9. Chapter Eight
Chapter Eight
Kenzie
“ A re you shitting me right now?”
Kenzie added another spoonful of sugar to her morning coffee as she listened to River react to her news. She tended to make her coffee more like syrup. Liking the jolt the caffeine sent to her system but not really being a fan of the flavor, she masked it with a lot of flavored creamers and a ridiculous amount of sugar.
“Nope, I’m serious.” Kenzie didn’t see much point in more of an answer, she’d just spent the whole twenty minutes it’d taken to drink her first cup of coffee explaining the situation.
“You lucky bitch.”
Kenzie had to laugh at that, as it hadn’t been the response she’d expected from River, but then again, they never failed to surprise her. The tone of playful jealousy was also unusual for her friend and Kenzie found herself wondering how much of their jealousy was playful and how much was a real desire for this type of dynamic. River had never said what they were dreaming of finding, and Kenzie found herself suddenly curious to know. She wanted her friend to have the chances Kenzie found herself getting now.
Kenzie’s laughter stopped as quickly as it had begun, her thoughts turning to the risks taking this chance was presenting to her heart and the reality of her concerns settling in. “You don’t think I’m making a mistake?”
“Kenzie, sweetie, you’ve spent a full year and a half grieving the loss of one man and continuing to love him, and you said yourself that your attraction to the other was instantaneous and intense. I think you’d be making a mistake to turn this chance down.” River’s words were tinged with comfort and support.
“But—”
“No buts. I can understand where you’d be scared, but you can’t let fear keep you from living the life of your dreams. Giving in to fear leads to regrets and sad, lonely golden years. Don’t let that happen to you, sweets. Take the chance and run with it.” River gave that a second to settle before adding, “besides, if the worst happens, I’ll always be here, babes. I’ll help you pick up the pieces.”
Kenzie contemplated River’s words as she sipped her still-too-hot coffee. “Ouch, ow, owie!”
“You burned your tongue again?” River knew Kenzie too well. Her impatience often caused Kenzie to do things that she knew wouldn’t result in good outcomes. Case in point, being too impatient for more caffeine and burning her tongue. Was her impatience for happiness going to lead to her heart getting shattered? Would River end up having to glue the pieces together?
“Mmm.” Kenzie’s mumble might not have been decipherable to anyone else, but River knew Kenzie in a way most didn’t. And with the direction her thoughts had gone, Kenzie wasn’t capable of a better response.
“When are you finally going to learn to blow?” Now River had opened a door they knew Kenzie wouldn’t be able to resist walking through, successfully lifting her mood.
“I know how to blow just fine; ask any guy I’ve dated.” She laughed at her own humor while River grumbled good naturedly about her corny joke.
Sebastian
“ H ow’s the Pierson claim going?”
Sebastian brought himself back to the meeting he was attending. He’d spent too much time daydreaming since Friday. They hadn’t visited Kenzie again over the weekend, not wanting to overwhelm her. Both he and Beau had restricted themselves to texts and Sebastian had indulged in one phone call, getting to know his girl better.
Their girl.
“Sebastian?”
Shit, he’d done it again. He really needed to get his head in the game.
“The fire inspectors suspect arson but have yet to determine if it was an outside party. I’m still waiting on the final report.”
“Keep me in the loop on that. I have a bad feeling about this one.”
“I will.” Sebastian had that same bad feeling. The Pierson claim stank of fraud. Sebastian was almost positive they’d set the fire themselves for the insurance money.
Tracy gathered her papers and bounced them on the table, straightening the stack as she started to rise. “Alright, if there’s nothing else, the meeting is adjourned.”
When no one at the table spoke up with any other concerns, each person at the table gathered their things and headed out of the room. Sebastian took his time, not wanting to get caught up in the stampede of people heading to their respective desks.
“Are you okay?”
The question came from Jorge, a work colleague and friend. When Sebastian had first transferred to the New York office a year ago, Jorge was the first person to befriend him and make him feel welcome. Jorge had also been the one to convince Sebastian that he needed to balance his focus on his career with a social life. That had led to Sebastian finding Little Hearts Club six months ago, which had led to meeting Beau and now Kenzie.
“Smashing.” His reply was a bit absent-minded, and not very convincing, but his thoughts were already on escaping the office and finally taking his Littles to the club for the first time when both were his.
“Sure. That’s why multiple people had to work to get your attention this morning. What’s going on, man?”
Jorge might be a decent bloke that Sebastian considered a friend, but he wasn’t ready to share what was on his mind with Jorge yet, so he shrugged and simply said, “Personal stuff, but it’s not a big deal.”
Thankfully, Jorge seemed to accept his excuse. Once Sebastian got back to his office, the day passed faster than he’d expected. Probably because he’d spent most of the day doing more plotting and planning for the evening ahead than actually investigating insurance claims.
When five o’clock finally rolled around, Sebastian was out the door in a flash. He was ready for tonight.
Beau
H e felt like a teenage girl on her first date. Standing at his closet, he contemplated what to wear. There were outfits strewn across the bed, discarded as not good enough, and more piled on the dresser to be considered and yet, Beau stood in the closet contemplating whole new outfits like his life was dependent on what he wore.
He wanted so badly to wear some torn jeans and a gaming shirt but that was his usual Middle attire, and he wasn’t sure if he should indulge in that side of himself on the first night being Kenzie’s Daddy again. Maybe he should wear one of his Bigger outfits. Something that said, “I’ll take charge.”
Presenting the undeniable image that he could be what she needed was important to him, but Beau also wanted Kenzie to see the side of him she hadn’t really had the chance to see.
“You’ve been standing there for an hour, love.” Daddy’s voice startled Beau, and he jumped. “Sorry to scare you, I thought you’d have heard me coming in. Do you need help, pet?”
Beau thought about it for a minute before answering, “Yes, please.”
Sebastian came to him and took Beau’s face in both his hands, placing a light kiss on his forehead. “Don’t overthink it, love. For this to work, she needs to see both of our authentic selves.”
After placing another gentle kiss on Beau’s forehead, Daddy turned toward the closet, pulling out Beau’s favorite torn jeans and shirt. The jeans were black, and the shirt was green, featuring Link from Legend of Zelda with a sword drawn and the words, Call me Zelda one more time! It was a favorite of Beau’s since Legend of Zelda was his comfort game.
“You’re allowed to be your younger self with her. It doesn’t make you less of her Daddy to play with her and be fun. Anyone can see she desperately needs that part of you as well. Having me to keep watch, as you both immerse yourselves in who you are, means you get to have that as well. Lord knows I’m strict enough to make up for you being the ‘fun’ Daddy.” Daddy placed the clothes in his hands and cupped his cheeks as he did when he wanted Beau’s complete attention. “She needs to learn what it’s like to be with us both . And she really needs to meet the side of you she hasn’t had the chance to get to know.”
Beau had no idea how Sebastian always knew just what to say, but he was grateful for the boost of confidence and as he dressed, he considered his Daddy’s words. Sebastian was right that Kenzie needed more fun and that was something he could provide as her Daddy because his being a Middle made him the perfect Daddy for that.
Daddy was also correct in the fact that Kenzie needed to meet Beau’s Middle. It was time to show her every part of him.