Page 5 of Tantrum Interrupted (Blue Collar Daddies in the City #10)

ROMAN

Fuck.

That was the only thing in my head as I sat on my couch, desperately waiting for Hunter to answer the goddamn phone. I hadn’t even known him for twenty-four hours, and I’d already blown it...and possibly broken the fragile boy.

I told him he could trust me, and then I made him regret opening up to me.

Jesus. Even through the phone, I could picture the look on his face when he thought I was rejecting him.

Again. I wasn’t stalking him, but I did have his YouTube channel open in three different browser windows on my wide screen, and the paused image of him looking devastated seemed to be mocking me.

My insensitive and poorly timed words made him look just as devastated. Maybe I wasn’t cut out to be a Daddy. Not to a sweet Little like Hunter.

Over the years, I’d witnessed plenty of scenes with Daddy Doms and their boys. Some were Little and others were submissive in their own ways, but they all had one thing in common. When their Daddy wasn’t interested in them the way they needed, that kicked-puppy stare always broke my heart.

If that’s what I did to Hunter, I had to make it right.

Back when I’d been a voyeur, watching other people’s dynamics as if it were a spectator sport, I was fascinated. I took mental notes and thought I was wholly prepared to handle any situation that presented itself to me.

I was wrong. Now that I was the one in a position of authority with a vulnerable heart in my hands, I needed to man up and do the right thing. Even if Hunter didn’t forgive me for hurting his feelings, he needed to know he wasn’t bad or the problem. That was all me.

What if he was crying in his room, all alone? Maybe he hated himself for believing the weird older guy he met at the job actually wanted to talk to him. Maybe he was just annoyed and already texting his friends about how I’d just talked a big game but couldn’t actually handle doing the deed.

I stood up and paced my hallway, calling over and over again. Then I sat down and checked my phone again. No new notifications. No simple text to tell me he was okay and we’d talk tomorrow.

Fuck, what was wrong with me? I’d just met the kid and he already had me crawling out of my skin.

I listened to the message on his voicemail for the twentieth time. I only left a message the first two times, but I continued to call just to hear his voice. He sounded so calm and carefree. Nothing like how he’d sounded when he choked back a sob and hung up on me.

Instead of leaving a voice message, I sent another text. I’m coming over.

If he didn’t want to see me, he could tell me not to go. But since he didn’t even seem to see my message, I grabbed my keys and headed out the door.

Hunter had mentioned living with his mom, which would be ridiculously awkward when I showed up in the middle of the night to see her barely-legal son. But I didn’t care about appearances. I cared about Hunter. Until I knew he was okay, I wouldn’t be able to take a full breath.

The drive over was a blur of streetlights, but I kept focused on the road ahead of me. Going to his place was a terrible idea, but I didn’t know what else to do. He was in need, and I’d promised to help give him what he needed.

When I got to his house, I parked at the curb in the same spot as when I’d dropped him off just a few hours earlier. My brain told me to turn back and not continue to his front door, and I might have listened to that voice, if the front door hadn’t opened as soon as I stepped onto the porch.

I froze with my hand hovering over the rail.

A woman stepped out with a duffel bag in one hand and a travel mug in the other. She was an attractive woman in her late forties who appeared to be heading out for the evening. “Oh.” She stopped short and then took a step back. “Can I help you?”

I nearly turned and ran, but I couldn’t think of a reasonable lie, so I had to go with the truth. Sorta. “Uh, yeah. I’m Roman. A friend of Hunter’s.”

She looked me up and down, like she was trying to decide if I was a threat or just a pest. “Are you here to pick him up or something?”

“No, I—I just wanted to say hi.”

She raised an eyebrow and smiled as if proud of what her son had pulled. “Oh, well, he’s downstairs. You can let yourself in. Tell him I’ll see him tomorrow.”

“Okay, sure.” This woman clearly had no sense of self-preservation for herself or her son. I could have been a serial killer or a religious canvasser. Neither of which should have full access to her home. “Thanks.”

She pushed past me with her hand not-so-casually brushing my bicep and then headed down the steps. “There’s a casserole in the fridge if you boys get hungry.”

As soon as she was in her car, I went inside the house and locked the door behind me. Directly in front of the door was a staircase that went up and a door with a “Gamers Be Gaming” sign hanging from it.

That had to be his.

