Page 65 of Soft
“I made us a special blankie bed. Figured you’d like to have room to snuggle your Daddy or just relax. I even kept my men away. Saved it just for you.”
Those details gave my boy the final bit of reassurance he needed. Monty wasn’t making fun of him or complaining. He simply knew what would make Grizzly the most comfortable and did it.
I’d have to talk to Skye about how I could help him spoil Monty for the thoughtful gesture. It would be rude to do anything without the other man’s involvement, and I wasn’t about to step on toes.
My heart was with one man only. I didn’t need anyone questioning that.
Grizzly dropped to sit beside Monty, and the two of them started babbling to each other. Monty explained his game as my boy laid on his side, rooting into the covers like he was a cat making his bed.
I gave them a few minutes to settle as I looked around the room at the others. Once I’d taken everything in, I turned back to the pair and set the bag I’d been carrying in the spot on the other side of Grizzly.
Easing down, I unzipped the bag, then shuffled through everything I brought. There was probably too much here, but I didn’t want my boy to go without. Not when I could make him more comfortable.
When a natural opening came, I eased my hole-in-one item out of the bag and pressed it against Grizzly’s shoulder. Changing my voice to be softer, I said, “Gwizzly! Surprise!”
My boy turned onto his back. He took Wells from my hand, closing his eyes and hugging the bear tight. The picture of him that happy would be etched into my brain for all eternity.
I didn’t want to look away from him; however, I could feel Monty staring at me. The look he gave me made me want to preen. It told me I’d done the right thing bringing Wells. It told me he thought I was a good Daddy. It told me I was right where I needed to be.
The other Daddies and boys drifted over at intervals. Maddox for a few minutes, then Leon briefly with a drowsy Jake in arm. Bishop, aka Brutal Bishop of the Bellport Bears hockey team, followed behind his boyfriend Atlas, who introduced his stuffed bear to Wells and Grizzly.
I kept the conversations easy, not wanting to make my boy uncomfortable by sharing too much. We were still new. There were boundaries in place as we figured out our footing.
One of the Daddies had a Little who'd been anxious about gatherings for the first two years they'd been together. He gave me some advice on how to be there for my boy without coming across as pushy. I welcomed it with many thanks.
Bellamy asked me about my predictions for the season, how I was settling, if Royce had been a pain about the contract. I answered on autopilot with most of my attention on Grizzly. Splitting focus without letting either side go thin was a new skill I had to master. If my boy had been upset at any point, I would have been able to step in to soothe him.
Thankfully, he’d relaxed little by little with each person who came to talk. It was like having me and Wells with him didn’t make the whole thing as scary as before.
At one point, I got caught up in a discussion with a Daddy named Andry about college sports. I didn’t feel my boy tense at anything, though he did seem heavier against my side than before. When Andry strode away, I looked over to see if Grizzly might want a bite to eat.
Earlier when I’d mentioned it, he'd saidmaybe in a little whileand then turned back to his conversation with Aries, one of the Daddies who was as energetic as the Littles and fascinated by Grizzly’s regression. Apparently they’d passed each other professionally, yet neither knew the similarities they had.
Instead of finding my boy talking to someone like he had been, he was knocked out cold, big, warm body pressed to mine as he nibbled on Wells’s ear.Dammit. My heart couldn’t handle the cuteness.
I had spent a long time knowing I was a Daddy before I had anyone to be a Daddy to, and I had thought I understood what it would feel like when it was real. Boy, was I wrong.
You could know the mechanics of a sport before you played it—you had the vocabulary, the framework, the general knowledge of what it required—and then the first time you were actually on the field, the entire experience felt foreign. Sitting there with Grizzly, surrounded by people who got us and this life, felt a million miles away from what I’d pictured. It was better.
It took everything in me not to cry tears of happiness.
When Grizzly began gnawing on Wells’s ear, I knew I had to step in. Asleep or not, my boy would be devastated if anything happened to his bear.
The oral fixation that I'd catalogued a while back had returned once he felt comfortable enough to be his full Little self. Since I’d suspected it might happen, I’d brought along a solution.
Moving as carefully as I could so as to not disturb him, I reached in the bag and dug around until I felt the familiar oval shape. Paci in hand, I used my free one to gently tug Wells free. Grizzly resisted at first, his brow dipping in frustration at my attempts.
But then I edged the paci forward to graze his lips. His tongue poked out enough to touch it for a second, then he opened wider, as if giving me permission. I did a quick switcharoo between the two items while I had the chance.
That slow sucking motion he’d been making sped up with the right tool. His mouth worked the paci as he continued to sleep a bit longer. I smiled, happy to have successfully saved his bear and to have given him something he so clearly needed.
Across the room, Monty gave me two thumbs up, like he was especially proud of me. I smiled, shaking my head at him.
Others around the room gave me the same sort of look. It felt a bit like I was being initiated even further into their group. As if there were layers to it all, which I didn’t know at first, but had uncovered with each right Daddy move.
I had come to the first gathering a bit lost and sad at not getting to meet Grizzly. Those feelings disappeared the moment I saw him in his own Little world. Despite him running away, I just knew he was worth being patient for.
Turned out I was right. And now I got to call him mine.
