Page 26 of Make Believe

“Would you like your coffee?” I ask him.

“Yes, Daddy.”

I don’t want to risk spilling a hot drink on his lap—not to mention ruining his pretty dress—so I place the cup between his fingers and encourage him to drink it himself. As he does, I eat a little more myself. The last thing I want is a rumbling stomach, and it seems a shame for this food to go to waste.

After several minutes of comfortable silence, he pauses with the cup in both hands, hovering in front of his chest. I peer over to see that it’s empty, so I carefully take it from his fingers. Having finished eating myself, I wipe my hands and mouth on a napkin, then turn my attention back to my pretty living doll. He’s still as I card my fingers through the soft curls at the back of his head. I could pet him all day.

There’s nothing stopping me, after all.

I think back to his perfect lip gloss and smirk.

“Is Kiki too full for a little of Daddy’s dessert?” I ask. I know we’ve agreed that he’ll do whatever I want, whenever I want. But I don’t want to make the poor boy sick.

He doesn’t seem concerned though. “No, Daddy,” he says with just a hint of excitement, his eyes lighting up the tiniest amount.

I turn in my chair and unzip my pants. “Good boy.”

It’s been a beautifully lazy day. I can’t remember the last time I experienced anything like it. Perhaps on vacation in the Bahamas when Logan was young?

Usually, I get easily bored at the weekend, so I find myself logging in to my work accounts just to pass the time. But today, I have company, someone to entertain. After breakfast, I lead Kadence back to his room and tell him to relax. Maybe try on some more clothes for his Daddy. I’m sure it’s not good for him to stay in the doll head space for too long, so I really am giving him time to decompress.

It gives me a chance to clear away the mess in the dining room and salvage the food I can for a later meal or snack.

As soon as I’m done, my mind almost wanders to my office. Instead, I take myself to my study. It’s not quite big enough to call it a library, but it does have an old-world feeling to it that I enjoy. I’ve been meaning to rearrange several bookshelves for some months now. Apparently, today’s the day.

I’m not sure how long I’m in there before I sense movement at the door. Kadence is wearing a different dress and has applied a different lip gloss after I successfully smeared the last coat everywhere. My cock perks up just thinking about it.

“Are you busy, Daddy?” Kadence asks in a sweet voice. So he’s dolled up, but not a doll. Good. I love playing with him in that mode, but I also want a little company as well if that’s not too much to ask.

I shake my head. “I’m just puttering,” I say, holding up the book in my hand. “Doing some organizing. Would you like to join me?” I jut my chin at the chaise lounge. “You can look pretty while I work if you like.”

He scrunches up his nose as he smiles, then sweeps into the room in a cloud of pink tulle. “Do you like reading?” he asks. He drapes himself on the couch as if he’s ready to be painted. I’m not much of an artist, but I must admit the idea of trying to capture his naked form on paper while I sip a glass or two of red wine sounds like a heavenly way to spend an evening.

“I’ll read anything and everything,” I say, meaning it. I love autobiographies, science fiction epics, historical tomes, and war stories. I’ve even picked up a couple of Charleen’s spicy romance books from time to time. “You?”

“I like crime thrillers,” Kadence says without missing a beat. “The kind where detectives hunt down killers. Especially if there’s a proper mystery involved.”

I raise my eyebrows. It’s not fair of me, I’m sure, but I was expecting him to tell me that he does little more than scroll his Instagram feed. Licking my lips, I look around at the piles of chaos I’ve made since I started pulling volumes down off the shelves. “Ah,” I say as my eyes land on the cover I was searching for. “Have you read this? It’s one of my favorites.”

I offer it over to him, and he leans forward carefully, his hand reaching out like I’m holding a grenade and he needs to check that the pin is still in place. “I don’t think so,” he says, accepting the book. He studies the cover, nodding approvingly, then flips it over to read the blurb. “It’s set in London?”

It’s my turn to nod. “The author is British.”

“Cool,” he comments, taking a minute to finish reading the text. In that moment, when his face is a little slack in concentration, I can see just how young he is. My heart swells with an urge to protect him.

But he’s a man, not a baby. Besides, I couldn’t do all that much to help my own son. What makes me think I could do any better with Kadence?

“Have you traveled much?” I ask as I resume my task of reorganizing the books.

Kadence shrugs and gives a sad little laugh. “I made it from home to here if that counts.”

“Have you never left the country?” I ask.

He shakes his head, his eyes determinedly on the pages he’s flicking through. “Nope,” he says, popping the ‘P’ extra hard. “I don’t even have a passport. I’m just a simple doll, you see.”

“Maybe I can put you in my carry-on, then,” I murmur. “Slip you right by security.”

He hums and smiles shyly over the book. “Sounds fun, Daddy.”

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