Chapter Thirteen

Bronson

Before I left for the club, I stopped in the kitchen and looked to see what I might have for snacks. This omega needed more than three meals a day to return to full strength. The hospital stay and his shift had helped, to be certain, but he had a ways to go before he was 100 percent.

When he was, would he leave without ever looking back?

If he did, that would be his choice. No matter how drawn I was to him, how much I wanted him to be my omega, my little…my everything, in the end, it would be his choice. He could stay or go, as long as I made sure that he knew he was welcome to stay here.

His choice of food at the drive-thru was a definite hint that he might be a little, but it wasn’t a guarantee, and I didn’t want to make him a snack that would insinuate anything. But who didn’t like hot cocoa for a comforting treat?

I had a jar of homemade coconut cocoa mix I’d first prepared when a friend who avoided dairy was staying over. It was dry coconut milk, coconut sugar, cocoa powder, and a pinch of salt. The dairy-free alpha was so pleased he drank the whole batch over the course of a few days and left with the recipe in his pocket.

I liked it too. Enough that I always kept it in the house for myself now. Filling a Thermos with hot water, I set it aside while I heated water in the electric kettle and got out some cheese, grapes, and crackers to arrange on a tray. Then I sliced an orange and added that. I had a cup of strawberry yogurt as well and almost didn’t put it on, not wanting to overwhelm him, but then I did anyway. He needed the calories and the nutrients.

Tiptoeing upstairs, I paused outside the guest room door and listened for any signs of him being awake. When I heard only soft, even breathing, I pushed the door open and slipped inside to leave my tray on the bedside table before heading to work.

I had told him that he was welcome to stay, but his independence would not let him if he didn’t feel the same way I did. I knew him well enough already to recognize that fact. I hadn’t been at the club in a few days, or I would not have gone tonight. But I couldn’t expect the other owners to take on my responsibilities forever. Despite having more help, we still had jobs to do.

And with the little room open, mine had increased. Selena had done a great job, but she didn’t work seven days a week and she’d already picked up a couple of shifts for me. As I entered the little room, my heart lifted as it always did. It had taken us quite a while to get to this point, but the hard work and expense were worth it.

Tables and chairs, adult-sized but designed to resemble those children might occupy were scattered around with the room, each laid out with an activity, craft, or game. We had not yet had a grand opening or anything like it, but our plans were well underway for the event, as soon as I decided on a date.

Originally, I’d wanted it to be soon, but now, my mind was more occupied with the possible little in my guest room. As I watched, mommies and daddies with their adorable littles were starting to arrive. Some were dressed in onesies or short shorts or other outfits appropriate for their age play, others more casual, but we tried to accommodate them all as best we could. And that meant giving them a place to go from their run-of-the-mill personas to what I was observing now. Smiling littles and their caring daddies and mommies.

Many of our members and their guests changed clothes when they arrived, but as part of opening this space, we had also taken over one of the group changing rooms, redecorating it from black and stainless-steel décor to rainbow animals scampering over the walls and a rug that doubled as a race-car track. Lockers painted bright colors afforded everyone a place to leave their street clothes and other items while they were enjoying the night’s activities.

Would Tate like it here?

“Bronson, what are you up to?”

“Huh?” I turned to see Talon watching me from just outside the room. His skintight black leather pants and vest stood in stark contrast to this space. “Sorry. Just enjoying the show. I think it’s going well, don’t you?”

“Better than, but you look like you’re a million miles away. Why don’t you go on in and join the fun?”

“Well, I’m supposed to be working…”

“Which you are not doing, right? What’s going on?”

“You know that little or maybe little I told you about?”

He nodded. “Right.”

“He is at my house as we speak, and I was wondering if he was doing okay.”

“He got out of the hospital, great! So, why are you here?”

“Doing my job, of course. I can’t expect people to cover for me all the time.”

He chuckled. “I think that’s the point in being an owner. We’ve all worked hard to get to the place where we can flex our muscles a little, right? Enjoy the fruits of our labor?”

“Yes, but…”

He planted his hands on my shoulders and turned me away from the little room. “I’ll get someone in here to babysit, and you go home and take care of your boy.”

“It’s not for sure he’s little, you know.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”