Page 74 of Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang Us, Daddy

“Language!”

Dad’s voice makes me jump, and my body goes cold, because he’s gonna be so mad at me for cussing at a customer. Maybe he’ll hear me out and realize I’m not the one in the wrong. Dad’s always been super understanding like that.

Tears are welling in my eyes, and I’m not sure if it’s just the stress of the situation with the unruly twink, or if it’s down to my worry over what punishment Dad might give me. Either way, I know I have to face him like a man, so that’s what I do. I turn around, and I look my dad in the eyes.

He doesn’t seem angry, but he certainly doesn’t look happy about the situation. That’s okay, I’m kind of mad at him too, a little. Aside from one tiny little issue I’ve tried overlooking, ourlife has been perfect. It’s been a year of domestic bliss, but the issue refuses to settle in my soul. Maybe that’s why some of these customers irritate me so much. Maybe it’s just misplaced aggravation at my father for swearing to adopt us, only to drop the issue and never discuss it again.

“Benjamin. Why are you swearing at a customer?”

“Because he was being a jerk.” I point a finger at the guy, because I don’t care if Dad’s here or not, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind. “You should be ashamed of yourself. This is Build-A-Bear, it isn’t Sodom and Gomorrah.”

The twink scowls at me before whirling around and walking to the other side of the store to find his Daddy. He cuddles up close to a bald bear of a man with a big fluffy brown beard, sporadically looking over his shoulder to see if I’m still staring.

Dad’s hand touches my cheek, and he tugs until I’m looking him in the eyes.

“I want you to go over there and apologize, son.”

“But he?—”

Dad shakes his head, cutting me off. “I didn’t raise you to be rude, Benjamin.”

I want to remind him that he didn’t actually raise me at all, but his words play into the pseudocest dynamic we share that I love so much. I kind of hope he’s willing to say stuff like that when I let him fuck me tonight.

“You’re not the boss of me here,” I whisper. His jaw is clenched, working left to right, then right to left. I’m pretty sure that’s the sound of his teeth grinding that I hear.

“What did you just say to me, young man?”

I’d be lying if I said his stern tone didn’t just send my cock to half-mast. I’d also be lying if I said I didn’t reach down and give it a subtle stroke. Thankfully, there are no kids present, and the customers are all congregated around our newest stuffie, a pink, white, and blue unicorn I’ve named Mr. Transtastic. Bennet toldme it was silly to give the stuffy a male prefix, because we don’t know if they’re a boy unicorn or a girl unicorn. I simply pointed at the small patch of fluff masquerading as a goatee on the stuffie’s chin and told Bennet the adorable little tyke is obviously a trans man, and judging by the small rainbow heart stitched on his chest, he’s also gay. Eventually, Bennet saw the error of his ways and relented, kissing Mr. Transtastic’s tummy and telling him he’s a good boy.

“I said, you don’t get to boss me around when I’m at work. I’m a trusty Build-A-Bear Pal. Jesus, Dad. How do you think that looks to my customers? Do you think they’re ever going to have any faith in me or my ability to provide them with a wholesome family experience if they see my dad scolding me? Do I come to your office and tell you how to do your job?”

“You barged in on Pastor Brooks’ session yesterday,” he reminds me. “You called him a predator and told me to criminally trespass him from my office.”

“Yes, well . . .” I turn and place the bear back in his proper cubby. With warm cheeks I pretend to straighten the already tidy cubbyholes. “The man is a deviant, hellbent on ruining that poor gay guy’s life by preaching his conversion therapy, yet you continuously indulge him.”

“How do you know anything about my client, son?”

I blush. “You forgot to turn off the body cam we got you for Christmas. I had to listen to him complain about his wife while rambling about the gay guy he’s obviously in love with.” I look over my shoulder in time to see Dad’s mouth fall open. “I watched the whole thing. Wanted to know who the hell he thought he was for visually molesting you every time I see him leave your office.”

“Why in the world didn’t you turn the video off? Those meetings are confidential, Benjamin.”

I shrug. “Have to keep the spark alive somehow.”

“At the expense of my career? I could lose my license for that, son.”

I smirk at him. “Too bad, so sad.”

The corner of his lip curls. “You’re ridiculous. You know that, right?” He looks around the store, his eyes narrowing as he glares at the twink I yelled at a few minutes ago. The guy’s got a miniature bear in his hand, and he’s sliding it into his pocket. “You put that down this instant, young man.”

The twink’s bald-headed boyfriend looks up from a display rack, clearly none the wiser to his boyfriend’s descent into kleptomania. “What’d you just say to my boy?”

The guy’s super cute, I have to admit. He’s got the same bald head Dad does. Same big brown eyes. They’ve even got the same short auburn beard, now that Dad’s grown his out at my request.

“Your boy was caught red-handed, stealing inventory from my boy’s store.”

The other man closes his eyes and sighs like this doesn’t surprise him in the slightest. “Dammit, Brent. How many times are we going to do this? This is the sixth time this week.” He shakes his head. “I can’t do this with you anymore. I try and try to keep you happy, but you just take-take-take.”

Done with the exchange, I step closer toward Dad, resting my face against his chest. The moment his arms tangle around me, it’s like everyone else fades away.

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