Page 38 of Slippery When Wet

Ellery snorted. “There isn’t any ‘rest’. Those furnishings belong to the management company, and I probably only have four or five boxes of stuff, along with my clothes.”

Calvin grinned, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Then we’ll get everything while we’re there.” He stole a soft kiss. “I think I’ll take next week off as well. Get you settled.”

“Oh, I don’t want to interfere with your business. I’ll be okay.”

Calvin gave him a light tap on the end of his nose. “I do believe Daddy is in charge, right?”

Ellery melted into Calvin’s embrace. How could he argue with that?

Epilogue

Christmas Eve…

“No, Reese! That’s not the town’s fire station.” Ellery frowned at his friend, stabbing his finger at a red block building close to him on the rug. “Thisis where the fire trucks go. See? It’s red.” Ellery rolled his eyes. “Duh.”

Reese was being a big poopy-head and kept trying to change everything inEllery’stown. Sure, Daddy had told him that his guest got to choose what they played, but that didn’t mean Reese should be allowed toruinthings.

“My fire truck goes over here.” Reese calmly rolled the small metal toy to the blue building next to where he sat.

Ellery clamped his lips together and screwed his eyes shut. He wassomad he could scream. After holding his breath for what seemed like forever, he let it out in a big puff. Daddy wouldn’t like it if he screamed, and Ellery didn’t want to make Daddy upset.

Daddy was everything. He made sure Ellery was well-loved, pampered and cared for. So how could he ever do anything that would upset his precious Daddy?

“Well, okay.” Ellery stuck his bottom lip out at Reese. “You can have a blue fire station. Just remember that the red ones arebetter.”

Reese snorted. “You’re goofy. Everyone knows that blue’s a better color, so how could red beat it out?”

Ellery scrunched his eyebrows together. What was Reese even talking about? Who said blue was better? The color gods? Reese was the one who was goofy.

But he was getting bored of their game anyway. He felt around for his new binkie with the Santa Clause face on it. Daddy had clipped it to his red fleece footie pajamas that featured a big reindeer on the front with googly eyes and a puffball nose. The moment he popped his paci into his mouth, he started to work it, calm taking over after his squabble with Reese.

Reese sat up and crisscrossed his legs. “I don’t want to play anymore.” He sighed. “Normally I forget all about our Daddies when we’re in your totally boss playroom, but…” He glanced over his shoulder at the closed bedroom door. “It’s Christmas Eve, you know?” Reese plucked at the rug fibers. “I’m not trying to be spoiled and whiny, but dammit. There’s eggnog out there being consumed, and I don’t have any!”

Ellery barked out a laugh, his binkie ejecting from his mouth. Good thing Daddy had attached it, otherwise it would’ve hit Reese square in the face. The visual made Ellery roll over with even more laughter until he was holding his stomach and tears leaked from his eyes.

Reese crossed his arms with a scowl. “I don’t see what’s so damn funny.”

Ellery sat up with a gasp. “You’d better stop with all that cursing. If Daddy Lex hears you, you can forget the eggnog and your Santa gifts will disappear.”

His Daddy had invited their closest friends to celebrate Christmas Eve with them and stay over for a big Christmas day celebration. The professionally decorated tree in the main room stood twelve feet high. Ellery had never seen anything like it. Daddy had still been in charge of placing the star at the top, while Ellery had used his decorating skills to turn the downstairs into a winter wonderland.

Ellery grinned. There was also the special announcement that Daddy was planning to share. He snickered behind his hand as he pointed at Reese with the other.

“I know something you don’t know, I know something you don’t know…”

Reese’s jaw went slack. “You know what my Daddy is getting me for Christmas? You’d better tell meright nowor I’ll tickle you ‘til you pee!”

Ellery scooted back in a hurry, using the grippers on the soles of his pajama feet to launch him across the rug. “Don’t touch me! I want a clean diaper for the surprise!”

Reese threw his hands in the air. “Okay,gosh. You don’t have to throw a fit.”

Ellery narrowed his eyes at his friend. “This is too important to ruin. It has to be perfect.”

“Oh?” Reese waggled his eyebrows. “Interesting. Do tell.”

Clearly, Little space was dwindling. Between Reese’s yearning for brandy-laden eggnog and the gradual increase of his big boy tone, it was time to see if Calvin would let them join the rest of the party. Not that they’d been forbidden, but he’d wanted some uninterrupted Little time with Reese and

Ellery smirked at Reese. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

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