1. The Beginning
The first installment of my queer, poly romcom
Hi all! I started a new publication to dip my toe a bit more into fiction. I’ve been working on some stories that I’m excited to share with you, and I hope you have as much fun reading as I’ve had writing them. This is my first installment of an untitled queer and poly romcom I’ve been working on. I want to try to post new bits and pieces of it as I go, so stay tuned!
Anyway, without further ado, please enjoy the beginning!
Miles had spent the last hour on the train ruminating. They couldn’t really tell what they were anxious about in particular, but they knew something was up. Maybe it was all of the stress from their various adjunct gigs at local colleges and their exhaustion creeping up on them after grading for four hours prior. Maybe it was the fact that they’d just been dumped by their partner of over a year in a rather public display in the middle of Washington Square Park. Or, maybe it was the fact that they were on the train heading to a sex party for the first time, alone, knowing no one, and having no idea to expect. In fact, that’s exactly what it was. They were terrified.
Their best friend Paige had recommended that they go to a sex party after their breakup.
“This will be soooo good for you, I just know it,” she’d said, practically exploding with excitement at the thought. “Just watch, you’re gonna have the blues fucked right out of you!”
Miles didn’t quite believe that, but they’d still adhered to Paige’s advice after she badgered them about it for a week nonstop. When Miles finally caved, Paige was absolutely thrilled. She went online and bought their tickets that afternoon to an upcoming sex party in Brooklyn.
“This is of course platonic, right?” Miles had asked. The pair had always made it very clear that they’d never be anything more than friends. Once, in their first year of college, Miles had drunkenly made out with Paige, who, at the time, was a total stranger, after one too many shots of cheap tequila at a frat house. When they’d realized what happened the next day, Miles was mortified and, frankly, disgusted. After that, the two became inseparable, queer platonic soulmates as they both often liked to say.
“Yes, absolutely platonic,” confirmed Paige, dead serious. “I’m mostly going with you for moral support. And besides, you’ll be fine! I promise everything will be okay and you’ll have a good time.”
“You sure?” Miles asked hesitantly.
“Of course! And if at any point you stop having an amazing time, we can leave right away, ok?” She replied genuinely.
If they were being honest with themself, Miles had never been good at navigating hookups and sexual situations. Their last relationship ended after their partner stopped asking to have sex and started cheating on them with a mullet-clad Bushwick barista. After that, Miles had a string of dates and one night stands, none of which turned into anything more. Their ex had told them that they always seemed too nervous to have sex in a meaningful way, constantly hesitating and not feeling confident in themself. And really, that was true. Miles had been struggling to make a lasting physical connection with anyone aside from their vibrator for the last six years.
Of course, as the train pulled into their stop, Miles felt themself become more and more terrified for what the evening ahead would hold. They blasted music in their cheap wired headphones to distract themself as much as possible. They watched the house numbers on the brownstones go up further and further, finally realizing that they made it to their destination evidenced by the crowd of hot people smoking joints at the bottom of the stairs.
Miles climbed up the stairs, white-knuckling the bannister as they made it to the door. They rang the bell and a masked masc person with piercing green eyes answered the door.
“Hi, I’m here for the party?” Miles managed to stutter, taken aback by the handsome stranger in the foyer.
“Sounds good!” the masked masc replied, pulling up the guest list on their phone. “What’s your name?”
“Um… Miles Leroy?”
“Perfect! Found you on the list,” the masked masc said and continued. “Just a reminder, there’s no racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, xenophobia, or any other forms of discrimination in this space. If someone makes you uncomfortable, please don’t hesitate to tell a staff member with a glowing armband. Yes means yes, no means no, and consent is mandatory to engage in play. Clean up your area after use, and don’t forget to have a great time!”
Miles smiled at them, said thanks, and trepidatiously headed down the brownstone’s hallway to a flight of stairs leading to the basement. As soon as they began their descent, Miles could hear pulsing bass and snare, watching as multicolored lights dappled on the steps. Once they made it to the bottom, they heard sounds of pleasure reverberating through the walls. Moans echoed through the space and although Miles was only in the changing room, they could clearly identify the sound of a paddle hitting skin. They blushed immediately, their face becoming hot and their heart rate ramping up.
“There you are! I was worried you wouldn’t make it tonight!” Miles spun around just in time for Paige to attack them with a giant hug.
