by Quinn Ward
“And how do you plan to prove it?”
“I’ll ask him.” John nearly choked as he took a sip from his draft beer. “What? He and I spend the most time together on set when he’s not in front of the camera; it wouldn’t be inconceivable for me to get to know a bit more about him.”
A burly man slightly older than John squeezed his shoulder, drawing my cousin’s attention away from me. I offered the guy a nod of approval as the two of them disappeared to one of the high-backed booths lining the edge of the wall. Another night at The Lodge that’d end with me going home alone.
Monday morning, I lay in bed after slapping my hand down on the alarm. Today was the second day of the shoot, which meant I’d be seeing Matteo again. And he’d be starring in my ultimate fantasy; we’d made it through the adult baby shots and today we were finishing up toddler playtime. More than a few times, I’d wondered what it said about me that I got off on seeing my boy lying prone on the floor, kicking his feet in the air as he colored Daddy a picture.
Just imagining the scene had my dick filling. Instead of some faceless, generic boy, today it was Matteo’s eyes meeting mine when he turned his head to glance over his shoulder, making sure I was still sitting in my chair watching him.
He looked so peaceful, the nervous tics I’d noticed conspicuously absent. I smiled back at him, reaching down to run my fingers through his wavy chestnut hair. “Good boy,” I told him. “Daddy’s so happy to see you coloring so nicely.”
“Do you like my picture?” Teo held up the coloring book for me to see. It was a race car, zooming toward the finish line. “I like race cars.”
“I know you do, boy.”
My hand slid beneath the sheet, curling around my painfully hard dick. I shouldn’t jerk off to fantasies of the man I’d have to face in just under two hours, but he was perfect. It didn’t feel like a coincidence that we’d been brought together the way we were. I wanted him.
I dragged my thumb through the pre-cum leaking from the head of my cock, imagining it was Teo’s tongue teasing me. Not sucking me, simply holding me in his mouth as we curled up on the couch to watch cartoons on a lazy Saturday morning.
“You can suck me, boy,” I reassured him, melting when he gazed up at me with gleeful adoration. I pushed against the back of his head, forcing him to take me deeper into his mouth. He startled, gagging a little until he relaxed. I praised his efforts, twisting my fingers in his waves. “You’re so good at sucking Daddy’s cock. You want more?”
Teo nodded, never releasing me from his mouth. He flipped onto his stomach, taking me as deep as he could, swallowing around my shaft as he fought the urge to pull off and catch his breath. Saliva slid over my balls, his tears landing on my stomach. I tapped twice on his shoulder and he lifted his head, gasping for breath. He stared up at me with such raw longing, I nearly blew my load all over his beautiful face.
“You okay, boy?” I swiped away his tears with a thumb. He nodded enthusiastically. “You want more?” Another nod. I hooked my hands under his arms, flipping him over on his back with his head hanging off the side of the cushion. “Going to see just how much you can take.”
I fed my length deep into his throat, pulling back a split second before he might’ve passed out on me, over and over again. Every time he gulped for breath, he greedily sucked me back down. I loved it when he grew desperate, pleading with me through his actions for me to fill his mouth with my cum.
I jerked myself fast and hard, hips arching off the bed. My eyes were clenched tight, as if opening them would ruin the moment. With a shout, I came so hard streaks landed all the way up my chest. I scrubbed the hand not coated in spunk over my face, wondering how in the hell I was going to get through today.
Two hours and change later, I walked onto the set we’d created in Denny’s loft. He and John were already busy taking down the bedroom set from last week, replacing it with a small table, easel, and toy shelves. At first glance, they didn’t look any different from what you’d find in a toddler’s room, but upon closer inspection, they were bigger, sturdier, built for grown men and women who identified as littles.
“Nice to see you could join us,” John teased. “Since all the heavy lifting’s done, why don’t you make yourself useful and see if there’s anything you’d change about the setup.”
