Friedrich re-oiled him and took him back in, throwing his head back at the push of Edgar’s cock in his still-tender hole. He rode Edgar slow and steady this time, Edgar sipping his overstimulated mewls out of his mouth until he stiffened and spilled again.

  Friedrich was still half-soft, but Edgar didn’t seem to mind, judging by the smirk he threw him before standing to redress.

  “I’ll have to make a pass through this town on my way back south,” Edgar said, buckling his belt back on a few minutes later.

  “Please do,” Friedrich purred from where he was draped over the bed where Edgar had left him. Edgar laughed, stole a kiss farewell, and took his leave.

  Friedrich cleaned himself up and lit a candle to chase out the lingering scent of smoke and sex before his next walk-in, crossing his fingers that whoever was next wanted nothing to do with his entrance.

  Tomas stumped through the hallway halfway through the break and told him that they’d gotten busy in the interim and he’d send someone up at the start of the next slot, so Friedrich set a kettle of water boiling on the camp stove and wrapped himself in his red dressing gown to wait.

  The knock on the door came a bare minute after the town bells rang eleven. Friedrich tugged the neck of his robe slightly off one shoulder, ruffled a hand through his hair, and opened it.

  Nathan was on the other side, his face flame-red and his hands shoved in his pockets. Friedrich took a moment to be unprofessionally startled and more than a little delighted, and then gathered himself back into character, said, “Come in,” and stepped aside, letting Nathan pass him into the room and shutting the door behind him.

  Nathan paced all the way into the center of the room, stopping just short of running into his table, and turned, his face still flushed a dark red. “What can I do for you tonight?” Friedrich purred, looking up at Nathan through his eyelashes.

  “I didn’t come for—for what you usually do,” Nathan stammered, and the part of Friedrich that had been excited at his entrance drooped, disappointed. “I know it’s not the usual thing, but the proprietor said it’d be alright,” Nathan went on, clearly nervous that Friedrich was going to throw him out for the sin of not wanting to fuck him. “If it’s too strange, I can—”

  Friedrich held up a hand to stop the flow of words, using the other to tug the neck of his dressing gown back into place. “It’s not strange,” he said, as reassuringly as he could. “You’re not the first person to pay for a session just for company.” Nathan visibly relaxed. “Do you want some tea?” Friedrich offered. Tea was soothing. “I think the water’s still hot.”

  “I’d love some,” Nathan said, looking pitifully relieved. His hair was loose tonight, and he brushed it out of his eyes and behind one ear as he took his jacket off and settled into one of Friedrich’s chairs.

  Friedrich took a moment to thank the gods that he’d cleaned the table after Edgar left, and poured some of the still-warm water into the mug he kept for assignations and guests. He refilled his own mug as well and settled at the table next to Nathan. “So,” he said, smiling at the other man. “Was there anything in particular you wanted to talk about?”

  Nathan blushed again. It really was ridiculously charming. “Not particularly,” he said, cupping his pale hands around his mug. “I just…”

  “Just?” Friedrich prompted.

  “Just wanted to get to know you a little better,” Nathan said in a rush. His voice was devastatingly earnest, as was his face, and Friedrich’s heart did a little stutter-stop in his chest. “You seem nice, and kind, and, well, like I said, I could use a friend.”

  Friedrich covered his racing emotions with a saucy wink. “Well, I’m always happy to talk about myself,” he drawled, and Nathan laughed. “What would you like to know?”

  Nathan shifted, took a sip of tea, and then said, “How did you get into…this line of work?”

  “Starting with the big guns,” Friedrich teased. Nathan looked like he was about to apologize, so Friedrich hurried on, “No, I’m just having fun. It’s really a simple story.” He took a sip of his own tea and cast his mind back over the details. “I first had sex when I was fifteen,” he said. It had been with a boy named Elias, the son of his mother’s best friend. Elias’ family had long since moved to the city, but he and Friedrich still exchanged letters from time to time. “I found that I liked it, and as I had more, I found that I was good at it. I’d found myself good at very little else by that point in my life, and Tomas had just started this place, so…” Friedrich shrugged. “It was a natural fit.”

