13. Tad

I had one last meeting to attend, and after that, I was all his. I put a diaper on Ollie so he'd sleep better, tucked him into the bed, and left him to sleep. The relief I felt at not only having an empty chest but also having Ollie close by was tremendous, and I felt a hundred pounds lighter throughout the morning.

It was nice to have one more opportunity to meet with some of the guys from The Lactin Brotherhood. I was truly grateful for the way they were able to help me when I was at my most vulnerable point in life, and more importantly, that they connected me to the most important person in my world.

My sweet boy.

I slipped back into the room just before one in the afternoon and found Ollie sitting up in the bed with his stuffed frog in his lap and a cartoon playing on his phone. "Daddy! You're back." He jumped up to his feet and practically knocked me down when he landed in my arms. "I'm so glad."

Laughing, I spun him around and flopped backward onto the bed, pulling him against me as I went. "I'm glad you're glad. Did you get some rest, baby?"

"Yeah, I just woke up a little bit ago, and now I'm hungry." His palms flattened on my cheeks and pushed them together then planted a sloppy kiss on my scrunched-up lips. "Let's eat."

"Okay, okay." I chuckled against his mouth and tickled his sides. I loved it when Little Ollie was silly and playful like this. It was what I'd been missing in my life for so long. And now that I knew he loved me and was moving in with me permanently, I was walking on air. "There's a place I think you'll like. Let's get you dressed, and we'll head out."

"Okay. Help me, Daddy." Ollie flopped onto his back and kicked his legs up. The diaper was puffy so I knew it was full, but he had quickly overcome his self-consciousness about it and was completely comfortable just wearing that and the t-shirt he had on when he arrived.

After getting him cleaned up, I pulled a pair of clean briefs out of his bag and grabbed his discarded joggers then slipped them both past his fidgety feet and over his thighs. "Bottom up, sweetheart."

Ollie lifted his butt off the mattress so I could get his undies and pants all the way up, and then I pulled him to a sitting position. "Ready for some yummy mac and cheese and donuts?"

His eyes went wide as he nodded and clasped his hands together. "Is that what we're having for lunch?"

I waggled my eyebrows and kissed his nose. "There's a place called Bucket List that has them both, apparently. And…" I tugged him up on his feet and held him to my chest. "They might even have snow cones for good boys. Do you know any good boys?"

"Me, me, me." He bounced in my arms, making sure I noticed him. "And I love snow cones."

"All right, then." I walked him backward so he could sit on the bench while I put on his socks and shoes. "Let's go get my good boy fed."

Ollie was definitely hungry and ended up finishing his mac and cheese, some wings, and half a dozen mini donuts. In fact, he was so full that instead of hitting the zipline or roller coaster afterward, we decided to walk up and down the strip, checking out the interesting people and casinos along the way.

I had a list of fun activities on my phone, so as soon as Ollie was feeling better, we wandered to a glow-in-the-dark minigolf place and played two games.

He was surprisingly good at golf and won both games, but only by a few points.

"So, what's my prize, Daddy?" Ollie hung from my arm as we walked back toward the hotel. "Because when you win at mini golf, you get a prize. Right, Daddy? I get a prize?"

My smile just got bigger at his slight regression. He had never been so free and so Little in public before, and I took that as a sign that he was happy and comfortable. Which was all I ever wanted for my boy. "Yes, you do. What would you like your prize to be?"

"Hmmm…" He tapped his lips with this finger as we continued to walk. "Maybe a tickle fight?"

"A tickle fight?" I burst out laughing and reached for his side. "Is that a prize for you or for me?"

He shrugged and leaned his head on my shoulder. "Me…and you."

"How about we have a tickle fight, get you in the bath, and then we can order dinner in the room and watch some movies tonight? Sound good?"

Ollie nodded against my arm and squeezed me even tighter. "Sounds like the perfect night, Daddy. But you forgot about one thing."

I raised an eyebrow, pretty sure I knew what he was gonna say but always happy to hear it from his lips. "Oh, yeah? What's that?"

"Milkies!" He grinned up at me and then licked his lips dramatically, being silly without regard for any random stranger on the street who might see him.

"I could never forget that, baby." I kissed him on the lips, and we kept walking. "Especially when you're so sweet and lovey, and I just want to pull you into my lap right this second."

He started walking faster, dragging me behind him. "Well, hurry up, Daddy. We need to do that."

I barely kept up as we rushed back to the hotel to begin one of the best nights of my life. The first night of the rest of our lives together.