The Customer: Joe & Christian

“Joe!” Christian’s heart raced. “Joe, please, I need you!”

Joe came storming down the stairs, took one look at Christian, and pulled him close.

“What’s wrong?”

“I…. Joe, I….” He hated the fact he needed Joe like this. He should have been able to handle any problem himself. He was strong, self-sufficient. Why then did he need the comfort he could only find in Joe’s arms? Why was his face buried in Joe’s chest? Why was he crying?

“Hey, listen to me, boy. Come sit down and tell me what’s wrong, okay? That’s an order.”

Joe had changed so much since he and Christian met. He used to be the kind of loudmouth most guys shied away from, but he’d intrigued Christian. After that whole mess with Curtis, Joe was one of the few guys from Collars & Cuffs who didn’t look at Christian as though he carried some kind of disease. Or maybe that had been Christian’s imagination. Probably the latter, because he had to admit, everyone at the club treated him well enough. Even Peter, who should have thrown Christian into the River Irwell, had become a friend of sorts.

“Shh, it’s okay,” Joe soothed as he stroked a hand over Christian’s hair. “I’m here, and I’ll keep you safe.”

If only that was all it took. It had been hard on both of them when Joe finally agreed Christian could go out on his own. It wasn’t that Joe didn’t trust him, it was more that they depended on each other, Christian more than Joe. Someone call him codependent, and Joe said that was bullshit. He explained to Christian that he wasn’t dependent at all, and if he wanted to go out on his own, to meet people or get a job or whatever, he could.

So, Christian did. And he hated every fucking second of it. People were… ugh. He missed the quiet of Joe’s house, missed curling up on the couch and taking a nap after he’d finished with his chores, of finding Joe asleep, one arm curled beneath his head and the other tucked to his chest. What he missed most was the feeling of climbing in bed beside Joe, and having him reach out and pull Christian closer.

“I hate my job,” he whispered. “I don’t like working nights, because I’m not here with you. I hate not being able to fall asleep in your arms. I hate… Joe, I’m sorry.”

“For what? Have you done something you need to feel sorry for?”

Christian nodded. “Yeah, I did.”

 

 

Joe’s heart raced. What could Christian have done that was so bad? Chris was a good boy, the only sub Joe had ever had that he would never share with anyone. He didn’t even like it when they looked at him in the club. Joe had never realized he had such a possessive streak, until the day he laid eyes on the guy in his arms. He’d have done anything to keep him safe. When Christian said he would sign a contract with  Joe, he made it perfectly clear that being shared by others was a hard limit. Joe had no problems with that at all, which was so foreign. It used to be he loved to share a sub with someone. All three of them pumping and moaning and sweating. Slick, hot holes eager to be explored by two men.

Then he met Christian, and Joe could never see himself letting anyone touch such perfection. Even now, all these years later, Joe had eyes only for Christian. It killed him to say that Christian could go out and get a job. He hated coming home to a quiet house, of crawling into bed, and finding the other side empty and cold.

And now, here they were, Christian sounding as though his heart was broken, and Joe desperately wanting to gather up those pieces and glue them back together. Someone like Christian should never be sad, at least not if Joe could help it.

“Tell me, then. What did you do?”

“I—I hate my job. I hate the people I help serve. I hate all the damn ungrateful bastards who make customer service a living hell.”

Joe chuckled. He couldn’t help it. A boy like Christian was made to serve. He had the evenest temper Joe had ever encountered, and was the most eager boy he’d ever had the pleasure of meeting. If the job was bothering him this much, Joe needed to know why.

“Tell me.”

He squeezed Christian harder, until he heard his boy sigh and sink deeper into the embrace.

“I was working on the till, ringing up customers, when this lady walks in. She was probably close to fifty, and she had on leggings and a Mumu or something. Anyway, she plops a box on the counter, and says she wants to return it. I say I’d be happy to help her, and could she give me the receipt. She proceeds to tell me she doesn’t have one.”

“And therein lay the problem?”

“You’d think, but no. I explained store policy that we couldn’t take any returns without an accompanying receipt of purchase. She huffs and says it doesn’t work, and she just wants to return it. I tell her I’m sorry, but I can’t break company policy.” He sniffled. “Then I look at the box, and it’s not even something we sell at the store!”

“What?”

“I know! When I point it out, she asks me what difference it makes. Just give her the money for it, and put it back on the shelf. I look at her and say she’d told me it didn’t work, so why would I put it back on the shelf?”

“Oh, you had your first Karen.”

