Warmth spread in his chest as he imagined Emmett in a tub, surrounded by bubbles and his stuffed dragon looking on from a safe distance. His dimples on full display as he smiled up at Rooster as he knelt to wash him.
“That’s definitely something a daddy could help with,” he said, clearing the gravel out of his throat before he continued. “SomethingI’dlove to help a little boy with.”
Sitting up slowly, Emmett kept his gaze on the table, his round cheeks flushing a dark pink. “Yeah?”
“Fuck yeah.”
Emmett snorted and looked up at him. A grin was teasing at the corners of his tempting mouth, and Rooster had to hold himself back from leaning over the table and taking a taste. “What about you? Are there things… you want?”
“From a sub?”
Emmett nodded.
“I’m mostly interested in trying things,” Rooster said, leaning back and scratching at his cheek. “I haven’t known what to call this side of myself for very long, so I haven’t had a lot of time to try things out. But I know I’ll want to do things for my little boy.”
“What kind of things?”
Rooster held his eyes as he said clearly, “Help him tie his shoes, buy him toys, cut up his food, hold his hand when we cross the street.”
Blatant interest shone in Emmett’s eyes, and he wet his lips. The tip of his tongue poking out was the biggest tease Rooster had ever been on the receiving end of, and he had to bite back a groan. Did this boy have any idea what he was doing to him?
“What about building a fort?” Emmett asked. “Would you be interested in doing that?”
Rooster grinned. “I would love to build a fort.”
“She wasconvincedthe game was rigged, and that was why she never won,” Emmett said, giggling. “We had to ban her for a month when I realized she was stealing other residents’ cards and swapping them for hers.”
“All that effort over bingo?” Rooster couldn’t help but ask, shaking his head and holding the door of the restaurant open for Emmett to walk through.
He couldn’t quit smiling, fuckingdelightedat how at ease Emmett had gotten as their meal progressed. And the way he lit up the whole dining room as soon as he started talking about his residents and his favorite parts of his job?
Goddamn magical.
Rooster had done his best not to have expectations for how their first real date would go, knowing it could possibly take a while for Emmett to open up to him. Sure, they’d technically known each other since they were young, but they hadn’t seen each other in years. Even before that, it wasn’t like they’d had a lot of heartfelt conversations when Rooster was at the Moore house to play video games with Erik or pick him up for a pickup game at the park.
Sharing deeply vulnerable desires was new for both of them, but he hadn’t been able to stop himself from hoping that their previous connection—as tepid as it may have been—would make the whole process easier.
Maybe it had, or maybe they were just… really well matched. He couldn’t help but think that it had been a small Christmasmiracle that brought Emmett back into his life at just the right time. Even a year ago, he wouldn’t have known how to give Emmett what he needed in a relationship, but thanks to Houston and the classes at the clubhouse—as well as his own more in-depth research—he was confident that he was exactly the daddy for this sweet boy.
“It gets quite competitive.”
“It sounds like a lot of fun,” Rooster said, slipping his fingers between Emmett’s and giving him a gentle squeeze. His heart nearly stopped at the soft, happy look he got before Emmett stepped more firmly into his side, entwining their arms as well as their hands. “Is the game open to non-residents? I like a nice game of bingo.”
Emmett snickered and pushed his face into Rooster’s arm, and he wished it wasn’t fifteen degrees so he could be wearing a T-shirt and feel his silky cheeks against his skin. “It’s pretty exclusive, but the guy who runs things could probably be persuaded. With the right incentive.”
Holy fuck. This sweet, shy little boy was blatantly flirting with him. His dick started to harden in his jeans, each step pinching his head, but he wouldn’t trade the moment for anything.
“Is that right.” His truck was only a few spots ahead, the taillights already on since he’d remote started it before they’d walked out. “Does he have a favorite kind of incentive?”
Golden eyes peeked up at him, wide and a little nervous, but full of yearning as well. Emmett wanted what they were hinting at, but he wasn’t sure how to ask for it.
“He doesn’t know yet,” Emmett whispered, teeth sinking into his bottom lip. “But he’s open to suggestions.”
“Fucking hell, little boy,” Rooster groaned, crowding Emmett against the passenger door of his truck and caging him in, laying his forearms against the freezing metal on either side of his head. “I’ve got a million suggestions.”
“Yeah?”
Instead of listing some of the many,manythings he’d like to do to Emmett and his plump little body, he leaned in and brushed his lips lightly over Emmett’s. Their skin was cold, the night too damn frigid for them to stay too long outside the vehicle, but he had to get a taste of him. More than he needed his next breath.
