9. Dale

Chapter 9

Dale

Maybe it was his double dose of spankings from the previous day that acted as the supreme motivating factor, but Dale enjoyed his third day of working at The Hot Plate way more than he expected.

After arriving promptly for his shift, Dale got down to work and really went the extra mile to get all of the orders correct, give his best service, and show Kipp that he could be counted on.

There was one problem however… Kipp hadn't been there to witness any of it.

According to Marshall, Kipp was busy at the timber yard all morning picking up the wood for his new barn project. But Dale hadn't used this as an excuse to cut any corners. In fact, Dale had worked even harder in Kipp's absence – and this was reflected in the overflowing tip jar at the end of his shift too.

Dale wasn't used to being so well rewarded for his work. Although perhaps closer to the truth was that he didn't have much of a track record at working so hard. Dale had always had a lot of energy, but this was maybe the first time that he had used so much of it in the workplace – and willingly too.

In fact, Dale and Marshall had developed into quite the team behind the counter. One of the regular customers even started calling them The Deadly Duo as they moved around the place, took orders, and generally kicked all kinds of butt.

Dale and Marshall went back a long way and it felt great to be working together. Dale had plenty of memories hanging out with Marshall in their youth, and this was like a refresher. Although this time it was even better as they were getting paid!

That being said, Dale was ready to put his feet up by the time his shift drew to its conclusion. And with Marshall only on for another half hour, the pair of them would soon be getting on with their lives outside of work.

Marshall had already made plans with his mom and pop, which meant that Dale was looking at an evening of rest and relaxation at his apartment. He had never been much of a cook, and always relied on takeout. But seeing as his primary objective in that moment was to save money, Dale was going to keep things simple and dine off tortillas and hummus. He knew that it was hardly the meal of the century, but it would hit the spot and keep him going until breakfast the following morning.

‘Catch you later,' Marshall said, handing Dale a glass of freshly squeezed OJ to drink outside at the end of his shift. ‘I'll message. Or you message me. Whatever, let's stay in touch!'

‘You got it,' Dale giggled. ‘And I'm looking forward to sitting outside and drinking this bad boy more than you can imagine. My feet are on fire!'

‘Hey, that's diner life for you,' Marshall said, smiling to himself as he waved goodbye and set about clearing up the booth over by the window.

Dale left the diner and walked over to the small bench out front and happily allowed himself to sit his butt down and take a satisfying sip of his OJ.

‘Damn, this is what I needed,' Dale said, letting out a long and satisfied sigh as the evening sun hit his face.

Dale took a moment to taste the OJ.

It was a long time since Dale could remember working in such a fun place. The bars and cafes that he worked at in the city were all super-busy and the customers were either rude or totally indifferent to him. But The Hot Plate was different. It felt like a community.

Eagle Ridge isn't so bad.

The people are nice, the OJ is on point.

What's not to love?

Dale smiled and shut his eyes. As the sun beat down on his exhausted body, he remembered how his mom and pop had always told him that there would be a welcome back for him in Eagle Ridge if he ever decided to come home. At the time, Dale didn't really believe what they were telling him. But they were right. Suddenly Dale was beginning to wonder whether Eagle Ridge was the place to be…

‘Nope. Nope. Nope,' Dale muttered. ‘Keep your mind on the prize. I'm here to save some money ready for my next adventure, and that's it.'

Dale opened his eyes and saw a very welcome sight.

Kipp was walking toward him and he had a big brown bag under one arm and his dog happily pacing on the other side.

‘Hey, I was on time today,' Dale said.

‘I know. Well done,' Kipp said. ‘But don't expect bonus just yet.'

‘As if!' Dale giggled.

Kipp was looking his usual handsome self in a fitted white t-shirt, jeans, and a pair of black boots. And the fact he was accompanied by such a handsome dog only added to the heat factor.

‘So… a good day?' Kipp asked, taking a seat next to Dale.

