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Samuel threw his head back, laughing. “The first time he told me he was going to a Yen Yoga class, I looked it up. Do you know they hold those poses for three to five minutes? I couldn't see this being the thing for him either, but it's working. As he stills his body to hold the pose, it's really been helping quiet his mind. That's all I wanted for him.”
“That's good,” Ollie said. “I'm so proud of everything he's accomplished, and I'm thrilled his business took off, but he really needs to take care of himself.” Ollie clapped Samuel on the shoulder. “You're a good Daddy, man.”
Above his beard, Samuel's cheeks pinked. “All I want is to be who he needs. Toby brings me so much joy.”
“You don’t say,” I teased.
Samuel shoved my arm. “Shut up. Come on, let's head into the kitchen. That's our domain for the evening.”
Following them, I asked, “Why can't we hang out in the den?”
Samuel and Ollie both turned, casting a disbelieving look at me. Holding up my hands, I said, “Oh yeah, you wouldn't be able to keep an eye on your boys.”
Orson snickered, elbowing me in the stomach. “Surprised you figured that one out on your own since you don't have any experience with that part of being a Daddy.”
Normally, it was hard to offend me, but I felt a little pang at his words. “Hey, what's that supposed to mean?”
“Are we giving Harrison a hard time?” Christian asked as we walked into the room. My old friend held his hand out to me and then to Orson for a handshake.
“He was,” I said. “But I don't know why he thinks he has room to talk. He hasn't been in a relationship in years, either.”
Orson’s hand went up to his face, and he rubbed his chin. “Well…”
All the men in the kitchen stopped talking at once. All of us were assembled tonight. “Well, what?” another friend of ours, Waylan, asked.
Orson dropped his hand from his face and shrugged. “Well, I might have possibly met someone on Black Friday.”
I took a step back. “Met someone on Black Friday? When you took your mother and sister shopping?”
He nodded. “Agreeing to be their chauffeur and carry their bags might be the best decision I've ever made.”
Omar, another Daddy friend, pushed himself off from the counter he'd been leaning against and came closer. “Are you telling me you picked up someone while escorting the lady folk in your family while they shopped?”
Orson smirked. The humble accountant actually looked smug. “I sure did. Did you know that women find men who take their mother and sister shopping attractive?”
Tucker spun toward his best friend and former Daddy, Jackson, and held his hand out, palm up. “You owe me twenty dollars.”
Jackson rolled his eyes, then focused on Orson. “So have you taken her out or just talked on the phone or what? Like, do you think this will just be a holiday romance that sizzles out, or do you think it's going to be the real thing?”
Orson’s face softened, and I groaned internally. My last single Daddy friend, the only one in our group who would still go to the Sapphire Club or a Daddy/boy mixer with me, was smitten, and if he went the way these other guys had, completely lost to me.Damn.
Orson licked his lips. “I don't know, man. Tammy's a real sweet girl. I think there's a potential for this to really be something.”
Tucker threw his hands up in victory. “Pay up, Jackson. I told you Orson would take the love plunge next.”
Jackson snorted, but he pulled out his wallet, and I groaned. “For fuck’s sake. Are all of you seriously deserting me for love?”
Christian frowned at me. “If you stopped being such a Grinch, maybe that little heart of yours could grow enough to find love, too.”
I didn't even bother answering. There wasn't a man in our group who didn't know why I avoided relationships like the plague. Was I potentially going to turn into one of those old cranky men whose only companions were their five million cats? Maybe. Hell, probably. But I'd rather be alone and sad than ruin someone else's life while they destroyed mine.
Wanting to take the attention off of myself, I pointed over to the corner of the dining room where there were huge platters of food. “Do we get to eat, too? Or is that for them?” I tipped my head toward the little clumps of boys, chatting with little plates of food in their hands.
Samuel glared at me. “Like Toby would ever have anyone come to our home and not feed them. Although, we hired a couple of his employees to prepare the menu he wanted for tonight.”
“Wow, he really is turning over a new leaf,” Christian said, nodding approvingly. “I knew all those years ago when I hired him at The Tap that he’d go on to do great things.”
Cameron snickered. “Who’d have ever thought when he came up with that wacky idea to hang signs advertising to get the boy's Daddies that it would turn into all this?” He gestured around at the assembled crowd.
