Ben had to stifle a groan. How was he supposed to get her a dog when he had no way of asking Jon if it would be okay? But with those blue eyes shining up at him with excitement, he was having a hard time saying no. It was the first time Zoe had been interested in anything since Stacy died.

Knowing he was probably going to regret it, he heard himself saying, “We can pick one out this weekend.”

Her whole little face lit up as she realized he’d just agreed to get her a dog. A shriek echoed through the small room as Zoe threw her tiny arms around his neck squeezing him hard. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, Uncle Benji.”

Hearing the commotion Anya came over in a huff at being interrupted. “I can’t hear the music with you yelling like that Zoe,” Anya admonished.

Zoe didn’t even pay attention to Anya’s mood. She was too excited. Instead she turned to Anya without taking her arms from around Ben’s neck, nearly choking him in the process. “I’m getting a dog,” Zoe gushed.

Anya’s arms that had been crossed in front of her chest slowly dropped to her sides as her eyes held a cautious hope in their brown depths. “Really?” she asked Ben.

Not seeing any way to take it back at this point he jumped in with both feet. “I told Zoe we could go to the pound this weekend and pick one out.”

When Anya shrieked and started jumping up and down, Ben knew no matter the consequences with Jon, he’d made the right decision. They needed something to get them out of this depression they were all in. If it took a dog to do it, then Ben didn’t see the harm.

The alarm on his phone went off telling him it was time to meet Darius. “But tonight, we’re meeting Darius for dinner then we need to find Zoe a costume for Halloween.  If you’re done Anya, you need to go change so we can leave.”

Anya didn’t complain at all.  Instead she ran out of the room coming back in just two minutes ready to go. If he’d known a dog would get the girls to cooperate he might have gotten them one earlier.

They met at a locally owned pizza place, which according to Darius made the best pizzas hands down. Ben didn’t care, pizza was pizza. The girls didn’t wait for him as they ran inside. Even with the door closed, Ben could hear them as they excitedly told Darius they were getting a dog.

Darius’ mocha eyes, filled with amusement, pinned Ben as soon as he walked through the door. The breath in his lungs left in a whoosh at how good Darius looked sitting at the table with Zoe and Anya next to him excitedly telling him that Ben agreed to get them a dog. A pang of regret that the man was straight was enough to bring Ben back to reality. Nothing good could come over drooling over the man, especially in public.

“So, I hear you’re getting a dog,” Darius said as Ben sat down. The man’s tone was filled with repressed laughter at the position Ben had been put in.

Sure, he’d definitely bitten off more than he should have but if it would get the girls to smile even for a moment he’d get them whatever they asked for. Not wanting to talk about his inability to say no to Zoe, Ben quickly changed the subject. “So what toppings are we getting?” he asked hoping the heat in his face didn’t show.

“I only want cheese,” Zoe practically shouted as she was still excited about the dog.

“Pepperoni,” Anya said.

When Darius didn’t answer, Ben reluctantly looked up to find those dark brown eyes on him. The heat in that stare made Ben’s heart skip a beat. If he didn’t know better he’d swear Darius was thinking about Ben naked.

“I want everything,” Darius said.

Mentally shaking the thoughts that statement created, Ben dragged his gaze away from Darius to stare once more at his menu. Not that he was reading it but he was having a hard time not begging Darius to take him home and fuck him through the mattress. How had he managed to get himself in this situation? Darius was straight. Ben knew better than to fall for someone not available.  It could only lead to heartbreak and in Texas it could get him killed.  Not that he thought Darius would really shoot him, but still, it wasn’t a wise idea for him to allow his thoughts to keep straying seeing all that dark skin spread out for him to feast upon.

Stop it, he chastised himself.  No good could come of contemplating what it would be like to kiss Darius, or have those large hands stroking his skin.

“May I take your order?” The sound of the perky teenage waitress caused Ben’s face to heat up.  He was in a pizza place with a bunch of families around them and what was Ben doing?  Fantasizing about Darius.

Grabbing a napkin, he threw it over his way too hard dick and did his best to order.  As soon as the waitress left, Ben ran to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face. All it took was a glance in the mirror to cause him to groan in dismay.  His cheeks were bright red.  It wouldn’t take a genius to realize why he was so flushed, especially since he still had a hard on pressing against the front of his pants.

Untucking his shirt, he did his best to gain control before he made a fool of himself. Never in his life had Ben ever been this attracted to anyone, not even his various lovers, but especially not someone he’d never even kissed.

A groan ripped from him at the thought of those full lips on his own. Ben just knew Darius would kiss with as much passion and attention to detail as he seemed to have for everything else. Darius was a man who would use every part of his body to make love, making the experience a completely tactile one.

Shit.

Ben needed to stop obsessing. His reflection showed his eyes bright with lust, his cheeks flushed a bright red, sweat had even started to bead across his forehead. Turning on the faucet, Ben splashed his face five or six times before he started to feel himself calm down somewhat. Grabbing several paper towels from the dispenser, Ben dried his face and hands before once more looking in the mirror. Not perfect but good enough.

He stood with his hand on the handle of the door to take a couple of deep breaths before going back out there. Thankfully the waitress was just delivering the pizzas allowing him to slip back into his seat without any questions.

“So, Zoe, what are you going to be this year for Halloween?” Darius asked.

Zoe took a bite of her pizza before shrugging.

Ben couldn’t help but smile. It might be petty, but he was glad he wasn’t the only one having a tough time getting answers from a three-year-old.

“What about a princess. You look like that girl from that ice movie,” Darius said in between bites of his pizza.

Ben had to press his lips together to stop from laughing at how similar their conversations were. At least Ben had known the movie was Frozen.

Zoe gave a sigh as she rolled her eyes. “The movie was Frozen Uncle Darius and her name was Elsa. But I don’t wanna be her anyway.”

“How come?” Darius asked as he took another slice of pizza.

“I wanna be uninick,” Zoe told him.

Darius just stared at her for several moments. Ben could practically see Darius trying to figure out the word Zoe said. Eventually the man gave up and asked, “You want to be what?”

Another sigh from Zoe before she answered. “Uninick, Uncle Darius.”

Ben was pinching his leg to stop himself from busting out laughing at Darius’ confusion. He knew he should jump in and help the man out, but Ben was enjoying himself too much.

“What is that?” Darius asked.

Zoe put her pizza down as if preparing herself to explain. It was so damn cute. “It means different, Uncle Darius.”

“The word is unique, dork,” Anya told her sister.

Zoe just looked at her sister. “That’s what I said.”