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He immediately checked what I’d written, and I believed this would do it. Think, baby. You know what this means. He’d loved pet-sitting for Ty’s lizard over New Year’s. Noa had gone over to Ty’s house every day, even though it hadn’t been necessary for a reptile that didn’t eat every day. Tank, Ty’s lizard, ate four times a week, I’d learned. Because Noa had told me, and he’d filled his e-reader with articles and books about blue-tongued skinks.
We didn’t know for sure if that was the type of lizard Noa wanted, but it was the one Ty and Lane recommended for Noa’s level of dedication.
“He doesn’t strike me as a gecko person,” Ty had chuckled. “Get him a bluey. They’re wonderful—and they have character.”
Noa swallowed and shifted in his seat, and he wouldn’t look away from the screen of his phone that showed my scribbles.
“Um…”
“By the way, Ty and Lane are coming over for dinner on Friday,” KC mentioned.
Noa went rigid and widened his eyes at Daddy. “Really?”
I bent down and kissed the top of his head. “You know what’s happening here, right?”
He let out a breath and nodded jerkily, and I worried we’d gone too far. I didn’t want him upset again!
Master gathered Noa’s hand in his and gave it a squeeze. “Daddy, Cam, and I were talking, and we think it’s time you finally get that lizard.”
Noa bit down on his lip, and his eyes welled up so fast. His chin wrinkled a little too, and I had to hug him. Even if they were a better brand of tears, I didn’t like it.
“Do you mean it?” he whimpered.
“We mean it, freckles,” KC murmured. “You’ve more than proven that you can take care of a pet.”
“Oh.” Noa sniffled and buried his face against my chest. Within seconds, his shoulders shook with silent cries, and Master and Daddy came over to squish him—and me—in a tight hug.
Master cleared his throat. “Just to be sure, these are happy tears, yes?”
“Yeah,” Noa sobbed. “I’m gonna name him Fluffernutter. Nut for short.”
I choked on emotion and amusement and pressed my lips to his hair. Fitting name, after his favorite breakfast that Daddy and Master could make him without burning down the kitchen.
“Excellent name,” Daddy chuckled thickly. “As long as you don’t eat him.”
That made our boy laugh through his heart-wrenching sobs. “I wouldn’t do that, Daddy. I’m gonna l-love him a healthy, non-cannibalistic amount.”
I exhaled a laugh and sniffled.
My heart clenched with worries and hope—a bit of relief. Because we were one step closer, right? He was gonna be okay. He had to be. No matter how long it took.
* * *
The following Friday, I worked from home and completed my tasks as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, I couldn’t postpone my Zoom meeting with a few coworkers at two PM, but I got a lot done before then. I went to the grocery store, mostly to say hi to Noa, because even though his spirits had lifted significantly since the other day, we were expecting dips. But he seemed pretty cheerful in the cereal aisle, where he was restocking shelves, so I breathed a sigh of relief and texted KC and Master a Noa update.
He’s rambling about how he’s going to decorate his terrarium. Good sign! Kisses.
When I came home again, I had steaks and chicken for our first barbecue of the season—and a new text from KC. Apparently, Ash was stopping by earlier and couldn’t stay long. “Kid emergency” was the reason for the change of plans, which I’d gotten used to. I’d grown so close to Archie that I was learning all sorts of things about their kids—how plans always changed—and why I never, ever wanted children of my own.
Nothing against the kids in my life, whether we were family or I was a friend of a parent; that level of responsibility just wasn’t for me. I had a Master, a Daddy, and a Noa to take care of. And they didn’t smell weird. Kids sometimes did, for no reason at all. Plus, they always had fluids seeping out of them one way or another.
Assuming that Ash was no longer having dinner with us, I made a quick plan for snacks for his visit instead. Archie’s garlic knots, vegetable sticks and dip… Hmm. I tapped my pen against my lips. Oh, we had charcuterie and cheese. Easy enough but tasty.
It was going to be nice to see Ash again. He was fun. I didn’t know him well on a personal level, but I’d been to enough events when he’d been a member to have him sort of pegged. He’d been jokingly referred to as River and Reese’s big brother, primarily because he was a few years older than the twins and gave off Reese vibes in his sadism and primal play. Though, that was about it when it came to similarities.
I’d found him more similar to Greer, to be honest. Ash was a Daddy-like primal player, and he loved kids. He had to, ’cause he had four of them, all adopted, with his ex-husband Nathan.
It was sad that they’d split up, I thought. They’d reminded me a lot of Colt and Mr. West in a time I’d still been trying to figure out who everyone was. Ash was the rough-around-the-edges blue-collar guy who ran his own scaffolding and construction business with his brother—except, there was a part of their story I didn’t know, because KC had mentioned they came from money. And Nathan was the book-smart psychologist specializing in grief and trauma.