Denny watched me, arms folded over his barrel chest as I looked around the playroom set. All the pieces made sense, but there was something off about the placement. In a move I regretted almost instantly, I closed my eyes and recalled this morning’s fantasy.
“You need some of those interlocking foam squares on the floor,” I told them. The key to this type of scene was allowing the little to get into the right headspace, and while the sedate Berber carpet they’d rolled over the hardwood floors warmed the room, it was too grown up. “And stuffies. Line the top of the toy shelf with a few stuffed animals. Maybe a sippy cup. The toys on the shelf need to look neat, but not staged. And move the chair closer to the play area. Put some coloring books and crayons on the floor.”
Denny scribbled notes while John stared at the shelf he’d taken such care to build. I stepped up behind him, resting a hand on his shoulder. “I promise we’re not going to hide your handiwork, but you want customers to get a sense of how these pieces will look in their home. That’s what’s going to help you stand out from the competitors.”
“No, you’re absolutely right,” he agreed quickly. “I’m just seeing a side of you I’m not used to. That’s all.”
Oh hell. The whole reason I’d suggested John and I never talk too much about our preferred kinks was I hadn’t expected him to understand why I got off on someone calling me Daddy and letting me take care of him. Obviously, since he’d revealed what he’d spent so many nights designing while we watched baseball on TV, I knew I didn’t have anything to worry about. For all I knew, he built this type of furniture because the lifestyle appealed to him as well and he’d recognized a hole in the market.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” John patted my back a few times. “I’m not sure what made you go white, but maybe you should sit down for a minute.”
“I’m fine,” I reassured him as I got busy with the changes I’d rattled off to them. It was a little white lie, but it was better than admitting to him that I was yet again fantasizing about his buddy. “Let’s get this fixed so we can get through today’s list.”
“That’d be a hell of a lot easier if Matteo was here,” John grumbled. His brow furrowed, telling me this wasn’t typical behavior for his friend. He almost seemed more concerned than annoyed by his absence.
“Have you tried calling him?” I suggested.
“Yeah, and he swears he’s on his way, but he sounded… off. It happens sometimes, but he sounded more flustered than normal. Listen, I don’t want you thinking poorly of him. He’s a good kid, but he struggles sometimes.”
“Not my place to think anything of him, is it?” And that was a reminder I’d be well-served to remember. I shouldn’t be thinking of him in any way. At all. Especially not splayed out on the playroom floor wearing nothing but a tight pair of race car underpants with his T-shirt riding up. Fuck. “You seem to know quite a bit about his life. You two close?”
If John and Matteo had something going on, or if they had in the past, I really needed to get my dick on the same page as my brain. I wasn’t about to piss off my cousin for a quick fuck, no matter how hot it’d be.
“Yeah, but not like that,” John replied as he crouched down in front of the shelf to disorganize things a bit as I’d suggested. “I already told you, I’m pretty sure he’s straight.”
“Ah, so now you’re only pretty sure,” I challenged, remembering our conversation at The Lodge. Before I could tease John any further about his sudden uncertainty about his friend’s sexuality, the door to the loft burst open and a soaking-wet Matteo stumbled in.
Instinct had me wanting to rush over to my boy—no, not my boy, Matteo—but John stopped me. “Look, even though
I still think you’re wrong about Matteo, the rest of it isn’t a surprise to me. You’re not exactly a master of deception. That’s why I wanted you to be a big part of this shoot. You know better than me what a daddy would look for when he’s shopping for his little’s room.”
I surveyed John’s expression, looking for any sign of disgust or judgment, but found none. Suddenly, I felt like a heel for thinking he wouldn’t understand. I pulled him in for a one-armed hug. “Thanks. I’m glad you have faith in me.”
“Always. Now, go check on him before you work yourself into a tizzy.” John chuckled as I darted off. I held a hand high and flipped him off as I rushed over to help Matteo get dried off and ready.