  “You’ve been doing this since you were fifteen?” Nathan asked, looking faintly horrified.

  Friedrich shook his head. “Tomas doesn’t take anyone younger than twenty,” he said. “And I had to wait six months after that for the enchanter to come back to town to do my tattoo.”

  Nathan got a thoughtful look in his eye. “I remember your tattoo,” he said slowly, and Friedrich started; it was the first time Nathan had mentioned how they’d met since giving Friedrich his clothing back. “Is it magical?” Nathan went on. “I’ve never heard of anything like that before.”

  “It’s prophylactic,” Friedrich said. Nathan nodded in understanding. “Tomas insists that all his jades have one, or an amulet if they really don’t want the ink, although amulets have the risk of forgetting to put it on. Contraceptive ones too, where relevant, although there it’s more common to have an amulet than ink, since it’s less permanent.” He took a sip of tea. “I’m not surprised you haven’t heard of them. I think they’re more recent than, well. Than you are.”

  Nathan, thankfully, just nodded. “Twenty,” he said, looking like he was trying to do math in his head. “So that’s…”

  Friedrich grinned and took pity on him. “Five and a half years,” he said. “I’m twenty-six.”

  “Oh,” Nathan said. Whatever his expression was doing, he covered it in his mug. He worked the tea around his mouth for a moment, then swallowed and offered, “I’m twenty-seven.” He laughed, a somewhat humorless chuckle. “Well, arguably I’m a lot older than that now,” he said. “But I feel twenty-seven. I was twenty-seven when I was…turned.”

  “How much do you remember?” Friedrich asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. “If you don’t mind my prying.”

  “If anyone has a right to pry, you do,” Nathan said, and then shook his head. “The answer is, not much. I remember most of my life before I was turned, but it wasn’t much to write home about. My parents died when I was only barely old enough to be called a man, and I didn’t have any other family, or any friends to speak of. It was just me, in that house, until the enchanter showed up.”

  “Do you remember being cursed?” Friedrich asked, trying not to sound too fascinated.

  Nathan shook his head. “Not exactly,” he said. Then, faintly, he added, “But I don’t think it was meant to be a curse.”

  “No?”

  “No,” Nathan said. His voice was still distant, as though he were trying very hard to remember. “I think she thought she was doing me a favor.”

  Friedrich raised an eyebrow. “Hell of a favor.”

  Nathan came back to himself at that. “Indeed,” he said, toasting Friedrich with his half-empty mug. “The next however-long is mostly a blur, until you showed up and things started getting clearer.”

  “That makes sense,” Friedrich said. “I noticed you were becoming…steadier, as time went on. More solid.” Nathan nodded, looking slightly ill at ease. Friedrich noticed the change on his face and said cheerily, “But we were talking about me.”

  “Yes,” Nathan said, looking relieved again. “What about your family?”

  “They’re on the other side of the mountains,” Friedrich said, meaning the ones that arced up on the horizon to the east of Idyll. He felt a familiar pang at the thought of his parents. “They had to leave a few years ago, for my mother’s work. But we write, and they visit when they can. They can travel more easily than I can, these days.” Although now that he had the funds to take time off, maybe he could go visit them for a change. The thought was uplifting.

  “Do they know what you do?” Nathan asked.

  Friedrich nodded. “I won’t pretend that it wasn’t an awkward conversation, when I told them what I wanted to do with my life, but like I said, Tomas had been established for a bit at that point, and they knew him well enough to know I’d be treated well.” He shrugged. “I think they’ve come around to being proud of how well I’ve done for myself, by now.”

  “That’s good,” Nathan said. A little awkwardly, he added, “And you are? Treated well, I mean.”

  “Very well,” Friedrich said with a nod. “Part of it is that rules and regulations around the trade have changed somewhat since you were last around, and part of it is that Tomas is a very liberal-minded sort of bawd. He jaded himself, in his youth, and when he set up his own shop, he wanted to make sure to avoid the worst of the sins he saw. We have full control over who we see, and he charges the cheapest rent in town.”

