Chapter 6
Daniel
My heart hammered in my chest as I approached Tristan’s apartment door.
I’ve had boys in the past, but nothing has stuck long-term.
The need to be a caretaker for my boy ran deep and couldn’t be ignored.
While I didn’t mind some bratty behavior now and then, my heart craved to care for a sweet boy like Tristan.
Boys as lovely as him were hard to find.
We barely knew each other, but the way he described his creations and the sparkle in his eyes as he played with the blocks ignited a flame of hope that burned through my veins like wildfire.
I took several deep breaths and knocked on the door. The last of my tension started to melt away when I heard who I assumed was Ellery, trying to be quiet but failing miserably.
“Tristan, your hot silver fox dragon Daddy is here!”
“Shhh. He might hear you, and he’s not my Daddy. We haven’t even been on our first date… He might not want me.”
“You’re the bestest Tristan! If he doesn’t see that, then he doesn’t deserve you.”
“I just want him to like me, I’m scared I’ll mess up.”
It nearly broke my heart to hear my boy might think he wasn’t good enough. Before I realized it, I was knocking on the door again. I needed to see him.
“Oh, shoot! He’s waiting.”
A calm settled over me when Tristan opened the door, and his soft curls bounced, framing his adorable face. My poor baby was shaking with nerves.
“Hi, I’m so sorry I-”
“He’s nervous.”
Tristan whipped his head to look at Ellery with a pout and whined.
“Elleryyy shhhh.”
My shoulders bounced slightly as I held back a laugh. My body screamed to comfort my boy, but his whining also amused me. He was precious, and I wanted nothing more than to kiss that pout and his nerves right off of him. He looked back at me, and his eyes shone with worry.
“Hey, sweetheart, it’s okay to be nervous. I’m nervous too; it’s perfectly normal.”
Tristan’s eyes widened as he gasped, “You’re nervous too… why?”
“Can you keep a secret?”
Tristan’s face became super serious, but his wiggling gave away his anticipation. “Yes! I’m a good secrets keeper!”
I lowered my voice slightly as he watched me with rapt attention. “Well, you see this old man isn’t getting younger, and I was worried you might not want a Daddy whose knees made a creaking sound every time he got on the floor to play with you.”
His eyes softened, and his face broke out into the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen. “You want to play with me?”
“Of course, sweetheart, I’d be honored to get to play with you. But first, I have a sexy boy to take to dinner, and we can talk about having a playdate. Sound good?”
Tristan rocked back and forth on his heels, giggling with excitement. “Yes, please! I‘d love that.”
I held my hand out, and Tristan slipped his into mine. I threaded my fingers through his, the smoothness of his skin a perfect contrast to the roughness of mine. “Let’s go, sweetheart, say bye to Ellery.”
He nodded as he said goodbye to his friend. He squeezed my hand in soft little pulses as I guided us to my truck. I turned toward Tristan when we reached the passenger side.
“I have a surprise for you before we go to dinner.”
“You got me a present!”
I nodded as I reached to open the door. “I did. Are you ready to see it?”
“Yes please!”
“Of course, sweet boy. I know new things can be scary, so I wanted you to have a friend with you.”
Tristan gasped, let go of my hand, and leaped into the passenger seat. “Ember! I can’t believe it, you brought him… for me?”
“Yes baby, for you, let’s get you both in the car, and you can catch up on the way to dinner.”
I grabbed Ember and helped Tristan into the truck. “Is it okay if I buckle you in?” Tristan nodded. I made sure his belt was secure before handing Ember back to him. Excitement coursed through me as I made my way around the truck and into the driver’s seat.
“Before we go, I just wanted to make sure… do you have any allergies or food restrictions?”
“Nope… except mushrooms, they’re so slimy and gross.” Tristan shook his head, making those beautiful curls bounce around. I couldn’t wait to sink my fingers into the softness. Everything about him was just so damn soft and adorable.
I couldn’t help it as a chuckle escaped, “Okay, got it, no mushrooms… that should be pretty easy. I’m not a big fan of them either, but I do enjoy the flavor, so I pick them out.”
