Page 29 of All Tied Up

“I’m nervous,” he whispered.

Was it strange that it felt good to admit that?

He’d been told all of his life to act more manly. To be confident and bold. To fake it till he made it.

And he had. Most of the time he faked it so well that he truly didn’t remember that he wasn’t confident. He was good at his job, and at his age, most everyday interactions just didn’t seem worth worrying about. He’d almost forgotten what it was like to be shy, but that was because he never took any risks.

Now he was not only feeling shy, he was behaving like he was shy, and it was… liberating.

Because, well, because he was pretty sure he knew how Sebastian would react.

One calming hand settled on his lower back. Even through his shirt, he felt like he could feel every fingerprint. It was both soothing and embarrassingly erotic. How could he be so turned on by just a hand? Helping him to calm down?

Sebastian was still talking, in that calm Daddy voice. “You don’t have to, of course. It’s always your choice. But I think all the Daddies would like to see how sweet you are. Jamie’s just going to have all the boys say a couple sentences, just like the Daddies. Do you think you can do that for me?”

Neil found himself nodding. “Yes, Sir.” Of course he could do it for Sebastian. When Sebastian believed in him and Neil got to do it for him.

Except that was the confusing part. He was supposed to go up there so that all the Daddies could see him, right?

Which, really, was why he was here. He should remember that. Sebastian was helping him, like a mentor.

Neil sighed, but he went up to the front anyway. Jamie gave him a beaming smile, as if making everybody wait for a billion years for him to join them wasn’t awkward at all.

Well, probably it wasn’t actually awkward. Jamie had been joking around with the other subs, and everyone else was talking. So maybe it wasn’t actually awkward.

It felt awkward.

“Alright,” Jamie announced. “This is our last competition. Each boy is going to say two sentences that I’ve written on these signs right here, and each Daddy gets to cast two votes for who says them the best. You get to define what best is. Body language; voice; innocent, naughty eyes–” He batted his own. “–whatever appeals to you. Alright, boys, down on your knees!”

Neil found a space a little distance from the boys next to him and sank to the floor, feeling silly. All of them were smaller than him, either tall and slender or short and plump. He felt like he was towering over them, even on his knees.

There was another boy who was on the heavier side, but he somehow managed to look adorable and attractive, flaunting his smooth, round belly instead of hiding it.

The chubby boy seemed to have caught the eye of one of the Daddies, who wandered over to stand in front of him for the competition. Well, that was encouraging at least. Even though the boy was much younger and prettier than Neil, maybe that meant he still had a chance.

Neil looked directly ahead and was surprised to see that there were two men standing kind of in front of him. Sebastian he’d kind of expected, since he’d more or less promised his moral support.

The other one was Mario, whose chair he’d helped untie earlier. Mario had been really nice, explaining about the knots and asking how Neil was enjoying the weekend. He’d asked if Neil enjoyed bondage and Neil had explained that he wanted to try it but didn’t have a lot of experience. There had definitely been heat in Mario’s eyes when he heard that.

But he hadn’t talked to Neil after that, so Neil was kind of assuming that it didn’t mean anything. Even if he could imagine the feeling of those ropes crossing over his body.

Neil looked up and down the line. Did it matter that both Doms were standing in front of him?

The Daddy who’d claimed the little in the dino pajamas was definitely standing right in front of his boy, but the two of them had been all over each other from practically the beginning. How had that even happened in just a few hours? And what would it be like to have that kind of security and warmth right now, already knowing that you’d found your Daddy? Neil tried not to feel jealous.

A golden-haired sub whose body glistened with baby oil definitely had two Daddies in front of him. In fact, it was the two Daddies who’d dismissed Neil so abruptly earlier in the day. Watching them, Neil felt a little rush of frustration. It was clear what they were looking for—barely legal, perfect abs, the canonical blue eyes and blond hair. The boy just oozed sex from his pores.

The two of them were visibly competing for the boy’s attention and the boy was making them work for it. It would serve them right if he led them on and then chose someone else.

Neil looked away from the tableau. Not his problem. It seemed like the rest of the Daddies seemed to have just spaced themselves out.

So… huh. Maybe, maybe not.

But it was nice to kind of think that someone might be interested in him.

Somebody available, that is.

Jamie flipped over the first card, which was basically the inverse language from the last competition. The first boy went, issuing the words with a smirk, like a challenge. “Spank me, Daddy. I’ve been naughty.”