Page 19 of Ethan’s Dazzling Daddies

Ash shivered, his entire body jolting at the single word.

Jacob chuckled. “Oh, I think that's the one, sweetheart. He had a reaction rather like my own the first time you said Daddy.”

Ethan smiled at Jacob, remembering that moment. When he turned back to Ash, he stuck his hand out. “I agree, and you agree, and now I wanna play so we be done.”

Ash, in a surprisingly tender move, took Ethan's hand in both of his, leaned forward, and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. Then he pressed his forehead against them and murmured, “I will do anything you wish, Ethan.”

Oh boy, Ethan thought. I’m in a load of trouble.

CHAPTER 8

Once Ash released Ethan's hand, Koa was quick to grab him and drag him from the room.

“We'll let the Daddies and Papas sort it out,” he said as he led them back to the playroom where they'd been relaxing. “I need to be Little after all that tension, and I bet you do too.”

Ethan squeezed Koa's hand to say he agreed. He agreed so much, in fact, that he didn't want to say a word. He wanted quiet and peace and comfort.

Part of him wanted his Daddy too, but he knew Jacob had work to do, and Noah had been flustered earlier by Dill and might have gone home.

Finding out his former boss was interested in him romantically made Ethan question so many of the moments they shared. Would he have ever picked up on the truth had he stayed?

Quitting had been an act of defiance, yet it seemed to have brought him so much more.

Thinking of his former job made him wonder if Ash coordinated the severance package. The answer came as quick as the notion appeared. Ash definitely had to have made the call.

Maybe one day Ethan would ask him. Or maybe he’d leave it a mystery. Too much thoughts. He needed Little time.

In the playroom, Koa tugged Ethan down, wrapped them both in a really large blanket, and opened a coloring book. “You do that page, I'll do this one, okay?”

Ethan picked up a crayon and went to work. With Koa in charge of their playtime, he didn't have to make any decisions. He could simply exist as his true self. He could turn his mind off so he wouldn't weigh out the possibilities and potential conflicts that came with allowing Ash back into his life.

With every scratch of the crayon, he could feel himself settling more and more. “I color, I play, I do this all day,” he sang softly, the little tune repeating over and over.

Koa giggled, occasionally singing along, but mostly basking in the closeness. Briar came to visit, as did Nia, one of the Wednesday Wiggles leaders. Manny showed up at one point with snacks, and the two ate them, thanking him before he disappeared again.

It wasn't until much, much later that Ethan looked up with a clear mind. His body was relaxed, calm in a way he so rarely got to experience. He startled a bit at the sight before him.

Manny was seated between Jacob and Ash on the couch in the spot most Daddies took up to keep an eye on their Littles. Knowing that two of the three men on that couch technically belonged to him, warmth surged through him.

“I see a good-looking group,” Koa teased, bumping Ethan's shoulder.

Ethan shook his head and looked at his friend with his brows raised. “I tell Daddy you say that.”

Koa pressed a hand to his chest. “No! Do not do that!”

Ethan giggled, and then the two were caught in a laughing fit they couldn't seem to stop. All of the tension and exhaustion fled as they enjoyed time together with the Daddies watching over them. Looking at the couch, at the three of them sitting there, Ethan felt it — the start of something good, something he hoped would be lasting.

A week passed with no true change. At least nothing negative.

Ash showed up at the club consistently, alongside Ethan and Jacob. The pair were apparently texting one another to align their schedules, and with Ethan no longer working, he was available pretty much any time of day.

Ethan had gone back to his own place because there was no need to stay with Jacob full-time with Ash newly back in the picture, however differently things stood now. And Koa was happy to have his friend around even more.

When Koa offered Ethan a full-time job at the club again, Ethan didn't hesitate to say yes.

“Really?” Koa had asked him.

“Yeah, I think it's what I need.”