Chapter 5
Ash Riley
Ipoked my head into Theo’s office. “Oi. Where’s James?”
He looked up from his computer. “Hey, birthday boy. Didn’t I text you? I need him on Ortega’s crew. He’s two men short.”
Well, fuck. “But he’s my emotional support animal,” I argued.
My brother, the dickhead, snorted a laugh. “I think you’ll survive one day.”
Sure, but I wanted to shout my good news to the world, and that included rambling for two hours to James. It was our thing.
In return, he was in charge of the music in the truck.
“I guess I can tell you too,” I said, checking my watch. “But I don’t have time to word-vomit. Nate and I are back together.”
“About fucking time. Really?” He looked genuinely happy, so I couldn’t give him too much shit. “Good, I’m glad. You never told Lily and Mikey, did you?”
I shook my head. “We made it in the nick of time.”
“Well, I’m happy for ya. Poor Nate, though. Gotta put up with your shit again.”
I flipped him off. Asshole.
“Did you tell Ma?”
“Not yet, so don’t let it spill,” I told him. “I wanna casually mention that I’m lookin’ to buy an RV and that they cost a pretty penny. But if we could possibly get help with the down payment…”
He chuckled. “I did that last year when Claire’s car broke down. But wait till Pop starts talkin’ about their annual return. He invested a lot last year—and you know how Ma gets.”
Fuck yeah. She loved to spend money on three things. Charities, her grandbabies, and her two fantastic sons.
“Good lookin’ out,” I said. “Am I getting my birthday treatment at lunch?”
“Don’t you always?”
Just wanted to make sure. “See you then.” I walked out again, in a bit of a hurry now to get to Fairfax. Without James.
On my way downstairs, I texted him.
Who am I gonna use for emotional support today?
I checked my messages with Jordan too. I’d only texted him briefly last night to let him know everything had worked out. To which he’d unleashed the CAPS LOCK.
I KNEW IT, I KNEW IT! YAY! I’M SO HAPPY FOR YOU, DADDY. TALK SOON. ENJOY THE FAMILY TIME AND HAVE A GREAT BIRTHDAY TOMORROW. HUGS AND KISSES.
I smiled to myself, and now I was really looking forward to tomorrow when Nate got to meet them. I assumed James would be there too, though I couldn’t be sure. It was only Jordan who’d signed up for the bondage demo, but James was intrigued by it as well.
James replied when I got outside the building.
Do you need one, boss? Jordan said everything was great again.
Oh, I didn’t mean—fuck. I texted back.
The sky is bluer today, and I can hear birds singing. Life is great. I just enjoy working with you. ;)
I unlocked the door and got into the truck, and I had to suffer for several moments while I adjusted my seat and fixed the radio. ’Cause my usual work truck was at home… I needed to get that back here at some point.
I threw out the air freshener and made a mental note to pick it up later, but I wasn’t spending the day inhaling coconut breeze, whatever the fuck that was.
This wasn’t the Bahamas.
Just when I was about to back out, I received James’s text.
I enjoy working with you too, boss. :) Btw, Jordan won’t text you today. He’s worried about being in the way. Only saying it in case you’re expecting something.
Sweet boy. Hell, they were both sweet. I appreciated them being mindful, but a text here and there was always welcome, so I sent Jordan a message before I let the workday take over.
Good morning, little one. It’s gonna be a busy day with work and then spending time with the family, but I wanted to say I’m thinking about you. And confirm that we’ll see each other tomorrow at Nate’s bondage demo.
It was almost time for my worlds to collide.
Which reminded me…
Fuck me, I was gonna be late. But whatever. I was the boss—and it was my damn birthday.
I went into the Mclean House app, set Nate as my husband and co-Top. I wanted to be James’s Sadist, and Jordan… Where was he? My list of friends wasn’t exactly long, so why wasn’t I finding him?
Jesus, were we not friends on there?
That needed to be fixed. I found him and sent him a friend request. There. Once he’d approved me, I would add him as my Little. A symbolic gesture he could lean against until the dust had settled.
What the fresh…
I started scrolling.
And scrolling.
