Save Me, Daddy: Rainbow Room Book 1

by L. Michael

  “When you came in, I was talking to Des about you. So, it was a nice coincidence that you stumbled in.”

  “What were you talking about?” I couldn´t decide if I should feel flattered or be worried. But Jakob just grinned at me.

  “I was getting some advice. Based on your desk, I assumed you were a Little. So, I was talking about maybe buying you something nice and colorful for your office walls. I was getting advice on how to get your attention.”

  “You knew I am a Little because of my desk.”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “How did you know?”

  “In my experience, most people try to brighten their lives by surrounding themselves with bright and cheerful items. Littles seem to do that as well but more pronounced. Your desk was full of cheery things. Each of them individually would not point a Little but take all the things I saw, and it just made sense.”

  “I tried to shut it off.”

  "Tried to shut what off, Sam?”

  “My Little side. I got beat up because of it, but I can’t shut it off. It feels like a part of me is trapped when I try to stop being Little.”

  “Sweet Sam, you need to be yourself. I understand your hesitation, and I hope that you can be yourself here.”

  “That would be nice.”

  “So, would you like me to buy you some posters for your walls?”

  “Yes.” Grinning, I looked up at Jakob. “The walls are so grey.” Then I realized I was still sitting on Jakob’s lap, and I blushed. I tried to wiggle free, but Jakob held me tight.

  “I like having you close. Will you sit on the bench next to me?”  I nodded shyly and slid onto the booth seat and watched Jakob. Could he be my Daddy? I couldn’t wait to find out if he wanted that too.

  “Great timing here’s our food.” Des set down our plates. There were chicken nuggets and a salad for me and a burger for Jakob. One whiff of the food and my stomach grumbled very loudly. It looked and smelled so good.

  “Here, Little Boy, have a drink.” Jakob said as he grabbed my plate. When he finished, my salad was cut up and had my favorite ranch dressing on it, and my nuggets were cut in half so they would cool. “Here you go.”

  “Thank you.” I stared at my plate. The way Jakob made sure that my salad and nuggets were cut into bite-sized pieces, touched something deep inside me. Tears welled in my eyes because it was an emotional moment. It felt like a piece of my soul clicked into place, and another part of my list checked off. I looked up at Jakob and felt at peace.

  “It’s ok Little Boy. I feel it too. Eat your dinner.”

  I picked up a nugget. I took a bite and slowly ate while I thought of how much I wanted Jakob to be my Daddy.

  ◆◆◆

  “All done.” I shoved my empty plate away and grabbed my sippy cup to finish the rest of my juice. Jakob wiped his hands on his napkin and took a sip of his wine.

  “Ok. So, should we leave and go somewhere and talk?”

  “What? No.”

  “Don’t you want to talk to me?”

  “No. I mean, yes. I mean. Wait. I was good and ate all my dinner, even all my icky vegetables.”

  “Yes, you did great Little Boy. I am so proud of you.”

  I preened as he complimented me. No, wait. He was trying to distract me.

  “Wait, you promised.”

  “I did? What did I promise?”

  I started to sputter my anger rising, and then I saw the twinkle in Jakob’s eye. He was teasing me. I crossed my arms over my chest.

  “I was promised dessert if I finished my vegetables.”

  “Oh, I see. So, I guess now you want your ice cream?”

  I danced in my seat. Woohoo ICE CREAM was coming.

  “Yummy. Yes, please. Chocolate. Do you think they have sprinkles?”

  “I'm quite sure Des wouldn't survive a Wednesday without sprinkles. It would be total anarchy. Little Boys and Little Girls all running amuck and leading a rebellion due to the sprinkle shortage.” I giggled. Jakob laughed and waved to Des, who came over immediately. “Can we have an order of chocolate ice cream with sprinkles and a cup of coffee for me, please?”

  “You want sprinkles in your coffee as well?”

  “Ha, ha, very funny.” I giggled, and Jakob laughed, again. It was funny to think of Jakob getting sprinkles in his coffee. Jakob rolled his eyes at Des. “Nah, that’s ok, you can add my sprinkles on his ice cream as well.”

  “More sprinkles for your boy. Coming right up.” Des winked at me and took our empty plates.

