10. GRANT

I knew we had great chemistry from all those emails we’d sent back and forth to each other. I wasn’t surprised we had great chemistry in person either considering how well we worked together, but our sexual chemistry was off the charts, if I cared enough to chart for it.

There were so many things I wanted to do with him, and only so many hours in the evening. I didn’t know where to go from here, from him splashing around with me in the bubbles of my whirlpool tub. I’d bought so many bath toys for him to enjoy I didn’t want to leave until we were both pruned up.

“I’m surprised you had all these just laying around,” he said, holding the octopus toy under the water and filling it with bubbles.

“I told you I bought them specifically for you.”

“No, I thought you were lying.”

“I’d never lie.”

He pulled the toy out of the water and squirted it at me. “But what if saying that is also a lie.”

“Oh. That wouldn’t be good, would it.”

“Nope. No way.”

“Well, don’t worry. I don’t lie, if I can help it.” I grabbed one of the toys already submerged in the water and tried squirting him back but it wasn’t a squirter.

I set the jets off to create more bubbles for him to play in. After all the work I’d done the last couple of months, this was the type of vacation I needed. Me, a little, and the whir in the tub as it glugged out more bubbles.

Each time the bubbles were in one large collection, he would place them on my face, adding them to the facial hair I already had on my chin. He called me Daddy Santa, and each time he did, I could feel myself becoming more and more aroused, activating that Daddy energy within me, a second wind of energy.

Eventually the pruning took over and we got out of the tub. The towels were all toasty and warm from the heated wrack. They were hotel grade towels, fresh and fluffy without getting the fluff on your wet skin, that was always a nightmare.

“Do you have anything you want to do tomorrow?” I asked him.

“I told my best friend, Fallon that we would go watch the Christmas tree lights be turned on,” he said. “But you can come to that with me if you want. And then I can introduce you.”

I stroked his face with the side of the towel. “I’d love to. I’ll need to think about how it might look first. I really don’t want either of us getting in hot water if we’re seen together outside of the office.”

“Hot water,” he repeating, wiggling his brows at me.

“Not like that hot water, but I’m probably just being extra cautious,” I told him. I had reason to be cautious, and it wasn’t because of previous experience, but because of a harassment suit that was brought against a partner from an associate who had been sleeping together. I knew our friendship happened before his work at the firm, but a lot of cases could turn into one of court of public opinion quickly.

“I don’t see the problem with us seeing each other, not holding hands, and not kissing, and definitely no sharing of hot drinks and food together,” he said.

“Whoa,” I chuckled. “I was right there with you until you said no sharing hot drinks. Who else am I going to split an overpriced hot cocoa with outside at the big tree reveal.”

“Ok, in private,” he said, holding his pinky out beyond the towel.

I held his pinky with mine. “Until we feel it’s time. Because I am absolutely here to go on more dates with you.”

“Oh my god, are you saying we’re dating?” he giggled. “I hope you’re not going to ask me to move into this nice apartment with you next.”

“Technically, we’ve been dating a while.”

“Friend dating,” he said. “Unless those movie buddy watches were more than friend dates.”

“You agree now that they were dates,” I said. “A couple of days ago you said they didn’t count as dates.”

He hid under the towel, drying his head. He said something, muffled by the movement of the towel. “This is technically the first date then.”

It was cute. I knew people in our circles could be seen as moving too quick, even what we were doing was considerably quick, but so was the heat of our initial meet. We were both ready to pounce on each other at every opportunity, from the meetings we had together, interlocking legs under the table and lingering touches over hands as we passed documents. We got it all out in those brief exchanges so we weren’t tempted to do it in larger meetings.

Henry yawned, pulling his head out of the towel. “I’m ready for bed,” he said. “Unless you wanted to do something else.”

I wanted to do whatever he wanted to do, and perhaps I also wanted to do him as well again, but I wasn’t going to press it. I craved intimacy after going without, but he wasn’t going anywhere, not anytime soon.

“We can go to bed,” I said. “And tomorrow, I’ll make you breakfast in bed.”

He smacked his lips. “As long as I get to taste some of that jam you brought back from France.”

