Page 11 of Shotgun Daddy
Faustino
The disastrous meeting with Michael and Matteo was still on Faustino’s mind. A night of partying had done little to calm him and if anything had made matters worse. All Faustino’s issues were still there, but now he was dealing with a colossal headache too.
Over the years, Faustino, Michael, and Matteo had been through so much together. With only a couple of years separating them, they all entered the family business at more or less the same time and had worked their way up together, side by side and through thick and thin.
To feel a gap developing between them was something that Faustino could never have imagined, and it made him feel a strange mixture of sadness and anger. This wasn’t an issue that was just going to go away either. Now that they had removed the old regime at the top of the family, they were the main men – or at least, that was how it was supposed to be.
Faustino had dreamed of this moment for years. And while he was never as interested in the organizational side of things as Matteo or Michael, he had always envisaged the time where he would be in charge alongside his brother and cousin.
“Assholes,” Faustino muttered as he walked down the street, his thoughts full of memories, frustrations, and concerns about the future. “Don’t give them another thought…”
Faustino shook his head and decided that for now at least, he was going to take his mind off all-things Fendi. And having messaged Reece a location, Faustino was ready to release his pent-up frustrations in a whole other way.
Reece was sexy, had a sense of humor, and there was an undeniable spark to him too. In fact, Faustino could hardly imagine a more compatible boy for him. All thoughts of commitment and official Daddy and Little status aside, Reece was a boy who Faustino knew he could have some serious fun with.
However as he rounded the corner and saw Reece waiting for him, Faustino could tell that something was up. And it didn’t look good either…
“Reece, is everything okay?” Faustino asked, immediately casting his eyes around to scan for any threats or someone who might have been making the boy so visibly uncomfortable. “Talk to me.”
Faustino watched and waited as Reece stood before him. He looked genuinely distressed, and all the fun-loving and sassy spark was suddenly nowhere to be seen. Right now, Faustino didn’t give a crap about that. All he needed to know was why Reece was so clearly not feeling himself. It was like all Faustino’s Daddy instincts were kicking in and telling him that this boy needed a protective arm.
“Come here, I’ll look after you,” Faustino said, doing and saying what he felt was right in the moment.
“It’s awful,” Reece blurted out as he flung himself into his embrace and buried his face in Faustino’s chest. “That mean man is just horrible. I hate him!”
“Whoever he is, he can’t get you now,” Faustino said, his mind focused on making sure that Reece was safe, away from danger and able to calm down enough to explain what had gone down. “You’re coming with me. I know a place where we can take it step by step and get to the bottom of this. And I’m pretty sure you’ve been there before too.”
With that, Faustino took his heavy black coat off and wrapped it around Reece as he struggled to compose himself. It was time to hail a car and get both their asses over to the Bubble Palace as quickly as possible…
In the cab over to the Bubble Palace, Reece was able to relax enough to explain what had happened that morning with Timo Taylor. Had it been solely up to him, Faustino would have spent the rest of the day hunting Timo down and putting a beating on him that he would never forget – but Faustino knew that his immediate responsibility was in making Reece feel better.
“Here we go, I hope you like it,” Faustino said as he walked toward Reece with two juice boxes and a small, freshly prepared honey sandwich that had been cut into two triangles, just right for a Little to munch on. “I asked for extra honey. That always worked for me when I was a kid.”
“T-t-t-thank you, Faustino,” Reece said, smiling as best he could.
Faustino watched Reece take a big bite out of the sandwich before popping open his mango and strawberry juice box and taking a big gulp through the paper straw.
“Good,” Reece said in between gulps. “Really good.”
“I’m pleased,” Faustino said, crouching down beside Reece and leaning back against the tower of beanbags behind him and the boy. “I’m going to help you with this problem. That’s not up for debate. But in the meantime, I think what you need is some playtime. I want you to forget about what’s happened and let yourself escape reality. Do you think you can do that?”
“I’ll try,” Reece nodded, a slight hint of doubt in his voice but his eyes conveying a real desire to make it happen. “I’ll try mybestest.”
“Good boy,” Faustino said. “Now I think you have a locker here, right? Well, once you’ve finished that sandwich, I want you to go to your locker and change into your romper and bring your milk bottle back with you too. We’re going to play here until milk time. And then I’m going to put you down for your nap. How does that sound?”
Faustino watched as Reece smiled and began to enthusiastically chomp on his honey sandwich. The boy might have gone through an awful experience with a piece of shit director, but there was a resilience to him that Faustino knew would stand him in good stead. And not only that, but Reece was clearly a Little who loved to listen to a Daddy’s orders – and Faustino was all there for that.
Suddenly though, Faustino wasn’t thinking about all the down and dirty things he could do with Reece. Far from it, in fact.All Faustino could picture was how best to get Reece into the calmest, most serene place imaginable.
There may or may not have been naughty fun and frolics with Reece in the future, but in this moment all Faustino wanted was to get this potentially very special boy into Little Space and watch as all his problems melted away…
The Bubble Palace was fairly quiet, which wasn’t unusual for this time of day. Typically, it was busiest at weekends or on special party nights. But right now it was quiet enough that Faustino felt sure that Reece would be able to unwind and have fun without feeling over stimulated or put under any undue pressure to play with other Littles.
However, when it came to play time, Faustino needn’t have had any worries…
“Look at me, my bum-bum go plop!” Reece giggled, his eyes wide with delight as he bounced his romper-clad butt onto the big, squishy bouncy ball in the Bubble Palace playroom. “Bounce! Bounce! Plop!”
Faustino laughed in approval and continued to watch as Reece bounced and then rolled on the floor. Reece might have been an aspiring actor, but this was way beyond a performance. The boy was in Little Space and it was a true delight to witness.
