Chapter 56 Stuart
Stuart
Elliot is downstairs when I get down, dressed for work and sitting at the table with a bowl of granola in front of him.
He’s wearing a deep plum shirt and a tie with a tiny floral design.
It’s a pared-back look for him, but it shows smatterings of his usual flair.
His hair is smoothed down, making him look younger than usual.
His eyes glisten when he sees me, and he starts gnawing on a corner of his bottom lip.
On closer inspection, I note that he’s laid out two placemats, one for him and one for me. It’s been so long since I’ve felt the warm blend of pride and satisfaction it gives me that I almost don’t recognize the feeling.
He greets me with a slightly strident, “Morning!” and then looks away quickly.
He looks nervous and uncomfortable, and that’s the last thing I want for him, so I join him at the table without pouring myself a coffee.
If I’m being completely honest, I feel a little nervous too.
I’ve been around the block enough times to know a Daddy’s boy when I meet one, and believe me, Elliot is a Daddy’s boy in every sense of the word and then some.
Everything about him begs for what I have to offer, but still, I know what I’m going to say is unconventional and a little unusual, especially given who Elliot is to me. There’s no telling how he’ll react.
“Now that we’ve both had some rest,” I say, “I’d like to talk about what happened last night.”
“Sure.” He says it as though he’s agreeing with me, but the look on his face makes it seem like a question. The tendons in his neck are pulled tight, and when he puts a mouthful of granola into his mouth, he chews it for an abnormally long time.
“Would you like me to go first?” He nods rapidly.
He still looks incredibly nervous, but the tension around his eyes changes, not releasing all the way, but markedly.
“All right. First, I want to assure you that I don’t usually spank boys unless we’ve discussed it beforehand.
That’s not how it should have happened, and I apologize for that. ”
His eyes widen and he lets out a quick, shallow breath.
He looks more than nervous now. He looks scared.
Even though I’ve never claimed to be an angel, quite the opposite in fact, scaring boys isn’t something I ever want to do.
Scaring this boy, with his beautiful brown eyes and so many big emotions written all over his face, is unthinkable.
Before I have time to reassure or check in on him, he starts to talk. And when I say talk, I mean splutter.
“I-I…it, uh, it wasn’t…” He flushes deeply from his neck to his hairline and rests his mouth heavily on his knuckles.
I can tell he has something he wants to say, so I wait, giving him time and space to settle.
He fidgets and twists his hand, pinching his lips between his fingers and looking down at the table. “I-I asked for it.”
Something that’s been clenched in my chest since last night releases. I breathe in a flood of relief.
“You did ask for it.” I smile. “You asked for it in more ways than one. Still, tempers were running high, and I should have waited until this morning to discipline you to give you enough time to prepare. It won’t happen like that again.”
“B-b-but it will happen again, right?”
“Well, I think we can both agree that things between us haven’t been going very well up to now, and we’re going to have to change the way we deal with each other one way or another.
I think it might be a good idea for me to tell you a few things about myself so you have a better understanding of where I’m coming from. ”
Elliot shifts in his seat, straightening and looking at me in a way that lets me know that up until this moment, I haven’t come close to having Elliot Gould’s full attention.
“I’m a man who likes taking wayward men into my care and providing them with structure and security that makes it easier for them to make good choices and focus on things that are beneficial to them. In other words, I’m a Daddy.”
His fingers are still pulling at his lips and his eyes are open wide.
They’re still glistening, but now they’re coated with a soft sheen of hope instead of simply fear and nerves.
I pause to see if he has any questions, and when he’s silent, I continue, “I’m of the opinion that the type of men who benefit from this arrangement flourish when they have someone to take care of them and put clear rules and boundaries in place for them. ”
Given what I’ve come to learn about Elliot in the short time I’ve known him, I know there’s less than no chance he won’t find himself on the wrong side of my rules with some regularity.
I want him to be fully informed when he considers what I’m proposing.
“I also believe that when rules and boundaries aren’t adhered to, physical correction is the best way to improve behavior. ”
That’s true, by the way. I believe it right down to my bones. It’s a hill I’ll die on.
