CHAPTER 383: I’M THE PRESENT!

When Damien stepped out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a bathrobe, his dark brown hair still damp, a few last droplets of water dripping onto the towel hanging around his neck, the apartment was quiet and dark. There was only moonlight falling through the window, faint warm light seeping through the crack in the door of the master bedroom...

And a trail of red rose petals leading to said door.

The corners of his mouth lifted a bit. Somehow, it seemed so unusual, and yet Lane’s style, in a way. Like it wasn’t something Lane would typically do, but it wasn’t surprising either. Perhaps because Lane wasn’t a romantic type, when he was trying to be romantic, he picked something very cliche.

It was cliche without a doubt, but to Damien, it was endearing. Lane was putting on effort to create a romantic atmosphere.

Damien wiped his hair one last time, going back to the bathroom to hang the towel (otherwise, it would probably end up on the floor soon), and followed the petals, pushing the door open...

And he immediately stopped, rooted in place, right on the doorstep, staring blankly at the scene spreading in front of his eyes.

The bedroom was filled with reddish light from a new color-changing lamp, which hadn’t been there before. It was dim enough to create an intimate atmosphere, but bright enough to see everything well. There were more rose petals everywhere, scattered on the floor, on the furniture, on the white sheets on the bed... And among them, right in the middle, there was Lane.

Butt naked, save for the bright red ribbon wrapped all around him, finished with a large bow right on his chest. A bit crooked bow - Lane had clearly done it himself - but a large bow nonetheless.

And if that was not enough, his hands were tied above his head. He clearly wanted to tie himself to a bed, but because the frame of their bed made it impossible, he tucked the end of the ribbon behind the headboard, probably attaching it there with glue or something else.

He smiled at Damien the moment the man stepped in (or, well, opened the door, stopping at the entrance). "How do you like your birthday present?"

"My birthday present?" Damien repeated, even though the answer was pretty self-explanatory.

"Yeah!" Lane’s smile widened. He seemed to be incredibly proud of himself. "I’m your birthday present! Tonight, you can do whatever you want to me!"

"...Whatever I want?"

"Y-yeah!" Lane’s voice faltered a bit, but he quickly compensated for it by fluttering his lashes, and rolling to his side seductively, his hands still secured above his head. "It’s a one-in-a-million type of opportunity, a special promotion, just for today! Miss it, and you will regret it forever!"

He was spouting complete nonsense, just to cover up his nervousness. There was no need for it, though, because Damien was just as nervous as he was, if not more. Although it wasn’t their first time... If Lane was saying that Damien could do anything to him, then did that mean...

Damien gulped loudly, and stepped toward the bed, tugging on the belt of his bathrobe, and letting it slide down his shoulders to pool on the floor. Normally, if he were undressing himself, even before bed, he would try to set the clothes aside neatly. It was rarely possible with Lane as his partner, but Damien was a neat person, so he naturally tried to keep everything neat and organized. At this moment, however, even though he could even put the robe in the closet or in the washing machine if he chose to, since Lane was all tied up, he didn’t. He seemed to have completely forgotten about its existence, and let it lie sadly on the floor, abandoned and lonely, while he himself climbed onto the bed, leaning over Lane.

"Alright," he said, his voice slightly hoarse and strained. "But... Maybe without this." He reached out, and tugged on the ribbon tying Lane to the bed. It didn’t give up with a light tug though - Lane must have secured it pretty well - thus, after giving it a quick thought, Damien grabbed it with both hands...

"Are you sure?" Lane asked, seeing what he was doing. "If you free me, I might fight you."

Damien glanced at him. Then, without hesitation, he tore the ribbon apart, separating Lane from the bed. "If I do something that would make you want to fight me, then I want you to stop me, birthday present or not."

Lane blinked, staring back at Damien for a moment, before letting a soft chuckle. "I was only joking. I wouldn’t offer it if I wasn’t fine with it. Besides..." He glanced at his now free wrists. "It’s not like this ribbon would last."

That was true. It was just a normal ribbon. Even if Damien hadn’t freed Lane, it would have ended up torn soon anyway.

They stayed like that in silence for a while, both feeling a bit awkward. They had slept together in this bed so many times. They were both already extremely familiar with each other’s bodies. They had tested many different positions, more than Lane had ever tested with any of his previous ’flings’...

But Lane had never been the bottom, while Damien had never been the top. And somehow, this tiny ’detail’ completely changed their dynamic, to the point that they both felt like virgins again.

Virgins with a lot of knowledge and hands-on experience, but... It was still like doing something for the first time, after only ever being on the opposite end.

It was up to Damien to take the lead. Lane, as the ’present’, waited patiently for his boyfriend to make the move. Not because he was low-key panicked about what was about to happen, not at all! He was just... fulfilling his role, giving his body to Damien to do with it whatever the man felt like, alright? That was all.

Luckily, Damien didn’t hesitate for too long. It was easy to feel intimidated when thinking about topping for the first time, but no matter what the destination was, the beginning was still familiar. Before the penetration, there had to be the preparation and the foreplay, and before the foreplay...

Supporting himself on one hand, Damien reached his other hand, wrapping it around Lane’s nape, and leaned forward, pulling his boyfriend closer at the same time, until their lips locked together in a kiss. First, he started slowly, then he slipped his tongue in, gradually picking up the pace...

Once they started making out, the earlier awkwardness quickly dissipated, replaced by excitement and desire. Lane returned the kiss, and raised his arms, wrapping them around Damien’s wide, muscular back, the torn ribbon sliding down from his wrists. Damien skin still felt damp and slightly cool from the shower - the man had a habit of taking cold showers, unless he was showering with Lane - and he smelled of herbal shampoo as always... A slightly different scent that in the past, since he was no longer using the same cheap shampoo as he used to, but Lane specifically picked a fragrance as similar as he could find from a better brand. He liked the way Damien smelled, after all, but at the same time, he didn’t want his boyfriend to use cheap, low-quality toiletries.

Thankfully, Damien always smelled great, no matter what toiletries he used. Perhaps because the scent that Lane liked the most, was Damien’s own natural scent underneath it all.

Lane closed his eyes, his whole attention focused on the kiss, forgetting about what awaited him soon for a moment. He let his hands travel around Damien’s back, one of them climbing up to entangle itself in Damien’s dark brown hair...

Before it could reach it’s destination, though, Damien pulled back from the kiss, both of them instinctively gasping, as in sync, when their lips separated.

"Gah!"

The break was only brief, at least for Damien. He barely caught his breath after the intense kiss, before lowering his lips again, this time to assault Lane’s neck.

But the moment he did, he run into a problem. There was still a thick, red ribbon wrapped all around Lane. He might have freed Lane’s wrist, but that only took care of a part of the problem. The rest of the ribbon was still in place, getting in the way when Damien was trying to kiss Lane’s body, and tangling up with his hands whenever he touched the man.

There was no point in proceeding this way. All of Lane’s body was wrapped, from his ankles, all the way up to his neck. Unless he dealt with the ribbon first, it would keep on getting in his way. He reached for the bow, to try to undo it...

"You should do it with your teeth," Lane suddenly said.

Damien glanced up at him. Lane was smiling. It was hard to say whether he was being serious or not. But...

Damien let out a sigh, and lowered his head, biting into one end of the ribbon. If that’s how Lane wanted him to unpack his ’present’, then so be it. It was a bit embarrassing...

But it was not the first time he had done something embarrassing with Lane, so it was okay.