13. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Jobe

Who knew spending Christmas with a little would be both exciting and exhausting? I’d need a case of wine to get through this, but Beck’s excitement would make it worth it in the end. I hoped.

Even at the cost to my liver.

Thank the Daddy gods I didn’t have one who prohibited his boy from drinking. A glass of wine at the end of the day was the perfect way to relax, in my opinion. Followed by an orgasm or two and you’ve got yourself one happy boy!

Today Beck and I were shopping for presents for our Daddies and I now understood how some parents used those leashes disguised as cute backpacks with their kids. I’d lost count of the number of times I had to reel Beck away from toy displays and redirect his attention to items more Crispin’s style.

“What about a nice tie?” I suggested.

“Mmm, I don’t know. I haven’t been to his house yet, so I don’t know what he really likes.”

“Why don’t we go have lunch and social media stalk him? That may enlighten us.” I hoped.

“Good idea, but I don’t have a lot of money to spend.”

I fired off a text to Daddy for suggestions.

Me: Mayday! Mayday! Sad Beck with very little budget to spend on Crispin. Send affordable Daddy ideas STAT!

Daddy: The one thing Daddies of littles love most are gifts made by them. Hit the craft store and use the credit card I gave you.

Me: Good to know and easy to achieve though he may get lost in the aisles. I really need a leash for him.

Daddy: ?????? Good luck! I love you.

Me: Ugh…love you too.

“All right, Beck. Lunch is on Stanley, and he gave me the perfect ideas for your Daddy. Let’s order our food and get a plan together.”

“Yay! I love your Daddy, but why don’t you call him Daddy all the time? It’s so much fun.”

“The kind of Daddy-boy relationship Stanley and I share differs from the ones you’re familiar with. Daddy is a special word between us, and I reserve it for when we’re alone. Everyone in our small circle knows of our dynamic, such as you and Crispin, but outside of that it’s no one else’s business how we choose to live our lives.” Plus, anytime I called Stanley Daddy it aroused him and that led to fun, private times.

He scrunched up his face. “I get it. I think. I’m just so excited that I finally have a Daddy. I just hope he doesn’t leave me.”

“Have you had other Daddies do that to you? Leave, I mean?” Now seemed like the best time to open that potential can of worms and learn more about him. With no one else around he may be more apt to share.

“Yes. They say they want to be my Daddy then when I let them do grown-up stuff to me they leave after they get what they want and block me on the app. I hate that app. I deleted it and gave up on ever having a Daddy of my own.”

I had the urge to ask Stanley to hack into that app and get the names of all the Daddies on Beck’s profile so I could hunt them down one by one.

“Well, that’s all behind you now. Stanley says Crispin is enamored by you. How did it go with him watching you work?”

“He-he,” Beck covered his mouth as he giggled. “He was no-nonsense Daddy all night and every time I danced for him he tucked a hundred in my shorty shorts. I made rent already. He got growly when anyone stepped near me. One guy threw his hands in the air and backed away. Daddy made sure security knew I had a boyfriend. I can’t believe I get to use that word and we’ve only been together four days.” Beck beamed. I was ridiculously excited for my bestie and surprised he got all that out in a single breath.

“I’m so happy for you, Beck. I love you so much and I just want you to be happy.”

“Daddy has taken me to work and back home every night and he hasn’t pushed for sex either, though I did get rubbies last night.” Back to giggling but how fun was this? Glad I figured out what rubbies were without having to ask.

“Fun!” No use denying it. Who didn’t enjoy a handjob?

“I now understand why you want to be with your Daddy all the time, I just hope I don’t screw this up by being me.”

“Beck,” I reached over and covered his hand with mine. “This is the one time where being you is exactly who you need to be.”

“I hope so. I really, really, really like Daddy Crispin. He’s nice to me.” I took a moment to absorb his words as our food was served, but I owed Beck an apology.

“Beck, I must apologize to you. All these years I’ve been selfish and took our friendship for granted and for that, I’m sorry. You’ve been nothing but kind to me and did things you’d prefer not to.” No need to elaborate, he understood what I meant.

“I did that for my friend and ‘cause I love you.”

“I love you, too, but that doesn’t give me or anyone else the right to take advantage of you or anyone for that matter. For so long, you’ve been my only family, and I need you to promise that if I’m being a dick or you don’t want to do something, you will tell me. Promise?”

“Promise. But it wasn’t all that bad, I mean, well, you know. I don’t want to say it out loud and make you mad like I did at dinner.”

“I wasn’t mad so much as embarrassed. But no matter what, you’re my best friend and I love you. We just need to work on that whole brain-mouth filter.” I smiled so he’d see I wasn’t mad.

“Yeah, Daddy Crispin said something similar. You’re my only family, too, Jobe. I never knew my real one because I was raised in foster care and got bounced around a lot.” Beck said no more, and prodding felt all kinds of wrong. There was trauma hidden there and it was up to Beck who he shared that with. Maybe sometime soon I’d suggest my therapist to him. She’s been nothing short of amazing.

“Come on, “ I stood and took Beck’s hand. “You’re gonna love Daddy’s suggestion.”

Time to turn Beck’s frown upside down. Nothing like a good night of arts and crafts to do that.

“Oh my gawd! Squee! A craft store!” Beck squealed as we pulled into the parking lot. “I love crafts. Your Daddy is a genius!”

“Yes, he is, if I do say so myself. Come on, let’s pick out some fun stuff for you to make Daddy Crispin.”

“You’ll make stuff with me, too, right?”

