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This early there wasn’t much of a crowd. Still, it was Lake’s job to be at the front desk to make sure that no one who wasn’t a member or didn’t have an invitation didn’t get in. It was an important job.

He pulled the heavy glass door open before stepping behind the counter. Johnathon was scanning two membership cards through the system.

“Hey, Jimmy! Good evening, Master Ken,” Lake greeted the couple as he joined Johnathon.

“Evening, Lake,” Master Ken replied.

“There you are! I was worried when I didn’t see you!” Jimmy exclaimed dramatically.

“I told you that he would be right here,” Johnathon commented.

“You could have just been saying that to throw me off!” Jimmy explained. “What if he’d been abducted by aliens? You could be working for the aliens, you know.”

Lake pressed his lips together. Jimmy was new to the area after having moved there after dating his partner online for over a year. Jimmy had recently become obsessed with Area 51 and all things aliens. Much to his Master’s dismay.

“I wasn’t abducted, and I promise Johnathon isn’t working with the aliens,” Lake said.

“Hmm.” Jimmy eyed Johnathon. “I’ll be watching you just in case. You might not even know that you’re working for them.”

“Boy,” Master Ken growled. “What did I tell you about accusing other people about working for the aliens?”

“Sorry!” Jimmy didn’t stop looking at Johnathon with suspicion though.

“Here you go, sir.” Johnathon handed the cards back to Master Ken. “Have a great night.”

“We will. Thank you both.” Master Ken guided his boy into the club.

Johnathon turned to Lake with a scowl. “How come I couldn’t have been abducted and you be working for the aliens?”

Lake shrugged. “Maybe I don’t have the ‘I work for aliens’ look?” he offered.

Johnathon gasped. “I look like I could?”

“Uh, no?”

“I don’t believe you! You think I could be working for aliens,” Johnathon accused.

“No,” Lake drawled. He got drawn into the weirdest conversations at work. It was great! But he just knew this wasgoing to be a conversation for the entire night now. “It’s just out of the two of us, if someone was working for the aliens, it wouldn’t be me.”

One of the other security guards walked by on the other side of the glass door.

“Hey, Larry!” Johnathon called. “I got a question for you!”

Lake was grinning as he turned to place Zeb in his favorite spot by the monitor. The screen showed both ends of the hallway that led to the club so Lake could keep an eye out for trouble coming or going.

He spotted the small plastic pink brush with a sticky note and wanted to dance.

The sticky note saidFor Zeband Lake knew it was from Jesse. Every shift there had been something for Zeb. A new bow, a headband, and now a brush.

How great was it that Jesse was spoiling Zeb just the way that made Lake all gooey on the inside.

A lot of men, especially older men, who were part of the club thought that littles were cute but didn’t really understand the meaning behind regressing. True, it was different for every person who found themselves identifying as little, middle, or engaged with any kind of age regression. For Lake it was the release from having to be perfect all the time.

When Lake was little, he could be silly, quiet, and didn’t have to make any of the hard decisions. He didn’t have to justify how he felt inside or meet anyone’s expectations. It was a break from real life.

Even some of the Daddies that Lake meant supported their little partners but didn’t engage outside of taking care of their partner.

Luckily Remi, Eric, and Dane had shown Lake that there were men who would get on the floor and play with them.