Daddy

by Jack Harbon

  Tears welled in his eyes, and he chewed on his bottom lip like it was the main course of the afternoon. “I know my folks aren’t over it. My mom took it especially hard. He was her firstborn, y’know? Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if he had someone to talk to so that he didn’t feel so alone. Sometimes I wish I was older so he could’ve talked to me about what he was going through. But there was nothing I could do.”

  Arthur nodded solemnly. “Mateo, it’s not your fault that this happened to Angel. Look at me, please.” Mateo reluctantly met his gaze. “I don’t know whether or not you blame yourself, but you need to know that it’s not on you. It’s not on anybody.”

  His words were kind, but Arthur couldn’t possibly understand. He grew up privileged, with enough money to pay for any therapist he wanted. He wasn’t from the same culture as Mateo. Mental health wasn’t a dirty word whispered behind his back the same way it was in Mateo’s family. He could live his life free from these cultural norms, from the machismo that wormed its insidious way through every facet of Mateo’s adolescence. Had Angel even a fraction of the freedom afforded to Arthur, he might still be alive.

  Pondering over the what ifs did nothing to help him heal, though. Mateo knew this, and he took Arthur’s sympathy for what it was and all that it could be. He wiped his eyes and groaned again, kicking himself for even bringing this up now.

  “I just hate losing people. I hate that Dad is sick and at any moment he could just go. And it’s hard, Arthur. I know you know.”

  “I do,” he said, frowning. “More than I would like. But you’re gonna be okay. I’ll be here for you when you need me. No matter how stressful life gets or how bad you feel. If you need me to be a distraction, or escapism, or whatever you want to call it, I’ll be that person. I know what it’s like to deal with this shit alone.”

  Mateo was nearly consumed with another wave of emotions, but the moment he opened his mouth, Tina reappeared two large bowls of pho. She returned a second later with the fresh spring rolls and peanut sauce. Only when they were alone again did Mateo say,

  “Thank you, Arthur. I don’t want to be cheesy or anything, but you’ve seriously made the last few months of my life amazing.”

  Arthur’s smile was sad but hopeful. “I could say the exact same thing to you, baby.”

  Baby.

  Mateo had never been called that before by anyone he wasn’t related to, but when Arthur said it, it sounded so much better. Careful of their soup, Mateo leaned across the table to steal a kiss.

  “No more crying,” he said. “I want to see why this restaurant is your favorite place of all time.”

  “Boy are you in for a treat,” Arthur chuckled.

  15

  DADDY

  “Will you get my back?”

  Mateo reached for the soap. “I’ve got you.” He uncapped the bottle and squirted a handful of body wash onto Arthur’s bright blue shower scrubby, lathering it under the steamy spray of water before he dragged it along the man’s expansive back.

  Arthur dropped his head down directly into the spray, and Mateo gave himself full permission to creep over his body. The back was something so underrated and to Mateo, more people needed to take the time to appreciate them. He dragged his eyes down Arthur’s body at the same speed as the scrubby, into the curve of his lower back and over his ass. He spent plenty of time rubbing circles there.

  “That’s not my back,” Arthur murmured.

  “It’s your backside. Still counts,” Mateo said with a smile.

  “I’ll allow it.”

  Once Mateo had finished ogling Arthur, he wrung out the scrubby and hung it to dry. Arthur finally turned around to face him, guiding the younger man closer. Mateo’s stomach twisted and flipped in ways that could easily rival Simone Biles. There was no way in hell he’d ever get over this kind of intimacy—not when it came to the man in front of him.

  Arthur cupped the man’s face in his hands and leaned in slowly, pressing a tender kiss to his lips. He was slow and methodical, his tongue working in easy movements against Mateo’s. When they parted, he nipped at the younger man’s bottom lip as he slipped a hand down to squeeze his behind.

  “You all finished?” he asked.

  “Yup,” Mateo said. “Sparkly and clean!”

  “I just need to wash my hair. Why don’t you get ready and we’ll spend the rest of the night in?”

