Chapter 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

BARRETT

"C'mon, Owen, you need more than a few changes of clothes if you're moving in with me. You need like your whole wardrobe."

We both stood with our arms crossed and glared at each other while Owen tried to decide what to pack. Owen's mutinous expression was likely an attempt to look hard-edged, but he mostly looked cute. This wasn't an argument I was willing to lose. Hell, I wanted his lease terminated so I could move everything he owned into my house.

"I will do one week, and that's plenty."

"Two weeks, and I'll carry everything to the car."

"What kind of offer is that? You'd insist on doing it anyway. And if I do two, I get no argument about staying in the guest room."

"Ugh, no way are you staying in the guest room." Lordy, this man was obstinate. "You need to be in my bed. If you don't want me in there, I'll go somewhere else."

"Barrett, I'm not kicking you out of your own bed."

"Then I guess we're gonna share it. "

I didn't want to rehash his stubbornness again, so I left the closet with a suitcase, intent on packing items from his dresser. I set the luggage on his bed and opened the bottom dresser drawers. I pulled out stacks of little clothing.

There were footed pajamas and ribbed ones. They would be toasty in winter, but I knew he ran hot at night and never slept in much. When I returned for another stack, I found his cotton bodysuits. There were a couple of cute ones with monsters and a few Sasquatch ones, but most had Daddy on them. I wondered if all the Daddy vibes meant something or if he'd just gotten a good deal.

"Oh, you found them."

Owen looked nervous, which confused me. I was always around littles, so I didn't see the big deal. When I opened the next drawer to pull stuff out, I knew exactly what had him worried. His stash of cloth covers and disposable diapers were in this drawer. When I glanced up at him, he'd stopped breathing. I picked them up and examined a few of the covers. He'd obviously forgotten I'd dressed him in them the night I stayed and tucked him in.

"They're cute," I said with a shrug and put them in the suitcase.

Owen's breath came out in a whoosh. I crossed the room to him, rested my hands on his hips, and pulled him close to my body. Him this close to me set off a chain reaction. My nipples pebbled and my cock instantly started to chubb. My heart raced when I realized how close his mouth was to mine.

"I can't want to see you in them again." I dropped my head slowly so he could tell me no, brushing my lips across his when he didn't. His sharp intake of breath was the reaction I had hoped for.

His needy moan spurred me to deepen the kiss. His hands snaked up my chest until he grasped the back of my neck and demanded to give as much as he got.

Neither of us could deny our chemistry. Each time I was lucky enough to taste Owen, I became more intoxicated by him. I didn't want to waste time regretting the years we missed. Here and now, he had finally agreed to let me prove I could be the Daddy I'd always wanted to be for him. That would be enough because it had to be enough.

I drew back a little and touched my forehead to his. "As much as I want to keep doing this, I want you home more. Let's finish so we can get settled."

Owen nodded and stepped back to grab some clothes off the hangers. He had it under control in here so I went to the back to the bedroom. I finished packing his little clothes, along with his underwear and socks. When I started packing the stuffies on his bed, I found a suspicious lump tucked away under the covers near his pillow. Because I'm forever nosy, I pulled back the covers to find the owl I'd won at a frat fundraiser wrapped up in his blue blankie.

"You kept him?" I went back to the bathroom and held him out to Owen.

"Of course I kept him. He's cute."

Spoiler alert—he was not cute. His fur-feathers were a strange combination of autumn neon shades and his body was oddly proportioned. Honestly, he looked more like a mosquito than a bird.

"We have very different definitions of that word."

"I think he's cute, and he's mine, and that's all that matters."

"Didn't you tell me I'd left him behind at the fair? Have you been hiding a stolen stuffie this whole time?"

Owen turned his nose up in the air and gave me his back. "I saved his life."

"Babe, you could have just told me you wanted him. "

Owen turned back and looked at me through narrowed eyes. "You wanted me, a college student, to tell you, another college student, that I wanted to keep the owl you won at a fair so I could name him Hoot, keep him on my bed, and you not think I had a crush on you? That is the very definition of crush behavior."