  I blushed so hard that I could feel my ears turning bright red . ‘Your boy.’ I liked the sound of that. Nope, that was too mild. I loved the thought of being Hot Detective Daddy’s boy. I peeked up at him. Jakob smiled and shrugged.

  “Doesn´t sound too bad, does it?”

  “What?”

  “More sprinkles for you.”

  “No. No, that doesn’t sound bad. I like lots of sprinkles.”

  Being your boy doesn’t sound bad either. I thought as I ducked my head.

  Chapter 3

  Jakob

  Des went a little overboard with Samuel’s desert. Wait, no, let me rephrase that. He went way overboard. There were two giant scoops of ice cream, sprinkles on top of sprinkles, a mountain of whipped cream, a giant chocolate chip cookie, AND two cherries on top. But it was worth it to see Samuel’s face light up when he saw the dessert. His eyes went wide, and a huge smile spread across his face.

  “Now, that's what I like to see, a happy boy.” Des grinned, obviously pleased with himself. “Do you want some more juice?”

  “Yes, please. Thank you, Mister Hayes.”

  “You can call me, Uncle Des. Most of the Littles call me that.”

  “Thank you, Uncle Des,” Samuel said. He hesitated only a second before he picked up his spoon and dug into his treat.

  “Des is a Daddy, but he doesn´t have a boy of his own. So, he spoils all the Littles who come in here on Wednesdays.” I explained to Samuel, who happily spooned part of his ice cream mountain into his mouth. “Like you.” I ruffled his hair.

  “Littles like to be spoiled.” Samuel shrugged a shoulder and filled his mouth with more ice cream. I was going to have to watch to make sure my Little Sam didn’t get a tummy ache or brain freeze.

  “You like to be spoiled, too, don’t you?”

  “Sure.” Samuel stopped mid-bite, holding his spoon in the air. He frowned, titled his head to the side, then he looked at me. “I mean, isn’t that a part of being a Little? To be spoiled and have someone special care about you. Not being spoiled in a material way but with love and affection. And with ice cream and treats.”

  “You´re right, but Daddies like that too. We get spoiled by taking care of our Littles.” I imagined the attention I would give him. Probably not as much ice cream as he would like, but I could spoil him with love and affection. “Samuel, can I ask you a question?”

  He turned to me. I had to bite my cheek to keep from laughing. His cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk, and he had sprinkles all over his lips. I wanted to reach out and squeeze his chubby cheeks. He nodded his head.

  “How old are you when you're Little?”

  I watched Samuel chew his dessert and swallow.

  “Thank you for not talking with your mouth full Little Boy.”

  “Like four or five? I like to play with my animals and to color.” Samuel ate another spoon full of dessert, then he continued. “Wait, um, what age do you prefer?” Sam blushed and looked down at his lap. I noticed he wouldn’t look at me when he was embarrassed.

  “To be honest, that's the age I prefer. Lots of toys and playtime. Bath time, cuddles, cartoons, and movies. Also, reading together and trips to all the fun places.” I took a drink of my coffee. Sam stopped eating and just sat staring into his dessert. I watched him for a moment, then I leaned over and put my arm around his shoulders.

  “What´s wrong, Samuel? Are you ok?”

  “Yes…I… that's what I want. I me
an all of that.”

  “Me too.” I squeezed his shoulder. Samuel peeked at me out of the corner of his eye and smiled. We sat there a moment before he started on his dessert again. I sat and watched him shovel his ice cream down. I enjoyed the simplicity of his smile and the look of delight on his face. I wanted this to continue. No, that’s not right. I wanted more.

  “Samuel, do you have any plans for your next day off?”

  “Mfgh. Noooo, why?” He said around a mouthful of ice cream.

  He had almost polished off his entire dessert.

  “Sweetie, you need to swallow and not talk with your mouth full. I was wondering if you would like to repeat this. I mean, dinner with me and maybe a playdate?” I waited for his reaction. For a moment, he just stared at me, then his face lit up with his giant smile, and he nodded so hard I thought he was going to fall out of the booth.

  “I'd like that.”

