Friends Lovers and Family

by M. A. Innes

  He seemed to think that was decided, because as Kevin started to sputter, Hailey waved at his Daddy. “Books, Daddy.”

  “Have fun.” Trent smiled as Kevin finally shrugged and followed the little princess down the hall.

  Bryan glanced around nervously, then looked at his Daddy. “Me too.”

  Sticking his binkie in his mouth, Bryan started following them down the hall as Miles started dragging dinosaur Cody and a shy Riley out to play with the bubbles. I wasn’t sure how long it would be before they all relaxed into their roles, but it looked like they were well on their way. I just hoped the cookies held out and that we could keep the paint off the floor.

  Chapter 3

  Jeremy

  Watching them argue over water paint books and movie choices would’ve been cute if it hadn’t been for Kevin being right in the middle of it. I wasn’t sure whether to be frustrated or pleased when he tried to sneak the princess paint book from Hailey for the second time. He was wicked, but he was having so much fun trying to get it from him.

  Not that Hailey really wanted it; he just didn’t want Kevin to have it. It seemed that Kevin’s decision not to read Cinderella for the fifth time wasn’t popular with him. No amount of time playing bubbles had changed his mind either. But I wasn’t sure when to step in and when to let them be kids and handle it themselves.

  Kevin looked up and caught my eye, and I shook my head. He stopped and then inched the book back toward Hailey before grabbing another one. As they all started to carefully dip their brushes in the tiny water cups while the movie played in the background, I stepped back in the kitchen to give them some space.

  Kevin liked having me close, but I didn’t want the other littles to think I was hovering. Even if I was hovering. But most of the other Doms were hiding in the kitchen while they pretended not to do the same thing, so I didn’t feel too bad about it.

  It actually felt good knowing we were all dealing with the same emotions. They might have had years on me as a Dom, but some things didn’t seem to change.

  I chuckled as Sean peeked around me as I went back into the kitchen. He shrugged and spoke quietly. “They get nervous when I go out there and they start thinking about what they’re doing. When it’s just the littles together, they’re more themselves and they relax.”

  Holden chuckled. “It takes Riley a while to relax around anyone. Don’t take it personally.”

  Sean shook his head. “No, I get it. They’re not used to me yet.”

  “Because up until recently Miles has kept his private life and personal life separate.” Then I shrugged sheepishly. “Mostly for our comfort.”

  Trent grinned as he leaned against the counter. “Because it’s hard seeing someone in a position of authority as a sub and knowing so much about their lives. Miles doesn’t hide it like we’re told we’re supposed to, and it feels weird.”

  “So it’s not only us?” I sat down at the big table and reached for one of the cookies. “I’ve been feeling a little guilty.”

  Sean came back over to the table. “No, don’t. He knew this wouldn’t be easy. But our having had years to get comfortable with this part of our lives doesn’t mean we expect it to be simple for everyone else. When he set up the practice and decided that he wasn’t going to hide that part of our relationship, he knew it would be difficult for a lot of people to process. He just wanted to show his patients, especially the subs, that there’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

  Trent and Ford both leaned over and squeezed Sean’s shoulders as Trent spoke. “It had to have been a hard decision, but he’s made a difference in a lot of people’s lives.”

  “I can personally attest to that.” Miles had never made us feel weird or like there was something wrong with us. He’d given us a safe space to talk things out and to figure out who we were. There weren’t many people who would have been able to do that for us without their own ideas coloring how they saw our situation.

  Wanting to lighten the mood again, I glanced over toward the door to the living room and grinned. “It looks like they’re all having fun. Even though Kevin put his foot down and wouldn’t read any more stories.” He’d lasted longer than I thought he would, and I had a feeling he’d loved all the attention.

  “I appreciate you guys letting Kevin come over too.” Maddox smiled as he glanced toward the living room where they were all watching some cartoon with rapt attention. “He and Bryan have the weirdest relationship, but he’s a good support system for Bryan.”