"So you did have a crush on me?"

"Everyone had a crush on you, so it wasn't special." If that boy's nose got any higher, he might fall over. "Besides, don't we have to finish packing? I need to finish up in here."

I decided to let him change the subject, but it wouldn't be the reprieve I knew he hoped for.

"Remember those aspirational Canadians?" Owen's narrowed eyes were back to staring daggers at me. "Don't forget the non-aspirational substitutes."

"Oh, you got jokes."

"Babe, I just don't want anyone, or anything, left behind. I wouldn't want them to get lonely."

"Inanimate objects don't get lonely."

"Cool, so we're leaving behind Hoot? Or your blue blankie?" I tossed and caught the owl while using my oh-so-innocent voice.

"Absolutely not. Give him to me because I stole him fair and square." He snatched him from my hand and cooed, "Hoot, are you okay? Did that bad man hurt you?" He turned back to me and added, "I can't pack non-aspirational Canadian things with you in here."

I grabbed an already full suitcase and headed out the door. I'm pretty sure my cocky walk and whistling had Owen seething. And that's the thought that pulled a chuckle from me. I dropped the suitcase by the door and returned to the kitchen to pack up the bottles drying on the counter. Nope, we weren't leaving those behind .

In Owen's laundry room, I found a proper-sized shipping box he hadn't broken down yet and set out to find all the little stuff I knew he loved but kept hidden. I found his pacis, plastic-covered spoons, bibs, divided character plates, the bottles from the counter, and sippy cups in the cupboard. In the living room, tucked away in a covered basket, I found his soft blocks, a few larger cars, and jumbo crayons with simple pictures.

I made a second pass through everything to find any missed items and loaded the stuff ready to go into the back of my vehicle. I was closing the door to the back seat when Levi came out of the house and crossed the yard. He looked worried.

"Is Owen moving out and forgot to mention it?" he asked hesitantly.

"Nah, he's just staying with me for a few weeks. He's not moving out." I kept to myself that if it was up to me, Owen's move would be permanent.

"Oh, okay. Is everything okay with him? Or the house? Did something happen?"

"No, no. Nothing like that." I huffed a breath before I continued, "There's nothing wrong, but I don't know if Owen, who isn't sick or injured, would want me to talk about it. It's not a bad situation, but…uhhh…a private one."

"As long as he's fine, I won't pry, but are you sure he's okay?"

Before I could answer, Owen came out of the house with a suitcase. He seemed startled when he saw Levi but recovered quickly. He quickly crossed the yard and joined us.

"Hey, Levi, it's not what it looks like."

"Well, it looks like you're moving out, but Barrett says it's temporary."

Owen cast a sly glance in my direction before he answered, "Did Barrett mention why I'm staying with him temporarily? "

"Only that it was a private matter," Levi answered with a hint of confusion.

"Oh, that Barrett, he's so silly." Owen's look was distinctly mischievous. "He's a little embarrassed, but I keep telling him that hemorrhoid removal surgery is perfectly normal. I'm only staying with him to help for a bit."

"Oh, well, that explains why he called it private. I was under the impression it was about you."

Levi and Owen turned to me with their arms crossed and looked disappointed at "my" fib. I rolled my eyes at both of them.

"Barrett, no need to invent things. I don't have a lot of interest in your ass," Levi said with a smirk. That certainly piqued Owen's interest, though, and his little lie was momentarily forgotten.

"Do you have any interest in his ass?" Owen asked with a raised brow.

"Only in the abstract. My grandpa used to say his hemorrhoids were an absolute bitch."

Owen's peals of laughter and Levi's chuckles had me growling at both of them. I stalked over to Owen, gave him a dirty look that only made him laugh more, and grabbed his suitcase to toss in the back of the car. Assholes . If I did have hemorrhoids, which I didn't, bad enough for surgery, there'd be nothing funny about it.

"Are you ready?" I sounded growly, and I didn't much care. I wanted Owen to myself and was getting antsy.

