“You ok, sweet Boy? What color are you?”
“Green, Daddy,” I signed and nodded.
Caden put the spoon down and pulled me into an embrace and held me. It felt so good to have his strong arms wrapped around me. For that moment, I soaked in the feeling of Daddy holding me.
Then I sat back up, sighed, and started to sign an explanation, “I got hurt pretty badly when I was fourteen. There was lots of internal damage. I nearly died.” I closed my eyes to get through this explanation. “When they woke me out of the drug-induced coma, I had lost my hearing, and my bladder was severely damaged. I got stuck in a silent world. It was scary, and I was traumatized. The diapers were…comforting, and I liked the way they felt. They’re so snug and comfortable, like being wrapped in a hug. Ava, my aunt…thought I might have Little tendencies when I told her.”
The memory of how Ava helped change me the first time popped into my mind. She found me hard, but she was great about it. At the time, she ignored it, and two days later, she showed up with books and a list of websites about Littles. That was when I told her how diapers made me feel. Ava had smiled, hugged me, and stated that she loved me no matter what.
A tear slipped down my cheek, and Caden brushed it away with his thumb before he reached under my chin and made me look up at him.
“I’m so, so sorry that happened to you, Henry.” For the second time this evening, Caden leaned forward and gently kissed my nose. “But I’m glad that you found something to comfort you.”
“You don’t mind?”
“No. No, I don’t mind, at all. If I can make you feel comfortable, isn’t that taking care of you as well? That’s Daddy’s job, isn’t it? To make sure that my Boy feels safe and comforted?”
Blinking, I stared at Caden because I’d never seen it that way. In my mind, I figured a Daddy would find it annoying if he had to change the diapers all the time. Some Daddies I talked to online told me that—word for word. They wanted to play and pretend, but they didn’t like the responsibility of taking care of a medical condition.
“Try to see it like this. The more diaper changes you need, the more I can take care of you.”
Was it possible that I was still in the coma and never had woken up? It was the only explanation for why I sat here with the wisest and most perfect Daddy ever.
“I’m still in the hospital, right? This is a coma dream?”
Instead of answering, Caden pinched the inside of my thigh, and I squealed. Ok. That hurt. So, I was awake, and Caden was real.
“Let me feed you the rest of your ice cream and find out more about what you like.”
Grinning, I opened my mouth while I signed, “Yes, Daddy.”
“So, what would the perfect weekend look like for you?”
“Lots of cuddles. Playing with toys. I love to color. I use a binky. Oh, we need to watch a movie. And cuddles.”
“Ok, so far I haven’t heard anything unusual.” Caden shoved the rest of the ice cream into my mouth and smiled. “Bottles, binkies, toys, lots of cuddles and cartoons. I think we can come up with a great plan for the weekend, what do you say, Little Boy?”
I groaned. “It’s so long until the weekend.”
“I think we have a Boy who needs to learn patience.” Caden laughed, and then he smiled even more while he pointed with the spoon to something behind me. “I see that we have a bar full of Littles that need to learn patience.”
I turned around and saw the two Littles walking over to us. When I glanced up, I caught the dark-haired Daddy say, “I’m sorry, Caden. We kept them away as long as we could.”
I glanced back at Caden right in time to watch him answer, “Nosy brats.” I giggled, and Caden looked at me. “Oh, you caught that, did you?” I nodded, and Caden laughed again. Then he gently stroked my cheek. “They’re both nice Boys, Henry. I think you will all be good friends.”
Friends. I glanced at the two men again. They appeared to be about my age, in their late twenties, but that was where the similarities ended. They both seemed so confident and comfortable in their skin. They were everything I wasn’t. Not to mention that I didn't have friends or knew anything about friendship. Growing up, I learned about family and honor. But nothing about real friendship. Not until I met Collin in the woods outside my family’s compound, I thought he would be a good friend, but then I’d fallen in love with him and had opened the gates of Hell. Now the closest thing to a friend I had was my agent, Owen.
While thinking about this, I’d hidden my face in Caden’s neck, until someone touched my elbow. It wasn’t Caden, because the touch was softer and tentative. Slowly I raised my head and looked up warily. It was the guy with the dark-rimmed glasses. To my surprise, he grinned at me and held up his hands.
“Hello. I’m Sam.” He fingerspelled his name, then continued, “We just wanted to say hi and welcome you to our group.”
It was rare to find someone who wasn’t deaf who could sign, and I’d found two men in one pub. I frowned but sat up enough so I could answer.
“Do you have a deaf sister, too?” I asked suspiciously. Sam wrinkled his nose in confusion and shook his head.
“No. I’m an only child.”
“How do you know how to sign then?” I glanced back at Caden, who smiled and started to rub my back. “I’ve never met so many people in one place who know how to sign.”
“I learned in college. I thought it would
