Page 79 of Soft
Pops was just as frustrated as I was, because the minute Grizzly finished and his eyes welled with tears, Pops raised his fist in the air. "Fuck them," he shouted.
Grizzly choked on a sob and quickly covered his mouth. I threw my head back and let out a booming laugh. "That's it, Pops. You tell them."
"I'm serious, son. Fuck them. These people are obviously morons. The lowest of the low. How could someone treat a child that way? Much less someone as amazing as you, Grizzly. I've only known you a short time, and I can already see that your heart is big and pure. They should have cultivated that. Should have loved you unconditionally."
Grizzly swallowed, nodding slowly. There were times he accepted praise easily, but more often than not, he struggled with it because of the things his parents had said. Pops's words got through to him, though. It was clear in the way he set his shoulders and wiped away his tears.
"I've never had anyone else besides Paxton say that," he forced out.
I tilted my head. "How many people have you been completely honest with, baby? I have a feeling a lot of your friends don't know, and the ones that do probably don't have the whole picture."
He ducked his head, giving me my answer.
Pops reached across the table, one long finger poking me in the chest. "You be nice to your boy. He's already got enough in his life. You are no longer allowed to be anything but sweet. If I hear you're treating him poorly, I’ll put you in time-out myself."
Grizzly's head popped up, his voice filled with laughter. "You would put him in time-out?"
I leaned back in my chair, away from Pops's pointy finger. "Oh, he absolutely would. He'd get a kick out of it, too. The man lives to taunt me."
Pops smiled, his chin lifting like a peacock preening for an audience. "I do quite enjoy teasing my son."
There was more laughter around the table, and the night shifted into lighter topics. Pops carried most of it, sharing stories about what I was like as a teenager. We all weighed in on where we saw the sports world heading in the next few years.
Pops refused to let Grizzly lift a finger during cleanup since he was the guest of honor. That meant I was on duty while the others gave me tips on how to load things up.
Once the dishwasher was running, Pops clapped his hands together. "Well, I've enjoyed tonight, but I have a date to get to."
That got my attention. "A date?"
He shrugged. "I mean, it's not technically a date—it's my buddy—but saying I'm going to go chill with a dude sounds like frat bro mentality. Not really into that."
I stared at this man in front of me, wondering where the hell my father had gone. "So you're leaving? How long will you be gone? Where are you going? Are you drinking? Will you be safe?"
He could tell I’d shifted into teasing. He clapped me on the shoulder. "I'm going to do whatever the hell I feel like, son. As should you. Don't expect me back for at least three or four hours. I'm going to take a quick shower, and then I'll go. Why don't you boys put on a movie? Do something fun and relaxing. You've got the place to yourselves."
Pops pointed to the living room, and when Grizzly's head turned, he winked at me.
Oh, that troublemaker.
I hadn't planned on getting any intimate time with Grizzly tonight. It just wasn't part of the agenda. But it seemed like Pops wanted to give us room, should we want it.
In far too short a time, Pops was showered and dressed in notably nice clothes to go out. Once again, I wondered exactly who he was seeing and where. Buddies didn't typically meet up in button-ups and slacks.
Then again, if he did have a date—with a woman or a man—it wasn't any of my business until he deemed it so. I'd support him no matter what, just as he supported me.
As his car pulled away, leaving us alone together, I pulled Grizzly down onto the couch. "What does my baby want? We can watch a movie, I can read us a book, or we can just cuddle and relax."
Instead of leaning against me when we sat down, he’d kept himself upright. He wrung his hands together, looking from me to the door and back before biting his lip and staring down. I didn't like the quiet that had settled over him, the way he'd turned reserved.
"Baby," I said, putting a finger under his chin to turn his face my way. "What's wrong?"
He closed his eyes for a moment, then blinked them open. I was about to tell him it was okay if he didn't want to share, but then he spoke.
"I want us to have sex."
I couldn’t hold back the moan that ripped out of me, nor could I slow the way my cock came to life, tenting my pants in an obvious way. My boy licked his lips as he stared at it.
"You want to have sex?" I said, to confirm.
