Chapter 9
Levi
“No one needs that much customer service at a buffet. That guy was eavesdropping.” Teddy didn’t really care about how helpful our waiter was, but he was pissed that we had to stop our conversation so many times it’d gotten completely derailed.
Teddy didn’t like half-finished conversations.
The fact that he was pacing around the house and looked kind of like me when I was pissed said it might be more than that, though.
By his second round of circling the house and grumbling about nosy assholes, I decided we needed a change in tactics because he was not going to calm down on his own.
I was really grateful we had privacy at his house at the very least.
Throw pillow in place.
Dom expression in place.
Good behavior in place…because part of me really wanted to fuck with him and see how crazy I could make him.
“Come here.”
The barked-out order had him going very still in the kitchen but not nearly as quiet as he seemed to think. “Pissed-off Dom? Frustrated Daddy? Bored restaurant friend who doesn’t tell me what he wants?”
He was definitely the pain in the ass at the moment.
“Dom who’s tired of seeing his boy lose his mind.” So a mix of all of the above and none of the above. “And if you don’t stop grumbling and start walking, you’re going to be a boy who spends time in the corner.”
Yeah, we needed more limits conversations so I knew what kind of punishments I could give him.
“He doesn’t get angry when I soup him, but talk to myself a little and he goes bananas.” For whatever reason, Teddy didn’t seem to think that counted as grumbling or he thought testing me was a good idea.
It wasn’t.
So when he finally took a baby step into the living room, I pointed to the corner. “That was grumbling and talking back, and you are literally inching forward with each step.”
Just to push my fucking buttons.
“Corner time.”
I waited for a color or even reasonable pushback, but he simply glared at me for a few seconds before stomping over to the corner.
So he was patient right up until drama took over and he became a gremlin?
Was this a side effect of too many vegetables at lunch?
Either way, he needed a chance to see I wasn’t going to watch him completely unravel, so I sat down on the couch and watched the time on my phone until two minutes had passed.
He must’ve heard me shift or put the phone down on the side table because he let out a deep breath and most of the tension came out of his body. “Sorry.”
Hmm.
“Is that how you need to apologize?” Start as you mean to begin was advice I’d always liked but I certainly hadn’t applied it to my own life…and I was going to fix it right then. “Try again.”
That got me another long sigh but he went back to standing straighter and seemed less insane. “I’m sorry for…for stomping around the house and not communicating helpfully, Daddy.”
“Much better.” Shifting the pillow so it was between my legs, I sat back on the couch to make sure he had plenty of room. “Come here, please.”
Ignoring the shiver that raced through him seemed like the politest way to handle the situation, but I couldn’t ignore the needy, hopeful expression he was wearing as he quickly turned around. “That’s my good boy.”
Oh, he liked that.
“Come kneel for me.” That had his body reacting again but he didn’t seem to notice as he slowly walked over, eyes glued to the cushion.
He was technically obeying even if he seemed like he wasn’t fully processing what he was doing, so I was patient as he came over and took his time kneeling down. When he was in place and looking up at me, his brain seemed to turn back on again. “Sorry, Daddy.”
Every action and grumble made it clear he wanted more from me, so I didn’t worry as I reached out and ran my hand over his head. “You don’t have to apologize for being frustrated or mad or anything else, but when that happens, we fix it. Just wallowing in it isn’t helpful…trust me…I know.”
I’d done it a lot over the past few months.
That had him cracking a smile. “I was practicing being a Daddy?”
“Good try.” That wasn’t his natural default state, though. “But let’s get some of this fixed.”
He looked slightly skeptical about that, but the nosy waiter at lunch had given me a lot more time to process what Chipmunk had been saying.
“I was honest, albeit fucking with you slightly, when I said that I wanted to pick the serious option with other stuff included.” He didn’t seem to have been expecting that answer because he went still and blinked at me.
With other guys I’d have worried, but not with Teddy.
My Chipmunk didn’t hide what he was thinking, even when he was surprised. “You want to be my Daddy and do stuff?”
Oops.
My Chipmunk really liked to pop out at the most interesting times…like when he was stressed.
Changing the words around in my head, I smiled as he wiggled closer and his expression shifted to an adorable mix of curiosity and cuteness. “Yes, I want to be your Daddy and to do relationship stuff with you.”
“A real Daddy or a just visiting one?” My expression must’ve clued him in that I didn’t know what he meant because he kept going without a verbal prompting. “My online friend has a part-time Daddy that just comes over so he can play. He’s not an everyday all-the-time Daddy.”
Oh.
“A real one.” I would not be a good part-time Daddy. “I would get…frustrated if we just did Daddy and little stuff once in a while and you dated other people.”
I knew my expression showed how I felt about that when he giggled. “You’d be cranky.”
“Oh yeah.” That would be an understatement. “So real Daddy who sees you on a regular basis and takes control when it’s necessary.”
I thought I was being polite but he giggled again and crashed his face into my leg. “You have lots of necessary, Daddy.”
Maybe.
But to play along, I huffed and shook my head. “Just when it comes to food and playing and bedtimes and organizing our day.”
That got more happy sounds from him, but he finally rolled his head to the side and peered up at me again. “Do real Daddies make bathtime necessary?”
Would I control bathtime?
“I will take any and all control you will give me, so think about that carefully.” His snicker was a mix of silly and wicked, so I knew he was processing what I was saying at the very least. “But yes, I think helping with bathtime and doing things like changing your clothes is perfectly reasonable stuff for Daddy to be in charge of.”
