Page 11 of Daddy's Reckoning

She pointed at me like I’d been some kind of hero, and Archer gave me a nod of silent thanks. I nodded back as the door opened and Bain and Jasmine came in.

Lennon basically leapt at them. “Is she okay? Did she say anything?”

Poor man was obviously distraught, which was completely understandable. It was a huge mess. One he didn’t deserve. Not from the sound of things, at least.

“She wouldn't talk to me. I’m sorry, Lennon.” Jasmine looked like she was about to cry.

“Fuck,” Lennon swore, raking his hands through his hair.

“She’s okay, though,” Bain added as he wrapped a comforting arm around Jasmine. “We stayed until she was calm and we were sure she was safe to drive, at least, but that’s all she would let us do.”

“Well, thanks for that.” Lennon fell into one of the leather chairs and buried his head in his hands.

“So, what are you going to do?” Bas pulled up a chair next to him.

“Not much he can do,” Bain answered for our distraught friend. “She made it pretty clear she was done with it, and doesn’t want anything to do with him. You want one of us to go get your stuff tomorrow, so you don't have to?”

“I guess,” Lennon answered.

It was all too much. She’d made it clear she was done? After one misunderstanding?

“No! Fuck that!” I roared as I lifted the back of the chair in front of him and slammed it against the floor. “Women, man.”

It was ridiculously unfair, and I wasn’t going to sit there and let one of my best friends’ dreams just walk out on him.

“Excuse me?” all of the women screeched at the same time.

The looks on all my friends’ faces had me taking a deep breath to calm down. I didn’t have anything against women, obviously, but it had been such a frustrating couple of months, and everything was coming to a head. I’d reached my limit. I sat back down and sighed.

“I just mean… she came in here attacking him with no explanation, mad that he’s ignoring things he says she hasn’t even said. Women can be so fucking impossible sometimes, especially submissive women.”

The girls stared me down, but I wasn’t having it.

“No. Don’t. Being a Daddy or a dominant man is hard fucking work. It’s like a full-time job, and one that can be very rewarding and wonderful, but it can also be exhausting and impossible.”

Nyla took a breath like she was gearing up for a fight, but I gave her my best Daddy look, and she crossed her arms over her chest and scowled.

“I’m just saying, if you women mess up, you get punished, and we all move on, but if we mess up, we aren’t given the same grace. If we mess up, it’s the end of the world. Just… seriously man, fuck that. She owes you an explanation. When you’re sober and she’s not triggered. If you guys really had something good going, you can’t let it get derailed by one big misunderstanding. If she's your woman, if you’re her Daddy, like for real, and it’s not just about the contract and the money and this damn Rent-A-Daddy bullshit, then you need to chase after her like a Daddy would. When his babygirl is upset, a Daddy doesn’t back down just because she’s lashing out. He doesn’t give up just because things are hard, and giving up is easy. That woman, that broken, angry woman that was in here… Lennon, she needs a Daddy. Not just any Daddy. Her Daddy. And that’s you.”

I paced as I spoke and ended up basically nose to nose with Lennon in the end. I poked him in the chest to illustrate my point. “That’s you, man. So the question is, what are you going to do about it?”

“Damn,” Nyla said softly from somewhere beside us. “That was… kinda beautiful.”

“It really was,” Audrey agreed.

“I almost hate to admit it,” Lennon spoke up, “but, that was actually really helpful.”

“Yeah. Damn straight it was.” I grabbed a nearby chair and slammed it against the floor for effect. I was on fire and not ready to simmer down just yet.

“Fuck, man. Will you stop doing that?” Archer complained.

“Sorry.” I grimaced. Maybe the last slam had been uncalled for. “I just… You know what? I think I needed to hear that, too.” I stood still for a moment as realization set in.

All of a sudden, I knew exactly what I needed to do. I smiled for the first time in what felt like years and grabbed Lennon’s face before giving him a big kiss on the cheek. Without a word, I turned and left.

CHAPTER 3

THEO