Page 15 of Puppy Pride (Pride Camp 2025)

Chapter Fifteen

Jai

D id he just…? And did I…? Wow. Even as I tried to absorb what was happening, my mind settled.

“Good boy, Buttercup. You’re a good boy.”

Demetrius was crooning to me. I was seated on the bed in his hotel room, and he was standing before me, hands on his knees, and his gaze level with mine.

“My Buttercup is a good boy. You’re going to breathe slowly.”

My mind wanted to rebel—because I had something super important to do. But his words settled something within me. Something long-forgotten. I blinked. “Big D?”

A grin broke out across his face. “You remember. You were always my favorite. Now—may I pet you?”

I bobbed my head quickly. I wanted his touch. Craved his touch. His touch always soothed.

He eased himself onto the bed next to me and gathered me into his arms. He feathered my hair with one hand while giving me scritches up and down my back with the other. His familiarity overwhelmed me. Memories of six years ago flooded me.

How did I not recognize him from the beginning? This is Big D. D. Demetrius. Also Big Daddy.

Because I’d been in a monogamous relationship with Gary, I hadn’t engaged in any kind of sex acts with anyone.

For me, What’sUp Pup was playtime. Scritches and ball chasing and puppy piles.

Big D used to bring me treats and chew toys and— “You left me those treats. And that toy.” My voice was barely above a whisper.

“I did, pup. I hoped you’d remember me.”

“I didn’t…but I do now.”

“That’s good. And we’re going to talk about this later. Right now, though, I need to drive you to the Abbotsford Hospital. You need to make sure Chris is okay.”

My mind coalesced around his words, and I tensed.

“It’s okay, pup. I’ll be there for you.”

“I should drive. ”

“You might be calmer now, but you’re still not in any shape to drive. I can stay in the car, if you want, but I’m taking you.” He pressed a kiss to my temple. “Are you ready to go?”

“Uh, yeah.” My head still felt a little woozy, but clarity was coming. The panic was receding. It had been a very long time since I’d lost my shit so badly like that.

About six years, to be precise.

I wasn’t prone to panic. Stress and anxiety? Sure. Pure panic? Rarely.

With Demetrius’s help, I rose to my feet. “Thank you.”

“Let’s get you to the hospital first. Then you can thank me.” He yanked his keys out of his pocket. The he grasped me under the elbow and steered me toward the door.

Within two minutes we were down the elevator and heading toward his minivan. Less than two minutes after that, he selected the Abbotsford Hospital on his GPS and headed out, following the directions. He was instructed to drive south as Abbotsford was that way—across the Mission-Abby bridge.

I probably could’ve directed him, but I was busy sending a flurry of texts as we drove over the brightly lit bridge. That, and I hadn’t been there in, like, fifteen years. I’d been a healthy kid and not prone to doing stupid shit that would land me in the hospital. “I’ve let Smith know.”

“Not Alessandra?”

“She tends to go to bed earlier because Wesley’s an early riser. Smith is still a night owl, and he deals with the baby if he wakes.” I continued typing. “I’ve told him I can handle things—”

“Which you can.”

“—but that I’d keep him informed.” I took a deep breath.

Demetrius followed the directions down a highway that had farm fields on either side. “What happened?”

“Huh?” I rubbed my forehead.

“What happened to Chris?” He glanced at me quickly before refocusing on the road. “I mean, if you can’t tell me…”

“Somehow they got stung by something. A bee or wasp or something. They’re allergic—which we knew—and they had a bad reaction. Grey administered their EpiPen, which worked…”

“But the patient always needs to be seen by a doctor.”

“Yeah.” I ran my hand through my hair. “I should have—”

“Stop.” Hard. But not as harsh as before. “Take a breath.”

“You don’t have to boss me around.” With a tinge of defensiveness. Although you deserve this. You sat when he ordered you to. You obeyed that command without a second thought. You recognized him instantly. No more masks. No more hiding from your past.

“Buttercup, I know I don’t. I’m not your Daddy. But I’m someone who is very worried about you. If you show up at the hospital panicking, that’s not going to help anyone. Chris is in good hands. They’ll take care of them.”

“Chris…” I let out a long breath. “I can’t get into specifics, but Chris has had negative interactions with medical authorities before.”

“Ah.”

Hopefully he understood. Trans and nonbinary kids had a rough enough time in life without having to deal with people who might not be empathetic.

My phone buzzed and I checked the screen, taking in the words quickly. “Makenna says the campers are hunkered down and watching a movie in the great room.”

“You can send word back once you’ve seen Chris. Damn, do you have authority?”

“Yes. Cody’s bringing the paperwork. I have a copy on my phone as well. Their parents are up north and wouldn’t be able to get here.”

“Are you going to call them?” He chanced another glance at me.

I bit my lower lip. “I will, of course. But I might as well wait until I have a firm grasp of what’s happening. If it’s serious and they need to come, an extra hour out of the loop won’t make a difference. If Chris is going to be okay, then better to give them that news.”

He shrugged. “I’d want to know. I wouldn’t be able to get to Alaina…but I’d still want to know.” He pursed his lips. “But I respect you know what you’re doing.”

Except I didn’t. I just didn’t see how dragging people out of bed in the middle of the night was going to solve anything.

Was I right or wrong? An hour wouldn’t likely make a difference—but if we waited until the picture was clearer, it would give the family enough information to know if they had to rush home or if Chris was going to be okay.

As we came into a more populated area of the town, the GPS directed us to turn several times. Demetrius followed the instructions as I continued to work my phone.

“I’ll drop you off at the Emergency entrance and go park. Do you want me to come in?” His deep voice soothed me.

The GPS directed this last turn onto the street with the hospital.

“You might as well come in. No point staying in the car.” I checked for messages one final time, then watched as he turned right.

“Well, if Cody’s driving, you could get a ride back to your SUV with him.”

“Oh.” Well, that was something I hadn’t considered. “But Cody’s going to know someone brought me. If he asks, I can’t lie.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to. But he might not inquire.”

My wry laughter filled the minivan. “There’s no way Cody’s not going to ask me how I got here.

He’s whip-smart. He’s one of those people who can take in dozens of data points at once and sort them quickly.

I’m someone who can only handle a couple at a time, and it takes me a long time to make a decision.

Great for a financial analyst—not so much for handling crises. ”

“Okay first, that’s kind of bullshit. You process things differently, and I’m quite certain you’re normally great in a crisis.”

Silence. I had no way to answer that.

“The circumstances tonight were what threw you off. If you’d been at the camp, you would’ve done things brilliantly. I doubt you worked in Nova Scotia for five years and nothing ever went wrong.”

“It did.” A tad defensive.

“You were off your game.” He signaled to turn into the entrance to the hospital. “You’d just had an orgasm.”

“Jesus, do you have to be so blunt?”

“Jai, I’ve always been this blunt. I’m just saying you need to cut yourself some slack. You’re not Cody. He’s not you. Chris is lucky both of you will be here. Oh, there’s the entrance.” He pulled to the spot closest to the massive emergency sign. “Now, I can head back—”

“Please come in.”

“Okay. I’ll see you in a couple of minutes.”

I hopped out and strode into the emergency room, ready to deal with whatever was coming next.