‘Yeah. And…' Dale said, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious.

‘Go on, you can speak your mind,' Kipp said, a reassuring tone to his voice. ‘I'm not always the big, bad boss you know.'

‘I liked it,' Dale said. ‘It felt good to give good service and see all the smiles on people's faces. I don't know, you don't get much of that in the city.'

Kipp nodded in approval.

‘Well that makes me happy to hear,' Kipp said. ‘Any plans for dinner?'

‘It's me, some tortillas, and a big pot of hummus,' Dale said, smiling. ‘My favorite!'

‘After a long day at work? You must be kidding me. This won't stand,' Kipp said, suddenly sounding very much like a Daddy. ‘You're coming to my place. And I'm going to cook you up a feast. Don't worry, I'll drive you back home once we're all done feeding you.'

‘I couldn't,' Dale said, suddenly shy. ‘I don't want to impose on you or your cute doggy.'

‘Hey, Brutus will be glad of the company,' Kipp laughed. ‘Won't you boy?'

Brutus barked enthusiastically and thumped his tail up and down against the sidewalk.

‘Well… seeing as Brutus wants me there so much,' Dale teased. ‘It's a yes.'

The Eagle Ridge Ranch signpost swung back and forth in the light breeze as Kipp swung his truck into the long, gravelly driveway. Dale recalled visiting the ranch as a child with his mom and pop, but it was such a long time ago that he could barely remember anything about it.

‘I know it needs a makeover,' Kipp said, parking the truck. ‘But that's my mission. You may have noticed that diners aren't my natural habitat. But here… this is my place .'

Dale hopped out of the stationary truck and took in the sights around him.

It was true that the ranch had seen better days. Some of the buildings looked positively derelict. And the gardens were either overgrown or badly in need of some TLC. But Dale could see that there was hope – and with a Daddy like Kipp working on things, then Dale was sure that Eagle Ridge Ranch would be turned around in no time.

‘I like it,' Dale said, watching as an eagle flew overhead. ‘I think you're going to make this place into something special.'

‘Well if you've got any ideas, fire them at me,' Kipp chuckled. ‘I'm good at hard work, construction, and moving heavy things from one place to another. But when it comes to creative ideas I'm not exactly the best.'

‘Hey, you're probably way better than you think,' Dale said, slowly finding himself able to be more and more at ease in Kipp's company.

While Kipp might have been physically intimidating, it was clear that he had a good heart. And even though he was fond of spanking, Dale could tell that Kipp was sensitive and thoughtful too – as his aftercare had proven to Dale already.

‘Why don't you hang out here while I get dinner going?' Kipp asked. ‘I'm sure Brutus would love to have a new playmate.'

‘Awesome,' Dale replied, laughing as Brutus duly ran over with what transpired to be his favorite frisbee. ‘Smart dog.'

‘Smart and sassy,' Kipp replied. ‘Just like someone else I know.'

Kipp winked and walked into the ranch house.

Dale felt a surge of excitement come over him. He could tell from the spankings that Kipp was turned on. But part of him wondered whether that was simply the act of dishing out a spanking to a naked ass that got him hard.

However there was something about Kipp's demeanor that Dale sensed had changed. It was almost like he was flirting with him. It was admittedly hard to tell. After all, Kipp was still as gruff and Daddy-like as ever. But unless he was very much mistaken, Dale could sense that Kipp might have feelings for him.

And the truth was that Dale was starting to wonder whether he had feelings for Kipp too. The fact that he had been attracted to him from the first time he saw Kipp was one thing, but Dale couldn't deny that this was looking and feeling like way more than lust.

If Dale was to dream up his ideal Daddy, would he look much different to Kipp?

Dale knew the answer to that question. And he also knew that his feelings were only likely to get stronger and stronger.

Play with Brutus. Have all the fun.

But then eat your dinner and leave.

I can't let this get too complicated. I just can't…

The smell of Kipp's potato and veg stew was enough to get Dale drooling. The fact that it was served up by a Daddy like Kipp was enough to turn that drool into a waterfall.

