Page 16 of Brighton

“I'll have whatever you're having. I’m not picky.”

“Beer and water it is then.” I sat a bottle of each down in front of our plates and took a seat beside him. “Would you like butter on your bread?’

“Yes, please.”

“Always so polite.” I buttered a couple of slices and set them on the cutting board. “Dig in, Brighton.” He took a big spoonful and blew on it.

“This is fantastic. Hot, but fantastic.” He fanned his mouth and took a drink.

“Try the bread, it’ll help with the sting.” Often, I wondered if Brighton didn’t have a bit of a little inside him or even a middle.

His eyes rolled back as he took a bite. “Oh my god, I could eat the entire loaf.”

Well, he could eat an entire loaf while I sat here and drooled over the erotic sounds he made. Good lord, if food made him moan like that imagine the magic I could work with my mouth.

It was nice how neither of us felt forced to talk during dinner. We caught up every day during the week on how work went and while it was silent now, it was a comfortable silence which was a nice change. I hated those jittery times where you felt like you had to fill in every moment of every second of every day with words for fear your boy would get bored. Maybe all the time I was looking for somebody who was already a boy, I should’ve searched for one who didn't know they were but found their true selves with me and we grew together.

“I can't eat another bite.” Brighton sank back in his chair and happily sighed. “That was fantastic. Thank you so much.”

“You are very welcome. Why don't you go play with Simon while I clean up the kitchen.” I stood to remove our dishes when Brighton’s hand on my wrist stopped me.

“I couldn't let you do that. I'm a guest in your home and since you cooked, I clean.” Brighton’s stance left no room for argument, though this went against my inner Daddy.

“But Daddies like to take care of their boys. Cooking and cleaning are two of the many ways we show our love.”

“And some boys like to feel helpful and want to help their Daddies.”

He called himself a boy, but I didn’t call him out on it. This was one of those times where avoidance was key. “Touché, why don't you load the dishwasher while I put the food away.” There, a happy compromise.

“Deal.”

Together we had the kitchen cleaned in no time. “Brighton, I've got a surprise for you.” I led him into the living room where the tree sat in the corner. It stood just like any other home decor you’d see only in the place of a fake Ficus stood a real tree. I purposely placed it in a spot near the front window for passersby to admire it. “I thought we'd decorate the Christmas tree together.” Brighton’s face lit up as bright as the lights we were about to put on it.

“Really?” His hopeful gaze bore into mine. Did he think I’d tease him about this?

“Really, sweetheart, and these tubs are filled with the decorations I've used over the years. I thought this year we'd get a real tree for our first Christmas and come spring we could plant it in the garden outside. Sustainability at its finest.” I was rather proud of myself for that decision.

“We?” It wasn’t a sarcastic question, more one filled with…hope.

“That’s the plan,we.” Brighton nearly bowled me over when he tried to hug me. As I’d guessed, this boy wasn't one who wanted what I could buy him as opposed to some that I had in the past. Brighton was all about the memories we could make, and time spent together. Sure, I paid for the tree, but I already had the decorations. For him it was about not only having a Christmas tree but engaging in the decorating of it as a team. Never having had a real Christmas as he’d mentioned to me had my mind filled with a million things I wanted to do and get for him. It was to the point where I had to slap my own hand last week while shopping online. He had plenty he'd get to open on Christmas morning from his Daddy and I'd enjoy every moment I got to watch him.

“Okay,” his excitement radiated to the point he couldn’t stand still. “What do we start with?”

This boy was too cute. “First, we hang the strands of lights on the tree.” I pulled them from the container and handed them to Brighton. “You should always plug them in and check them, though I know that they were in perfect working condition when I put them away last. Anything could happen over the year they've been packaged so it’s best we check.” He took them over to the nearest outlet and plugged them in. When all were lit, I said, “Now we wrap them around the tree layer by layer.” I slid the tree out so he could walk around it and while he did that, I snuck away to put on some carols. When he heard the music, he grinned and danced as he circled the tree.

“This is so much fun, now what do we do?”

“Now, sweet boy, we hang the ornaments.” I opened the bag with the hooks and latched them into each bauble and handed them to him. Placement was completely up to Brighton, I wanted this to be his tree, one he’d be proud of. It was smaller than what I normally had so there were some leftovers, but in the end, Brighton was pleased with his work, as he should be. “Here, now put the star on top.” I brought the step stool over and Brighton climbed up and set the star in place.

“There, it's done, Daddy.” He side-eyed me to see how I’d react to him finally using the name. Little did he know it was my turn to dance, only I kept it on the inside. I was a Daddy once again and to a boy who deserved one.

“Yes, it is and it's perfect as are you, sweet boy.” As gently as I could, I slid the tree back into place and left the carols on, Brighton was having far too much fun dancing around the room. “Hey, I have an idea. Would you like to bake Christmas cookies?”

“Would I?” he nearly squealed. “We never did that. All my peers in grade school talked about how they frosted them and would go on and on about them. I always wanted to make my own.”

“You are in for a treat because Daddy thought ahead and has all the ingredients we need.” Mentally, I patted my back for thinking ahead.

“Yay!” Brighton jumped and clapped his hands together. “I don't have a tree so can we have Christmas here this year?”

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