  “How did it go when Kevin saw him little for the first time?” Sean glanced between us. “They gave Miles permission to talk about it, but they were kind of vague about how it went.”

  “Bryan, vague? I’m shocked.” Maddox chuckled. “It went great. He was so nervous he was bouncing off the walls at first, but once he relaxed and got used to it, he liked having Kevin over. Kevin handled it really well.”

  Trying to figure out how to word it without giving away too much, I took a second before I agreed. “He did. He was nervous that he’d make Bryan uncomfortable or screw it up in some way, but when it came right down to it, I think it was natural for him.”

  “He seems to fit right in.” It was Sean’s turn to pause for a moment as he searched for how to phrase something. “He reminds me of a middle, actually. I know you guys don’t have a Daddy Dom relationship, but he seems comfortable in that headspace.”

  “I’ve been reading up on that. I’m not his Daddy—you’re right—but I think he likes it when he gets a chance to relax and just goof off. He didn’t get much of that growing up for a lot of reasons. This is like the childhood he didn’t get. I appreciate you guys letting him come and giving him the space to feel like he belongs.”

  “He does.” Ford responded earnestly, but Trent started to chuckle.

  “And he reads books so we don’t have to do it all afternoon.” He glanced around as we all grinned. “I wasn’t the only one thinking it.”

  James raised his hand. “Guilty as well.”

  As chuckles and teasing faded, Trent’s smile turned more sincere. “And we really appreciate everyone being okay with Hailey. He’s always been a more feminine little, and I think he was concerned that the rest of the guys would think his doll and dresses were…silly.”

  We all shook our heads, but Ford was the one who grinned. “You’re just on our shit list because I’m betting every one of those boys is going to ask for a damned dollhouse for Christmas.”

  I laughed. “I’ve already told Kevin our apartment doesn’t have room. He tried to convince me that Bryan would love it and would come over to play with us if we had one.”

  Maddox grinned. “I can see the epic battles now. Soldiers set up to save the princess in the castle.”

  Oh yeah, that was easy to picture. I had a feeling Kevin would be on the evil side as he tried to keep the princess prisoner, though. Driving Bryan insane came too easily. “He’s fascinated about all kinds of things when it comes to submission, but yeah, the middle idea makes a lot of sense.”

  I shrugged as I rolled it around in my head. “I’m not sure he’s looking to label it. He just likes being able to play with Bryan when he’s little. Figuring out a way to stay included in that part of Bryan’s life was important to him. I think it was his way of making sure Bryan knew nothing would change between them. Getting to come today and be a part of it with everyone else made it even more special.”

  Maddox grinned. “He bounced all the way over.”

  “He’s bounced for the past two days.” I rolled my eyes. “You have no idea how excited he’s been.”

  He’d been looking for a space where we would fit in from the first moment we knew we were different. I’d been a bit more skeptical, but he’d always believed we’d find people who would understand us.

  Most didn’t know how unique our relationship was, but the fact that they never asked how we met hadn’t gone unnoticed. At some point, I knew it would come out, but I just appreciated their quiet show of sup
port. They knew something was different, but they weren’t going to ask until we were ready.

  Well, everyone but Cody. But since he’d been nice enough to erase our past off the internet, I couldn’t complain about him poking around.

  A crash came from the living room with a chorus of “uh-ohs” that said something had gone wrong. Everyone grinned and shrugged as they got to their feet and headed in to investigate. Five littles and Kevin were all looking at Finn, who was cursing quietly.

  Hailey looked over at Trent. “He’s got a potty mouth, Daddy.”

  Trent gave Hailey a firm stare. “I don’t want to hear you cursing.”

  “I was honestly expecting it to be Kevin.” I chuckled as Hailey nodded sincerely and Kevin stuck his tongue out at me.

  Finn shook his head. “I accidentally knocked the table and the water cups went flying. I was trying to stop the movie since it was over but…” He glanced around at the mess. “It didn’t go as planned.”

