Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76523 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76523 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
“Yeah.” Gareth’s frown said he was in a similar position. “We could do some baking and that meal prep stuff you were talking about.”
That’d still be productive.
“Okay, and maybe we make some soup?” That would be good to eat for a few meals. “And somehow Brady talked me into switching chores with him, so I need to vacuum.”
Brady was kind of dangerous when Jude wasn’t around to tell him to stop talking us into stupid shit.
“Yeah, somehow I have to mop the kitchen.” Gareth glanced back toward the door with a confused frown on his face. “Do you think Downstairs Guy would keep Brady from Bradying us?”
If he was actually a Dom…yes.
“It can’t hurt to ask.”
We were at the point where the conversations couldn’t get any weirder.
Chapter 4
Downstairs Guy
They were so adorable they could’ve been littles.
“If we’re going to play games, I think we should go for the high-points ones so we can win Brady a prize.” Gareth was very earnest as he focused on the games area across the restaurant.
He hadn’t even picked out dinner and he was already thinking about his friend.
“I think we’re supposed to be talking about…well…other stuff.” Cashel couldn’t seem to say the word date but I thought it was obvious.
“Like what?” Gareth glanced around the table. “Oh.”
Now he remembered he was on a date.
Cashel was doing his best not to roll his eyes, but it seemed to be painful to keep all that lovely snark trapped inside. “Yeah.”
So cute.
“I don’t mind if you talk about Brady.” The wide-eyed little was adorably high-maintenance, so I had a feeling they talked about him a lot. “And we’re in a restaurant that has fun food and games. I’d be surprised if it didn’t make you think about him.”
Reminding them that I knew Brady was little and was perfectly okay with it seemed like a good idea. It hadn’t been my intention to focus on him on our date, but I’d wanted to take them someplace a bit silly where they wouldn’t overthink it.
“Does he like games?” I glanced between the two slightly uneasy men and smiled. “I know a lot of littles like different kinds of games, but I thought I heard Brady say something about Legos?”
They blinked for a few seconds before Cashel nodded. “Yeah, he’s on the younger side, I guess? I don’t know anyone else like Brady except for, well, Brady. But he said he likes coloring and stuff like that, so I never thought to bring him here. The internet never said to take him here.”
They were the cutest big brothers ever.
But since Cashel seemed worried, I shook my head. “Brady is the type to be very vocal about what he wants and he seems very happy. Nothing I overheard him say to you guys, himself, or his Daddy makes me think you missed out on fulfilling his needs.”
They both let out a deep breath like they’d been carrying around a bit too much on their shoulders.
Even Gareth nodded faintly. “That’s good. Sometimes it’s hard to know what to do.”
“I think you both did wonderfully.” Making sure to meet both of their gazes, I aimed for a serious tone. “You’ve been friends for several years now. I think you said you were roommates freshman year?”
When they nodded, I continued. “You got to know someone new who was very different than you were used to. You did your best to build a relationship and to understand what he needed. You’ve made him a happy little who was mentally healthy when his Daddy came into his life.”
Subs didn’t always have that kind of support around them.
“Now it’s your turn to have someone focus on what you need.” Aiming the more serious expression at both of them until they let out another sigh and nodded, I backed it up when they acknowledged I was right. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t play games together and win Brady a big prize.”
Gareth grinned and Cashel just chuckled as he shook his head, but both seemed to mean they thought it was a wonderful plan.
“But first, food.” Gesturing to the menus they hadn’t looked at yet, I had to fight back a smile as they both squirmed. “There are no right or wrong options, and the restaurant has veggie substitutes for several different proteins if either of you has decided to change your diet recently.”
Considering I’d smelled bacon a few days ago, I wasn’t surprised when they shook their heads.
“Great.” Pretending to ignore the way they slowly opened the menus and started to endlessly browse, I glanced down at my menu and picked my favorite salad. “Okay, all set.”
They both looked up and gave me wide eyes like they thought I was an alien. “I like steak on salad. It’s one of my favorite combinations, so I’m getting that and then a side of fries to make sure I actually get full.”