Winning Big

Chapter Three

Dom

The house was quiet as Dom snuck into the bathroom. He hadn’t had as much sugar as the other boys, so he also hadn’t gotten sick. Ezra had been moaning about a tummy ache and Brandon had passed out on the couch after the sugar rush. They had been funny as Eric hadn’t watched them as close as Remi had kept an eye on Dom.

Dom was thankful for Remi’s firm stance on just one small bowl of ice cream.

Even when Ezra and Brandon had been done with their sundaes, they’d snuck into the bowls of toppings. Dom hadn’t tattled but had also declined.

From under the counter, Dom pulled out the bottle of black hair dye, solution, mixing bowl, and gloves. He was tired of his faded hair color. Dom had bought what he’d needed a week ago. He’d stashed the products, intending on getting the chore done when he had more energy.

With his mind whirling from what he’d found in Remi’s bag and still wanting to approach Remi, he hadn’t been able to sleep. Now that he had the idea, Dom couldn’t stop thinking about it. Dom wanted a little weekend.

He pulled on the flimsy gloves before mixing the hair color and solution in the bowl. Looking at himself in the mirror, Dom winced. He’d been letting his depression get the worst of him. There were dark circles under his eyes, his normal dark and shining hair faded and dull. No wonder everyone was so worried.

No, Dom wasn’t going out like this. He’d already made the decision that he was going to enjoy the remaining time he had left, no matter how long it was. Months or years, Dom was going to be happy. He dipped his fingers into the bowl before spreading the color over his hair.

The fumes made his eyes water but Dom was used to this.

Admittedly, he was making a bit of a mess that only became worse when someone cleared their throat. Dom paused with his hands in his hair, the dye dripping off his fingers.

Looking in the mirror, he could see Remi standing behind him. Remi, without a shirt, oh damn! He had never seen Remi like that. And Dom really liked what he saw.

“What are you doing?” Remi demanded as he strolled into the bathroom. “And what is that smell?”

He rolled his eyes. Wasn’t it obvious? “Dyeing my hair.”

“It looks like you’re making a mess.” Remi scowled at him.

“Doing the best I can,” Dom snapped.

Remi blew out a breath. “But why are you doing this at one in the morning?”

Dom shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep.”

Running his hand roughly over his face, Remi did not seem happy with him. He was probably tired. Of course, Dom had suspected that Remi had already gone home.

“I didn’t know you were here.”

“Between Ezra being upset about Eric going into another operation and Dane working late, I decided to sleep on the couch.”

“Did I wake you?”

“I’m a light sleeper. I heard you moving around and smelt the chemicals.” He peered down at the bowl. “Is this safe?”

“I’ve been dyeing my hair for years,” Dom told him. “I haven’t grown a second head yet.”

“Cute,” Remi said. He glowered around the room. “Do you normally miss so many spots?” He pointed to the back of Dom’s head.

“Well, I normally do this at home where I have a mirror that I can turn.”

“Just—” Remi sighed. “Give me a minute.” He left the bathroom and Dom standing there staring after him. He tried to wipe the excess dye from the gloves on the side of the bowl. He really was making quite a bit of a mess. What was Remi getting? Oh! Maybe he had a better mirror? It was hard to see the back of his head. Dom waited until Remi strolled back into the bathroom, snapping on a pair of black latex gloves. They appeared much thicker than the cheap ones Dom had on.

“You carry gloves with you?” Remi questioned.

“I’m a cop,” Remi said. “I have to wear gloves at crime scenes.”

Dom snorted. Okay, dumb question. It was such a Remi thing to be prepared for any situation so Dom’s question had been legit.

“Sit on the toilet lid. I’ll finish up for you.”

“You're going to help me dye my hair?” That shocked him. Remi often helped Dom out but dyeing his hair? This was something he hadn’t expected.

“Yes. And if you’d let me know you wanted it done, I could have helped from the start.” Remi removed Dom’s gloves and threw them away.

Because Remi was always trying to take care of him. Dom dropped to sit ontop of the closed toilet lid. Remi picked up the box the dye came in before grunting.

“Sorry I woke you.”

“It’s fine.” Remi waved his apology off.