3
Matteo
If just one thing could go right today, it’d be a miracle. First, my car wouldn’t start. I tried calling all my brothers, but because I had no luck—if not bad luck—lately, all of them were apologetic but busy. Mama couldn’t give me a ride because she was taking care of a sick Sophia while Peter finished a paper for school. In short, the universe conspired against me and I would probably come away from today’s adventure with a case of pneumonia that’d kill me.
I doubled over, trying to catch my breath, when I felt a firm hand at the center of my back. Someone closed the door and I could hear John talking to someone deeper in the loft.
“Are you okay?”
I tried waving off Levi because I didn’t want him realizing what a scatterbrained tool I was, but he simply curled his hand around my arm and led me to the break area set up near the floor-to-ceiling windows. I sneered as I watched rain pelting the glass. It hadn’t been so bad until I was about two blocks from the loft, then the skies opened and soaked through every layer of clothing I wore.
“Drink this.”
I looked up at him and saw steam rising from the mug cradled in his hands. “It’s hot cocoa. I added some marshmallows because they make everything better.”
He smirked when I sat up a bit straighter, taking the mug out of his hands. The heat from the ceramic felt amazing against my icy fingers. Levi sat down next to me and reached for the hem of my sweatshirt. I sniped, “Hey, give me a few minutes and then we’ll start the striptease.”
I expected Levi to laugh, but his expression turned cold and stern. Nearly parental. And because my libido had short-circuited about the time I met Levi last week, my dick started to come to life.
“I’m only trying to get you out of your clothes so you can warm up a bit.”
“Yeah, right,” I scoffed, inching away from him on the couch. “Does that line work on other guys?”
“If I was trying to seduce you, you’d know it.” He placed his hands on his lap and sat up straighter. When he next spoke, his voice was a bit deeper, his words measured. “You need to get out of your clothes because they’re sopping wet. I have a blanket right here that we’ll wrap you up in to take off the chill. If you’d like, you can even grab a quick hot shower before we get started.”
Oh yeah. I wished I’d stayed in bed this morning. I’d known as soon as I’d woken up that it was going to be an off day, and now I had to somehow hold my shit together through this photo shoot with a guy who had me all sorts of confused. “A shower would be nice, thanks.”
There. That didn’t sound weird or anything. Levi didn’t roll his eyes or call me out for getting the couch wet, he simply stood, holding out a hand and leading me through a door on the far end of the loft.
“These are Denny’s living quarters, but he won’t mind us using them,” he explained, guiding me into the bathroom and once again reaching for my sweatshirt. This time, I let him because I trusted that he wasn’t going to take advantage of me.
You’d let him even if he was, a little voice in the back of my mind taunted.
Levi kneeled in front of me, untying my shoes. He tapped my right calf and I lifted my foot so he could take off my shoe. As he repeated the motion on the other side, I stared down at him, wondering what it was about this guy that was so different. I usually worked hard to prove I could take care of myself, but with nothing more than a simple gesture, I felt like putty in Levi’s hands.
When he reached for the button on my jeans, I froze. He’d seen my body the other day, but that was work. This felt different. This felt more personal. Levi backed away, motioning for me to continue undressing myself.
“I’m sorry. I was just trying to help you get warmed up,” he explained as he started messing around with the water taps. “You seemed a little out of it when you got here. Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine,” I insisted. For some reason, I didn’t want Levi to know what a wreck my head was. It was bad enough that my brothers and John always eyed me warily, as if they were waiting for my next calamity. For some reason, I wanted Levi to be the person who looked at me and saw me as a normal person. “Thanks for your help, but I’ve got it from here.”
“It’s no problem at all,” Levi responded softly. “Why don’t you finish up and I’ll go figure out which outfit we’re starting with today.”
Levi focusing on why we were here was exactly what I needed. I had a job to do, even if John wasn’t paying me much, and I wanted to show him that he hadn’t made a mistake by asking me to do this for him. I thanked Levi as he stepped out of the room, but I wasn’t sure he heard me. When the door snicked closed, I let out a sigh of relief. I needed a few minutes alone to forget how many times over the past few days I’d caught myself thinking about Levi.
