Page 58 of A Little Bit Naughty

The idea was horrifying, and Remi must have shown it on his face. “I could never ask him to do that. Not to mention that a doctoral program is not like undergrad. A school might accept a few entry-level credits, but if his degree is anything like my degrees, he’d essentially be starting over—two years down the drain.”

Brick blew out a breath. “The universe hates you, man.”

“Yeah, no shit. Any advice?”

Brick grimaced. “I’d like to say something like ‘if he’s the one, you two will find a way’ or some bullshit about making sacrifices or compromises. But it sounds like anything I might say you two have already thought of. I mean, enjoy it while it lasts, I guess. And keep his phone number.”

“Ugh. That’s about what I thought. How are things going with you and Tommy?”

“I almost hate to answer. I mean, we’re still pretty new. But so far, it’s been… blissful. We’re trying to take it slow, but you know how slow goes with kink.”

God, did he ever. Envy and happiness warred within him. “That’s good, man. I’m really happy for you.” Remi didn’t usually call anyone man, but Brick brought it out in him.

There was a crash upstairs, but it wasn’t followed by any shouts or wails.

“Think we should go check on them?” Brick asked.

“Yeah. I think we’ve left them alone for long enough. Let me go grab some snacks. Does Tommy have any preferences or allergies?”

“No apples, actually. But I’m sure he’d enjoy lemonade and I’ve got some juice boxes in my bag.”

The two of them shared a smile, a kinship born of packing extra juice boxes for their boys and knowing exactly what they needed.

Remi thought he would have wanted to have Izzy all to himself this week, but having another Daddy to talk with was really nice.

When they wandered upstairs to find every toy box dumped out and strewn across the floor, well, it was pretty convenient having Tommy’s Daddy there, too.

Brick took one look at the tornado that had struck the room, a fond expression on his face. Then he squatted down in front of Tommy and told him sternly that there wouldn’t be any treats until every item was back where it belonged.

“But Daaaaaaddyyyyy!” Tommy protested. Remi didn’t know whether he truly didn’t want to clean up, or if he was spoiling for a spanking.

“Those are the rules,” Brick reiterated. “You made the mess. You clean it up.”

Izzy gave Remi a worried glance, but he already knew who was responsible. Remi walked over and tousled Izzy’s hair. “This is mostly Tommy’s mess, but you can be a good friend and help Tommy clean up.” He watched Izzy’s eyes dart over to his city. “The blocks and animals can stay out. Just help Tommy clean up everything else and then I have some lemonade for you.”

Izzy’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, Daddy! Come on, Tommy! My Daddy has lemonade!”

That seemed to halt the stand-off between Tommy and his Daddy. The two boys scampered over the room, trying to outdo each other as they put the toys back in the bins. A few minutes later, Remi held out two sippy cups of lemonade.

When Izzy climbed into his lap on the precarious office chair, he didn’t think he’d felt more content and connected in his life.

13

Isaac

Isaac blinked his eyes open. His first thought was that he was resting on Remi’s shoulder, lulled by the comforting heart beat and warm skin that meant Daddy.

His second thought was that it was Wednesday. Dammit.

It felt like time was slipping through his fingers like water.

He started to roll over, only to have Remi’s arm grow tighter around him. It felt cozy and possessive, and it was so, so tempting to just stay there all day. A glance at the clock showed that he’d need to get up in a few minutes, so he let Remi pull him back down.

“Good morning, baby boy.” Remi’s voice rumbled in his chest.

“Good morning, Daddy. Did you sleep well?”

“I always sleep well when you’re next to me.”