"Well, that's the cue my break is over. Good luck with surgery and let me know if I can do anything to help." Levi headed back into the house with a casual wave of his hand.

"Oh, no worries, we'll let you know," Owen called to his retreating back in a sing-song voice. I couldn't have rolled my eyes harder if I'd tried. "Yes, I just need to pack up Bitty, and we'll be ready to go."

Owen sent my stomach into somersaults when he used my nickname for his cat. In the grand scheme of life, it probably meant nothing, but I was determined to take every win I could claim, no matter how small or insignificant. Elizabeth was already in her carrier, so it only took a few minutes to get her stowed safely. After the cat was buckled in, I did the same for Owen.

"You know I'm perfectly capable of doing that," Owen said with a laugh. "I was so confused the first time you put on my seatbelt."

"I'd rather know it's there than worry about it. Do we need to stop anywhere before we head back to the house? I had a grocery delivery yesterday, so we should be good for food."

"Nope, here goes nothing."

Rather than answer, I reached over and squeezed his hand, and to my surprise, he turned his hand over and tangled our fingers. He said nothing but continued to watch the scenery he'd seen a hundred times.

Here goes everything.

"I'm going to ask one last time. Are you sure you want me to stay in here?"

Owen had his suitcases and boxes stacked on the floor but hadn't opened anything. Bitty sat on the bed, her head ping-ponging when we spoke like she could understand the conversation as it happened.

"Yes, I want you in here, but if you want me to sleep elsewhere, I will."

"Where do you want to stay? "

"With you. What if you need me at night? If I'm here, I can take care of you."

Owen looked like he was about to argue but then abruptly changed his mind. With a nod, he opened the suitcase beside him and began pulling out items. "Do you want me to keep my clothes in the guest room?"

"Ha. Funny you should say that because I kinda sorta hoped this would happen and…"

"And what?"

"I've already cleared half the dresser and the closet out already," I said sheepishly.

"Bear, you're ridiculous. You know that, right?"

"It's what you love about me, babe."

Owen didn't respond. I didn't really expect him to but hope sprung enteral and all that bullshit. He abruptly shoved a box across the floor in my direction instead.

"Can you put this stuff in the kitchen, please?"

He dropped his gaze to the folded clothes he was pulling out like they were the most interesting things in the world. I grabbed the box and headed to the kitchen.

Once there, I undid the tape and started pulling items out. It was all the little items I'd packed up from his kitchen. I moved stuff around so that all his bottles, sippy cups, and divided plates would be in one spot, and I put his plastic-covered utensils in the drawer with all the others. The pacis I kept out to give them back to him.

When I returned to the bedroom, Owen was exactly where I'd left him. The stacks of clothes were forgotten in front of him. He'd grabbed Hoot and was using him to play handsy—wingsy?—with Elizabeth. Each time she swiped at the wing, he drew it back and giggled. It was a sweet, carefree sound I was loath to interrupt. I watched them from the doorway until Elizabeth outed me to Owen. He glanced up and was a little startled to see me.

"Sorry, babe. I didn't mean to scare you." I dropped down next to him on the floor.

"Da, 'itty silly." Owen gently ran Hoot's wing over the cat's head. "Silly 'itty."

"She's not the only one who's silly. I think I've got a pretty silly boy in front of me." Owen didn't speak but grinned and nodded his head. "You need a bath, and we need to eat. Which do you want first?"

"Baff."

"Bath it is. We'll get you all clean and in your pajamas, and then I'll fix dinner. It's been a long day, hasn't it?"

Owen's golden eyes had bags under them that I should have noticed earlier. He'd been working so hard, and it was taking a physical toll on him. I stood and offered him a hand.

"Okay, baby, let's get you clean, and then we'll have a quiet dinner, okay?"

Owen used my offered hand to pull himself off the floor but didn't pull away once he was up.

I led him into the bathroom and, once inside, asked, "Do you need to pee?"

He nodded.

"Do you want my help?"

He straightened his shoulders but nodded yes.

"Oh, baby, I'm so proud of you. Asking for help is hard."

