3. John

Chapter Three

JOHN

" D on't listen to him, boys. It wasn't as easy as all that." I stared fondly over at Will where he fluttered his long black eyelashes at me playfully.

He turned to his friends. "So my Daddy had hired a car and driver for that first night. He insisted we take Timothy home, which was a mark in his favor, and then we?—"

"Boy," I growled warningly. There was no doubt in my mind that he'd love to tell them all about our sex life, but after watching him whisper into Timothy's ear too many times early in our relationship, I'd given him his first rule. No gossiping about our sex life. I didn't really care, per se, but I wanted to save everyone else.

His lower lip jutted out. "You never let me have any fun."

Roland chuckled, clasping me on the shoulder. "So why don't you give us your perspective."

~Eight Years Ago~

It was impossible to take my eyes off the black-haired boy lounging in little purple boy shirts in the overstuffed chair in the corner of my living room with one long creamy leg thrown over the arm like he was posing for a portrait. He'd been delighted when I served him breakfast in bed this morning, but I wasn't ready for our time together to end. "Why don't I take you out for a nice lunch?"

Will's gaze strayed over to where I'd left his folded outfit from last night, and he snickered. "You'll have to loan me a shirt, I think. That one's not exactly designed for polite society."

Considering I wanted to take him out for fine dining, he had a point. "That's true. I was thinking I'd take you home to change, and then we'll go eat, then come back here and see where the rest of the day takes us."

He waggled his eyebrows. "I know exactly what I want to do with the rest of today. We can consecrate the rest of your fancy penthouse."

I fought a smile, but there was no hiding it. "We can do that. Maybe watch a movie or two, and then I'll make you dinner."

Will clapped his hands together. "That sounds perfect." He was out of the chair and running for his jeans in a split second. I was pleased that he wanted more time with me, too. I'd had no doubts he'd stay for a while if I offered him more sex, since our chemistry had been electric, but I really wanted to get to know him.

Once he was dressed, we headed out. When he gave me the name of his apartment complex, I grimaced, and he started laughing. "I know it's not the best, but it's a clean place to live with a roof over my head."

"So you live with your friends?" I asked.

"Sure. They're nice enough. I found the place online right before I moved here a few years ago. One of those Roommate Wanted posts. At this point, only two of us from the original four are left, and we've moved a few other guys in and out over the last three years."

That was interesting. They sounded more like acquaintances to me. "Okay. So what do you do for a living?"

He shot me a grin. "I mostly do office work for a temp agency. When I left my parents' house in the rearview mirror, I had nothing but my clothes and my car." He scoffed. "Not that I have that vehicle anymore. When my dad figured out that I was serious, and I wasn't returning home, he came and took it back." He shrugged. "No big deal, though. Splitting rent with the other guys helps a lot, so I was able to pick up a cheap used car."

Internally, I cringed. It made no sense to me that a parent would deprive their child of something they purchased specifically for them. Especially something as necessary as a car. "Well, you're a resourceful boy."

Will giggled. "I can hear how irritated you are by the tone of your voice, but it was fine, Daddy." He had no idea how much I enjoyed him addressing me as Daddy. I'd wanted a boy, but I'd had no real clue how it would feel to have someone that I could see myself caring about referring to me that way.

"Seriously," Will said, bringing my attention back to his story. "I don't think my father realized how little I needed my own transportation living in the city. There are plenty of bus lines to get around. I've even had jobs where I rode the train into New York. That's pretty fun, but I wouldn't want to do it every day."

I glanced over at the pretty little boy in the passenger seat, and every protective instinct inside of me flared. The idea of him walking around New York City by himself was something I'd never allow. Startled at my own train of thought, I shook my head. Yeah, I really enjoyed his company, and damn, the way he moved his lithe little body around and on top of me, it was off the charts, but this was brand-new, and I needed to slow my roll.

Will invited me into the house while he changed, and since I didn't pay that much attention to the other young men at the party last night, I quickly accepted the invitation. It wouldn't hurt to get to know his roommates a little better. Nothing would've prepared me for what I stepped into.

Will stopped, put his hands on his hips, and looked around, scrunching his nose. "Yeah, sorry about this mess. Max is sort of a slob, and I gave up cleaning after him a long time ago."

If I remembered correctly, Max was the young man that Donald had been parading around, the one who'd hooked Will and his roommates up for the party that Donald had hosted last night. Donald wasn't my favorite guy, but he was a colleague, and I'd had nothing better to do. I'd owe him one now.

As for the apartment, it looked like the place had never been cleaned at all or like a bomb had gone off in it. There were pizza boxes laying half-hazordly all around, plates with remnants of past meals, and soda and beer bottles everywhere. Except for one of the guys from last night snoring away on the couch, the apartment was quiet. Will grabbed my hand. "Come on, Daddy. You can wait in my room."

He dragged me through the small living room and down the hall, into a well-decorated, pristine room. I swear to God, I could've eaten straight off of the light gray carpet. The bed took up almost the whole space, draped in a silky gray bedspread with an abundance of pillows in different shades of gray all propped up against the wall. A silver chandelier with dozens of crystals hung over the bed, and on the wall directly across from the door hung a dramatic triple pane picture of grays and blues with splotches of gold. "This is beautiful, Will."

He smiled proudly. "Thanks. I like my space to feel peaceful. I have to admit, this is where a lot of my money goes," he admitted bashfully. "I know I should save up to move out of here, but since I have the smaller of the two bedrooms, I don't have to share, and I can spend all of my time in here."

"But there's four of you, right? And I only saw two bedrooms."

"There's two twin beds in the master bedroom and a huge walk-in closet, where they all keep their clothes. The three of them rotate who's sleeping on the couch." He shrugged. "I pay a little more, but it's worth it."

If what I saw in the living room was the norm of cleanliness, I had to agree with him.

Will finished getting ready, then pointed at a hunk of junk in the parking lot, suggesting that he drive his own car so that I wouldn't have to give him a ride home later. I gaped at what he assured me was a running vehicle with horror. "You actually drive that?"

Will giggled, patting my shoulder. "Don't worry, Daddy. It runs a lot better than it looks."

"I'm afraid I'll have to take your word for that." Holding out my arm to him, I continued, "Why don't you ride with me today, and I'll bring you home later?"

Sliding his arm into the crook of mine, he grinned. "Such a gentleman."

As I walked him to my SUV, I admitted to myself that this wasn't me being anything close to gentlemanly but more of the overprotective caveman rising up in me like it had earlier. There was no way that I was letting my boy live in these conditions and drive that car. Now I just had to convince him.

Christian barked out a laugh. "So you're the one who went all insta-love first?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "What can I say? One of the things that makes me so good at my job is I following my gut. In this case, I definitely won the prize." I winked at Will.

Around the room, Will and all of his friends awed. Christian chuckled. "We just came out for drinks and to check on you boys. Why don't you order pizza or something while we finish up in the den?"

I narrowed my eyes at Will. "And you behave. No talking about the naughty bits."

He hopped up and ran over to me, planting his hands on my shoulders and jumping up on his tiptoes to plant a kiss on my cheek. I clenched his slim hips between my hands, and he whispered, "I'll be good, Daddy, I promise. But you have to promise me that you'll think about what I said earlier. I've never seen you attend a work meeting and look so happy and relaxed. I want this for you all the time."

Squeezing him closer, I planted a real kiss on his lips. I had the absolute best boy.