Chapter Sixteen
Soren
If I’d ever had a dream of a perfect life, it would not have approached the one I currently lived. Abbott and I were spending more and more nights together, having dinner either at one of our homes or out most nights, and generally getting to know one another as a couple.
Chained was a fun night out once or twice a week, whether we played in the little room or just spent time in the conversation area with our friends.
If anyone had asked if I was lonely before he came into my life, I’m not sure what I’d have said.
Sure, I was happy for friends who were couples and thought it would be nice to find a special person one day.
But I was so busy with getting the shop ready and then opening that I didn’t have much time to dwell.
And I could play with a little at Chained if I chose, but those times didn’t happen often.
They were all adorable, but I always felt like I was helping out, more like babysitting than being a daddy, and that paled pretty fast. So, more often than not, when I managed to get the time to visit my club, I ended up sitting with other daddies, with or without their littles, in the conversation area.
Snacking, having a drink, sharing our days.
It was enough of a support system to get me through.
But that was basically all I was doing, I realized now.
Working and getting through. Since Abbott showed up with his spoon, I wanted more.
And I received it. We’d been out on all kinds of dates and of course had our club night, but one thing we had not done that every couple does at some point was a weekend away.
With weekends being the busiest time for me, and Abbott working Monday through Friday, it just hadn’t seemed feasible. Until I received an invitation in my email.
“Karen said you were back here.” Abbott strolled into the back room where I sat at my desk. “What are you so focused on?”
“I think I’ve mentioned the organization I belong to?”
“The one for ice-cream shop and soda fountain owners?” he asked.
“Yes. That one. There is a national conference coming up soon, and the keynote speaker had an emergency and had to cancel.”
“Oh, did you plan to go? I don’t think you mentioned that.”
“No. I didn’t say because I didn’t want to take the time, but this is a real honor, and I don’t think I can turn it down.”
“Of course you can’t!” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze.
“I’m so proud of you. What can I do while you’re gone?
Do you want me to come in and help scoop?
” Abbott had helped from time to time when he came in and things were very busy.
He wasn’t exactly skilled yet, but he was learning.
But I had other plans for him. “That’s nice of you, but I thought maybe you could come along with me and we could combine business with pleasure. Have a weekend away?”
“Really?” He hugged me tight. “Will I be able to see you give your speech?”
“Abbott, my boy, you can help me write it.”
A few days later, we were on the road. The conference was in the same city as the Ferris wheel, so technically we could have driven back and forth, but with the various events at the conference, and the fact that they were giving me a hotel room for the weekend, it was better to stay.
The elevator took us to the top floor where the doors opened to a wide hall with the kind of carpet that swallowed all the sounds of footsteps. We followed it to the end where I opened the door with the digital code and we stepped into a suite.
“Holy…wow. This is what the keynote speaker gets?” Abbott passed me on his way to the balcony doors. “I can see the Ferris wheel from here.”
“Would you like to do that again someday?” I stepped aside for the bellhop to bring in our bags on a rack. I’d told them we could handle it, but the clerk insisted. After I tipped him and he left, I joined Abbott on the balcony. “The wheel?”
“Someday, I would. Maybe on the anniversary of our first date?”
“I’ll make sure of it.” That should be plenty of time to get the reservation. I’d gotten very lucky last time with the cancellation.
The conference began right away, but I didn’t have to do anything until the wine and appetizer meet and greet, so we had a few hours to kill and spent them just walking around the city.
It didn’t matter where we went, just that we did it together.
From there, things got busy and although I told Abbott he didn’t have to go with me to all my events, he did.
Which made me happier than I was ready to admit.
We cuddled up in the big bed in the suite and fell right asleep, exhausted from our long day, and got up for another full day of activities culminating in my speech at the closing dinner. Over the polite applause, I heard a wolf whistle and a cheer.
My boy could always be counted on to have my back. Without him, my speech would not have been anything near as good as it was, and there probably wouldn’t have been any applause at all.
“What do you want to do now?” I asked after we finished shaking hands and accepting congratulations from the other people in the industry. Many had their partners with them, and they had been so gracious, including Abbott in their conversations while I was busy. “Did you want to go out somewhere?”
“I know there’s a lot to do here, and if you want to go somewhere, it’s fine. But would it be all right if we just went to the room? Alone? I feel like there have been so many people around us for the past couple of days. I like our quiet life at home.”
“I do too. Let’s go to the room and order some snacks from room service and cuddle up in bed and watch a movie.”
“You don’t mind? This is your special weekend.”
“This is our weekend, and almost everything we’ve done has been about me and my business. Starting right now, it’s about us. What movie do you want to watch?”
“Before or after?”
Before or… Oh.
“Either, both. Let’s get to that elevator before we do something to startle the ice-cream makers.”
Best weekend ever. We stayed up so late, we slept past checkout and I paid the fee gladly.