Chapter 6 Cain
CAIN
I followed Benji back to his house and carried the tree inside after slicing the cords free with my pocket knife.
He’d cleared a space for it in his living room, so I helped him lock the trunk in the rickety stand, and we got it as straight as possible.
“It’s a little lopsided.” I gently twisted the trunk so the best side was facing the room.
It wasn’t a great side…but it was the best one on the mangy twig.
“I can go back tomorrow and get you something a little…fuller.” Or alive.
He looked at me, grinning as he plucked a pine needle from his hair. “No way. She’s perfect.”
I gently reached for the needle in his hand and carefully rested it on the closest branch. “Well, she needs every last needle, so we should probably collect all the ones that have fallen and glue them back on. The poor thing is naked.”
Benji laughed for real, and the tension in his shoulders seemed to lift. “I’ll dress her later on. For now, I’m getting kinda hungry.”
Me too. For you. “Do you like sushi?”
“Love it.” He looked at his shirt and frowned. “Let me change into something less sappy. I’ll be right back.”
While he was changing, I circled his living room, taking note of the Lego structures on his bookshelf and the coloring books on his coffee table.
They were designed for adults with geometric shapes, so nothing overtly Little, but I could see the boy I met at Primal crawling into my lap after spending some time coloring.
“Is this okay?” He returned a minute later wearing fresh jeans and a baby-blue hoodie. It looked great on him, and the urge to pull him into my arms was strong. But there would be time for that later. Hopefully.
“You look great, sweetheart.” I reached for his cheek and rubbed my thumb over his chin. “Let’s go before you shrivel up and look like your standing branch.”
He chuckled and reached for his jacket. “Just wait until her glow-up. You won’t be making fun of her then.”
I drove us to a new chain restaurant by the mall that was a favorite with the guys at work. “So, Benji, tell me about yourself.” I kept my hands on the wheel, but my attention was squarely fixed on the passenger seat, where Benji bounced his knee and fiddled with the hem of his beanie.
“Not much to tell. I’m a VP of sales for a software company. I’ve been single forever. I’m…a Little, as you know.” His voice dropped slightly, and he glanced at me. “But, just sometimes when I’ve had a stressful day or when…” He shrugged. “It’s not a big deal.”
“I think it’s a big deal.” I reached for his knee and gave him a gentle squeeze. “It sounds like you have an important job and having a way to decompress is important. I’m happy that you have an outlet to recenter and escape the burdens of your life.”
“I wish it were that intense.” Benji laughed and dropped his hand over mine, still holding his knee. “Since it’s just me, I can’t fully regress or anything. But bubble baths and playtime do help me clear my head.”
The place was busy, but there were a couple open tables by the window. Benji paused long enough for me to pull out his chair, and when I gripped his neck before taking my own seat, a full-body shudder rippled through him.
It was fucking hot.
I scanned the menu to make sure it had all the usual offerings and then put it down. “Do you know what you want?”
“I usually just get California rolls.” Benji ran his finger down the list of rolls with wide eyes. “You pick. You’re the expert.”
“I wouldn’t say expert.” But I wouldn’t not say expert… “Do you have any strong flavor preferences or food allergies?” I didn’t usually get all Daddy on people I’d just met, but Benji brought out that side of me, and I was happy to test the edges of his boundaries to see where we might line up.
“Nope.” He clasped his hands together and smiled. “I’ll put anything in my mouth and love it.”
Okay, so now he was flirting. Very interesting. And a tiny bit alarming.
I ordered an assortment of maki and nigiri and tempura. I even threw in an order of California rolls to make sure he had something he liked. The waitress didn’t bat an eye at the order large enough to feed a soccer team, but Benji grinned at me over his tea cup.
When the server was gone, I took a sip of my water and cocked my head. “Was that too much food?”
“Probably.” He held my gaze, not backing down. “You really are a Daddy, aren’t you? Not just when you’re being paid.”
That was what I’d been waiting for. A direct observation off the top of his head to prove he was being genuine. This was truly an off-handed comment about what he really thought.
I tried to keep my face neutral while smirking on the inside. “I’ve always been a caretaker, but I guess I can take it too far sometimes. I’m sorry if I overstepped.”
“No way.” Benji looked stricken with guilt. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. It’s hot. Really. I’ve just never been out with a real Daddy who thinks about me and what I might want to experience.”