“I’ll do my best.” Mostly I’d be sipping wine, but hey, can’t blame a guy. I was a rather crafty person so who knew what the night would bring.

Two very long hours later and a cart full of shit I hadn’t the slightest clue what to do with, we filled the remaining space in my SUV with bags and headed home.

I texted Daddy as we pulled into the parking garage to help us with the bags, and he met us at my parking spot.

“Wow, did you two buy out the mall?” he teased.

“Well, if not the mall then definitely the craft store.” Beck giggled beside me. “This one had far too much fun in there.”

“Good, I’m glad. Both of you deserve to let loose and have some fun. Now, what bags go where?” We gave him the craft store bags to take up to my place while Beck and I ran the Daddy gift ones up to his.

“Whew,” I kicked off my shoes and Daddy handed me a glass of wine when I finally walked through the door. “I love you more than you know.” Daddy winked and gave me a kiss.

“That was a long day. How about I order a pizza while the two of you get to crafting?” Daddy asked and Beck cheered. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Beck pulled the stuff from the bags and lined each item up across the dining table, carefully assessing them.

“Hmm, where should I start?”

“May I make a suggestion?” Daddy asked him.

“Of course, Daddy Stanley.”

“I’d recommend beginning with these concrete steppingstones you got because they’ll take time to set.” Daddy picked up one of the boxes and read the back. “Yes, start with these. Let me give you a hand.”

It was adorable watching Beck follow Daddy around as he gathered what was needed to pour and set the molds.

“Now, while these firm up let’s get you started with the,” Daddy paused. “Um, Jobe, you bought glitter?”

“We did.” What was I missing?

“Glitter was banned from the littles room at Cordes for good reason.” Beck’s head bobbed back and forth as he took in our exchange. “And I’m fairly certain a glitter explosion won’t be welcome in your home.”

“Oh, fuck.”

“Ohhhh, Jobe said a bad word.” The tattle tale heard me say that word millions of times and suddenly it was a problem for his delicate ears.

“Yes, he did,” Daddy agreed, “but I was thinking the same thing. Jobe, do you have any tarps or a smock of some sort for Beck to wear and so we can cover your floor?”

I grabbed some pieces of material I was willing to sacrifice along with an old shirt to put over Beck’s clothes but there wasn’t anything large enough for the floor. Meanwhile, Daddy got him set up with his first project.

“Beck, we need you to be very careful with the glitter, please.”

“Yes, Daddy Stanley, I promise.”

I swear the first container he touched, my heartrate elevated. Why had I thought white furnishings and expensive throw rugs were the way to go? Now, the image of glitter contacting my beloved furniture had me shaking with fear.

“Jobe, come paint with me.” Beck’s tongue darted out as he concentrated hard to stay inside the lines. While the paint was wet he’d sprinkle glitter on it to make is sparkle and shine. His words, not mine.

Daddy was a nervous wreck, moving each container of glitter out of Beck’s way as he’d finish with a color. But Beck’s hopeful face had me taking a seat beside him, albeit reluctantly.

“Yay! Pick one to paint for your Daddy.”

“But he’s standing right there, he’ll see it.”

“Turn around, Daddy Stanley.”

Stanley’s eyes met mine, both reflecting the fear we held for a missing set of eyes on the potential forthcoming glittery-pocalypse.

“I’ll just make sure I don’t look at Jobe. Would that work, little one?” The plea in Daddy’s voice wasn’t missed by me. “I’ll go check and see if the stone mix has set.”

That meant I was on glitter duty…

“This is fun,” Beck shimmied in his seat, dancing in place.

I’d barely painted, my eyes glued to the devilish containers.

“Well, it would appear we have a lot to learn about each other.” I’d never done this even as a child. I was a mini-adult thrust into the limelight at a young age while other kids were out riding bikes and coloring.

“I need the blue glitter.” Beck reached across the table just as I glimpsed his sleeve grazing the purple container. Before I could stop it, POOF! Like a cloud of smoke, it filled the air and covered my face and the front of me.

“Oopsie.”

Had it not been for Beck’s bottom lip quivering and his eyes filling with tears I’d have lost my shit.

“Stay!” the frantic tone in Daddy’s voice kept me rooted in place. “Where is the vacuum?”

“Hallway closet,” I gritted out, unsure if I should brush this off or what the fuck to do.

Daddy returned, vacuum in hand. “Stay still, love. Let me get as much off as we can before you attempt to move.”

I couldn’t bear to watch and closed my eyes until the vacuum shut off.

“I got most of it. I recommend showering next while I keep working on the rug.”

I glanced down at my once gloriously plush white rug beneath the dining table and cringed. Even from up here the evil sparkles reared their ugly heads.

“Thank you.” The vacuum turned on again as I shut the bedroom door. I caught a glimpse of myself in the full-length mirror across the room and slowly made my way over to it.

“Fuck. Me.” The whole front of my platinum blonde head was doused in purple glitter along with my forehead. Did plumbers find this shit in drain lines years down the road? Well, the building maintenance team was about to find out how long the glittery cockroaches’ life span was.

Once the warm water hit my shoulders, I relaxed. Beck and I had a great day, but it’d been so long since I’d walked that much or actually shopped in a physical store versus online and I was exhausted. He didn’t mean to spill the glitter, that much I knew, but nonetheless he had.

Deep breath, Jobe. It’s just glitter.

Remember how happy Beck was today and reflect upon that.

I love my best friend. I love my best friend. I repeated the chant until I felt at peace with a calm serenity.