3. Xander
Chapter 3
Xander
‘Keep… fucking… lifting …’ I grunt, doing everything I can to get the dumbbells up and steady over my head.
‘You’ve got this, X!’ Lane shouts, his words of encouragement pushing me on and helping me slowly but surely nail the eighth and final rep in the set. ‘Hell yeah! The Blue Collar Boys do it again.’
I let the heavy dumbbells drop down to the well-padded floor of Lane’s back yard gym. Nearly fifty minutes into our workout, and I’m feeling the heat – in more ways than one.
Not only are my muscles fully pumped and feeling each and every rep at this point, but the sun is beating down on both mine and Lane’s bare upper bodies.
We look good, but an awful lot of hard work goes into it too.
I’m a big guy, and I like to eat. Between my job working construction and the weightlifting, I’m doing more than enough heavy lifting to keep myself looking good.
I just wish more Daddies out there were looking for a Little like me.
I might be all big and strong, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want all the things that every other boy in town does too.
Whatever. I can’t think too hard on anything right now. I’ve got seriously heavy weight to lift.
I love working out almost as much as I love making out, but this workout is pushing me to me absolute limits.
‘What’s up, can’t handle the weight?’ Lane laughs, playfully jabbing me in my sweaty abs. ‘Or is your mind and body only able to focus on a certain soccer player perhaps?’
‘Cut it out,’ I say, reaching for my large glass water bottle. ‘I’m thinking about one thing and one thing only… how many pounds heavier than you I can deadlift!’
I shoot a look across to the barbell over by the picket fence.
Lane knows I’m a better deadlifter than him, so I hope my comment puts him somewhat in his place.
I should know Lane better than that though…
‘Yeah, you’re better at the deadlift than me,’ Lane says, gulping down water between his words as he psyches himself up for a fresh dumbbell rep. ‘But you were thinking about Reece Bellham. I know you too well, and I know the kind of Daddy you want too.’
‘He’s hot, I’ll admit that,’ I say, trying not to smile as the words spill out of my mouth. ‘But… he lives such a different life to me. And I don’t know for sure that he’s even a Daddy. And…’
My words trail off and I can’t help but think of my horrible old ex-Daddy again. Fraser Dane seemed like a great guy at first. He was older than me, in his early forties, and had a ton of life experience and witty stories to tell.
But Fraser had a problem.
Despite being a Daddy, Fraser gradually seemed to find it harder and harder to deal with the fact that I was bigger than him. Like, bigger in every sense of the word.
What started out as a bit of insecurity on Fraser’s part here and there turned into something progressively more and more unpleasant. If the constant negging comments weren’t enough to ruin an evening or date, it got to the point where I was even beginning to doubt my own identity as a Little.
I know it’s crazy and I shouldn’t even give Fraser the real estate in my mind, but his words still pop into my head and haunt me at the worst times…
You’re not a real boy, Xander.
You’re too big. Too macho.
You’re too… you.
‘Hey, please tell me you ain’t thinking about that sonofabitch ex are you?’ Lane says, clearly noticing that my mind has been transported somewhere else momentarily.
‘Who? That guy? No, not me,’ I say, trying to sound as convincing as I possibly can but not sure how well I’m pulling it off. ‘Fraser is a distant memory. Actually, what was his name again? I think it might have been Fraser. Or it could have been Freddie. Or maybe… what’s another name that begins with an F ?’
The two of us laugh and get back to the workout.
‘Hey, I’m going to meet Reece Bellham later,’ I say, before quickly dipping my head in big bucket of cold water to at least temporarily cool myself down. ‘And no, it’s not like that . I was doing some calculations on the construction time and figured some ways to speed it up. You know, so that we can actually finish on time?’
‘Sounds… good… bro…’ Lane grunts, every sinew in his hulking biceps bulging as he struggles to complete the final rep of his set. ‘A little help?’
‘I thought you’d never ask,’ I laugh, stepping over to Lane and giving him just a tiny little bit of assistance so he can complete the rep. ‘You’ve got this, king. Keep working. It’s all you, bro. It’s all you.’
Lane finishes the final rep and allows the huge dumbbells to crash onto the cushioned mat beneath.
‘God Damn, I didn’t think that was going up.’ Lane says, wiping the sweat from his brow and grimacing.
‘But you got it up in the end,’ I say, struggling not to laugh as the innuendos come thick and fast.
‘ Pffft . That’s what he said,’ Lane giggles, the pair of us suddenly laughing and joking like teenagers talking about our high school crushes.
I love hanging out with Lane.
We’re two of the founding members of the Blue Collar Boys and our history does in fact go all the way back to high school. We were both starters on the football team and wrestled a lot too.
Except of course we weren’t like the other jocks.
And in one very specific way we were very different to the other guys on the team.
Even though our journeys to becoming our true Little identities were a bit different, Lane and I have always been close friends. Like, super-tight. Nothing comes between us and I just know that we’ll be rooting for one another when the right Daddy comes along.
Lane was great when I broke up with Fraser too.
Lane didn’t once judge me or try to make me get over it too quickly. All Lane did was provide a shoulder to cry on. Oh, and beer – lots and lots of ice cold beer!
Lane and I keep the banter rolling as we finish off the workout.
If I thought I was going to be safe from more innuendo and teasing about my potential crush on Reece Bellham then I was very much mistaken!
As I’m in a deep squat with a heavily weighted barbell on my shoulders, my mind flashes back to my bath time fun as I fantasized about Reece – bad idea!