It wasn’t though. Dom had been acting like such a brat, trying to push Remi’s buttons when Remi was just trying to care for him. Remi began to comb his fingers in Dom’s hair. It felt better than Dom would have thought. He closed his eyes mostly because of the strong chemicals but also so he could concentrate on Remi’s touch.

There were no words exchanged as Remi helped him. Remi had been helping Dom for months now. Ever since Dom’s big secret had been revealed and his friends learned how serious his condition really was.

“Thank you.” Dom didn’t open his eyes, didn’t raise his voice, just whispered his gratefulness.

Remi’s fingers paused before going back to work. “You're welcome.”

That was it. Two words. Still Dom felt them in his heart. Taking his chance, Dom opened his eyes to peer up at Remi.

“All done. I think I did a pretty damn good job too.”

Dom had to take his chance. He wrapped his fingers around Remi’s wrist.

“I want to make a proposition,” he said quietly.

Remi’s brows rose in surprise. Damn, he still wasn’t wearing a shirt. His muscular firm chest was dusted with dark hair with strands of gray. Sexy. Remi was a sexy older man but seeing him barefoot in nothing but a dark pair of sweatpants had Dom’s cock twitching.

He didn’t get hard often. Most of the time Dom was too damn tired to even think of getting off. His cock becoming half hard was a relief. Maybe he wasn’t as broken as he nearly always felt.

“Proposition,” Remi repeated. “What’s that?”

Dom had come this far. “I’d like a little weekend.”

Remi smiled before Dom even had the words out.

“Just…a little different than usual. I’d like you to be my Daddy.”

“You know I have no problem—”

“No!” Dom stressed the word. “I want you to be my Daddy. I want to be little. I need you to not just be looking out for me but taking care of my needs.”

“Spell it out for me, Dom. Tell me what you mean,” Remi ordered.

His smooth, deep voice comforted Dom.

“I have been struggling the last few months. I know that you’ve been trying to help. No. You have helped. But I sort of gave up when I found out I was sick. I don’t want to live like that anymore. I’d like to try to get back to who I was before my diagnosis.”

Remi scratched the top of Dom’s head. “I want that too. I didn’t know you back then, but I want to help you find your happiness again. You need to start living your life again. Making plans.”

“I don’t know how long I have,” Dom admitted. It terrified him.

“We’re going to find you a kidney. A donor. One of us or someone else. It’s going to happen.”

“You don’t know that,” he said softly. “I’ve watched people become too sick, too weak, that even when they get the right donation, it’s too late for them.”

“It must be very hard seeing that,” Remi said.

“I stopped talking to the other patients,” Dom shared. “The first three I ever met have all died.”

“I’m sorry, baby.”

Dom sniffed. He didn’t want to think about the friends that had passed away. This was a part of being sick. “The last one, Lisa, she was my age. She died right before Thanksgiving.”

“Which is when you started to get depressed. Began trying to push everyone away.”

Had it? Dom hadn’t put that together. Remi had. He was always watching. That made Dom smile. “I guess. I’m glad that Brandon and Ezra kidnapped me. I was headed down a dark path.” He’d lost his will to fight.

“Let’s not tell them that. We don’t want to encourage that behavior with them. Lake is surely next on their list.”

Maybe Lake needed to be rescued though. He’d promised his friend not to tell anyone his secrets but was that best? If Remi did take Dom up on his offer, there might be a chance to talk about Lake’s situation.

“Now back to this proposal.” Remi sounded intrigued.

“I want to indulge in my regression more,” Dom told him. “To really let go. Use the time that I have left to just be happy. I don’t want to miss out on anything.”

Remi stopped working on Dom’s hair to kneel in front of him. “I would be thrilled to give you that.”

“To be my Daddy?” Dom pressed.

“Yes, to be your Daddy.”

“Even if my regression looks different than it does now?” Dom said nervously. He’d never shared this with anyone else. Not even his friends.

“You mean regressing younger than you do now?”

“What?” Dom jerked back. “How did you know?”

“Because I can see you holding back. Even with your friends. You slip every now and then, but I can see you wanting to go littler than you do.”

He snorted. “I didn’t think that anyone noticed.”

“I’m an observer by nature,” Remi said.

“You like to watch me,” Dom accused.

“Guilty,” Remi replied with a smirk. “I haven’t hidden that.”

“You can’t—” Dom swallowed hard. “You can’t catch feelings for me though.”

Remi laughed. “No?”

