-Joshua-

I stared at Nikita. He stared at me. Neither of us said anything, nor moved a muscle. He seemed just as shocked as I felt. 

“You are Josh, right?” he said with a frown.

“I - I - I…” I kept opening and closing my mouth, and ended up forgetting to give him an answer. “You are Nikita?” I blurted out, staring at his male body.

There was a short pause of silence in our table. Then, he leaned back in his seat and took a silent breath.

“You thought I was a woman,” he said softly, looking almost… sad.

“Nikita is a girl’s name,” I managed to say. I knew I was still staring at him with wide eyes, but in my defense, I had never even imagined the situation could’ve turned out like this.

“It’s a male name in Russia,” he said quietly. After hearing him speak only a few words, I could tell by the heavy sound in his voice that he was indeed Russian. “I… I should go…”

He grabbed his bag and stood up, and I immediately knew he had come to see me believing I was a gay guy. He turned his back on me, pulling the bag on his shoulder.

Was I a man of my word, or not?

Yes. Yes, I was.

“No, wait! Please!” I hurried to say and stood up as well. He turned to look at me with a light frown on his thin eyebrows. “I can see there’s a slight misunderstanding going here, but I did promise to buy you a cup of coffee.”

His frown melted away, and he gave me a curious look. “You…? What?”

“Let’s just sit down and take a breath, yes?” I said, sitting back down slowly.

He hesitated for a moment before he returned to the table and sat down. He didn’t put his bag away yet. “So you… really thought I was a woman?” he asked.

“I did,” I said, cursing Franky all over again. There was no way in hell he could’ve thought that Nikita was a woman. Even though he had a lean body and some feminine traits in his appearance, there was just no way anyone could actually think he was a woman. Drunk or not! Even his voice was clearly male!

“You said there’s a misunderstanding, so you’re obviously straight,” he spoke slowly. “So, why are we still here? We both know how this date was supposed to end.”

“I promised to buy you coffee,” I repeated. “So, you shall have your coffee,” I added with a friendly smile.

He tilted his head a little, but soon he started to relax in his seat. He put his bag back on the table and took a better look at me. “I guess old habits die hard,” he said with a voice that was much fuller and less timid than before.

“Sorry?” I asked politely.

“I assumed you would get angry,” he said.

“This is Franky’s fault, not yours. He’s such a jerk sometimes,” I said with a sigh. “I’m sorry you got pulled into this.”

“Pulled into what?” he asked with a curious voice.

“I think he’s mad at me for ditching him yesterday,” I explained.

“I see,” he said shortly. He looked at his wristwatch, and I assumed he wished he hadn’t come after all. That made me feel a bit disappointed. The whole situation was disappointing. It had been a dream, after all. All those toys…

I let out a small chuckle and shook my head. “Man, you got me excited. Like, really excited, if you know what I mean,” I told him.

A small smile formed on his lips, and he peered at me again. “It really is a shame. You are very hot, if I may say so.”

“Thanks,” I muttered. “I really wanted to see your toys.”

He rested his arms on the table and leaned closer, giving me a flirty smile. “The offer still stands,” he spoke quietly. I had to lean back in my seat. He straightened his posture, pushing his long hair over his shoulder. “I should watch my tongue,” he added, but that smile didn’t change.

“So, uh, coffee?” I asked, and stood up. “What would you like?”

“If there’s something with lots of chocolate in it…”

“Say no more,” I said, and practically ran to the counter. I stopped to stare at the big menu hanging off the ceiling and spotted something with chocolate in it. I was glad that it took quite some time for the barista to make the coffees. It gave me some time to let everything sink in.

Luckily, I wasn’t afraid of people, so this wasn’t going to be utterly awkward, but the fact that I came here with one thing in mind – kinky sex – was making things a bit absurd. I jacked off trying to imagine what kind of person this Nikita was. I got aroused by his messages.

“Here you go, sir,” the young woman said, and gave me the cups.

