Sam’s eyes widened. “You didn’t? It’s part of the Cuffd package!” Ignoring me, his voice filled with excitement as he expounded for Rene. “It’s not open to everyone, just the Daddies and Littles who are staying at the hotel, and it’s included with the weekend room rate. Didn’t you read through the welcome email?”
Rene shook his head. “Sorry, I didn’t really have time to. And I thought...”
“You thought what?” Sam asked when Rene didn’t finish, cocking his head to the side like a little cocker spaniel.
Rene shrugged again, but this time his voice sounded sheepish. “I guess I thought my… my, um, you know, Daryl? I thought he’d just tell me what to do while I was here.”
I’d forgotten that Rene was here for another man.
Something dark and ugly spiked through me at the thought, and my hands instinctively tightened in a possessive hold on Rene’s shoulders as I pulled him back against me. A tiny sigh of contentment escaped him, and hearing that settled something inside me.
It seemed to have the opposite effect on Sam, though.
“Rene,” Sam whispered urgently, even though I was literally right there with absolutely no chance of not overhearing. “Are yousureabout what…you know, what I asked you? Before? Abouthim?”
His complicated eyebrow movements and hand gestures seemed to indicate that I was the “him,” and it wasn’t hard to guess that the question had to do with Sam’s concern that I was taking advantage of Rene in some way.
With a valiant effort, I held my tongue. I’d never convince Sam of my good intentions with words alone.
“I’m sure,” Rene said, vindicating me. Then, in what I was almost positive was a sweetly intended attempt to divert Sam’s ire, he asked, “Um, tell me more about the breakfast? It’s… It’s for Littles and their Daddies? So everyone there will be… will be into that?”
Sam nodded enthusiastically, sufficiently distracted to start gushing again. “Yes! And it’s not actually a playdate, but we’ll have those later, too! Today’s breakfast is more just a chance for everyone to meet everyone else, and the menu is super Little-friendly. It’s going to be buffet style even though we printed up special menus, too. But that’s just so we can color on them.” He grinned, his eyes turning into two half-moons. “It’s going to be fun! You’ll come, right, Rene? I can wait for you to shower. Or you can skip it? We could go right now!”
Sam started bouncing on the balls of his feet, but Rene seemed a little overwhelmed.
“Um,” he hedged. “Are a lot of people going to be there?”
“Everyone,” Sam said, sounding gleeful.
Rene, though, just pressed back against me even more.
I didn’t understand his hesitation, but I was happy to buy him some time to think it over. Besides, I’d never liked being underinformed, especially not when it was something that mattered to my… well, to someone who mattered to me. Which, despite having just met him, Rene most certainly did. And even though I’d heard of a “Daddy” before in the context of an adult relationship, I hadn’t quite followed the rest of Sam’s explanation.
“What does it mean to be a ‘Little,’ Sam?” I asked. “Is that what Daddies call their bottoms?”
Sam stopped bouncing, his eyes narrowing as he gave me—or more specifically, my hands on Rene’s shoulders—a disapproving look. Then he crossed his arms over his chest and lifted his chin. “Littles don’t concern you. I know whyyou’rehere, Mr. Garrett, and you’ll be busy with Bradley and Dennis this morning anyway, so don’t worry about our breakfast. It’s not for you.”
Bradley and Dennis must be the management team. I’d spoken to them briefly when I’d informed them I was coming, but hadn’t remembered their names.
Before I could respond, Sam’s smile came back in full force and he turned his attention to Rene again. “Butyoudefinitely need to come, Rene! So hurry up and get dressed! I’ll introduce you to everyone, because I met them all during check-in and they’re allsupernice.”
But Rene shook his head, his body still tense. “That’s okay, Sam. I can just eat some granola bars I brought here in the room.”
Granola bars? No. The boy needed a real breakfast.
“Ew,” Sam said, echoing the sentiment and making a face. “Absolutely not. That sounds totally boring!”
Rene went pink. “No, it’s okay, really. I mean, I didn’t know about the breakfast anyway, and if it’s part of the Cuffd package, you refunded my debit card for that, remember? So it wouldn’t even be fair. If I didn’t actually pay for it, I shouldn’t—”
“Of course you should!” Sam interrupted, bouncing again. “I work here, and I say it’s okay.” He stopped bouncing and shot me a dirty look that would have made me laugh if Rene hadn’t still been so clearly uncomfortable with the situation. “And even ifsomepeople wouldn’t let you go unless you’dpaidfor it,” Sam added in a scathing tone, “mymanagerswon’t mind, because they’re bothDaddies.”
My lips twitched, but I managed not to laugh. I’d win him over eventually, because we were actually both on the same side—Team Rene—but until then, all his little digs at me were kind of adorable, if I was being honest.
Only, of course, because they were in defense of Rene. As an employee, Sam’s attitude was… questionable.
But then again, maybe that was just part of The Plazerra’s charm, the vague something extra that Greg had claimed made the place special?
In any case, the volatile little ball-of-sunshine’s friendship with Rene gave him a lot of leeway with me, and if that was favoritism, so be it. Anyone who went out of their way to look out for what was mine was going to be in my good graces.Always.
