Page 25 of Controlled Burn

“Like a test drive?” he said weakly, and I chuckled.

“Yeah, like a test drive. But if we’re going to do it, we would need to go all in. For you to really know if it’s for you, it would need to be the full Daddy experience. Do you think you’re ready for that?”

He sat there so deep in thought I swear I could see the gears turning. He’d rolled his lower lip up around his teeth, biting down, and the impulse to tell him to stop was strong. But he wasn’t my boy… at least not yet.

After a minute, he nodded his head like he’d made a decision. “Okay, but what about my dad?” he asked. “I don’t want him to know about my interest in Daddy kink.”

Now that was the ten thousand dollar question, wasn’t it? But it wasn’t like this would be a real relationship, and I had to believe that Robert would feel better about me being the one to do this than some stranger.

“I’m not going to tell him if you don’t,” I said with a shrug. “I don’t like the idea of keeping secrets. That never works out well, but this is temporary. Just until you get a chance to see if it’s something you want, so I don’t see any reason he has to know. Then, if you decide having a Daddy is for you, it’ll be up to you what you tell your dad about your future relationships.”

He shifted on the couch, pulling one leg up underneath him, still chewing on that bottom lip of his. “How would we do this exactly?”

“Well, we would go on a couple of dates, get to know each other better. And then once I understood what you needed from a Daddy, I would set some rules for you, and we would take it from there.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad. But, umm”—he looked down, refusing to make eye contact—“what about sex?” he asked barely above a whisper.

“There’s a lot more to being a Daddy than the sex, Caleb. I’m confident we can give you the experience you need to decide if it’s for you without going there.”

I swear I saw a twinge of disappointment on his face and had to fight back a laugh. I remembered being young and sex being the first thing I thought of in pretty much every situation.

“I know from what I’ve read that there’s more to it, but can you give me some examples so I know what to expect?”

Such a sweet, cautious boy, always needing all the details and to know what comes next. Robert often talked about how careful Caleb was about everything and how much unknown situations unnerved him. That was why I’d been so surprised at seeing him by himself at the club the other night. Risky behavior like that was just so out of character for him.

“Alright, I can give you one example. We’re going to have to talk about your empty refrigerator. I’m not saying you can’t eat fast food, but it should be a treat, not a quick fix because you don’t have any healthy food in the house.”

“But I already know that,” he said, rolling his eyes. “That’s why I tried to do the meal prepping.”

“Right, and that was a really good idea, but you said you didn’t stick with it. As your Daddy, I could help you with that. We can identify where the breakdown in your plan happened and find a way to make it work. You’re a smart boy, Caleb. You don’t need me to tell you what you can and can’t do so much as to support you and help you refine your systems to make them easier to follow.”

“Okay, that makes sense.”

“Let’s start out slow and easy. I’ll cook dinner for us this coming Saturday.”

“Dinner Saturday,” he repeated. “Okay, I can handle dinner on Saturday.”

“Are you sure, or do you need to check your calendar?”

He let out a sigh. “I should check my calendar first.”

He pulled out his phone and opened the app he used, then smiled up at me. “Nope, nothing there. Saturday will work.”

“Great, here. Give me your number so we can keep in touch in the meantime.” I handed him my phone, and he put in his number and handed it back.

“Okay, I’ll go so you can get back to your night.” I stood up and walked to the door, pulling it open. “Be sure and lock this door behind me.”

“I will,” he said, but he didn’t make a move to get up off the couch.

“Now, Caleb. I don’t want you to forget.”

He sighed but got up. When he was headed for the door, I stepped out, pulling it closed behind me. Then I waited, listening. As soon as I heard the click of the lock engage, I grinned. I tapped lightly on the door to make sure he was paying attention before saying, “Good boy, Caleb. I’ll see you Saturday.”

Chapter 10

Wednesday Morning

Keith: Good morning, baby boy. How did you sleep?

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