1. Tad

"Hey, Jim. Make sure you pick up those bolts that just spilled before you take off." The job site had been getting messier and messier as time went by, but with more of the trades on site at any given moment, it was getting hard to keep track of everyone. My crew was pretty good about staying tidy, but everyone gets lazy sometimes. "And let me know if you need help with the sheetrock. It's usually a two-man job."

Jim scoffed at my suggestion that he couldn't do it himself. As the burliest guy on my crew, I knew he had the strength, but it could be unwieldy to manhandle giant sheets of drywall and get them screwed in place without something going wonky. "I got this, boss. Go check on the new guy. He probably needs your help more than I do."

Ugh. I almost forgot about our new guy. Ben was fresh out of high school and just learning the ropes. Which I usually liked because I could make sure they learned good habits instead of having to unteach bad habits. But Ben spent a lot of time checking his social media feeds, which meant not a lot of time getting shit done.

He was laughing when I walked up behind him, squatting with his phone in his hand.

I nudged the bottom of his boot. "Hey, Ben. How's it going?"

"Huh?" Poor kid actually tossed his phone as he flinched and fell forward. "Oh, hi, boss. Sorry, just needed to check something real quick."

Right. Something urgent was going on with his people every ten seconds. "You know we need to get this whole set of window frames cut before we take off tonight, right?"

He looked at the stack of two-by-fours that were waiting for him. "Yeah, I got it. No problem."

"Do you need one of the other guys to help measure?" I slipped my hands into my pockets and stood over him, hoping he took the hint that he either needed to prove he could be independent, or he would have a babysitter.

"No, I got this. You can count on me."

"All right, kid. Shout if you need anything." I knew he wouldn't ask for help, so I hoped he would buckle down and get the work done. He had potential if he was willing to put his damn phone away.

I headed back into my makeshift office in the trailer we kept parked in the lot. Most of my day was spent ordering supplies and managing all the subs we had coming on and off site every day. But for the past few days, I'd been feeling a little off. Maybe I was coming down with something, but it wasn't quite taking hold.

"Tad, you got a sec?" Bruce poked his head in the doorway.

I looked up and waved him in. "Yeah, of course. What's up?"

"Joey‘s been bugging me about inviting you over for a play date." He laughed and rolled his eyes. "I promised him pizza tonight, so if you don't have other plans, you should stop by."

I never had any plans, and I did enjoy hanging out with Bruce and his partner Joey. Especially when Joey was in his Little headspace and wanted to play and cuddle and be silly. Maybe that was what I needed to get my own head back on straight. "Yeah, I can stop by. What time?"

Bruce glanced at his watch. "Is six thirty good?"

"Yeah. That gives me time to pick up dessert." I raised an eyebrow at Bruce. "Can I bring chocolate pie?"

"This is why he loves it when Uncle Tad comes over." He chuckled and shook his head. "Yeah, I'll make sure he doesn't have any sweets before dinner, and I'll order veggie pizza for him."

Now I chuckled. "This is why he doesn't like you to limit him."

Bruce just smirked. "The boy can't live off junk food alone. Though, Lord knows he tries."

Bruce took off, and I immediately felt better, grateful to have a distraction. My biological clock, or whatever it was, had been ticking lately. Being alone in life was starting to feel more like a permanent situation. I'd spent the past fifteen years building my career and focusing on my bank account…not on finding a partner.

And that was starting to catch up to me in a physical way.

Ever since I turned thirty-five a few months ago, I'd been starting to feel ancient and wondering if maybe it was too late for me to find someone. Someone like Joey who enjoyed being Little and needed me to take care of him. I'd never really had a strong desire to have children of my own, but the Daddy in me was only getting more impatient.

I even built an entire playroom in my house, just in case. I told myself and Bruce that it was for when Joey wanted to come visit Uncle Tad, but in my heart, I hoped to have my own boy to play with in there someday.

As promised, I showed up with a chocolate cream pie. Joey‘s favorite.

When Bruce opened the front door, Joey practically leaped into my arms. "Uncle Tad!"

Bruce took the pie out of my hand before it tumbled to the ground, and I gave Joey a big hug. He was dressed in a onesie with the edges of a diaper poking out the leg holes. Sweet as ever. "Hey, cutie. You look comfy."

"Yeah." He immediately dragged me over to the race track he had set up in the middle of the family room. "Play cars, Uncle Tad."

"Okay, let's see who's got the fastest car."

"Me. Me. Me."

Bruce patted my shoulder and gestured toward the table. "When you get hungry, the pizza is hot and the beer is cold."

"Yucky pizza." Joey pouts and gives his Daddy a cranky look as he holds out four cast-iron cars for me to select one.

I grabbed a red Corvette and raised my eyebrow at Joey. "It's yucky?"

"It's healthy." Bruce chuckled beside me. "To him, they're one and the same." Then he looked at me. "You and I get meat lovers."

"I like meat." Joey stomped his foot in the most adorably bratty way.

"Veggies first, and then, if you're still hungry, you can have some meat lovers… But don't forget that Uncle Tad brought pie."

As if he didn't notice it when I walked in, his gaze locked on the pink box that was now on the table. "Pie first."

I had to laugh as Bruce gave him a stern look. Maybe my boy wouldn't be quite so much of a brat as Joey. Then again, he was so adorable that I guess it wouldn't be so bad to have a bratty Little now and then. As long as he was up for cuddles and plenty of playtime. "All right, kiddo. Let's see if I can win on this track of yours. It looks kinda slow."

"Not slow, Uncle Tad. Fast, fast, fast!"