“No one needs that much customer service at a buffet. That guy was eavesdropping.” Teddy didn’t really care about how helpful our waiter was, but he was pissed that we had to stop our conversation so many times it’d gotten completely derailed.
Teddy didn’t like half-finished conversations.
The fact that he was pacing around the house and looked kind of like me when I was pissed said it might be more than that, though.
By his second round of circling the house and grumbling about nosy assholes, I decided we needed a change in tactics because he was not going to calm down on his own.
I was really grateful we had privacy at his house at the very least.
Throw pillow in place.
Dom expression in place.
Good behavior in place…because part of me really wanted to fuck with him and see how crazy I could make him.
“Come here.”
The barked-out order had him going very still in the kitchen but not nearly as quiet as he seemed to think. “Pissed-off Dom?Frustrated Daddy? Bored restaurant friend who doesn’t tell me what he wants?”
He was definitely the pain in the ass at the moment.
“Dom who’s tired of seeing his boy lose his mind.” So a mix of all of the above and none of the above. “And if you don’t stop grumbling and start walking, you’re going to be a boy who spends time in the corner.”
Yeah, we needed more limits conversations so I knew what kind of punishments I could give him.
“He doesn’t get angry when I soup him, but talk to myself a little and he goes bananas.” For whatever reason, Teddy didn’t seem to think that counted as grumbling or he thought testing me was a good idea.
It wasn’t.
So when he finally took a baby step into the living room, I pointed to the corner. “That was grumbling and talking back, and you are literally inching forward with each step.”
Just to push my fucking buttons.
“Corner time.”
I waited for a color or even reasonable pushback, but he simply glared at me for a few seconds before stomping over to the corner.
So he was patient right up until drama took over and he became a gremlin?
Was this a side effect of too many vegetables at lunch?
Either way, he needed a chance to see I wasn’t going to watch him completely unravel, so I sat down on the couch and watched the time on my phone until two minutes had passed. He must’veheard me shift or put the phone down on the side table because he let out a deep breath and most of the tension came out of his body. “Sorry.”
Hmm.
“Is that how you need to apologize?” Start as you mean to begin was advice I’d always liked but I certainly hadn’t applied it to my own life…and I was going to fix it right then. “Try again.”
That got me another long sigh but he went back to standing straighter and seemed less insane. “I’m sorry for…for stomping around the house and not communicating helpfully, Daddy.”
“Much better.” Shifting the pillow so it was between my legs, I sat back on the couch to make sure he had plenty of room. “Come here, please.”
Ignoring the shiver that raced through him seemed like the politest way to handle the situation, but I couldn’t ignore the needy, hopeful expression he was wearing as he quickly turned around. “That’s my good boy.”
Oh, he liked that.
“Come kneel for me.” That had his body reacting again but he didn’t seem to notice as he slowly walked over, eyes glued to the cushion.
He was technically obeying even if he seemed like he wasn’t fully processing what he was doing, so I was patient as he came over and took his time kneeling down. When he was in place and looking up at me, his brain seemed to turn back on again. “Sorry, Daddy.”