I took my time drying off after my shower, waiting for Levi to return. I didn’t have a brush or anything else, so I ran my fingers through my wet hair, trying to tame the mess the best I could. After staring into the mirror for a while, I realized I was being ridiculous. I wrapped a towel tightly around my midsection, opened the door, and peeked outside. It felt like an intrusion to wander through Denny’s personal space but there wasn’t much else for me to do. Levi still hadn’t returned, and I couldn’t hide out in the bathroom all day.
I was almost to the door leading from Denny’s apartment to the studio area when there was a bright flash of lightning, a loud crack of thunder, and the entire room plunged into darkness.
“Goddamnit!” someone shouted from the other side of the wall. I felt my way through the room, wishing I’d taken the time to observe my surroundings on our way in so I didn’t have to worry about tripping and breaking something. The door opened, and above the narrow beam of light I was able to make out Levi’s features. He announced, “Power’s out.”
Even though he couldn’t see me very well I dramatically looked around the room, wide-eyed. “Yeah, I sort of figured that much out on my own.”
Levi chuckled. He kept walking across the room until he was standing directly in front of me. He held out his hand, and I noticed he had dry clothes for me. “This isn’t what you’ll be wearing today, but I grabbed you something out of my gym bag since your clothes are still wet.”
“Why don’t I just get dressed for the shoot?” As grateful as I was for something to wear, I just wanted to get this over with.
“Until we know how long the power’s going to be out, there’s not much point. We can’t exactly shoot without the lights.” That made sense, and once again I felt like an idiot for missing something so obvious. “And I thought you might be more comfortable not sitting around in a skimpy little outfit while we wait.”
Levi guided me through the back of the loft to the living room, which wasn’t as dark thanks to the huge windows.
“Thank you. That was kind of you.” I placed a hand on Levi’s shoulder for support, ignoring the zing that shot down my arm. The sweatpants he’d given me were too long and too big around the waist, so I tugged at the drawstring and shoved the cuffs up over my calves. “So, what do we do now?”
My mind was already racing with all the things I’d put off doing today so I could take part in the shoot. If we weren’t going to be able to do anything, I should take off and head down to Marino’s to help t
hem get ready for the lunch rush. Tony had been cool when I’d asked for the day off, but I still felt like I was leaving him in a lurch.
“Hopefully it won’t be very long, but I thought maybe we could get some breakfast in you. I’d be willing to bet you forgot to eat this morning.” He wasn’t wrong, but I hated that there was something about me that radiated forgetfulness.
Unlike the other day when there’d been more people bustling around the loft, today it seemed to be just the four of us. The guys who’d been busy taking pictures of individual products set up in light boxes weren’t needed today, so I doubted there was a spread of food laid out, and I didn’t want Levi going to any trouble for me.
“Come on,” he said once I was fully dressed. He slipped his hand in mine and guided me out of the apartment. “I might’ve stopped on the way here to pick up some donuts. I thought those might be more to your liking than what Denny had catered in last week.”
“I don’t suppose you picked up any with chocolate frosting and sprinkles?” My brothers always picked on me for being addicted to what they called the “little kid donut,” but I could seriously eat a dozen and not get sick of them.
“Of course!” Even though I couldn’t see his face, I could hear the smile in his voice. “Something told me you’d want maximum sugary goodness.”
“Am I that transparent?”
“Only to those who pay attention.” Levi glanced over his shoulder and smiled at me. Since we were in the loft area, I was able to see the soft expression on his face. I found myself wanting him to look at me that way more often.
He sat me down in the small chair in the sitting area and told me he’d be right back. I opened my mouth to protest, to tell him I didn’t need anyone waiting on me, but he silenced me with a firm look. “Let me do this for you, Matteo.”