Jack pulled me onto his lap, so my legs were draped to one side and my head was near Jack’s shoulder. I curled myself into a ball so I could rest my head and close my eyes as Jack gave me his expert opinion. Okay, so it wasn’t like he’d gone to school for this or anything, but he had a hell of a lot more experience in the lifestyle than I had.
“Based on what I saw last night, and a few other observations, I think you may be what they call a Middle.”
“A Middle?” That was a phrase I had never heard before.
Jack flicked my shoulder.
Oh, right. I had promised I wouldn’t interrupt him. “Sorry, Daddy. But that really doesn’t count as an interruption since I wanted you to explain something to me, does it?”
Jack chuckled. “No, sweetheart, I guess it doesn’t. Anyway, a Middle is someone who regresses, but not necessarily as far as other Littles do.”
“Okay, I’m listening,” I told him. “And you think that’s what I am? Why?”
This time, he pinched my side, making me squirm. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” He brushed the hair away from my face and offered me a chaste kiss. “I like knowing that you’re curious about this. Part of me worried you wouldn’t be receptive if I tried talking to you about it.”
“Well, it is a bit weird,” I admitted. “Then again, you’ve already shown me a lot of other things I never knew turned me on, so why should this be any different?”
Flashes of the past month appeared in my mind. The way I couldn’t help but obey when he left me a list of chores that first day. I’d tried. Damn, how I’d tried. But then I imagined his disapproval, and the threat of him never coming back scared the hell out of me. He had slowly crafted routines for me, checking in without being overbearing. When I’d struggled with his radio silence a few nights in a row, he’d changed his own behaviors. He encouraged me to keep after my art, even when I’d proclaimed it a lost cause.
I paused before turning to look at Jack. “Have you known this the whole time?”
“No, sweetheart. But, looking back, I realize I must have been blind to not see it sooner,” he admitted.
“Okay, so what signs did you miss?” I teased him. I felt a little bit better knowing that this turn of events had taken him by surprise as well.
“You don’t want to be in control,” he explained. “Even with the simplest tasks, you have handed over that authority to me.”
“Maybe that’s just because being an adult sucks sometimes,” I pointed out. Jack glared at me, and I hitched up my shoulders. “What? It’s the truth. Oh wait, is that part of why you think I might be a Middle?”
“That’s definitely part of it,” he confirmed. “And with Middles, sometimes it’s harder to see the regression. But last night really clinched it for me.”
“How so?”
“Do you even realize how beautiful you were when you were sitting there playing video games with Jordan?” I scrunched up my nose. It was still difficult for me to accept compliments, but I couldn’t remember a time anybody had ever called me beautiful—and certainly not because of how I played a game.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he scolded. “As soon as you two sat down to play, this sense of peace washed over you. Part of it, I’m assuming, was the space you were in. Your mind knew you were in a safe place, where you didn’t have to worry about everything that weighs you down out in the real world.”
“Okay, but maybe I was just excited to finally see you at work,” I countered. “And do you know how hard it is to come by some of those old school games? Seriously, you need to give Sam a raise, because it was a genius move on his part to include gaming systems from when we were kids.”
Jack shook his head and let out a sigh. “Are you going to contradict me on everything I say? Do I need to put you in a timeout?”
He completely ignored everything I’d said about how awesome the playroom was. A spanking sounded like a hell of a lot more fun, but I didn’t say that. I might be clueless about all of this Middle stuff he was talking about, but I was pretty sure talking back would earn me consequences, and not the kinky fun type.
“Sorry, Daddy.” I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. “Please, go on.”
Jack tightened his arms around me. “Maybe part of it was that we were together, somewhere other than inside your apartment, but I think even more of it was that you were given a no-pressure way to let your Middle out to play. Seriously, it was like watching what you and Jordan would’ve been like when you were preteens.”
I stiffened, a sarcastic quip about maturity on the tip of my tongue. I somehow managed to bite it back.
“Good boy,” Jack praised me. “As I said, most of this is just a hunch, but I’m not the only one who thinks this might be exactly what you need.”
A low groan rumbled through my body. I didn’t want other people knowing my personal business. And it didn’t take three guesses to know who else had figured out the secret even I hadn’t known existed. “Let me guess, Eli?”
“And Doug,” he added. “But don’t worry, sweetheart. Just because this is how you are, doesn’t mean anyone else is going to treat you any differently, unless you want that. For now, it can be something only the two of us share. To the rest of the world, you’ll be the same guy you’ve always been, just without the hard edge you’ve honed to keep everyone at a distance.”
“But how would that work if we’re out with other people?” He made it sound like this was something I could turn on or off as I wanted. If that was the case, was this just a form of play-acting?
