Chapter 16 Daddy Dorian
DADDY DORIAN
“A little to the left, yes, right there,” Coby instructed, letting his hand fall back to his side once my pets were positioned where he wanted them. “Now ham it up.”
Raleigh kicked water at Murry, who threw his hands up, recoiling from it.
Coby’s camera clicked nonstop as they played in the final swimsuits of today’s shoot.
The water dragon and the merman were going to be hits, I already knew it, which was why I’d spent a chunk of the afternoon making notes on new color and pattern compositions so I could bump them to the top of my to-do list.
If there was one thing I’d learned about my pets, it was that they were true water babies.
Get them in or around the stuff, and they’d play until they were exhausted, and beyond if I allowed it.
Which I refused to do, even when they pouted and pawed at me, Murry wiggling his nose, hitting me with pleading bunny eyes while Raleigh mewed and looked longingly back at the water.
They made it hard to say no when they pulled that shit.
They even tried it at bath time, dripping and clinging to one another with pruney fingers, not a bubble left in the huge sunken tub; they’d been in it so long.
It made long days like today easy, because they were happy to obey Coby’s constant directions and requests as long as it meant getting to spend more time in the water.
Raleigh’s swim cap had prismatic dragon eyes on each side and spikes extending from the sides, just like in the image of the dragon I’d drawn as a reference.
His purple half bodysuit had a dragon’s tail coiling up one leg while the other was blank.
Scale patterns ran up his arms, while the front depicted the armor plating on a dragon's belly.
Several spikes protruded from the backs of the arms, while a row of them flowed down the back right over his spine.
They were short enough to get the point across without creating too much resistance when he swam.
No one would have to guess what flavor of pet someone was if they were wearing that suit, something I was extremely proud of as I watched them clown around for the camera.
Murry’s swim gear shimmered when the sun hit it, the greens and blues flashing when he dove beneath the surface, showing off the print of the tail that ran all the way down the backs of his legs.
The flippers he wore were designed to look like the tail fin, with half of the detailing on one and the matching half on the other.
We’d had a long conversation about why there were no full-on aquatic tails this time around, which was mainly because of the safety concerns I had about an individual’s ability to keep themselves afloat in one.
My pets had countered with videos of women in a mermaid show who wore them.
Fortunately, some quick research had revealed the training that went into being able to perform in them, as well as the controlled environments they worked in.
My pets had quickly realized that the conditions in open water were vastly different and uncontrollable and had ceased their line of questioning while learning something in the process too. When it came to this side project, we were all learning.
I scribbled more notes while Coby and my pets raced the sunset, the final shot so perfect that when I saw it on the video screen in Coby’s camera, I knew that was one that I’d be blowing up to hang on my wall.
It was dragon Raleigh standing waist-deep in the water, mermaid Murry in his arms, Murry’s head on his shoulder, Raleigh’s cocked to rest against his, both staring into the camera wearing dreamy looks as streaks of red, orange, and fiery yellow lit up the sky behind them.
“And that’s a wrap,” Coby said. “Wow. This last run was amazing. You guys really brought it. Aspen and I are going to have a hard time choosing which images to use because there are tons to pick from.”
“That means it’s time to come out,” I said when they didn’t immediately move.
At least their hesitance gave me a moment to shove my notebook and pen back in my backpack so I could unfold their towels and hold them open for them. I’d made sure to bring ones big enough to engulf them from neck to ankles and quickly wound one around each of them as they stepped from the surf.
“That was so much fun,” Murry declared as I rubbed his arms.
“Were you warm enough?” I asked.
“Right until the last few minutes when the wind started picking up,” Murry said. “By then the sun was so low I knew we were close to done, so I didn’t let it bother me.”
“Still, let’s get you guys dried off and dressed so we can grab some supper,” I said. “Are you too tired to dine in, or would you like to actually eat at a restaurant tonight?”
“I’m not tired,” Raleigh said.
“Neither am I,” Murry replied. “We can eat at a restaurant; that way no one has to clean up afterward.”
“My thoughts exactly,” I said as I helped dry them and remove their caps and fins.