  “Great. We will plan for dinner, with a playdate and then maybe this weekend we could go to the zoo. If you want.” I smiled at him. Des came over with another sippy cup filled with juice.

  “Here you go, Little Boy. Do you two need anything else?”

  “No, thank you. We're good.” I grinned when Des winked at me. Yeah, Des had me figured out. He knew I had fallen for Samuel.

  “Ok, you let me know if you need anything else.” Des winked at Samuel and nodded to me and turned to go.

  “Thanks, Des.”

  Yeah, I was going to hear about this when all the Daddies got together. It was worth it. I found my Boy, and I couldn’t be happier. I watched Samuel as he rolled his sippy cup between his hands. He peeked at me, sometimes he glanced at my face, sometimes lower. I suddenly understood. I leaned back in the booth.

  “Little Boy, do you want to sit on my lap again?”

  “Yes, I mean. Can I? Please?”

  Oh, my sweet, polite Little Boy. I reached out for him.

  “Of course, you can. I liked it very much.”

  “Me, too.” Samuel smiled up at me and climbed onto my lap. He wriggled a little until he was comfortable, then he sighed and leaned his head against my chest.

  “Better?”

  “So much better.”

  “Good.” I picked up his sippy cup and held it to Samuel’s lips. It felt good to hold him like this, and I looked forward to our date. Samuel finished his drink and yawned. I put the empty cup on the table.

  “How about I bring you home.”

  “But I wanted to meet everybody else.” Samuel whined. I shook my head. Yep, even his whine was cute.

  “You´re tired. We can come back next Wednesday.”

  “I’m not tired. Really. I’m …”

  “Samuel.” I put as much Daddy into my voice as possible. He closed his mouth and stared up at me, then I ran a finger down his cheek then bopped him on his nose. “We will come back next Wednesday, and I’ll introduce you to everyone. But right now, I know you're tired, so I am going to take you home, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Good boy,” I said without thinking, but Samuel didn't seem to mind judging by his giant smile. He looked so young and carefree with that smile. Note to self; Make Samuel smile as often as possible.

  ◆◆◆

  I was ecstatic that I had driven tonight. It allowed me to spend more time with Samuel and to see where my Little Boy lived. Samuel directed me through the streets to his building that was only a short five-minute drive from the Rainbow Room. And oddly enough, it is only a couple of blocks from my place. I parked my car.

  “Stay in your seat and let me get the door for you.”

  Samuel took his hand off his seat belt and waited. I was so proud of him for trusting me and letting me take care of him. I walked around the car, opened the door, reached in, and unbuckled his seat belt.

  “Here we are.”

  “Thank you for driving me home.”

  “You're welcome. Come on. I’ll walk you upstairs.”

  Samuel blushed. “I always thought that a Daddy should do that.”

  “A Daddy should walk you upstairs?” I chuckled as he bobbed his head up and down. “You’re right. A Daddy should do that to make sure that you get home safe and sound.” I locked my car and put my arm around Sam’s shoulders and gave him a gentle squeeze. He leaned his head against my shoulder.

  “You know, that's what I want from a Daddy. That feeling of being safe and sound.”

  “And that’s what I want to give to my Little Boy.” I walked next to him to the building and laughed.

  Samuel led me inside, up to the second floor. There were two apartments on each floor, and it looked so similar to my building. At least I could see for myself that Samuel lived in a safe neighborhood. Samuel stopped in front of a door and turned around.

  “Well, this is me.”

  “Ok, Little Boy. I guess we´ll see each other at work tomorrow.”

  “Yes.” Samuel bit his lip then looked up at me. “Thank you for dinner and a nice evening. I enjoyed it.”

  “I´m glad because I enjoyed it, too.”

  “Oh. Yeah, that’s good.”

  “Well, good night then, Samuel. Or do you prefer Sam?” For a second, Samuel just stared at me, then he nodded and blushed. “Ah, that´s your Little name.” Again, a nod. I couldn't help myself. I stepped up closer and took Samuels chin into my hand, gently forcing him to look at me. “Good night, sweet Sam.”

  “Good night… D- Daddy.”

  “Sam, I love hearing those words from your mouth. I do. But I want you to make sure you mean it before you say it, Ok?”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay.” I released his chin and stepped back. “I'll see you tomorrow, sweet Sam.”

