He kisses the top of my hair. “We would never rush you, but I understand. Now, let’s get you to that club. There are several littles eager to meet you.”
Chapter 3
Maybe I’ll finally meet my people.
Felix
Adrian and I climb into the car, Adrian joining Theo up front, with me in the back. As soon as Theo plugs the directions to Dark Satin into his phone and begins to drive, I take that moment to catch up on the chat.
Ash: You’re going to love the playroom. There are lots of toys. And I’m down to play with anything and everything.
Wylan: We can always use more people like us in our group, Felix. We are all so excited you reached out to us.
Daddy John: Settle down, boys. We don’t want to scare him away.
Daddy John: Don’t worry, Felix. There will be several Daddies there to make sure no one overwhelms you.
I giggle. Something about a Daddy disciplining the littles through text is funny to me. Theo briefly looks up, making eye contact with me through the rear-view mirror. He gives me a subtle nod, causing warmth to spread through my chest. My brother picked a good one.
As if reading my thoughts, Adrian reaches over and laces his fingers with Theo. They fall into conversation about where they want to go furniture shopping. I tune them out, focusing on my phone.
Riley: You mentioned you are shy like me. I promise we’ll be on our best behavior. I deal with a lot of anxiety, and this whole group takes really good care of me.
Ash: Ooooh! Maybe we can introduce you to Daddy Clay! He’s handsome and might be willing to play with someone new for once.
My heart skips a beat when I read the name Clay. Wouldn’t that be crazy if their Clay is the very same one I knew? God, Clayton Larsson. My high school crush and the guy who was friends with the biggest bullies, the ones who made my high school a living hell. All the popular kids did. Not Clay, though. He was different.
Anytime we talked, he treated me like a person, not like some robot who knew the answers to everything. He treated me like an equal, like we were the same age. Even when I tutored him in his junior year, he didn’t treat me differently or hold my smarts against me. There were times I thought I even saw a moment of appreciation or awe when I explained something to him, and it just clicked. That moment of understanding would just show on his face. He was always such an open book. It was so refreshing. And those smiles he would give me? I treated each of those smiles like a moment of praise. Trust me, I’ve always been greedy for kind words, like a damn flower craving sunshine. It was such an intoxicating feeling to know that I could help this sweet jock understand physics, of all things.
More memories filter through, and for the second time tonight, I’m thinking about high school. I’ll never forget the first time his friends Donny and Madison made fun of me right in front of Clayton. The pure horror and disgust on his face when Clayton realized what they were doing. Madison saw it, too. She wiped the smile right off her face when she turned to see him glaring. Fuck, I hated Madison. She was the worst.
Daddy John: Ash… stop meddling. You know Daddy Clay isn’t looking for someone right now.
Ash: I know. But he’s so handsome and sweet. He needs to stop punishing himself and go after his dream boy. He deserves to be happy.
That comment has me curious. Why would this Daddy Clay guy be punishing himself?
Peering out the window, I admire the town’s ambiance, a unique blend of urban and coastal elements. The sun is setting over the ocean to our left, and to the right, people chat with one another as they make their way through shops and restaurants.
As we drive deeper into Olivia Cove’s busy streets, my thoughts stray back to Clayton. I pull up my social media app and tap through it until I find Clayton’s profile. Suddenly, I’m staring at that sexy jawline and sweet smile. It’s only been four years since I’ve seen him in person, but damn, he’s even hotter now with a little scruff and that familiar blond hair styled short. Even though he’s only a couple of years older than me, he would make one sexy Daddy. I’ve always been a believer that Daddy is an attitude, not an age. Never an age.
I click through his photos and smile. What has he been up to since he graduated from high school? Over the last few years, I would pull up his social media account and try to decipher where he was. All I know is that he lives by the ocean and looks happier now than he ever did four years ago. Three years ago, I remember checking his profile and seeing that his sexualorientation was marked as gay. Was he hiding back when I knew him, or did he discover himself later? And is it weird to say that I’m proud of him?
His mother was very religious. Did she support him when he came out? Did he have friends who were there for him as well? Going by all the smiling photos he posts, I like to think that he did.
“We’re here,” Adrian says, snapping me out of my thoughts. I pocket my phone and glance up at the club. Dark Satin is a sleek-looking building with a beautiful brick exterior. It definitely doesn’t look like the run-down building my last kink club was located in. Thank goodness.
Theo whistles from the driver’s seat. “Fancy. This place looks more like a nice restaurant.”
I nod. “I kind of like that. Makes it very welcoming.”
“Okay,” Theo says, turning around in his seat as much as he can. “Call us anytime. I know this Daddy John guy offered to give you a ride home, but if something happens or he seems strange, please give us a call.”
Adrian nods. “You know I’d rather go in there with you, but I get that you want to do this on your own. Just promise me you’ll call if you need us. Theo and I will be just down the street at a restaurant called Silk. The night’s still young, and luckily, most littles have a bedtime.”
I giggle, loving how the club took that into consideration. It makes me feel like I chose right by joining this club.Maybe I’ll finally meet my people.
After several promises and several more goodbyes, I get out of the car and wander over to the line that’s started to form. Adrian waves as they drive off, and I feel like a little kid being dropped off at school. The whole thing would be hilarious if I didn’t register just how many people are in front of me.
