shot? You try to win this game when you’re getting distracted every two seconds."

"Can’t be us distracting you. We’re angels!" Loic stated with a bat of his eyelashes which the other two followed in.

"Can I sink these balls now?"

"I’d say ‘that’s what she said’ but," Zack sniggered, and corrected, "I guess it’s more what ‘he said’, am I right?"

"God, your puns suck," Aden jabbed with a grin, lining his shot up and- nothing. "Alright, show us how it’s done, then."

"Oh, with pleasure!" Zack took his spot around the pool table, and Aden leaned against the wall, leisurely sipping on his beer.

"Hey didn’t you say you had a date with some guy yesterday?" Charles asked him suddenly, and Aden berated himself for telling his friend about that little tidbit of information.

His neck burned at the thought, but more than mortified, he was furious. "Yeah, load of good that was."

"What, did he ghost you?"

God, he wished. At least if he had, he wouldn’t have had to put up with the entire dumpster fire of a date that happened after matching. "No, it just didn’t work out."

Loic snorted, looking unconvinced. "If it was just that, you’d be going on about how tired you are of the gay dating scene. So, I’m calling bulls**t."

"I’m-" Aden sent a look at his friends, who were all looking about as certain of that statement as Aden was of how much he hated Jacob’s guts. "Okay, fine. The guy I matched with was a f***ing dimwit asshole who stank of motor oil. Happy?"

"No." Zack and Charles both intoned, while Loic just sipped his beer and tried not to choke on it.

"Someone’s not happy they didn’t get laid," Loic finally lilted after swallowing his drink.

The heat in his neck migrated to his ears, and Aden didn’t even notice Zack’s turn was over until he called his name twice. He shook his head, his loose bun swaying on his skull as he did. He wouldn’t grace Loic with a response to that, but his silence was just as telling, and as he fudged his next shot, Charles piped up:

"Hey, at least you dodged a bullet, right? Besides, aren’t you the one always saying how you like being alone?"

He sighed hard, pinching the bridge of his nose. This conversation couldn’t be arriving at a worse time, but it’s too late to stop it anyway. They would pester him until he broke, he knew. "I can like being alone but getting to f*** someone every now and then too, you know? These aren’t mutually exclusive concepts. And you’re one to talk. Where’s this girlfriend you always claim you’re going to have one day?" he said, turning the conversation back on Charles.

"Oh, f*** off," Charles grumbled.

After finishing their round with Zack winning, Loic and Charles took up their pool cues and started setting up the table. Aden sat on a stool, nursing the last of his drink and feeling just a tad woozy, but nothing a walk outside wouldn’t get rid of. He’d already grabbed a cab to get here and would call another one to head back home later.

"Seriously though," Zack pressed, friendlier this time, "What happened with the guy?"

Racking a hand through his tousled locks, Aden huffed hard, eyes closing in contemplation as he thought back to the disaster date. The guys didn’t know about Rah, and they wouldn’t, ever, know of him; bar that being a violation of client confidentiality, he would also never live it down if he admitted to the three that he was doing what was essentially a pornographic photo shoot which, somehow, also involved hair and barbering as a key focal point. It was just safer if he left any details regarding Rah and Cathairsis in the dark.

"Look, I don’t remember everything he said," Aden lied, the whole scene replaying in his head like a movie reel, "but the guy said some pretty racist and sexist stuff and the vibe just wasn’t the same after that. Turned me off completely."

"That’s it?" Loic interjected, lining his cue up for the first shot. Balls went rolling across the velvety surface.

"Well," Aden added, staring down at his once-again empty glass. "I might have called his dick a Tic-Tac too." His three friends choked on laughter, and he smiled despite how awful he had felt at the time. "I stand by that it was a deserved and justified insult."

"Didn’t know you were a size queen," Zack snorted beside him.

"Laugh all you want, at least I know what I like."

‘Yeah, and you like Rah a whole lot, don’t you?’ an unprompted voice teased him from the back of his mind, and immediately, his smile wavered, his friends too busy playing pool or talking to see it.

