Page 96 of Love Limits

They drove past the parking lot and found it full, but there was street parking a couple of blocks away. They both grabbed their bags, Ash swinging theirs as they almost danced through the streets.

It was funny to think that in a few minutes they were going to be inside a kink club, but Ash was chattering away about their schedule like it was any other stroll down the block. It was comforting, though. For Ash, and many other people, this was an everyday experience.

Ash pointed out a bar as they walked back past it. It looked like a lively place, with people spilling out from the back patio, hung with festive lights for the late summer evenings.

That’s Whirlwind. Have you been?

Zhong shook his head.

Huh. I’m surprised since you’ve lived here for so long. It’s the biggest queer bar in the city and definitely the most welcoming.

I… don’t actually think of myself as queer.

Really? That stopped Ash in their tracks. You said you were panromantic. And anyway, anyone who’s ace is kind of automatically queer if they want to claim the title.

Zhong shrugged. I went to all the LGBTQ meetings with Dustin in college, but I was never really sure if it applied to me. It wasn’t until a couple years ago that I figured out that I was romantic at all. I mean, all those letters are usually about the type of bodies you’re attracted to and I’m pretty sure I don’t get attracted to bodies at all.

People though… he was kind of realizing that he got attracted to people. It had just taken a while to figure it out.

Well, it’s up to you. But I’d say that you can claim it.

That was another thing Zhong would have to think about later. For now, Ash was swinging open the door to the club before Zhong even realized they were there.

The space itself was clean but unremarkable. A small lobby held a receptionist desk where a young man was checking people in. As there were a few people waiting ahead of them, Zhong took the chance to look around.

A bulletin board held flyers for upcoming events at the club and a second one seemed to be for public listings of services and opportunities in the community. It was a mixture of bondage demonstrations and guitar lessons, leather nights and fundraisers. Farther along the wall, a glass display case held a whole variety of sex toys with hand-written labels announcing the prices. Below that was… shoe polish?

Ash leaned over to explain. Polishing boots is another kink. It’s called boot blacking. It can be a form of worship, submission, service, or just enjoying leather.

Ah, of course. He’d have to look that up later.

At the desk, both of them presented their IDs. Ash had one with a bar code and the receptionist scanned in Zhong’s driver’s license. They handed over their phones and the receptionist gave them a numbered tile to retrieve them and two red ribbons. Ash strapped the paper strip onto Zhong’s wrist and Zhong returned the favor.

He hadn’t acknowledged it until just then, but as comforting as it was to know that no one would approach him, it was also a huge relief that Ash didn’t want to be approached by anyone else either. They were in this together.

And for tonight at least, Ash was kind of his. His puppy and his… Ash. It was another warm, fluttery thought.

Though did that mean that he was the Dom in this situation? We’re not using the black and white ribbons? he thought to ask.

Ash shrugged. I identify as a sub, but pup play is more of a… gay male thing than a Dom/sub thing. I mean, it can be a Dom/sub thing, and pet play has different roles in the larger BDSM community. When it’s a gay thing it’s usually less of a D/s thing. The guy who I was going to come with tonight would have been a pup, too, but more of a Dominant one. And Handlers can also be Doms, subs, or neither. Sorry if I’m not explaining that well. Do you want a bracelet?

No. I wouldn’t even know what to choose.

That was all they had time to discuss before they were through the double doors and inside. After the barren lobby, it was kind of overwhelming. So much of what Zhong had read and watched with Dustin was just…. happening. Right there.

There were subs kneeling on the floor and one who was even balanced like a table, with a drink resting on his back. There was condensation on the outside of the glass. Wasn’t that cold? And what would happen if he had to sneeze or something? The man at his side was completely ignoring him, talking to someone else, but he knew it must be erotic for both of them or they wouldn’t be doing it.

At the next table was a pigtailed little with a pacifier in her mouth and a sippy cup in front of her, sitting on her Daddy’s lap. Her Daddy popped out her pacifier and gave her a lingering kiss before putting it back in her mouth. It still didn’t do anything for Zhong personally, but the way that they looked at each other, full of love and adoration, was beautiful. That must be what Ash wanted.

In another cluster of chairs, two subs were tied up with gorgeous, crisscrossing patterns of rope across their bodies, like a matching set. One seemed to be taking part in the conversation with the petite woman tying them up, but the other was staring dreamily out into the distance. Was that what subspace looked like?

He was surprised to see a number of men in dog masks and leather harnesses or rubber suits sprinkled around the room. For some reason, he’d expected them all to be clustered in one area, acting like puppies. And some of them were—walking around on knee pads while their Handlers led them on leashes or sitting on their haunches, fisted hands between their knees. Most of them, though, were just wandering around and talking, their masks dangling from their fingers or looped through their belts.

He’d read about moshes and if this was it… there was a lot more walking and talking than he’d expected. But maybe the mosh was in another room. This seemed more like a general lounge where people could hang out, have a drink, and chat. That is, if hanging out involved kneeling on the floor in a leather jock strap.

There was a lot of skin showing around the room, and while it was definitely sexualized, it wasn’t quite sexual enough to make Zhong feel uncomfortable or pressured. It was more like a “you do your thing and I’ll do mine, but you can watch if you want to.”

Zhong was definitely curious about watching, and his hand twitched toward his back pocket to take notes. Not that he would. He knew how rude that was. But he was taking notes in his head.