I gave him a kiss on the temple and led him to the toilet, where the lid was already raised. His jeans didn't take long to undo, then I pulled out his cock and held it while he finished his business. After a shake, I tucked him back in. He leaned back briefly and let me support his weight. I could see the tension leaving his body with every minute the burden of being big was taken away .

"Tonight, we're going to shower so we can get some food in you, but tomorrow, we'll make time for a bath."

Owen didn't answer verbally but nodded his head and snuggled close to me.

The full weight of the potential danger he could face when he was in little space finally clicked in my mind. He struggled to articulate when he was little. In fact, he was close to nonverbal.

I could see how playing in public or even doing anything sexual in little space would be incredibly difficult and potentially dangerous if with the wrong partner. Fuck, even with the right partner, it would be hard. There was a real possibility that if something went wrong, he'd struggle to safeword. And playing with a stranger he could only hope would respect his boundaries? Hard. Fucking. Pass.

I started the shower to get the temperature correct before I returned to get Owen undressed. It didn't take long to get him fully stripped and ready. Once he was naked, and I was too, I urged him into the shower. He stood there like a champ and let me wash him from top to bottom.

Even though I washed his junk, he remained soft. I struggled with not getting harder than him. Now that I better understood his reluctance to be little in public, playtime was a no-go. But I also wasn't dead. Owen's body, so close and slippery to mine, still affected me.

Once we were clean, I had him step onto the mat to give him a proper once-over with the towel. When I moved to dry his hair, he giggled when I covered his face with the towel and gave him a thorough shake. After getting most of the water off us, I took his hand and led him back to the bedroom.

I laid a dry towel on the bed and said, "Baby, get on the bed so I can get you ready."

The lotion and powder had been placed on the dresser earlier so I retrieved those and took them back to the bed. Starting at the bottom, I lotioned his skin up to the top, skipping his ass and the back of his thighs for now. Once all accessible skin was done, I had him lie back and prop his feet on the edge of the bed. The moisturizing lotion was finished, and skin protectant lotion was applied around his dick and ass, followed by scented baby powder.

"Baby, I'm gonna put you in one of your diapers."

The list he'd done the other day had been incredibly helpful. I'd studied that thing through and through. He'd complained about too many questions, but I knew the order of his preferred bathing routine and that he liked diapers in little space when he was home in the evening. That made it worth the griping as far as I was concerned.

I gathered his disposable diaper, a cloth cover, and a pair of footie pajamas to get him dressed. When he was all powdered and diapered, I helped Owen off the bed and led him into the kitchen.

One of the many reasons I'd settled on this house was the small playroom off the kitchen. Owen didn't know it, of course, but I'd imagined watching him play while I puttered around the kitchen. Owen hated cooking, so I had no illusions he'd ever join me in the kitchen.

When he decorated the house, he hadn't understood the space was for him. I'd insisted on low shelves that lent themselves to baskets, only two chairs so there'd be floor space, and the softest, thickest rug he could find. I supposed he thought it was in preparation for an unknown little, but in my heart, I knew he was the only one I wanted to watch over.

And now he was finally here and my heart swelled to see him using the space exactly as I'd envisioned. He sat cross-legged on the floor with his back propped against one of the chairs with Hoot propped against the other. The soft lighting cast a glow across the room that lit him like a beacon. His blue blankie was spread out on the floor in front of them while Elizabeth anchored the other side. Owen gently rolled a small ball to her, and she batted it back to him. He gently sucked his paci, giggling around it at the cat's antics.

Owen must have felt my gaze on him. He looked at me with shining eyes, and I'd never loved him more than I did at that moment. As expected, he didn't say anything but made grabby hands in my direction. I dropped the kitchen towel and walked over to him.

"What do you need, baby?"

"Da, 'it. Peas."

Owen patted the chair behind him. He moved so that when I sat, he'd be positioned between my knees. When I was settled, he leaned against my knee and returned to his game. For the next half-hour, he and Elizabeth played their game while I soaked in his presence.

I wanted this to be our life.