“That’s a good sign. Do you want to sit down, and I’ll make you something to eat?”
“Not soup,” he insisted. “I want real food. Maybe a peanut butter sandwich?”
Only Matty could consider a PBJ real food. “Whatever you want. I’m just happy to see youwantingto eat.”
“Kickass pajamas, man,” Daniel called out as he grabbed another beer. I had a feeling it was going to be a long night if he was hanging with us and drinking to avoid facing Zach.
“Say thank you,” I reminded Matty as I guided him into the living area. I wanted him to seeIwasn’t embarrassed by his littleness to help put his mind at ease. One of my biggest reservations was not wanting him to feel like he was one person in our room and another when the real world invaded.
“Thank you, Daniel,” Matty said softly. His voice was still scratchy, but it was more than that. When he’d been on the verge of getting yanked out of his happy place, I’d managed to help him stay there. This was progress. “Da— Brandon, could I have some juice, too?”
“You can call him Daddy if you want. It’d take a hell of a lot more than that to freak me out,” Daniel offered. “Brandon, I’ll take care of him. What type of juice do you want, kiddo?”
Kiddo? I felt like our suite was some sort of alternate reality. Sure, Matt and I had easily accepted Chase, but looking back, I think that was because we both identified a bit with what was going on between him and Jayden. But if Daniel was hung up on Zach, and he was easily accepting Matty… Nope. Not going there. My brain might snap if I tried bending it far enough to imagine Zach being like Matt and Chase.
“I mean, if that’s okay with you, Brandon,” Daniel quickly added.
Jayden’s mouth was hanging open as his gaze jerked from me to Daniel and back again. He was like one of those damned bobblehead toys Matty loved messing with.
“What in the hell is even going on here?” Jayden threw his hands in the air. “Until twenty minutes ago, we all thought you were straight as an arrow, and now you’re giving me vibes like you’re not only less-than, but you’re going to be the next to fall for his roommate. As if that wasn’t enough, you’re acting like it’s no big deal that Matty is little or that Brandon’s his Daddy!”
“Jayden,” I hissed as I pulled Matty into my lap. Just because everything he said was true didn't mean he needed to give us a recap of all the secrets that had come out tonight. “I don’t know what’s crawled up your ass, but you need to yank it out, quick.”
“Daddy, I think you better feel my forehead,” Matt whispered. He grabbed my hand and pressed it to his hairline.
“Is something wrong? I thought you were feeling better tonight.” My heart sped up. Seeing Matty more lively had been sweet relief; I wasn’t sure I could take much more of him being under the weather. Maybe he'd only thought he felt better because he was starting to get some rest.
“No, I think I might be having a fever dream.” He gave me his best stern expression. “It’s a thing, and I think it’s very dangerous. But it’s either that or I was so sick I slipped into the twilight zone.”
“You’re not dreaming, Matty,” I told him. He wiggled around on my lap until his butt was between my thigh and the arm of the couch with his legs draped over the middle cushion.
“What Jayden said is really true?” he asked. “Daniel’s not straight, too?”
I chuckled when Matty scrunched up his face. Okay, so maybe this being Daddy to a little stuff was fun sometimes. I regretted that we hadn’t had time to test the waters before he’d gotten sick, but I wanted to find a way to make it up to him now. Hopefully, Jayden would show me how to do that.
“You could ask him yourself,” I suggested. Even though it was quickly becoming common knowledge, it didn't feel right talking about Daniel when he was just across the room.
Matty gave him a brilliant smile when Daniel handed him a plastic cup filled with apple juice and two peanut butter sandwiches with the crusts carefully cut off. I held him tighter when he tried to jump off my lap. Matt was a hugger. I was quickly learning that when he was little, he was even more tactile. But with him just getting over being sick, I didn't want to risk him passing anything on to Daniel. The rest of us were lost causes, but Zach and Daniel might be safe since they didn't spend much time in the common areas.
“What'd Jayden mean when he said that about you?” Matty asked Daniel once he pulled over one of the storage ottomans, so he didn’t have to sit across the room at the dining table. “Are you really gay, too? What about the girls?”
“I never said I was gay,” Daniel insisted. “I’m a fan of sex. As long as there are orgasms involved, I’m not that picky about who I’m having fun with. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“It kinda is,” Matt argued. “We’ve all lived together almost two years now. I find it hard to believe there’s never been a time when you could have at least casually slipped that little tidbit into the conversation.”
Someone seemed to be making up for the time he wasn’t able to talk without breaking down in tears. “You bring home girls, but never any guys. Why is that? Are you, like, mostly straight but sometimes you want a little D action? I’d totally get it if that was the case. I don’t know much about boobs and things, but dick is awesome.”
Matt wiggled around on my lap some more. The little shit was trying to get a rise out of me. Literally. And, damn him, it was working. This was the longest we’d gone without having sex since Christmas, and just the sight of my boy got me hard. But I would be patient. The next time I made love to him, he was going to be healthy enough to enjoy the hard fucking I was in the mood for. I squeeze his hip, glaring at him when he gave me his best—one of the worst in the world—innocent looks.
Daniel shrugged. He traced a line through the condensation on the edge of his beer bottle. “That's the problem with the world we live in. I don't see why it's any of anyone's business who I am sharing a bed with.”
“You’re sharing a bed with Zach?” Matty scratched the side of his head. He turned toward their room, as if that would lure Zach out of bed and the group of us would have a huge heart-to-heart. He didn’t realize Daniel’s roommate was what started this whole can of worms being cracked open.
“No!” Daniel threw his hands in the air. “But why should it matter if I was? I just don't see why it's such a big deal for everyone to know who everyone else is fucking.”
Matt leaned back, stroking my chest. His brow furrowed as he considered what Daniel had said.
“You’re not wrong,” Matt agreed. He didn't sound quite as little as he had before. “I'm sorry if any of us made you uncomfortable. It just caught me by surprise, and probably them, too. We all walked on eggshells for a long time because we weren't sure how you and Zach would react to living with a bunch of gay guys.”
