Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

D ecember

DRAKE

“Why are you so nervous?” I frowned as Luna skittered around my apartment with a dustrag, cleaning things that were already clean. “You’ve met my parents a bunch of times. You’ve even had dinner with them before.”

Luna paused and looked at me like she was about to roll her eyes and say something sassy. After a beat, she just nodded. “I know, but this feels different. It is different. We’re together now and I want them to be happy about it.”

“They will be.” Crossing the kitchen to the small dining room, I sidled up to her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “They love you already. And they’re going to be happy to see us together because I’m happy. And because you’re happy.”

Luna didn’t say anything, and I pulled away from her with a frown. She was acting strangely lately, not like her usually sassy self. I was trying not to let it bother me, but it was. “You are happy, aren’t you?”

Her answering smile seemed forced and didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Of course I am, Sir. I’m just… nervous.”

Her answer didn’t sit right with me, but I let it go and went back to cooking. The drive from Porter’s Corner to the Ranch was a short one and my parents would be here shortly. I wanted dinner to be nearly ready when they got here.

Luna continued skittering around, wiping counters and invisible specks of dust. She’d already set the table, and lamented the fact that I didn’t have a tablecloth, a proper vase, or even matching silverware, none of which had been an issue any of the other times we’d had dinner with my parents. Her nervous energy was making me nervous.

I watched out of the corner of my eye as she wiped down the front of the fridge for the thousandth time. “Hey, why don’t you give me a hand?”

“With what?”

It was a good question. The truth was I had everything pretty much under control and there wasn’t much left to do. I glanced around, taking in the set table, the made salad, the pot of potatoes just ready to be mashed, the roast in the crock pot and the dinner rolls that just needed to be heated. “Dessert!” I exclaimed a little too loudly because it had just come to me. “I think I have a box of brownie mix in the pantry. Could you preheat the oven, and whip up a pan of brownies?”

I was basically giving her something to do just to make her stop being a stress mess. The look she gave me told me she knew exactly what I was doing and I bit back a smile, bracing myself for a sassy retort.

None came. Luna just stared at me, cocked her head to the side, and after a minute, nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

Her easy compliance should have been a relief, since I didn’t have time to correct her before my parents arrived, but somehow it wasn’t. Somehow, it just amplified the worries I was already having.

Still I smiled and acted like compliance was what I wanted. “Good girl.”

Luna had just finished putting the pan of brownies in the oven when my doorbell rang.

“Eeep!” Luna squeaked as I took off my apron and hung it on a hook in the corner of the kitchen. She ran her fingers through her pink hair and smoothed her dress. “Do I look okay? Oh god, is my dress too short?”

Luna was not one to care too much what people thought of her. She was who she was, unapologetically. It was one of the things I loved about her. But I also loved that if anything could make her feel less confident in who she was, it was the prospect of dinner with my parents now that we were dating, even though I knew she had nothing to worry about.

I gave her one more kiss to settle her nerves and held on to her hand as I walked to the door, leading her to follow. “You look perfect,” I whispered.

Then I twisted the knob and swung the door open, my smile wide and genuine as I greeted my parents.

“Perfect timing! Come on in!”

My dad, oblivious as usual, greeted the both of us and breezed past, making a beeline for the bar tray and helping himself to a glass of the whiskey I kept on hand for our biweekly dinners.

My mom stopped halfway through the door, looking from our intertwined hands up to our faces, her mouth slightly open. “Harold!” She called out for my dad, then before he could answer, looked back to me.

“What is this? Are you…” She smiled. “Are the two of you… together? Like… an item?”

“We are,” I confirmed with a nod at the same time my dad sidled up beside us, a glass of whiskey in his hand.

“Did you call for me, Hettie? What’s going on? Why are we standing here with the door wide open? It's December in Montana, people.”

My mom stepped in and I closed the door behind her. “Harold!” she exclaimed as my dad stepped up beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist. “I swear you have such a one-track mind sometimes you don’t even see the things right in front of you.”

“Well, that’s why I have you, dear,” my dad said jovially, leaning to press a kiss against my mother’s cheek. “What did I miss this time?”