“No, she wasn’t the first, but she was the worst. I waited for the inevitable ‘I want to speak to your manager’, but instead she stood there, screaming at me to do my fucking job.”

Joe’s blood boiled. No one should ever talk to a customer service person like that, least of all his boy.

“Where was your manager during all this?”

“She was working at another store, because they were short staffed. It was just me and Angela.”

“And she didn’t say anything?”

“It was her last week. I figured she was going to stand there and not get involved. She surprised me, though. She came up to the counter, slid the box back to the woman, and told her it wasn’t our product, and she couldn’t return it to us, and to take it and leave the store.”

“I bet that didn’t make her at all happy.”

“Not in the least. Everyone else was standing there, staring at this crazy woman. She starts arguing with Angela, telling her she’ll come over the counter and get the damn money herself. Angela smiled and told her to try it, and she’d walk away with a broken arm.”

“She sounds fierce.”

And then Christian was crying—more like sobbing—again.

“Why are you so upset, sweetheart?”

“Because I needed someone else to protect me,” Christian wailed. “All I could think of was why isn’t Joe here? I need him, and he’s not here.”

That broke Joe a little. “I’m sorry.”

Christian shook his head. “No, don’t be. It was me being stupid, because I knew you couldn’t watch over me like that.” He buried his face further into Joe’s armpit. “I shamed you, and I’m so sorry.”

Wait. What? He grabbed Christian’s shoulders and pushed him back. His eyes were red and swollen, his nose was shiny with snot, and his lips were skinned, probably from chewing on them. “How did you shame me?”

“I should have been able to stand up for myself. I should have done what Angela did. Instead, I stood there and let her scream at me, and had to bite my lip to keep from crying. You said you trusted me to go out there, and I failed.”

“Hold on, love. You didn’t fail at anything. We can’t control what other people do, only how we react to it. Her attitude was wrong, but you were completely right, because you didn’t sink to her level. There are all kinds of people, sweetheart. Some we can make happy with nothing more than saying good morning. Others, like this person you dealt with, are so fucking miserable in their own lives, they feel it’s their duty to share that anger with others.”

“Joe, I—”

Joe knew. He understood what Christian wanted to say, but couldn’t. As his Dom, his lover, and most importantly, his best friend, Joe knew what he had to do.

“You’re quitting effective immediately. If you want another job, we—”

Christian’s chin dipped to his chest. “I don’t. I thought I could go out there and make you proud, but I couldn’t.”

Joe tilted Christian’s head up, forcing him to stare into Joe’s eyes. “I never want to hear that from you again. I have never in my life been prouder of someone than I am of you. You came to me, like you should, and let me shoulder the burden, like you’re supposed to. That’s inner strength. It’s being true to your very nature. Why on earth would I not be proud of that?”

“So you don’t think I’m wrong for wanting to quit?”

“I don’t, and would you like to know why?”

“Yes, please,” Christian pleaded.

“You’re meant to serve. You want nothing more out of life than to make people happy. Today you ran up against a person who would be miserable, no matter what you did, and it’s killing you, because you realized you have external limitations that mess with your internal needs. It hurts you, because you discovered you can’t fix all the problems for people.” He kissed Christian’s forehead. “But remember, this is your home, and here you’re in charge. Here you can do whatever you have to in order to make me happy. Be it making me a nice dinner after a rough day, or giving me a blow job to start my morning, there is nothing you can’t do to make me smile.”

Christian gave a wobbly smile. “I love you.”

“And I love you, with everything I am. Thank you for being mine.”

A short, barked laugh. “Like anyone else would have you.”

That made Joe smile. “Cheeky brat. I know just how to handle boys like you.”

“Oh? How so?”

“First I’ll take you out for a nice dinner, then we’ll come home and cuddle up on the couch to watch a film. After that, we’ll go to the bedroom and I’ll give you a massage until you relax enough to fall asleep, then I’ll curl up beside you and hold you.”

Christian frowned. “Can’t we skip all that and go to bed so I can give you a blowjob before we sleep?”

Joe grinned. “I like your idea much better. Bedroom, boy. Now.”

Christian was up in a heartbeat. He bent and kissed Joe, then stood straight. “Yes, Sir.”

Then he rushed off to their bedroom. Joe got up and followed behind him, happy to see his boy smiling again. As much as it shocked him, he didn’t really care about the blowjob. What he wanted was to gather up all those little fragments Christian had lost today, and put them back together, stronger, so no one could ever hurt his boy again.

Not if Joe could help it.