Taste Me Daddy: An MM Age Play Romance (Ivy League Daddies Book 3)
1. Korben
Korben opened his kitchen window just a little bit at the bottom so that the sound of early morning birdsong could make its way inside.
‘Ahhh, sing my little birdies,’ Korben said, the musical chirping delighting his just as much as it did every single morning. ‘I wish you could come with me to work. But I guess I’ll have to make do with Spotify on the speaker.’
Korben smiled and continued to prepare his lunchbox for the day.
Carefully chopping up a tasty salad with a healthy side of hummus and pitta bread, Korben was already looking forward to diving into his lunch – and it wasn’t even 8:00AM yet!
Korben was twenty-two years old and the proud owner of his own business. Korben’s Kandies specialized in making candy that was both sweet to taste and also designed with the most wonderfully bespoke wrapping. It was early days with the business, but already Korben felt incredibly proud of how far he had come in such a small space of time.
Having been through law school, Korben was able to use his sharp, highly trained analytical skills to build the business up from scratch and do a good enough job to already have his candies placed in various high end stores and boutique outlets.
Money wasn’t Korben’s motivation though.
In fact, Korben really didn’t care about money at all.
As long as Korben had enough money to pay the bills each month, all he needed to be happy was the chance to go to his little workshop every day and work on developing his candies and all the other design and practical elements that went along with running his own business.
‘Two or three apples?’ Korben mused, looking at his fruit bowl and lightly tracing his fingers across the selection of rosy-red apples that all looked as scrumptious and tasty as each other. ‘I think… two. One for my morning snack, and one for after lunch.’
Korben took the apples and put them in his lunchbox alongside the salad box.
‘Time for me to scoot,’ Korben said, looking up at the wall and seeing the clock tick over from 07:59 to 08:00. ‘I don’t want to get in trouble with my boss…’
Korben laughed at his goofy joke, the same one he told himself every day just before he departed home.
Korben had been left his house in his Great Aunt’s will and even though it might have been one of the smaller houses in the neighborhood, Korben absolutely adored it. Gradually, Korben was putting the finishing touches on making it his own style and vibe.
As much as Korben loved his Great Aunt, they weren’t exactly on the same page style-wise. But with a few licks of paint and some colorful pieces of art later, the house was looking and feeling like Korben’s home.
Korben knew he had a long day ahead of his though, and as much as he would have enjoyed taking his time at home, he knew that he did in fact need to get his butt into gear.
With the recent growth of the business, Korben had realized that he realistically would need a bigger studio so he could expand his day to day operations and maybe take on one or two members of staff.
This was all well and good, but to safely expand the business Korben knew that he needed one thing that he currently didn’t have much of… namely money – and lots of it.
With this in mind, Korben had been busy putting together a presentation to go to potential investors with. Had there been any other option, Korben would have raised the money himself, but the last thing Korben wanted to do was to use his home as security on a loan. The risk of losing his house was something that Korben just couldn’t contemplate.
So with that in mind, Korben had somewhat reluctantly accepted that he would need to find an outside investor. This would be a way of getting a cash injection into Korben’s Kandies – but that didn’t mean that Korben was entirely happy at the prospect of potentially having someone that he needed to answer to.
In fact, one of Korben’s main demands when it came to securing the funding would be that the investor take a back seat role and not even attempt to involve themselves in the running of the business.
Korben valued his independence fiercely and wasn’t about to let anyone else step in and tell his what to do!
Of course, Korben knew that anyone looking to invest their money into his business would probably try to assert their authority in some way, but backed by his legal knowledge and determined streak, Korben was more than confident of ensuring that the only person having creative input in Korben’s Kandies was his.
Just as Korben was packing Jazz, his squishy shark stuffie, into his backpack, Korben saw that he had a message on his cell phone from his friend Louie…
Hey Korben! I know it’s early, but I figured you’d either be at the workshop or about to leave already. Anyhoo… I was wondering if you wanted to have a stuffie tea party either later today or maybe tomorrow? I know it’s only been a week, but it feels like we haven’t hung out in aaaages! Let me know (and please say YES hehe). Louie XoXo
Korben giggled and felt thankful to have such a good friend as Louie. The fact that Louie was a Little too was just perfect. Together, the pair of them loved nothing more than having a playdate, talking about Daddies, and generally getting themselves and their stuffies in as much wholesome mischief as possible.
