Page 4 of Their Little House Tristan
And free to be me.
Chapter Three
James
Things usually slowed down a bit at this time of year with people wanting to get out of the city and have long vacations with their families. Things at the office were much quieter, but I could always find ways to keep busy. In fact, they generally found me. As a single, I was glad to keep things running so my coworkers could enjoy themselves in the countryside or at the beach or somewhere. Lots of people thought holidays were the most important time for families, but when someone came back from a camping trip all tanned and mosquito-bitten and full of great stories about how they and their sons took on the wilds and survived, that was family time to me.
I loved listening to their tales and tried not to be jealous of their fun time with people they cared about. My parents lived across the country, my siblings were busy with their own families, and I hadn’t had someone to share my life in quite some time.
“James, you up for lunch?” Mark stuck his head in my office and held up his car keys. “We can take our time and go somewhere good for once.”
I looked at the screens open on my three monitors and winced. “I really should get through some of this stuff, but why not?” A disadvantage of not taking time off when everyone else did was that the “skeleton crew” had to double down. “Where do you have in mind?”
“There’s a new Vietnamese place near Chained. I found it when my Buddy and I went there last night and we were hungry after. Great banh mi sandwiches and I had an incredible pho.”
“That doesn’t sound like a place your little would like,” I pointed out. “But I’m in.”
We took the elevator down to the parking garage. “Buddy was big last night.” He chuckled. “You’ve seen him when he’s little, won’t touch anything that isn’t a chickie nugget or some sort of pasta with cheese.”
“That’s why I asked. But makes sense.” It was nice to have a coworker who was also a member of my club. Chained hosted just about every kink out there in a safe and respectful environment. “My last little was obsessed with things ‘on a stick.’”
We only had to drive about fifteen minutes, and it seemed the restaurant was also in the summer doldrums because we had no trouble getting a table, and the service was speedy. “Speaking of your last little,” Mark said, “it’s been a while.”
“Over a year,” I agreed. “But I still like to go to Chained and play with the littles who want a daddy for a night or a scene.”
“It’s not the same, and you know it.” He picked up the deep spoon and scooped up some of the pho broth. “This is so good.”
“It is.” A well-made pho was an art. “Thanks for suggesting the place.”
“No worries, now, Buddy wanted me to tell you that he wants you to have a little again because he misses our double-date evenings.” We’d gone out often to the club with Mark and Buddy as well as having playdates at one another’s homes. “What should I tell him?”
“Thank him for his input, but tell him I’m not really looking for someone right now, just enjoying being a single daddy.”
Mark’s snort could have been insulting if it hadn’t sent some of the soup through his nose.
“See what happens when you mock me?” I asked. “What’s wrong with being single? I have King if I get lonely.”
“King is your dog. And who names a goldendoodle King anyway? That dog is anything but regal.”
“He’s loyal and adorable and he was named that by the rescue where I adopted him. I really did try to change his name, but he ignored me if I called him anything else.”
We ate in silence for a few minutes and I hoped Mark was going to drop the subject, but of course he didn’t. People who were coupled up always wanted everyone else to be in the same position. “Buddy has a friend in the little room who might like to meet you.”
“A fix-up? Really?” This was new. Usually he just hinted that I should be more open to others who he saw hit on me. Just because a person was a little didn’t mean they couldn’t show their interest in a particular daddy. In fact, it was encouraged. And it took the pressure off if I liked someone. Of course, it increased it if I didn’t. “Mark, I’m not ready for someone else.”
“I knew that breakup was bad.” He nodded as if he’d solved the problems of the universe. “You need a rebound person.”
I set my spoon down and let out a huff of irritation. “When my last little and I split up, it was because he had a job opportunity two thousand miles away and we didn’t want to bother with a long-distance thing.”
My relationships were usually both big and little, but some people just had one or the other. I knew a couple of guys who were married but had a daddy/little relationship with someone else with the full blessing of their life partner. Whatever worked for them, but it was more or maybe less than I wanted.
“So you’re not heartbroken?” he asked. “That’s not why you’re still single?”
“I don’t have a little because I haven’t met someone I want in my life at the moment. And, before you ask, I’m not looking.”
“I’ll tell Buddy, but he’ll be disappointed. We just finished his new nursery, and he’s really excited to have playdates.” We had other friends who were daddies, but Mark and Buddy were my closest. They’d been together for over a decade, and they had the kind of relationship I envied. Hot daddy/adorable little and, when Buddy was big, two handsome mature men living their best life.
Best, in fact, of all possible worlds.
