Page 2 of All Tied Up

“But you don’t know that!” Levi wailed. “Maybe he’s been waiting his whole life just to meet you. And now you’re going to disappoint him! Your poor, poor Daddy, wasting away without you.”

Neil snorted. Then he rolled his eyes for good measure. He’d rolled his eyes more around Levi in the past six months than he probably had in the past decade. That was probably why they’d become such good friends. Levi helped him lighten up.

It wasn’t quite the same thing as having a Daddy, but with Levi it felt like they were at least being boys together.

“Hey, boys.” Saul’s mellow voice preceded him into the room, almost echoing Neil’s thoughts. He kind of loved it that Saul always called the two of them boys when they were together. At least one Daddy saw him, even if it was someone else’s Daddy.

“Abbale!” Levi exclaimed. Neil had heard that one enough to know it meant Daddy in Hebrew.

“My simcha,” Saul greeted Levi with a kiss, then settled into the couch behind him to pull him into his arms. Neil didn’t know what that one meant, but it was clearly an endearment that made Levi glow with happiness.

Neil wanted that so sharply that it burned.

Saul was shorter than Levi and looked younger despite being about the same age, so it looked incongruous when he wrapped his arms around his boy’s broader shoulders. But he was all Daddy in every way that was important.

His dark eyes shone with amused affection. “What are you boys up to? I heard a lot of giggling. And maybe someone being a little bit dramatic?”

“Oh, I would never be dramatic, Daddy.” Levi twisted around to bat his eyes up at his Daddy.

Neil and Saul snorted in unison.

“I was just trying to tell Neil that his Daddy is out there waiting for him.”

Saul raised one eyebrow, probably at the theatrics, but he didn’t disagree. The two of them were determined to set Neil up with someone, and had even arranged two dates for him. They hadn’t worked out, but it was sweet that they kept trying.

“Did you tell him about Cuffd Destinations?” Saul asked.

“No! O.M.G. I have to tell you about Destinations!”

Neil rolled his eyes. It was kind of impossible not to around Levi.

“What? I can say O.M.G. It’s a word.”

Neil didn’t bother telling him that it was three letters. And it had the same number of syllables as the actual words it stood for.

“Listen,” Levi continued. “You have to sign up for this. I mean, you were saying you have vacation time anyway, right? You don’t even have to write to anyone on the app. This will be perfect!”

“Levi, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Neil wasn’t sure that he wanted to, either. Destinations and vacation time and… He should probably just say no, now.

“OK, right!” Levi laughed. “So Destinations is...” He turned around to look at Saul. “It’s all public now, right? Like, it’s on the live site and everything?”

Saul nodded. He owned the kinky meet-up site, and Levi worked there as a project manager. It was funny listening to the two of them talk shop together because they’d casually mention reorganizing the edge play categories for easier access or making the interface more inviting to switches. It still made Neil want to blush every time.

Levi started again. “So… Cuffd is sponsoring a new travel site or… Hang on. That’s not it.”

Saul broke in, the flow of his words sounding practiced, like he’d said it many times before. “Cuffd is partnering with queer and kinky resorts, hotels, and B&Bs around the globe to offer singles weekends as a new opportunity for Doms and subs to connect for a single night or the rest of their lives.” Saul winked to let Neil know that he knew exactly how sales-y he sounded.

“Yeah, that,” Levi agreed happily. “I kind of copy-paste that stuff and then ignore it. At any rate, you should go on one. Go somewhere sunny and tropical for a vacation for yourself. And if some Daddy just so happens to catch your eye…”

“Nope. Definitely not me. I’m not a beach kind of person. And no one wants to see me in a swimsuit.”

“Where would you like to go if you were taking a week off?” Saul asked gently.

“Nowhere. I mean… I moved here for the mountains. I just never get a chance to see them.”

“So you’re more of a hiking kind of guy?” Levi sounded eager. This didn’t bode well.

“I’m more of a wander-along-the-trail-and-take-pictures kind of guy. I’m a sit-by-the-lake-and-listen-to-nature kind of guy. I’m not exactly athletic.” Neil gestured down at his body.