Page 12 of A Little Bit Naughty

Remi suddenly looked up, a smile breaking over his face. “Well, hello little dinosaur.”

Isaac held up Roarasaurus wordlessly, willing Remi to play along. He hadn’t felt this shy in ages, and now it felt like it was overtaking him. He just really, really wanted Remi to like him.

“Two dinosaurs, I see,” Remi corrected himself. “Hello to both of you.” His voice held that perfect blend of warmth and enthusiasm. Like he’d taken lessons in how to be the ideal Daddy.

Isaac just wanted to curl up in his lap. He was sure it would be a perfect lap. Instead, he hid behind his stuffy.

Remi chuckled. “Roarasaurus, I was just looking for a cute baby dino with stormy blue eyes and the best smile. Have you seen him?”

Isaac peeked out.

“Ah, there he is. I’m glad he came back. I was hoping he’d want to play with me this evening. What do you think?”

Isaac took a deep breath and made his stuffy give the tiniest nod.

“Well, I think that’s very brave of him. Maybe he’d like to come sit with me?”

Isaac took a few steps closer. Now he was four feet away. Three. Two. If Remi stretched out his arms, they’d be touching.

Remi met Roarasaurus’s eyes and spoke in a whisper, like he was sharing a secret. “You can tell your friend that I have a very cozy lap.”

Isaac wanted it so badly. He hadn’t had this in so long.

He took another step forward.

Then another.

He was between Remi’s knees now, so he either needed to sit down or back up.

Remi put a gentle hand on Isaac’s hip, not pushing him, but more supporting him. Steadying him more emotionally than physically. A rush of warmth spread through Isaac’s body, radiating out from the place where they touched.

Isaac let himself give in, tumbling into Remi’s lap.

Remi caught him, just like he expected.

“There you are, sweet boy.” Remi’s dark eyes were lit with gold and crinkled as he smiled. Isaac couldn’t help but notice how the words flowed from his mouth. There was no hesitation before he said boy, no sense that he was questioning Isaac’s gender or even thinking about it.

Isaac was thinking about it a lot. So this was a big relief, even though Remi had been just as smooth earlier.

And now Isaac was in Remi’s lap. He felt all shivery and warm, just being there. Remi was a real Daddy. A real Daddy who wanted him and had the strongest arms and the coziest chest and sent tingles down Isaac’s spine despite all of his worries.

“Hi,” Isaac finally said.

Remi ran fingers through Isaac’s hair, setting off waves of pleasure. “Hello. Does this mean that you’re mine this weekend?”

How was this even happening? Remi certainly looked like this was what he wanted. In fact, he was looking at Isaac like he was the best thing he’d ever seen.

Isaac still wasn’t quite ready to commit to it, though. He needed some boundaries. Some major boundaries. “You’re OK with… if we don’t do anything?”

Great. Way to have a healthy, mature conversation about interests and limits. Hopefully Remi would know what he meant.

“Well….” Remi drew it out. “I was kind of counting on introducing you to the toys in the basket in the rec room downstairs.”

Isaac lit up a little bit. He couldn’t help it. Remi was just so sweet. And… toys?

“And I was really hoping you’d go wading with me in the river.”

Isaac found himself nodding. That was what he wanted. He could already feel the water rushing over his toes, the thrill of finding the very best pebbles and showing them off.