Page 16 of Jalen & Colby

I glance around, even though I know Andreas has popped out to run an errand. It’s just the two of us for a while, festive music playing in the background while twilight creeps in outside.

“I’m just thinking,” I say with a shrug. But I give him a smile so he knows it’s not bad thoughts. Complicated, maybe. But not bad.

“About Andreas?” he asks in a sing-song voice. I try not to blush.

“Uh, yeah. A bit. He’s just very kind, is all.”

Damnit. I’ve been promising myself over and over that it’s okay to like the older man and to relish in his attention and enjoy his gifts. But I’m sure he fancies Jalen and is just inviting me to hang out to be nice. Nothing more. I can’t let on to Jalen just how much I like him and everything he’s doing. Because if they get together, I want them to be happy.

“Hmm,” Jalen says, quirking an eyebrow.“Verykind. And handsome. And rich.”

I shove him, but not so hard that he’s in danger of spilling his drink. “Behave,” I mumble.

“Hey,” he cries, scandalized, as if he always behaves. “I speak nothing but the truth.”

I sigh. “CanItell you the truth?”

His face becomes serious, and he reaches over to squeeze my arm. “Of course, sweetie. Always.”

I toy with the glass hummingbird in my hands. It refracts rainbow light, and I’ve been trying to find the most perfect spot for it on the tree so it can be appreciated the best. Something so beautiful deserves to shine.

Much like Jalen.

“I know you like Andreas,” I begin, but he cuts me off with a scoff.

“Yeah, girlfriend! He’s a cutie. But you know he likes you, too. Alot.”

I hum, not quite convinced. But I can’t quite bring myself to come out and say that I’ll step aside and Jay can have him, not when I don’t know what’s going on in the grand scheme of things. So I stick to a different kind of truth.

“I really like the way he makes me feel when he buys us presents and fusses over us,” I say in a rush. I duck my eyes and run my fingers over the glass bird’s wing instead.

But Jalen sighs sadly. It’s such an unusual sound from him that it makes me look up. “You know that’s kind of the point. Right, baby?”

I shake my head, not sure I’m following. “Point of what? I know people give gifts to be nice, but this seems a lot. I don’t know if I should accept all this, even if I want to.”

Jalen puts his drink down and wraps both his hands around my free one. “Okay, sweetie-pie. You know how we talked about needing Daddies to take care of us, yeah?”

I shake my head and laugh. “I knowyoutold me thatyouthink we both need Daddies. I’m not sure about the whole idea.”

He lets go of me with one hand to wave it around dramatically. “Well,getsure about it, boo-boo. Because it’s already happening. Look around.”

I blink. “I mean…I guess Andreas is older than us. But he’s not dating either of us!”Is he?

Jalen laughs. “No, silly. But being a Daddy is often just who a person is at their core. Andreas is a full-on Daddy, a sugary one at that.”

My eyes widen. “A sugar Daddy? Isn’t that like…um…being a…a…?”

Jalen bats his eyelashes at me, clearly amused at how flustered I’ve become. “Richard Gere in Pretty Woman?” he asks innocently, but I blush all the same. He laughs but also grabs my hand to kiss my fingers affectionately. “A bit, sweet pea. But you’re not Julia Roberts. Although your legs are just as nice as hers.”

I roll my eyes. “Be serious,” I grumble. “Besides, if anyone has legs like a movie star, it’s you.”

“I am being serious,” he insists. “You feel good getting spoiled, right?” I nod. “It’s not something you’re used to, and it feels nice. It reminds you that you are a very awesome human being who deserves great things.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” I say shyly. “But…yeah. It’s nice.”

“Well,” Jalen says, picking his glass up again and tilting it my way like he’s the conductor of an orchestra. “That same warm, gooey feeling you get from being taken care of? Andreas gets the exact same feeling from doing the caretaking. So no more worrying about it or feeling guilty, okay? Think of it as doing him a favor.”

He smirks and sips his OJ and champers while I frown and consider what he’s said. It never occurred to me that Andreas would be getting something out of buying us these things. I thought he felt obliged because he’s rich and we’re poor. But the notion that it could be something that makes him feel as amazing as I did when I saw the ugly Christmas jumper…

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