Page 24 of His for Hanukkah

Well, find an excuse to talk to him. And try to act like a grown up.

The mostly grown-up side won out. Maybe if he made lunch, Tate would pay attention to him for a little bit while they ate, and he would feel like he was doing something productive. He started back to the kitchen when Tate’s voice stopped him.

“Adam, come here.” His voice was calm, but there was an edge of command. Adam’s insides felt all squirmy, but he couldn’t tell if it was from arousal or his fear of disappointing his Da– Tate.

Adam crossed quickly to stand in front of him. Instinctively, he clasped his hands behind his back and looked down. He felt bad for distracting Tate, but he also felt a sense of relief. Tate would make it all better.

“Did you want to tell me anything?”

Um… was he supposed to want to tell him something? “No?”

Tate pushed his chair back. “Come here, baby.” He patted his thigh, and Adam flew immediately into his lap.

Ah, this felt like what he needed. If Tate was holding him, he didn’t have to worry about what came next. And he couldn’t have done anything that bad if Tate wanted to snuggle him. “Hi!” he said, brightly.

“Hello to you, Little Star.” He dropped a soft kiss onto Adam’s lips. “Now I want you to really think about this. Is there something you need to tell me?”

He studied Tate’s face. He looked stern. Adam truly had no idea what he was talking about, but he knew that admitting that would be the wrong answer.

He racked his brain. Tate hadn’t given him instructions to do anything except hang out in the apartment while he worked. And they didn’t have any plans that Adam knew about. Everything seemed to be clean and put away.

He was out of ideas. “Can you give me a little hint?” he whispered. Maybe his cuteness, an attribute which he never felt like he’d really had until Tate, could help him out.

Well, at least it provoked a smile. “Yes, you little minx. The hint is that I gave you a dozen spankings to make you remember.”

“Ohhhhhhh.” Yeah, that.

Tate looked at him pointedly.

“Um, I’m feeling kind of bored? And anxious. It’s um, hard for me not to have anything to do. And, um, you weren’t paying attention to me.”

Tate nodded encouragingly but didn’t say anything.

This was really difficult. His voice came out as a whisper, and not because he was trying to be cute. “Can you help me?”

Tate’s arms flew around him, rubbing everywhere across his back and arms and pressing him into that strong chest. “So good, baby. I’m very proud of you.”

Adam giggled. He was rapidly becoming addicted to this feeling of giddy lightness that came when he pleased Tate. Getting to know his own flirty, cute side was a lot of fun, too. “You gave me a lot of help,” he said with a wiggle.

“That’s my job as a Daddy.” A Daddy, but not Adam’s Daddy. At least it was nice to pretend for a while.

“Thank you, Sir,” he said carefully.

“Remember, you don’t ever have to thank me. We’re both new to this, though, so I’m still trying to figure out how much structure you want from me. You just did a good job of communicating that you need more. Did I get that right?”

Adam nodded eagerly.

“Alright, here’s your first set of instructions. I want you to go to the kitchen and get a few things together on a tray. Can you do that?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Please heat up the leftover chicken stir-fry in the microwave. While you’re doing that, cut about a dozen slices from the baguette that’s on the counter. There’s a small fruit salad in the fridge, and you can transfer it to a bigger bowl and cut up some banana slices into it. And you should also see a pack of cheese cubes. When you’re done, bring it all to the table.”

Adam jumped up, eager to get started. He could absolutely do all that. In fact, he was eager to do it now that he had a command.

He zipped around the kitchen, humming while he prepared the small meal. It was an eclectic mix of things, but it looked colorful and tasty for a meal put together from leftovers and grocery-packaged food.

When he had everything assembled on the tray, he wondered if he should add plates and utensils, but there wasn’t enough space.