Chapter 2

MAX

The Tap House was rocking. There was no other way of putting it. With the music on full blast, the beers flowing, and Eagle Ridge’s Daddies out in full force it was very much a case of letting the good times ride – and Max was all there for it.

‘Damn, I needed this beer,’ Max laughed, polishing off his chilled German beer and nodding to the server for another one. ‘There’s something about Christmas that just makes beer taste even better. Or is that just me?’

‘Ha! I don’t think it’s just you,’ Kipp replied. ‘It gets me every year too.’

‘Hey, who are you guys kidding,’ Axel bellowed. ‘We drink beer all year round. Don’t you remember those summer evenings just gone? Damn, we nearly drank the town dry.’

The Daddies all laughed together. Along with Kipp and Axel, Max was also with his fellow Daddies in the shape of Trey and Zane. Together, the five Daddies were more than capable of drinking The Tap House dry – or the entirety of Eagle Ridge for that matter.

‘So… Christmas with our boys,’ Kipp said, polishing off his beer. ‘Anyone still looking to get some last minute gifts? I know that the Christmas market has a great wooden toys stall.’

‘I’m all good,’ Axel said. ‘And we’re having a Christmas where everything has come from Santa Claus. I never used to care too much about Christmas, but Arlo loves it so much, I’ve kind of become a fan. Even if I have to pretend that Santa is real the whole time.’

‘What do you mean pretend ?’ Kipp laughed, a knowing look in his eyes. ‘He is real! And no matter how many times Dale asks me, I’ll say the same thing.’

Max laughed along with the other Daddies but he couldn’t help feeling that he was missing out on just how special Christmas time could be. There was something about sharing the holidays with a boy that Max knew would be the most incredible experience. Of course, there was way more to being in a relationship than Christmas, and Max was well aware of that. Typically though, Max was happy in his life and had more than enough on his plate to keep his mind off his single status. Running The Hot Plate was a big commitment, and Max’s involvement in Eagle Ridge Ranch was considerable too.

But Christmas time was Christmas time.

And Max knew from the pit of his stomach that it would be a whole heap better if there was a romper-clad boy by his side come Christmas morning…

‘Guys, I think enough with the Little talk,’ Max said, ready to move the conversation onward. ‘Tell me… who wants to get their ass whooped at the dart board?’

‘That sounds like a challenge you sonofagun,’ Axel replied, always up for a competitive game of darts, or pool, or whatever game was nearby in fact.

‘Let’s do this, men,’ Kipp added. ‘And why don’t we make it interesting? The loser of each game buys the drinks.’

‘I’m in,’ Max said, glad that everyone’s minds were now on a good bit of Daddy competition rather than boys and Christmas.

The truth was that Max was happy to see his friends had all found their Forever boys. Max valued his friendships way too much to allow jealousy to rear its head. But at the same time, there was only so much boy talk that he wanted to hear at the bar. Now it was time to get down to the real action…

The following day came around and Max’s hangover was surprisingly nowhere near as bad as he might have imagined. In truth, Max was a seasoned drinker who could ride out all but the worst of next-day hangovers, but this one was barely registering on the scale. And given that Max had plenty of work to be getting on with, that was very much a good thing too…

‘Okay, that’s the cakes covered…’ Max said, attempting to calculate how many people would be attending his annual Christmas feast at the diner.

It was very much an open-door policy for the Christmas feast and Max’s aim was always to make sure that the whole town was catered for. Of course, many of the townsfolk had their own things going on around that time of year, but The Hot Plate’s Christmas Feast was gradually becoming a staple of the town’s holiday season.

It might have been a ton of work for Max to take on board, but he enjoyed seeing the looks on all his customer’s faces as they tucked into his seasonal dishes and made merry with one another. The Hot Plate had a great community energy to it at the best of times, and it felt nice to give back to that community with something extra special.

But it wasn’t as if Max didn’t get anything out of it himself either.

In truth, the sheer scale of the work involved meant that Max’s mind didn’t have any time to dwell on the fact that it would be yet another Christmas without a special boy in his life. The Christmas feast occupied Max’s time in such a way that all thoughts of loneliness or couple-envy didn’t even register.

