“Lots of stuff. Let’s go to my room.”
When we got in there, he turned on the light, and it was about what I expected—a bed, dresser, and a beanbag chair on the floor, with his dog curled up next to it, thumping its tail happily.
“Hey, Teeny, sweetie,” he said, flopping down next to her. I tilted sideways and ended up on the floor too, somehow, giggling. I flipped onto my belly and crawled over so I could pet the nice dog too.
“I should probably call West,” I said, “but my phone needs to charge.”
David pointed at his charger where it was plugged into the wall, hanging like a weird electronic vine with nothing attached to it, and I got my phone hooked on there after a few tries. Several doggie pats later, and one scary trip to the kitchen where I was certain we would wake up his mom, my phone had enough charge to turn it on. I was planning to get an Uber, but as I was bringing up the app, the phone rang, and I accidentally answered it while cursing.
“Hello?” I said, bringing the phone to my ear.
“Shane? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, Daddy, why?” I asked, smiling to myself. I loved West so much. My heart stopped. Liked, not loved. Daddy didn’t want to talk about love. That had me sniffling into the phone.
“Shane, what’s happening? Why are you crying, and why weren’t you answering?”
“I’m not crying.” Tears ran down my cheeks. Why didn’t he love me?
“Dude, are you okay?” David plopped down next to me on the floor.
I nodded, but David was all blurry when I tried to glance at him.
“Where are you?” West sounded scared, and I didn’t like that.
“At David’s.”
“What is wrong with you? Why do you sound…. Were you drinking?”
My heart leaped. How did he know? “No. I mean….”
“Boy, don’t you dare lie to me. Address. Now.”
Daddy sounded pissed off, and I shook my head. “No. You’re going to yell.”
“Shane!”
“You’re going to be mad.”
“Dude, give.” David laughed and snagged my phone from me, and I cried out, trying to grab it from him, but he ended up taking it while snickering. He told Daddy exactly where I was. Had I thought he was my friend?
“Traitor, he’s going to be mad at me.”
David’s smile faltered. “You want him to pick you up, though, don’t you?”
“Well, yeah.”
David chuckled, and we both lay down on the floor again, petting his dog while he told me all about the cancer his mom had. It hurt my heart, and I sniffled a lot, thinking about Carter. So I told him about my brother, and hugged his dog, who was an angel. And that’s how West found me, crying my eyes out onto the soft head of the sweetest dog in the world, while David quietly dribbled tears all over the place, right beside me.
“How did you get in?” David asked.
West’s eyebrows were nearly at his hairline as he shook his head and stared at us. “The front door was hanging wide open. What the…?” West scowled, but his lips kept twitching up into a smile, and when he crouched and cupped my cheeks, his touch was gentle.
“What did you do?” he asked sternly. His eyes were purplish and meanish, and so pretty that I stared for too long.
I shrugged. “David’s my new best friend, after you.”
“That’s nice. What did you do?”
“Nothing.” I frowned hard at him.
“Let’s go home, Boy,” he whispered and kissed my forehead. “You know you’re in trouble, but we’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
He frowned some more until I nodded, but he had to hoist me to my feet because I couldn’t stand on my own. David stayed on the floor, hugging his dog, with sad eyes that matched the puppy’s.
“It’ll be okay,” I promised David, and nearly fell giving him a hug. West had to straighten me up again.
David nodded. “Are you sure?”
“Eventually. I promise.”
Chapter 16
West
Shane curled up against me, his breathing evened out and his eyes closed. He trembled for a second, then stopped, before doing it again. I thought he might have been having a nightmare, so as beautiful as he was sleeping, I shook his shoulder gently.
He blinked up at me, all wide brown eyes. His jaw cracked in a yawn and he winced. “What happened?” he mumbled against the pillow, burying his face back into the fluffiness.
“What happened was that you got drunk with your new best friend,” I teased, digging my hand under the blanket and stroking up his naked thigh. He’d been too intoxicated last night for me to do anything but put him into bed. He mumbled, but I couldn’t hear what he said.
“Uh.” Shane rolled onto his back and threw his arm over his eyes. “Never again.”
I laughed because I knew that wasn’t true. I remembered what it felt like to be young, bounding with energy and the desire to live. Kissing him on the cheek, I stood from the bed and turned off the air conditioner. It’d been stinking hot last night, and now that I had a better job that paid well, I could afford to turn on the cool air whenever we needed it.
“I’ll get you some aspirin,” I said, heading out of the bedroom and toward the kitchen. I dumped three out of the bottle and took them back to him with a glass of water.
He reached out for the pills like a zombie, groaning with one eye open, and I held back another laugh.
“You’re a doll. Like, you’re husband material. We should get married.”
I raised my eyebrows and patted him on the leg. “It’s safe to say you’re still a bit drunk.”
He pouted at me, those cherry-red lips tempting. “Will I be punished?”
“Most definitely, but when you’re sober enough to remember why I’m punishing you.”
“That’s not fair. You told me to get friends.” Shane downed the aspirin and drank every last drop of water in the glass before he placed it on the bedside table. He leaned back against the headboard and his eyes slipped closed.
“I did. You’re not being punished for making friends or getting drunk. You’ll be punished because you didn’t charge your phone before you went, and I didn’t know where you were or what you were doing. Daddy needs to know where you are at all times, Boy. I need to know you’re okay. Do you understand?”
His eyes cracked open and he sent me a small smile. “I understand, Daddy.”
“You’re going back to school soon, and I’ll worry about you,” I whispered, shifting closer on the bed. I cupped his head and caressed his cheek. “You mean so much to me, baby boy.”
He dropped his gaze to his lap, and I could tell he wanted to say something, but he shook his head and returned his stare to mine. “I’m sorry, Daddy.”
“You’re forgiven.” I grinned. “But I will still punish you.”
Lust sparked in his eyes and he licked his lips. “I’d like that, Daddy. I deserve it.”
Pleasure made my belly warm, and tingles of desire trickled down to my cock, plumping it in my boxers. With no restraint, my cock had free rein to fatten for Shane’s viewing pleasure. He moaned, stare intent on my crotch.