Free Another way by Anna Martin Page B

Three?”
    “Oh, I knew that would get back to you!” she exclaimed.
    “Three?” I asked.
    “He’s not my boyfriend,” Shannon said immediately. “He’s just someone I get along with really well.”
    “You can be asexual and still have a boyfriend.” Will sounded amused. “They won’t kick you out of the club.”
    “Yes, they will,” she sulked. “And they’ll make me hand back my V card.”
    “Uh, you’re dating a guy named Three?” I asked.
    “No, she’s not dating a guy named Three,” Will said with his tongue in his cheek.
    “His name is Marshall Augustus Williamson the Third,” Shannon explained. “I mean, wouldn’t you change your name if you were landed with that monstrosity?”
    “Three is asexual as well,” Will said. “I’ve been trying to hook the two of them up for years, but they’ve managed to evade me so far.”
    “You, of all people, should know that people are not necessarily compatible just based on their sexuality,” Shannon said in a haughty voice.
    Will laughed. “I know. But I knew the two of you would hit it off well.”
    “We do,” she admitted.
    “Are you going to bring him to the party next month?”
    “Party?” I asked.
    “Hmm,” Will said, wiping his fingers and leaning across to kiss my shoulder. “I host one every six months or so. It’s mostly a social occasion, although it does spill over into a play party as well. I never thought you’d be comfortable with doing it, so I never brought it up. I was afraid you’d go because you felt you should, when really you didn’t want to be there.”
    I considered his words. As my Master, it was up to him if he didn’t want me at his parties. But I couldn’t help but feel a bit hurt that he’d never invited me. I was his sub, I should be there to represent him.
    “Laura will be coming to this one,” Will said, as if this might change my mind. “She won’t be playing, I don’t expect, but if you wanted to come, you’d know someone there.”
    “And to answer your question, yes, me and Three will be there,” Shannon added. “So you’ll know me too.”
    “I’ll think about it,” I said with a smile. “Remind me closer to the date.”
     
     
    A S I drove home that night, I couldn’t get the events of the night out of my head. Shannon’s “ together together” comment had gotten to me more than anything else. She had thought we were a couple. The easy relationship and connection I had with him was obvious to people on the outside too. Will was so much more than just a friend, or even my Master.
    But however much I wanted to think I could just settle into a proper relationship with him, there were other factors to consider. I had to think of Adele. There was no way I could just up and leave a relationship I had put so much into over the years. I genuinely cared for her, and being with a woman was so much easier than having to think about the prejudice and hate that I could face as part of a gay couple.
    I couldn’t help but think that my days of having the best of both worlds were numbered. Sooner or later, I was going to have to make a decision.

Chapter Six
     
     

     
     
     
    W ITH both my and Will’s best efforts, we managed to carry on as if nothing more than just nice, simple Master/sub fucking had ever happened between us. To be honest, it didn’t take a huge amount of effort on my part. More than anything else, I wanted my life to go back to something simple where I knew where I stood with both my Master and my girlfriend.
    When my phone buzzed and his name appeared with a message, I couldn’t decide on whether I was relieved or really not in the mood for him.
    Will: The house will be empty tonight. Can you come over at about 7?
    At a guess, we were going to be fulfilling that mutual desire we’d expressed for some more scenes, in character, rather than a normal session. That was good, though. The chance to get out of my own head, my own skin, for a few hours was appealing. Although