Page 19 of Spoil Me, Daddy
Aaron let the subject go, determined to bring it up another time. “What do you like to do when you’re not working or at Infinity?” Seeing Zaire had finished his chips, Aaron passed a few from his plate to Zaire’s, earning a smile.
“I love rock climbing.”
“Rock climbing? Where do you do it? Don’t you need cliffs and mountains for that?” Aaron drank some of his coffee.
Zaire chuckled, and Aaron beamed at the lightness now overtaking his features. “No. I do indoor rock climbing. There’s a place on the outskirts of Cambridge which has a huge space full of different sized walls and obstacles for people to try. I’ve been doing it for several years now.”
“You must have good upper body strength.”
“Yeah. It is quite intense on the upper body, but your feet support you as well.”
“Do you enter any competitions or anything?”
“No, not at the moment. I like doing it to relax. When I have to think about where my hands and feet are going, everything else recedes to the back of my mind. It’s how I envisage a Daddy and boy relationship.”
“Care to explain?”
Zaire picked up a chip and swirled it around in the sauce but didn’t eat it. “The Daddy looks after the boy, doing things for him and giving him time to blank his mind, not worry about everything all the time. I’d love to have that.”
“And I’d love to give it to you. You need to learn to trust me. I know what I’m doing, even when it seems like I don’t. I want you content, happy and safe.” Aaron offered the best reassurance he could, but ultimately, it would be up to Zaire if they continued. “Come on. Let’s head back.”
They stood in the same places as they had done the evening prior, and Aaron was ready to leave Zaire to think when Zaire opened the house to him. “Come on in.”
Aaron didn’t hesitate, understanding this was something Zaire needed. He had no plans of taking things to a sexual level, but Aaron was eager to shower Zaire with whatever he would allow.
Zaire was such an enigma, and Aaron wanted to find out every little thing about him. He had his work persona, which seemed to bleed into dates when there were at places deemed unsafe. He had his boy persona, which was louder, and yet, quieter at the same time. It was almost as if Zaire himself didn’t know who he wanted to be—or who he was. Aaron would love nothing more than to be the one to help him figure it out.
Even for him, a seasoned Daddy, he was struggling to discern the best way to do it. He needed to speak to Nora. Although she didn’t have a boy, she had a pup; there were similarities, and maybe she could see something Aaron had missed.
As he studied the living room, he tried to piece together a bit more information. The room was a neutral colour but had splashes of colour on the walls and fabrics throughout the space—a bit of Zaire thrown out for all to see. The sofas were large and, if Aaron wasn’t mistaken, the type which would envelop a person when they sat down and have them wanting to never get back out. Aaron walked to the pictures he could see on the walls, noting Zaire as a young boy with who, he assumed, was family and pictures of various people at different ages. They told a story of a happy childhood, and Aaron sincerely hoped it had been.
“Are these your family?”
“Yes.”
“You seem close.”
“We were.”
Aaron gritted his teeth against the need to reprimand Zaire for the lack of communication. It wasn’t the right time for it, although he couldn’t refrain from glancing over his shoulder at Zaire with a raised eyebrow and receiving a blush and the ducking of his head.
“Why? Are you not as close now?”
Silence greeted his answer, and when he turned, he saw Zaire clench his jaw and flare his nostrils. This would not be good.
****
Chapter 7
Zaire
Zaire leaned back in the comfortable sofa, crossing his legs and arms as he plucked up the courage to answer Aaron’s question. It wasn’t that he was nervous about admitting his past; it would prove what Zaire had been saying all along: he needed to hide away certain parts of himself depending on the situation.
“I have a brother and a sister. We were close when we were younger, always in each other’s pockets, especially as we are so close in age, too. Only four years separate us all.” He inhaled. “When I came out to our parents, they were amazing about it. Everything a gay man could wish for.” Zaire smiled in remembrance. “Zena used to caw about having a gay brother, and Zacary said it didn’t change anything.”
“Zaire, Zacary and Zena?” Aaron smiled.
Zaire chuckled. “Yes. I’m glad my parents stopped at three kids. Who knows what names they would’ve come up with?” They chuckled, then Zaire sobered, continuing with his story, “When my love of clothing and makeup began to show, my father took it badly. He stopped talking to me completely. Anything that needed to be said was passed through the other people in the family. He refused to eat at the same table as me.”