‘Damn, I need some air,’ Max muttered, his brain feeling fried as he battled with the various calculations and estimates that were needed when it came to figuring out how many Hot Plate Roasts he would need to prepare come feast night.

With that, Max walked out of the diner’s back room and out onto the street.

The crisp winter air hit Max immediately and it felt good. In fact, it was just what he needed. With a hastily pulled hot espresso in his hand, Max inhaled and exhaled the freshest of Eagle Ridge air.

‘Oh, hey,’ Max said, noticing a rather cute boy sitting on the nearby outdoor seating. ‘How’s the hot chocolate?’

‘It’s good, thank you,’ the boy replied, a nervousness in his voice that immediately set Max’s Daddy instincts aflame.

‘Well, any complaints just let me know,’ Max said. ‘I’m the boss.’

‘You’re my boss?’ the boy replied.

‘No, the boss… of the diner,’ Max chuckled. ‘But I could be your boss too, if that’s what you wanted.’

Max and the boy laughed, and it wasn’t long before the pair of them were sitting next to one another. Max had a quick wit and a good way with words, but it had been a while since he had felt the urge to try and hit it off with someone like this.

‘You’re not from here, are you?’ Max asked. ‘I mean, I’m pretty sure I’d know if you were.’

‘I’m with the circus,’ the boy answered. ‘My name’s Cam. I’m a-’

‘Let me guess, a lion tamer?’ Max replied. ‘Actually, scratch that. Animals have no place in the circus. I don’t support that shit. Let me try again… you’re an…’

‘I’m an acrobat!’ Cam said, laughing. ‘And I agree about no animals in the circus by the way. That sucks and belongs in a different time.’

‘So we agree on that,’ Max said, interested to see that the boy knew his mind and wasn’t afraid of expressing himself either. ‘Tell me, what would you say to a walk around our Christmas market this evening? Just you and me. I’ll show you the best stalls, we’ll get some nice snacks, maybe have a mulled wine?’

Max could see that Cam was into the idea.

There was no denying that Cam was cute, clearly a Little, and very much had a hint of mischief to him that was likely to drive Max wild. He might have been extra-busy with his Christmas feast preparations, but Max was more than happy to have an evening off if it meant the chance to spend some time with the new boy in town.

‘That sounds good,’ Cam answered, putting Max at ease and helping settle his heart rate just a little bit.

‘Great. Let’s say eight o’clock,’ Max smiled. ‘And don’t be late. I’m a busy man and running a tight ship. I don’t do lateness. Got it?’

‘Got it,’ Cam replied, the carefree tone in his voice giving Max just a hint of concern – the boy might not have realized, but when Max said that he didn’t do lateness, he truly meant it.

Max downed his espresso and said his goodbyes to the boy.

The evening date at the market would be fun, but before that there was plenty of work to be done – and only one Daddy capable of doing it.

Tick-tock-tick-tock…

Max looked up at the large clock on the wall of the diner. It was twenty minutes past eight and the boy was nowhere to be seen.

Tick-tock-tick-tock…

Each passing second was enough to put Max further on edge. Was the boy late? Or had Cam decided to stand Max up altogether? Or in a worst case scenario, had something bad happened to him? Whatever the answer, Max wasn’t impressed. And that was putting it mildly.

Tick-tock-tick-tock…

‘Where the hell are you, boy,’ Max growled, pacing up and down the diner’s polished floor.

The last of the customers had left for the day and Max was the only person left inside, Max having decided to let the rest of the staff leave early that day.

And just when Max decided that he might also give up on the boy and take a trip to the market by himself, he heard the diner door’s bell ring…

‘Well, well, well…’ Max said, shaking his head in disapproval. ‘You decided to show?’

‘Yeah?’ Cam replied, sounding sassy but looking very sweet in his red sweater and thick light blue jeans. ‘I’m maybe two minutes late. That’s no biggie.’