“You drive a hard bargain. It’s a deal. But you’ve got to promise not to make a man out of the jam like they did with chocolate in the movie.”

“If I did, it would be a replica of you,” he said with a snort of laughter. “Although I don’t think there would be enough jam to create that thing.” He looked right at my cock, half-chubbed from being in his general vicinity. I couldn’t help it, I was a warm-blooded man, the signs of my arousal were easy to see.

I wrapped my arms around him and carried him, half-wrapped in the towel. “Do you sleep in something? Because I’m a naked sleeper. Just want you to know that about me. I sleep butt ass naked, and I never wear a stitch of cloth, even on the coldest of nights.” I sat him down on the bed, the towel as a protective layer to keep him from getting the bed wet.

“I usually have my onesie,” he said. “But I guess if you’re going to be in bed, and I get a share of all that body heat you’re hoarding, I could be persuaded to sleep in the nude too.”

“I won’t mind either way,” I said. I was just looking forward to sharing my bed with him. “As long as you know I’m a big spoon. And I’ll curl up around ya, I’m like a bear in hibernation when I sleep.”

“Mhm, my big warm bear Daddy,” he giggled. “I’ll sleep naked then. I don’t like to get too warm in the night, so it’s probably best I’m wearing very little.”

I gave him a kiss on the forehead. “Perfect. We should’ve really brushed our teeth before I carried you in here,” I said. “My bad. Did you bring a toothbrush?”

He nodded, water droplets flinging from his hair. “And toothpaste. I get sensitive teeth.”

“You’re very prepared. Good boy.”

“You don’t know the half of it, I also brought that toy, and those candy canes,” he said. “And you’ll have to wait and find out if I prepared anything else.”

I couldn’t imagine any other face belonging to Legal elf than the one that I was presented with right now. My evening temptation was always to message him about my day, and yet, he knew all about my day already. In some ways, the exchanges we sent each other were diary entries, and the idea of us meeting might not have been something either of us really thought would ever actually happen.

The nighttime routine was done and Henry looked to me in bed. “Do you think if we met before I got my job at the firm, you would have tried to get me a job there?”

It was a surprisingly heavy question, loaded with many answers and responses. I didn’t have the right one for him. I couldn’t have told him I would because I knew how toxic workplaces could become, especially when lawyers were involved and the race to partner was on every associates mind. I just didn’t want that for him, his sweet, little soul was far too precious in my mind to go through all the stress I knew being a lawyer put people through.

“It’s ok,” he said before I’d managed to form an answer. “I wouldn’t have asked, but I also wouldn’t have wanted to be in opposition to you. Because I know I’d win every single time.” He flashed me those big eyes and a pout.

“That’s cute you think so, but you’re right, you wouldn’t have asked,” I said. “I remember the way you spoke about law in emails, it was brief, and I actually assumed you were a paralegal because of—”

He laughed. “Go on, say it.”

“Because you’re a little,” I said. “You’re a sweet, submissive little, someone I just figured would’ve wanted to live behind the scenes in a firm. But if I actually put some real thought into it, I would’ve known.”

“Well, I didn’t know you were a lawyer,” he scoffed.

“I didn’t disclose it because I am a lawyer for the topic of discussion in that forum,” I told him. “You’ve gotta be careful with the information you give out.”

He let out a giggle. “The time you mentioned going to Paris, I searched up all the flights leaving that day, and I was half-tempted to go and stand around at the airport to see if I could figure out who you were,” he admitted and then burrowed his head against my chest. “I bet you think I’m a stalker now. I’m not. I didn’t do it,” his voice muffled against my chest.

I stroked a hand against the back of his head, ruffled through his hair. “Then I’ll admit to searching up stores in the city which sold the specific collectable teddies you were talking about,” I told him. “There were multiple of them across the country, so my search really wasn’t narrowed down because you could’ve ordered online, or been in another state.”

Lifting his head, he looked at me. “They were actually bought in Mexico from a guy who dealt in them, he’s actually Fallon’s boyfriend.”

