by Mia Monroe
“I’m serious,” I add, jumping in. “If I can ever help, I want to know. It means a lot to me that you took care of him when I couldn’t.”
Ramos’s tough features soften. “It was my pleasure. Maybe, um, yeah, maybe I’ll stay in touch. You cool with me texting Bentley?”
“Yes, of course.”
Bentley lets me go and throws himself around a surprised Ramos. He chuckles, looking at me uncomfortably until he slowly pats Bentley’s back.
“Be good, little Bento. I’m glad you’re moving up.”
“I’ll never forget you. Please stay in touch.”
“I will. Promise.”
I shake Ramos’s hand again before getting Bentley settled in the backseat of the truck. He glances out the window, waving at his friend as we pull away.
“Daddy?” he asks once the apartments are out of sight.
“Yes, sweet boy.”
“I’m sad. I don’t want Ramos to stay there. He could get hurt.”
I nod, thinking about it as I drive. What can I do? I’m not his Daddy, and he looked like he was close to my age anyway.
“Maybe your Daddy and I can think of something,” Matty says. “Don’t worry your sweet head.”
My eyes shift to the rearview mirror, watching Bentley’s smile light up his face. “Okay. Thank you, Matteo.”
“You’re welcome.”
“We’re gonna head back to my house and drop all this off.”
“Okay, Daddy. Thank you for taking care of me. I thought I was doing okay, but first Ramos took care of me, and now you did, so I guess I was doing it wrong.”
“No, baby, you weren’t. You were being brave and trying to get your business going. I’m so proud of you.”
“Okay.” He doesn’t sound convinced.
“Ramos knows there are some people around there who aren’t as good as he is. He was just being a good friend. Me? I’m your Daddy, boy. It’s my job to take care of you. It’s not a fail on your part. It makes me...overwhelmed with joy to bring you home with me.”
“Really?”
“Really. Thank you for being good and coming with me. You’re a perfect boy for me.”
His whole face lights up. “Do I get a reward?”
“You’re due one.”
He settles into his seat. “Thank you, Daddy.” Then he releases a small gasp. “Are you a Daddy too, Matteo?”
Matty laughs. “Sure am.”
“Well, now I know I’m safe. I have two Daddies.”
“One Daddy,” I correct. “And one friend.”
Matty pats my thigh. “Calm down, tiger.”
Bentley’s cheeks bloom the best shade of pink yet. “Yes, Daddy.”
Fourteen
Bentley
We arrive at Legend’s house, and the two men unpack all of my things from the truck and take them into the house, dropping them into a guest room. I stand behind them, still processing the fact that he took me away from my apartment complex. I can’t believe that I’m going to be staying at Legend’s house. I don’t know what this means for us, but I’m grateful. If he thinks it isn’t safe for me, and Ramos agrees, then the best thing for me is to accept Legend’s kindness and stay with him.
“What do you think of this room?” Legend asks me.
“It looks nice, Daddy. Thank you. Is this where I’m going to sleep?”
“You’ll sleep where you feel most comfortable sleeping. If you want to sleep in here by yourself, then you can. If you want to sleep with Daddy, that’s fine as well. I don’t want to force you to stay in my room with me when you weren’t expecting any of this to happen.”
“You’re so thoughtful and sweet to me. I would love to sleep in your room with you. If that’s okay?”
“Yes, sweet boy. It’s okay. I would love that actually.” Legend walks over and cups my chin, pressing a soft kiss to my lips. “I am very proud of you. I want you to know that. Los Angeles is not an easy city to live in. Especially when you’re not from here. I’m impressed with how well you’ve done for yourself. I don’t want you to think that me taking you away from that place is a reflection of you and your efforts. Do you understand that, boy?”
“Yes, Daddy, I understand. And I’m thankful. I didn’t admit it for a long time, but I was afraid sometimes.”
“You were scared?”
“Oh yeah, a lot. Ramos would come down with me to do my laundry because the laundry room is super scary.”