However a combination of Korben’s work schedule and Louie now being with his Forever Daddy meant that it was getting a little bit harder to schedule time with one another. But that wasn’t going to stop Korben making plans with his BFF…
Yippee! I was going to message you last night, Louie. But I fell asleep on the couch again. Grrrr! But… yes, let’s do something. I’ll message later once I’ve got my work done and we can make some fun plans. PS, say hi to Max from me! Korben XoXoXo
Korben sent the message and smiled. It was nice to know that his friend had found his Forever Daddy, even if that did mean that his and Louie had a little bit less time together.
Still, Korben didn’t have enough time to be standing around and pondering life’s questions. It was time to get his backpack on, put a big smile on his face, and head to work.
And if Louie happened to pass his favorite coffee shop on the way, well he might just have to make a quick pitstop there too…
Korben walked down the street toward Cute Cup, his favorite coffee spot in the whole city. The fact that Cute Cup was quite literally on his way to the workshop was an added bonus that Korben felt very grateful for – although his expenditure on coffee and cake was almost certainly a lot higher because of this fact, that was for sure.
As Korben walked into a bustling Cute Cup, he took a moment to breathe in the rich aroma of that morning’s freshly brewed coffee. The intoxicating smell of the coffee blends hit his instantly, and from that moment Korben knew that he had to place his order in double-quick time.
Fortunately for Korben, his favorite barista was working that day – and with Julian behind the counter, Korben knew that his coffee would come with the cutest, most exquisite coffee art in the world.
‘So… koala or tiger?’ Julian asked, his neatly parted hair and big smile looking as radiant and wholesome as ever.
‘Koala please!’ Korben replied, knowing full well that he wouldn’t be disappointed when Julian presented his koala based coffee art.
‘Korben, I love your hair by the way,’ Julian said, busily prepping the coffee machine for Korben’s fresh cup. ‘Did you get it cut?’
‘Yeah, I wanted to bring the choppy style back,’ Korben giggled, flicking his fingers against his freshly cut blonde hair. ‘I was always love changing the style up. Keeping it fresh, you know?’
‘I hear that,’ Julian giggled. ‘I love my parting, but if I could afford some of these salon prices, I might actually get it cut a bit wilder one day.’
The two friends giggled together.
Korben rarely spent money on himself. In part this was because Korben just didn’t care about material items or showing off about what he owned. As far as Korben was concerned, the best things in life were free.
Of course, there was also the reality that the business didn’t make enough money consistently for Korben to make any big purchases. Any money that Korben made typically had to be spent on living costs or ploughed back into the business. But this was a reality that Korben was happy to live with, certainly for the foreseeable future.
As long as Korben had enough money for his daily trip to Cute Cup, everything was golden.
‘Ooh, this is your best yet!’ Korben said, taking the koala-style coffee from Julian. ‘When’s the big barista competition? Next month?’
‘Yup,’ Julian said, a slightly apprehensive look on his face. ‘But it’s the nationals. I don’t know if I’m ready for that. There’ll be some baristas there who have been doing this for way longer than me. Like, seriously amazing people with ridiculous foaming skills.’
‘Hey, they’ve got nothing on you,’ Korben said, reaching out and bumping firsts with Julian. ‘I’ll make you a little box of personalized candies ready for when you go. You know, some perfectly sugary treats to keep you going all day.’
‘Perfect,’ Julian replied. ‘Catch you later, and don’t work too hard today.’
‘I’ll try,’ Korben said, rolling his eyes and grinning. ‘But you know me. When it comes to candy, I’ll going all in, all the time.’
Korben took his coffee and made his way toward the exit.
As Korben made his way toward the large double door, he couldn’t help but notice the amount of people in Cute Cup who were wearing smart suits, draped in flashy jewelry and expensive watches, and carrying what looked distinctly like legal documents.
Momentarily stopping in his tracks, Korben let out a sigh.
That could have been me.
Would I be happy though? Nope.
