Page 21 of Lost Little Boy (Pride Camp 2025 #5)

Chapter Sixteen

Wex

“And let’s get off here. There’s a fantastic diner just up the street.” I held out my hand for Perry to get off the bus tour we were taking. We had on and off privileges, and I was having a fantastic time.

Seeing the city through Perry’s gasps and grins gave me an entirely new perspective on the wonder that was New York City and Manhattan in particular.

It was as if I was saying goodbye to my favorite places because I knew my heart was going to lead me elsewhere—not that I couldn’t visit New York with Perry anytime we wanted.

I was having fun with my boy in the West Village. I’d given him my phone to take pictures since his phone was shitty. I’d be upgrading it when we got back to Arlington.

We stepped off the tour bus, and I led him to a fantastic diner on 2 nd Avenue. The food was amazing, and I loved going there. It wasn’t far from The Playground, where I enjoyed hanging out when I was in town, and I was happy to bring Perry along.

The plan was for us to eat a late lunch, do a little more sightseeing nearby, and stop by the club for a drink.

I wanted to expose my boy to the Daddy/boy environment before we went to the camp.

According to the website, there were a lot of activities for couples, not all of which were Daddy/boy couples, but they seemed to be geared to trust building.

I believed it would benefit us, but that remained to be seen.

“How long have you lived in New York? At some point you lived in Virginia, right?” We were perusing the menu outside Trina’s Diner.

I opened the door for Perry and touched his back to guide him inside.

We were so much better matched than I ever thought I’d find in life.

I needed him and wanted him to need me. The sex we’d had earlier in the day was only a preview of what we could have.

He was looking for someone to love him, and I was the man for the job—or so I hoped.

We ordered two specials, and I put some coins into the little jukebox at the table. “Pick your favorites,” I said.

Perry flipped through the music choices and punched in the code for an old Coldplay song I loved. “Fix You.” His gaze caught mine, and I took his hand. “You wanna fix me?”

My sweet boy glanced down. “I’m hoping maybe you can fix me .”

“I don’t see anything about you that needs to be fixed. You’re a beautiful young man who needs to know that he’s loved. He’s cherished. He has people who support him. I want to be those things for you, Perry.”

Our burgers came, and we sat back on our sides of the booth as the server spread the food. With a nod, we dug in. The food was so much better with Perry sitting across from me.

“Mr. Grassley, it’s good to see you.” Otis, the bouncer, gave me a big grin. He was about six feet seven, and the man was nothing but muscle.

“Thank you, Otis. It’s good to see you as well. This is my boy, Perry. May I have a red bracelet, please?”

Perry glanced at me. “A red bracelet?”

Otis took out a red bracelet from the drawer at the door and handed it to me. I slid it onto Perry’s wrist and tightened it a bit before we went in through the front doors.

“It shows your taken. I should have given you a choice. I’m sorry. Are you okay with me claiming you as my boy publicly?” My gut clinched as I waited for his answer.

Perry held out his wrist and spun the red plastic band. “I’d be more than happy for you to claim me, Daddy. Do you need to wear a bracelet too?”

I turned to Otis. “May I have a black bracelet?” Black signified a Daddy was taken. I’d waited a long time to wear that damn bracelet.

Otis grinned. “Congratulations, Mr. Grassley. Enjoy your night.” I nodded and took Perry’s hand to lead him into the club.

Instead of heading to The Playground, I took him into the bar across from the lobby. “What can I get you to drink, baby?”

“Uh, whatever you’re having, Daddy. ”

I kissed his temple before I helped him into the seat next to where Ossie was sitting with his computer, playing video poker. “Who’s your friend, Wex?”

I turned to Ossie and grinned. “This is Perry.Congratulations on your new club. I got the invitation to the party, but Ican’t commit to attending yet. We’ve got other irons in the fire, but as soonas I know, I’ll reach out.”

Ossie laughed. “They’ll make you do shit you didn’t know you’d do, won’t they?”

“I never knew the answer to that until now, but yes. Anything.”

“Welcome to the dick-whipped club, Wex.” Ossie lifted his glass and touched mine before he turned to Perry and smiled. “I’m so glad to meet you, Perry.”

Perry took his hand and shook it, though I could see he wasn’t sure what to do. I stepped closer to Perry and wrapped my arm around him. “Ossie and I have been friends for a while.” I turned to Ossie. “Where’s Carmine?”

Ossie chuckled. “He’s in the office. Let me tell him you’re here.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and sent a message.

A few minutes later, Carmine came into the bar with a big grin that usually meant he was feeling cocky and up to mischief. “It’s good to see you, Wex. Who’s your friend? ”

I stood and put my hand on Perry’s back. “Carmine Leone, this is my boyfriend, Perry Castle. Perry, sweet boy, this is Ossie’s husband.”

Carmine stepped forward and hugged Perry, which surprised me. “I’m so glad to meet you. We’ve been waiting for Wex to find a boy for a few years. Can I show you around?”

Perry turned to me with a smile, signaling he was up for it. “Please, Carmine, if you don’t mind. I’ll wait here,” I said.

I pulled Perry into my arms and gave him a quick kiss. “You’ll be okay?”

Carmine laughed. “Shame on you if you think I’m going to lead him astray.”

Ossie popped him on the ass before he kissed him. “Be nice. Perry is Wex’s boy. Just do a quick tour.”

