Page 38 of Doubling Down

“She asleep?” Brandon whispered.

Ezra nodded.

“Are you okay?” Brandon asked. He must be keeping his voice low not to wake Annabelle. Not that it would matter to Annabelle. That girl could sleep through a tornado and earthquake combined.

He nodded. Shook his head no. And nodded. Wait. What was the question?

Brandon gave him a strange look before he pulled the door open the rest of the way. He stepped out of his bedroom inan adorable onesie with dalmatians. Brandon blushed as Ezra looked him up and down.

Oh! Oh! Brandon was a little! Ezra grinned. This was the best news ever! Not only did that mean that Brandon was even more perfect for his group of friends, but it gave Ezra hope that Eric might have meant the words that he’d said the night before.

Could it be?

Was Eric the Daddy that Ezra had been dreaming about?

Brandon smiled back shyly.

“Are you playing?” Ezra asked.

“Ye…yeah.” Brandon stammered and blushed.

“Cool.” Ezra pushed off the door. He crept closer. “What are you playing?”

Brandon’s eyes were huge. “Zoo.”

“Can.” He had to swallow hard. “Can I play?” It was hard to ask. Dom and Lake were the only other people that knew Ezra had little tendencies. He’d had to hide that part of himself when he’d had Annabelle. His family would have used any excuse to get Annabelle taken away from him. But he needed this release. The escape.

Brandon chewed on his thumb as he watched Ezra.

Ezra waited. He gave Brandon all the time that he needed.

“You little?” Brandon asked.

“Yeah, well I used to be.” He didn’t regret his baby girl or the things that he gave up. Being a little was something thathe missed but Annabelle was worth the sacrifices. Or at least that was what Ezra always believed. Until he came to Vegas and found a new life. Dom and his friends. Eric and his brother. Ezra might have left everything he knew behind, but he was thinking that he was finding himself.

Brandon hurried forward to grab his hand. He tugged Ezra back down the hall and into his bedroom.

Ezra glanced around, not seeing much more out of place than a normal adult bedroom. That was disappointing. Did Brandon hide this from his brother? Was Ezra wrong about Eric?

Looking over his shoulder, Brandon grinned, leading Ezra around the big bed.

Now this side of the room had Ezra gasping in surprise. There was a small bright blue toy box along the wall but most of the toys were scattered on the floor. They were nice toys too, expensive.

“Wow.” Ezra was impressed. Even when he played, he barely had any toys and mostly colored and had a few cars. Of course, Ezra hadn’t been exploring his little side long. It wasn’t until he left home after high school that he stumbled upon the lifestyle. The few years in college that he was part of the community had gone by too fast. He left school to take care of his baby girl and from that moment on all the toys had been for her.

Brandon wiggled in place as his eyes lit up. “Bubba bought them.”

Eric bought his brother toys? Knew that he was a little? Supported him? “Really?” His hope flared back to life. He tried to push away the feeling but he really wanted to have a chance with Eric.

There were so many reasons that the two of them would never work. Eric was nearly twenty years older than him. No way he’d want a lover as young as Ezra. Ezra also came with a precious three-year-old daughter who would always come first in his life. Most men didn’t expect a guy Ezra’s age to have a child and ran when they found out.

But Eric hadn’t run. He’d taken Ezra and Annabelle home to make sure they were safe and cared for. And now Ezra found out that he supported his brother being a little? It was almost too good to be true.

But the call of regression was riding him hard. This was such an opportunity. He spotted the zoo that Brandon had started to set up. “This is all so cool!” Ezra exclaimed.

“I like animals.”

“Me too.” Ezra dropped onto his knees. Brandon had started to put together enclosures as the animals were still in their plastic sleeves. “Can I help?”

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