“But you like it.”
I made a growly sound and pulled him back down to me so I could nibble along his neck. “Yes. I love it.”
“Good. Because I don’t think I could stop if I tried.”
“Me, either.”
We lay together quietly, enjoying each other, after that. Joey’s foot rubbed along my calf. “Happy New Year, Daddy.”
“Happy New Year, Joey. I can’t wait to see what this new year has for us.”
“Me too.”
I was so in love with this little, I couldn’t wait to see how my life would go this next year and beyond with him in it.
Chapter thirteen
One Year Later - Christmas Day
Much like last year, I woke early and ran down the stairs and plopped in front of the tree. Just as I reached out for the first colorfully festive box, I heard Vince yelling from the top of the stairs. “You better not touch one box, Joey.”
Damn, he knew me well. I sat on my hands and pursed my lips, mostly to keep from laughing.
Vince walked into the room, camera in hand. Since he’d taken up photography as a hobby, he was rarely without it. Mostly, he took landscape and nature pictures, but I starred in more than a few. Since I was used to being in front of the camera, it didn’t bother me. In fact, it stoked my ego. I loved being the focus of his attention—literally.
Pictures of me aside, his work was incredible, and I’d spent the last two weeks sneaking around and getting a few of them printed and framed for him. They were now wrapped and under the tree with all of the lovelies waiting for me to open.
I rubbed my hands together in anticipation. “Now, Daddy? Now, can I open?”
“So impatient.” He rubbed my head, mussing my already messy hair. “Go ahead, but do it slowly.”
I scowled at him, not sure if I could do theslowlypart. I was too excited. I grabbed the first one and tore it open.
It was two dinosaur masks. While I wasn’t into anything in particular, I liked having things I could share with my other little friends, so this was great. “Rawr! I can have Levi over and play dinos!”
“You can. We’ll call him later, if you want.”
“Yay!” I was so excited.
I simply loved my Daddy. Living with him this past year had been amazing. Even as great as his presents were, he was the real gift. He cared so much, and it showed in everything he’d done. Not only taking care of me as a little, but also in supporting me as a man and a partner.
We’d worked on decorating my playroom over the year, a little at a time, adding things I loved. And all these new prezzies already had a spot waiting for them. But beyond that, Vince’s house had become a real home for both of us. We turned oneof the guest rooms upstairs into an office. I could work on my social media sites, and he could work on the business side of his photography, creating spaces to sell them. Of course, with my SEO experience, I helped him out with that. It was doing well so far, but it also wasn’t like his life depended on making a sale. We also worked together on the Sage fundraiser event for the year in the office. That had been fun and productive.
And holy shit! The event turned out spectacular thanks to Jax Hoadley and his yacht. We nearly doubled last year’s donations. And Jax hadn’t lied, decorating the yacht had been a ton of fun, and all his friends helped out. Even better, I considered them my friends too, which was the best part of working on the gala.
In fact, it felt as if everything I touched this year flourished as if I had a magic wand or something. My social media company was going strong, and one of my biggest accounts was my old client, the sports drink company, CutBarb. Their business had a significant fallout from my leaving Digitax. I hadn’t sought them out, but they found me, and since I didn’t have a non-compete, I signed them on. And Crow’s website NewYouFit4Life, came along with them.
But my favorite client was Afterglow, and now I was getting paid actual money instead of discounts. Not only had we cleaned up their membership, but we had also significantly expanded it. And we also started doing open-to-the-public events, complete with a stiff cover charge. I’d also found a young writer in the scene willing to create a blog with a paid subscription. That was part promotional and part another revenue stream. It was still growing, but so far, the results were positive.
I’d not become a worldwide influencer. But I decided that maybe I didn’t need to be. My own business was doing well enough and keeping me super busy.
I opened more presents. A lot of them were for the pool, and more things I could play with my friends with. I even got a little blue Easy-Bake oven. Woot!
While I was tearing into mine, Vince collected his own stack.
“Open them, Daddy.” I wanted to see the look on his face when he opened the prints. But first, he had some clothes and a tie to get through. They were nice but boring. I couldn’t wait any longer and grabbed the one I wanted to see. “This one. Do this one.”
“Okay, Mr. Bossy.” He slid the present closer.