I knocked on the door, but when I didn’t hear anything, I let myself in. The stairs to the basement were creaky, but I was grateful that he wouldn’t be startled if I just appeared out of nowhere. At least he couldn’t say he didn’t hear me coming.

At the bottom of the stairs a blue light glowed from the monitor on his desk, and directly across from that, Hunter was asleep on his bed. He was tangled in a pile of blankets with one curled over the covers and his bare ass and back facing me.

Shit. I shouldn’t be here. I was trespassing. But damn, it was a nice view.

I walked to the other side of the bed so I wasn’t tempted to stare at his perfect ass and just looked down at him.

Hunter was curled up in the fetal position, hugging a stuffed penguin to his chest with his thumb fully planted in his mouth. He looked angelic and innocent with his soft lips holding on like it needed something to suck.

I had something he could suck…

His eyes were puffy like he’d cried himself out, and that gutted me. His tears were my fault.

I felt the urge to tuck him in, but getting too close while he was asleep and had no idea I was in his home was a boundary even I wasn’t comfortable crossing. One of the few, apparently.

Instead, I sat on the edge of the bed, facing the headboard and careful not to touch him.

Hunter shifted slightly but didn’t wake up. He just sighed and curled tighter around the penguin.

I sat there watching him sleep for several minutes with the only sound in the room coming from his soft breaths.

At least until he jerked and held out one arm with his eyes still tightly shut.

His thumb slipped from his mouth, and he made a little panicked sound.

“Daddy, no—” His breath hitched and his fingers reached into the air. “Please don’t leave me.”

He twisted and rolled onto his back before blinking up at the ceiling.

“Fuck.” Then he saw me and his whole face went slack.

The panic that had filled his whole body just seconds ago drained out of him like water from a tub.

Hunter rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and squinted up at me. “Roman?”

I nodded and tried to smile, but it felt all wrong. “Hi, sweetheart.”

“What—” He looked around, like he was checking if anyone else was there. “Why are you here?”

I shrugged and placed my hand on his bare ankle. “I was worried when you didn’t answer my calls.”

He looked down at my hand on his skin and then his fingers tightened on the penguin’s neck. “I’m fine.” His eyes darted to his stuffie and didn’t meet mine again. “You really didn’t have to come.”

“I know.” I gave him a squeeze before pulling my hand away. “But I wanted to.”

Neither of us spoke for a minute.

He sat up and only then seemed to remember he was naked because he carefully pooled the comforter over his lap as he fidgeted with the penguin. “I’m sorry I hung up. Sometimes, when I get embarrassed, I just need to hide. I think that’s what happened.”

“Like I said—” I nodded toward the empty side of the bed. “May I sit next to you?”

He nodded and patted the pillow. “Yeah, okay.”

I flipped around and got settled right beside him with my socked feet crossed at the ankles on top of his blankets. “What I meant to say was that there’s no reason to be embarrassed about being inexperienced. In fact?—”

“No, not about that.” He shook his head and cut me off. “I mean, also about that, but that’s not why I had to hang up.”

I stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate.

After a long moment, he sighed and turned away so I was looking at his profile.

“I’m embarrassed for being so desperate and basically begging for your attention.

I know you’re just a nice guy who was trying to make me feel better, but I’m not used to guys like you even noticing me, so I let my fantasies run a little wild.

I’m sorry for putting that on you. It’s my fault. ”

Damn, I’d really messed with his head. “I should have said it better.” I traced my finger along the back of his hand and then opened my palm, hoping he’d take the invitation.

When he did, I continued. “I’m very attracted to you and couldn’t stop thinking about you today.

But I don’t want to take advantage of you, just because I’m a horny old guy with a crush. ”

Hunter bit his lip, like he was either holding in a laugh or a sob. “A crush?”

I gave his hand a squeeze and nodded. “Maybe that sounds silly, but since you first started acting up at the photo shoot, I knew you were the kind of brat that I would have fun with. And then as I spent more time with you, I started to think maybe we could have more than casual fun.”

He nodded and looked at me with big, expectant eyes. “Are you a Daddy?”

“Not officially.” I held up my hand to stop him before he could interrupt. “But I want to be. I’ve been involved in the kink community for years and do identify as a dominant with Daddy tendencies. I just haven’t had much experience outside of watching controlled scenes. Are you a Little?”