Page 25 of Hiding From Laughter

Ashton

Throw.

Pup run.

Pup come.

Cookie.

Yay.

Hahaha.

“The small snack-size cookies were a good idea.”

Puppy’s Master was trying not to laugh. “But he’s going to fall asleep as soon as he hits the car.”

“This one too.”

Daddy made a happy sound. “Between stress and our scene earlier, we’re both going to crash hard.”

No naps.

Not tired.

“You said you guys mostly just come here for your partner to play?”

Daddy happy. Daddy talking. Daddy nosy. “Please feel free to let me know if something is too personal. I’m used to chatting with strangers at munches and other clubs, so knowing you on a casual basis is making it hard for me to figure out where the conversational limits are.”

Yep.

Nosy Daddy.

Faster, faster pup.

Throw.

Hahaha.

Good throw.

Good cookie.

Cookie for me.

Cookie for pup.

Daddy said no cookies for Daddy.

Daddy wants meat.

Hehehe.

“I’m not going to ask what that evil little snicker was about.”

Daddy sighed. I laughed. I threw the ball. “Not nearly as innocent as you look.”

Sawyer coughed.

Sawyer blushed.

Sawyer innocent, not Ashton the big boy or cute boy.

Daddy looked suspicious. “I saw you giggling at the happy pup.”

Big happy pup.

Hahaha.

Oops.

Sawyer coughed.

Sawyer choked.

Jackson laughed. “You are as innocent as you think he is if that made you uncomfortable.”

Silly Master.

“Don’t be ridiculous. He’s the inside tail pup attention whore, not me, but that doesn’t make me a prude.”

Pup?

Daddy’s turn to cough. “You caught his attention with that one.”

Hmm.

Pup?

Caught the pup.

Pat. Pat. Pat.

“Okay patting the puppy and patting Sawyer’s lap? Yeah, I know what you’re asking and so does he…and so does the happy pup. Why don’t you let him escape and throw the ball or give him more rubs. He likes attention.”

Jackson the Master snickered.

Daddy sighed and his eyes went round and round. “Not like that.”

Hehehe.

Happy pup.

“Sorry.”

Big smiles from Jackson the Master. “It was just funny.”

Daddy’s eyes went round and round again. “You are definitely not as vanilla as you look.”

Funny Daddy.

“Why does everyone always say that?”

Pouting, Jackson the Master tried to frown at Sawyer. “Even your boss asked me if I knew I was dating two men.”

Hehehe.

Sawyer squirmed. “We’re not using him as a measure of what’s normal.”

Pat. Pat. Pat.

“See? Even Ashton agrees with me.”

Sawyer pat-patted my head. “Oh. Sorry.”

Happy sounds from Daddy. “Don’t be. He didn’t mind. He might not talk in this headspace but he’s very expressive…and cuddly.”

Daddy sighed. “Let the pup escape, baby.”

No.

Cuddles for puppy.

My puppy.

Sawyer puppy.

Sawyer shy puppy?

Tired puppy.

Snuggle the puppy.

Pet the puppy.

Good helper.

Hug…hug…

****

“So that went fine, right?”

Wishing I’d stayed little until we’d gotten out of the club, I tried not to squirm as we headed toward the front door. He’d taken my diaper off for the ride home and it didn’t feel right to wiggle without it. “Right? I’m not overthinking that? Or am I underthinking it?”

Should I have been more worried?

Micha raised one eyebrow and gave me his don’t be ridiculous look. “First of all, what’s the likelihood that I’ll actually tell you to worry more?”

“Twenty percent tops.”

Conner popped out of nowhere like magic as we got to the main door that led to the foyer. “And that’s only if you absolutely have to.”

He could read Micha like a book.

“In this case, I can confidently say he doesn’t have to worry at all.”

Micha seemed to be doing his best not to glare at Conner, but that was probably because he thought Conner might start me worrying again. “We had a good time playing with some friends Micha knew through work and there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Oh.”

Conner studied both of us with long looks. “I must’ve missed that part. I just saw you playing and talking, but it’s good to know. Everything alright on that front?”

Unfortunately, he’d aimed that question at me and his firm expression said he wanted an answer or a safeword. “Yes. He’d already dropped a hint that he wasn’t as vanilla as I’d thought, so it was a surprise but it was fine.”

Him being a pup was a surprise too, but him not being a pup in the club most of the time was not.

“Very good.”

Going back to glancing between both of us, Conner seemed content with my answer. “We do our best to protect everyone’s privacy and we vet our members as thoroughly as possible. If you have any issues with a member outside of the club, though, please come right to me. Your safety and comfort are my primary focus.”

So was he a switch?

Caretaker sub of some sort?

Wishing I was as confidently nosy as Micha, I nodded. “We appreciate that, but I don’t think there’s any problem. He’s a nice guy at work, and from what I remember of the conversations going on around me, he was fine with it tonight.”

Micha nodded, leaning over to kiss my head. “He was. He was more worried about upsetting you than anything else.”

“Two worriers do not make one healthy friendship, so keep an eye on them both.”

That sternly delivered order was aimed at Micha. “What about the wet room? Did that go well?”

Thank God that was aimed at Micha too.

“Yes.”

He seemed to think the question was perfectly reasonable. “It’s a beautiful room and those towels are amazing. The scene went very well too and it sparked some ideas about others we might like to explore. So thank you.”

Micha was a badass alpha shifter but his brain was usually so logical I couldn’t help wondering what kind of scenes he’d thought up.

“You’re very welcome and I’m glad someone finally appreciates my towels.”

Huffing, Conner looked offended. “I know I did an incredible job on the woodwork, but it’s the small details that really matter in the long run.”

