Loving The Corporate Prince Ch. 02

Copyright © 2021 by M.J. Moréo

All rights reserved. This book or any portion of, may not be reproduced, used, or distributed in any manner without prior written permission of the publisher or author, except in the case of brief quotations for critical reviews and other non-commercial uses.

Trigger Warning:

This book contains scenes that may trigger dysphoria including transphobia and penetrative intercourse (not at the same time). This book contains kink scenes including limb restriction and more. If these are themes you are not prepared to handle, please do not continue. Always read and play responsibly!

⟡

⟡

⟡

⟡ CHAPTER TWO ⟡

'How hard can it be to get a photography degree?'

After what felt like years of jumping through hoops, applying to schools, and being rejected for what he now realized were horrible grades, Dustin had finally found a school that would accept him.

He initially applied to the University that was 50 miles away, but the University itself suggested a community college whose credits would transfer smoothly too.

"We see this all the time and it's really no big deal. Apply to Lake Stanfield Community College and get a few semesters of required credits in, but check online just to be sure they'll transfer." said the admission counselor.

That is exactly what Dustin would do and suddenly, his plan to go back to school was moving in full force.

He just had to tell his father.

"Dad," Dustin began, feeling like a child rather than a 32 year-old man. "I-I need to discuss something with you."

"What is it, Dustin? Are you OK?" Marius' concern was clear, even over the phone.

"Yeah, Dad. I'm fine, I just needed to make sure you weren't in the middle of work or something because this is, kind of, important to me."

"Yes, I'm listening."

Dustin exhaled. His stomach felt like it was continuously dropping to nowhere. The moment felt surreal after weeks of agonizing over it, he could hardly believe it was happening.

"I know this may seem out of the blue, but I've decided I want to go back to school to pursue photography. I've just been feeling really lost lately and after talking with Cas about it, I realized it needed to at least try, even if it doesn't work out. Photography is something that makes me so happy and I've applied to a fairly rural community college. I can get my Associate's there or even transfer and get a Bachelor's degree."

Finally taking a breath, a long pause fell between them, causing Dustin to bite his nails.

'God, Dad! Say something!'

"Dustin, that is wonderful." Marius was supportive, still, Dustin couldn't help but note the twinge of sadness in his voice. "You know, all I've ever wanted is for you to be happy, my son. I am so proud you're finding your way. Of course, the company will always be here for you, no matter what."

RIVER

There was something about this guy that just felt bigger. The way he beamed and carried himself made everyone take note of him. I could practically hear all the townies in the classroom thinking, 'Oh boy, you're not from around here.'

The bright blonde who had just walked in had a chiseled face. His cheekbones could slice through diamonds and his eyes were the brightest hue of vibrant blues, even across the room, they pierced me.

He wore a simple long-sleeve white tee with blue jeans, and while anyone around here could wear those too, this guy's apparel just looked expensive and pristine.

People around here rarely wore that kind of expensive stuff in the first place. Most of us couldn't afford it, even if we did have those kinds of stores around here.

Needless to say, everyone could tell this guy was new. He was incredibly attractive, with his sleeves pushed up to his elbows and his bright watch shining on his wrist. His torso was slender under his tight shirt as he moved to shake the teacher's hand.

Suddenly, my head began throbbing and my ears started ringing. I could feel my pulse in my temples.

'This class is already giving me a headache.'

"Are you Dustin... Uh," Mr. Hope looked at his clipboard. "Garn-yer?"

"That's me," said Dustin, with a large handsome smile that spread from cheek to cheek, exposing his immaculate teeth.

He didn't bother correcting Mr. Hope's pronunciation of his last name.

'Yikes, don't look so thrilled guy. Everyone around here will eat you alive.'

"OK, Dustin, uh... Please. Have a seat, anywhere you like."

Everyone's heads swiveled frantically, as we all looked around for open seats. Of course, the only open seats were in the back, next to me.

'Don't sit next to me, don't sit next to me, don't sit next to me.'

I watched the man's blue eyes scan the room and land on me. He smiled and moved toward the back row, despite me wearing a scowl from the pain in my head.

'Well, there goes any chance I had of being alone and mildly relaxed in this class.'

Mr. Hope continued setting up as the students resumed speaking amongst themselves. The man, whose name I now knew to be Dustin, sat down as a waft of expensive cologne filled my nostrils.

