Page 12 of Ocean's Lost Octopus
Big Ocean and I were dating. Officially, or at least as I would describe it to be in a case where we’d only revealed part of ourselves to one another. But wasn’t that how dating often went? We couldn’t keep our hands off one another, and my brother might be shocked to realize what use his kitchen counters, master shower, and Japanese soaking tub had been put to. I was still using the guest bedroom, but the master bath had become one of our favorite playgrounds. When my brother phoned from Austria to see how things were going, he asked, “Are you making yourself at home? Remember, you rented the apartment…furnished. It’s all yours until I get home.”
“Oh yes. I’m very comfortable here.” I didn’t want to tell him about my new relationship, still at the stage where it felt private, like we were figuring things out and they were just about us. But I did say, “Nice neighbors, too.”
“Oh? I always found they all kept to themselves. You’ve made friends?”
“Yes, you could say that.”
He laughed. “Have a good time, little brother. Just be safe.”
Physically, we’d confirmed before we went to bed together that we were safe. Emotionally…it was still too early to say. I was pretty head over heels for Ocean, but were we compatible as daddy and little? If we weren’t, what would happen? Some people I knew could separate the big and little sides of their lives, but I never had been able to.
“I’m an all-or-nothing daddy,” I said to Ocean one night over dinner at my place. “As in, if we’re dating like this, I don’t have a little on the side.”
He choked on a bite of salad, and I hurried to pat him on the back until he waved me off and I took my seat again. Sipping water, he watched me carefully. “What are you saying? Are you asking if I’m playing with another daddy while you’re at work?” Nothing about his expression reflected little—the steady tone and frown was 100 percent VP. I wasn’t intimidated, but I could see how others might be.
“No,” I hurried to explain. “I’m telling you that while we are dating, there’s nobody else in my life on either side. You’re it, for me, and I wondered if you felt the same.”
His frown eased and the twinkle came back to his eyes. “Are you asking me to go steady?”
“I might be.” His smile drew mine, as it always did. Just being with him eating bagged salad and spaghetti topped with a jar of marinara sauce was a special occasion. However, note to self:You work at a restaurant. You can do better.
He seemed to read my mind. “Dinner is fine, by the way. We both had a long day. You had to get there before dawn to get ready for the health department inspection, and how did that go, by the way?”
“Didn’t I say?”
“No, I walked in the door and you kissed me and then it was two hours later and we were boiling pasta together.”
“Naked,” I put in. “Very daring with the boiling water.”
“Next time, maybe we should wear aprons. I did like watching that tight ass of yours while you sashayed around the kitchen.”
Everything with him was hot. Sexy. Endearing. He brought me flowers—what daddy ever had that happen?
“Anyway, next time, I’ll have the chef make us something before I come home if we don’t have time to cook for ourselves. Deal?”
“Great deal. You have good food there. So the health department?”
“We kept our A rating. He said something about being able to eat off the floor and gave me a handshake.”
“Nice.” Ocean twirled spaghetti around his fork. “Now, about the going steady. It’s a big decision. I don’t know if my parents will approve.”
“You think they’d prefer you just have tons of sex with me as a casual date?”
We laughed for a while and ate more food then I scooped up some vanilla ice cream into fancy little glass dishes while Ocean pulled a couple of shots of espresso to pour over the dessert. We’d discovered it was both of our favorite the first time he ate at my restaurant.
“I will go steady with you,” he said, “but there are some things you should know about me and my past with my little side.”
“I want to know everything about you little, big, and if you have anything middle, but I am willing to wait to hear when you are comfortable sharing.”
“Thank you. Your patience is one of the qualities I like best about you.”
I almost joked about thinking he liked my cock best because one of my worst qualities was joking at the wrong time. I was working on that. “Thank you. That’s nice of you to say. Now, why don’t I share what I want in a relationship. I already got started in the most awkward way possible anyway.”
He nodded. “Okay. I’m listening.”
“I want someone who is compatible with me both big and little if possible because those are both important sides of life for me. But, I also want you. And if it were to turn out we were not going to be daddy and little together, I don’t know what I’d do.Walking away from you isn’t an option. I’ve never felt this way before. About anyone.”
He sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. “We sure went from going steady to heavy awfully fast.”