“This!” My mother exclaimed excitedly, pointing at our hands. “Luna and Drake have finally pulled their heads out of their behinds and gotten together! They are a couple!”

“What?” My dad sounded joyfully shocked as he pulled first Luna, then me into a bear hug. He clapped me on the back. “Congratulations, son! We always knew you two were meant for each other!”

“You did?” Luna looked genuinely surprised. I tried not to take offense to how completely baffled she seemed by my dad’s proclamation.

“Of course we did. You two are perfect for each other. You seem so seamless together. And Drake’s been in love with you since he met you.”

Luna glanced at me, her eyes glinting, but not quite dancing, and I swallowed hard. Parents could be so embarrassing. That didn’t always change as you got older, especially if you were as close to your parents as I was to mine.

“Okay, okay, you guys. Yes, Luna and I are together. It’s pretty new still, obviously, but we are both happy about it and can’t wait to tell you all about it and answer any questions you might have.” I spoke with a lot more confidence than I was feeling.

LUNA

Drake’s parents were amazing. I knew this already. I’d met them more than once, but now that Drake and I were a thing and they welcomed me with open arms, it was a whole new level. Drake was the perfect mix of his mom and dad personality wise, but looking at his dad was like catapulting Drake into the future thirty years. They were identical which boded well for me, at least.

Thinking that far into the future was nerve-wracking and exciting all at once. It had never been something I had done. I liked to live in the present. Focus on the now. But thinking about a future with Drake… I liked it. Even in our current situation, I liked it.

My nerves settled a bit as I put my entire heart and soul into serving everyone and making sure the night went off without a hitch. No one’s cup was ever empty and I didn’t let anyone help me with anything. Drake tried, but I refused the help and thankfully he didn’t fight me too hard. He did however keep giving me that curious look that had become his favorite and I swore I saw him wince one of the times I called him Sir. His parents were lifestylers though and we’d never censored ourselves before when they were around. If he had wanted me to, he would have said something, wouldn’t he? My mind started to spiral so I found an excuse to retreat to the kitchen to catch my breath. I must have been there longer than I’d anticipated because soon after, his mom joined me with an armful of plates.

“Oh no! You don’t have to do that. Let me take those!”

Hettie shook her head. “You have been a wonderful hostess, dear, but if you don’t allow me to help you clean up after you have been running your tail off all night, you and I are going to have a problem.” She raised her brows, basically daring me to argue.

“Apparently your son got that look from you,” I grumbled and took a step away from the sink to give her access.

“Yes, well I may be submissive to Harold but that’s about as far as that goes. And I had to learn quickly to take charge raising that rambunctious son of mine.”

I loved hearing her tell stories about Drake when he was young. He’d been a wild child, that was for sure. We settled into a comfortable conversation as we cleaned up the kitchen together laughing and telling stories like we’d been best friends for years. Drake poked his head in to let us know he and his dad were going for a walk and that they would be back soon.

“Are you sure? It’s pretty cold.”

“It's actually mild for this time of year and my dad wants to go walk by the lake.”

“That silly man, he acts like he’s never seen the Ranch before.” Hettie waved her hand. “You two go, Luna and I will stay here where it’s warm.”

Drake looked at me questioningly and I smiled and nodded. “We’ll be fine. Enjoy your walk.”

We finished the kitchen and I brewed some coffee while Hettie made some hot tea for herself. It was adorable that Drake kept a kettle and his mom’s favorite tea on hand. He loved having them close. And I loved it for him.

DRAKE

“What’s got you thinking so hard, son?” my dad asked after a few minutes of silence as we made our way past the resort to the large lake that separated the resort from the Big House.

I sighed. “I don't know. Being with Luna is everything I've ever wanted. It’s a dream come true. But I think she’s regretting it and she just doesn't know how to tell me,” I answered honestly as we walked the trail along the lake. My parents had, in the last few years, moved nearby to Porter’s Corner, and I loved having them so close. Our family had always been tight-knit, but I felt closer to them now, and I loved going to them for advice. They also lived the lifestyle, a detail I hadn’t known growing up. If I looked back now, I could see that the signs had always been there.

My dad frowned and slowed his power-walking pace. “What makes you say that?”