  “He sounds like a good man,” Nathan said.

  “He’s a very good man,” Friedrich agreed, with a fond smile.

  The tips of Nathan’s ears turned red again, which was all the warning Friedrich had before he asked, “What if—are you allowed to take lovers?”

  Friedrich blinked, a little thrown at the sudden change in topic. “For free, you mean?” Nathan nodded. “If we like,” Friedrich said, shrugging. “No one’s allowed on our floor outside of working hours, no exceptions, but if we want to bring someone up on our nights off, we can, or we can go to them during the day.”

  “Do any of you have lovers now?”

  Friedrich took a sip of tea and thought. “Well, Pru and Ned, the carpenter’s son, are courting,” he said slowly, “but I don’t actually know if he’s paying for appointments or not. And there are other cases of mutual interest,” he added, thinking of Amaka, who insisted on paying for Arisa’s time even though Arisa would have given it for free, and whatever connection was growing between Bian and Idyll’s deputy, Jun-ho, “but those are still being funneled through the jadehouse.” He thought of Ahmed and Haru with a small smile. “One of us has been dancing on the edge of a relationship for almost a year now, but if it ever happens, he’ll probably quit the trade altogether. Ahmed’s a grump, but he’s a romantic at heart.”

  “Oh.” Nathan looked a little startled. “Would you not—I mean, if you ever met someone you loved, you’d keep working?”

  Friedrich sighed. “I’d like to think I wouldn’t fall in love with anyone who would mind what I do,” he said. “I enjoy my work, and I’m good at it, and gods willing there’ll still be a market for some time. I don’t plan on falling for anyone who would stand in the way of that.” He could afford to quit, now, but he didn’t want to, and that was the point, he felt.

  Nathan’s ears were still red. “That’s very…very admirable,” he said, tracing his finger around the rim of his mug. “I hope you find someone like that one day.”

  “Thank you,” Friedrich said. He took in Nathan’s expression and general air of tense curiosity, and took a stab in the dark. “What about you?” he asked. “Is there anyone you’re interested in?”

  “You have to stop making me blush,” Nathan blurted even as his cheeks pinked yet again, and Friedrich burst out laughing. “I refuse to answer that,” Nathan added, shaking his head and grinning a little too.

  “Alright, alright,” Friedrich said, throwing his hands up. “Did you wind up asking Noelle for dancing lessons?”

  Nathan smiled his charming, crooked smile, the expression lighting up his face. “I did,” he said. “She won’t let me pay her, but she says she’ll have me in shape by the next dance.”

  “You’ll be an expert,” Friedrich said. “She’s a good teacher.”

  “You said,” Nathan said. His eyes caught on Friedrich’s dressing gown. “Did you make that?” he asked, nodding to it.

  Friedrich laid his finger on the hem. “I did,” he said. “It’s technically not quite finished, I want to add some embroidery, but I’ve been putting it off. It’ll serve for now.”

  “It’s beautiful as it is,” Nathan said.

  Friedrich smiled. He was always susceptible to compliments to his needlework. “Thank you,” he said. He nodded at Nathan’s shirt in turn. “I see Noelle set you up with a new wardrobe.”

  “Ah, yes,” Nathan said, tugging at his collar. “I’m well kitted out.”

  “It looks good on you,” Friedrich said, both because it was true and because he was feeling impish. Nathan scowled at him and drained his mug of tea, and Friedrich laughed again.

  Nathan looked into his empty mug, and then said, “I should go.”

  “You don’t have to,” Friedrich said, a little forlorn at the thought of their conversation ending so soon.

  Nathan shook his head and stood. “I’ve had a long day,” he said, “and you must be tired too; it’s late.”

  “As you like,” Friedrich said, trying to hide his disappointment.

  He helped Nathan into his jacket, the same battered leather number he’d been wearing since his transformation, and Nathan turned to him. “Can I…Would you mind if I came back?” he asked hesitantly.

  “Of course you can come back,” Friedrich said, layering warmth into his words. “Anytime you like.”

