Senseless

I Hear Your Voice

(I feel like this song is exactly this book right now lol quick update)

Jade-

It took him taking on twice the workload he normally did in order to get out of his office at eight forty. He was home fifteen minutes later, but there was one problem. He always took a shower right after work, then got into comfortable clothing to relax, unless he needed to go somewhere. 

Walking inside, Jade already had his cellphone in his hand as he hurried upstairs to his bedroom. He'd given Rose the night off, as he no longer had a guest that needed tending. Setting the phone on his bed, he carefully slid off his shoes, then undid the buttons to his shirt before tossing it into the hamper for his dirty clothes. Instead of working on the belt to his pants, he checked his phone again, grimacing as he read the clock: 8:59. There was no time for a shower. 

Running shaky fingers through his short hair, Jade sat down on the edge of his bed and turned the phone over in his hands a few times, then forced himself to dial the number Adam had given him. Each time the phone rang without A.J. picking it up, he felt the knot forming in his chest tighten. On the fourth ring, there was a beep  on the other end of the phone, then a cautious "Hello?" 

Just hearing the young man's voice sent a shiver of stress through his body, but Jade tuned it out as he forced a small smile and replied, "Good evening, A.J., how are you doing?" 

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few moments. Jade counted each second. Again, it bothered him, but he pushed the feeling away and kept his mouth shut, as to not rush A.J. into replying. 

"Very well, sir." Finally came A.J.'s answer. It wasn't enough, though. Very well explained very little to him. Why was his evening going so well? What had they done since he'd given him to Adam? 

"We spoke for a short time, then he helped me apply for jobs. I already have one interview from a place near where we went to eat." 

The excitement in A.J.'s voice was contagious, though Jade was confused as to why Adam bothered helping him get a job. It was a dominant's role, at least in his mind, to take care of his submissive. Granted, A.J. wasn't a true sub, yet, but it was there. He'd never been wrong when picking out the true submissives in the club from just curious guys or dominants that just wanted to switch things up a bit. There was the occasional switch, too, but A.J. definitely wasn't one. He was a submissive in every sense of the word. 

"Sir...?" 

Realizing he hadn't replied for several moments, Jade ran his fingers back through his hair and fell back on his bed. "Sorry," he said, cutting himself off from adding just tired to the sentence. He didn't want to make A.J. feel uncomfortable simply talking to him on the phone. He'd already likely hurt his self-esteem enough. 

"I'm glad that you are doing well with him. Where were you hoping to get a job? Which place is the interview for?" He asked, wanting to keep the conversation going. He wasn't great at talking to people, except to give orders, but he found himself enjoying the simple talk. 

"A bowling alley, over at Fledgling and Fowl." A.J. replied with a tiny hint of hesitation. 

Is he embarrassed to be interviewing for such a simple job? Jade wondered as he noted the two roads. They were about fifteen minutes from his place, and were often referred to as poultry crossing. It was a joke, of course, but it hadn't helped put the sarcastic name to rest when a fast food chicken restaurant had opened on one of its corners.

"What time is your interview? Maybe I could find some time to bring over your clothes, so you have something nice to wear." 

When there was another several seconds of hesitation on the other end of the phone, Jade quickly went back through what he'd said, but found nothing that would require deep thought or caution. 

Finally, A.J. replied, though it was clear by the careful tone of his voice, and slight stutter, that he was uncomfortable. "It's okay. I... you don't have to if you're going to be busy." There was another pause, then A.J. hurried on, cutting Jade off as he began to open his mouth to reply. "But of course you're always busy. I mean, your job. You work a lot. I don't want to cause any problems." 

As A.J. spoke, his voice got smaller and smaller, ending on nearly a squeak. Jade stared up at the ceiling fan swirling lazily above his head in its permanent arc. It had always been slightly tilted, but it was one thing in his life that he couldn't bring himself to fix. It was the one part of it that he let get away with not being exactly as he wanted it to be. Narrowing his eyes on the smooth white blades it possessed, he took a calming breath, then pushed himself back up into a sitting position. 

"I actually have off tomorrow afternoon, if you'd like me to bring your things over at that time?" 

Jade wasn't sure where the lie had come from, because he most definitely do not have the afternoon off. In fact, he had rescheduled two meetings to one and three, and also had another scheduled for five, with four reports to finish, too. Just thinking about all of the work he'd have to catch up made his temples hurt, but then A.J. spoke, and all of his attention immediately returned to his ecstatic voice. 

"Really? That would be great, sir!" 

Jade found himself on his back once more, a rare, relaxed smile on his lips as he gave a quiet chuckle. It was likely just loud enough for A.J. to hear, but he didn't give the man a chance to respond. "Sounds good. Can you text me Adam's address after we hang up and I'll come by?" He had it already, of course, and would check it before he went over, but he wanted A.J. to send it to him, too. 

"Yes sir." There was silence for a moment, then a quiet voice in the background. "Um, Adam would like to head to bed for the night a-and he wants me off the phone for now..." 

Jade didn't like that Adam was calling the shots. Especially not concerning something between him and A.J., but he knew that he didn't have any right to tell him to stay on the phone. He was Adam's now, and Jade just had to get that through his head. 

"Alright. Have a good night, A.J., and I will see you tomorrow afternoon." 

There was some rustling on the other end of the phone abruptly, then the call-ended tone sounded. Jade pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at the screen that read just that, call ended, and frowned. It sounded like A.J. had accidentally dropped it, but Jade didn't want to process that idea as the texted address came through with a quiet chime. No one had ever hung up on him... and he didn't like it.