“Getting frustrated about it won’t help.”

John glared at Derek, who was standing by the foot of the bed with an infuriatingly reasonable expression. “I am handcuffed. To your bed. And you lost. The fucking. Keys!” he shouted, furious with shame and rage.

“Yelling at me about it won’t solve anything,” Derek said.

“No, no, that’s true, you’re right, yelling at you won’t solve anything,” John said.
“Maybe getting out of here and then strangling you with my bare hands will! Find the fucking keys!” His predicament would have been upsetting enough under regular circumstances, but considering the situation, he thought that a little panic was warranted. Derek’s calm was outrageous.

It was typical of Derek to remain casual and unruffled, just like it was typical of John to yell. John got pissed off and loud, Derek remained laidback and calm; that was their thing, it was what they did. That was fine, usually. But tonight, John would have appreciated a little concern on Derek’s part.

They’d used scarves, in the past. Nothing serious, just a little light bondage once in a while, if they were in the mood. John got off on it, and Derek got off on John getting off, so it worked out pretty well for both of them. Tonight, Derek had scrounged up some old handcuffs, and when the metal had closed around John’s wrists, chaining him to the bedposts, he’d gotten so hard he’d forgotten to be concerned about anything else.

Now that he was sweating and splattered with cum, arms aching, sitting up shackled to the headboard, he was beginning to wish he’d made sure that Derek had the fucking keys!

“Maybe they’re-”

“No!” John shouted as Derek stepped towards the door. “You don’t leave this room without me. You’re not leaving me here. I don’t care if you have to take this bed apart to get me free, you’re not leaving me alone.”

“They’re not my handcuffs,” Derek said, completely naked and unconcerned.

“They’re my brother’s. When I got them, maybe I left the keys behind.”

“Call him!” John shouted. “Call him. Tell him to drive by and drop them off. Tell him that it’s an emergency.”

Derek reached for the phone.

“Don’t you dare tell him that I’m chained to your bed,” John warned.

Derek smiled at him. “Okay.”

John closed his eyes, mentally counting back from two hundred. He couldn’t believe that he was cuffed to a bed with no way free. He couldn’t believe that Derek had forgotten to pick up the keys.

He and Derek had been together for about eight months. He’d been attracted to Derek’s blonde, hazel-eyed, angelic good looks from the start, and despite their basic personality differences, they had a lot in common. But Derek had been a little too flakey lately. Stalling the elevator, getting them trapped in that basement, now this.

Granted, both the elevator and the basement had proven themselves to be great places to have great sex. But there had to be a limit to the number of crazy predicaments two people could get into in one month, and this was pushing it.

When John opened his eyes, Derek was off of the phone and sitting beside him on the bed. “Jake will bring the keys by in another hour or so.”

“An hour?” John demanded. “I don’t have an hour! This