  The tone of Arthur’s voice told Mateo that he had more in mind than just flipping through TV stations and ordering room service. All day long, Arthur had been much more suggestive with him, dropping little innuendoes that Nicola didn’t pick up on but Mateo caught immediately. It was a different side that Mateo had never seen, and he was seriously starting to enjoy it.

  “Okay,” he said, reaching for his towel. “Don’t have too much fun in here without me.”

  “Trust me, I won’t.”

  Mateo slipped out of the shower and padded across the tile, teeth chattering from the sudden change in temperature. He dried himself off and wiped a circle in the foggy mirror, pausing to look at himself. The facial that he’d gotten with Nicola had him glowing. For a moment, he wondered if the facial he’d get from Arthur would have the same effect.

  Mateo cringed and laughed at the lewd thought, quickly applying his hair products before fog could overtake the mirror once more. After that, he practically bathed himself in warm vanilla and amber lotion and spritzed a bit of cologne on his wrists, neck, and behind his ears.

  Wrapped in only the fluffy white bathrobe he’d grabbed after their shower, Mateo didn’t mind that the night air was a bit chilly when he stepped onto the balcony. The coolness on his shoulders and upper chest was refreshing, and after the heat and steam from the bathroom, it was a welcome change of pace. With a glass of something bubbly in his hands, Mateo leaned against the balcony and took in the view.

  It was more than surreal. It was as if someone had lifted him from reality and dropped him somewhere he’d only ever fantasized about. The city below seemed to sparkle like the diamonds Nicola had dropped thousands on earlier that morning, and even though he’d been disillusioned by city life years ago, it still stirred something excitable inside of him.

  He took a long sip from his glass, shaking his head. All the shoes and suits and gifts Arthur and Nicola had showered him in were great, but something about the view he had couldn’t be beat. Was it possible to have a fetish for skylines?

  As he pondered on whether the city of Las Vegas had just awakened something inside of him, he heard approaching footsteps, followed by a pair of arms that slithered around his waist. Arthur placed his head on Mateo’s shoulder. His beard tickled just a bit.

  “Thank you for coming with me,” he said, his voice a low rumble.

  Mateo turned to look at his profile. “Thank you for bringing me. This trip has been the most incredible thing I’ve ever experienced.”

  When he’d first realized that he was actually doing this whole sugar baby thing for real, Mateo had imagined the most off-the-wall trips they’d go on. Arthur would take him skydiving off the Eiffel Tower or scuba diving to find the city of Atlantis. He’d buy him planes, trains, and anything else his heart desired.

  The reality was much tamer, but even that still took Mateo by surprise. Nobody had ever spoiled him the way Nicola and Arthur had, and though he wasn’t attending house parties with Leonardo DiCaprio, the events that he’d been to were more than he could’ve ever anticipated.

  “I’m glad that I got to share all this with you,” Arthur said. “Believe it or not, these things aren’t that fun to me anymore. You’re the reason I’ve enjoyed my time here.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. I could’ve done this exact same trip alone and I guarantee that I would’ve left early or put all my time into work while I was in town. You make things more enjoyable.” Arthur tightened his grip around Mateo, hugging him. “Besides, if you’d never come with me, I wouldn’t have learned about your past.”

>   Mateo’s natural instinct was to run at the mention of what he’d told Arthur. It still felt utterly foreign opening up about Angel and his father’s illness. These were things he’d barely even gone into detail with around Valerie and Rob. But something about Arthur made him feel the safest he’d ever been. He could tell him anything and he wouldn’t be judged or mocked for the struggles he was still dealing with.

  “Thank you,” Mateo said, turning around in the man’s arms.

  “For what?”

  “For just…everything. For making me feel comfortable enough to talk about everything. For treating me to this trip. For just being there for me.” God, he was going to be completely and utterly cheesy, wasn’t he?

  Arthur cracked a smile. “You don’t have to thank me for any of that. I’m happy to do it.” He pecked Mateo on the lips once, then twice. “Anything you want, you can have, Mateo.”

  “Anything in the world?”

  “Anything in the goddamn universe,” he said with a chuckle.

