I continued watching Slade, a slow smile creeping onto my face. If I didn’t know them better, I’d have thought they had been working behind the scenes to fix me up with their boy’s friend. He certainly ticked all of my boxes.
I couldn’t wait to start exploring some of my darker fantasies with him. In an odd way, I was grateful I hadn’t figured out Slade might be a Middle sooner. If I had, I’m not sure I would have broached some of the darker topics with him. I needed to make sure he understood the two were very different kinks, and both could coexist with one another.
“Jack, I hate to bug you.” I turned, noticing Corey sheepishly approaching me.
“Is everything okay?” I reached out to give his arm a comforting squeeze. Corey felt like a walking time bomb.
I wasn’t sure what had happened between him and William, but, whatever it was, it affected him on a cellular level. If I wasn’t so levelheaded, I’d kick the shit out of my friend and ask questions later. The guys who worked for me were family, and I didn’t want to see any of them hurt. The only thing worse than that was knowing one of them might have hurt another, even if it’d been unintentional.
“I was just wondering…” His gaze drifted toward the new playroom. “Sam hasn’t let me see what he’s been working on. Is it okay if I go in, now that Slade and his friend are in there? It would really help me be able to explain to the customers what we're doing, if I had a better idea myself.”
I pursed my lips, amused by his weak excuse. If I wasn’t worried that he was about to crack, I would have given him a hard time, asking him how long it had taken him to come up with that line.
“Absolutely.” I ushered him into the room with a smile. “What do you think?”
His eyes grew wide, and his gaze darted all over the room, as if he didn’t know what to look at first. “This is great! It’s going to be a huge hit. Sam thought of everything.”
“What do you say Doug and I keep an eye on the bar for a few minutes, and you can let him play,” Eli suggested quietly. Corey had definitely perked up as soon he entered the playroom. “Maybe a few minutes to decompress would be good for him.”
“I think that’s a great idea,” I agreed. “And I’m going to test another one of your theories at the same time.”
Doug and Eli made their way to the bar and I went to the middle space, crouching down between Jordan and Slade. “Hey boys, are you having a good time?”
“This is really awesome, Jack,” Jordan responded, never taking his eyes off the game. Slade, on the other hand, simply nodded. He was completely captivated by the animated images on the screen. I began rubbing his back and he leaned into the touch, sighing softly.
“Baby, I need to get some work done,” I told him. “Do you think you can keep an eye on Corey for me?”
I felt bad when Slade’s focus was broken, and his character crashed to his death. He turned to me, worry creasing his forehead. “Is he okay?”
I pointed toward the other side of the room where Corey was cautiously pulling toys off the low bookshelf. Interesting. I’d expected him to want to play with Slade and Jordan, but he seemed content coloring at a low table. “He’s fine, sweetheart. But I’d still like you to keep an eye on him.”
“Okay, Daddy.” He sat up a bit straighter. “I can do that for you. Anything else?”
The boy was such a natural at this, I wondered why I hadn’t realized it sooner. “No, sweetheart. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
I placed a chaste kiss to his lips. Anything deeper than that felt wrong when he was in this headspace, and I wasn’t about to do anything that might jeopardize the serenity he’d found.
I made a mental note to pick up some of the same gaming systems for my own place, and maybe see what else interested Slade. If this was what it took to help my boy find peace, I was going to go all out. What was the point of having money if you couldn’t spend it on the people you loved?
Shit. Did I love him?
Yeah, I did. I think that had been a foregone conclusion since the moment we met. Maybe even before, if things like fate, and everything else Eli talked about, actually existed. But I wouldn’t tell him just yet, not after the way he’d nearly bolted when I let the word slip earlier.
“Are they all settled in there?” Eli asked as I slid onto the stool next to Doug’s. I nodded, lifting the now watered-down drink to my lips. “Are you still going to tell me I was imagining things?”
“No,” I grumbled. “I’m just pissed at myself that I didn’t realize it sooner. How could I have not known?”
“Because your judgment was clouded by including sex in the mix.” Eli grabbed a bar towel and started wiping down every horizontal surface he could find. He did the same when we were relaxing at my house. I was pretty sure it was a habit he didn’t even realize he had. “I’ve seen the evolution of Slade. I knew him as a regular in the bar, chasing his next orgasm. He never found what he was looking for, because it wasn’t getting off that he needed. Then, I knew him as Jordan’s best friend. I listened to Jordan worry about him after the band split up, and he started to withdraw from everyone, including Jordan. He was in a really dark place, but then you came along. And you were able to take care of his needs, even if neither of you realized right away what those were.”
“You’re a pretty smart guy, you know that?” Eli rolled his eyes. It wasn’t often that I complimented my brother’s partner, but I realized then that I hadn’t given him credit for his observation skills. You’d think I would’ve learned that about him in the past decade and a half that we’d known one another.
Eli quickly poured three fresh glasses of whiskey. I held up a hand, trying to pass.
“Hell no,” Doug protested. “If I’m drinking, so are you.”
“I still have to work tonight,” I reminded them.
“Take the night off,” Eli suggested. “Show your staff that you trust them to keep things under control and hang out with your brother and me. If it’s easier for you, we don’t even have to stay here. We can head back to your place.”