'Oh no, he smells so good.'

I could feel my body tense, trying my best not to look him in the eye. I knew if I looked him in the eye, he would talk to me and if he talked to me, then my heart would race and I would likely spend the next three days obsessing over if every little thing I said was funny or cool enough.

Instead, I awkwardly tapped my pencil on my notebook and stared forward. The pads of my fingers rubbed at my temples dramatically so hopefully, he'd get the hint that I wasn't in the mood to chat.

'I don't care how hot you are. I gotta focus, I can't fail a class.'

Thankfully, he got the hint. I hadn't cracked a smile, even in the slightest just to be sure I wasn't giving the wrong impression. Nothing to worry about there. Stephanie, the beautiful blonde woman who sat directly in front of us turned around and stared at the man. Stephanie was one of those women who, like Gil, also got along with everyone.

I silently thanked a higher power that she was about to start a conversation with Dustin, so I wouldn't keep feeling like he wanted to talk to me.

"How old are you?" asked Stephanie, without saying hello. I couldn't help but stifle a laugh. If he hadn't already gotten a crash course on Lake Stanfield, Dustin was about to get one.

"I'm 32, how old are you?"

'At the very least, it's nice to know I'm not the only 30-something in here.'

"I'm 22. You look rich." Stephanie began. "Logic tells me that if you're rich, that means you probably have a career. Assuming you have a career, you may already have a degree. I think you understand where I'm going. What brings you to Ellis? Just curious."

Stephanie's tone wasn't mean, in fact, it was the opposite. She was being extra gentle with her line of questioning, despite it being so aggressive and invasive. I watched Dustin lean forward. I had to practically rip my eyes away from staring at his jaw.

'Holy shit, he's handsome.'

"What the hell is Ellis?" He chuckled.

"Ellis. It's what we, townies, call Lake Stanfield. We started off by saying L-S, but once you say it enough you realize it sounds like you're saying Ellis. Anyway, back to my question - what brings you?" Stephanie cooed.

"Well, maybe I do have rich parents," Dustin whispered with a charming smile.

"Do you?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe you're right and I already have a career and I wanted to do something different with my life."

"Oh, we've got a hot and mysterious new guy? That'll spice this year right up. I'm Stephanie."

"Dustin,"

Stephanie smiled, catching my eye.

"That's River. He's old too, but he's shy and probably won't talk to you. It's not because he's mean or anything. He just takes a long time to warm up to new people." Stephanie spoke quickly before she could catch my wrath.

Before Dustin could turn to talk to me, Mr. Hope began his lesson, dimming the lights. Between taking notes and barely focusing on the syllabus Mr. Hope projected in front of us, I couldn't help but feel incredibly aware of Dustin's movements at all times.

Any sniff he made or any time his foot tapped the floor out of boredom - I couldn't tear my focus away from him even though I desperately needed too.

'Chill, River. We're just going over the syllabus. No one pays attention to this anyway.'

When I heard Dustin gently tearing the corner of a sheet of paper, I knew what he was doing. He slid the note over to my desk and I noticed how attractive his hands are.

'How can hands be hot?'

Images of those hands, roaming along skin, flew through my mind. From light touches to forceful, aggressive grips. My heart raced.

'How old are you?' Read the note.

'30 :( ' I scribbled back, sliding it back to him, hoping he wouldn't reply.

If he did, how was I going to end the conversation? I didn't know how to politely say, I need to pay attention in class.

'Nice to know I'm not the only old person in here lol you don't look 30'

'Hey, 30's are the new 20's...You don't look 32' I wrote back.

I wasn't being polite at that point. He didn't look 32 - whatever that means. Maybe it was his sense of style or the way he carried himself - maybe it was just amazing genetics - but Dustin had the same air as Steph - of someone ten years younger than himself.

I inhaled deeply, doing my best to return my focus to the projection and not to Dustin, but when Mr. Hope's voice droned on about how each homework assignment was ten percent of our grade, my mind drifted.

'Dustin slowly peeled his tight shirt off, revealing underneath, everything I imagined his torso to be. His pecs were large and glistening as his waist narrowed, decorated with defined abs and his hips created a V, leading down into his pants. I imagined what those muscles looked like as his hips rolled.

