Page 87 of Just A Little Fling

“Funny you should ask because I don’t work there anymore.”

“Did you decide to go out on your own shingle?”

“If by that you mean did I get fired and now need to figure out what to do with the rest of my life, then yes.”

“Oh shit. Are you serious?”

“Yeah, we…uh…had a difference of opinion on how to handle a case, so we decided to part ways.”

“That was quite the lawyer-esque answer.”

“Being one probably helps with that.”

“Does that mean you really are going to open your own office?”

“Meh, I haven’t decided yet. The good news is it gives me a chance to consider whether I want to keep doing family law. Adoptions and surrogacy contracts are the best part of it, but those don’t happen as frequently as divorces.”

Our conversation was interrupted by a noise from the living room. Barrett chuckled, nodded his head in that direction, and gave me a knowing look. I followed behind him to a living room that had been transformed.

When Owen warned me there would be a playdate along with lunch, I expected them to be rolling around with some cars on the floor or maybe a little bit of coloring. What I found were boys who had decided that they were going to go camping on this rainy weekend, so there was a pretend fire made with felt logs and flame in the middle of the floor. Around that, they’d arranged brightly colored pillows in a ring, and on top of each one was a blanket and a stuffie. They’d also strung rainbow-colored twinkle lights around the room that shined brightly on the overcast day. In between all of that were brightly colored streamers, but I had no clue what they were supposed to represent. The entire effect was beautiful.

The boys were gathered in the corner near the catio entrance and sitting cross-legged on the floor. Perched between them were two cats that preened and purred under their attention. The teeny-tiny black one was Elizabeth, who I’d met before, but the giant Maine coon with molted brown fur was a recent edition.

I recognized Rory’s soft red curls, Owen’s tidy dark hair, and Anders’s braided bun supervising the group. It was the other dark-haired boy that stopped the air in my lungs. There on the floor was the sweet boy who’d hugged me this morning, thanked me for spanking him, and then slipped out the kitchen door until tomorrow morning.

Fuck, I missed him. When he’d walked away from me at that club, I’d desperately wanted to chase him. I’d promise him anything…any fucking thing in the world I had the power to grant him…if he’d stay with me and figure out where this thing could go with us. But I knew him well enough to know that chasing would send him running. If I quietly left the door open, I hoped he’d come back to me.

I hoped. I really, really fucking hoped so.

Did I love him? Yes, of course, because he was fucking lovable. Nico was funny, sassy, organized his work to the nth detail but otherwise lived like a cyclone, and took his Nonna on dates.

My hands itched to touch him, hold him, and whisper in his ear how much I’d missed him. Our mornings together were the most torturous torture I’d ever put myself through, and I’d do it again until infinity if it meant I got to spend that thirty minutes with him. I was transfixed to see him so unguarded while he spoke softly to the cats because I wanted this for him every goddamn day.

“I knew I’d lose you to the kitties, baby,” Barrett said as he also leaned down to scratch a cat’s ears.

“Uncle B, you gotta be nice to Owen. He loving the kitties,” Nico said indignantly. That was a new development, but I liked that he’d let his guard down with this group. They wanted him to be a part of it if he’d let them.

“It’s okay, Nico. Uncle Barrett was just teasing,” Gabe called from across the room. Rory, ignoring his Daddy, gave Barrett the evil eye and softly encouraged Owen to keep petting the cats. Nico gave Barrett the exact same look. “Owen, you ’tay here. ’lizabeth likes your pets.”

Owen glanced over to Nico and smiled sweetly. I’d never seen him in little space, and I was floored. It had been such a struggle for him to share that part of himself with others. I knew, without being told, that today’s invitation was a big step forward in that journey for him. I was honored to be included. Nico wasn’t the only one taking giant steps.

“Nico, I think Hexe likes you,” Anders observed. Hexe had moved his giant body onto Nico’s lap and settled in. His purr was louder than a diesel truck. I put my hands in my pockets so I wouldn’t touch Nico. That wasn’t enough, so I moved across the room and sat in an easy chair that gave me an unobstructed view of him.

Nico murmured low into Hexe’s ear, which twitched as if he understood what he was saying. Every once in a while, the cat looked over his shoulder and stared directly at me with narrowed eyes. It was disconcerting. I resisted the urge to do a quick Google search on how many people had been merc’d by Maine coon cats. The number might be low, but it would not be zero.

“Owen, you want your kitty back?” Nico’s voice was soft and sweet. Owen’s responding smile matched his vibe as he shook his head and reached out to scratch Hex’s ears. “Okay, I keep him for a second. Ooh, his fur is so soft here, you feel it.” Nico gently grasped Owen’s hand and brought it down softly onto Hexe’s back.

Owen had shared before that he was deeply regressed in his little space, almost to the point of an infant. Watching Nico treat him with such gentleness and kindness swelled my heart with pride. For all his bombastic behavior, at his core, Nico cared deeply about other people. I couldn’t understand why he thought other people didn’t care about him, or maybe he just refused to let people care about him. Either way, in his most unguarded moments, I saw the tender heart he tried so hard to hide.

Barrett gave up on Owen helping him set the table and returned to the kitchen while the boys all stayed on the floor and played with the cats. Nico hadn’t noticed me yet, but Gabe and Anders certainly had. For his part, Gabe looked confused, likely about why I was there. On the other hand, Anders gave me sidelong searching looks instead. He looked guilty as hell. He knew why I was there.

This was a setup.

The only real question was whether Nico was in on it. He’d given nothing away this morning. He hadn’t appeared more nervous, and he hadn’t mentioned where he was going this afternoon or asked where I was going. In fact, Nico hadn’t said anything. He’d slipped into the house, come and found me upstairs, and crawled across my lap. We hadn’t exchanged any words after the spanking. I’d dried the tears on his cheeks and he’d given me a bear hug. Maybe it’d been tighter than normal, but I chalked that up to my imagination.

When Anders whispered in Nico’s ear, I knew my question would be answered. Whatever Anders said caused Nico to jerk his head up and whip it around in my direction with shocked eyes. Mystery solved. This was a scheme concocted by at least one of the boys, but more likely all of them.

Hexe meowed sharply and shifted so he was standing on his hind legs with his front paws on Nico’s shoulders. He gently patted Nico’s cheeks while his meow softened in tone and volume. Nico’s shoulders visibly dropped while his breathing returned to a steady pace. His attention returned to the cat and he began petting him again. I didn’t make any move to join him or interfere but just watched. Christ, I missed him. These past few weeks had left him with dark circles under his eyes and a downturned mouth.

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