Once they were done, he dried them off, making sure Koa stayed warm in the robe on the back of the door, before leading them into the bedroom. He sat Koa down, then went about digging through the dresser for what Koa would need to wear to bed. It was interesting to see the way Manny executed things. It was like watching his mind work in real time. Every piece of clothing he pulled from the drawer, every time he put one option back to look at another, it was like seeing his preferences play out, or maybe it was the fact that he was trying to guess Koa's preferences. Koa wasn't sure, and he didn't have it in him to ask. He was too deep in his regression, too lost to the feeling of peace.He didn't want to disturb it, didn't want to have to be big, even for just a short while.
Manny came over once he had settled on what was needed. "Lay back for me, sweetheart."
Koa flopped onto his back, his arms falling to the sides. Manny chuckled and shook his head. "Silly boy." Koa grinned, liking the underlying amusement.
With an ease that didn't make sense given how little time they had spent together, Manny removed Koa's robe and dressed him in a pair of white tighty-whities and cookie-printed pajamas. The shorts slid up his thighs and over his bottom, and the soft top went over his head with ease.
Once he was dressed, Manny had him stand so he could put the robe back in the bathroom. His Daddy was still delightfully naked, and Koa bit his lip as he tried to fight off another erection. "Now is not the time," he told his body in a mumble.
"It's not the time for what, sweetheart?" Manny came back into the room with a towel wrapped around his waist. Koa frowned but didn't complain. He had a moment to wonder what his Daddy was going to put back on when he realized he could just throw on his underwear again, maybe even his clothes.
Before he could ask, Manny picked up his discarded boxers and slid them up his waist. Koa waited to see if he would do anything further, and when he didn't, Koa breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want anything else between his skin and his Daddy's. He wanted to touch him as much as possible, to feel his warmth.
"Time for bed, sweetheart," Manny said. Pulling back the comforter, he motioned for Koa to climb in. Once Koa was settled in the middle of the bed, Manny slid in beside him,wrapping an arm around his boy's waist as he turned them sideways into a spooning position.
Koa sighed deeply, letting his body go lax.
"Sweet dreams, sweetheart," Manny whispered against the shell of Koa's ear.
"Night, Daddy," Koa replied as he closed his eyes.
CHAPTER 7
Over the next several days,Koa felt unmoored. His schedule had picked up. There were things at the club that needed his attention.
Things he couldn't just pass off to his bestie to handle because she was already neck deep in the waters too.
Between checking in with vendors and reviewing applications, it was utter chaos. Koa longed for a few minutes alone to himself. Even more so, he wanted time to hunt down his Daddy.
Because he just knew that one cuddle with him would make everything better. It would be like its own stress relief.
But he didn't really have a choice. It was go, go, go.
He was three pages deep into a vendor contract he'd already read twice without retaining a single word when Briar appeared in his doorway.
She didn't knock. Shenever knocked. It was her office too, technically, even if she'd long since claimed the bigger one down the hall. She leaned against the frame with her arms crossed andlooked at him the way she always did when she was deciding whether to be his business partner or his best friend.
"You've been in here for six hours," she said.
"I'm aware."
"You haven't eaten."
"I'll eat later."
She was quiet for a moment. Then she pushed off the doorframe and came inside, closing the door behind her. That was the tell. Briar only closed doors when something was about to be said that she didn't want the club to overhear.
She pulled the chair across from his desk out and sat down, folding her hands on the surface like she was preparing for battle.
"Talk to me," she said.
Koa opened his mouth to say he was fine. That it was just the backlog, just the vendors, just the usual chaos that came with running a place like this. The words were right there, easy and familiar, the same ones he always reached for when he didn't want to be a bother.
But Briar was looking at him with that steady, patient expression she reserved for the moments she already knew he was lying, and he was so tired. Tired of the spreadsheets and the emails and the noise in his own head that wouldn't quiet down no matter how much work he buried it under.
"I don't know what's wrong with me," he admitted quietly. "Everything is fine. The club is fine. Manny is—" He stopped,pressing his lips together. "Everything is really good. So why do I feel like I'm running from something?"
Briar didn't rush to answer. That was one of the things he loved most about her. She never filled silences just to fill them.