He wasn't too muscular. He was somewhere between toned and buff. He was the perfect amount. I imagined sitting on his lap, grinding my own hips into his as our foreheads pressed together. His expensive cologne filled my nostrils as his head lolled back, revealing his thick neck underneath a defined jaw. I wanted to press my lips to that jaw. I wanted to feel the curve on my lips, giving him goosebumps all over.

I wanted to feel his hardness pressed against me, and grind all over him, making him about to burst before he could even get his pants off. '

BING! BING! BING!

'Class is over already? How long was I not paying attention for?'

Quickly, I grabbed all my books and bookbag, without even attempting to be organized, I ran straight out of class. I needed to clear my head. I needed to be as far from the distraction as I could.

Of course, I hadn't even realized that I had completely forgotten to grab my syllabus.

✧

I was doing my best to get Dustin out of my head all day, but unfortunately, I had nothing to keep me occupied until work. I did everything from reading, to exercise, to cleaning the house, but I had a hard time feeling normal until I resumed my scheduled shift at the gas station.

I sighed, driving past the few concrete roads left in town as the sun went down and lit up the surrounding cornfields. The gas station I worked at was just on the edge of Ellis, and acted like an entrance or exit to the tiny city.

I pressed the metal bar across the door and the bell binged, signaling to my brain that I was officially at work. For some reason, even sitting in my car outside the gas station, I could somehow still escape the idea that I was at work. It's almost like, I could still leave if I wanted.

All I would have to do is drive away and never come back. But of course, I never did that. Instead, I'd take a deep breath and walk as slowly as I could into the building, only to be met with Ben, my night shift co-worker saying, "Morning shift didn't do shit."

Ben never says hello to me because he doesn't like me. After I began transitioning, he told me he didn't get it and doesn't agree with it, which is fine with me because he doesn't cause me much trouble other than being rude occasionally. I can handle that.

Sometimes that thought gets me down, but then I'm kind of thankful that he's upfront about it. It's the people that hold it in and put on the mask that really scare me.

Either way, we work well together because we don't interact much. We just get our work done, which makes management happy. After I mop the floors, clean the windows, machines, bathrooms, do some inventory, and other simple tasks, I sit with Ben behind the front counter while he man's the cash register and I do homework or read.

It's a little deal we struck when we started working together. If I clean the whole place then he can just chill at the cash register. I don't have to deal with people and he doesn't have to deal with cleaning. For some, it's not a fair trade but it works for me.

"School started?" Ben's voice boomed as I pulled up my chair to the counter.

"Yes, sir."

I looked down at my book but my vision blurred when the ringing in my ears vibrated my temples once again.

'What's with these damn headaches today?'

Headlights beamed through the window as Ben scoffed, putting down his phone and doing his best to look alive, even though it was 2:30 A.M. and looking alive wasn't incredibly natural for him.

"Great, this fuckin' douchebag again," said Ben as we heard a car door close. I wanted to look outside, but the lights made my mind go blank with pain. My eyes focused on Ben as I did my best to forget my throbbing temples.

"Who?" I asked.

"Some new guy in town, I dunno. Saw 'im last night -"

BING!

"Hello!" said Ben in his best customer service voice.

No response.

I continued working on my homework for my Creative Writing class, pressing a cold bottle of water against my face. My nose was deep in my books when I heard a glass bottle clank against the counter. A familiar voice asked for $30 to be put on Pump 3.

My pen ceased scribbling and my eyes hardly blinked. I desperately wanted to turn around to confirm it was him, but if I did, I knew he'd try to talk to me. Still, damn curiosity overwhelmed me.

"Hey... You're... River, right? You're in my English class." Dustin stood on the opposite side of the counter with an eager expression as I looked over my shoulder.

'I did it to myself,' I thought. 'I wonder why Ben of all people, thinks he's a douchebag.'

"Hey, yeah. You're Dustin, right?"

"You know this guy, Foster?" said Ben.

"Um, kind of -"

"I'll let you deal with him then," Ben said, running to the back faster than I had ever seen him move.

If it were coming from anyone else, I would have thought this behavior was odd, but Ben got away whenever he could. He just hated working and clearly, wasn't fond of Dustin.

"Why do I get the feeling that guy doesn't like me very much?"

"Dont worry too much about it, Ben doesn't like anyone. Can I see your ID?" I asked.

"I don't look over 21?" Dustin laughed, reaching in his Gushi wallet and retrieving his ID.