“Thank you,” I said, and stalled for a moment before I turned to face my “date”.

Franky was so going to die later today.

“Note to self. Double check the gender,” I muttered quietly.

I returned to the table and placed the chocolate madness in front of Nikita. He nodded shortly and thanked me while I sat down in front of him. I just nodded back and sipped the hot drink. He did the same. And then we just sat there in silence.

When it started getting really awkward, I opened my mouth. “So, you’re from Russia?”

“Yes,” he said, and took another sip of his coffee.

“Okay,” I said, hoping he would continue, but no.

I sipped my coffee. He sipped his. And silence.

“So… Do you know Eileen?” I asked.

“Who?”

“The birthday girl from last night,” I said.

“Oh. No,” he said.

“Okay.”

I sipped my coffee. This was going great.

Okay. Fuck it. Let’s do this.

I pushed my cup out of my way, leaned my elbows against the table, intertwining my fingers, and waited until Nikita made eye contact with me.

“You know, I’ve never had the opportunity to talk with someone who… shares the same interest with me,” I told him.

“Oh?” he uttered and leaned closer as well – a clear sign of interest. “Not even with a partner?”

I grinned awkwardly. “I’ve never had the opportunity to even try anything, actually,” I admitted.

He let out a small, dramatic gasp and placed a hand over his heart, like I had just said something devastating. “Poor boy. That must be awful!”

“I know,” I chuckled, playing along. “I… kind of had high hopes for tonight… But…” I ended with a shrug.

He gave me an apologetic look, and I had the feeling he was being sincere this time. “I could’ve shown you a lot.”

“That’s not helping at all,” I chuckled. I was silent for a moment, with a question in my mind, but I wasn’t sure if I should ask. Then I decided to go for it. “Like what?”

Oh, I hated myself for asking that. 

He leaned even closer, with that seductive smile on his face. “Well, I already took out my best harnesses. I could have taught you how to tie a person. I have hidden hooks and latches all around my place, you see.”

I let out a deep breath while listening to him speak. Hooks. Latches. Harnesses. God…

“I have two big pillars in the middle of my living room. You could have tied me up between them. My arms and legs spread, completely exposed with nothing but thin leather straps on me. I would’ve been completely at your mercy,” he spoke slowly with that surprisingly intoxicating accent of his. “I would have granted you every wish if you had wanted. Or I could have struggled against it all, if that’s more of your thing…”

“I shouldn’t have asked,” I coughed, and took a big gulp of my still very hot coffee.

“Too much?” he chuckled, biting his lower lip, checking me out. “It really is a shame… There’s so many toys and whips I would’ve loved for you to use on me. I could have fulfilled all your fantasies, and I have costumes… I have a swing and this special chair – you know, the kind of chair the gynecologists have for examination,” he almost whispered the last part, and I let out a groan.

This was too painful to hear.  

“I have collars, plugs, electronic rods and pads, special shower ends, massagers, gags, cuffs, chains, ropes, suction devices and so many toys I haven’t even tried them all yet,” he continued, smiling at me like he knew how torturous it was for me to hear all this.

“I don’t believe you,” I said sternly. “I have decided I won’t believe you, or I will cry myself to sleep tonight,” I told him, and mostly it wasn’t even a joke.

He just laughed and tousled his dark-gray hair. “Maybe you want to come see for yourself? I’m not a liar.”

I could only stare at him. I guess my inner struggle was visible to him, since he added, “I’m only going to show you my collection, that’s all. We can grab a beer and just chill. In a friendly manner.”

I wanted to see it. I really, really wanted to see everything he just told me. I took a deep breath and gave him a stern look. “No funny business.”

He raised his hands in front of him. “Scout’s honor,” he said. And winked. God, that wink…

“In a cool, chill, friendly manner,” I said.

“I have ice cubes, too. Oh, and candles,” he said teasingly. “In case you need to punish me.”

The sound I made was not human.