Page 13 of Ethan’s Dazzling Daddies

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” he said. “I've got breakfast ready for you.”

Ethan sat up. The shirt he had on slid off his shoulder a bit, and he did not miss the way his Daddy's eyes trailed over the exposed skin.

He wanted to seduce the other man, wanted to show him just how happy he was to have a Daddy of his own. The real joy of it came in the fact Jacob held the title. Not any Daddy would do.

But his traitorous stomach chose that exact moment to growl, and he knew from the look in his Daddy's eye that he would get nothing until he was properly fed.

There was one thing Jacob didn't play about, and it was food. Made sense given his career.

Thinking about careers had Ethan worrying about his own. He still needed to figure out a plan for his health insurance. He couldn't go long without his meds or his appointments. It didn't bode well for him when he stopped, hence why he'd been working with Ash for so long.

“What's got you down?” Jacob asked after setting a plate in front of him.

He had cut the pancakes into small bites, and before Ethan could reach for the fork, it was already in Jacob's hand and Ethan was being fed.

Ethan smiled, opening his mouth obediently. Jacob took the opportunity to pop the first bite in before Ethan could speak.

“You can tell me after the first bite, sweetheart, but we've got to get some food in you first.”

Ethan giggled and chewed, because he knew his Daddy wouldn't listen otherwise. Once he swallowed, he spoke to answer the original questions.

“I was thinking about work stuff; about how I no longer have the one thing that was keeping me insured. I need insurance. Desperately. So I have to start looking for work right away.” He spoke in his Big mode because Littles didn’t know much about health insurance.

Jacob frowned. “I think taking a few days off to relax is a good idea after everything you've been through. Once you’re more balanced, we can make a plan for your next work adventure.”

While Ethan agreed, he couldn't very well ignore the situation and let things get worse. Considering how he'd quit, Ash could choose to cut off his insurance coverage before the end of the month, even. He didn't think the other man was cruel that way, but he didn't want to risk it.

“Two days,” Ethan agreed, though he wasn't sure how he would manage even that. His mind would likely pour over everything in the meantime.

“We'll agree to disagree,” Jacob said as he spooned another bite into Ethan's mouth.

Ethan ate happily as Jacob told him about their plans for the day. Jacob had called into the club and let them know he was spending the day with Ethan. Koa had been happy to agree, especially since the new sous chef they'd hired was more than capable of taking over.

“But, Daddy—” Ethan had started.

“No, sweetheart. No excuses. Everything will be fine. Noah is talented enough to take care of things. I wouldn't have hired him if he wasn't. Aside from a produce delivery, he's handled everything else ahead of time. And even then, Dill knows the process forward and back. They'll be able to walk Noah through it all.”

Ethan wasn't entirely convinced, because Dill was a bit of a brat and probably wouldn't take kindly to walking a new hire through anything. Then again, he'd been blind to Jacob for years. Maybe he was wrong about Dill too.

After breakfast, Jacob set Ethan up in the living room with comfortable blankets and a playlist of cartoons. Ethan was immediately captivated the moment they came on screen. Nothing else in the room mattered.

He knew his Daddy was moving about somewhere behind him, probably cleaning up the kitchen, but he was too caught up in what was happening on screen to pay it any mind.

When Jacob came to sit with him, Ethan looked over. “Daddy,” he said, smiling brightly.

Jacob smiled back. He very obviously liked hearing that word come from Ethan's mouth. Ethan intended to use it abundantly.

“Enjoying your cartoons, sweetheart?” Jacob asked.

Ethan nodded, then pointed at the TV. “Me like. Best,” he said.

Jacob looked over and noticed it was a show featuring dogs who could talk. It shared little lessons about life and was really popular among Littles in general, as well as people with young children. “Good to know. I'll make sure to put this one on whenever you're here since it's your favorite.”

Ethan nodded excitedly, because the idea of being with Jacob even more made him ridiculously happy.

It was at that moment that his phone rang, disturbing the peace between them. Ethan frowned. He knew that ringtone.

Why in the world was Ash calling him?