"Can't take any chances,"

"Fair," Dustin began. "So, uh, I get the feeling that you don't like me very much, either."

"Why do you say that?"

'Of course, he's even hot in his ID photo. No one should look hot in their ID.'

Dustin shrugged.

"I don't know you well enough to not like you..."

I handed him his ID and scanned his vodka in silence, mentally reprimanding myself for being so awkward.

'Come on, be cool. Be. Cool!'

"You're from New York City?" I said, without my voice shaking.

"Oh yeah," Dustin said, perky as always. "Born and raised."

"You must miss it. I can imagine New York is very different from Ellis."

"Big-time, people are different too. The only people I've met here are broke, meth-heads, or hillbilly townies, like, does anyone else come into this town, or is that all?"

My stomach dropped and any semblance of a smile that might have been on my face was effectively wiped away as Dustin chuckled.

"What's someone as cool as you doing here?"

"Born and raised," I said, quietly.

Dustin's face instantly grew beet red and his eyes were wide as saucers.

"Ssshhhit, I'm so sorry I-"

"It's OK."

'No, wait. Is it OK? Shit, is it too late to take it back?'

"H-here's your vodka," I said before Dustin grabbed it and his credit card.

Our fingers touched for just a moment before he began backing away from the counter. My heart thumped hard. I wished the touch lasted longer, even if the dreamboat did turn out to be a little bit of an asshole.

"Right, thanks. I'll, uh, I'll see you in class?"

"Yep."

Suddenly, I could see why Dustin thought I didn't like him because at that moment - maybe I didn't.

"Dustin?" I said when he reached the door to leave.

"Yeah?"

"Don't make fun of poor people who do drugs, man."

"I know, I'm sorry." His voice was filled with regret.

'Does he know?'

"Good to see you again, River."

The door binged and Dustin left. I couldn't help but watch his plump butt hug his sweatpants when he walked to his car. My fingers mindlessly rubbed the spot on my hands where he had grazed and even though my opinion of him had dropped, I wondered if he craved more of my touch, the way I craved more of his.

It wasn't until he had left and I was alone in the empty gas station that I realized my headache was suddenly gone.

✧

I had a weird feeling in my gut when I went to sleep that night, I couldn't really tell if it was general anxiety or my body releasing the emotional inertia, but it did not feel good. I laid in my minimally blanketed bed, staring up at shapes that the shadows from my window formed on my ceiling.

'Finally, you're waking up,'

A magnetic, ethereal voice played in the back of my mind, just under my own thoughts. The voice wasn't my own but I was trying so hard to relax, I wasn't aware of it.

Inhaling deeply, I did my best to release the weird feelings from the day. My eyes fluttered closed and finally, I was in the darkness. Quiet, secluded, darkness. My mind drifted from things that made me happy, to things that made me anxious and back again. I laid, energetic, hoping, dreaming, wishing, and praying that tomorrow would be better...

'Don't fight it,' The voice said. 'Just hurry up and come back to me...'

"I-I like when you watch me," Dustin breathed.

His lips were glossy and shining, but I could hardly focus on them as he laid in bed, nearly naked.

One hand rested on his toned abs, rubbing small circles in his light blonde happy trail. The sexy line of hair was like an arrow, pointing toward the waistband of his skin-tight boxer briefs and he was so hard that my breath caught in my throat.

I could perfectly see the outline of his member, as a wet spot emerged from the precum.

"I like that you like me watching."

I was sitting next to him on the bed, looking down at his bright blue eyes. The room felt dewy like a light mist was about to fall and I could barely resist the urge to run my finger along that narrow jaw.

I wanted desperately to trace the lines of his neck as he looked me deeply in the eyes. I craved my touch on his skin, burning a trail in his thoughts.

But I didn't.

My insides clenched when he bit his lips.

"Do you want to keep going?" I asked.

Dustin nodded.

"Do it."

My own breathing grew heavy as I watched his fingers slip under the elastic. His thumbs hooked over them as he pulled them down.

Dustin moved painfully slow, and I liked it. I wanted to take in every inch of his skin, memorizing his hip bones and the top of his thighs.

My breathing became deep as a moan emerged in my throat that I held in with great strength when I saw the base of his cock.

Still moving slowly, he revealed more and more to me. His blonde hair was trimmed, but still a bit unruly and just as his entire member was about to be revealed to me, my attention returned to his burning blue eyes.