“Babe, I really wish I’d known that.”
“I just met you, Daddy. I didn’t want to burden you with anything like that. Just yesterday, Ramos asked me if there was anywhere I could stay or go, but I didn’t feel like I could ask you for that. We just met.”
Legend’s eyes soften. “Baby, you have to know, I’m here to protect you. It’s my job. If something happened to you, I would be beside myself.”
“I know.”
“You have to promise me that when it comes to your safety, you’ll never keep anything from me again.”
“Yes, Daddy. I promise.”
“Okay, good. When I called you last night, was there something going on outside? You said you thought it was a car accident?”
“Yeah, it looked like a car accident, but the guys got out of the car and they were fighting. I was afraid that it might turn into a shooting or something, but it didn’t. Both guys got back in their cars and took off.”
“Okay. Are you telling me the truth? You weren’t in danger?”
“I wouldn’t lie to you about that.”
“Well, I guess it doesn’t matter anymore. You’re here now, and you’re staying here. If you get to a point where you don’t want to be here anymore, you just need to come and talk to me. Okay? But you’re not going back to that place.”
Warmth fills my insides. “Yes, Daddy. I understand. Thank you so much for caring about me.”
“Bentley, I cared about you the moment I saw your face. Obviously, I haven’t been able to stay away from you, and I’m pretty sure that isn’t going to change anytime soon.”
I smile, and it feels like my heart is expanding. “Thank you, Daddy. I’m so spoiled.”
“Well, you deserve to be spoiled. Maybe it’s finally time.”
“Thank you. When can I have my good-boy reward?”
Heat flares in Legend’s eyes, causing my stomach to flutter. “Tonight, sweet boy.”
We walk out to the living room where we find Matteo sitting on the couch looking at his phone. Matteo is extremely handsome. He’s tall and broad with thick salt-and-pepper hair and dark eyes. He’s covered in tattoos just like my handsome Legend. He has a mean-looking resting face, but his smile gives away the sweetness inside. He must be a good man if he’s friends with my Daddy. Because Legend is a good man, and I know that he wouldn’t hang around with bad people.
“Daddy?”
“Yes, baby?”
“I’m so thankful that you could see what a wonderful person Ramos is. I bet a lot of people judge him based on his looks.”
“Yeah, I bet you’re right, baby. But a lot of people judge me based on my looks too. And based on my profession, but we don’t care how people judge us, do we?”
“No, Daddy, I’ve never cared about that.”
“Good. If there’s anything I can do for Ramos, I will. Matteo and I will put our heads together about that.”
“He wants to get a food truck or have a restaurant someday. I don’t want him to be alone there. I’ve never seen him with anyone. No family. No girls or...well, I guess he’s possibly into guys.” I laugh.
“Sounds like it, at least somewhat.”
“Yeah, but he’s always just hanging out by himself, and I want him to be happy. Maybe he could even find somebody to love. Love is the best thing ever, isn’t it, Daddy?”
He smiles. “Love is, beautiful baby. I hope he can find love too. I’ll have to see what I can do about helping him, but if he likes the neighborhood he lives in, there’s not much we can do. I can’t mak
e him do something he doesn’t want to do. I’m not his Daddy.”
I laugh. “That would be so funny if you were his Daddy too.”
“Maybe, but I’m not polyamorous.”
“No? You seemed to enjoy filming polyamorous scenes. I always wondered.”
“Back in the day, before I met Arian, I did enjoy taping a threesome, but that’s very different from what you might do in real life, isn’t it?”
“Yes, of course, Daddy. It’s different, and I wouldn’t like to share you. I’m not polyamorous either.” In a whisper, I add, “Even though Matteo is super hot.”
Matteo turns toward me and laughs. “I can hear you, kiddo.”
My cheeks heat. “Oh my god. I’m so embarrassed.”
Legend smacks me on the butt. “Don’t be embarrassed, boy. It’s cute. But yeah, I’m definitely not sharing you with Matteo, or anybody else.”
