Chapter Eleven
Payden
Do I ask Stone to come home with me or was it assumed?
Payden, you know where assuming leads, Mom’s voice popped into my head.
Yup, and I’m not in the mood to make an A-S-S out of either of us.
“I want you to live with me and be my forever Daddy.” There, I said it. Probably while he was chewing food wasn’t the best timing since he began choking.
“Is everything okay, sir?” The waiter asked Stone. “Do you need assistance? Hold up one finger if you’re okay and two for the Heimlich.”
Stone’s single finger went up so fast I laughed.
“Good, let me refill your water to help wash it down.” The waiter quickly refilled our drinks and as soon as he was out of earshot Stone spoke.
“Yeah, probably could’ve handled that one better, little unicorn, but I can’t deny thinking the same thing. Guess sometimes I need to take a page out of my boy’s book.”
“Your boy? Does that mean yes?” Please let it be, please let it be. “And my boyfriend?”
“Yes and yes, but your Daddy has to figure out his job situation. I refuse to live off anyone else.” That I got. As soon as I’d saved up a few paychecks, the urge to take care of myself, financially, hit me hard. “I have a few ideas but have to see what’s available in my new town.”
I had ideas too, but this was for Daddy to decide and not his boy.
Mom had been texting me rapid-fire after I told her about Stone.
Insisted I give her his last name. Turning her into an internet junkie was something I hoped not to come to regret.
With how her mind works, she’ll likely have a million questions prepared by the time we got to their house this weekend.
“I um…”
“Spit it out, little boy.” Stone had that whole stern Daddy look down and sadly, didn’t miss the shivers that ran through me at the sound of it.
Sorry, not sorry, there was something about that no-nonsense voice that did it for me.
“Why do I feel that threatening you with a spanking wouldn’t be a punishment? ”
Queue in more shivers. I did enjoy a good foreplay spanking, one that came with happy endings.
Stone’s hand slid down his face. “Yeah, gonna have to find another form of punishment for sure. Now, finish your sentence.”
“MoministedwecomeoverfordinnerSaturdaynight.” She threatened to meet us at the train station on Friday if I didn’t agree.
We’ll be so tired when we get there in the morning.
In order to give us a day to get settled in and get groceries and stuff, I had to agree.
She was kind of a helicopter mom, but she and dad always put me first.
He blinked, then blinked again. “Try that again, but this time pause between words, please.”
“Mom insisted we come over for dinner Saturday night. Saying no isn’t an option. Sorry.”
All the color drained from Stone’s face, nope, he said he’s my Daddy now. From Daddy’s face, and I hoped I didn’t break him. Again. Kinda using that word a lot today. Oops.
“Alright. Okay. Sure.” Yup, I broke him. He took a big drink of water and sighed. “Let’s enjoy our last night on the train. I can save the panic for tomorrow.”
“But I don’t want you to panic, I want you to be happy.” Don’t I make my new Daddy happy?
“Little unicorn,” Daddy reached across the table and held my hand. “You make me happier than I’ve ever been. I just, umm,” another sigh. I hoped Daddy wasn’t getting frustrated. “I don’t have the best of luck where parents are concerned, given I never knew mine.”
Shoot. In my haste to keep the one Daddy who so far had treated me right, I forgot that he was a human with thoughts, feelings, and a past too. “I’m sorry, Daddy.”
“It’s not your fault, little one. I’m not used to opening up and sharing my past with anyone. But if we’re gonna make a go at a real relationship, I owe you that much. I’m a work in progress and am afraid I’ll be for quite some time.”
“We’re all a work in progress. It starts when we’re born and ends when we die.”
“Good point. Well, like I just said, I never knew my parents. Grew up bouncing from foster home to foster home after the couple who adopted me died. Some were better than others and the ones that were bad left scars that may never heal. You’re close with your family and I understand the reasoning behind meeting them, just please, forgive me if I’m off my game when we do. ”
“I’ll be there to hold your hand, Daddy, I promise.”
“I couldn’t ask for anything more. Come on, let’s get packed so we can enjoy the rest of our last day.
” Daddy stood and held his hand out. I hoped once we got home, being together came as easily as it had on this trip.
I’d never been happier and losing Stone would hurt way more than the last so-called Daddy I had. Even after only a week…
Why do I fall in love so fast?
Hopefully this time my heart doesn’t let me down.
Daddy didn’t have much to pack, which was kinda sad. “Daddy, when is your birthday?”
“June tenth. When is yours?”
“Another Gemini, it’s a sign. I’m May twenty-sixth.”
