5. Riley

Chapter 5

Riley

The correct answer was to tell him, “No, I need to get to work.”

It was the responsible thing to do.

It was how a good boy would respond.

My boss had flown me all the way out here for this event. Skipping was not within my work expectations. I had responsibilities. But no part of me wanted to do the right thing. Instead, I bobbed my head up and down. When he just continued to wait, I dug up some courage. “Yes, please.”

He was waiting for the words, just like a good Daddy would. I shouldn’t have expected any less. Everything about him shouted Daddy long before he referred to himself as such.

“Okay.” He let my hands go, and I wanted to cry right there, which—what a big feeling for only knowing him for two seconds! Adam instantly saw the hurt on my face, or at least that was my assumption, because he reached for my hand and asked if that was okay.

I did my best impression of a bobblehead, just like before. And once again, he waited until I used my words, telling him it was more than okay.

He walked out holding my hand, and no one said a word to him or me. People had been filing inside for the next session, so we mostly went unnoticed, although it was hard to believe that Adam could be anywhere and not be noticed. He was not only gorgeous, but he had this presence about him. A commanding, take-charge presence, but also, he was someone you just wanted to hug.

“What did you eat for breakfast, Riley?” He stopped as we reached the end of the corridor, where we had to make a decision about which part of the casino we were going to next. None of the options were good, in my opinion. It was loud, and all the bings and sirens from the slots were overwhelming at best.

I considered lying to him. Telling him I had a bagel or something. It wasn’t a complete lie since that had been my plan. He’d be disappointed if he found out, though. And knowing me, I’d confess. It was better being honest and not even bothering with saying I wanted my coffee first, like I didn’t know it wasn’t actual food. “Nothing.”

“Is that a healthy choice for little boys?” He used his Daddy voice, and damn, it was sexy.

I shook my head. “No, Daddy.”

I hadn’t meant for that to slip out, and I could tell it registered by the look on his face, but he didn’t make a big deal of it. “Well, then, we need to get you some breakfast.”

We walked to the left, and I thought we were going somewhere else in the casino because there were plenty of places to eat, but instead, we walked outside and into the fresh air. It was loud out here, too, but a different kind of loud. There were people talking—or in some cases screaming— horns honking, and cars idling. It was much better than the slot machines, but in no way calming to the sensory overload I’d been dealing with since I arrived in this city.

He stopped just outside the entrance. “Do you need to tell someone where you’re going?”

I didn’t want to answer him because I should have already told my boss I was missing part of the day. The first part was an accident, but this time I’d made the choice to ditch. At least the next session was one I was supposed to just observe and not present, so it wasn’t as horrible as it felt. If I didn’t say anything, I’d probably get away with playing hooky. But I was a confessor, so the odds were good I’d rat myself out. “Um, where are we going?” Deflection for the win.

He pointed across the street. “The best breakfast in the entire city is in that hotel.”

It was one of the older ones, one I was pretty sure was on the block to be leveled within the next few years. Vegas didn’t like to keep anything around once it got dated. But if Adam said it was the best breakfast in town, I believed him. “Sounds good to me.”

He squeezed my hand. “And do you need to tell someone?”

“It’s fine.” In my mind, that wasn’t technically a lie, so nothing to accidentally confess.

We walked hand in hand, then we went up an escalator, across a bridge, and down the other side until we reached our destination. It was an Italian restaurant, which surprised me, but when we sat down, the menu was very brunch-oriented.

He tapped the top of my menu. “You need to eat if you’re going to focus, so make sure you have some protein.”

I looked at the menu to see what it offered. Huge, fluffy French toast was pictured front and center and it was my favorite. Especially when it was slathered in strawberries and whipped cream. But definitely not protein, so I tried to find something healthy. Something that would make him proud.

It made no sense that I wanted to make him proud. He wasn’t my Daddy. He was just some guy I was having breakfast with instead of being responsible and heading to work. In fact, maybe he was a bad influence.

Anyway, I looked and looked at every option on the menu, and when the server came back and asked if we wanted anything to drink, I ordered coffee.

Adam looked at me once the server was out of earshot. “No milk for you?”

“No, it’ll be cold from the fridge. Besides, I think I want my next drink to be straight from the tap.” I peeked at him even though my face was burning, my entire being in disbelief that I’d just said that.

The glint in his eyes told me it was okay. I’d said the perfect thing.

I made Daddy happy.

“What were you thinking about ordering?” It was as if he saw right through me and understood my French toast desires.

“What I was thinking is that I want French toast with strawberries but that it’ll disappoint you because there’s no protein, so I need to find something better. But then I keep going back to the French toast.”

He wasn’t my Daddy. He wasn’t even my date. It shouldn’t matter what he thought of what I ate. And yet it did.

“Why don’t you have a half order of the strawberry French toast, and then have some eggs and ham on the side?”

My eyes went wide at his suggestion. Problem solved.

I could order what I wanted and make him smile simultaneously. It was perfect. Then again, so much of what had happened since I met him was perfect, but also weird. I didn’t get this comfortable with people this quickly, and I sure didn’t call people Daddy before I even knew what state they lived in.

Jet lag was an easy scapegoat. So was the chocolate milk I had before bed or not sleeping well because of all the noise…or general travel anxiety or a thousand other reasons. But the truth was, it was all because of Adam. Why did I have to meet him here and not back home? If we’d met at Chained, we could explore something more than just a breakfast and my fantasy of skipping the entire day of the conference to ride him like a unicorn.

The saying was that whatever happened in Vegas stayed in Vegas. I could turn this chance meeting into a one-day bang fest, but when I came out the other side, I wouldn’t be okay. That wasn’t how I shared my body.

For me, it was always about more.

And gods help me, with Adam, I wanted more.