Chapter 1

Dean

"I'm not being nosy." Somehow our nosy neighbor thought saying that would make it true. "Santa doesn't like nosy subs and he's always watching. But if you wanted to explain what kind of relationship you had, I would be a very good listener."

Huh?

The weird guy who was dating cranky guy was standing at the bottom of the stairs looking up at us like he'd made perfect sense, but I wasn't sure what he was actually fishing for. Did he just want to know if the three of us were dating?

No one in the building was boring enough to have stuck with just that, though, so I knew better than to hope for something simple.

"It's not nosy to make sure you know how to address us and to know who you can flirt with." Joel didn't seem to see any of it as strange, though. "Do you know people think it's reasonable to just randomly ask you on a date and then expect you to want to kiss them?"

Lord.

"It's confusing but that's what most people do." Weird guy shrugged. "And they don't even listen when you explain that you're looking for a Daddy and they're clearly another sub."

Nodding along, Joel sighed like just thinking about it made him exhausted. "There are a lot of those lately and several asked me out. But my Doms are saving me from having to date. I belong to them now, so I don't have to deal with strangers."

"That's really helpful." Weird guy smiled at Tate and me. "I'm glad you found good Doms."

"Thank you." Joel nodded like the conversation was perfectly reasonable. "We're still figuring things out but they're good at spanking me and Dean likes to take care of me."

"Finding caretaker Doms can be hard." Weird guy shrugged before he glanced back and forth between us. "Especially when you need more than one. You need more than one, right? You've already talked about it a bit, so it's not being nosy."

Just saying that wouldn't make it true.

He knew that, right?

He was overly curious about our personal life, but I wasn't sure it was worth bringing Santa threats into the conversation. It seemed mean to tell him that he wouldn't get a present from Santa but he was asking strange questions about our sex life.

Kind of.

Joel didn't have the same questions or reservations I did.

"Yes. My mother says I'm high maintenance." Joel's oversharing was completely expected, so I didn't even consider worrying about it. "So no one is surprised that it's taking two Doms."

Wait.

What?

I looked over at Tate who'd gone from trying not to laugh to as wide-eyed as I felt. When our gazes connected, I knew he was thinking the same thing.

Joel had told his mother about us?

He'd said something like no one being surprised .

Who else had he told?

Who wasn't surprised?

"My mom said something similar but I only need one. I have a good Daddy." Weird guy's eyes were bouncing around between us like he hadn't just insinuated that we weren't good enough for Joel to only need one of us. "Who's your Daddy?"

The stupid jokes that flashed through Tate's mind had him back to almost laughing again. I wasn't sure what'd popped in there, but I knew something ridiculous had.

"We haven't really talked about telling stuff like that." Joel didn't seem to realize how funny the question had been and took it seriously. His head cocked like it was thought-provoking, but he didn't look at me and give it away. "I need to double-check that first."

Weird guy nodded. "That makes sense. Some people are private."

"I have a private one and a probably not private one. So I need to double-check how they feel." Joel was being remarkably thoughtful about the whole situation. "But I can tell you that they're mine and they make sure I don't have to date other people. They're helpful."

"It's good that they can do more than spank you and give you orgasms." Weird guy gave Joel a bright smile that was probably supposed to be supportive or something. "Daddy—"

" Brady ." The firm tone coming from behind us had us all nearly jumping, but weird guy, whose name seemed to be Brady, just sighed. "What did we talk about?"

Shifting to adorable mode, Brady aimed wide eyes at his Daddy. "I wasn't being nosy. He volunteered information and even set healthy boundaries."

Oh, weird guy was good at that.

As we finished coming down the stairs and moving out of the way, Brady's Daddy headed over to his ridiculous boy. "Do you understand why it seems like you were ignoring the rules we agreed on?"

Had Brady agreed on the rules?

Joel didn't seem to care about the logistics of that. "Brady's Daddy, he was just letting me know he was a good listener and he made sure I understood you're a Daddy and that he's safe to talk to."

For fuck's sake.

That was not what'd happened.

Tate's lips were pressed together so firmly they had to hurt, but he managed not to laugh. I was in the roll my eyes and sigh category, and that was where Brady's Daddy seemed to enjoy hanging out too. "That's not believable at all."

Nope.

Brady didn't seem to be worried about that part, though. He just bounced closer to his Daddy and gave him another bright smile. "He told me he couldn't talk about which one was his Daddy because his Daddy is private. See? That's a very good boundary and I didn't push him to be naughty at all."

Technically he was right and his Daddy must've sensed that. "We're going to talk about fine print later."

Tate started coughing but Brady just ignored that. "My new friend says he likes spankings too. I didn't ask him about what kind of toys he likes to play with or anything like that, though. I'm giving him space and privacy."

He was?

The way his Daddy started shaking his head said I wasn't the only Daddy questioning Brady's definitions. "Privacy is very important, and part of respecting people's privacy is making sure you don't ask them to out themselves."

Brady just blinked innocently at his Daddy.

It was very well done and I'd have fallen for it if Joel had aimed something similar at me…but Brady wasn't as cute as Joel.

"He mentioned he had a caretaker Dom, so it wasn't asking to out anyone." Brady's logic was impressive. "But we should make sure he knows he can come and play no matter what kind of little he is."

