Page 59 of Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang Us, Daddy

Wedging the phone between my shoulder and ear, I pull my legs into the chair, crossing them in front of me. It takes me a second to build up the courage to say what needs to be said, and the entire time, Tatum just sits there, not pushing me to speak.

“Tatum?” I try my hardest. Really, I do, but I can’t get the words to come out. I know I need to say them for Benji’s sake, but once they’re said, I’ll have our answer, and I don’t think I’m going to like Tatum’s answer. I sniff, my eyes growing a little misty at the thought of losing our Daddy.

“Dammit,” he finally whispers. “Fine. Talk to me, Bennet.”

My lip trembles, and I’m so close to breaking I can feel the cracks forming through my body. “Benji needs him, Tate. We both do. You don’t know how lonely we’ve been. He makes Benji so happy, and he hasn’t been happy in a really long time.”

Tatum sighs like the weight of the world is resting on his shoulders. “If you think I’m giving you the green light to fuck my father, you’ve got another think coming.”

“Just come here and see what he’s like around us. See how much happier he is.”

“This is madness.” He sounds so defeated, and while it makes my heart hurt for him, it also makes me swell with hope, because maybe there’s still a chance. If we can just show Tatum how good we are for Nate, maybe he’ll see it. The potential. This new family we’re creating. I want to be a part of that family, and I want Tatum to be part of it, too. “You don’t kiss him in front of me. Understood? No finger warming at the dinner table. No cheeky games of Murder Daddy throughout the visit.”

I know he probably expects us to be just as unhinged as he and Scotty are with their husbands, but that’s not us. That was never going to be our story. What Nate, Benji, and I share is a gentle romance. There are no threats of murder or unnecessary exhibitionist traits for us to either own or overcome, just our truth. A truth Tatum deserves to know.

“I’ll try to be respectful, but I can’t promise Benji will. You know what he’s like.”

Tatum snorts. “You’re goddessdamned right. He slapped me in the face for telling him to stop stroking Benito’s cock at McDonald’s that time.”

My entire body goes stiff, and it feels like he’s just punched me. Why am I still like this? Why the fuck can’t I hear the monster’s name without curling in on myself?

“Please don’t say his name. It’s still—We don’t say it.”

“Oh, Bennet,” he soothes with more care than I’ve ever heard from him. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” He goes quiet, but I don’t think he’s expecting an answer. It feels like he’s thinking something through. “I didn’t realize it was still that bad. Fuck.”

“Don’t worry about it. We’re okay, for the most part.”

“No, I wasn’t saying ‘fuck’ because of that, I just . . . I did something stupid. Listen, there’s going to be a large box delivered in the morning. Whatever you do, I don’t want you toopen it. Do you hear me? Under no circumstances. Not until I’m there. I was going to text you and mention it in the morning, but I think it’s imperative I tell you now.”

“What are you?—”

“Don’t open it. Say it, Bennet.”

“Okay! Jesus. Fine. I won’t open the box.”

He lets out a breath of relief. “And don’t let him open it either.”

“Who? Daddy?” The title leaves me before it’s even registered, and the second it’s out, I know I’ve messed up.

“Absolutely not!” he shouts, probably startling the other Spirit Airlines customers around him. Haven’t they already suffered enough? “It isfartoo fucking soon for that. You will not call him Daddy in front of me. Are the words registering?”

“I can try, but it slips out so easy, I don’t know how successful I’ll be.”

“Yeah, well, you fucking better hope you are. As the Goddess is my witness?—”

“Bored now. Have a safe trip.” I’m not really bored, I just don’t want to hear him yell at me. Not with images of the monster fresh in my mind.

“Don’t you dare hang up on?—”

I end the call and fall back against the chair, trying to steady my racing heart. Surprisingly, I’m not startled when someone’s hand touches my shoulder. His presence never frightens me, even when he sneaks up on me like this. I hold my hand over his, not ready to look at him yet.

“I’m okay,” I say, because I think I am for the most part.

His other arm wraps around me from behind, squeezing me affectionately. “Sorry,” Daddy says, his voice much calmer and more collected than I currently feel. “I woke up and you were gone, I got worried. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”

“How much did you hear?”

“Enough to know we’re no longer in our all-is-lost era.”

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