He’d more than admitted to himself already, but yes. At least, Aden could say he was attracted to Rah in the physical sense. How could he not be? Even barring the fact that he’s his type, being exposed to his sexual nature nearly every week awakened desire in Aden that was hard to combat. He’s not so unprofessional to act on any of it, but he needs an outlet, and so far, pleasuring himself at home wasn’t helping much in that department. If anything, it was making him more desperate for the real thing, as evidenced by the fact that he nearly bedded Jacob.

There had to be some way of helping this situation, without needing to stoop so low as to bending over for whatever weird guy he found on online dating apps, or, and he can’t believe he’s even thinking about this, asking Rah himself to…

Ah! No, no, no! Ridiculous.

"Last round of drinks?" Zack called.

Aden stared hard into his froth-filled glass. "I’ll pay this one."

XXXXX

Later that night, with the booze making its course through his system and having him feel that distinct fuzzy buzz that accompanies drinking, Aden walked alone along the deserted streets. Every now and then, other night owls passed by, no doubt also coming back from bars, shows or other events or hang-outs.

Loic, Charles and Zack had all headed off home, but Aden decided to take a little midnight walk. It was sad that he’d left his camera home, as it was rather nice out for some photography, but there was little to be done about it. He’d enjoy the warm summer nights while they lasted, before the harsh winters turned Québec city into a freezing cold cliffside.

As it often happened when he’s woozy on alcohol, Aden began to feel a slight bit hornier than usual. Hasn’t that been the norm these past few weeks, huh? After this walk and calling a taxi home, he’d probably take out the good ol’ silicone dildo and shamefully ride it until he’s shaking from the relief - and possibly ponder his life choices in the afterglow, post-nut clarity style.

"I’m so screwed…" he muttered to himself.

How? How was he going to continue the Cathairsis project to the end without succumbing to his baser needs? If he had to see one more scene like Emiliano’s, he…he doesn’t know. Maybe he’d have to tell Rah he needed to stop the project entirely.

His flooded brain was flip-flopping now between the present problem and another he had neglected for weeks and pushed far in the well of his mind, but now, he’s cranking the metaphoric lever and reeling that small problem right back up, sopping wet and looking worse than ever: Rah probably still thinks Aden finds him good looking enough to sneak pictures of him without his consent. Where before, Aden would have vehemently denied it, now, he’s not so sure. He all but just admitted to himself that he finds the man damn hot. Was that true back then too?

That humid, rainy night in front of the coffee shop was a blank space in his mind. He recalls some details, but not all of them. He remembers the way cold rainwater seeped through his jeans. He recalls the way the sky had opened up and shown the stars behind a veil of clouds. Even clearer, he recalls the red and blue neon sign flashing against the wet pavement.

But how he got there? How long he stayed? How he ended up in the middle of the street? And most importantly, how and why he decided to take pictures of Rah?

Total darkness.

‘He’s beautiful.’

The words came to him suddenly and strongly. Yes. Even before they knew each other, when Rah was nothing but a stranger walking under the yellow glow of lamp, Aden had thought he was a stunning specimen.

How right he had been.

Here he was now, pinning for the perfection of the man’s body, and wanting to experience its assets.

"Ooh…" Aden stopped, leaned against the façade of a building to his left. Clenching his thighs, he tried hard to force blood flow to his legs, away from the problem making itself know between his legs.

This needs to stop. He can’t keep going like this. There needs to be a way to stop himself from-

His eyes lifted, neon pink and magenta reflecting off his irises. He’d walked here without even thinking about it.

An idea manifested. Strong. A solution. Something that could truly help him.

Sighing hard, Aden pushed himself from the wall…

And went inside the storefront for Eros.

XXXXX

Constructive criticism is appreciated. Next time we go back to "Picture" chapters with Jasper in the chair! Any idea how it will go down based on Rah's words about him? You also have the entire timeline of the story laid out for you with the appointment dates, so perhaps you can start to speculate on what you'll see for each of them. As always, thank you for reading!

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