Page 17 of Santa's Milk and Cookies
The simple statement lodged in my heart as I stroked his hair and watched his breathing slow. Within minutes, he was asleep in my arms.
I pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead, careful not to wake him. "Sleep well, baby boy," I whispered to his sleeping form. "Daddy's got you."
And I meant it too.
I would protect this beautiful, vulnerable soul with everything I had. Whatever he needed from me, whatever name he called me, whatever role I filled in his life, I would be there. Always.
8
DAKOTA
I woke the next morning not to an alarm, not to people being loud on the street, not to the neighbors across the hall slamming the door. Nope. I woke to the sound of Mr. Whiskers purring. I reached over to pet him, and my hand landed on Niko's blanket-covered chest. My eyes popped open to see Mr. Whiskers lying there, purring away. His new buddy, my daddy, gave him scritches behind the ear.
Last night, when I called him Daddy for the first time, I panicked. I didn't want to ruin everything. We'd had such a great time together, and honestly, if he had wanted to date but not be any more "Daddy" than just giving me milkies, that would have been the dream. But right when he assured me, told me that he was proud to have me call him that, there was a shift.
We hadn't talked about what it meant, but I felt it. This wasn't one night of sex and done, or even something casual. We had a really strong connection that I was looking forward to strengthening even further.
"Did I wake you up?" he asked, the kindest smile on his face. No wonder he was such an amazing Santa.
"No, you didn't. Someone else did." I side-eyed my purr factory of a cat. "Someone with fur and a loud musical instrument in their chest."
This time it was me getting the glare from Mr. Whiskers, and it was well deserved.
"Looks like you two are over the hurdle." I was glad that Mr. Whiskers was friendlier with Niko now. Mr. Whiskers never been mean, but also, he’d never been affectionate. Looked like that time was over.
"Yeah, we've come to an understanding. I'm not trying to steal you away. I'm just trying to be by your side."
And that was good enough for Mr. Whiskers. It was more than good enough for me.
"Well, that and the promise of a cat condo. I was thinking about it this morning as he batted at my ear. I think it would look great right in front of the window, the one you were watching me out of…twice."
"Don't even." I wanted to hide in embarrassment. "It wasn't like I was being stalkery. It was just… It's not my fault you look good."
"Say what, baby boy?”
I didn’t answer.
“Tell Daddy what you said."
"You heard me." I spoke into my arm, not wanting him to see my burning red face.
"I did, and I have to admit, I liked it. So, if you wanted to say it again, it would be fine."
Slowly, I moved my arm down and away from my eyes. "I said, it's not my fault you're good-looking."
Mr. Whiskers stood up and stretched before he jumped off the bed. As he did, he pulled the blankets off Daddy, exposing his naked chest.
"See, even Mr. Whiskers agrees." Daddy tapped my nose.
"I'm pretty sure that's not what he was doing. Looks like he's chasing an imaginary dust ball in the air." And he was, bouncing around playfully like a kitten, batting at something neither of us could see.
"I have a question, but you don’t have to answer it.”
Daddy gave me a nod. “Ask me anything.”
“When you wake up, are you full?"
He thought about it for several seconds before answering. "If you're asking if I have plenty of milk, then yeah. That's usually when I pump. If you're asking if I’m a breakfast eater, also yes. And on that note, I'd love to take you someplace for pancakes. There's a new place in town that sells the huge ones that are like an inch and a half thick. They call them cloud pancakes."
