Page 14 of Wrestling with Daddy

Marcus didn’t refute him.

Nathan didn’t know if he’d wanted him to, but he didn’t know what to think about it either. So he drank his water, but he forced himself up and out of the blankets draped around him. He didn’t want to be coddled.

Not like this.

Marcus drove one of those big cars Nathan had never been interested in. He liked that the seats heated up, though, even if Marcus said he had to be careful about adding too much heat to the flayed skin in his thighs.

Nathan blushed. Now that the scene was done, that they were out of the building and inside the confines of a car where reality kept creeping in, a part of him regretted that it happened.

Fiddling with his phone, anything so he didn’t have to think about what had just happened, he noticed a new text.

He hadn’t expected to hear anything from Ken, but the Daddy had texted him.

An hour ago, apparently.

Daddy

Something about you draws me in, and I need to understand what it is

Well.

Nathan couldn’t say he understood what that meant, that was for sure.

Before he caught himself nibbling on the skin around his thumbnails, a habit he knew he should’ve gotten rid of years ago, Nathan turned to Marcus again.

He fought the shame that came with the simple act, the strange nausea associated with asking for help of any sort.

He swallowed. Hard. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot.”

“Is it normal…” Nathan licked his dry lips, shook his head, then started again. “I’ve been texting with a guy this weekend. Not much, really. But I feel all like… butterflies and shit. That’s… not normal, is it?”

Marcus surprised him by laughing. Guffawing, really. Nathan scowled.

It wasn’t funny.

It definitely didn’tfeelfunny.

“Is that why you needed a beating today?” There was still laughter in Marcus’s voice as he posed the question.

“Maybe.”

“Boy…” Marcus chuckled. “In my experience, if there’s none of those nerves when you’re getting to know someone, the relationship is doomed. Doesn’t matter if it’s sexual or a simple friendship.”

Huh.

Nathan would have to think about that, but he guessed it made sense. “I understand.”

They were a street away from his apartment when a tear sneaked its way down his face.

Nathan scrubbed it right away, frustration only bringing more tears to the front.

Shit.

“Nathan? You okay?”

At least, he guessed he wasn’t a brat when he shook his head no. He could tell Ken that after he figured out where the tears were coming from, whether it was about the flogging he’d gotten, the stupid text message, Marcus’s presence, or something else.