Chapter Six
James
The cape around his neck was heavy on his shoulders. A reminder that it was there. Staring down at the special candle he’d picked up from the local grocery store, James hoped he wasn’t making a big mistake.
James had gone to the store first thing that morning to fulfill his plan.
This was either going to be brilliant or the biggest mistake of his life.
After spending the night playing with his new action figure, James slept better than he could ever remember. Even though he was worried about where he stood with Jacob, there was something about losing himself in playtime that relaxed him.
He still didn’t think he was a little. Not that he was an expert.
The last week when Michael, Jackson, and Finn had been visiting was the most exposure he’d had to Michael’s little side.
His older brother had really embraced his regression in the year and a half that James and Scott had been in Surf City.
Michael spoke about his little friend group all the time.
James couldn’t imagine sitting around playing with toys with his friends.
Well, Maybe Josh. But Josh wasn’t a little either.
Did Daddies play with toys? He’d seen Finn play with Michael.
Although it was usually Jackson crawling around on the floor with Michael.
Except when Michael was working on one of his puzzles.
Michael had refused to even open the box to the puzzle that James and Scott had bought him for Christmas until Jackson was on the other side of the room.
Maybe Michael needed to stop comparing his brother’s relationship with his partners. They had to be unique.
Josh might be better to ask. Josh had already proven that he would sit and talk to James about his new interests. As good friends that he and Josh were, James hadn’t had a clue that Josh identified as a Daddy. Josh was so different from Michael’s Daddy, Finn.
If there were Daddies so different than each other, it had to mean the same for littles, right?
Not that James was a little. Toys were cool though.
He’d never grown out of liking to put Legos together.
When he found out Michael as a little had the newest Lego set, he’d been so jealous.
And turning on cartoons after a rough day did make him laugh and smile.
So not a little but not an adult either.
It was all so confusing.
James had questions. Of course he did. He knew he could reach out to Michael or even Finn. That was just beyond embarrassing. Josh might be a good source to bounce his thoughts off. But one person kept coming to mind.
He’d put the candle on top of the cake that he finished the night before.
There was no way that he was going to let all his hard work go to waste.
Okay, his and Jacob’s hard work. And the cake was good.
James had cut the cake in half since the whole thing was too much for one person.
He was using logic here to be greedy. Not that he thought Jacob would mind.
Jacob might not even want any cake. Not after James had been such an asshole.
But he was going to put that candle on top of the cake and leave it for Jacob. A peace offering that he hoped the professor would understand.
Did he feel silly? Absolutely. James was doing this though. He opened the small package and pulled out the candle of Superman. Cape and all. James placed the candle in the middle of Jacob’s half of the cake and nodded.
Had James ever had a themed cake like that? He couldn’t remember. There had always been cake and presents on his and Scott’s birthday. Michael had made sure of that. Even if it had just been something silly from the dollar store, Michael made sure that his and Scott’s births were celebrated.
Even though Michael had been eighteen when he’d technically gotten custody of them, he’d always been the parent. Unlike the actually parents who’d spent more time drinking than looking after their children.
When he’d been a child, James hadn’t understood what was happening. He’d known they were different than other families. Michael had shielded them so well that even though James now knew they were neglected, he didn’t feel any certain way about it.
Michael had suffered. James had seen the way that Michael would hunch into himself when their parents drank. Heard Michael’s nightmares after their deaths. His brave, loving, and self-sacrificing older brother deserved the happiness that he’d found with his two partners.
They might not have had fancy cakes with superheroes or decorations but they always had one another.
James didn’t feel like he missed out on much. He just couldn’t help but wonder if maybe the reason Michael regressed, James’s inability to relax, or Scott’s drive to be the best at everything didn’t stem from some sort of trauma that he wasn’t even aware of.
He wrapped up the cake before removing his cape. He stuffed both the cape and his new action figure into his backpack then slipped it over his arm.
With everything he needed for the night, James exited the apartment. There was no noise coming from the main house. James hadn’t seen or heard Jacob all day. Not even when he’d made the quick trip to the store.