Tristan held Ember in his lap, wiggling with excitement as I started driving to the restaurant.
Given his reaction to David’s antics and the beautiful way he responded to me when he played with the blocks, I was more than sure he was a little.
But we’d never actually said it out loud.
If this was going to work, we needed to start communicating to make sure we were on the same page.
“So you know I’m a Daddy, thanks to the goober I call my best friend.” That made Tristan giggle, and the sound was like a balm to my soul. “Are you a little Tristan?”
He groaned and looked over at me with guilty eyes. “Yes, I’m a little. I wasn’t exactly subtle yesterday. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to regress; the blocks just looked so fun.”
I reached over to hold his hand, keeping my eyes on the road. “Hey, it’s okay. Yesterday was a lot of work, and I’m just glad you were able to have some fun. I loved watching you play.”
“You did?” I gave his hand a series of soft squeezes. “I did. I can’t wait to show you those dragon blocks David told you about. You’ll love them.”
“I’m so excited. Where are we going to eat?” I pointed at the restaurant as we pulled into the lot. “It’s a pizza place. Have you been here before?”
He shook his head as I continued, “They sell personal-sized pizzas, and we get to go down the line and tell them what toppings we want, and then they bake it.”
“Wow, that’s so cool. I’ve heard of it before, but never found the right time to check it out. I’m glad I get to try it with you.”
I put the truck in park and smiled at him, my heart feeling fuller than it has in a long time. “Me too, sweetheart. Let’s go!”
Tristan
“Wait for me, and I’ll come around and get you.”
My mind whirled as I waited for Daniel. I couldn’t believe this was happening.
He was so sexy and sweet that my emotions felt like they were on a pogo stick, bouncing from one feeling to the next.
I brought Ember up to my face and nuzzled him.
I know Daniel had only purchased him mere hours ago, but feeling his soft yarn against my skin after Daniel gave him back to me made him even more special.
A soft moan left my throat as strong fingers carded through my hair and scratched at my scalp. “Hey, sweet boy, it’s time to go inside. You can leave Ember in the car, and he’ll be here when we return.”
I nuzzled Ember with my face again before sighing softly, “Okay, I’ll see you soon, Ember. Don’t worry, we’ll be back.”
I tried to hide my blush as Daniel reached over me and unbuckled my seat belt.
Some people might think that was weird, but I loved it.
Everything he had done so far had made the night special, and we weren’t even done.
He intertwined his fingers with mine. I loved how small my hand felt in his.
He had already made me feel so small and safe.
We quickly got in line and picked out the toppings for our pizza. Daniel chose sausage with various veggies, and I decided on pineapple and ham. I don’t care what others say, pineapple does go on pizza.
Daniel picked out a secluded booth in the back for us to sit in and sat across from me as he placed our drinks in front of us.
“How would you like to play a game while we wait for our food?”
I let out a gasp as I whispered, “Really? We can play a game… I thought you wanted to talk?”
Daniel’s eyes shone with excitement and understanding. “We can do both. I know these types of conversations can be scary, so I figured we’d turn it into a game. Does that sound fun?”
“Yes!”
“Here’s the game. I’m gonna ask you questions like ‘This or That?’ and then we can talk about it. Sound good?”
I couldn’t help myself as I bounced in my seat. I loved games. “Yes! That sounds like so much fun.”
“It is, okay, let’s start. Going on a walk or playing at the park?”
“The park! I love the swings.”
He nodded and kept the game going. “Ice cream or Popsicles?”
“Ice cream! My favorite is mint chocolate chip.”
He reached out and held my hand over the table, his thumb rubbing my skin softly. “Good job, sweetheart. My favorite is chocolate… Comfy jammie set or a onesie?”
My face heated, and my fingers tightened around his. My voice was soft and shaky as I spoke, “I like both, but onesies are my favorite… I have a dragon one with footsies.”
Daniel’s smile made my tummy flip. “I bet they look adorable on you. Training undies or diapers?”
