Page 65 of Doubling Down

“We’re going to have a little party,” Ezra decided. He should probably ask but it would be perfect for Brandon. They’d talked about going to the club but maybe they could work up to that. Their house was perfect though. He could invite Dom and Lake over where Brandon was already comfortable.

“We are?” Brandon asked.

“Yep,” Ezra said. “This needs to happen.” He squeezed Eric’s fingers with his. Eric had stated that he wanted to be Ezra’s Daddy and partner. Ezra decided that if he had the big ideas, then Eric needed to make them happen.

“I’m going to have to go shopping,” Eric said.

Brandon squealed. “A party! My first little party!”

“Shh.” Eric kissed the back of Brandon’s head. “Don’t wake the little one. When we get up, we’ll start planning your party. Make sure that we have everything we need.”

“A little party,” Brandon repeated in awe. “Can we get little plates and cups? Like the ones we saw on that website?”

“Of course.” Eric kissed the back of Brandon’s head. “Remember the small table and chairs? I’ve been thinking about having something like that made. I’ll reach out to the company and see what they can do. We don’t have to get them for your party but if this is going to be little central, we should probably think about expanding some.”

“A playroom!” Brandon said full of hope.

Eric chuckled. “We can make these plans in the morning. We need to get some sleep now.”

“Oh yeah.” Brandon deflated.

“It’s gonna be great,” Ezra promised. “We can dress up and play. Have snackies. You close your eyes and think of everything you want for your party.” He lowered his voice. “And the playroom that we are totally talking your brother into.”

“I can hear you,” Eric groused.

“I would hope so,” Ezra teased. “You’re, like, only a few feet away. You’re not that old yet where you would be losing your hearing.”

Brandon gasped, then snorted out a laugh.

“Boy, you better behave.”

“I am! We have a party to plan after all.”

“I am so calling in backup for this,” Eric stated. “Just so you know.”

“Call in anyone you want, Daddy,” Ezra teased. “It’s got to be epic. This will be our first party.”

Eric’s fingers flexed in his. Oh! That was the first time that Ezra had called him that when they were around someone.

“An epic little party. You got it. Now both of you need sleep. I have to be at the station in a few hours. You two can sleep in.”

Yeah, sleeping in wasn’t really a thing when he had a kid. Maybe they could at least have a nap later. Actually, he and Brandon could start looking into the playroom because now that Brandon had mentioned it, Ezra couldn’t get the thought out of his head.

An adult playroom that could give Ezra a place so that regression could be frequent. Eric had promised to come up with a way that Ezra could detach himself from his responsibilities when he needed to. Having a designated space might be just the solution that they needed.

Following his own advice, Ezra closed his eyes as he pictured what the perfect playroom would look like. It would need bright walls. Maybe he and Brandon could even fingerpaint or something fun like that. Oh, the possibilities!

* * * * *

Eric

He really did need backup and Eric wasn’t too big of a man to admit it. He’d thought buying drinks, juice, and some more toys would be what the boys needed. Ezra and Brandon had other ideas.

“Why do you need matching shirts?” Eric asked for a second time.

“We’re starting a club!” Ezra told him.

“A club,” Eric repeated.

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