It’s just a shame not everyone in my life agrees…
As Korben walked out onto the street, he felt his heart droop a little at the thought of how unhappy his parents had been when he announced to them that he wouldn’t be taking up the offer from the corporate law firm after all. His parents had struggled to understand why the heck Korben would ditch a career in law for setting up something as frivolous seeming as a candy company.
Even now with his growing success, Korben could always sense that his mother and father quite simply didn’t approve of his choice. Korben wasn’t going to let his parents apparent lack of enthusiasm put his off chasing his dreams, but he really did wish that they could share in his optimism and passion for what he was doing.
‘I need to cheer up,’ Korben said, turning and arching his head back toward his backpack and Jazz’s face as he poked out the backpack’s top compartment. ‘Even if it was just you supporting Korben’s Kandies, Jazz, I’d make it work.’
Korben took a sip of his coffee and felt the autumnal flavored roast hit his tastebuds and the caffeine take a direct line to his brain too. With a renewed spring in his step, Korben began to walk the remaining couple of blocks toward his workshop.
It was time to make some candy that would change the world – or at the very least taste wonderful and look pretty cute too…
The sound of pop music blared out from Korben’s portable speaker system as he danced from one side of the compact studio workshop to the other.
With a huge smile on his sweet face, Korben sang along to the 90s pop classics that pumped out from his favorite playlist. Korben loved working alongside music, and knew for certain that had he pursued a career in law this was a scenario that simply would never have been possible.
The workshop may have been small, but Korben had everything set up just how he wanted it. From the iMac in the corner of the room to the plyboard desk space, everything was streamlined and made the most out of the limited space.
Even the trash can had a personalized touch with the outside having been made to look like one of Korben’s candy wrappings.
‘Okay, so…the Greeny Dreamy,’ Korben said, taking a step back from his iMac and looking at the brand new design and mood board for his latest candy.
The Greeny Dreamy was the candy that Korben hoped would be enough to convince perspective investors to really put their money where their mouths were and make a big investment.
A candy that had a minty zing to it alongside a chewy, melt in your mouth center was something that Korben had been thinking about for a long time. And the name was a combination of the minty taste and dreamlike quality of the melting center.
However, there was another reason for the name too…
‘My Greeny Dreamy Daddy…’ Korben mused. ‘Where are you?’
For the longest time, Korben had always imagined that his dream Forever Daddy would have green eyes, just like his. Korben didn’t know where this thought came from or why he was so fixated on it, but it was something that Korben simply couldn’t shake from his dreams – especially the sexy, late night dreams.
Korben wanted to find his Forever Daddy.
As a Little who was comfortable in his identity and his wants and needs, Korben knew that what he wanted more than anything was to find the perfect Daddy who would look after his and make everything complete. But… Korben also knew that he wasn’t willing to compromise on his business life either.
Korben’s Kandiesmeant too much to Korben that he was determined to put his whole life into it to make the business work. A big downside of this was that dating was difficult. Aside from the practicalities of time and his busy work hours, both inside and outside of the workshop, Korben wasn’t sure that he had the headspace to let anyone else in.
‘Oh, Jazz, where is my Forever Daddy?’ Korben asked, casting his eyes over toward his stuffie as he sat patiently next to the beautiful array of cacti and indoor plants over by the window.
Korben had dated a little bit in law school, but the issue had always come down to the fact that not everyone was cool with his identity as a Little.
Some guys would initially act like it was no big deal, but as Korben allowed himself to show his Little side, things would often change overnight and all of a sudden the understanding boyfriend would turn into a judgmental, mean a-hole.
In some ways, this was kind of how Korben had come to see life in the real world too. Men would say they were open to new ideas and different things, but if they weren’t an authentic Daddy or open minded to exploring things, then it always ended badly.
But Korben didn’t care what other people thought, or how they judged his.
As far as Korben was concerned, he was a Little and proud of it. And with his group of Little friends, he was happy to wait until the right Daddy came along – even if it could be frustrating at times.
I want a Daddy.
But he can find me.
I’ve got more than enough going on right here…
With that, Korben had a flash of inspiration for how to glow-up the Greeny Dreamy wrapping, and darted over to his iMac.
It was time to forget about Daddies and focus on designing the candy that was going to put Korben’s Kandies well and truly on the confectionary map.