“Well, that’s heartbreaking.” Again, I wanted to pull him into my lap and give him a squeeze…or my cock. Either would be okay with me. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t be.” He stared at me for a moment before smiling. “It was me too. I’ve always worked a lot and have prioritized my career over relationships. It’s just as much my fault as theirs.”
“If that was your choice, then I respect that.” My instinct told me to dig deeper, but it wasn’t time for that. Yet. Not unless he went there first.
“What about you?” Benji put his chopsticks down and leaned back. “It’s probably cool to have guys throwing themselves at you all the time.” He sighed as if that was an upsetting thought.
For me, it was more comical. “Uh, no. Not exactly.”
He raised an eyebrow and scrunched up his face. “I have eyes, ya know. I saw them at the party.”
“I know you have very pretty eyes. I’ve been staring into them for a while now.” I raised an eyebrow myself when he started to blush. “And what happens at a party that I’m being paid to entertain at is very different from my real life.”
Now his lower lip popped out in a pout. “So you’re not in the lifestyle for real?”
“I am to the degree that it’s the right place to meet like-minded individuals, but in a perfect world, I’d cuddle up on the couch with my boy every night and watch re-runs until it was bedtime.
I’ve been traveling a lot for the past few years, and I think I’m ready to settle down.
” I met his gaze and held it so he truly heard me.
“I’ve just been waiting to meet someone worth getting to know. ”
Benji didn’t take a breath for almost a minute before shaking himself back to the present.
“Okay, but for real, is this a thing? I’m not good at reading intentions on a personal level.
At work, I’m the guy who can find any opening to build rapport with someone.
But in my real life, I’m just not sure what this is about.
Are you just looking for someone to have sushi with or…
Yeah, of course. I’m reading too much into it, right? ”
I could have played dumb and let him suffer a bit longer, but I’d never been good at lying. “I am looking for someone to have sushi with…and pancakes…and backyard barbecues…”
He nodded, chewing his lip. “Oh, okay. Yeah, me too.”
The server refilled my tea cup and it was steaming hot, but I drank it anyway.
“I asked if you wanted to join me for dinner because I wanted to see you again.” I stretched out my arm and held my hand open, inviting him to grab it.
“Being able to follow you home was a bonus because now I know where you live.”
He turned a shade redder than the pickled ginger on the table. “Oh. Cool.”
When we got up to leave, Benji crossed his arms over his chest and stared straight ahead, avoiding my gaze. “So, Cain, can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
He was obviously nervous, so I took a chance and placed my arm around his shoulders, pulling him to my side before opening the door and guiding us both out.
“I know you said it’s not your thing, but would you consider being with a Little?
I know we just met, but you’re the first guy that I’ve had to hold back my regression with.
My body just seems to know I’m safe with you. ”
I let the words settle between us before I answered. “I never said it wasn’t my thing. It absolutely is my thing. I think you’re sweet and cute and kind, and I like taking care of you.” I paused for a second before adding, “I mean, if you’d want that.”
His head was furiously nodding before I even got the last word out. “I do. A lot. I’ve never really done it before either, but I’ve been imagining what it would be like to see you again and…I really want to see if there’s something here.”
I nodded. I knew exactly what he meant. “Then let’s get you home so you can glue your tree back together before it completely disintegrates.”
Benji leaned closer as we walked to my car. “I like how you look at me.”
“How’s that?”
“Like you want to be around me as much as I want to be around you.”
Oh. That. “I’m glad you like it, because I plan to do a lot more of it.”
I drove back to Benji’s house with his hand resting in my palm. When I stopped outside his house, I cut the headlights and turned off the engine, but neither of us moved.
“Can I see you again?” I gave his hand a squeeze and then slid it up his arm so I could cup the back of his neck. “I don’t want this night to end.”
“It doesn’t have to end.” Benji looked like he was holding back a smile. “You can continue to see me tonight, if you want.”
“Are you inviting me in, sweetheart?”
Benji shuddered and a shiver seemed to run down his spine by the way he shook in his seat. “Yes. Maybe for a nightcap?”
I raised an eyebrow. “For me or for you?”
“I have beer and wine for you.” He swallowed hard but didn’t look away.
“And for you?”
“Milk, please. I mean, if you have extra.”
A full belly laugh rolled out of my chest, and I couldn’t resist leaning over and kissing his cheek. “I’ve got plenty extra, sweet boy. As much as your tummy can handle.”
“Yay!” He threw open the door and hopped out.
I followed close behind, worried he might slip on the icy ground. “Yay, indeed.”