‘A little help,’ I say, suddenly realizing that I lost my focus at the worst possible time.
‘I’ve got you,’ Lane says, returning the favor from earlier. ‘Come on, push through that big, strong ass of yours. That’s it. Keep going. Hell yeah!’
‘Thank you, bro,’ I say, relieved to re-rack the insanely heavy barbell. ‘I guess we’re even?’
‘Always,’ Lane replied, smiling and putting his arm around my shoulder. ‘And now I think it’s shower time.’
‘Yup,’ I reply. ‘I wouldn’t want to show up all stinky and sweaty for Reece…’
I wink mischievously at Lane and the pair of us walk back inside his place ready for a shower.
My mind is on Reece, but it’s not quite as one-sided as you might imagine.
As hot as Reece is, my main priority is making sure that I make the adjustments to his construction schedule. Because if there’s one thing I’m not willing to risk – not now, and not ever – it’s the reputation of my crew, the one and only Blue Collar Boys.
A quick shower, some post-workout protein shake, and a chilled out drive later and I’m at the construction site.
I’ll be honest, my mind was bubbling with possibilities as I made the drive across town. On the one hand, I was totally imagining what me and Reece Bellham could get up to together.
With his athletic body, model-handsome face, and reputation for being a demanding former sports star he does seem like a dream Daddy on so many levels.
But…
As hot as it would be to hook up with Reece, I’m committed to the fact that I want to keep this whole situation professional. We’ve all put in a crazy number of hours to build up the reputation of the Blue Collar Boys, and the last thing I want to do is put that in jeopardy by hooking up with a client – no matter how sexy he is.
‘Okay keep it cool, keep it professional,’ I say as I pull up to the site in my truck.
With the engine still rumbling as I park at the gravelly entrance, my eyes are drawn over toward the opposite side of the site…
‘Who’s the other guy… are they… shouting?’ I say, my heartrate quickly jumping up a few notches and my instincts telling me that I need to get over there ASAP.
My cardio ain’t what it used to be though, that’s for sure.
I’m a big guy who lifts a lot of weight, so running ain’t exactly a strength of mine – but when I arrive, I can see that Reece Bellham and the other guy are definitely not friends.
‘Hey, everything okay Mr. Bellham?’ I say, a little out of breath but my eyes fixed on the snake-like dude with the big camera who Reece seems to have an issue with.
‘This asshole was just leaving, isn’t that right?’ Reece says, his immaculately cut hair and angular jawline looking even better in real life than it does online.
‘Yeah, I was. Just a little misunderstanding,’ the man replies. ‘But remember, Reece… if you ever have a story you want to break… call me. Just Google Tony Ripper, there’ll be plenty of ways to get in touch.’
‘Don’t hold your breath, paparazzo,’ Reece replies, the anger in his eyes reflected by the fact that every muscle in his body seems to be clenched and ready to explode in fury. ‘Now get the hell off my property.’
I don’t know Reece, but I can tell that he doesn’t like this Tony Ripper dude even in the slightest.
‘You heard the man,’ I say, adding my considerable heft into the conversation and drawing a scowl from this so-called Tony Ripper.
‘Thanks,’ Reece says. ‘I’ve got no idea how he found out I own this land. But, whatever. Screw him, right? You must be Xander.’
‘Yeah, that’s me,’ I reply, my heart fluttering as Reece holds out his hand for me to shake.
The second I place my large hand inside Reece’s and feel his firm, confident handshake, something happens. It’s like a surge of electricity passes between us and our eyes make a brief yet powerful connection.
Reece looks impeccable too.
I’m in my rough and ready work wear of white t-shirt and classic Levi’s jeans with black work boots. Reece on the other hand is wearing a smartly fitted open collar shirt with immaculate slim-fit chinos that show off his muscular, lean legs.
I need to summon up as much focus as I can to stop myself from drooling – and that’s not even the slightest bit of an exaggeration either!
But at the same time, I don’t want to come over as anything less than professional and friendly. I need to get my head in the game and make sure that Reece doesn’t think he’s dealing with a total dork.
‘I’ve got some numbers to run by you,’ I say, trying to go into full-on professional mode.
‘Perhaps we could discuss those over a little morning drink?’ Reece replies, a confidence in his voice that I can’t help but feel super-attracted to.
‘ Umm , yeah, sure,’ I reply.
‘I know a quiet little spot that does the best coffee, and a juice too,’ Reece continues, a glint in his eye. ‘Oh, and it comes with a guarantee of zero paparazzi too.’
‘Sure, sounds good,’ I say, wondering where Reece is referring to.
‘It’s called Morning Milk … heard of it?’ Reece says, arching his eyebrow and struggling to contain a smile.
‘Yeah, I’ve heard of it,’ I say, my heart skipping a beat and a surge of adrenalin coming over me. ‘I’ve definitely heard of it.’
‘Good, so you’ll come then?’ Reece says, his voice firm but with plenty of flirtatiousness in it too as he stands before me.
‘Yeah, of course,’ I say, a slight quiver in my voice and my mind running through a thousand different options and permutations.
I don’t quite know what’s happening here.
Is this proof that Reece truly is a Daddy?
And is he taking me to Morning Milk for a business meeting… or a playdate?
I guess I’m about to find out. Even though I know it could be all in my head, and Reece could have his pick of any Little in the whole world, I have a feeling that Reece wants to make me his boy…