I clicked my tongue. “I actually saw something about the factory in Mexico. I just didn’t put your trip and that together.” It was wild to piece together each other’s lives from emails we’d sent each other, even more wild that we knew intimate details and yet few personal ones.”We’re only human,” I said. “And lawyers, so some people might argue we’re not human at all. It’s in our bones to research and dig into everything we read, hear, or see.”

“You get it,” he said, letting out a large yawn and triggering one from me. “It’s like I need to know, all the time, every single bit of information. Someone said lawyers were just gossips that got paid to argue.”

There was something to that, a lot of time was spent using other words in place of the words we really meant because of how a word could be picked apart to mean something it didn’t, especially in a contract. So many cases were won on semantics and loosely phrased wording.

“You did a good job today, in case I didn’t tell you already,” I said, kissing his forehead. “I want you to know that even if there wasn’t an email inbox filled with your name and our flirty exchanges, I think I would’ve still been drawn to you.”

“You do?”

“Absolutely. You were a little in search of a Daddy,” I said. “You see how I said were , that’s because you’ve found me.”

He snuggled his head a little deeper into my chest. “Thank you.”

It was much easier to sleep with his body beside mine, his skin clinging to my skin in his sleep like his life depended on staying connected. His warmth was nice, although he was absolutely taking my warmth. I didn’t want it to end, but as soon as my alarm went off and he didn’t move, I figured it was the perfect time to wake up before him and surprise him with breakfast.

Rolling out of bed was easy but trying not to wake Henry with my heavy footed fumble around the room a little more difficult. I nearly fell over the clothes we’d stripped from each other last night.

In Paris, I’d taken classes in cooking crepes, the thin pancakes they had over there opposed to the thicker, fluffier kind. Since being back in the city, I’d managed to stock my fridge and cupboard with more food. I’d been preparing for Henry coming over, and I knew I needed to hit it out of the park with breakfast.

Butt naked in nothing but a red apron with a Santa and ‘ Kiss Mr. Clause’ written on the front.

Smooth jazz played from the radio in the kitchen, it was soft and quiet, not enough to wake Henry, but enough for me to vibe. I mixed up the pancake batter, prepared the hot pan, and then made the first pancake of the morning. Which I’d learned was always going to be the worst, and meant for the chef, obviously.

The second pancake, I tried something a little different. I used a large metal cookie cutter stencil of a teddy bear face. They came in three sizes for cookies, naturally, but this was perfect for my creating something new and special for Henry.

I created several of them, layering each of them on a plate, ready to surprise Henry in bed. The pancakes were paired perfectly with sliced bananas and strawberries in smaller bowls, a jar of artisanal strawberry jam I’d brought back from France, and the smell of a hot mocha with just a dash of whipped cream and a sprinkle of crushed peppermint.

He was completely taken by surprise, even if I had told him I would be making him breakfast.

“For me?” he asked, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

“I won’t mind sharing,” I told him. “Unless you want to eat all of them.”

“Oh no, I wanna share them with you,” he said. “I’m going to take a picture to send Fallon.”

“You want me in it?” I asked, sitting on the side of the bed.

“You might want me to put some more clothes on,” he said. “Otherwise he could catch a glimpse of that bulge.”

I laughed, grabbing at the bulge in question, it was a dishcloth tucked inside the pocket of the apron. “I’m not sure that is what you think it might be.”

“Oh damn,” he giggled, snapping a photo of the breakfast on the stand tray across his lap in front of him. “Thank you. I love teddy bears, of course.”

“Well, I’ve got plenty more shapes we can try out in future. Assuming you’d like to have more of these sleepovers.” I pursed my lips and made a kissy face at him. “Go on then, take a bite. And taste the jam you’ve been so desperate for.”

He shared his teddy bear pancakes with me, and I made little rolled crepes with the fruit and jam together. They were often served with a chocolate spread, but I knew he’d might’ve had his fill of chocolate for the week after all the mochas he’d chugged down.

Between breaths and bites, he told me how good he thought the breakfast was. I wasn’t surprised by that at all. He was even bragging to his friend about them as well, the friend I was soon to meet for a little double date at the Christmas tree lights turn on.