“It is,” James continued. “You’re acting all calm and saying that I can decide when I’m ready. You’re also going around and decorating full rooms for me.” He waved his hand around. “Sometimes you really confuse me.”
“Hey!” Jacob reached for him. “I mean what I say. This doesn’t have to mean anything. There’s no pressure.”
“What if I want you to pressure me?” James demanded.
“I can’t,” Jacob replied honestly. “This has to be your choice.”
James huffed. “I have to admit that I want a Daddy?”
“No,” Jacob drawled. “You might not want a Daddy at all. Not every little calls their caregiver—”
“I know!” James stomped his foot. A little tantrum. “I’m not talking about other people! I’m talking about me.”
While James’s voice rose, he wasn’t yelling. Not yet. Jacob needed to get control of the situation. He nodded. “Would it help if we only talked about what you’re looking for?”
James rolled his eyes and huffed. “No. I like seeing how other couples work things out. Seeing that there’s more than one way to be…little.”
He held back his amusement. “So this is just you being a brat?”
“Yes!” James threw his hands up again. “I’m a brat. Pretty sure that was established a long time ago.”
“I got the memo,” Jacob teased.
James began to smile. “If we had agreed to trying this. The Daddy thing. How would you handle that?” James asked. “Me being a brat.”
Discipline had been one of the few topics that Jacob had stayed away from. In his opinion, every new little needed the freedom to push boundaries but also their caregiver or Daddy should hold them accountable. Jacob wasn’t called a brat tamer for no reason. It was his favorite aspect of a scene. The thin line between a little learning how far to push and getting what they wanted was special.
“Does your lack of response mean that you haven’t thought about it?”
Quite the opposite. Jacob didn’t want to scare the boy. “We’d discuss what you were comfortable with. I think the punishmentwould have to fit the brattiness. For this, I would probably make you stand in the corner. Reflect on why you’re acting up.”
“You’d put me in the corner?” James sounded scandalized.
“Not really worthy of a spanking, although we are getting close,” Jacob warned.
James’s face turned red.
It always surprised Jacob that the boy blushed so easily. Even with his tan, the reaction was hard to miss. “I get the feeling that you might not be opposed to punishment.”
The boy frowned at him. “Funny.”
“Feel better?” Jacob asked gently.
“I was fine. Just surprised. You said you didn’t have a boy of your own but then I saw this room.”
“You will be the first boy to ever play in this room if that is what you chose,” Jacob assured him.
James shrugged. “It’s fine. I was just curious.”
Jacob wouldn’t push for more of an explanation. James was doing a good job of sharing his feelings and asking questions. Over text messages there wasn’t anything off-limits for the boy. Jacob hoped the more time they spent together that James would become just as comfortable asking in person. “Breakfast?”
“Yes. French toast and sausage. That’s what you said.”
“It is. Then you can go get ready for work. We slept in.” Which was extremely rare for Jacob to do. He was usually up at the break of dawn.
“What are your plans for the day?” James asked while leading the way down the hall.
“I have a meeting after lunch,” Jacob replied.
