Page 20 of Little Bedtime Snack

“Did you want to go someplace?”

Did I, yes, but not yet. Eli needed to be taken care of first. I didn’t bring him all this way to make him more tired.

“Nope. You, my darling boy, need a nap and a shower.”

He scrunched up his nose. “The lady next to me bathed in perfume before she got on.”

“How about this? I do one better than a shower. How about a bath?”

“I love baths.”

I began to fill the tub and helped him get set up in the room, placing his suitcase on the stand for easy access. They even had some bath bombs that made the water all fizzy and blue. Inside was a little rubber ducky, making it extra adorable. I wouldn’t exactly call it a bath toy, but it was something to play with.

I got him undressed and helped him into the hot water.

“Are you coming in with me, Daddy?”

I hadn’t been planning on it, instead hoping to pamper him. But I couldn’t say no to my sweet boy, so I got undressed and climbed in.

As much as I wanted him to be able to relax in the hot water, he did need a good scrubbing. The perfume scent had saturated his clothing.

I started by washing his hair and his body, and then we played a silly game of Make the Duck Go. The entire time, he kept starting to close his eyes, catching himself before he fully drifted off.

“It’s nap time,” I announced.

I didn’t waste time getting him out of the water and dried off before leading him to bed and covering him up in the warm blankets.

“Is it your happy hour now?”

“No, not yet.”

“Can I have milkies then, before I go to sleep?”

“Of course.” I climbed into bed beside him, and he latched on, sucking greedily for a couple of seconds before almost instantly dozing off.

He slept in that position until my phone alarm went off, letting me know it was time to get ready to go.

“Daddy has to get ready to go to happy hour. Did you want to come with me?”

He looked up at me sleepily. “To a work function?”

“Yeah. What do you think?”

“Am I allowed?” The fact that he asked made me grumpy about his past relationships. Who was with such a wonderful man only to keep him in private?

“Of course you are. You can be my date.”

His eyes went wide, his smile wider. “I could be your date for work?”

“You can be my date for every occasion.”

I pressed a sweet kiss to his lips. “I love you, Eli. And having you on my arm makes me the happiest Daddy there is.”

“I love you too, Mason.” He hugged me tight. “Help me pick out an outfit for the event?”

“Absolutely.”

An hour later, I walked into the bar with him on my arm. I got a couple of knowing looks from people who knew me best. Theyunderstood why I missed the meeting, and not a single one of them looked upset about it.

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