Theron
By the time Sam’s parents left the weekend of his birthday, my boy was exhausted. His mom had, understandably, felt the need to make sure he was unharmed even though we hadn’t been anywhere close to the original altercation. Before we’d walked them out to the car, she and I exchanged phone numbers so we could work together on a graduation celebration for him here in Annandale. As she put it, his life was here now, and she wanted him to understand how many people cared about him so that he’d never doubt himself the way he had in the past.
I sort of loved her.
The next month was a flurry of activity with Sam tying up loose ends so he could graduate. Every minute he wasn’t working or in class, he naturally regressed to Sammy, my sweet little boy who needed lots of time playing with his blocks on the floor followed by cuddles and a bottle before bed.
As much as I loved taking care of my little boy, I missed my partner. The good news was he was currently taking his last exam while I was counting down the minutes until I left school early for an urgent personal matter that couldn’t be avoided. I read over the email on my screen again, still not understanding a fucking word of what this parent was complaining about. It had made sense yesterday, I swear, but today, it might as well have been written in Greek.
I grabbed my coffee mug, glaring at the dried-up ring in the bottom. I didn’t remember draining my second—or was it my third? —cup of the day. I might notneedanother, but that didn’t stop me from pushing away from my desk. On my way through the office, I announced, “I’ll be in the teachers’ lounge if anyone needs me.”
“Another cup, Theron? You know you’re supposed to be cutting back,” my secretary admonished me. I bit back a sharp retort about how she wasn’t my mother. If left to my own devices, I’d have consumed enough coffee to melt the lining of my stomach, which was why I asked my staff to help monitor how much I consumed. It wasn’t in their job descriptions, but after we’d gotten off to a rocky start, we’d grown closer because there was no denying that the changes I’d spearheaded were improving everything from student morale to test scores.
The glare I shot her way must have done the trick because she held up her hands in surrender. “I know, I know. You’re a big boy and don’t need anyone telling you what to do.”
And fuck if that didn’t make me feel like a bag of dicks. I retreated into my office and swapped my coffee mug for the water bottle. I fucking hated drinking water.
And yet you always make Sammy drink his before he can have juice.Fuck that nagging voice in the back of my head.
It was another two hours and six minutes before the text I’d been waiting for came through.
I’m officially done with college.
I smiled, imagining relief my boy must feel. I closed my laptop and stuffed it into the bag I’d already packed with everything I’d need for the rest of the week. I’d probably have my ass in a sling, but I never used my vacation days. They could deal without me sitting behind my desk for a few days.
I’m proud of you, baby.
“Mandy, I have an urgent family matter to attend to,” I said when I stopped by the head secretary’s desk. “If anything pressing comes up, call me. Otherwise, the assistant principals are more than capable of taking care of the rest.”
“Is everything okay?” I should have known she would be worried. Mandy was a hardass who I’d been convinced wanted me gone, but in reality, she demanded the best effort from everyone, from the youngest student all the way to the leaders of the school. I admired her for that.
“It will be,” I assured her. “I know the timing is less than ideal, but I’ll be working remotely on the planning for next year. If we receive the list of applicants for the open History position, forward them to me.”
“Will do, Sir.”
I glared at her. She knew I hated it when she went all formal on me.
She laughed, waving me out of the office. “Get your ass out of here. Whatever’s going on must be important for you to take time off.”
Sam was the most important person in my life. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for him, and most immediately, that meant fucking him utterly senseless to celebrate him finishing college. Then, I planned to help him sink deeper than he’d ever been before.
On my way to the car, I tapped out a quick message to my boy. Without guidance, I knew he’d be deep into his little space by the time I got home, and that wouldn’t work for what I had planned.
I’m on my way. Wait for me in the bedroom, Sam.
His response was almost instantaneous.Yes, Daddy.
Good boy.
My hands shook like they hadn’t since I was first exploring my desires, as I pressed the garage door opener. Everything with Sam felt like trying to navigate uncharted waters and tonight I’d be pushing him further than I ever had before. I loved him with every fiber of my being, but he had no clue how scared I was of saying or doing the wrong thing.
I’d actually researched how to be with a trans man before agreeing to do anything with him, and what I’d learned left me more confused than before. There was no one way of having sex with a trans man.
I stepped into the house, listening for signs of life. I knew Sam was home because his car was in the garage next to mine, but the house was still. I stopped off in the guest room, pushing aside sweaters and outwear. It had been a risky hiding spot since this was the room Sam’s parents had stayed in when they visited, but it was also the only room of the house were Sam rarely entered.
My hands shook as I reached for the wrapped package. Now that I was giving it to him, I was kicking myself for not talking to him about this before whipping out my credit card. There was a chance he’d hate it, that he’d take it as a sign I wasn’t happy with him the way he was. Nothing could be further from the truth.
When I’d stumbled on the website late one night when Sammy had been snoring softly beside me, I hadn’t been able to stop myself. I’d barely been able to resist the urge to rub one out as I looked at all of the options available. As soon as I found one that would be sure to get both of us off, I pored over the configuration, the entire time praying I wasn’t making a huge mistake.