Leaning around his Daddy, Brady smiled at Joel. "I have toys and cookies. You can come play if you want."

"Should I ask where you got cookies?" Brady's Daddy crossed his arms over his chest as Brady shrugged. "I thought so."

They were bad influences.

"I like cookies." Joel's answer cut right to the heart of the matter. "I've never played toys with regular toys with someone, though. I'll think about that."

He'd do a lot for cookies, so I knew that all it would take was one rumbly tummy and a snack with carrots to have him going to visit his new friend.

"I like toys." Brady seemed to think the whole conversation was completely reasonable because he just kept going. "What kind of toys do you like?"

"Sex ones." Joel just put the truth right out there. "I've watched cartoons too, though. So I might like regular toys."

Weirdest fucking building ever.

And I was including us in that too.

"Both kinds are fun, but Daddy says I'm not allowed to talk to random people about grown-up toys." Shrugging, Brady looked like he thought it was an odd boundary but he wasn't going to push it.

"I'm not random people." Joel frowned like that was a ridiculous idea. "I'm Joel and I'm your neighbor. I was even happy for you when you found your Daddy, and you've given us a lot to think about."

Great.

Tate was shaking with barely suppressed laughter, but I was just wondering how many times I could roll my eyes before they broke.

"I'm glad we're helpful." Brady seemed very proud of himself. "I'll make sure my mother knows I'm not just a pain in the butt to my neighbors."

"No. You're very informative and educational." Joel's response made Brady and his Daddy grin…just for very different reasons.

"Thank you." Looking pleased, Brady patted his Daddy's back. "We're always glad to help."

So he was volunteering his Daddy to be educational?

I could see the moment that question hit the normally serious-looking Daddy's brain because he frowned and glared at his boy.

How was Joel the more low-maintenance little in the building?

"I appreciate that, but at this point, it's not necessary." Thankfully, Joel didn't seem to be inclined to take Brady up on his offer. "Have fun with your Daddy and with your scene tonight. We're heading out to dinner now, but it was nice meeting you."

"Oh, a date?" Brady skipped over the scene bits. "That's fun. Where are you going?"

Before Joel could answer, Brady turned and smiled at his Daddy. "That's just polite conversation. It's not being nosy."

Maybe?

"I don't know if it's a date." Joel didn't seem to mind admitting that but it made Tate's eyes go wide. "We're going to Olive Garden because I'm special."

Olive Garden special.

His parents were so weird.

"Oh, I'm glad you're special." Brady managed to say the strangest things without realizing how odd they were. "Have fun on your maybe date."

As he let his Daddy drag him around us and up the stairs, Brady did a terrible whisper. "How do they not know they're dating? If they're living together and one is his Daddy and one is his Dom, they have to be at least dating, right?"

Ugh.

"I'm Olive Garden and board game special." Joel rolled his eyes. "That's what counts."

So he didn't need a label?

Did he want one?

Tate seemed to have turned into the overthinker based on how many expressions were flashing across his face, and it made me wonder if he needed a label.

Did I?

"Yes." Ignoring everything else for the moment since Joel couldn't have two overthinking Doms at the same time, I kissed his head and took his hand. "You are. And you're also dessert special because you thought about our privacy."

Tate's brain finally slowed enough to chuckle. "Yeah, that was very good considering the whole thing was really unexpected."

Oh yeah.

"Thank you." Looking very pleased with his praise, Joel nearly bounced as he dragged us to my car. "I realized I couldn't remember if we had the what do we tell the neighbors conversation, so I decided to be careful."

That was actually amazing for him.

"We appreciate that." It got Tate's brain working again too because as I unlocked the door, he gave Joel an odd look. "What have you told your mother?"

Joel could sense something was off because he cocked his head and glanced between us, but he didn't seem to understand why Tate was asking. "That I'm your sub and I'm board game special and that I'd let her know if we were dating."

Huh.

We were dating, right?

When Tate looked at me and I could see the same question in his eyes, I decided it wasn't stupid and shrugged. He sighed. "Okay, we need to have more conversations, but yes, I'm going to say we're dating."

"Okay." Joel seemed fine with that answer. "That's good to know. Can I have cake for dessert?"

Tate was back to doing his best not to laugh, so I took that one. "Yes, as long as you eat something green first."

I didn't think they had green pasta so that seemed like a safe rule.

And when Joel sighed, I knew I'd been right.

"I like Olive Garden salad." The admission was painful but he got it out. "That's green."

Light green…but we'd count it.

"You're right." My response got a smile and a cute cheek kiss from Joel. "Thank you. Oh, and thank you for manipulating me better than Brady does to his Daddy."

Barely holding back a giggle, he blinked at me with wide eyes. "He's naughty, Daddy. I'm your good boy."

One who hadn't even admitted to manipulating me.

"What was I thinking?" Pretending to be shocked got a snicker from Joel. "You're such a sweet good boy. That's why you're getting dessert."

Nodding excitedly, Joel bounced between us and gave us each cheek kisses. "I'm Olive Garden dessert special and dating you guys. Best night ever."

He needed a higher bar for that, but since his low one was making me look good, I decided not to say anything.