Save Me Santa, page 9
“Yes.” One last sigh had him finally frowning and explaining what was going through his head. “It wasn’t appropriate because you need to know that our time is private unless you want to share something. They shouldn’t have been listening and making you feel unsafe.”
Huh?
Fuck it.
“Thank you for understanding, Bambi.” Giving him a kiss as a reward for his insanity seemed wrong, but I wasn’t sure it was worth explaining that he should have privacy too. “We’ll figure out good boundaries.”
Because they couldn’t listen at the door without a long fucking conversation about kinks and a few questions about what the hell they were doing.
People were so fucking weird.
“Yes.” Bambi perked up, kissing my cheek and smiling. “We’ll make sure you feel safe enough to be a wonderful Daddy and spank me.”
Was that what he was worried about?
Good grief.
“I’m spanking you at my place.” Never at his.
Bambi beamed. “That’s wonderful. Tonight?”
I had a feeling we were having two different conversations. “No.”
Kissing his nose as he sighed again, I smiled this time. “But good try.”
“That should’ve worked.” He frowned and cocked his head like he was replaying the interaction. “He said that should work.”
I wasn’t going to ask.
Taking his mouth in a long, slow kiss to distract my cutely manipulative boy, I took my time tasting him and nibbling on his lips as he moaned, rocking against me, already hard again. “Oh, Daddy…”
When I finally released his lips, I gave him one last peck and his ass a pat. “Come on. Date time. You need food and we’re going to get to know each other.”
His first response was to pout.
“You’re right, but I really don’t like how often you seem to be right.” The only thing that kept my eyes from rolling was that he was genuinely frustrated.
“That’s because I’m a Daddy.” And he was entirely too innocent for his own good.
However, since I wasn’t sure I could fix that or even if I wanted to , he needed to realize that Daddy would be protecting him even if he didn’t understand why.
We were going to have some interesting rules and limits.
****
“You have how many siblings?” It explained so much, honestly.
And it was more believable than the conversation about how his degree in astronomy was going.
The fucking stars.
Only Bambi would end up being a junior majoring in space shit with a full ride because he was so fucking smart.
I wasn’t sure if it made more sense than my business degree would or not, but the family stuff was blowing that conversation out of the water.
“Eleven. There are twelve of us total.” He seemed to think that was perfectly normal. “I’m number ten, so I think that’s why they were very understanding when I came out. They’d seen it all by then.”
They were just too busy to care at that point.
I was starting to understand why his family was so accepting of his little side.
It was the lowest stress thing he could’ve done, so they’d probably been relieved.
“What about you?” Bambi’s question wasn’t a surprise, but he must’ve seen something on my face because he quickly changed the subject. “Oh, I had a question. Do you think I should show my mother the spider picture? Somehow she found out about it and now she’s demanding to know how big it was. She wants me to move, but that sounds frustrating.”
Nope, Bambi was not moving.
“Just tell her it was a neighbor’s pet that got out and it was quickly handled.” As his face scrunched up, I chuckled. “If it comes down to it, tell her she almost poisoned you.”
He perked up again. “Oh, that would be very useful.”
Yep.
“And when you explain how decisively you handled the situation, she’ll calm down.” He said it so rationally it took me a second to catch the words.
What?
When I explained?
Reminding myself who I was talking to, I leaned back in my seat and aimed for a relaxed curiosity as I ignored the last of the barbecue that’d been a wonderful dinner. “When do you think that will happen?”
The way his brows scrunched together said he seemed to think that was obvious. “Christmas dinner.”
Hmm.
Every question running through my head was going to confuse him and make him wonder why I hadn’t already realized the answer.
I knew that before I even opened my mouth, but I couldn’t seem to resist the urge to ask one, anyway. “You’re going to introduce me as your…”
“Daddy?” He cocked his head, studying me like I was weird as he picked at the last of his macaroni-and-cheese. “And boyfriend of course. Aunt Edna isn’t going to understand the Daddy title. She’s Mom’s oldest sister and is like a thousand at this point. She wasn’t even sure why I can be gay in public and not get arrested.”
Clearly Grandma had lots of kids too.
How was I supposed to respond to any of this?
Was Aunt Edna all there anymore? That wasn’t a reasonable question no matter how old she was. Even my ancient asshole relatives understood it wasn’t illegal.
“When is Christmas dinner?” It seemed like the safest question.
Another would’ve been what did they have for Christmas dinner since he’d just worked his way through the sides on the menu, stuffing himself with mac-n-cheese and everything from green beans to peach cobbler.
“Christmas Eve and we have to decide if we’re staying in the living room in sleeping bags or if we’re just coming back in the morning to open presents.” His expectant look said I was supposed to have an opinion on this.
I didn’t have nearly enough information to have reasonable thoughts on any of this, so I went back over what he’d said. Presents. The casual comment about presents gave me a sinking feeling. “Do I need to have presents for everyone?”
