Page 47 of Their Little Helper

Santos’s dry delivery had Harley trying not to smile as he went back to a slightly healthier color. “I thought he might but I couldn’t exactly remember what he said last night.”

“It’s always good to check until we’ve sat down and had a longer conversation on what we’re comfortable with.” Santos even managed not to say limits list which was impressive. Boring. But impressive. “We’re not doing that on the street, though, or when it’s too stressful for any of us. So it might take a while to get to that point.”

Ugh.

His ability to make well-rationed decisions was going to be a pain in the ass.

Even Harley knew it because he gave me a quick glance as he dropped his voice. “Does Daddy agree with that?”

It was my turn to roll my eyes but Santos laughed. “Mostly. He’s…enthusiastic, but we both realize that there are some things we just don’t rush.”

Nodding slowly, Harley took a deep breath before I got another peek. It seemed to be a request for confirmation, so I bobbed my head up and down in a clear manner and did my best not to respond with words that would make him uncomfortable in public.

It was going to be a work in progress, but like most masterpieces, it would be worth it in the end.

I just had to get used to toning down some of my fabulousness when we were in public. It would be like going grocery shopping with my mother. Slightly frustrating but it was worth it to make her happy and to keep her from going bananas on me.

It would be worse with Harley…he’d get sad.

Nope.

We weren’t doing that.

“I…” Harley pressed his lips together and tried again as our pace dropped down to a crawl. “I think I might need to be pushed. Slightly. I don’t…I don’t know much about some stuff. I know…I know what I like when I relax.”

Pausing, he gave us another quick look and raised one eyebrow, seeming relieved when we both made it clear we understood he was talking about being little. I nodded and Santos used words. “I’m glad you know about that part of your hobbies. I can’t wait to see what other things you like besides Legos.”

That time, Harley’s adorable blush came with a smile. “I liked the Legos, but I liked all of it.”

“It was a very nice way to spend time getting to know you.” Santos shot me a glare that made me grin. “Both of you…even if Dally has a hard time behaving.”

Some of us were just more interesting than others.

But since I had to keep my interesting slightly more contained than I’d gotten used to, I ignored Santos’s ridiculousness and nudged him gently again.

“If you bruise me, you don’t get to give Harley his reward.” Santos’s growled-out words had Harley’s eyes going wide. “And for fuck’s sake, text me your thoughts if it comes down to it.”

Hmm.

It wasn’t a bad idea and it was making Harley giggle again, so I dug my phone out of my pocket and quickly shot off a text to Santos.

When does he want his reward? Now? Does he have somewhere else he has to be?

If Santos couldn’t figure out the rest of the details we needed then I’d keep texting, but he seemed detail-oriented enough that I could trust him with it.

“The drama queen would like to know what your schedule is for the rest of the afternoon.” When Santos’s comment got a questioning head tilt from Harley, he clarified it. “The timing of your reward is something he’s very curious about, but he wants to make sure we’re all on the same page for the when.”

We were definitely on the same page with the what.

“Oh.” Harley couldn’t seem to decide if he was going to blush or not, which seemed like a good sign. “It sounds like…it sounds like you’d both like to keep going on our date?”

When we both nodded, behaving admirably, Harley nodded to himself again and seemed to give himself a quick internal peptalk. “I would like that too…and…and I don’t think waiting to get my reward would be a good idea. I’d worry.”

Most definitely.

“I think that’s a good decision and I’m proud of you for thinking about how you’d feel.” Santos reached out and squeezed Harley’s arm. “We’re also really looking forward to rewarding you, so waiting would’ve been difficult.”

Especially for me.

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