Page 22 of A Daddy for Christmas 3: Matty

I donned sweatpants and a T-shirt before leading Matty by the hand to the kitchen.

Of course, Finn wolf whistled as soon as we walked out. He was sitting at the big dining table outside, but the huge glass sliding door was open all the way, so it might as well have been the same room.

I flipped him off, then turned to Matty. He was grinning ear to ear, as if it were a badge of honor.

We filled our plates with salad fixings left on the island counter, then headed outside to join them. Of course, they started more shit. Finn leading. “Way to get busy in there, Drake.” He slid a couple of steaks onto our plates.

“Nice of you to service the man, Matty…” Gonzo chuckled as he threw out his barb.

I pointed at Tank, daring him to contribute. He held his hands up in submission.

“The rest of you fuck right off.”

Matty snorted. “Easy, Daddy.” He patted my arm as he sat next to me, really taking the teasing in stride. I was a little concerned he’d be upset or embarrassed. Guess I should have known better. My little streaker was also known to wear tightshirts with sayings likecum dumpsteron them at work. Right. Maybe I should have brought the boy here all along.

Chapter nine

Matty - Miami

It was Thanksgiving and I wanted to make a nice dinner for the guys. It couldn’t be that hard, right? And hell, it would be a dream in this big kitchen. It had two islands, tons of cabinets, an oversized fridge, and a big pantry with a separate sink and dishwasher, so I could do a lot of the prep there.

We got a huge turkey, and I put it in first. Then I prepped some of the other food, including boiling eggs. I made the best deviled eggs but hadn’t cooked like this in a long time. Not since I left home, really.

Everything seemed to be going well. Not just the dinner but living here. I’d thought Drake would put me on the next flight home, but he didn’t. In fact, I was pretty sure he liked having me around. Maybe not when I was causing problems, but even that had a happy ending. I wasn’t going to push my luck, though.

I slid open the back doors to the porch, where they had the big dining table. The weather was perfect, so we could eat out there together. Most of the time, the guys ate at the islands or upstairs in what I’d come to think of as the party room. Therewas a wet bar with a mini fridge and bathroom up there. But for Thanksgiving, it would be nice to eat together. I’d invited Donny, Kay, and Daddy Saxon, but they were spending the holiday in California. Mr. Wolf and his partner, Harrison, would be out there with him, since Harrison was Donny’s brother. He said Mr. Jinkee used to date Harrison. I couldn’t picture them together at all. Maybe because Mr. Miami was so different, and that’s who Mr. Jinkee was married to. Sheesh. So confusing.

Everything was spread out on the islands so everyone could fix a plate and take it out to the big table. That was the easiest way to do it. I loaded up with turkey, green bean casserole, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a roll, and then wondered if I’d be able to eat it all. Especially since I’d eaten at least four deviled eggs while I was making everything. Well, I had to taste it.

After dinner, we all took pie, which I bought instead of making, upstairs to the party room, where we sat on the sectional sofa. The guys were really becoming like brothers to me. Sometimes they teased, but it was good-natured. I even teased back some.

When we finished the pie, Drake took my plate and his and put them in the little sink in the bar. “I’ll get them later.” The other guys took their dishes downstairs and would probably go to their rooms after cleaning up. Drake sat by me and held my hand. It felt like we were really boyfriends at last. “You’ll need to go back to Vegas soon.”

“What?” This couldn’t be happening. I pulled my hand away from his, but he grabbed it back.

“Yes. You have to close out your apartment. There’s no way we can pay for both places in Vegas.” With me not working, he wasn’t wrong.

I’d misread that. “Oh.” Maybe it was because I’d been thinking about how real this had started to become. I mentally kicked myself. I needed to relax. “But where will I live when we go backto Vegas?” I was only teasing, because I wasn’t living anywhere but with Daddy from now on. If I could help it.

Daddy grumbled under his breath and squeezed my hand. “Just do what I tell you. Go close your place, terminate your lease, and then go to my place and get everything ready to do the same. I don’t think we’ll be keeping it either. When we finally finish this album, we should get a place here, because this is where we’ll be when we aren’t touring. Just like Bramble Punk did. Plus, I kind of like it here.”

“When will you be touring?”

“After Bramble Punk records their album and that’s not until we finish ours. Maybe this spring.”

“Maybe you’ll get to do Rocktoberfest?” I remembered talking about the festival with Donny and Kay. “Didn’t you say you wanted to do that?”

“Mmm… We’ll see. There’re too many maybes right now. It’ll help if I don’t have to worry about where you’re living, though.”

“Okay, Daddy.” What else was I going to say? If he wanted to worry about me, I’d let him. No one had worried about me for a long time. I was damn well going to enjoy it.

Chapter ten

Matty – Las Vegas

Well. I was back in Vegas. But it didn’t feel like home anymore. My tiny apartment seemed hollow, and I was happy to be packing up. That was the easy part. I’d rented it furnished, so I only had my personal stuff. And the fridge, which only had condiments, really, so I threw that out. In fact, I threw a lot of crap out and put a lot of stuff in a donation box. I didn’t need most of these things. Once it was cleared up, I went to the front office and turned in my keys. Drake gave me some money, but I also had savings, so I paid up through the end of the next month to break the lease.

Then I went to Drake’s. His place was not so easy. I was going to have a lot of work in front of me to get his place ready. But I didn’t have to actually work a job while I was here. So, I was up to it and had the time. I dropped my bag on his bed. It seemed weird being here without him, but the place smelled like him, all citrusy fresh with a hint of clover. It made me warm and fuzzy inside.