  The table was wide and most of the water was still on there, so I wasn’t worried. Apparently neither was Sean as he chuckled and headed into the kitchen for paper towels. When he came back, the boys started to help dry off the table and find all the brushes that had rolled onto the floor.

  The mess wasn’t bad but several of the pictures were slightly soggy. Promises of popsicles and reassurances that the pictures would be fine once they were dry made everything better. Sean was smiling but put his foot down that popsicles would be eaten outside. Even Miles’s pouting hadn’t been able to change his mind.

  The rush of bodies running out the back door could’ve started a tornado, but at least they weren’t thinking about wet pictures any longer. As everyone started following them out the door, Sean looked over at me. “Help me grab the treats and some paper towels?”

  “Sure.” I headed into the kitchen trailing after him.

  “Wipes would probably work better.” As he started looking through the cabinets, he began to talk. “Did Miles ever tell you about how he decided what kind of practice he would have?”

  I shook my head before I realized he couldn’t see me. “No.”

  I was starting to think this wasn’t as random as I’d thought, but I let it play out as Sean looked through more cabinets. “When he finally completed everything he had to do to become a doctor, he had no idea where his life should go.”

  Sean found the wipes in a junk drawer and leaned back against the counter. “He was basically working two different jobs and trying to choose the path his life should take, but nothing felt right. By the time I met him, he was exhausted and had nearly given himself an ulcer trying to see the future.”

  “How did he finally figure it out?” I wasn’t a doctor trying to pick a specialty, but the future was looming in front of me, and I could see how daunting that would have been for Miles.

  “I’m not betraying a confidence by saying this, but he met a patient at the hospital who’d tried to kill himself.” Sean looked lost for a few seconds like he was reliving the past again. “His master had died suddenly, and he’d thought no one in his life would understand. He was so lost and felt so alone it tore Miles up. It wasn’t long after they met that he realized he wanted to help people in the lifestyle and give them a safe space where they didn’t have to hide who they were.”

  Sean smiled again. “He was adamant that he wasn’t going to live in the closet and wouldn’t hide our life together. It wouldn’t have affected my life, but he was taking a huge risk. It turned out to be the right decision, but it could have easily gone the other direction.”

  Pushing away from the counter, he went over to the freezer and started digging out the treats. “But I don’t think he’d be the same person he is now if he’d always tried to hide who he was.”

  I walked over and quietly picked up the wipes as Sean shut the door, his hands stuffed with goodies for everyone. I nodded as he gave me an understanding smile. We’d told Miles that he could talk to Sean about it if he thought Sean needed to know, but I’d never asked if he’d said anything. I hadn’t wanted to know.

  As he smiled at me, I wasn’t sure if he knew or not, but I could see that it would never matter, no matter what I told him.

  He turned and watched the littles running through the yard chasing the bubbles again. “Looking at those boys outside playing, I know they’ll be happier having people around them who understand them. Someone they can talk to and share the burden of loving differently with.”

  I swallowed past the lump in my throat as I watched Kevin laughing and jumping to pop a bubble that was floating over his head. “Being different is hard.”

  “But when you have people to share it with, somehow the burden is lighter. You end up seeing you’re not alone and that you never were to begin with.” As I turned back to him, Sean held up the popsicles. “Come on. Let’s go feed the rascals before they mutiny.”

  Walking out behind Sean, I couldn’t help but roll his words around in my head. Were there really other siblings like us out there? People who understood that love wasn’t always logical and came in so many unexpected ways?

  Chapter 4

  Kevin

  “I don’t know why I have to lie down too. I’m not tired.” I tried to wiggle away as Jeremy cleaned my face with the baby wipe, but he kept glaring at me so I stayed still. If I was too annoying, he might make me go home, and I wasn’t ready yet.

  “No one is saying you’re tired. Sean is just going to put on that new Disney movie.” He rolled his eyes when I tried to squirm away again. “Sit still or you won’t get to watch it.”

  I kind of wanted to watch it, so I let him keep cleaning me.

