by M. A. Innes
Resting my head on his shoulder and my face against his neck, I breathed his scent in and relaxed. We had a whole night together and hopefully many more after that very soon. It had only been a few weeks since we’d lived together but it felt like longer. I don’t know how we would have made it to Christmas.
Mad wrapped his arms around me and simply stood there, holding me. So much had happened in such a short time that I was having a hard time pushing it all away. Just this morning I’d been ready to wait months to live together, but now it was happening so quickly. Tomorrow we might be in our first apartment.
I knew this was the right thing for us. I’d had too many lonely nights to think about it, and we’d already done it over the summer. I wasn’t questioning the decision; I simply needed to catch my breath.
“I think you need a bath, Baby. We need to get back on a regular schedule when we move into the new place. The first step is going to be bath time at night.” His hands were running up and down my back in a soothing way that made me want to cuddle into him tighter.
“Yes, Daddy.” In that moment, I wanted him to take control of everything. I didn’t want to think or make any decisions. I was so tired, my brain was fried.
He pulled back enough to kiss my forehead. “Bath time, B. Let’s go see what the tub looks like.”
The bathroom was bigger than I’d been expecting. The tub was a regular size but it had the jets and was deep so it was still nicer than the one I had at home. Maddox plugged the tub and started getting everything ready while I stood there.
Daddy would tell me what to do.
The thought was soothing and helped push me into that frame of mind where I was his boy and he was going to care for me. It’d felt so natural to slide in and out of that part of myself before, but now it was harder. I guess because I had to lock it away when we started school again.
I couldn’t wait to get to the point where we had that once more. Special times where he was Daddy and all I had to do was be his baby. It had never been this hard to push it away. The past couple of years it had been a constant nagging desire but nothing like the need I’d felt lately. Shoving it down had been like holding back a flood.
When the water started to rise, Daddy turned back to me. He had a tender, loving expression on his face. It made my chest hurt and I took a deep breath, trying to fight my emotions. Daddy must have seen something in my expression or just understood how I was feeling because his hands came up to cup my face.
“Baby, it’s okay. I know you’re tired and this has been a crazy day. We’re going to get you a bath and relax for a while, then it’s bedtime. I’m going to take care of you and everything is going to feel much better in the morning. You’ll see.” Then he leaned in and gave me a tender kiss.
The love and emotion seemed to seep into me through his touch. He’d told me daily how much he loved me and he always made me see I mattered to him, but this was different. When he was taking care of me, I always felt like the most important person in the world to him. Like being there for me was the only thing he was concerned about.
When he pulled away, I wanted to protest but I knew there was so much more to come. As he undressed me, his hands were soothing and gentle. Not trying to get me turned on but still showing me his need and his love. I was half-hard by the time he was helping me into the tub, but we both ignored it.
“Lean back and relax, Baby. I’m going to get everything set up out there. I’ll come back and wash you in a minute.” Bending over to kiss my forehead, he eased me down until I was lying down in the rising water.
I heard him moving things around in the bedroom but I tried not to pay attention. He was back in the bathroom in time to turn off the water before I had to worry about it. Opening my eyes, I looked up at him. He was kneeling by the tub, looking at me.
“I love you, Daddy.”
“Love you too, Baby. Time to get clean.” With efficient movements, he quickly had a washcloth soaped and ready.
He started with my arms and legs; it felt so nice I closed my eyes again. By the time he got to my chest, I was so relaxed I could have fallen asleep right there.
“Time to sit up for Daddy. We need to finish.”
Sitting up was harder than I expected, but it was worth it when I was kneeling in the water, feeling him caress me. Rubbing the soap up and down my back, he slowly worked his way down until he was caressing my bottom.
His touch felt so incredible, my body started waking up even though all my brain wanted was to shut down completely. Daddy thoroughly washed my special places and by the time he was done washing me, I was hard and needy.
Maybe sleep could wait.
“Let’s get you dried off. The water’s getting cold.” Helping me to stand, Daddy kept his intent gaze following his hands as he ran the towel over me. I loved how it felt when he was so focused on me. When I was the center of his world.
I was aching by the time he finished drying me, waiting to see what Daddy wanted us to do next. Everything was so simple. Watching Daddy, all I had to do was listen to him.
“I have everything laid out on the bed. Come on, Baby.” Hanging up the damp towel and grabbing a dry one, he took my hand and walked us out to the bedroom. On the bed were a diaper and everything we’d need to have play time.
Spreading out the dry towel, he had me lie down. “There you go. Once we get you dressed, you’re going to have play time with your toys.”
That sounded perfect. Even with my erection, now pressed against my diaper, lining up my soldiers and relaxing would be fun. When he had me in a diaper and T-shirt, he let me get up. At the foot of the bed, my toys were spread out on the floor. He had soldiers and race cars, along with a coloring book and crayons. Those were new.
Looking up at Daddy as I stretched out on the floor, I smiled. “Thank you, Daddy.”
“I’m glad you like your toys, Baby.” Daddy draped himself across the bed and watched as I started lining up the men.