@MandalaEffect approved your dynamic: Sadist
@Rigger approved your dynamic: Husband
@Rigger approved your dynamic: Co-Top
@NoaThePup commented on your dynamic with @Rigger
You have a dynamic request to approve from @Rigger: Husband
You have a dynamic request to approve from @Rigger: Co-Top
@DarlingMistress reacted on your dynamic with @Rigger
@MrWest commented on your dynamic with @Rigger
@MasterMcKenna commented on your dynamic with @Rigger
@BeQuiet reacted on your dynamic with @Rigger
@NoraOfTheNorth commented on your dynamic with @Rigger
You are now friends with @Lilducky
@TheirBoyKit reacted to your dynamic with @Rigger
@Lilducky commented on your dynamic with @MandalaEffect
@Texan commented on your dynamic with @Rigger
@Texan commented on your dynamic with @MandalaEffect
@TheirBoyKit reacted on your dynamic with @MandalaEffect
I rubbed my forehead and quickly approved Nathan to list me as his husband and co-Top too. Then I added myself as Daddy of Lilducky and… Good lord, there was more.
You have a dynamic request to approve from @MandalaEffect: Play partner
I smirked. One day, I’d get him to change that to degradee or slut or something more telling. But for now, sure, he could list himself as my play partner.
That was it, though. I could scroll for another hour, it felt like. Likes and comments had poured in. Didn’t they have fucking jobs?
I closed the app and glanced out the window toward the sports bar where I was meeting up with Theo for lunch. He wasn’t there yet, and I could track him on our location-sharing app too. Let’s see… Okay, he was about five minutes away.
My messages came next, and I bypassed the birthday wishes from friends and family for now. I wanted to sit down when I had time so I could respond to them all—later.
Nate’s text came first.
I think you just started a wildfire with those dynamic updates, sweetheart. Miss you. Can’t wait to see you tonight.
Let the community talk. Although, I couldn’t say I’d expected that many alerts. Christ.
I checked Jordan’s reply next.
You make me so happy. That’s all I had to say. (And yes! We will be there tomorrow at seven pm on the dot!) Happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday!
How the fuck had I gotten this lucky?
As I was the Birthday Boy Supreme, I let my crew off forty minutes early today. That way, I beat the worst of the traffic on my way back to the office, and I had time for a quick workout in our little gym before Dylan was due.
My hair was still damp when I stepped outside into the late-afternoon sun.
Felt damn good that summer was on its way. Spring was great and all, but I tended to get static shocks from fucking everything. Once the humidity rose again, things were better.
I had no proof, but I was 100% sure that Virginia was the worst state in the US for those shocks. Every goddamn spring.
After picking up the previously discarded air freshener, I sat down at one of the picnic tables and chilled for a moment while I waited for my boy. Dylan took every opportunity to get behind the wheel.
I yawned and stretched out my legs, and I leaned back against the table.
My new ball cap ended up on the table so my hair could dry.
My phone buzzed with a message from Nathan.
Micah tried a new vegetable in school today. Can you ask him about it when you come home? Given Lily’s recent obsession with grapes, I worry we’re essentially keeping him surrounded by foods that aren’t great for him. You know what I mean. It’s possible I’m overreacting.
He wasn’t. I got it. Having grown up overweight and drawn to sugary foods, I thought it was important we gently steered Mikey toward healthier options and created habits that helped him. The difference between him and me was that I’d still loved sports at his age.
Mikey’s situation was far from bad, but it could so easily escalate. Between gaming and, now, learning to play chess, he didn’t move around a whole lot.
I replied.
You’re not overreacting, baby. I’ll ask him about it. I have an idea for exercise too. You remember what my pop did when I refused to learn to ride a bike?
Most kids learned to ride their bikes at around four, five, six…maybe seven? I’d had my damn training wheels until I was almost nine. I’d thought two wheels were stupid.
So my old man had told me, “Let’s do it together. We’ll ride our bikes for half an hour every day, and when you grow to love it, we’ll take a trip, you and me.”
I firmly believed bribing your kids every now and then was solid parenting.
Two years later, my dad had taken me to an away game in Dallas.
Nate answered.
That’s a lovely idea. I’ll make more of an effort to bring him to the pool too.
I grinned faintly and responded.
You know our new house has its own pool, right? It just needs to be relined. I’ll get that sorted ASAP.
No word could describe how good it felt to be a proper team again. It wasn’t only about being back together with the love of my life; this was the man I had four kids with, and we were at our best when we worked together as a strong unit.
“Hey, Dad.”
I looked toward the entrance to our lot and spotted Dylan coming over. “There you are, buddy. How was the Metro?”
“Packed. Public transit makes me hate people.”
I chuckled and got to my feet, and I pocketed my phone. “You’re too young to become a misanthrope. Give it another twenty years.”
To my surprise, he came up and hugged me.
Hot fucking damn. That didn’t happen every day.
“Who are you, and what have you done to my moody teenager?” I hugged him back, obviously. Taking every chance I got.
“It’s your birthday. Savor it.”
Something told me that wasn’t the only reason.