Page 18 of Slippery When Wet

Ellery’s eyes widened a bit, but he immediately complied. Something about Calvin’s firm tone hit him square in the groin.

“Yes, Daddy. I didn’t mean to argue.”

Calvin’s features softened and he ruffled Ellery’s hair before petting it back in place. “I know you didn’t. I’m not mad.”

Ellery let out a small puff of air in relief. “Okay.”

Calvin extended his free hand. “Having a Daddy take charge of your care will require some getting used to, so don’t worry whether you’re pleasing me or not.” He chuckled. “To be honest, simply being yourself and getting to spend time with you is more than enough.”

Wow. He didn’t know what to say, so he buried his face against Calvin’s chest. Neveroncehad anyone said something that nice to him. Ellery sniffed to hold in his emotions. No use in getting the waterworks going before they’d even set foot in the limo.

Calvin squeezed Ellery’s shoulder and gave him a little jostle. “Come on, baby.” He laced their fingers together. “Let’s officially begin our weekend.”

Ellery nodded, still unable to speak or meet Calvin’s gaze.

Once he’d locked up his apartment, he dutifully held onto Calvin’s hand as they made their way to the limo. Since he was on the third floor and the one ancient elevator was out of service, they had no choice but to take the stairs.

For some reason, Ellery had assumed that Calvin would get snooty over such inconveniences, but when Ellery had warned him about the elevator situation ahead of time, Calvin had told him it wasn’t a problem. It turned out that Ellery’s assumption was unfair. His only barometer of rich guy behavior were the obnoxious customers he waited on at the shop.

Once they stepped out of the apartment building, Ellery noted that Calvin’s limo was double-parked. He’d wondered about that when he’d given Calvin the no-elevator warning. But Calvin told him they had a system for when they were running errands around the city. The sleek black vehicle wasn’t a garish stretch limo, but rather a longer version of a luxury sedan. Apparently, it involved a combination of luck, double-parking and, if necessary, his chauffeur randomly driving around nearby until Calvin called for him to return.

Calvin opened the door for Ellery then gestured for him to go ahead. Then he followed right behind with Ellery’s bag in tow. After stowing the duffel on the seat facing them, Calvin joined him on the cushy back seat. Ellery sighed. That was exactly what he’d been hoping for.

“I don’t suppose I could sit on your lap for the ride?”

Ellery batted his eyelashes. The majority of the physical contact they’d shared the week before was when he’d watched cartoons while being held in Calvin’s lap. He never could’ve guessed that he’d love being with a man that way when it wasn’t for the purpose of aftercare.

“Nothing would thrill me more.” Calvin bopped him on the nose. “But you need to be buckled in for the drive over. Holding hands, however, is more than welcomed.”

Once they were settled and Calvin told his driver they were ready to go, he raised the privacy screen.

Calvin turned to him. “I have sandwiches, fruit, milk and juice in the mini-fridge. I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted to have lunch on the way rather than stopping. If we have to, though, we can stop. Do you get carsick?”

Ellery shook his head. “No. When I was growing up and our parents took us on road trips, car snacks were mandatory.”

Calvin smiled. “You have the one brother, right?”

“Yeah. Sam and I are still pretty close, we’re only two years apart.” Ellery chuckled. “We fought like crazy back then, and I don’t tell him the details of my lifestyle, but he’s cool for a straight guy.”

Calvin laughed. “I’m sure he is.”

He leaned over and opened the door to the small squarish appliance that was expertly concealed by the camel-colored, leather upholstery. Ellery regarded the expensive seats. Should they really be eating on them? Although, Calvin hadn’t been concerned when he’d given the snacks and cranberry juice to him while he’d had his foot propped up on his clearly pricey furniture.

Calvin angled his body toward Ellery then handed him a sectioned, plastic to-go container with a sticker that said Juliet’s Bistro on it. He regarded the croissant with what appeared to be either tuna, or maybe chicken salad, inside it. When Calvin had questioned him on their first day together regarding foods he enjoyed, Ellery had mentioned both of those sandwich fillings.

In the compartment next to the sandwich were a sprig of grapes and thin slices of melon. The third section contained what looked like two small sugar cookies that had been dipped in chocolate. Ellery glanced at Calvin’s boxed lunch. His looked similar, only instead of a salad filling, his had what was probably turkey and he also spied some avocado.

Eww.

Calvin spotted him peeking and chuckled. He could probably tell what Ellery was thinking from his scrunched-up nose and pursed lips.

“Don’t worry, I remembered. You’re safe from the evil avocado. Yours has romaine and tomato only.”

Ellery’s cheeks heated. He didn’t want to seem picky or ungrateful. “It looks really good. Thank you for remembering and picking up such a nice lunch for me.”

Once again, he wished he could reciprocate more. So far, Calvin had been treating him like a prince. He didn’t have much, but he did have a small something he’d made for Calvin that was tucked away in his bag. He planned on surprising him with it once they were at Calvin’s home.

“You’re very welcome. I chose the chicken salad because they make it from fresh chicken every day. And their desserts are to die for, so I picked up some tarts and petit fours as well.” Calvin winked. “That way we can have extra-special treats all weekend.”

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