“A Gemini match made in heaven,” he winked. “Alright, let me help you pack. Not sure all your new stuff will fit into your giant suitcase.”
I giggled. “Yeah, I had a bit too much fun hitting all the shops.”
“How about you leave out your jammies, an outfit for tomorrow and one stuffy. Then we won’t be rushed in the morning.”
“But who do I pick, Daddy?” I stared at them all, wondering how to make it fair.
“Why not keep the one you’ve played with the least on the trip out and let the others keep company inside the suitcase. Then no one is alone.”
“You’re so smart, Daddy. Okay, Sassy Pants, you and Hugo can play in the suitcase and Little Midge, you’re with me today.”
“Little Midge?”
“Yeah, she’s the tiny uni that was in one of our baskets. I wanna keep the baskets and give them to Mom. She makes gifts out of them for her friends. We can put the stuff I got Mom and Dad in them and bring them prezzies Saturday.”
“Such a sweet boy, that’s a wonderful idea. Let’s keep a couple of your super-d-duper shopping bags to carry what won’t fit in the suitcases.”
More giggles. Daddy was so silly. “See, my Daddy is super smart.”
“I don’t know about that, but I have a feeling we’ll be adding more to these bags today.”
Of course, Daddy was right. The hosts running all the games today didn’t want to take the remaining prizes with them, so we added even more prezzies to my overflowing bags. Good thing my car was parked at the station ‘cause this was way too much to carry very far.
“Daddy,” we were curled up on his bottom bunk, just how we’d slept since I fell on him that first night. “You should write our story down.” He’d told me new bits and pieces each night. We hadn’t even read the real books we won yet.
“I should, huh?” His lips made kissy tickles all over my neck. “Maybe. We’ll see.”
Daddy claimed he wasn’t a writer, but I got a peek at his lyrics and he really was. “You don’t give yourself enough credit.”
“Years of beating myself down for pissing away the dream I once lived.”
“No more of that. You’re gonna find your dream again and you’re gonna be happy.” I’d make sure of it.
“Wow, bossy boy.”
“Daddy! Daddy! I’m gonna fall off!” Tickles made me squirmy and squirmy on a tiny bunk was bad news for my tushy.
“Nope, Daddy won’t let you fall,” he snuggled in tight. “Goodnight, sweetheart,” Daddy kissed me. Kisses are fun.
“Night, Daddy.” I laid there, thinking about our new life and moving stuff around in the apartment so he had space to make his own.
Making sure Daddy was comfy and happy was my number one priority.
As soon as I heard his snores I whispered the words I was afraid would scare him away but I just couldn’t hold in any longer. “I love you, Daddy.”
The snores stopped, and I panicked. This was usually when I was told I was too clingy or it was too soon. But I knew what I felt for Daddy was real.
Daddy squeezed me tight. He didn’t push me away like I expected. “Daddy loves his little unicorn too. Let’s get some sleep, we have a busy day ahead of us.”
Only I didn’t sleep. I made a mental list of all the things we’d need. Groceries, more clothes for Daddy, stuff like that. Oh, and a phone. I need to add him to my bill so he can get one. Otherwise, there’s no way for a potential employer to get a hold of him.
As soon as the alarm on my phone went off, I hopped out of bed all bright and shiny.
“Good morning, Daddy, time to get up. We have lots to do today.” Before I’d forget, I opened a new note in my phone and added all the stuff swirling through my mind to it.
“First stop after we get home is the phone and grocery store.” Silly Daddy, still half asleep he just blinked at me.
“Come on, Daddy,” I tried to tug him up, but he just pulled me back down with him.
“Did you eat all that candy in your bag? Where is all this energy coming from?”
“Nope, just been thinky all night long. We have a big list of stuff. We need food and you need a phone and interview clothes.” Daddy groaned. “Are you groaning at your excited boy?”
“I’m groaning at the word interviews. Been a long time since I’ve had one of those and from what I remember, they’re not any fun.”
“What about working for yourself? I’m sure there’s lots of things you can do, and I can build you a website and make business cards.” Now I was the thinky one. “But you have to decide what you want to do first or the cards won’t make any sense.”
“I’ve got a few ideas. How long is the drive home?”
“Well, depending on L.A. traffic, around an hour and a half.” The station was further from home than I normally drove. Avoiding L.A. was high on my list because the traffic was a nightmare.
“Alright, let’s get this show on the road.”
By the time we got off the train and had my car packed full, an hour had gone by but finally Daddy and I were on our way home.
Our home.
Never thought I’d have that after getting dumped and in hindsight, that was the best thing that ever happened to me because now I had a real Daddy who loved me.