Page 94 of Playing For Keeps

Not as much as I want you to… Wait, I’m not gonna lead with that…

After what you did, you can lead with whatever you want,Sal replied. Sorry I’ve been engaging in such discord moderator behaviour. Me and my brother.

Yeah, I don’t know what that means, but I know you’ve only been amazing and sexy, and Byron is just doing his job. Plus, he’s been way less of a knob since the boots thing. Even talked to me today.

Glad to hear it,Sal wrote, and they meant it.

Their heart felt like it was two times its usual size. They were sitting on their couch alone, longing for Curtis’ big, muscly arms around them like they couldn’t believe.

I can’t wait to see you again,they texted.Please tell me you’ll come over as soon as you’re back?

Sorry, babe, he replied.You knowwe’re going on a date.

In public?

‘Fraid so. Rail you after, but.

He would probably always be annoying like that, Sal realised. Stubborn in his own gentle way. But they kind of liked it. A little resistance to make the moment they Dommed him even better. And so, Sal agreed to meet Curtis at the same fancy-ass cocktail bar the next afternoon. They wore a dress and heels, comfortable in the femmy mood they were vibing that day. Curtis was waiting in the exact same spot he’d been before, in the exact same pose as well—knee up, one foot on the wall behind him, scrolling his phone. It was funny, seeing him that way. As though they were just about to re-do their first date, when really, everything had changed.

Sal stood there for a moment, taking him in. His huge frame, the rolled-up sleeves of his shirt, the mussy brown hair falling into his eyes. Curtis would always be a symbol of something Sal desperately wanted; a person comfortable in their assigned gender, but they weren’t jealous anymore. As they looked at the guy who was undeniably their partner, all they felt was a quiet joy that they and Curtis had met. That they would laugh themselves stupid over drinks and probably dinner. That they’d have sex. Sleep in each other’s arms. Get to know one another better. Fight and make up. Fall in love. The whole deal.

“And that’s okay,” Sal whispered to themself. “It’s great, actually.”

As though sensing Sal’s presence, Curtis looked up. He grinned, shoving his phone into his jeans pocket. “Hey, babe. It’s good to see you.”

It’s good to be seen, Sal thought. But they didn’t say it. It was too corny.

But they kept repeating the phrase as they walked, then practically ran, toward Curtis.It’s good to be seen. It’s good to be seen.There was a glow in Sal’s chest, in the place that every living person shared. The lightness streamed from behind the left ribs, right where the heart is.