Had he done the woodwork?

Didn’t he own the club?

“I agree. You’ve done a wonderful job finding good staff as well. Everyone was nice and made us feel right at home. They even understood to ignore Ashton when he had his binkie in. It was perfect for us and I appreciate that.”

I guess I hadn’t thought about it that way. Most of the time we were taught not to ignore people in social situations or in customer service, but the politest thing in my case was actually ignoring me. Figuring out all the differences would’ve given me an ulcer, but the bartender made it look easy.

“We’ve had a lot of training and time to practice, but I’m glad that shows.”

Conner looked pleased at Micha’s praise, standing straighter and shifting like he was getting ready to do a happy dance. “But we’re good here? No issues? Leaving happy? I’m getting ready to grab a drink but I wanted to touch base with you first.”

That was nice.

Oh.

I hadn’t thought about the guy at the front desk being able to hear us, but he started giggling, so clearly the door wasn’t as solid as I’d assumed. “Does Ben know that?”

“Tattletale, but yes.”

Conner looked like he wanted to stick out his tongue, but he was back to being a smiling business owner in a flash. “Some people have no manners. But I’m glad you had a good time and now it’s time for my good time.”

That sounded…dangerous…or naughty at the very least.

Giving us a wave, Conner ignored the snickers coming from the front desk guy and headed deeper into the club. He was still in his tux, but for some reason he looked like he should’ve been wearing a ballgown with the way his hips were swaying.

Daddy shook his head and chuckled, but he got us out before we had to talk to anyone else. Which was a very good thing because just walking to the car made me tired. “You are asleep on your feet.”

Maybe.

“I had a nap with the puppy, though.”

I wasn’t sure why I’d thought that was a good idea, but that was what I’d done. “He was tired. At least, I’m pretty sure that’s what his Master said.”

Had it been Sawyer?

Someone said the puppy was tired.

Micha kissed my head as he opened the passenger door. “I’m driving. You’re not able to focus. And yes, you had a nice nap with the puppy. How are you feeling about that?”

Weird?

The look on his face said I should feel weird.

“I don’t know.”

He was going to make me know…his eyebrow going up made that obvious. But he gave me about five seconds to gather my thoughts as he shut the door and walked around to the driver’s side.

Ten seconds…he even gave me time to get buckled as he turned the car on.

“So…what are you thinking?”

He was doing his best to look casual but he seemed like he was overthinking something.

“Um, well, at the moment I’m wondering what you’re overthinking?”

As far as distractions went it was perfection because it was true. “Did I miss something when I took a nap?”

Admittedly, I hadn’t been tuned in to their conversation, but I remembered his reactions and his laughter. Those had all been positive signs and he’d even chatted a lot with Sawyer and Jackson.

“Sawyer’s a pup. That was what he said, right?”

Okay, so I might’ve been at the easily distracted point of tired, but it was still a legitimate question. “I don’t want to say something I shouldn’t, so you need to tell me if I’m remembering that correctly.”

Micha chuckled, reaching over to run his hand over my head as he pulled up to the stop sign at the end of the parking lot. “Yes. You’re remembering that correctly. I’m not sure he really wants to talk about that yet, but I think it was more about being very private instead of being embarrassed by it.”

“Okay. No talking about the pup thing, but I won’t be surprised if it comes up.”

It probably wouldn’t come up at work, but who knew. “What did I miss when I was out…napping or just distracted?”

Playing with Cooper’s pup had been fun, but I could honestly say I had no idea what they were talking about most of the time.

“Oh, um, Sawyer’s other partner’s human name is Cooper.”

I wasn’t sure I could remember hearing Micha use his name and had to chuckle when he huffed.

“No one uses real names enough in the lifestyle. Everyone is pup or baby or boy. It’s confusing.”

Huffing, Micha took a minute to brood before he switched back to being weirdly worried about something. “You’re okay, though?”

What had I missed?

“Okay, you’re going to have to explain what you’re worried about because you’re more psychic than I am and I have no idea what I’m supposed to be upset over.”

I’d really missed something big. “You told Conner everything was fine. Were you lying?”

“No.”

Micha seemed honestly startled by that question which didn’t make any sense at all. “I’m worried you’re going to be upset once you start worrying.”

That sentence hadn’t made any sense at all, but after a moment, I thought I’d sorted through it. “What am I supposed to start being upset over?”

Sometimes it took my brain a while to catch up to the panic, but nothing was coming to mind right off the bat. “Sawyer was okay with me being little.”

Ha.

Said it.

Wow.

Even admitting that out loud hadn’t startled Micha out of his funk.

“He knows I’m okay with the pup stuff. He didn’t seem to be jealous that I played with Cooper’s pup.”

What else? “Um, no one was mean to us. The bartender didn’t try to make small talk with me when I had my quiet toy in.”

Pushing away how good my toy sounded at the moment, I couldn’t think of anything else I was supposed to be worried about.

“You’re going to have to fill in the blanks so I know what I haven’t realized yet.”

God. I was starting to sound like Micha.

That must’ve been what startled him out of his weirdness because he barked out a laugh and actually pulled over into a gas station parking lot. When he had the car in park, he let out a deep breath and leaned over to kiss my head. “Okay. I will stop giving us problems we don’t have.”

That would be really helpful, but it was probably rude to say that so I kept my mouth shut.

I was occasionally smart.

It made Micha chuckle again and he shook his head before giving me a soft peck on the lips. “Our contracts say that we won’t play with other subs or Doms when we do scenes. It wasn’t until you were curled up asleep with Cooper’s pup that I realized we’d never thought about playtime like that before.”

Oh.

Interesting.