  “What if…” Mateo glanced around, making sure there were no neighboring balconies that were close enough. “What if I wanted you to give me everything right here?”

  Arthur blinked in surprise. “Right out here?” For a second, Mateo was worried that he’d gone too far or that Arthur would say it was too dangerous, but the man’s eyes darkened, and he grinned devilishly at him. “If that’s what you want, that’s what you’ll have.”

  “Good,” Mateo said. He pressed up on his toes to kiss his nose. “Go get the stuff.”

  “Someone’s feeling bossy tonight,” he noted. “I like it.” A moment later, Arthur pulled away to grab the supplies from the suite. Mateo reached for his glass of wine and downed the rest of it while he waited. Arthur returned with a condom and his bottle of lubrication a second later, his towel barely clinging to his waist.

  He set the supplies down on the table and reached for Mateo, undoing the tie on his robe. When it came apart and the robe hung open, Arthur reached inside, stroking Mateo. “Do you know how hard it was to keep from touching you in the shower?”

  “Why’d you hold back?”

  “Shower sex is risky,” he said with a shrug. “Of course, getting caught up here with you is even riskier.”

  “But is it worth it?” Mateo asked. He was now aching hard in the man’s large hand, his strokes like Kryptonite to Mateo’s resolve. “Am I worth it, Art?”

  “You’re worth more than anything else,” he said, so casually that Mateo couldn’t even come up with a witty reply. Arthur seized the moment to reach up and strip the robe from his shoulders completely. “Now, turn around and let me show you how worth it you are.”

  Arthur’s hands spread him wide and his tongue came as a welcomed surprise. The feeling elicited a sharp whimper from Mateo, and he flexed his hands around the metal railing of the balcony. Arthur squeezed and kneaded his skin, working his tongue with a kind of expertise that Mateo had never known was possible. He prodded, kissed, and lapped ravenously. It made Mateo’s breath catch in his throat, and his entire body grew impossibly warm.

  He was disappointed when the man eventually pulled away to reach for the bottle next to them, but he reminded himself of what was to come. Mateo absently stroked himself, looking back to watch Arthur prepare himself. He slid on his condom and quickly coated himself, using the same hand to work the excess against Mateo.

  His fingers were first, two of them opening like a scissor to loosen him up just a bit. When the third came, Mateo grunted and forced himself to relax. It was no worse than the first night he and Arthur had slept together, but he still wasn’t used to the feeling.

  He took a deep breath when Arthur removed his fingers and pressed the head of his cock against him. This was probably the worst part.

  The slickness of the lubrication aided the process, but still Mateo squeezed his eyes shut and breathed in a slow, controlled manner. The second time was easier than the first, he knew that much. Everyone always said it was. Before, it had been a wonder how Arthur had fit, but Mateo was prepared now. He pressed his head to the metal railing and groaned.

  When Arthur reached the base, he stilled his hips and reached forward, working his fingers into Mateo’s shoulders. The massage did wonders, a perfect distraction for the sting that was fading by the second.

  “You’re okay,” Arthur said. His voice helped soothe Mateo even more, and when he leaned over to kiss up the back of his neck, Mateo felt a shiver run through him. He shuddered at the warm lips on his goosebump-covered skin. Nearly all at once, the pain subsided, and he finally felt the pleasure spread throughout his body.

  Testing the waters, Mateo brought his hips forward, gasping at the feeling of Arthur leaving his body. He moved backward just as slow, smiling when he realized that he was ready to go. Arthur must’ve sensed it as well because he began to move his hips. He wasn’t recklessly fast, which Mateo could appreciate. Arthur took his time. They were in no rush.

  Mateo turned his head, and as Arthur began rolling his hips forward and back, he leaned in for a kiss. It was simple, something that he could’ve given before leaving to handle business with the hotel, but it tugged at Mateo’s heart and made him feel more cared for than he had by anyone else. It was a new kind of intimacy, and he was quickly getting addicted to it.

  Arthur’s speed slowly increased as time went on, and every inch that he pulled away and immediately replaced made Mateo’s knees weak. He groaned from deep in his throat, his breathing labored as the last bit of pain gave way and all he could feel was the ecstasy of Arthur inside of him.