“Good. That’s just how I like it, Daddy. I’m yours and yours alone.”
“Perfect.” He kisses me. “All right, let’s get going, or we’ll spend the whole day not getting anything done. Matteo’s here for a specific reason. Are you ready to head out?”
“Definitely ready.”
“Yep, I’m ready,” Matteo says. “Let’s go.”
The three of us leave the house and make our way back to Legend’s truck in the driveway. Matteo has several addresses that he wants to check out based on research he did before he came down to Los Angeles. So we go to all of those first. Several of them are not in neighborhoods that appeal to him. He’s looking for something sort of quirky with kind of a hip vibe and definitely queer friendly.
On the way, Legend explains how Matteo’s business is unique. It’s boudoir and sensual photography, but specifically for LGBT+ couples and individuals. So it’s important to be in an area where people can feel safe being themselves, which, fortunately, most of LA is that way. But some areas are more accepting than others. Especially because his business also has a kink vibe to it. He wants an environment where he can safely advertise and people will feel comfortable during their photo shoots.
We finally stop in one neighborhood that has the perfect aesthetic. There’s an empty little storefront surrounded by boutiques, restaurants, and mom-and-pop shops. There are rainbow flags in many of the business windows, which is an encouraging sign.
“Perfect,” Matteo says, gazing into the glass of the shop. “What do you think, Legend?”
He looks around. “Yeah, I really like this neighborhood. I come here a lot to eat at different restaurants. It’s got a great vibe, especially at night. It’s a cool area. I actually wanted to live here a while back, but it’s a little too bustling for me. I needed a place to get away from it all.”
Matteo nods. “Yeah, I like it.”
“I love it here, Daddy. Maybe this would be a really cool area for my business.”
“Ah, you know, that’s not a bad idea, kiddo,” Matteo says. “I could totally see this being a cool place to do some shooting.” And then Matteo’s face lights up. “Wait a second. You’re looking for a porn studio eventually, right?”
I nod. “Yes, that’s right, Matteo.”
“And I’m building a sensual photography studio. Guess what sensual photography studios have inside of them.”
“What?”
“Beds.” He grins. “Beds and all kinds of interesting setups. I’m really into Shibari, so I’ll have a rope room. I’m also into various kinks and BDSM. Photographing it, just to be clear.”
We all laugh.
My mind starts working overtime.
“You could use it as your studio for filming,” Matteo continues. “Whenever I’m not photographing someone.”
“Fuck, dude, that’s an amazing idea,” Legend says. “Bentley, you wouldn’t have to go around renting hotel rooms or paying people to use their expensive homes. You could set up your own little situation here.”
“That’s…that’s actually kind of amazing.” My stomach flutters. “You would do that for me?”
“Hell yeah, I would do that for you. We’d have to work out something, maybe a lease or something like that. But, you know, a pay-as-you-go kind of thing while you’re getting started. It could be really cool. Photography studio by day, porn studio by night.”
“I don’t even know what to say. This is something I thought would be years and years away from now.”
“The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of it,” Matteo says.
“But what’s in it for you?” I ask.
“A lot of things. One of my big things in life is just being able to promote what I love. And anything supporting the LGBT+ community is something I love. I would like to be able to help someone get on their feet with a business.” He grins. “And, honestly, I want to see Legend get his life back together, and I think he could do that with you.”
Legend’s face screws up as he crosses his arms over his chest, but then he cracks a smile. “I actually agree with you. I think being able to help Bentley get his business off the ground would make me happy, and being able to support you at the same time would make me equally happy. So if you guys want to do this, I’m in.”
My eyes open wide. “Can I...can I clarify what you mean by you’re in, Legend?”
He chuckles. “Yeah, baby. I mean that if you want me to work with you and help you get this started, I’m in.”
“Oh my god. Oh my god. Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod. This is a dream come true. Oh my god. Legend.” I spin in a circle. “Fuck.”