“Of course, Daddy.”

Carmine picked up Perry’s drink and handed it to him. “I can’t wait to show you what we’ve done.”

The two of them left us, and Ossie turned to me. “He’s adorable. Where’d you find him?”

“You won’t believe this. He saved my damn life.”

I told Ossie the story of being mugged behind the office in Arlington, and how I’d come to know Perry. He grinned and nodded as I skimmed the details, and when I got to the part where Perry asked me to attend Pride Camp with him in Luray, Ossie laughed.

“What? What’s so damn funny?”

“Carmie sucked me into a camp like that in the Adirondacks when we first started seeing each other. I was attacked by a horde of mosquitoes and had to walk around with pink anti-itch lotion on me the whole weekend. Poor Carmie was beside himself and wanted to leave on Saturday morning. He claimed it was his fault I got attacked. It was a good weekend for me. He was diligent in trying to keep my mind off the itching.”

I joined him in laughter, imagining Ossie, who had a perpetual tan due to his Creole heritage, walking around a campground with pink dots on his tan skin. He would have stood out like a sore thumb.

“Well, I’ll make sure to take plenty of bug spray. Perry had us staying in a tent, but I upgraded us to a cabin with indoor plumbing. That’s about as outdoorsy as I can be. City boy, born and bred.” Ossie lifted his glass to touch with mine in toast to all of us city boys.

“So, the grand opening isn’t until the end of the month, but is the club open yet?”

“We’re doing the soft opening next weekend.

Right now, the instructors are training the staff who are participating in the demonstrations.

Carmie went to a Shabari Festival with three other boys he’s friends with last fall.

It’s a detailed artistic craft. He was able to enlist the help of a guy from Berlin to plan the club.

There are all sorts of suspension devices being installed. Does your boy like to be tied up?”

“We haven’t explored those limits yet. When I say this is new, I mean it. We’re establishing trust, which isn’t easy when you’re getting to know a stranger. It takes time, as I’m sure you know.”

“Oh, you don’t have to tell me. I met Carmie seven years ago at a club in New Orleans when I was visiting my family.

My grandmother was ill, so I was going back and forth a lot.

He swore I had a boy here in New York and after our initial meeting and hookup, he refused to let me take him out again.

For two months, I chased that boy around the French Quarter, and then he disappeared.

He’d moved to DC without a word to me. I finally had to hire a private detective to find him, but that’s another story. ”

“It’s very exciting. Does your Daddy let you tie him up like that?” I turned to see Perry and Carmie behind us, having returned to the bar.

Carmie laughed. “I’ve been given the freedom to tie him up from time to time. It’s a beautiful display of his trust in me that he’ll let me truss him up when we play. ”

I glanced at Ossie to see his loving gaze as Carmie answered Perry’s questions, for which I was grateful.

I’d tied a boy or two to a headboard in the past, but what they were talking about was well above my abilities.

Nothing inside me wanted to do harm to Perry, but if he was interested in learning the techniques of rope play, I’d be open to giving it a try.

After another drink with Carmie and Ossie, I was ready to go home. Seeing the fascination on Perry’s face at Ossie and Carmie’s interactions gave me hope that one day, Perry and I would have that same lovesick expression when we were around other people.

That would be a dream come true.

Over the next week, Perry and I had lunches and dinners together.

We went to a concert to see a group he liked and we hung out at both of our apartments.

He decided to stay at his apartment a few nights, and I slept for shit on those nights.

His things, however, were still at my corporate apartment.

It made me believe that he was on the verge of making some decisions, and I didn’t want to push.

Wednesday evening, I arrived at his apartment building after I finished a dinner with my father and one of our large distributors on the West Coast. After work, Perry had planned to go to the community college to fill out the paperwork for the classes he was interested in taking over the summer to see what a degree in education might entail.

I was proud of him for opening himself to the idea of learning something new.

I entered the code to get into the building and jogged up the stairs to the second floor. I rang the doorbell, and when the door opened, I was surprised to see a tall guy who wasn’t Perry. “May I help you?”

“Is Perry here?” I looked at the door to see I was at the right apartment.

“He’s in his bedroom. Are you Wexler Grassley the third?” The guy tilted his head and grinned as if he was waiting for my reaction to the fact he knew who I was.

“I am. You are?” I raised my eyebrow at him because, let’s face it, he was a strange man in my boyfriend’s apartment while I was still standing in the hallway.

“I’m Aaron Kamper. I posted a flier on the bulletin board at school that I’m looking to share an apartment. Perry called me and we met for coffee yesterday. We decided we could probably get along living together. ”

“Wex! Come in.” Perry rushed into my arms, which was exactly what I needed.

I kissed his forehead and let him pull me into the apartment.

“Guy I Don’t Know” closed the door and went back to the couch, picking up a video game controller.

I glanced toward the television set Perry bought when he moved into the apartment to see a gaming system that wasn’t there the last time I was in the place.

“You got a video game system?” Something wasn’t adding up.

“No, that’s mine.” Aaron hit a button and the sounds of gunfire filled the room.

I took Perry’s hand to lead him down the hallway to the primary bedroom and closed the door.

Immediately, I was angry, but I wasn’t exactly sure why.

Was it because some cute, unknown guy opened the door of his apartment and had moved in without me knowing, or was it because I was afraid Perry was going to replace me with someone closer to his age?