ruined the moment earlier. It seemed incentives worked for this particular little boy.
“I’ll work the hardest ever!”
“I’m sure you will.”
13
Sam
The end of my final semester of school was just around the corner and I felt like I was crawling out of
my skin. I should have been ecstatic because my life was better than I’d ever dreamed possible, but I
felt like the bubble we lived in was about to burst. Until now, I hadn’t had to worry about slipping up
when I was talking about Daddy. The only people I really talked to were the guys at work, and a few
friends I’d made online or at the club. They were either in the lifestyle or had known about my
curiosity forever, so they didn’t think twice if I slipped up.
But now, I was gearing up for a series of family visits. I hadn’t even told my parents about
Theron, which meant I had to come clean because I didn’t want him stay away for the sake of my
sanity. Logically, I knew I had nothing to worry about when they found out I was dating someone, but I
knew my mom would worry. Theron was older than me. We’d only been dating a few months and we
were practically living together. She’d be concerned that I was going to lose focus on getting a job
after graduation. To her, working at a bar—even if I was in management—wasn’t a career for
someone who had a college degree.
She was totally chill about most things, but she worried I wasn’t living up to my potential. I
disagreed. Jack was one of the best mentors a guy could ask for, he accepted me as I was, and he
pushed me beyond my comfort zone. I had ownership of something, and it was a heady feeling. I was
even considering inviting my parents to the bar—during the day when I wouldn’t have to worry about
them seeing anything none of us wanted to think about them witnessing—so what I’d been doing was
more than vague explanations.
Maverick0808: Dude! Where in the hell are you? If you don’t respond to me, I’m going to think
that Daddy you found was actually a serial killer and your body is rotting at the bottom of a ravine
somewhere.
Mav was being dramatic, but when I scrolled through our messages, I felt like he was justified.
I’d been in a frenzy between work, school, and Daddy that it had been three weeks since we chatted.
When you were used to spending part of everyday talking to a person and they ghosted you shortly