My face felt hot as I glanced around, making sure no one was listening. I looked back at Daniel and received a nod of encouragement. “I wear- um, I like… want to,” I whined, burying my face in my shoulder, frustrated that my words wouldn’t cooperate.
A sob caught in my throat as Daniel let go of my hand.
Fear seized my body as I folded into myself, my thumb made its way to my mouth, but I fought the urge to suck and nibbled on the skin.
I messed up. I’ve had some dates in the past, but none of them went very far.
They always grew impatient and frustrated with me.
I loved being little and wanted nothing more than to have a Daddy to take care of me.
But my brain often froze up, making it hard for me to find my words.
No one was willing to put up with it, not that I couldn’t blame them; it frustrated me as well.
Why couldn’t I get the words out instead of them buzzing around in my head like bugs that were impossible to catch?
Confusion filled me as I felt a strong hand land on the back of my neck. Daniel was sitting next to me in the booth, and his touch was firm but gentle. His body was a solid presence that warmed me as I started to take deep breaths.
“That’s it… Such a good boy. Take a few more deep breaths for me. I’m going to ask some questions, and all you have to do is nod. Okay?”
Looking up at him, I saw nothing but kindness and understanding, so I took another shaky breath and nodded.
“Good job, sweetheart. Are you uncomfortable with answering the question I asked?”
I shook my head.
“Okay? Is it hard to speak when you’re nervous?”
I nodded.
“Let’s try this a different way. I’m going to show you my hands as I ask the question. I want you to lay your hand on the one you want to choose. If it is both, you can place both hands on top of mine. Sound good?”
I nodded.
He removed his hand from the back of my neck and turned his body toward me. “Do you prefer training undies…” He held out his left hand, palm up. “Or do you like a nice padded diaper?” He then held out his right hand.
Shifting in my seat, I placed both hands over his. “Good job. We’ll have a more detailed conversation later, but I have a few more questions for now. Sippy cup or bottle?”
The warmth from his hands seeped into my skin like a soothing balm as I kept both of my hands on his.
His smile was blinding as he kept going.
“Wonderful, I can’t wait to have you all warm and snuggled up against me as you drink your milk or juice.
” The image he described shot warmth throughout my body.
Anticipation settled in my gut, making me wiggle in excitement.
“I know, baby, it makes me excited too… Pacifier, or do you prefer something to chew on? I’ve noticed you tend to chew on your thumb when you’re nervous.”
Removing my right hand from his, the question made me itch to suck my thumb, but instead, I laid it in my lap. “I had a feeling you’d choose that one. I bet you’ll look precious with your pacifier all bundled up as you suckle.”
“Now this one’s a bit more challenging, so I’m going to give you ranges, and I want you to pick the one that feels most accurate. What age group do you typically regress to… Infancy to four or four to six?
I removed my hand from his left and placed it over his right. I’d only ever regressed by myself or with Ellery. While it was fun, I never felt like I could truly let go without a Daddy there to help me, so maybe that would change now that I had Daniel.
“Here’s your food!” I jerked in surprise as a girl around my age walked up to our table. She placed our pizzas in front of us and smiled.
“Do you gentlemen need anything else?” Daniel’s hand rubbed soothing circles across my back as he replied. “We’re okay for right now. Thank you.”
I’d been so wrapped up in our game that I’d forgotten we were at a restaurant. Anytime I was with Daniel, a peaceful calm settled around me, and it felt like we were the only two people in the world.
My skin heated as he directed his attention back to me. The skin around his eyes crinkled softly as he looked at me with such tenderness that it made my heart ache. “I have just one more question before we eat our pizza. Is that okay?”
My face ached from grinning as I nodded.
“What do you prefer before bed, a story or cuddles?”
A laugh bubbled up as I placed both of my hands on top of his. “That’s a silly question. They go together. It’s illegal to have story time without cuddles.”
Daniel’s booming laugh enveloped me like a warm hug. I’d made my Daddy happy; I was a good boy.
“That’s right, sweetheart! Good job, we wouldn’t want to break any laws now, would we?”
I shook my head, unable to keep the giggles from escaping. It was the best date ever.