Page 56 of Daddy's Reckoning

Our lives were good. Still, I believed in Rent-A-Daddy, and I wasn’t ready to let it go. “It can’t just be… over,” I whispered in disbelief, staring down at the press release again.

“Get over it, buddy. It’s over.” Lennon clapped me on the back. “You know what they say… Here for a good time, not for a long time.”

“And with that,” Archer decreed loudly, “I think it’s time for a toast.” He raised his glass of scotch in the air, and the rest of them did the same. Even Erin raised her lemon water, which matched Zoe’s drink of choice. Jasmine had a glass of white wine, but she hadn’t touched it. It clinked against the others in the circle.

Dropping the paper with a resigned sigh, I joined the circle and lifted my glass, even though my heart wasn’t in it.

“To Rent-A-Daddy and all the unexpected goodness it brought into our lives,” Bas said.

Our glasses clinked together, and everyone sipped from their respective drinks. I noticed that Jasmine’s sip was so small it was practically non-existent, further confirming my suspicions.

I emptied my glass, letting the liquid burn my throat as my dreams for the future went up in flames around me. I knew my friends were right, and that the outcome of our Rent-A-Daddy venture had been much more positive than we could have ever anticipated, changing all our lives for the better, finally pulling us from our post winning-the lottery-right-out-of-college haze and making us honest-to-goodness grownups, but I still felt the stab of disappointment, even as I realized just how lucky I was.

“I had plans,” I whispered, setting my glass down on the bar and motioning to Lennon to refill it. “I wanted to expand, bring in more Daddies, move the venture to other cities, contract with other kink clubs to offer our services…”

“Those are all great ideas, Theo,” Bas said, coming up behind me and leaning over the bar to grab the bottle of scotch out of Lennon’s hands. “And who knows, maybe one day we’ll circle back around and implement them. But for now, let’s just step back, take a breath, and enjoy all the abundance that has been brought into our lives.”

I took in his words and turned around to face my friends, leaning my back against the bar as I sipped my scotch. As I looked around the room, at my friends, their significant others, and the love of my life, the tightness in my chest eased.

Maybe Lennon was right. Maybe Rent-A-Daddy was not meant to be around for a long time, but just for a good time… a very good time indeed.

THE END

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