“It’s not fair.” He reached for Remi again before letting his hands drop to his lap.

“Here.” Remi slid the gloves off his hands and dropped them into the trash. “You can touch me.”

Dom gripped Remi’s shoulders. This was important. “I’m going to die.”

Remi made a sound in the back of his throat.

“Maybe not soon but someday. Sooner than I should. I don’t want to leave anyone behind. I don’t want anyone to mourn me.”

“Don’t you know that it’s too late for that?” Remi asked.

“What do you mean?” Dom demanded. Remi couldn’t already have feelings for him! That would ruin everything.

“I mean that you’re already loved. That you’re a member of this ragtag family, and we will all mourn you if something happened.”

“I wanted to shield everyone,” Dom told him.

“It hurts when you lose anyone you care about,” Remi replied. “That doesn’t mean you have to stop being a part of something important. Bad stuff happens. Even to us. Eric, Dane, and I have a dangerous job. So does Brandon. He works with people that are injured, going through drug withdrawal, and can be dangerous. Or any of us could be involved in a car accident. Or something like that. None of us know how long we have, baby. We just have to do our best to be safe. And be kind to those around us while we’re here.”

Dom nodded. Remi’s words made sense. There was also a part of him that had needed to hear that he was loved. That he would be missed. Dom knew that his parents had washed their hands of him. He wasn’t alone in the world any longer.

“So, let’s discuss this,” Remi said. “You want me to be your Daddy. Just for the weekend? Or longer?”

Longer. Forever. Dom couldn’t say that though.

“It’d be too much—”

“The truth,” Remi demanded.

“As long as I could have you as my Daddy.”

“Let’s set aside a timetable then. There’s no reason to set us up with a deadline. Do you agree?”

Dom’s interest was piqued. Remi was already taking care of the situation. Dom was past the hard part. “Yes.”

“As your Daddy, I’ll need to know how to take care of you. I know what to do for your health and when you’re big, but I do need more information about little you. What does me being your Daddy mean for you?”

“I’ll still work. Go to dialysis. When I’m home, here, I would like to indulge as often as possible.”

“You want to be little,” Remi confirmed.

“ Little little ,” Dom stressed. “It’s been a very long time, but I want diapers and bottles. Bedtime stories. I need a Daddy to give me those things. I don’t want to have decisions if I don’t absolutely have to.”

“You’re so brave,” Remi told him.

“What?” Dom’s breath caught.

“I’m very proud of you,” Remi said. “It’s not easy asking for help. I imagine it’s even harder for you. You’ve been doing everything on your own for a long time.”

“It is hard,” Dom admitted.

“How much control do you want to give me?” Remi asked.

“This might be too much for you,” Dom pointed out.

Remi shook his head.

“No, I mean it. This is a lot of responsibility. I’d be more like Brandon than Ezra.” Dom didn’t know how better to explain things. Brandon indulged way more often even though Ezra was indulging more often with Eric’s help. Ezra had Annabelle who need her dad, so his regression was different for him.

“I can handle you being little. All the time, if that’s what you need or want.” That smirk. It was sexy as hell. “I’ve done my research.”

“I’m tired.” The words came from his soul.

“I know you are, baby.”

“I have all these worries constantly in my head. Doctor appointments, work, friends, life in general.”

“I can help with all that,” Remi offered.

“But do you want to?”

“I do.” Remi sounded so sure. “How long does that stay in your hair?”

Dom laughed. “About thirty minutes.”

“It’s already been nearly ten. Stay here and I’ll get a few things ready for you so you can sleep.”

Remi rose but Dom grabbed his wrist. “We’re really going to do this?”

“We are doing this.”

Dom’s eyes began to fill. Relief like he’d never felt before had him getting emotional.

Remi bent to look Dom in his eyes. “I’m going to take such good care of you.”

“I know you are.” Dom smiled.

“I can’t wait to spend time with you as my little one.”

Dom believed him. Remi looked excited. There was just one question left. “Not always little though?”

Remi cocked his head as he frowned. “What?”

He swallowed hard. Fuck! This was embarrassing. “You…I’m attracted to you.”

“I’m attracted to you as well,” Remi assured him. “And we’ll talk about limits, boundaries, and make sure that everything is spelled out so there’re no doubts or questions. I’ll be clear that I do want you more than just being my little.”