Legend pats my back. “Take a deep breath, baby.”
“I can’t believe this is happening. First, I meet you and get to suck you off. Then you call me back and I get to come over and sleep at your house. Then you come and rescue me from living in a shitty apartment, and now you’re offering to help me start my business. This cannot be real, this cannot be happening. Am I dreaming right now? Maybe I am. No. I’ve died. I am absolutely deceased, and I’m just wandering around in porn heaven right now.”
Matteo looks amused as Legend laughs. “Baby, baby, take a deep breath. Calm down, boy.”
I exhale, shaking my body. “Okay, okay, I’m calming down. But, oh my god, I can’t fucking believe this. This is real. I just...what did I do to deserve having you in my life?”
“What do you mean? I should be asking myself that,” Legend says. “After the year I had, meeting you feels like some kind of miracle. I didn’t think that I would be ready or excited to go back to the industry for a long time, but seeing this place, I literally can’t wait to get started.”
“I think I might cry.”
“Don’t cry, beautiful boy.”
“No, you don’t understand, Legend. This is my dream come true. I moved here with nothing except the determination to make something of myself. I cannot believe all of this is happening to me right now.”
“Well, then it’ll be my job to make sure that you do believe it. Every single day.” Legend pulls me into his arms and kisses me sweetly. “I want you to be happy; as happy as you’ve made me. We may not have known each other for very long, but I don’t think that matters. When something feels right, I just go with it. Even though I might have been hesitant and nervous about getting involved with someone again so quickly, honestly, I can’t resist you, Bentley. I want your happiness, and I want Matty’s happiness. I want Matty to move to LA. So for me, this whole day is a win-win situation.”
I smile and throw my arms around his waist. “This is the best day ever.”
Matteo laughs. “Why don’t we call this number on the door and see if they’ll let us go in and take a look around the studio?”
“Yeah, that’s a fantastic idea,” Legend says.
Matteo calls the number and speaks briefly with the real estate agent, who tells him that the owner is actually in a shop across the street and will come over in a few minutes to give us keys. The man who comes out is older and wearing a tie-dye T-shirt and a tutu. He looks kind of like my dad. If my dad was
a tutu-wearing hippie.
He smiles, hurrying across the street to see us. “Gentlemen, gentlemen, or folx if you prefer, you’re interested in my little place here?”
The three of us shake hands with him as he introduces himself as Tommy. “I grew out of the space and opened up across the street. It’s a little art gallery.”
“Oh, cool. I love art,” I say.
“You’ll have to come over and check things out.”
“Yeah, definitely.”
We go inside the empty location and look around. It’s a warehouse, and I wouldn’t call it small. There’s a ton of room to create all the different spaces Matteo was talking about. The nice thing is, it’s pretty industrial, so we can make it into whatever we want it to be. Which for me means whatever Matteo wants it to be, and I’ll work around that. The idea of having my own porn studio where I can invite talent to come is amazing. All I have to do now is figure out how I’m going to pay for any of this. Maybe I can get a small-business loan. Or maybe I should stop being so stubborn and ask my parents for a loan. I don’t know yet, but I am going to figure it out.
Fifteen
Legend
Later that evening, after spending time with Tommy and negotiating a lease, the three of us head to a Mexican restaurant in the area to have a celebratory dinner. It’s been quite the day. First, I had to rescue my boy from living in the hood. Then I watched Matteo make a huge decision, committing to a property in Los Angeles. But even more than that, I committed to Bentley. Not just being his Daddy sexually, not just taking care of him physically, but agreeing to work with him and step back into the industry.
As we sit around ordering margaritas, and Bentley talks about all his ideas for future scenes, I search inside myself, wondering if I’m truly ready and seeking some apprehension in me that surely exists. But when that apprehension doesn’t come, when the foreboding doesn’t hit, I simply smile and reach across the table to grab Bentley’s hand.
He stops mid-sentence, looking at me, tilting his head like an adorable puppy, and smiling.