I shrugged, suddenly feeling stupid. “It could be all in my head, I guess, but, she just doesn't seem like herself.”

“How so?”

“She's usually so… I don’t want to say bratty, but… yeah, kind of. Luna and I have always teased each other. She’s always been so sassy and fun and now she’s acting like some kind of Stepford sub. Everything is ‘Yes, Sir, No, Sir’ and I know that's not something I should be complaining about, but it just doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel like her.” I sighed deeply. “I think I'm a bad Dom.”

Dad’s frown was deep as he weaved us around two runners on the path and sat down on a bench overlooking the water. I followed his lead and sat down next to him.

“What would make you say that? I have no doubt that it isn't true, but I want to know what is making you feel that way.”

I stared at my hands, still wrapped around my coffee cup and took a sip before answering. “I don't know. I think deep down I know I'm not, but sometimes I feel like such a fraud. Like everyone else is a better Dom than me. Like I'm too soft, like I'm not serious enough, like I'm not strict enough. I've always kind of had those thoughts, but since Luna and I actually got together, they've gotten a lot louder.”

“You know being a Dom isn't one size fits all right?”

I felt stupid even talking about this out loud. “I do, yeah. I know it's ridiculous but I can't help how I feel. And I just feel like I'm not good enough.”

“What does Luna have to say? Has she expressed a need for you to be stricter, harder, anything like that?”

“No. Not at all. She hasn’t said anything. She’s just acting weird.”

Dad frowned again and rubbed his chin, seeming to be choosing his next words carefully. “Could you maybe… feel like a fraud as a Dom because you're meant to be a Daddy?”

Just hearing the word Daddy out of my father’s mouth made me uncomfortable, even though I knew it shouldn’t. My parents lived a more traditional, domestic discipline lifestyle, and weren’t active in any sort of community, online or otherwise, but they had a few friends in the lifestyle and they’d spent enough time here at the Ranch to know all about Littles and Daddies. Still, it felt weird.

“No. No way.” I shook my head emphatically denying the question. But even as I did so a knot formed in my stomach. Daddy didn’t make me feel like quite as big as a fraud.

My dad raised his eyebrows and said nothing.

“Okay, even if I was a Daddy or more comfortable in a Daddy-type role, Luna is not a Little. And she’s the one I want.”

He gave me a look that told me he wasn’t buying my particular brand of bullshit. “You know you don’t have to have a Little to be a Daddy, right? Or vice versa?”

I did know that, probably far better than my father did, even. But did Luna? Had he cracked the code? Was an adjustment to our roles all we needed? Could it really be that easy? “I know, man, but… I don’t know.”

“And you won’t, if you don’t talk to Luna.”

“It’s hard. I am afraid I’ll pose the questions and learn that she’s unhappy, that I’m not enough for her. That she’s regretting giving us a try.”

Dad leaned forward and clasped his hands together. “Well, I don’t think you’ll find that to be the case. Your mother and I have been waiting and praying for this day for a long time, and I suspect that everyone at the Ranch knows that you and Luna are made for each other. So much so that Master Derek invented a whole book club to get you guys together. So much so that you two were victimized”—he used air quotes as he said the word, drawing on the story we’d shared over dinner—“by one of his infamous matchmaking schemes.”

I huffed a strained laugh. “Yeah, I guess. I mean, I know we were made for each other, but I’m not sure Luna knows that for sure yet.”

“You’re scared to rock the boat,” Dad surmised. “And I get it, I do, but communication is key in any type of relationship, and especially relationships like ours. I don’t have to tell you that.”

He didn’t, not really. I knew it, of course, but maybe I still needed to hear it.

“So I just… what? Tell her I want to be her Daddy?”

“Well, why not?”

I didn’t answer. He knew why not. He knew exactly why not. There were so many reasons, but they all boiled down to the same thing: I was scared to lose her.

“Look at it this way,” my father said, in a tone that told me he was about to mic drop a wisdom bomb on me, “the Luna you have right now, the one who’s behaving perfectly and giving you no sass, acting like, in your words, a Stepford submissive, that’s not the Luna you fell in love with, is it?”