  When Mateo was ready, he pressed back against Arthur’s thrusts forward, meeting him in the middle. His enthusiasm didn’t go without reward, either. Each time he did this, Arthur pressed forward harder, even letting one hand swat Mateo across his ass.

  “I wonder how many people are watching me fuck you,” Arthur murmured, dragging his nose along Mateo's chin.

  “If they're smart? All of them.”

  “That's my boy,” Arthur chuckled. Then he slipped his fingers past Mateo's lips, giving him something to suck on as he thrust forward. Mateo happily accepted them, groaning when the man hooked his fingers against his cheek.

  Arthur gripped Mateo’s ass harder, snapping his hips into him. Each forward movement sent another wave of pleasure through Mateo, and soon the feeling drowned out everything else around him. The people below disappeared, just like the sounds of the city and the flashing lights. Mateo’s blinders pointed solely at Arthur’s touch—the way he stretched him and filled him just shy of his limits.

  His tongue lazily stroked at the finger in his mouth, a steady stream of moans vibrating and rattling through his throat. He’d just gotten used to the feeling when the world suddenly tilted, and Arthur pulled him into his lap. Mateo gasped and barely kept himself upright, tempted to laugh at how caught off guard he’d been.

  Then the second swat to his ass came like a signal to take the reins, and he did exactly that.

  Mateo rolled his hips backwards, rising just enough to make an audible noise when he landed in the man’s lap once again. His eyes squeezed tight and he found himself insatiably desperate. His craving for Arthur’s length was overwhelming, and he rode the man like he might never get the chance to do it again.

  “That’s it,” Arthur groaned, his hands firmly gripping Mateo’s hips. “You like that?”

  He nodded enthusiastically. “Yes.”

  Arthur’s fingers tightened and he tugged Mateo back to his chest, his lips pressed to Mateo’s ear. “Yes, what?”

  It was instinct for Mateo. “Yes, Daddy. I love it.” The words felt like silk, smoother than Mateo had ever said something like that. The pang in the pit of his stomach was deliciously filthy and it made his toes curl.

  “Good boy.” Arthur finally freed Mateo, allowing him to resume the pace, bouncing once more. Mateo didn’t hesitate, leaning forward and picking up where he left off. He reached back to spread himself, giving Arthu
r the perfect view and letting him see his erection disappear and reappear with every last movement Mateo made.

  “Fuck,” Arthur moaned, sliding his palm up Mateo’s lower back. “That’s it. Ride Daddy just like that, boy.”

  Hearing that word, the one he’d been called a million times before, made Mateo’s back arch. It wasn’t just the word itself. It was the way it sounded on Arthur’s tongue and the dominance it had. Mateo might’ve been controlling the pace, but Arthur was still in charge. He was still the boss no matter how bossy Mateo got. Arthur cemented that idea when he reclaimed his power.

  He pulled Mateo to his chest and wrapped an arm around him. In this new position, Mateo put his legs on the outsides of Arthur’s, allowing the man to reach around the both of them and stroke him. He was relentless, thrusting deep inside of Mateo while his fist pumped his cock with abandon.

  Mateo closed his eyes and simply enjoyed the ride, his head falling back onto Arthur’s shoulder. He writhed in the older man’s arms, nearly turned into a mewling kitten as Arthur fucked him.

  “I’m close,” he panted, turning his head to bury it in Arthur’s neck. “I’m so close. Please don’t stop, Daddy.”

  “I won’t,” he promised, huffing out as he worked faster than before. His hips were erratic, the sound of their bodies connecting mixing with their ragged, exhausted breathing. Warmth spread through Mateo’s core and he felt the tingling he knew all too well.

  “Ah,” he whined. His body went limp in the man’s arms as he came, firing off shots onto the floor below. Arthur squeezed tight, draining him with his hand, and when he was finished, he brought it to Mateo’s mouth. Mateo lapped at the mess he’d made, cleaning his fingers and basking in the indecent smile Arthur gave him.