  “Bye, Daddy.” He said more sure of himself now, and I swallowed. It was the sweetest thing I had ever heard. I held out my arms, and Sam stepped into them. I gave him a big hug and kissed the top of his head. It was hard to walk away from Sam, but I didn’t want to rush my sweet boy. I turned and started to walk away. I paused at the top of the stairs, turned around, and saw Sam still standing there, watching me with a smile.

  “Go inside.” To my surprise, Sam waved happily and did what I told him. I waited for a second until I heard the lock snick on Sam’s door before I left.

  ◆◆◆

  It was already nine when I walked into the precinct the next morning. I was so late, but I had to stop and pick up something exceptional for my Boy. Instead of going straight to my desk, I went the other way to Sam’s small office. I found him alone, hunched over his computer, tapping away.

  “You need to sit up straight, or you'll ruin your back.”

  “Jakob!” Sam whirled around, his giant smile spreading over his cute face.

  “Good morning, Sam.” I grinned, holding up a bag. “I brought you something.”

  “Presents?”

  “Yes, presents.” I handed him the bag and watched as he tore into it, paper flying everywhere. When he held up yogurt with fresh fruit, he frowned and looked at me.

  “That's your breakfast. It’s good for you, and it will keep you full until lunchtime.”

  “Oh. Thank you.”

  “Oh yeah, by the way. I’d love to take you to lunch if you like.”

  “You mean have lunch together?”

  “Yes, have lunch together. Well, if I don´t get a case or you get work to do, that is.” I leaned forward and nodded toward the bag. “You should dig a little deeper.”

  I watched Sam dig back into the bag and smiled when he pulled out the small poster from the New York City zoo that featured a group of cute penguins.

  “Oh, Jakob, I love it! Thank you!”

  “Shall I help you put it up?”

  “I'm good. I got it.” Sam pinned the poster to the wall then stepped back to look at it, clapping his hands. “It looks so cute.”

  “That's what I thought.”

  “Thank you, Jakob.”

  “You're welcome, Sam.” Again, there was his adorable blush and
the giant smile. “I better go and get some work done so we can go out for lunch.”

  “I'll be here.”

  I stepped into Sam’s office just after 1:00 PM and found Sam hunched over his computer again. “Didn’t I tell you to sit up straight, or you’ll ruin your back?”

  “You did.” Sam didn´t turn around and kept clicking away at his computer. I walked into the room and closed the door behind me.

  “Sam? What´s wrong?”

  “I… I need to work. It's important.”

  “Okay.” Something in Sam’s voice made me walk over and kneel by his chair. “Can you please look at me?” Slowly Sam turned to face me, and I saw the tears on his face. “What's wrong?”

  “I… I need to work.”

  “You already said that, but why are you crying?” Instead of answering, Sam slowly sat back so I could look at his computer. At first, I couldn't figure what I was looking at, but then I saw a naked boy, sprawled out on a bed. “Oh, Sam.”

  “Child Protective Services took him away from his family last night and they…they found him like this.”

  Oh yeah, I had heard about this case during the morning debrief. Police were called to an address when neighbors reported shots fired. Shortly after the police arrived on the scene, they called Child Protective Services. Police officers had found a ten-year-old boy, beaten and raped. The last thing I heard the boy was still in the hospital.

  “I… need to… find out if they sold the pictures online.”

  “Oh, Baby.” I hurt for Sam. Our job was hard, but it got harder when kids were involved. I wondered if Sam had ever received any additional training on how to deal with the stress. With his next words, Sam confirmed my suspicions.

  “Maybe they were right. Maybe I´m too weak to do this job. I´m not a real cop, you know. I didn’t go to the Academy. I studied Information Analysis in school.”

  “They? Who?”

  “The cops. In Boston.”

  “No. No, Sam.” I shook my head and leaned forward and grasped Sam’s hands. “Those assholes were not right. You are not weak. You have a huge heart, and it hurts you to see others hurting. Hell, I know cops that have been on the force for more than twenty years that still get affected by these cases. I have seen them cry over victims like this boy. He's just a child.”