Page 103 of Daddy's Pride
“Are you going on a trip?” He’d not mentioned it to me, but technically I wasn’t his Daddy and he owed me no explanation, though I’d hoped we’d made a bit of progress.
“Silly Daddy T, no. I’m having a sleepover at Henry’s.”
“Oh.” I was at a loss for words, unsure what to say and suddenly… sad.
“Daddy T, are you still there?” the perky boy I longed for asked when I’d been silent too long.
“Yes, yes, I am. Have fun tonight. Call me tomorrow if you want.”
“Okay, bye.”
The tab for the little store was still open and one by one, I deleted each item from the cart. Click. Click. Click. Yeah, got too far ahead of myself for sure. When all the cute outfits were gone, I shut it down and fixed myself a strong drink, tapping in for a long, lonely night binging a show I’d been meaning to watch.
Midway through the first episode my phone vibrated with a text alert.
Jensen: I’m told there’s a sad Daddy that needs a hug. Will dinner and drinks at our house work instead? Not that I won’t hug you if you need it.
Did that silly boy rat me out to my friends?
Me: Thanks, but you don’t need to do that. I’m fine. Just keep an eye on Jamie for me please.
Should I have said that? Jamie wasn’t mine so maybe that came out wrong.
Me: Not that he’s mine, I didn’t mean it that way.
Jensen: Shut up and get your ass over here. If you’re not here in twenty, I’ll hunt you down.
You’ve got this, Tim. Just be yourself.
I changed, grabbed a bottle of Pinot from the fridge and headed out. Twenty-three minutes later, I rang their doorbell.
“You’re late. But you brought wine, so you’re forgiven.” Jensen smirked. “Come on in.”
“Timothy, good to see you again.” Mitchell shook my hand.
“Thanks for having me. Here, this is for you or dinner. Not sure what the plans were.”
“Daddy, Daddy, Daddy,” Henry came sliding around the corner into the entryway. “Oh,” he skidded to a stop. “Hello, Daddy Timothy.”
“Henry!” Jamie called out but when he tried to stop, his socks kept going. I scooped him up before he landed face down on the tile.
“Daddy T, you saved me!” He squealed in my arms and wrapped his around my neck.
“Yes, sweet boy, but if you hadn’t been running inside the house you wouldn’t need saving.” I gave him a squeeze and set him down.
“Same goes for you, Henry,” Mitchell warned his boy.
“Sorry, Daddies,” the boys apologized in unison.
“Now, Henry, what is it that had you running at full speed?” Jensen asked him.
“Oh, can we have a juice box, please?” Jamie stood beside Henry, bobbing his head up and down.
“Yes, boys, take a seat on the barstools.” Jensen led the boys to their seats. Jamie followed behind Henry. He was too damn cute in his little giraffe outfit. Shorts and a matching top, but the bottom of the giraffe was on the shorts and his neck curved around the side of his top with the head sitting to the right side at the top. It was adorable.
While Jensen got the boys situated, Mitchell poured the three of us a glass of wine. “Thank you.”
Jensen tapped his glass to mine. “To secret crushes and happy Daddies.”