  “How did you get that crap in your hair?”

  Assuming he meant the popsicle, I shrugged and guessed. “I think it was when Cody was talking with his hands and telling us about his picture.”

  But if he’d been asking about the peanut butter, I had no idea.

  “You’re going to need a bath when we get home.” I’d have laughed if he hadn’t been so frustrated.

  He’d clearly been hanging out with the Daddies too long.

  “Just let me go watch the movie. I’m not that dirty.” He’d already made me change my shirt because the soap from the bubbles had made him crazy. I was pretty sure he just didn’t want the other Doms thinking he wasn’t taking care of me, but he’d been scrubbing me for five minutes.

  Of course, I wasn’t the only one who was a bit messy. Miles had been covered head to toe and so had Cody. Somehow mud had gotten everywhere and that made James nearly break out in hives. But if I got in trouble, I was going to blame it on Miles. He looked sweet, but he was just as naughty as I was. Once James had started washing off Cody, all the Daddies had decided it was a good idea. It was like it was contagious or something.

  “Fine.” Jeremy was starting to give me that look again, so I escaped the bathroom and headed for the living room.

  Bryan was getting the same cleaning I’d gotten, but he looked fine so I grabbed his hand and tugged him away from Maddox as I smiled. “Movie time. Come on.”

  Maddox huffed but couldn’t decide if he should fuss at me or not, so we escaped without more scrubbing. Bryan smiled but yawned, so I grabbed his binkie and shoved it in his mouth as we flopped down on the floor with everyone.

  Ford was the best Daddy because he’d helped make a cozy pallet of pillows and soft blankets on the floor to watch the movie. As we stretched out, Bryan cuddled against me. Sean turned the lights off as the movie started, and I heard Cody giggle. He’d finally had to take off his dinosaur costume when it’d gotten dirty, and he hadn’t been happy about that at all.

  James had said he would have to go home if he kept pouting, so it was good to hear him laugh. He was a funny little. Where Bryan was shy and sometimes cuddly like Riley, Cody ran around wagging his tail and trying to convince his Daddy to find him a snack. And he was almost as bossy as Hailey when he was little.

  As the movie started, Riley lay down
beside us and moved close so Finn could lie down too. As I made room for him, I looked over and saw Hailey and Miles curled up together under a princess blanket that Sean had pulled out of a closet for Hailey. It was weird being cuddled up to everyone like we were a pile of puppies or something, but it was nice in a way. I’d never had this many people to snuggle with.

  Bryan’s yawns were contagious too, because as I heard the Daddies talking in the back of the room, I couldn’t stop yawning. I didn’t need a nap, but even I had to admit how hard I’d worked all afternoon. Kids weren’t easy.

  I snuggled closer to Bryan, wrapping one arm over him, and decided to close my eyes for just a minute. I deserved it after all the books I’d read and bubbles I’d caught. I’d been the best almost kind of big brother but not a babysitter ever, even if it’d been exhausting.

  But as I lay next to my friends and family, I knew it had been the perfect day, and I couldn’t wait to do it again.

  ~~~

  Cameos

  If you haven’t read my books before, this is my moment to confess I have a terrible time letting go of characters. To keep from having to say goodbye, I bring them back in unexpected places. If you’re curious, here’s some information about side characters from this book that have their own stories. Have fun with my guys, and visit my website or stalk me on Facebook if you have any questions.

  In this book

  Bryan and Maddox are from the Pieces series. It’s a friends-to-lovers story where Bryan learns to open up and Maddox learns to be the Daddy that Bryan has always wanted. Their story starts with His Missing Pieces.

  Jeremy and Kevin have their own series as well, but it is not on Amazon. You can find their story on Smashwords or on my own site. While their story is incest, it is a tender, slow burn romance. Too Close To Love is the first book in the Loving series.

  Trent and Hayden have a sweet story, Without Limits. They’ve known each other for so long that their story starts when they’re kids and first begin to understand what love really means.