Relief rushed through me when he shook his head. “We trade names. I got one of my sisters and we’re giving her movie passes.”
Glad that’d already been decided, I nodded. “That sounds good.”
I was confused when he shook his head and gave me an evil grin, nearly rubbing his hands together like a TV villain. “No, she hates the movies and only loves theater, but we’re going to pretend not to have remembered that because last year she had my name and gave me books on Civil War history.”
She was obviously evil?
“Why did she do that?” The question was basically a random search for something to add context to this story.
It worked.
“She’s mean.” Getting immediately huffy and offended, he was adorable as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Last year she wouldn’t get me the Lego books I wanted for Christmas because they were for kids. But she said that where Mom couldn’t hear so she wouldn’t get in trouble.”
The fact that the argument over books was the biggest problem from last Christmas—well, aside from the asshole aunt—was amazing.
And almost hard to believe.
“What did your mother say about the Civil War books?” She had to have noticed, right?
Bambi huffed and slumped back in his chair. “She said it was so nice that Grace was trying to help me expand my studies.”
His mother was just as clueless as he seemed to be sometimes.
“And you didn’t tell her?” My question had him shaking his head.
“No, it was Christmas.”
So that meant you had to be a very subtle dick?
“You’ll fill me in on anything else I need to know, right? I mean, I can be the clueless new boyfriend that keeps asking her about what movie she’s going to see if that’ll make you happy, but you’ll have to help me with any other minefields.” I wasn’t sure if I was being serious or just fucking with him about the whole thing, but Bambi nearly melted.
“Really?” His sigh this time was right out of an old-fashioned romance movie. “That would be wonderful. Those books last year were really dry and I had to use my birthday money to buy the ones I wanted.”
Yep, she deserved whatever we did to her.
“How about you bring the fun books over and we’ll make sure she see’s me reading them to you?” If his family knew about the little stuff, then I wasn’t sure there was any reason to be subtle.
They’d either ignore it or it would be weird…and either way, if he didn’t care then I wouldn’t.
His whole face lit up. “You’d read me books just to drive her crazy? That’s so sweet, Daddy.”
This had to be the strangest relationship ever, but I was just going to chalk it up to the holiday season and all the chemicals he’d ingested melting his brain.
I’d have never stood a chance otherwise.
“I would be glad to read to you anytime, but especially if it’s to fuck with a relative.” Again, instead of thinking I was an asshole, he perked up again.
“Thank you, Daddy.” He looked like he was ready to throw himself across the table and give me a hug.
“You’re welcome, Bambi.” There were probably a thousand other things I should’ve asked about the dynamics in his family, but I decided I’d rather just be surprised. “But we never decided if we were going to do sleeping bags or just come back in the morning.”
Thinking about his family and what he’d said, I questioned him again before he could chime in. “Someone else is staying in your bed, right? I mean, your childhood room or bed.”
He nodded, looking slightly frustrated. “Yes, probably one of my nieces or nephews, but it might be one of my older siblings.”
It was going to be a madhouse because he came from a herd, not a family.
“That’s alright. I’ll see your room there another time.” I had a feeling there’d still be toys there as well. “What do you want to do about the sleeping arrangements, though?”
I knew my preferences right away, but this was his family.
Bambi scrunched his face up and leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table and his head in his hands. “Would it be okay if we didn’t spend the night? I’d rather sleep with you without an audience.”
Okay…that just led to even more questions.
Fuck it.
“That’s a good plan.” None of this seemed to be logical or reasonable, but that didn’t seem to be the threshold here. “What else do I need to know?”
“Hmm…” The fact that he took the question seriously and was rummaging in his brain for the answer made me nervous.
There was lots I needed to know.
“It’s hard to know where to start.” His honest reply didn’t make me feel any better. “Maybe we should just take it as it comes?”
Not good.
Not good.
“Alright.” Fuck it. I was a badass Daddy who wrestled giant spiders in my off time. I could handle his family. “But just to be clear, your family knows you’re a little and by the time they meet me, it won’t be a surprise that you call me Daddy, and we won’t startle anyone? Well, in a bad way?”
We’d definitely surprise at least one ancient relative.
“That’s right.” Smiling at me like I was the smartest Daddy ever, he didn’t seem to understand how unique this was. “And if someone asks something that’s not a reasonable question, then just change the subject.”
That wasn’t helpful either.
“I’d say smile and do it, but I don’t think that’s a natural response to you.” He shrugged like having a frowning, growling Daddy was an everyday occurrence. “Just frown at them a bit and do that eyebrow thing. It’ll be fine.”
Eyebrow thing?
“Yes, that’s it. Very good.” Praising me like a puppy was distracting enough that I had to think about what I’d done.
Eyebrow thing.
Got it.
Just look frustrated and confused…I could do that.
His family would probably make it easy.
“But Daddy…” Bambi started nibbling on his lower lip, looking like he wanted to apologize. “Should…should I tell them not to ask about your family?”
Fuck.