I got completely lost in my imaginary world of soldiers and battles, lining up to fight the enemy. Since I only had one type of soldier, the enemy turned out to be the cars. Transforming aliens who’d come to take over Earth. Maybe if I was good, Daddy would get me more soldiers.
When the toys weren’t that interesting any longer, Maddox turned on cartoons and let me color while he played on his phone. As the show ended, Daddy took my bottle and went to the sink to fill it. Turning the TV off, he started arranging the pillows on the bed.
“All right, Baby. Bottle time, and how about we read another chapter of the book before bed?”
“Yes, Daddy.” I might have said that a bit too eagerly. We’d been getting to a good part when we’d stopped earlier. I blushed when he gave me a knowing look.
Daddy helped me put my toys away and then we climbed up onto the bed to cuddle. Lying back against his chest, I sighed as his arms came around me. Tears stung my eyes as I relaxed into his embrace. Cradling me against his body, he brought the bottle up to my lips.
Taking long, slow sucks, I closed my eyes and listened as he started reading the story again. My lids grew heavier as he continued to read and soon, even the idea of opening them was too much work. At some point, the bottle was taken away and I felt the press of my binkie against my mouth. The warmth that radiated from Daddy and the soothing rhythmic sucking was the last thing I remembered.
CHAPTER 14
Maddox
Waking up to a squirming boy cuddled up against me was perfect. This was one of the things I’d missed the most. The quiet, sweet moments when it was just us. When he needed me to hold him and take care of him. And right now, it seemed like my sexy boy needed his diaper changed.
I hadn’t seen him this nervous about his diaper in weeks. Being separated so much probably had something to do with it. But he’d also had to push his needs away so much lately—that had to play a big part. We’d get back to where we were before. It was going to take us some time and privacy.
I knew there
was going to be tons to plan and organize, but all I could think of was new bedtime routines and how to figure out putting play time into our schedule. Last night was a good start, though. Bath time had worked well and he’d been completely relaxed by the time we’d started reading. He’d only gotten halfway through his bottle before he’d started falling asleep.
Wrapping my arms tighter around my shy boy, I let one hand wander down to his diaper. Patting the front, I realized he was still dry. Someone was embarrassed. “We can wait all morning until you’re ready, but you’re going to be late for class, Baby.”
Bryan pushed his head under his pillow and I heard a sigh. “I know. It’s just…I’m sorry, Daddy.”
“No need to be sorry, Baby. I know it’s been a while since we were together like this. We’re going to figure out a regular schedule soon, and it will get back to normal.” Moving my hand up to his stomach, I let my hands rub little circles on him. With every breath, I could feel the tension slipping out of him. There had to be a reason for the stress. “Did you have a bad dream?”
His voice was muffled but it was loud enough to hear. “Not exactly. I woke up confused. I thought I was in the dorms for a minute.”
“I bet that terrified you, Baby.” No wonder he was so tense. Waking up and for that one moment thinking he’d somehow fallen asleep in his diaper in the dorm—I could see how that would scare the hell out of him.
I saw the pillow go up and down as he nodded. “You’re not there, though. You’re here with me.”
“Safe with Daddy.” His head came out from under the pillow and he pushed back so he was pressed tightly against me. “Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
We were both quiet as we lay there in the dark. Finally, he rolled over in my arms and pressed his face against my chest. The squirming had stopped and he was relaxed. This was the boy I’d held at the end of the summer. Pressing a kiss to the top of his head, I gave him a hug. “Are you ready to be changed?”
“Yes, Daddy.” There was more embarrassment than I wanted to hear in his voice, but at least he’d managed an answer.
“All right. Then we’ll get you dressed for the day. We should have plenty of time to get something for breakfast before class.”
“Then the apartment? Do you think we can make it work?” There was a hopeful sound in his voice.
“I think so. We don’t need a big place, and with both of us getting the housing money it should give us some time to figure things out. We’ve got a little bit of savings between the two of us. I think we can make it work. And it’s not like we’re starting from scratch. We’ve got all that kitchen stuff from your mom. She’ll probably find more stuff for us. We’ll call her later and ask.” She’d seen this coming long before I could see it as an option. She’d probably set aside all kinds of stuff for us.
“She’s probably got the garage stacked full of things by now.” Bryan’s smiling face peeked up from where he’d been hiding against my chest. “And bought all kinds of stuff more than likely.”
“Absolutely. We’ll give her a call this afternoon after we meet with the management company and get everything ironed out.”
“We’re probably going to have to drive up soon and get it all from her.” Bryan seemed to like that idea.
“Maybe Mr. Haslet will still have stuff from the garden for us.” Going back to his house felt more like we were both talking about going home. I wondered how long it would take before the apartment would feel that way. “Okay, we’ve got to get a move on, B. Roll over and I’ll change you.”
He blushed a little and looked down at my chest. Not quite hiding but looking very shy, his voice came out hesitantly. “And you’re going to get me ready? Like my teeth and stuff?”