‘Your yummy,' Dale said. ‘I mean the stew is yummy.'

Dale cringed at making his attraction to Kipp so damn obvious but the words had slipped out of his mouth before he had a chance to think them through.

Charitably, Kipp evidently didn't want to make a big deal of Dale's comments and simply thanked him for the compliment.

‘It's an old recipe, one of Uncle Joe's actually,' Kipp said. ‘He was a great guy. A real man. One of the best.'

‘He means a lot to you, doesn't he?' Dale asked, wanting to know more.

‘Yeah, he sure does,' Kipp said. ‘I was involved in some unpleasant shit a long time ago. It ended up costing my brother his life. Some of my family shunned me, but not Uncle Joe. He told me to take my time, find myself, go away and come back knowing exactly who I was and who I wanted to be. The sad thing is that I was away for so long that I missed the final years of his life. Damn. Sorry to be a bummer.'

‘No, seriously, I want to hear it,' Dale said. ‘And for what it's worth, it sounds like you did what your Uncle said you should. I mean… you're an awesome man now. That's pretty obvious.'

Dale felt himself blush and for a moment there was an awkward silence between him and Kipp. The electricity between them was amping up and Dale didn't know what was going to happen next. Fortunately for Dale, Kipp had his own ideas…

‘Come here,' Kipp said, patting his lap. ‘Come and sit on Daddy.'

Dale stood up and duly stepped to the other side of the table and sat on Kipp's lap. As he looked into Kipp's soulful, dark brown eyes, he felt an overwhelming urge to lean in and kiss him. And that was precisely what he did too.

Before Dale or Kipp could stop themselves, they were kissing one another passionately. There were no awkward bumps of teeth or any other first kiss mishaps. It was like the pair of them had been lovers for years – except the kiss came fully loaded with all the excitement that a first kiss would bring.

‘Should we be doing this?' Dale asked, breaking away from the kiss for a moment.

‘No questions. Just kiss me,' Kipp said. ‘And that's Daddy's orders.'

Dale didn't need telling twice. The pair of them continued to kiss, working their tongues in perfect synchronicity as their hands began to wander over one another's bodies too.

Dale could feel his cock hardening more and more as Kipp's caresses moved down his side and onto his thighs. Dale could tell that Kipp knew exactly what he was doing, and he let out an involuntary moan of pleasure as he felt Kipp's hands run down between his legs and over the prominent bulge inside his trousers.

‘Daddy, I want you to make me yours,' Dale said, barely able to contain his desire as he ground his butt onto Kipp's crotch. ‘Take me. Please. I want that big, thick, Daddy dick…'

Dale would have let Kipp do anything to him in that moment.

Each and every fiber of his body was vibrating with desire.

But unfortunately, Kipp had more self-control than he did…

‘No. We need to cool off,' Kipp said, his breathing heavy. ‘It's not time yet. We need to make sure that this is right.'

With that, Kipp gently took Dale off his lap and stood up next to him.

Dale hated to admit it, but he knew that Kipp might have a point. After all, they both wanted such different things from life. Kipp wanted to settle in Eagle Ridge forever, but for Dale it was all about a quick stay and then a new adventure somewhere far, far away.

‘ Jeez . That was too hot,' Dale said, finally able to get some words to come out of his mouth.

‘And we can get hot again,' Kipp smiled. ‘But only if it's right for both of us. I already think too much of you to make this a quick thing. You're far too special for me to even take the smallest risk with.'

Dale nodded, albeit reluctantly.

‘Come on, let's finish dinner and then I can drive you home,' Kipp said, taking a seat. ‘And maybe if there's time, we might have another game of frisbee with Brutus?'

‘I'd like that,' Dale said. ‘I'd like that a lot.'

But what Dale would have liked more than anything would have been Kipp's big hands all over his body – and not forgetting his big dick too...