At the mention of the word correction, Elliot blinks hard and goes so pink I get up and get him a glass of ice water.
He takes it from me and gratefully takes two long sips before setting it down, steadying himself with a slow exhale.
I take my seat again. He starts picking at the corner of his placemat, and I realize I’m going to have to spell out what I’m proposing even more clearly to avoid any confusion.
“What I’m suggesting is that I offer you a set of clear rules and boundaries and help you adhere to them, in the hope it helps you get your life and finances in order.”
“So you’re saying we’d like, do the Daddy thing, or whatever.”
“Elliot,” I say softly, “being a Daddy isn’t something I do. It’s something I am. It’s an intrinsic part of my personality, and even if I wanted to change, I couldn’t.”
That’s true too, by the way.
I have a deep-seated need to be a Daddy. It’s not just a spanking kink or the fact I’m a Daddy Dom sexually. It’s that I don’t know how else to be. I don’t have other options. This is who I am.
A Daddy.
A disciplinarian.
A safe place for my boy.
“And I’d have to call you Daddy?”
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. Everything that happens will be agreed on between us.”
“But you like it. You like being called Daddy, right?”
“Yes, I like it.” That’s understating it slightly.
I don’t like it. I love it. It does something for me that’s hard to describe.
It feels like a validation of everything I am and want to be.
It makes me feel seen. Because of all that, it only works for me when it comes from someone who means it and gives it freely.
“But it’s like what you were saying the other day. It’s a title that has to be earned.”
He’s quiet and deep in thought for a while. “So does that mean you’re going to…Um, does that mean you’re going to fuck me?”
What?
“Goodness, no! That would be very inappropriate.” Jesus.
Is that what he thinks I’m proposing? “It’s a good question, though, so thank you for asking.
It’s important that you feel comfortable asking me absolutely anything, and it will be good for us to have a lot of clarity on all matters, but this in particular. ”
“So, wait…Daddies don’t fuck their boys?”
“Daddy/boy relationships are often sexual, but they don’t have to be.”
“And in this case, it wouldn’t be?”
“No.”
“Because of my dad?”
“Yes, of course. You being Jeff’s son makes that kind of relationship out of the question. Absolutely out of the question. And so does the age difference between us. Obviously.”
Poor boy, no wonder he looks scared. He probably thinks I’m some pervy old asshole who’s angling to bend him over, spank him, and force my dick up his ass. What a thought.
To set him completely at ease, I go one step further. “Even if both those things weren’t factors, you’d still have nothing to worry about. I went through a bad breakup a while ago, and I’m working through that. I can assure you I’m not in the right place to be sexual with anyone right now.”
“I see.” He must be very relieved because his shoulders relax and he cracks a wobbly smile.
I’m mindful that he needs to get going to work. I need to head out too, but I’m reluctant to go until I’m sure he’s coping with the various bombs I just dropped on him.
“Is this something you’re interested in exploring? If it isn’t, it doesn’t change anything. You’re welcome to live here for as long as you need to. We’ll find another way to make it work.”
His hand flies up to his face again, faltering and then traveling to cover his eyes. He sits there, looking smaller and smaller, hiding his face behind his hand.
Huh?
Oh shit. Have I broken him?
“Elliot, are you okay?”
He makes a strange, dry sound and steadies himself. “I…” His voice is less than a soft breath.
“You can take all the time you’d like to think about it. There’s no rush. We can pick this up after work if you’d like to.”
“No! I want to say this…I do. B-but I’m so fucking embarrassed. I don’t think I can say it if I’m looking at you.”
I wouldn’t have thought I’d find something like this adorable, given how important honest, open communication is to me, but to my surprise, I find the sight of him hiding his face behind his hand breath-hitching, heart-stopping, and utterly adorable. “Okay. I’m listening.”
“I am interested.” He makes the dry sound again. Longer and louder this time. “No. That’s not…I’m not just interested, Stuart. I need this. I do. I need a Daddy rela…uh, a Daddy, whatever you’d call this.”
He drops his hand slightly and an enormous pair of brown eyes peer out from behind it. I meet his gaze and hold it.
“How ‘bout we call it a Daddy arrangement.”