Page 80 of Need Him
“Even better. You can’t eat healthy stuff on Christmas Day. You’re supposed to fill yourself up with sweets and chocolate and cake and roast dinner and…and…lollipops!”
“Lollipops?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t even like lollipops.” Ben huffed. “And anyway, stop letting Victor fill your head with nonsense. For example, roast dinners have vegetables in them.”
“Yeah, covered in honey or gravy.”
Gareth shook his head. “You’re a menace.”
“But a cute one.” Ben put his hands under his chin and smiled sweetly.
“A deceptively cute one,” Gareth agreed.
****
Chapter 29
Ben
Six months later
“Welcome, guests. I hope you are all as excited as we are to hold this first Daddy’s Boy Mixer event.” Ben smiled at the cheers and waited for them to die down before continuing. “This event has been a long time coming. When DaddyG and I first thought up the idea of the app, we never believed how much it would blow up. How much you all needed it. Until we saw the results, we never truly realised how many people were affected by the same things those close to us were. We thought we were few and far between. But you gave voice to your struggles and your hopes and dreams. It was with that outpouring of emotion that we can stand where we are right now.
“Now, I may be the official spokesperson for this company, but we wouldn’t have even started this journey without one special person. DaddyG.”
The audience of around fifty men clapped and cheered for his Daddy, and Gareth hesitantly waved back before going back to hiding in the shadows.
“I won’t detain you any longer. Have an amazing evening, and find a steward if you have any questions or problems. And if you see us around, feel free to say hello. I deem this Daddy’s Boy Mixer open!”
The DJ set a horn blowing for a few seconds before the music took over. Ben stepped away from the podium and into Gareth’s arms.
“Well done, sweetheart.”
“Thank you, Daddy. It’s so exciting. I hope at least one pair can find something long-lasting.”
He glanced around the room, ecstatic with the way things turned out. He and Lindsay had spent many hours pouring over the details of what was and wasn’t needed. They’d decided that each Daddy should wear a blue shirt or T-shirt, and each boy should wear a red one. It made them immediately identifiable on sight and would reduce the number of misunderstandings. They chose female stewards who wore white shirts with black waistcoats to make them identifiable, too. With the exception of him and Gareth, everyone else working there was female, as they had wanted the focus to be on those who had paid to be here, not on potential side-eyes on the staff.
They’d hired a ballroom at one of the local hotels, wanting to keep their first event close to home, and had been pleasantly surprised when people were willing to travel to attend. Lindsay had already used the data they’d accrued from the app to choose different locations across the country, the next of which was in the northeast of England.
Ben couldn’t believe how much had changed in the year since he’d met Gareth. He would never have believed this was his life if anyone had told him what it would look like. Living with and engaged to an amazing man, a new business venture under his belt, a group of friends he loved dearly, and parental figures he wished he’d had all along.
“What’s ticking around in that brain of yours?” Gareth asked, squeezing him tighter.
Ben closed his eyes and smiled. “Just thinking about how much has changed in a year.”
“I wouldn’t change anything that happened to me before because it brought you to me.” Gareth kissed his temple. “The original Daddy’s Boy.”
Ben chuckled and batted him on the stomach. “I’myourboy. No one else’s.”
“I beg to differ. According to these people around us, you aretheDaddy’s Boy. The poster child for boys all over the country.”
“He’s right,” Lindsay piped up as she joined them. “The stewards have already had several requests to meet you. You are the face of the company, remember?”
He groaned. “Why did I agree to that?”
“Because you have good people skills and amazing speech-making skills.” She waved her hand towards the podium. “As you’ve just shown.”
