Page 269 of Daddy's Pride

Chapter 9

Owen

I’d checked on the beagle three times and knew she was just fine, so there was no point getting out of Daddy’s super comfortable guest bed to check on her a fourth time, just because I couldn’t sleep.

Which was so dumb.

I was tired.

And I had no reason at all to feel so devastated inside, just because Daddy—um, North, which is what I’d finally found out was his actual name, which was weird but also super cool? Anyway, North had basically been on a date tonight with some other boy.

Well, not a date.

A sex date?

“Oh my God,” I groaned, grabbing one of the extra pillows and shoving it over my face. I had to stop thinking about this.

It wasn’t even any of my business.

Also, some other boy? That made it sound like I was, well, that kind of boy, too. And even if I’d looked at that gay Daddy porn the one time?—

Okay. More than just once.

Maybe every night this week.

Still, that didn’t mean I was suddenly gay, so I had no reason at all to care about who Daddy—um, who North—was hooking up with that wasn’t me.

Because of course it wasn’t me.

Maybe it could have been if I was gay, and he wasn’t him and I wasn’t me, but I’d seen him now. And, unfortunately, I’d also seen me plenty of times. And there wouldn’t even be a point in me turning gay—not that that was probably a thing?—because as wonderful and nice and thoughtful and caring as he always was, he was also so hot that saying he was out of my league was…

Well, it was true, but it wasn’t true enough.

Anyone who looked likehe did on top of having his amazing personality, and also went to a kinky sex club all the time where there were tons of other gay guys who already knew all about kinky gay sex would definitely never in a million years be interested in someone like me that way.

Which was obviously one hundred percent, completely and totally fine.

I hugged the pillow against my head and sniffled, then told myself yet again to stop being such a big baby when there was literally no reason. North was the nicest. And I should just go to sleep already.

But just like every other time I’d told myself that, I still couldn’t.

I rolled over, peeking down at the little beagle.

I wished I could cuddle her. No, I wished I could cuddle Da—North.

Or, I mean, hug him again.

Or get hugged by him. Because that had been really nice. And maybe we could still do some of that, even after things went back to normal between us?

Would things go back to normal? Like, what would we do with the dog if we could never find her owners? Would he want to keep her? And if he did, would he let me visit, or ever want to hang out, or would we just go back to only texting each other?

My chest started to ache, and I hugged the pillow against it even tighter, dropping one hand down to rest my fingers on the dog’s fur and wishing my eyes didn’t sting so hard.

Maybe I should just leave. Call an Uber and go home tonight after all.

Not that I wanted to leave the little beagle, but she was sleeping just fine and I… I guessed I was a big baby. And apparently, I was a little bit gay, too. And now that I’d sort of figured that out and met Dadd—uh, North in person, it hurt a little to know that I couldn’t have the whole fairytale with him.

Okay, it hurt a lot.