“Okay.” Ash sat on the time out chair, jumping when his bare bum hit the cold plastic. He crossed his arms and pouted but didn’t otherwise protest.
“Good boy.” I bent down to kiss the top of his head. “I promise, I’ll hurry back.”
In my haste to get to the bathroom and back before Ash got upset, I wasn’t paying attention and ran into Matt as I darted across the hall. “Shit, sorry about that. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
“No worries. Late night?” Matt glanced past me to our bedroom.
“Yeah, Chase and I went out for a bit.” That wasn’t odd, roommates hung out. It was totally normal. “What are you still doing up?”
“Trying to finish a paper. This semester is going to fu—” he stopped himself, checking over his shoulder like he expected someone to be there. “It’s tough, man. I’m thinking I might have to change my major if it stays like this.”
“You’ll figure it out.” I patted his shoulder, easing past him. “If you want, after breakfast tomorrow I can help you with your paper.”
“That’d be fu— I mean, yeah, that’d be cool.” That was twice he’d cut himself off from swearing. Any other time, I’d have questioned him about it, but I didn’t have time to chat. There was a naked boy in my bedroom who needed me to help him get ready to sleep. “I’ll catch you later, Jayden.”
“Night, Matt.”
8
Chase
Maybe it shouldn’t have shockedme how much less stress I felt after Jayden started helping me. Being little wasn’t a dirty secret I had to keep to myself anymore, and it felt like I could breathe. Even cooler was he sensed when I needed some Ash time. It was commonplace for him to bring me Pika or my binkie when I was frustrated and stressed out by school.
The only downside was I hated leaving our room when we were home, because outside, I had to be Chase all the time. But I’d promised him I was going to try to do better, and I’d always keep my promises.
“Hey buddy, do you want to help me with breakfast?” Brandon asked when I entered the living room. I wasn’t sure how I felt about him picking up on Jayden’s nickname for me and using it, but I didn’t say anything. As far as he knew, it was simply a casual nickname like bro or dude.
“Sure. What do you need help with?” Brandon frowned when I dumped three spoonful’s of sugar into my coffee. I giggled when I caught myself before telling him he wasn’t my Daddy and he couldn’t tell me what to do.Jaydidn’t mind me having my sugary goodness in the morning. When he quirked an eyebrow as if to ask if I really needed that much junk in my coffee, I stuck out my tongue before cradling the new mug Jayden had bought me between my hands.
“Someone’s cheeky this morning,” he observed. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s cute to see you coming out of your shell.”
“Um, whatisthe wrong way to take that?” I was pretty dang cute. I wasn’t going to be upset with Brandon for noticing.
“Oooh, Chase is sassy this morning,” Matt teased. He scowled at my coffee mug, and I stifled a laugh. Sucked to be him; now that I had my special cup, he couldn’t steal my coffee and pretend he didn’t realize what he’d done. He leaned in close enough to whisper. “Cover me. I need my caffeine.”
“You know he’s going to catch you,” I warned Matt. Theirs was an interesting dynamic. I was pretty sure they were together, but no one said anything one way or the other.
“I know.” Matt waggled his eyebrows. “But it’s more fun if he thinks I’m trying to be sneaky.”
“Matthew, what are you trying to talk Chase into over there?” Brandon scolded him. “You’re distracting him, and he’s supposed to be helping me.”
“Sorry, Brandon.” Matt winked as he sulked through the kitchen. He wasn’t the least bit sorry, but it wasn’t my place to call him out on it. I shook my head. Those two were insane, but I liked it. They made me feel a little more normal. “You guys should really get to work. Everyone’s going to be up soon, and you know Zach and Daniel will pretend they don’t care if they miss out on breakfast. They have early classes today.”
It hadn’t taken long to realize the guys in our suite operated like a dysfunctional little family. Zach hadn’t been as much of a jerk to me recently, but he also hadn’t apologized for the mean things he’d said the night he was drunk. I thought of him like the bully older brother. Daniel was quieter and always careful to maintain his bubble of personal space. He thought the rest of us didn’t notice the way he and Zach huddled together when they didn’t think anyone was looking. Brandon was the most paternal of the suite. He kept all of us fed and knew all of our schedules. For me, he was more like the cool uncle because Jay was Daddy, even if he didn’t believe it.
“Hey, sleepyhead.” Jayden let his hand linger on my hip as he poured himself a glass of juice. He didn’t always have coffee, and when he did, it was more often than not just a few sips of mine. He claimed he was trying to cut back because it messed up his stomach. He put his hand to my forehead. “Are you feeling better this morning? You didn’t look so hot last night.”
“I think I’ve been pushing too hard,” I admitted. He didn’t realize I’d been waking earlier than usual the past few weeks so I could get my work done. I wanted evenings to be our time together, which meant I had to find another time for schoolwork. Unfortunately, that plan was catching up with me now.
Jay glared at me. “We’ll talk about that after breakfast.”
“Okay.” I hated feeling like I’d let Jay down. I knew the rules, but I had a set bedtime, not a time I was allowed to get out of bed. If he knew why I was waking up early, I’d lose snuggles at night, but if Ididn’ttell him the truth, I’d get a punishment and those weren’t as fun as some people made it sound like they’d be.
Jay patted my backside as he left the kitchen, making some excuse about needing to grab something from our room. It was only then I realized how strange our interaction might have seemed to our roommates. Matt’s head was cocked to the side, his brow furrowed in confusion. Brandon, on the other hand, shook his head and got back to work.
“Crack the eggs, Chase,” he instructed me, his tone more demanding than before. I wasn’t sure how I’d upset him, but I didn’t like it. He handed me the carton of eggs and I got to work, being extra careful to not get shells in the bowl like I usually did. Maybe then he’d be happy again.
“Hey Chase, do you want to hang out after class?” Matt asked as he finished setting the table. I almost told him I had to ask permission but stopped short. It would definitely raise suspicions if I admitted that to them. But I couldn’t say that to him, or he’d definitely wonder what sort of weird stuff we were up to in our room. “I want to go play some Pokémon Go, but Brandon says it’s boring and dumb to walk around playing games on my phone.”
