Page 35 of Screw Me Daddy

‘Xander thinks he’s tough now he’s been paddled and spanked by Soccer Star Daddy!’ River says, egging everyone else on as he swishes an imaginary paddle through the air. ‘Crack!’

I have to laugh.

But more than that, I want to tell the guys that Reece and I have taken the next step in our relationship. I know that when one of the Blue Collar Boys finds his Forever Daddy, it’s always a special moment and the whole crew celebrates together.

There’s no place for ego or jealousy in our crew, and it’s always been a moment of real joy in the past when one of us has found our special Daddy.

With the sun beating down on us, it’s time for me to reveal that I’m now officially off the single Little market… for good.

‘Hey, hey, one second,’ I say, trying to cool everyone down from roasting me.

‘Guys, wait,’ Lane says. ‘I think we might need to listen to this. I know that look, Xander. Tell me it means what I think it means…’

Before I can even get the words out, I begin to smile and go bright red.

The whole Blue Collar Boys crew know exactly what’s coming next.

‘Say it!’ River bellows. ‘Just freakin’ say it!’

‘Reece and me… we’re… Forever!’ I shout, my voice so loud it disturbs a nearby gathering of seagulls.

The rest of the crew go absolutely nuts and before I know what’s happening, I’m being hoisted up onto their shoulders and bounced up and down.

‘Ha! You guys!’ I squeal, unable to get my words out as they begin to work together to fully toss me in the air, their combined strength able to handle my weight with relative ease. ‘Ha!Whee!Wheeeeee!’

Finally, the gang put me down and my feet are back on a solid footing.

‘Dude, I’m so happy for you,’ Lane says, bringing me in close for a big hug. ‘I know you went through some shit with Fraser, but Reece… he’s different. I just know he is.’

‘Yeah, I think so too,’ I say, feeling the warmth in Lane’s words.

‘Oh, and by the way…’ Lane says, turning away and rummaging through his work bag to pull out his cell phone. ‘Before your big scene stealing announcement, it was actuallymewho had the big news.’

‘Okay, I’m listening,’ I say.

‘Here’s the thing,’ Lane continues. ‘I got in touch with my ex-ex-Daddy. You know, Gregory, the lawyer from LA?’

‘Yeah…’

‘I explained to him what was happening with that horrible photographer,’ Lane says, a smile on his face. ‘And it turns out that Gregory made his name over the last couple of years handling high profile privacy cases. He’s not your typical lawyer. He’s so good that you never even know there was an issue to begin with. Seriously. And the best thing is… he wants to help you and Reece.’

‘Wow! That’s… that’s…’ I reply, my mind running a million options at once. ‘I need to tell Reece.’

‘Hey, not so fast,’ Lane laughs. ‘We’ve got about ten feet of rock to break up and turn into dust.’

I grin. It might actually be a lot of fun to break the rock up…

‘But only if I can pretend the rock is Tony Ripper?’ I laugh.

Lane and I walk together toward the rocky area that needs breaking up. I’m looking forward to getting stuck in and working up a sweat – and all the while knowing that when I see Reece tonight, I’ll have some news that will make him very happy indeed…

‘Daddy! Daddy! I’ve got some big news!’ I say, excitedly bursting into Reece’s house.

‘Woahthere, slow down,’ Reece chuckles, as I suddenly notice that he’s only wearing a pair of tightly fitted swimming shorts.

‘I’ve been holding this in for hours, but I’ve got big news,’ I say, just about managing to contain my excitement for long enough to get my words out.

I go on to explain the situation with Lane’s lawyer ex-ex-Daddy.

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