I sighed. He knew it wasn’t. Luna’s sass, the way she was a brat, but only to me, our fun, easy banter were among some of the top reasons I loved her so much and had for so long. But would declaring myself her Daddy fix it? I didn’t see how it could.

I glanced at my dad and opened my mouth to tell him so, but he caught my attention, and shook his head.

“I love you, son,” he said, clapping me on the shoulder, “but you have a PhD in overthinking.”

I couldn’t argue that and didn’t try.

My dad continued, “Go home. Talk to Luna. Let her know that you love her sass, that you’re worried that she’s not being herself. Let her know how it makes you feel and take control. That’s what she’s waiting for you to do.”

I narrowed my eyes. My dad was smart. In books smarts, street smarts, and relationship smarts. He was my go-to person for advice. But I knew Luna better than anyone. “How can you be so sure?” I asked.

“I just am, son. I just am. Luna, despite all her fears and misgivings, got into a relationship dynamic with you. Because she trusts you to lead her. That’s what it boils down to. So step up and lead her.”

My ego wanted to argue. It wanted to point out that I hoped there was more to it than that, and that Luna would have made that choice out of more than just trusting me to lead her but also because she had feelings for me, because she loved me. The fact that he hadn’t mentioned those things had me up in my head.

But he was right. This wasn’t just about love, and Luna wouldn’t have gotten in a relationship with me if she didn’t also want a dynamic with me. I was trying to have one, I’d been trying hard to be a good Dom, and in a way, I was, but there was something about it that wasn’t sitting right.

I sighed. Maybe my dad was right. He probably was.

Chuckling at me, he stood and waited for me to stand also before turning and leading us back the way we’d come. “C’mon, son. I promise you it will get better. These are just growing pains. The longer you and Luna are together, the more of them you’ll have.”

I nodded, then gave him the side-eye as we walked. “Do you and Mom still have growing pains? Like… in your dynamic?” I swallowed back the discomfort that came from thinking about my parents in that way. Their lifestyle choice was something I was aware of, but not something we ever discussed in detail, nor something they flaunted in front of me.

“All the time,” he confirmed. “A lifestyle like ours, like yours and Luna’s, like anyone’s here at the Ranch, has to grow with the people in it. Adjustments need to be made at certain times. Sometimes more is needed, sometimes less. Sometimes things need to be readjusted for where you are in your life, your career, your family, your health. All of those things can affect how you apply your dynamic, and that’s perfectly okay. But communication is key. Communicate with Luna. I promise you won’t regret it.”

He paused, stopped walking and looked at me hard as we came back around to the front of the resort.

“It might be hard, communication, when you’re in the thick of it, but you’ll always come out better for it, and it is always worth it.”

I nodded and we continued walking. Once we reached the apartments, I clapped his shoulder as we prepared to join Mom and Luna inside. “Thanks, Dad. I can always count on you to give me good advice.”

“Anytime, son.”

We pasted on smiles and went inside. The ladies were in my living room with plates of dessert and mugs of coffee and tea and we joined them, trading the coffee for whiskey. The four of us visited for another half hour or so, and then Dad stood and said to Mom, “C’mon, Hettie. Let’s get home and let these kids have some time alone.”

“Aww but it’s early still, and Luna and I were just talking about our favorite books.”

Dad silenced her with a smirk. “Let me rephrase. Let’s get going so we can have some time alone.”

Blush colored my mother’s cheeks as she quickly rose and allowed my Dad to help her into her coat. “Yes, dear.”

She offered me a kiss on the cheek and Luna a quick hug, making us both promise to have dinner at their house the following Sunday, which we of course accepted, and then they left.

I looked at Luna as the door closed behind them.

“Look at that. You survived. And they love you and are so excited to see us as a couple, just as I knew they would be.”

Luna’s grin teased the corners of her mouth, and she beamed up at me. “You were right, Sir. I love them so much. Your mom is so sweet, and your dad… he reminds me so much of you. I think that’s why I was so nervous.”

I nodded and pulled her in for a hug. After holding her for a moment, I pulled back, holding her by the shoulders, and leveled her with my sternest, no-nonsense, Daddy-est look. “We need to talk, babygirl.”