4. Chapter 4

four

Nathan

E llen returned at the exact right time with a knowing look as I watched Will walking away. While I was technically her boss, now, we started out as equals, and she knew far too much about my social life. She was a friend, in addition to being a colleague.

“Go get the hottie, Meyer,” she nudged me out from behind the register, taking over with a swipe of her ID badge. She must have been watching from my office and saw how I was checking the older man out.

Startling Will by the stuffed animals hadn’t been my intent, but I was glad to get a smile out of him. He seemed so shy, and when he flirted back, I knew I couldn’t let him get away without asking for his number.

“Let me walk you out,” I offered, wanting to keep him talking as we walked from the escalator toward the exit. I couldn’t leave the store to walk him to his car, or whatever transportation he was taking, but maybe I could stall him a bit. I wasn’t ready to let him go yet. I pointed at Will’s jersey, “You have good taste in football.”

“You like the Seals?” Will paused, his face scrunching up in adorable confusion as he tugged at his jersey. “But you’re so…” Will petered off, gesturing to me like my appearance proved his point.

“A man can’t be stylish and a football fan?” I asked with a teasing smirk.

“No! I mean, of course you can,” Will blushed and I found the reaction hot. I wanted to see his cheeks heating in multiple ways. “The owner and players are stylish.”

“They are,” I agreed. This also told me he followed the team closely, and wasn’t just a casual fan. Most people had no clue how the team dressed off the field. “Do you ever go to the games?”

My comment was leading towards asking him out, so I was surprised when he chuckled. “I never miss a home game.”

“Big fan, then. Do you have season tickets?”

“Ah, no.” Will somehow blushed deeper, rubbing at the back of his neck and chewing on his lower lip. My thought of sucking that abused lip into my own mouth flew out of the window when he added, “I’m the groundskeeper.”

Blinking at him, I wasn’t sure I understood. “Groundskeeper?”

“For the team. The Seals. Well, for the stadium, technically,” Will rambles, rubbing the toe of his shoe against the ground. “So, yeah…”

“That’s amazing!” I almost clap him on the shoulder but stop myself. I touched him before without permission, I didn’t want to cross his boundaries. “Must be cool to work for the team and be at every game.”

Will nodded and finally met my eyes, excitement overtaking his shyness. “Yeah, I’m on the field looking out for problems with the turf. But I get a front row seat while working.”

“They are one of the few teams left with real grass, right? That’s a big responsibility,” I complimented him and loved seeing his genuine joy.

“Dream job, for sure,” Will bit his lower lip again and I was back to thinking dirty thoughts. I could take him over my knee and give Will a spanking for every time he abused that gorgeous mouth.

Or I could put his mouth to better use. I could imagine Will on his knees, glasses off, those chocolate brown eyes looking up at me as I made him drool and gag on my–

Clearing my throat, I cupped my hands in front of my slacks to hide the erection I had popped. “Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to go to a game with me, but it sounds like you’re on duty?”

“Oh,” Will nodded again but then he looked up at me with that adorable scrunched forehead I wanted to smooth out with my thumb. He was like a puppy, tilting his head and letting every emotion play across his face. “Wait, what?”

“Maybe I could get your number and we could have dinner or something?” I tried again. “I live in the city, what about you?”

“I live in San Bruno, so not far,” Will answered my second question first, then scratched his beard. “You want my number?”

“Here,” I pulled a business card and pen from behind my pocket square and wrote my personal cell number on the back.

“Is that what the pocket square is for?” Will asked before taking the card from me. “To hide your pen?”

“It has its purposes,” I winked and replaced the pen, making sure it was closed so it didn’t stain the suit I had tailored to fit like a glove. “Now the ball is in your court, or field, so to speak.”

“Come again?” Will asked, staring down at my card.

Biting back my reply of, ‘ that’s what I’ll be saying on our date, ’ I stepped closer to Will and waited for him to look up. “You have my number, and I’d like to take you out to dinner. You can decide when and where, and I’ll be there, Will.”

Will licked his lips as his eyes darted around my face, “How did you know my name?”

“Your credit card,” I explained. I hoped he would call me, but I couldn’t be pushy. “I hope I hear from you soon.”

With great effort, I stepped away from the sweet man and waved before turning and heading back upstairs to my job. Ellen was going to razz me so hard. Taking over her register then wandering off with a random customer who didn’t need my attention wasn’t like me. I was usually laser-focused on my job. But there was something about Will…

Looking back down to the first floor as I took the escalator back upstairs, I saw Will blinking, seeming to be in shock at me asking him out. I couldn’t be the first guy to give him their number, not when he was so charmingly sweet and sexy.

Unless I misread and he wasn’t into guys? Daddies could be women, too, since Daddy was more of a style of Dom than a gender role.

Will could be straight, but the way he flirted back and blushed said otherwise. I had no expectations when I started approaching him at X Club in September, but this time I had a lot more information.

The man I was captivated by in my store after reading his note on the tree needed someone to love him and show Will he was worthy. If he’d let me, I could be that Daddy.