Leo grinned. “I thought you’d never ask. Yes, there is.”
Oh my god. That meant he was still interested in me. Or did it?
“Is it okay? I mean, did he change his mind or whatever?”
“No, of course not.” Leo pulled out his phone and held it out to me.
“I’m too nervous. I want you to read it.” I waited with bated breath as Leo typed a few things into his phone.
“Okay. Here it is. Hey there, Awkward_and_Adorable. Thanks for your response. I definitely don’t want you to feel intimidated. I’m just a big ol’ teddy bear. And I’m definitely real. From what I’ve read of your profile and your messages, I’d say you’ve been nice rather than naughty. In fact, I’d venture to say you’re a sweetheart, and that is absolutely my favorite type of boy.”
Leo stopped reading, which was good because that was so fucking sweet, I needed a second to cope. His favorite type of boy? Really? I covered my mouth with my hand because I was smiling like an idiot, and I didn’t want Leo to tease me.
He laughed. “See? He sounds really nice. Okay. There’s more. So far, I like everything I’ve seen on your profile and read in your messages. You mentioned you’re dyslexic, and I just want to reassure you that doesn’t bother me at all. I don’t want you to worry about spelling errors or anything else when we’re chatting with each other. I think you’re very brave to mention it. Oh my god, Sanders. This guy is great.”
He did sound really great. And it was wonderful he didn’t mind my dyslexia. That made my stomach fill with butterflies. But I was a little surprised Leo had put it in my profile. It wasn’t something I would have included if I had written the profile myself. After writing the letter to Santa, I had felt a little anxious about the whole thing, so I just told him the basic idea of what I wanted the profile to say and asked him to finish it up without me. I guess I should have read it over.
At least this guy knew up front. In some ways, that was nice.
“I’m excited to get to know you better. Talk to you soon I hope. Tattooed_Daddy.” Leo put down his phone. “I told you writing that letter to Santa was a good idea.”
“Will you take my dyslexia off my profile, please?” I asked.
Leo’s face fell. “I’m sorry. I thought you’d want it on there since those other guys were jerks about it. I should have asked. But can we revel in how great this guy is? And you’re ‘his favorite kind of boy.’”
“He hasn’t seen a real photo of my face yet,” I reminded Leo. A Daddy like him could have his pick of boys. He’d probably responded to lots of letters, and after talking to all the boys, he’d then decide which one of us he wants. It wasn’t good to get my hopes up.
“Sanders, your face is fine. Can’t you just be excited? A nice Daddy is interested in you.”
I was excited. Maybe a little too excited.
“Will you help me write a message back to him?”
“Yeah, but he said not to worry about spelling errors. Do you want to write him yourself?”
I shook my head.
Leo lifted his phone again, poised to be my speech to text. He may have messed up with the profile, but he was trying really hard to help. He was a good friend.
“What do you think I should say?” I asked. That was part of the problem. Even if Tattooed_Daddy didn’t mind spelling errors, I didn’t have much practice communicating with someone like this.
“Well, is there anything you want to know about him?”
“Everything. What can I ask that won’t seem weird?”
Leo thought about it for a moment. “Well, he has all these recommendations from dungeons in Chicago. You could ask him how he ended up in Utah. Or what his hobbies are.”
Right. Hobbies. “But I don’t have any hobbies, Leo. What will he think of that?”
“Oh my god. Settle down, okay? Your profile said you were busy, and he still messaged you.”
Maybe that was true, but what did people talk about if they didn’t have hobbies? I mostly just talked to Leo and my mom or asked people how they took their coffee. How was I going to carry on a conversation with a hot Daddy?
We needed to open soon anyway. Maybe I could put off answering him until later.
“How about you just be honest. Say that you want to get to know him too, but you aren’t sure where to start. And say something about how nice it is that he isn’t worried about your spelling mistakes. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that. He’s a Dom, right? Isn’t he used to taking control?”
I wondered if that was really how it worked or if he would only be a Dom part of the time, and the rest of the time I’d have to figure out things like how to start a conversation.
But he’d said he was a Daddy outside the bedroom too.
“Okay. Yeah. Something like, thanks for your message. I appreciate what you said about the spelling mistakes. That always makes me feel nervous when I write to someone.” Maybe it was too much to tell him that, but in his profile, he mentioned wanting someone who was open and honest. “I want to get to know you too, but I don’t know what to say.”
Leo typed out all my words, then looked up again. “You could volunteer a little information about yourself. Just so your message isn’t a lot shorter than his.”
What should I say about myself? “Uh, how about, I grew up in this area. It seems like you’re new here and that you used to live in Chicago? What do you think of Utah? Have you gotten used to the dryness yet?”
Mom hadn’t grown up in Utah, and she was always drinking water and slathering on lotion. But maybe that wasn’t an interesting topic of conversation. It was similar to asking about the weather.
“Unless you think that’s stupid,” I said.
Leo finished typing and shook his head. “I think it’s great. And we have to open. Can I send it? That way it will be done, and you won’t have to obsess about it. Which you will definitely do if I don’t send it now.”
He was right. I would. “Okay.”
“There. Sent. Let’s go make some coffee.”
Later that day, after Kelly arrived to take over the afternoon shift, Leo and I walked to my car. He shared a car with Sam, so sometimes I gave him a ride home.
He got into the passenger seat and got out his phone.
“Has he…” I said, then stopped myself. I shouldn’t be obsessive.
Leo pulled up the app as I looked over his shoulder. “Tattooed_Daddy is live right now. Meaning he’s using the messenger part of the app.”
My stomach sank. If he hadn’t messaged me yet, that probably meant he was chatting with someone else.
A small ping came from Leo’s phone. “He just sent you a message.”
“What does it say?”
“He’s asking if you have time to chat. I have time right now. I could help if that’s what you want.”
Technically, I should go home and do homework, but I nodded anyway.
“Great. I’ll tell him you’re free,” Leo said.
Tattooed_Daddy: Perfect. I’m glad you have time to talk.
Tattooed_Daddy: About your last message. I grew up in Chicago. I vacationed in Red Canyon several times over the years and decided to move here. The dryness took a bit to get used to, but I’m good now. So, you’ve never had a Daddy before? What draws you to the lifestyle?