Setting the plate with the wrapped cake on the back step, James backed away. He hoped that Jacob understood the offering James was leaving. He headed to his bike to get to the fire station on time.
The ride to the station was easy with low traffic.
He parked next to Josh’s jeep, wondering if it was fate that they would be working together.
Josh was both a part-time firefighter and the head of the water rescue team.
Once the weather warmed up a bit, Josh would be spending most of his time on the rescue boat out in the ocean.
Josh was spending more time at the fire station during the winter but soon it would be uncommon to be on shifts together.
A lot of the guys worked in two positions with multiple certifications.
James was happy as a firefighter, like his mentor and friend Cal, but since their station was small, many of the men utilized that as getting more qualifications.
Stepping into the bay where the large engine truck was being washed, James spotted a new face.
He tightened his grip on the strap of his backpack as the guy turned.
Shocking blue eyes met his. James had gotten used to being surrounded by attractive men and women.
Hell, with the coffee shop across from the beach, their patrons rarely wore more than their swimsuits in the hot summer.
This guy, whoever this stranger was, he was fucking hot.
“Hey, man!” Josh poked his head around the engine truck. “Come meet our newest crew member.”
Fuck! By the smirk on the stranger’s face, he knew James had been checking him out. Not that James was interested in dating a co-worker. That was a recipe for disaster.
Shuffling forward as he adjusted the strap on his shoulder again, James kept his gaze on Josh and not the new guy.
“James, this is Brad Addison, part-time firefighter and part-time paramedic,” Josh introduced.
Great, another overachiever with more than one certification. James dipped his head in greeting before looking back up.
“Welcome to the crew,” James said.
Brad offered his hand. “Thanks. Josh is filling me in on you all. He speaks highly of you and how hard you’ve been working.”
James shook hands with the gorgeous stranger even as his face heated. “Yeah. I’m…yeah. Welcome.”
Brad gave his hand one more squeeze before releasing him.
James had to blow out a long breath. It wasn’t attraction that he was feeling. If they’d brought Brad in, did that mean they weren’t looking to keep him full-time? James cut his eyes toward Josh.
Josh’s smile fell.
“I asked to transfer here from LA to work on my third certification,” Brad told him.
James returned his attention to the new guy.
“I’m wanting to add water rescue to my résumé. Josh’s program is one of the best in the country. I’ll fill in as a firefighter when needed but mostly I’ll run the ambulance with you all,” Brad explained. “Not after your job, man. I just want to be a part of it.”
“Thanks.” James smiled. “I have six months of probation left but I want to stay here.”
Josh tossed him one of the blue rags they used to dry the vehicles. “We got your back, man. Neither Brad or I are looking to take your spot. Now help us finish this beast. Cal is upstairs cooking dinner.”
Since he didn’t get to work the forty-eight-hour shifts yet, James was used to coming in and having to get straight into work.
Being a first responder meant that they had a lot of downtime until they were called out.
Some shifts were easy and they just hung out.
Some were like New Year’s Eve where nothing seemed to go right and they’d worked call after call.
Dropping his backpack, James started wiping down the big red truck. Both Josh and Brad went back to what they’d been doing before James had arrived. James made sure there were no streaks or smudges and the truck gleamed. He took pride in the job.
It didn’t take long until he began to sweat. James removed his leather jacket and placed it on top of his backpack. Turning back toward the engine, James stopped as Josh stepped in front of him.
“Are you okay, man?” Josh asked.
“Yeah.” James made sure his reply sounded like a question. Why was Josh asking? Was this because of his meltdown on New Year’s Eve. He hadn’t seen Josh since that shift. James didn’t want anyone to see him as weak.
“I didn’t think about how you might take Brad’s arrival,” Josh explained. “Sorry. I should have warned you. I just really wanted to see your face when you caught sight of him.”
James bumped Josh’s shoulder. “Asshole.”
Josh laughed. “I know. But he is hot. I just about swallowed my tongue when I first met him.”
That made James feel better. “How is he so damn hot?”