Pocketing my phone, Caleb turns to me with a wide grin.
"I know we haven't talked a lot about the whole little thing, but I was wondering," Caleb looks at his shoes and twists his hands together. "Would you want to come over on Saturday? I'm having some friends over, and we're having a Valentine's Day theme play date."
He looks up at me, uncertainty in his expression. I've never been to someone's house for a play date before. I've onlyever regressed at Club Pierre. Where it was safe. I'm a little apprehensive because these are all strangers to me.
Could I relax and let go?
I look at Caleb's considerable gaze, the playful jab about squirrel nuts makes me smile, and a sense of warmth surprises me. Caleb and I have fallen into an easy friendship, and it would be nice to explore this side of me further and get to know Caleb outside of work.
"I...I'll think about it,"
"Think about it?" Caleb dramatically calls out as he bounds over to me, plucking a petal off my sleeve. "There's no thinking involved, Ben. It's…mandatory. Yeah, that's it. It's a mandatory work play date, and you have to be there." He says, jutting his chin out as if he has the authority.
"Oh…is that so?" I challenge with a smirk.
He hangs his head. "No." The words come out so quietly, I barely hear them. "You don't have to go. But I'd really like it if you did."
Oh, this guy is good. No wonder he has Barrett wrapped around his little finger.
"Will there be snacks?" I ask, and he looks up at me with a smile to light the room.
"Oh, yes! And we're making heart-shaped cookies that we each get to decorate. It'll be so much fun." I don't think I've ever seen someone so excited––he's practically vibrating.
The idea of hanging out in a warm room filled with cookies and crafts is infinitely more appealing than the solitude of my van.
But the thought of walking into a room full of littles, presumably accompanied by their partners or caregivers, when I'm essentially a lone wolf, sends my mood tanking.
"What's wrong?" Caleb's voice wobbles as if sensing my emotions.
"It's just," I try to force a casual tone, "most of you guys will be partnered up…and…I don't really have anyone." My thoughts flit to Jason instantly, but it's too soon in our relationship to ask him to be my daddy, even for an afternoon. "I don't want to make it awkward," I confess.
Caleb's brow furrowed. "Awkward? Not at all. It's at my house, and you met Noah yesterday morning at Steamed when we took a break and made a run for hot chocolate. He's amazing and like a big brother to us. And Barrett will be around. Besides," he adds, voice softening, "it's a low-key playdate. Everyone's just there to have fun."
When I hesitate to respond, he adds with a giggle, "There'll be glitter."
As if listening to our conversation, Barrett's voice comes loud and clear from the hallway, "No, there won't!"
Caleb looks at me and mouths,yes, there will.
Chapter Eleven
__________
Ben
"Hey, Ben, good to see you again", Noah calls out from behind the counter. He usually works the morning shift, so I'm surprised to see him here.
"You too. What's got you working tonight?" I inquire.
"Atlas asked to have a few days off for a family event, and I never mind mixing things up." Atlas is Noah's new hire, who picked up the job pretty easily. Noah has said only positive things about him. "Lately, I've been working my tail off," he says while turning to the side and shaking his ass, causing me to roll my eyes and giggle.
"Well, we can't have that now, can we?"
"Hey, you," Marcus interrupts, sidling up next to Noah from the back room. "You two aren't causing any trouble out here, are you?" Marcus' fake-stern voice has Noah physically shivering.
"Will you spank me if I am?" Noah teases with a hint of heat in his voice.
"You know it, brat," Marcus says as he kisses the side of his cheek and slides over to place the cups from his hands onto the stack.
