Page 38 of Baby Boy

“I thought you’d see things my way,” Jace teased. He popped the binkie back in Avery’s mouth before leaning to his side and grabbing Jared, who still had lily wrapped around his neck. Avery snatched Jared and put him under his chin.

Rubbing his nose against Jace’s chest, Avery relaxed into his Daddy’s hold. It had been such a fantastic morning. He hadn’t had to worry about anything but playing. Avery wished this was his life all the time. If he could just go to school then come home to Jace’s, he would be in heaven. But he knew that wasn’t in the cards for him. He could pretend when he was with Jace but come Monday morning, it would be back to his cold, hard reality.

§ § §

JACE

Jace tucked Avery into the bed in the nursery and stroked his hair until the boy was fast asleep. Avery had done so well earlier getting lost in his mind and playing. He hadn’t worried about doing anything wrong. He’d just let everything go. Finally.

He’d gotten quite a bit of work done that morning as Avery had played. He needed to get the laundry he’d started transferred from the washer to the dryer then decide about lunch. Maybe something light after Avery’s nap, and a heartier dinner.

He loved cold weather when he could stay indoors and cook up batches of homemade soups. There’d even be enough soup to send home with his boy to make sure that Avery was getting well fed when they weren’t together.

Jace rubbed his chest as he walked down the stairs. He hated the thought of Avery being away from him but recognized it was too soon to ask the boy to move in. They’d been talking for hours every single night but hadn’t gotten to spend a lot of quality time together. The weekend was just so prefect it was hard for Jace to contain his instincts to have his boy staying there. Hell, they hadn’t even had sex yet and Jace was already picturing Avery in his big bed every night and taking naps in the bed in the nursery.

Jace quickly did the laundry before strolling into his kitchen. As he stepped into the room, his cell phone started to ring. He rushed over and grabbed it off the charger. He didn’t think that the sound would wake up Avery but he wanted his boy to sleep peacefully.

Grant’s name flashed over the screen. It’d been a few weeks since he’d spoken to his friend. Grant was a detective with the police department and had been wrapping up a pretty tough case. “Hey, man,” Jace answered.

“Hey,” Grant greeted. “How’s it going?”

“Good, great,” Jace responded. He walked over to the counter and grabbed a glass before heading to the fridge. He poured himself some of the strawberry-kiwi water he’d made a pitcher of the night before. “How about you?”

“All right,” Grant answered. “Finally got some time off. I was wondering if you were going to the club tonight?”

Jace turned on the oven and pulled a fresh premade dinner out of the fridge. They had a wonderful organic market down the street from his house that sold premade dinners that were easy to cook. It would be a perfect light lunch for his boy. And he’d be able to keep it warm in the oven until his boy woke up. Once the oven was heated up, he placed the dinner on a cookie sheet and slid it in. He set the time as he thought about Grant’s request. He couldn’t make it, but he needed Grant to get Mitch out of the house.

Jace glanced up at the ceiling and smiled. “Not tonight, and maybe not for a while.” He grabbed his drink before heading to take a seat on the couch.

“Please tell me it’s because you finally claimed your boy,” Grant teased.

“I did,” Jace replied, settling back and getting comfortable. “He’s upstairs now taking a nap. We had a good night and a perfect morning.”

“That’s fantastic,” Grant gushed. “I was starting to think the boy didn’t really exist. Thought maybe you were losing your mind, making up this perfect boy of yours.”

Jace laughed. “No. Avery is very much real and perfect,” he assured his friend. “I’m glad I didn’t push him. I was there when he needed me and he’s taking to the lifestyle naturally.”

“Wow,” Grant commented. “You sound happy, man. That’s fucking great.”

Jace appreciated his friend. He was lucky that his two closest friends were part of the same lifestyle as he was. Even if they had different kinks, it was great to have the support as they’d been exploring their desires. While Mitch was a boy, both Jace and Grant were Daddy Doms. Jace, the caretaker of the group, Grant the protector, and Mitch the heart. It was a unique friendship.

“If you could talk Mitch into going with you, that would make me feel better,” Jace mentioned.

“Is his father still giving him shit?”

“Yeah. Last I heard, Mitch refused to take on one of his father’s clients and there was a big blow-up at the office. Mitch called me drunk and told me about it,” Jace explained.

Even if Mitch was the best defense lawyer in the state, that didn’t mean he was happy. Actually, the opposite was true. Mitch hated his job. He knew his father’s firm wasn’t where he should be but was having trouble breaking away from the family. If Jace was Mitch’s Daddy, he would demand Mitch quit. But as his best friend, he could just offer Mitch support when he needed it.

“Is Gregory still trying to get Mitch to join him in the family law office?” Grant asked.

“Yes, and luckily he hasn’t given up yet. We all know that’s where Mitch would prefer to be but until Mitch can break away from his father, I don’t know if he’ll make the change.”

“All we can do is be there for him,” Grant reminded Jace.

“I know,” Jace groaned. “But it would be so much easier if I could just order him to do what I want.”

Grant chuckled. “I hear you. But I’ll go over and drag him out if I have to.”

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