I hopped on the light rail, excited to head to the Pride celebration downtown. I couldnât wait to meet up with some of my coworkers I was marching with. I smiled as I thought about it. I canât believe we live in a time when massive corporations are bending over backwards to show how much they support us. I was proud to wear my companyâs logo on my t-shirt, to show that where I worked was cool with the gays.
There were clearly a lot of people on board headed to the parade. Even though my stop was toward the end of the line, there was only one seat left, and I slid into it.
âLucky on Pride,â I thought.
And then I looked up to see them sitting across from me. Three hulking men decked out in leather. Leather boots, leather jackets⌠oh god, were they wearing assless chaps?
I frowned. It was people like them who seemed like they were trying to set the gay rights movement back 40 years. Why did they have to sexualize everything? All it did was announce to everyone that gays are a bunch of perverts, letting bigots confirm everything they believe.
Crap, they saw me looking at them. One leaned in to the leatherman in the middle and whispered something in his ear. The two of the chuckled. Probably something crass.
I must have made a face, as the one on the other end waved and grinned.
âHappy pride!â he said.
I pretended not to hear him.
âOh, whatâs got you so upset?â he continued.
âKink doesnât belong at pride,â I mumbled.
Fuck. Well, it has to be said. I took a breath.
âKink doesnât belong at pride,â I said. âPride it supposed to be for all ages, to show weâre just like everyone else. Itâs not about sex, itâs about love! If the only part of the gay community people saw was you guys, weâd still be treated like freaks and criminals.â
I expected them to get angry. I didnât expect all three to burst out laughing.
âBoy,â the middle one said.
Even though the train car was warm, I shivered.
âWeâre not just like everybody else,â he growled. âAnd thatâs the point of all this.â
The leatherman on his other side whispered something in his ear.
âI think thatâs a great idea,â the man in the middle said. Then he pointed at me. âThree.â
My clothes! My clothes had disappeared, and I was sitting naked on the light rail! I tried to cover myself. I looked around, blushing. Time seemed frozen. No one was moving. The train was frozen on the tracks. My head snapped back to the three men, who seemed to be the only people not affected.
âThere wouldnât be a pride celebration without freaks and criminals,â the man on the left said. âPride is about rebelling against what people tell you is normal or acceptable. Pride is about not hiding who you are.â
âTwo,â the man in the middle said, and snapped again.
Suddenly, I wasnât naked anymore. I was wearing rubber shorts! I could feel them tight on my ass, and⌠was I commando under them? And⌠a harness? My hand leapt to my chest, where a leather harness was tightly fastened around my pecs. It brushed my nipple, which now sported a silver hoop. I let out a small involuntary groan. My hand continued upward where it found the source of the sudden weight on my neck- a chain link collar⌠with a lock!
âAnd part of who we are is how we connect,â said the man on the other end.
Leather boots on my feet, laced up my legs. Oh god, no.
The man in the middle leaned forward.
âOne,â he smirked, and snapped.
I felt a sudden surge of emotion in my chest. My eyes wrenched closed. What⌠whatâŚ. oh god, it felt amazing. It felt⌠free, it felt, oh god-
I looked up from the floor of the light rail car. Somehow I had gotten on my knees.
I gazed up at the three gorgeous men above me, smiling down approvingly.
Oh god, this felt amazing! To belong! To belong to them!
The one in the middle leaned down to scratch behind the ear of my pup mask. God, the joy! I couldnât stop grinning.
âWhat a good boy!â his gravely tone felt like sunshine incarnate.
âThatâs our pup!â said one of the other men. I leaned against his leg. This feeling!
âThis is our stop, pup!â said the last man.
Such joy! Oh, was I the luckiest! To be their pup! To be me! To be owned! I wanted to show the world!
My collar jangled on my neck as I strutted forward.
Thatâs what that feeling was, so ready to show off my owners! To show that I was a good boy.
âSuch a proud boy,â said the man as the leash clicked, and he lead me into the sunlight. âSuch a good, proud boy.â