“Thank you.”

Remi cupped his face before slowly closing the distance.

He was going to kiss Dom!

Holy shit!

Dom sucked in a breath when Remi’s lips brushed over his.

The kiss was soft at first. Just Remi’s lips before Remi groaned and pressed harder against his mouth. Dom clutched at Remi’s shoulders as he opened and Remi’s tongue slid into his mouth.

Heat radiated through his body.

Pleasure.

Dom’s cock hardened. He had an erection that he had no way of hiding in just a thin pair of lounge pants.

Remi drew back.

Dom tried to pull him forward again.

“We’ll have plenty of time for more of that,” Remi assured him.

“But—”

Remi shook his head. “Be a good boy for me.”

“Fine.” Dom didn’t have to be happy about it though.

Chuckling, Remi straightened. “Stay there so we don’t get that dye over everything else in the house. I’m going to grab some cleaning products so the sink doesn’t stain.”

“I’m sorry that I made a mess.” This wasn’t his house. He should have been more considerate.

“It’s fine. I’ll take care of everything.”

Tension, stress, everything that was on Dom’s shoulders seemed to leave him. He slumped back as he sat on that uncomfortable toilet seat while Remi walked out of the room.

He’d done it!

Remi had made his proposal and Remi had accepted. He’d have a Daddy to take care of him. And an entire weekend of being a little coming up. He was missing most of his personal little gear since he wasn’t at home. Maybe a quick trip to his apartment would be in order.

Dom hadn’t indulged lately but he still had all his old favorite items.

Before he’d gotten sick, Dom had been a big part of the little scene at the Teddy Bear club, the BDSM club owned by Jesse Lambert that catered to littles and pups. He’d played with men every weekend, indulging as he could be as little as he wanted. In the time that he’d played, Dom had gathered a pretty awesome collection. Some he’d shared with his friends and were already in the playroom but his binkies, bottles, diapers, and play clothes were all back in his apartment.

He’d bring it up with Remi and let his Daddy decide what they should do.

His Daddy.

His.

Even when he’d played before, Dom hadn’t had a dedicated Daddy. Had been single, indulging with other single men at the club.

Jesse’s twin brother, Jacob, had been a regular at the club back then too. They’d played together often and Jacob liked to baby his boys. Jacob loved to change diapers and give bottles. He’d been the last man that Dom had played with like that. They’d never had a sexual relationship, but Dom would always be thankful to Jacob for what he’d given to Dom.

After he’d gotten sick, Dom had cut himself off from everyone else. Previous Daddies, his club friends. Lake hadn’t started to work there yet and no one that Dom had called a friend had bothered to check in on Dom. Well, Jacob had but Dom had pushed the sweet man away. Jacob had an entire life in another state. He hadn’t needed to be saddled with Dom and his sickness. Dom hadn’t wanted to be a burden.

Eventually, the boys and Daddies moved on. Even Jacob had stopped calling after six months of Dom not responding. Looking back, Dom was horrified that he’d treated Jacob so bad. It might be time to reach out with an apology. Not that Dom wanted to start anything back with Jacob. Remi was the Daddy that he wanted. Dom craved more than just a casual Daddy. Dom wanted everything this time around.

It had been too long. He was just returning to the scene when Lake, Ezra, and Brandon became part of his life. Except this time the people that he called friends hadn’t allowed Dom to push them away. He’d become part of their family.

Family.

That word meant something more to Dom.

He still felt guilty about how he’d been acting and trying to push his friends away. They were good friends but Dom would come up with a way to make it up to them.

Dom wondered what Ezra and Brandon would think about him as little little. Most of the time Dom acted like an older brother to his friends but if he got the weekend that he wanted, the remainder of his secrets would be revealed.

Not that Dom thought they would have an issue with him as a baby.

Ezra and Brandon might be surprised but they would never judge him.

It was going to be okay. Dom rubbed his fingers together as he self-soothed. Now that he’d spoken to Remi, Dom really was sleepy. He needed to wash the dye from his hair before he could go to bed though. When he woke up, Dom hoped that Remi would keep his promise and really take care of everything.

A little weekend.

Dom danced with excitement even as his body wanted to flag.

He just needed to be a good boy and wait for Remi like he’d been ordered. Closing his eyes, Dom thought about the possible weekend ahead.