Giving his head another kiss, I smiled. I loved him so much. “Yes, Baby. I’m going to get you all ready. And I think your cage today, too.”
I felt him press a kiss on my chest. “Yes, Daddy.”
“Good boy.” Pushing the covers off us, I moved to start getting everything together. Cuddling with my boy sounded wonderful, but the prospect of having a place where we could be together every night pushed me into action.
Bryan’s blush didn’t fade until I had him cleaned up, heading to the bathroom naked. Trying to set the tone for future mornings, I got him ready and dressed. Once he was all set, I left him coloring on the floor while I got ready. It might not always work, especially if we had crazy early classes, but most mornings I thought it was reasonable. Well, reasonable for us.
That was all I was worried about. To hell with what everyone thought.
When I was ready and we had everything packed up, we checked out and headed back to campus. A quick run to get food and caffeine and we were ready for the day. Bryan was happy and in the best mood I’d seen him in since we’d left home. Between having special time this morning and being allowed coffee at breakfast he was ready to take on the world.
Parking near the student center, he leaned over and gave me a kiss. “I’ll meet you here at eleven?”
“Yes. Then we’ll head over to the apartments.” I pulled him to me one more time and softly tasted his lips. “I love you.”
I felt his sigh before he could pull away. “Love you, Daddy. There isn’t anything to worry about with the new place, is there?”
“I don’t think so. We’ve got to figure out jobs pretty quickly but other than that, it seems like it’s going to work out perfectly. We could have our own place by tonight.” The light at the end of the tunnel wasn’t the train; I knew it was going to work out.
“What if we can’t move in today?” Bryan tried to ask it casually but I could tell he didn’t want to go back to his dorm.
“Then we look for the cheapest motel we can find for a day or two until we can move in.” There were some hole-in-the-wall places over by the interstate. They’d probably be gross, but we could deal with it for a while. I wasn’t going back to living apart unless we had to. Like alien invasion had to.
Taking a deep breath, he nodded. “We’ll work it out.”
“Yup. But you have class. Get going, Baby.” I had about thirty minutes before mine started, but Bryan had to run or he was going to be late.
He tossed me the keys, then just about jumped out of the car calling out that he loved me and that he would see me later. Climbing out, I locked it and headed for class. If I could get enough done before class started, I wouldn’t have to worry about studying later, when hopefully, we’d have to move.
This had to work out. It had to.
****
Looking around the small but functional apartment, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was a compact one-bedroom unit that had everything we needed. It was also minutes from school and in a lot better shape than I’d expected. Turning back to the property manager, I knew I was going to drive her crazy, but I wanted to go over the information again. “I apologize for going over this one more time. I don’t want there to be any surprises down the road.”
She smiled and shook her head. “Don’t feel bad. I get questions all day long. You’re simply thinking things through and getting it straight in your head. I know how hard it is when you’re getting your first place.”
She made him feel a little bit better, but Bryan was browsing around the kitchen trying not to laugh. This would be the last time. Telling myself that again didn’t make me feel any better. I’d already had this conversation with myself. “So with the one-bedroom unit, the money from the university will cover the full year’s rent. We would have to start paying the rent next fall, but you will need proof of income sixty days out to show that we can afford the place ourselves at that point.”
She nodded while I paused to make sure everything was right. “We have to pay for Internet, but you cover everything else.”
“Yes, unless you want cable. That is something that you would cover.”
Even I had to agree; it was the perfect place for students. The apartments came with just about e
verything first-time renters could need. Probably so there was less to screw up and forget to pay. I had a feeling, from the things she’d said, that it had been a problem in the past. She’d pointed it out first thing, even before she’d shown the prices and financial breakdown.
With the two bedroom, the money would’ve covered about nine months of the lease, but we would have had to pay for the summer on our own. It wasn’t a huge difference, but if we got good jobs we’d need a place to stay in town. It wasn’t like we needed the extra bedroom anyway.
Walking over to the kitchen, I leaned against the counter and looked at Bryan. “What do you think?”
He shrugged and eyed the space again. “I think it’s perfect for us. Better than we were expecting. And we have almost a year to figure out the rent for next year. We can cover everything else with what we have saved until we find jobs that we like.”
I had to agree. I felt much better knowing I wouldn’t have to rush to take the quickest job I could find. Decision made, I turned back to the patient woman. “We’ll take the one-bedroom. You said that signing the paperwork today wouldn’t be a problem?”
“No, you’re fine. Normally it would take us more time to look at finances and references, but with the university covering the costs there’s very little to do.” She tilted her head and gave us a look. “We’ve been working with the housing office for a while now, and this is the first time I’ve seen this kind of situation. If you don’t mind me asking, what happened?”
“Roommate situations that didn’t quite work out.” I figured that was the easiest explanation.
“Ah.” She nodded like she knew there was more to the story than I was telling her. She was right.
She led us out the door, and we headed for the elevator. Thankfully, we were on the second floor. The idea of being on the first made me nervous. It wasn’t that I was afraid someone would break in. I was more worried that people would be able to see what we were doing through the windows.