Chapter 12
Brady
Daddy sighed…frowned…and then shook his head. “No.”
Hmm, now what?
I wasn’t pushy unless it was related to toys, so I wasn’t sure what to do, but thankfully Daddy took a breath and didn’t make me figure it out.
I had the best Daddy ever.
“My family is filled with fuckups.” It wasn’t terribly informative, but it did explain a bit about why Daddy’s frown got deeper when he thought about them. “Gambling. Drugs. Selling, not using if that makes any difference. Underground fights. If it’s illegal, they’ve tried to make a living from it.”
He scoffed. “They’re entrepreneurs.”
Oh dear.
What was the right response to that?
I must’ve looked startled because he chuckled. “Yeah, that’s them. I was in and out of foster care when I was younger until my parents cleaned up enough to keep custody of me when I was in high school.”
Nothing I could think of to say felt right, so I stayed quiet and just reached across the table to take his hand.
His frown lightened and he squeezed my hand. “It’s like their whole generation went nuts making one bad decision after another. Every fucking relative. But when I was in high school a step-grandfather I never knew about came in throwing his weight around and expecting everyone to clean up their act.”
Daddy paused, looking frustrated and thoughtful before shrugging. “He did his best, I guess, but holding money over everyone’s head would only fix so much, and let’s just say I was ready to escape when college finally arrived.”
I still had a thousand questions, but most of them could wait.
“So we’ll just tell everyone you’re estranged?” Did he actually talk to them? Was that the reason why he wasn’t going anywhere for Christmas?
Shrugging, Daddy leaned back for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, and if anyone asks let’s just say they’re not supportive of me being gay and leave it at that. It’s honest and it’s easier to say than my mother’s in jail again and my father is hiding from gambling debts he’ll never be able to pay.”
Oh dear.
“Yes, I think estranged and being vague about the rest would be best for now. My family is…what’s the polite word for nosy?” My question made Daddy laugh even though I was pretty sure he knew I was serious.
“How about we say they’re inquisitive?” He tightened his grip on my hand, smiling as I nodded and grinned.
That was a very good word for them.
“Yes, I like that.” His warm skin against mine had me imagining not-so-Christmassy thoughts, but I was being very good and trying to stay focused on restaurant-friendly date conversations. “And it’s perfectly okay to find a very nice way to tell a younger cousin or relative you won’t answer something. They’re nosy too.”
Somehow it spread through the family like a fungus.
“I will do my best to be polite when I tell everyone off.” Daddy’s eyes sparkled and I had a feeling he was going to be just a bit like my father when the rest of the family frustrated him too much.
It was definitely going to be interesting, but Daddy distracted me when he chuckled again. “Alright, what other questions do you have for me? The family thing can’t be the only one.”
Hmm.
“How about you ask one and I’ll go again afterward?” Maybe that would tell me what I could ask without bringing up bad memories.
He did that thing with his eyebrow again and I knew whatever he was going to say was going to make me sigh. “Bambi, what was going through your head when you said that?”
Yep, I sighed.
Daddy’s lips turned up at the corner, though.
Being good was very difficult sometimes.
“Well, I was hoping if we went back and forth, I’d know what questions to ask that wouldn’t upset you.” Nibbling on my lip, I wanted to crawl into his lap and hated that we were out in public and had to be boring.
“Aw, Bambi.” Daddy slouched down in the booth and his foot stretched out under the table so he could wrap his leg around mine like a hug. “You can ask anything you want. If we were just casually dating, I’d have different limits. I’m also going to have different limits for your idiot roommates, but for you…no limits. You’re my boy.”
And that was more important than being boyfriends or dating.
Okay, having him point that out made me feel better.
“Then I guess my next question is going to be about…limits.” This game was difficult. “Was there anything on my list that surprised you?”
He crossed his arms over his chest and studied me, making me want to giggle. “Right now, no, but if you’d have asked me that question before I’d gotten to know you better this afternoon, it probably would’ve been different.”
I knew it.
I’d looked too…too something for him to have thought I was naughty.
Daddy laughed. “Stop pouting. It’s not a bad thing. The more I get to know you, the more your curiosity and openness make sense.”
Hmm, I guess that was okay.
“I dated a guy last year who said it was weird that my inside and my outside don’t match.” I wasn’t sure if it was rude to talk about past dates in this situation, but Daddy looked confused, not like I’d used bad manners.
“It does match.” Daddy’s words made me smile, even though he was still looking cute and frowny. “He’s insane.”
I loved how Daddy cut right to the point.
“That’s what I thought.” Wiggling my leg against his, I almost giggled as Daddy’s expression said I was being naughty. “I think I’m very forthcoming.”
For some reason that made Daddy snort out a laugh. “I agree.”
Stroking his fingers over my wrist, he grinned as a shiver went through me. “My sweet Bambi is very honest about what he wants and what he needs. Some people just don’t appreciate that.”
“And…but you do, Daddy?” My question had him chuckling again.