Nodding against me, Chipmunk wiggled again and somehow ended up tucked completely between my legs. “You said no last night.”
He was never going to forget that.
“Because I needed to make sure you knew what you were asking for and that I knew your limits.” Going back to petting his head, I approached the subject from a different way. “I wanted to give you a bubble bath and get you in your jammies, but I didn’t want to do something that might upset you.”
Just because he wanted it didn’t mean there wasn’t some unexpected trigger I needed to be careful of.
I’d already been a big enough ass without accidentally giving him a panic attack.
“Aww.” Chipmunk didn’t seem to see it that way. “But I wanted a bath and cuddles.”
His words were technically innocent but they didn’t really sound innocent.
“That’s why we’re going to talk and figure out if there’s anything scary or that you don’t want to do.” I wasn’t sure I liked the devious way he was studying my face. “Once I know what makes you happy and what makes you scared, I’ll be able to be a better Daddy.”
He sat up just enough to press himself against me and the couch so his head was resting on my stomach…low on my stomach. “A better Daddy does bubble bathtime and puts on his boy’s jammies.”
Chipmunk clearly needed some hands-on time with Daddy to feel important.
Pushing back questions about how much he’d dated lately, I nodded. “Yes, if that’s what the boy likes, that’s what the Daddy would do.”
Hearing my agreement laid out clearly seemed to let his brain shift gears again. “What else does a good Daddy do? What does a good boy do?”
Was he asking what was important to me?
“A good boy asks for what he wants because his Daddy can’t read minds.” Even if we weren’t strangers to each other. “He also…gives kisses and hugs?”
That got a giggle out of him as he got permission to wiggle closer. I got a smacky kiss on the cheek and somehow his hands ended up resting high enough on my thighs that his fingers were on my dick.
Good fucking god.
How was I supposed to be a good Daddy with temptation literally on my lap?
“Does a good Daddy help get toys out and have playtime?” His eager nod made me chuckle, but he wasn’t ready to move yet.
“Good Daddies give cuddles and hugs and kisses and pats.” His giggle said he thought he was being devious.
The only choice was to play along so I cocked my head. “Where does he pat?”
Yep.
His wicked grin was accompanied by an adorably naughty giggle. “Daddies give head pats and butt pats and back pats. They just pat.”
Butt pats, huh?
Taking the not-so-subtle clue, I frowned again and patted randomly over him, starting with his head and eventually giving his bottom a pat before working my way up again. “Like that?”
Playing dumb had more giggles spilling out of him but he nodded. “Yes, pats.”
Cuddles seemed necessary too, so with his current headspace, I opened my arms. “Come here. Sit with me.”
“Yay.” He scrambled up, planting his upper body on my lap and curling his lower body around me as much as he could. “That’s better. Good boy, Daddy.”
My scoff and glare got another round of giggles out of him. “Good Daddy.”
He thought that was hilarious, but his wiggles resumed my torture, just in a fun new way. “Good Daddy.”
Repeating it between rounds of laughter, he got it out a few more times before he settled back on my lap. He looked content and much more relaxed as he reached up and started petting my chest, still in his little headspace. “Do good Daddies give lots of Daddy time or tiny Daddy time?”
What exactly was he asking?
Slightly frustrated I hadn’t just chased the waiter off so we could’ve had our conversation when he was big, I shrugged. “I like lots of Daddy time, but you get a say too. I’ll remember that most of the time.”
His snicker had me rolling my eyes. “Lots of Daddy time, lots of control time.”
And?
“There’s nothing wrong with that.” I shrugged again, not worried about it given how funny he thought it was. “If I want to see my boy every day, that’s fine. If I want to give him a bath every night, that’s fine. If I want to tuck him into bed every night, that’s fine.”
“That’s fine.” Bobbing his head from side to side, he pretended to be me. “If I want to kiss my boy every day, that’s fine.”
“Yep.” And since he gave me a good opening, I went back to our previous topic. “Which is why I need my boy’s limits. So I know how much kisses he wants every day and if he wants spankings or bottles or naughty bubble time.”
Was there a polite way to ask about orgasms?
He was wiggly enough and eager enough I thought that was something we needed to address sooner rather than later.
The wicked snicker he let out wasn’t technically a clear response, but the way he hid his face against my stomach, gave me some clues. “Naughty Daddy.”
Maybe?
“Helpful Daddy.” Yes, that was a much better way to describe it. “My boy likes cuddling, that’s fine.”
Giggling out “that’s fine,” he did his best to press even closer into me. “Your boy likes cuddling, Daddy.”
Talking around limits conversations with him was either cute or frustrating…I couldn’t decide.
“I’m glad my boy likes cuddling.” Since that was a point we kept coming back to, I went back to stroking his head and slowly shifted to making long strokes down his back and over his ass to his legs.
I mostly kept to the side of his body, but since nothing seemed to be out of bounds, I ran my hands over as much of him as I could. “Cuddling is important to me too.”
The one downside was that it was way too relaxing and both of us ended up yawning as I kept up the slow, almost hypnotic touch. “Cuddling makes Daddies and boys happy.”
Or it least it did for both of us.
Gary’s frustrated rambling about no one getting enough physical affection once they went to college came back to me and finally hit close enough to home for me to get what he was saying.
We were all fucking touch starved until we found our person, which probably explained all the stupid decisions we made.
“We’re going to have lots of cuddle time.” And hopefully be able to stay more awake next time…because Chipmunk was out and I wasn’t going to be far behind.