I’d set up a changing tent for them when we arrived, so while they ducked inside of it to change, I loaded everything else back in the van and thanked Coby for yet another stunning collaboration.
“They make it easy,” Coby said. “You be sure to hang on to them.”
“I have no intention of letting them go,” I replied. “Every day with them is a reminder of how empty my life was before they came dancing into it.”
“Speaking of which, have you run the idea of an erotic dance shoot in full gear past them yet?” Coby asked.
“Sure did,” I said. “We discussed it on the drive over. The only reason I didn’t mention it was because they want to go through the gear, work out some pairings, and design dances specifically for each set. As soon as they’ve got their routines ready, I’ll shoot you a text, and we can set it up.”
“Perfect,” he replied. “Let me know what gear they chose so I can go through my backdrops and pull some out to bring over.”
“Will do.”
“I’m glad they were excited about the idea,” Coby said as he finished loading his gear in his jeep. “I couldn’t get it out of my head after seeing them dance together on the runway. I can’t wait to see what they come up with.”
“You’re not the only one.”
It took no time at all to collapse the tent frame and fold up the fabric after my pets finished changing, then we waved goodbye to Coby and headed down the coast to a crab shack I knew and loved.
My seafood-loving pets had rapidly reawakened my love of shellfish, and there were snow crabs dancing through my mind as I pulled into the parking lot.
“Have you ever been here before?” I asked.
“No, sir,” Murry replied. “But it smells delicious.”
“That it does,” I said. “And just wait until you have the chance to taste everything. They bring the food to the table in buckets, with warm butter and options to mix and match your refills when you reach the bottom of the bucket.”
“Wait, they refill the buckets?” Raleigh said. “Like, with more seafood?”
“They call them never-ending seafood buckets,” I explained. “Basically, it’s all you can eat.”
“Umm, Daddy,” Murry said, tapping me on the shoulder. “Do you think it’s wise for us to do another all-you-can-eat night after last time?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say it was wise, but I’d like to think we are wiser and not as ravenous as we were last time after all the snacks we had today, so I’m confident that we can show restraint even when faced with steaming piles of snow crab legs. Or at least, I hope we can.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Raleigh said as he got out.
Okay, so in hindsight, maybe this wasn’t the best choice of restaurant tonight, given our last seafood experience and the way we’d lain on the couch like bloated slugs for the rest of the night, but we were here now, so in we went.
As it always was, the place was packed, but we were seated after just a small wait that my pets spent staring at all the fish in the aquarium in the entryway.
The joy on their faces as they pointed the different ones out to one another was more than worth the momentary pause to the evening.
“Do we have plans for tomorrow?” Murry asked once the waitress had taken our drink orders.
“I thought we’d head downtown to the street fair,” I said.
“From what I hear, they’ll have the place packed with vendors and food trucks as well as music and entertainment going on at different spots.
With the way everything has been work, work, work lately, I figured it would be nice to take a true day off that didn’t involve lounging around on the couch. ”
“Yes!” Raleigh cheered. “That’s what we were going to suggest.”
“I guess great minds think alike,” I replied.
“Yeah, they do,” Raleigh said, as he flipped his menu around for the second time.
“Having trouble choosing?” I asked.
“Nope, I’ve decided I want the crab legs,” he declared.
“Me too,” Murry replied.
“Then we’re all in agreement, again,” I said, putting in an order for three bottomless crab leg buckets, that also came with buttery ears of corn, which I knew my pets loved.
The best part about a crab leg feast was all the work you had to do to open them, which left plenty of room for conversation too and for the meal to stretch out, unlike our last indulgence.
“Can we be in agreement about going to the immersive art experience when we’re in Portland?” Raleigh asked. “I checked out the website, and the pictures showed all these glowing spaces and cool lights. I’d really like to see it in person.”
“I think we can be in agreement about that, don’t you, Murry?” I asked as he grumbled at a crab leg that wouldn’t break and give up the meat.
“That sounds cool. I’d love to see the Troll Bridge too and the Wishing Tree,” Murry grit out as he finally ripped the meat free of the shell. “Victory is mine!”
Chuckling, I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture of him waving it around triumphantly. “Thinking of hanging a wish from it?”