  “Anytime you’re free,” Nathan said. A strange expression flickered over his face, but it passed quickly, and he replaced it with a shy-seeming smile. Friedrich returned it, with interest, and escorted him to the door.

  Once it was shut again Friedrich leaned his back against it, feeling strangely light and happy. He knew everyone in the town so well, he reasoned; it had been a long time since he’d gotten to make a new friend. That must be what this feeling was.

  Whatever it was, Friedrich let himself bask in it for a few minutes before getting himself ready for bed.

  Chapter 5

  “Can I ask a somewhat personal question?” Friedrich asked, carefully selecting a card from his hand and laying on the growing pile on the table between him and Nathan.

  Nathan had been coming to him for a handful of weeks now, paying full price for a two-hour slot in Friedrich’s calendar that he only ever used half of, for tea and conversation and, recently, whatever card games Friedrich could remember all of the rules of to teach him.

  Friedrich suspected that Nathan had known this one already, as he was winning rather severely.

  “Of course,” Nathan said, wiggling a card of his own free and laying it on top of Friedrich’s.

  Friedrich swore colorfully and gathered the pile into his own hand. Nathan grinned triumphantly, all pretense at beginner’s luck gone. Friedrich stuck out his tongue at him as he arranged the new cards in his hand, and then asked, somewhat hesitantly, “How exactly do you have money? Did you have an account at the bank before you were changed, or a secret stash in the house somewhere?”

  “Ah.” Nathan was still smiling, so Friedrich figured he hadn’t taken offense. “No, no secret stash, and Idyll’s current bank came well after my transformation. Even before, I didn’t have enough money to my name to justify a bank account. No, the mayor bought the house and land off of me once I was myself again.”

  Friedrich laid a card down and Nathan put his last on top of it, turning his attention to the six remaining on his side of the table: three face-up over three face-down. “For a good price, too,” Nathan remarked as Friedrich considered his next move. “More than it was worth during my first life, if my estimations are correct.”

  “Interesting,” Friedrich murmured, chewing at his lip as he contemplated his cards. “The mayor paid me a surprisingly large sum as well, for my services in clearing the house.” He selected a card and dropped it onto the table. Nathan instantly reacted, plucking the left-most face-up card to cover Friedrich’s.

  “I wonder what he wants it for,” Nathan said idly, the next few moves going quickly. Nathan blew through the remaining two face-up cards, as Friedrich had known he would; it all hung on the face-down cards. “Anyway, I’m going to use the money from the sale to build a new house, once spring comes and the ground unfreezes. Until then, I’m renting a room at the inn. They’re giving me a long-term deal since I’ve nowhere else to go, and Ellen’s letting me wash dishes for a little bit of income.”

  Friedrich regarded him, hiding his pursed lips behind the cards in his hand. No one in Idyll was going to cheat a man out of a fair wage, least of all Ellen, but it was functionally impossible that a dishwasher’s salary could cover weekly trips to the jadehouse, especially at Friedrich’s rates. Nathan must be dipping into the house money to cover his patronage.

  But that, he told himself firmly, was none of his business—or rather, it was literally his business, and he wasn’t inclined to risk losing a new regular by prying into the man’s financials. So he just hummed and kept playing, his wince only half-theatrical as Nathan demolished him with his final three cards. “You cheated,” Friedrich accused him, pointing a finger in his face as Nathan pumped his fist triumphantly and leaned back in his chair. “I’ve never had anyone cheat when we’re not even playing for nudity.”

  Nathan grinned, watching Friedrich gather the deck back together and slip the cards back into their case. “I don’t even know how one would go about cheating at that game,” he said easily. “Do you often have people cheating at cards to get your clothes off?”

  “Do you doubt it?” Friedrich asked mock-haughtily, lifting his nose into the air.

  “Not a bit,” Nathan said, and then looked surprised at his own daring.

  Friedrich was surprised too, taken aback by the unexpected flattery. He felt his face heat, and buried in his lukewarm tea to cover it. “Well, you shouldn’t,” he said, when he had ahold of himself again. “People go to remarkable lengths to get my clothes off.”

 

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