Tristan’s face became super serious, but his wiggling gave away his anticipation. “Yes! I’m a good secrets keeper!”
I lowered my voice slightly as he watched me with rapt attention. “Well, you see this old man isn’t getting younger, and I was worried you might not want a Daddy whose knees made a creaking sound every time he got on the floor to play with you.”
His eyes softened, and his face broke out into the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen. “You want to play with me?”
“Of course, sweetheart, I’d be honored to get to play with you. But first, I have a sexy boy to take to dinner, and we can talk about having a playdate. Sound good?”
Tristan rocked back and forth on his heels, giggling with excitement. “Yes, please! I‘d love that.”
I held my hand out, and Tristan slipped his into mine. I threaded my fingers through his, the smoothness of his skin a perfectcontrast to the roughness of mine. “Let’s go, sweetheart, say bye to Ellery.”
He nodded as he said goodbye to his friend. He squeezed my hand in soft little pulses as I guided us to my truck. I turned toward Tristan when we reached the passenger side.
“I have a surprise for you before we go to dinner.”
“You got me a present!”
I nodded as I reached to open the door. “I did. Are you ready to see it?”
“Yes please!”
“Of course, sweet boy. I know new things can be scary, so I wanted you to have a friend with you.”
Tristan gasped, let go of my hand, and leaped into the passenger seat. “Ember! I can’t believe it, you brought him… for me?”
“Yes baby, for you, let’s get you both in the car, and you can catch up on the way to dinner.”
I grabbed Ember and helped Tristan into the truck. “Is it okay if I buckle you in?” Tristan nodded. I made sure his belt was secure before handing Ember back to him. Excitement coursed through me as I made my way around the truck and into the driver’s seat.
“Before we go, I just wanted to make sure… do you have any allergies or food restrictions?”
“Nope… except mushrooms, they’re so slimy and gross.” Tristan shook his head, making those beautiful curls bounce around. Icouldn’t wait to sink my fingers into the softness. Everything about him was just so damn soft and adorable.
I couldn’t help it as a chuckle escaped, “Okay, got it, no mushrooms… that should be pretty easy. I’m not a big fan of them either, but I do enjoy the flavor, so I pick them out.”
Tristan held Ember in his lap, wiggling with excitement as I started driving to the restaurant. Given his reaction to David’s antics and the beautiful way he responded to me when he played with the blocks, I was more than sure he was a little. But we’d never actually said it out loud. If this was going to work, we needed to start communicating to make sure we were on the same page.
“So you know I’m a Daddy, thanks to the goober I call my best friend.” That made Tristan giggle, and the sound was like a balm to my soul. “Are you a little Tristan?”
He groaned and looked over at me with guilty eyes. “Yes, I’m a little. I wasn’t exactly subtle yesterday. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to regress; the blocks just looked so fun.”
I reached over to hold his hand, keeping my eyes on the road. “Hey, it’s okay. Yesterday was a lot of work, and I’m just glad you were able to have some fun. I loved watching you play.”
“You did?” I gave his hand a series of soft squeezes. “I did. I can’t wait to show you those dragon blocks David told you about. You’ll love them.”
“I’m so excited. Where are we going to eat?” I pointed at the restaurant as we pulled into the lot. “It’s a pizza place. Have you been here before?”
He shook his head as I continued, “They sell personal-sized pizzas, and we get to go down the line and tell them what toppings we want, and then they bake it.”
“Wow, that’s so cool. I’ve heard of it before, but never found the right time to check it out. I’m glad I get to try it with you.”
I put the truck in park and smiled at him, my heart feeling fuller than it has in a long time. “Me too, sweetheart. Let’s go!”
Tristan
“Wait for me, and I’ll come around and get you.”
My mind whirled as I waited for Daniel. I couldn’t believe this was happening. He was so sexy and sweet that my emotions felt like they were on a pogo stick, bouncing from one feeling to the next. I brought Ember up to my face and nuzzled him. I know Daniel had only purchased him mere hours ago, but feeling his soft yarn against my skin after Daniel gave him back to me made him even more special.