‘Two minutes? Try twenty,’ Max said, unimpressed with how flippant Cam was being. ‘I said eight o’clock for a reason. And I also made it very clear that tardiness wouldn’t be accepted.’

‘ Okaaaay ,’ Cam said, trying to maintain his cocky attitude but showing signs of nerves as his fingers fidgeted.

‘You know I’m a Daddy, and I know you’re a boy,’ Max said, stepping forward and towering over Cam. ‘And you knew there would be consequences to being late.’

Max looked across to the counter and picked up a wooden spoon.

‘I’m going to need you to drop those jeans, and whatever’s underneath too,’ Max said, his voice low and commanding. ‘You’ll hop up onto the counter, get on your stomach, and present that ass for a spanking. And if you take it like a good boy, there might still be time for the market. How does that sound?’

Max could see a flash of fear come over Cam’s face.

But it wasn’t just fear that Max was seeing in Cam’s eyes. There was excitement too. The boy knew what was coming his way and he was all there for it.

‘Y-y-y-yes, Daddy,’ Cam said, unbuckling his jeans and shaking them down to the ground. ‘Can I give you my safeword?’

‘I wouldn’t expect anything less,’ Max said, watching as Cam pulled down his white jockstrap to reveal his semi-hard cock springing up to attention.

‘My safeword is crabapple ,’ Cam said, waddling over toward the counter. ‘C-c-c-could you help me up?’

Max didn’t need asking twice.

With consummate ease, Max hooked his hands underneath Cam’s armpits and lifted the boy up and onto the countertop. Cam’s perfectly sculpted, strong little butt cheeks were fully on display and looked good enough to eat. But anything of that nature was going to have to wait – it was time to show the boy that if you agree to a date with Max, you show up on time or else…

‘One!’ Max purred, bringing the wooden spoon down on Cam’s left butt cheek before following up with a perfect swat on the boy’s right cheek too. ‘Two!’

‘ Awwww ! Thank you, Daddy,’ Cam said, his voice a mixture of shock and exquisite pain.

‘Three! Four!’ Max bellowed, cracking the boy’s wobbling cheeks twice more in rapid-fire succession. ‘Five! Six!’

‘ Awwww ! Daddy! Daddy!’ Cam squealed, tensing and releasing his ass cheeks as the swats landed one after the other. ‘My bottom hurts! My bottom hurts!’

‘And will you be late again for a date with Daddy?’ Max enquired, his own dick throbbing inside his jeans. ‘Or are you going to be a nice, obedient Little from here on out?’

‘I’ll be a good boy, I promise,’ Cam said, taking a further two swats on his rapidly reddening butt cheeks. ‘I’ll never, ever be late again!’

‘Now that’s better,’ Max said, his voice full of compassion as he put the wooden spoon down and immediately picked Cam up. ‘Let’s get this strong and sassy little butt of yours all cooled down. Luckily for you, I’ve got the coldest of cold refrigerators, and a pot of cooling cream with your name written all over it.’

With that, Max carried a quiet and calm Cam through to the kitchen. It was time to get his delicious booty all cooled down ahead of hitting the market.

‘Oh, wow, that feels… nice,’ Cam said as he bent over Max’s lap and felt the first swipe of cooling cream cross his buttocks. ‘ Ooops . Sorry. I think it might just feel a little too good.’

Max knew exactly what Cam was talking about – but at least he was no longer the only one to have a raging erection now.

‘Hey, no problem,’ Max chuckled, enjoying the sensation of Cam’s now thumpingly hard cock pressing up against his quads. ‘Why don’t we both agree to ignore each other’s excitement. Well, for now at least…’

Max had dished out plenty of spankings in his time, but none of them had felt quite like this one. There was something about the way that Cam took his swats that was different to the other boys.

Max couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was, but there was something special about Cam – he just knew there was. Maybe it was his Christmas spirit talking, but suddenly Max was far from irritated at Cam’s tardiness and was instead seeing the boy in an altogether better light.

I thought my Christmas was going to be all about the feast.

It still might be.

But it could be the case that I’m dining on the boy more than any plate of food…