Page 4 of His Last Chase

“This is fine. What’s in the bag?”

David laughed. “Some things never change. You always were the one who couldn’t wait for surprises.”

“Surprises? Did you get something for me?” Ohhhh, excited bubbles ran through me, and I nearly made gimme hands but managed to refrain. But only just.

“Yeah, Buddy, I got you something. Here.” David handed me the bag, and I tossed my slice into the box lid.

“Coloring books? Crayons? Race cars?” It was hard to contain the excitement. I wanted to color and play cars at the same time but that could be a disastrous cheesy mess. “Thank you.” Not what I expected but by the same token I was super excited. “What made you get me these?”

“The response I just received and honestly, what I fully expected. My assessment was spot on, you’re a little, Chase.” He took another bite of pizza as though his explanation wasn’t as earth shattering as it was.

“Maybe, or maybe I just like toys.” David cocked a knowing brow. “Maybe.”

“Maybe. Did you get a chance to check out those links I sent or were you too busy swinging from web to web with Spidey?”

My face flushed, but he didn’t mean it negatively. “I clicked through a couple, ended up in a blog of some sort. But it, um, it wasn’t as scary as I thought.”

“Nor should it be. I’ve played with a couple of littles at Cordes and while that’s not the kind of Daddy I am, I did have fun with them. If it’s discretion you’re worried about, I can promise you the club enforces that rule to the max. Jordan and I have had zero issues with anonymity, and many don’t even use their real names there anyway.”

I couldn’t deny, curiosity had me in its grasp accompanied by a nagging desire to color the cute puppy pages in one of the books he bought me.

“Why don’t you finish your pizza then you can color.”

“Thank you.”

Who was that? That voice wasn’t mine. It was far too…young.

David sat everything out while I ate. Two coloring books, a big box filled with a million shades of crayons, and five race cars screaming to zoom all over the floor.

What in the hell was wrong with me?

“Deep breath, Bud. It’s okay to want these things.”

“How do you know what I’m thinking?” I didn’t know what these thoughts were or how to explain them, so how did he?

“Your face screamsentering panic mode, but your antsy arms reaching for the books until you retract them are fully onboard. Chase, being a little isn’t a bad thing and given our life, having an outlet is the only way any of us will survive the madness of being in the public eye.”

I wiped my hands and slid to the floor in front of the coffee table, then slowly flipped through the pages of the puppy coloring book.Swiping, swiping, ooh that one has a fireman hat on. Swiping, swiping. Eeep! This pup has little chicken friends. Okay, start at the beginning, Chase.

I lost track of time, switching between the puppy and kitten coloring books and driving the cars over the pages. When was the last time I forgot about life and all it entailed and let go? No schedules, no rehearsals, no hyping myself up to get on stage and perform.

The early years of Embrace were a nightmare. I hated crowds yet my dumbass was the one that entered us into the contest that landed us at our first Rocktoberfest and our contract with Masterson Management. I was the shy, introverted one but we’d had enough of dive bar gigs and shitty day jobs, so I took a chance, and it paid off.

More orless.

Minus the infamous incident with our manager, Easton Masterson’s mother. That woman was out of her mind. Thank fuck Sal and Easton knew I had nothing to do with her attacking me in their restroom. Huh, come to think of it that’s when everyone assumed I was gay.

Did they know something I didn’t?

I was too shocked to correct anyone. Our first meeting with Masterson and Social Sinners—so fucking embarrassing.

Once the nervous puking subsided, I embraced my alter ego—Chase Prescott’s on-stage persona, and for those few hours during a show I could do that. It was the adrenaline crash afterwards that always kicked my ass.

Who knew coloring could be so enlightening? My mind was clearer, calmer, so much so I hadn’t heard Jordan come in. It was when a piece of cheesecake slid in front of me that I looked up and saw him there.

“Having fun?” he asked. For the most part, Jordan was cool. He loved David and that’s what really mattered, but Jordan had a naughty side and liked to be spanked. That I knew wasn’t for me. I never liked getting into trouble which was why I pretty much kept to myself. Sometimes he was snarky and kinda mean so I did my best to avoid him when I could.

“Thank you.” Jordan patted my head and walked away. Guess that was enough interaction for him,which was fine. This puppy wasn’t gonna color himself.

---