“I’m really glad you actually came!” She grinned from ear to ear.
“Look at you, though!” Miles said, grabbing her hands and pulling away to get a better peek at Paige’s outfit.
Paige’s purple eyeshadow perfectly complemented her brown skin, and her braids hung loose around her arms, accented with golden strands that brought out her stunning dark eyes. She wore an equally purple lace bodysuit that left very little to the imagination, a deep v-neck plunge showing off her curves with high cut legs and a thong in the back.
“Paige, you’re absolutely stunning!” Miles exclaimed, spinning her around.
They were still petrified to go into the party, but they knew that as long as Paige was with them, everything would be ok. Thankfully, Paige was the most extroverted person they’d ever met, so Miles knew they’d at least have a little bit of social lubricant.
“Thank you!” Paige smiled, turning her attention quickly back to Miles. “So, what are you wearing then?”
“About that…” Miles trailed off.
“What, did you forget your fit at home?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just…” Miles blushed again, turning even redder than before.
“I’m embarrassed,” they sighed, admitting it to both themself and their best friend.
“Dude, seriously?” Paige laughed. “Literally everyone here is practically naked. You don’t even have to wear clothes if you don’t want to. I’m sure your outfit is sexy enough for the party.”
“Are you sure?” Miles asked hesitantly.
The last time they’d dressed in a remotely sexy way, they were 21 and in the closet, still identifying as a cis girl and trying too hard to fit in with their college friend group. Now, though, Miles preferred to fly under the radar as much as possible, opting instead to go outside in heavy sweatshirts and baggy jeans to hide their shape. When they had top surgery a few years ago, they stopped wearing a binder, but still felt nervous that they’d be misgendered once someone got a good look at their body. Sure, they’d known how to draw attention to themself before they came out, flaunting their chest in low-cut shirts because that’s what all of their friends had convinced them was hot on them. But now, years after college had ended and several gender revelations later, they didn’t know how to feel hot in their body.
“I promise, Miles,” Paige said with a caring expression on her face. “You’re gonna look great no matter what.”
Miles took a deep breath and sighed loudly.
“Okay, I trust you.”
“Great!” Paige said with a bright smile. “Now go get dressed. I’ll see you out there!”
And, with that, Paige was gone.
Miles gnawed on their bottom lip, anxious and completely unprepared for the night. Rationally they knew that they would be ok. They just had to talk to people. No expectations, just conversation. Maybe something would happen and they’d find a hot stranger to hook up with. Really, though, it was more likely that they’d talk to a hot stranger who’d get bored with them immediately and try to make up some excuse to leave the conversation. Their heart pounded as their brain spiraled in different directions, fabricating horrible alternative realities in which they talked to hot people at the party and were ditched almost immediately.
They took another deep breath through their nose, held it, and breathed out through their mouth, repeating this a few times until their body relaxed a bit.
“I’m okay, I’m okay, I’m okay,” they muttered under their breath, looking at themself in the full-length mirror beside them in the changing area. Thankfully, they were alone and could take a moment to calm down.
“You’re hot and sexy and you’re gonna be okay,” they whispered out loud to themself.
They looked into their own eyes in the mirror, nodded, and said, “Fuck it, let’s do this.” Miles took off their street clothes, putting their sweater and jeans into their bag and pulling out their party outfit that they’d picked out with Paige.
“It’s simple,” Paige had said when they went shopping together at a BDSM shop in the West Village. “All you need is a harness and a jockstrap, and everyone will go wild for you.”
So, Miles donned the red jockstrap and matching red leather bulldog harness that the pair had picked out together, re-laced their Docs, and caught one final glance of themself in the mirror. They weren’t as confident as they’d hoped, but they admired the way the jockstrap cupped their ass and made it perkier, how the color of the harness accentuated the lines on their patchwork tattoos. They carefully caressed their top surgery scars, taking more deep breaths and mentally convincing themself that everything would be ok. They finally felt a little bit more ready than they had before.
“You got this, Miles,” they reminded themself. “Go get ‘em.”
They pulled back the lush velvet curtain separating the changing room from the rest of the party, braced themself, and walked through.
I hope you enjoyed the first bit of my romcom! Let me know in the comments what you want to see and your predictions for what happens next. I’m hoping that I’ll have the next part up shortly! Thanks so much for reading, y’all <3