Cooper
I still hadn’t decided if it was a good idea or not. Jackson hadn’t said no and hadn’t even really been worried, aside from pointing out that she was bossy and nosy, so there was probably nothing wrong. It was just weird.
I was having lunch with Melissa.
Sawyer hadn’t been able to think up a rational reason not to go—well, for me not to go. He’d flat-out refused. He’d admitted that she seemed sincere when she’d explained she wanted to get to know us, but then he’d also said that it probably meant giving me the third degree in questions.
I wasn’t sure if that was a bad thing, though.
Sure, there would be some stuff that I wouldn’t talk about. Topics that Sawyer would lose his marbles over, and things that Jackson probably didn’t want his sister to hear about. But she’d researched pups and knew people like us…or at least knew other people in slightly unconventional relationships. So I guess that made me curious too. I wanted to know more about what she knew and what she thought of us.
As I stood outside the sandwich shop that was halfway between her work and mine, I took another deep breath and forced myself to walk in the door. It was going to be fine. I would act like a real adult who was calm, and not slightly over-caffeinated already, and she’d be nice to me. She’d been polite to us when she’d been driving Jackson crazy, so lunch was going to be great.
“Cooper.” Melissa’s voice rang across the busy restaurant, but it still took a second to find her at the back of the room.
When she’d said we could meet at a small sandwich place I was thinking something…less busy. It was cute and smelled delicious, but it was packed. Looking around, I had to wonder if their whole family had a thing for quirky little restaurants.
Making my way over to Melissa, she smiled and seemed excited to see me. I grinned and looked around. “Hi, this is packed.”
She nodded. “It’s usually pretty crazy around lunch. I got here a few minutes ago and managed to grab a table. You go order over there. If I get up, we’ll lose the table in this madhouse, so you go first and then I will.”
“Okay, sure. I’ll be right back.” The line looked long, but it moved quicker than I expected. Within a few minutes, we both had food and were back at the table.
Eating and small talk gave me space to relax. By the time she started to turn the conversation toward the real things she was curious about it, I was actually ready to talk.
“You have no idea how surprised I was when after all his drama that I found out he’d met you guys through that ad mix-up.” Melissa scrunched up her face, looking guilty. “And I’m not sure if I said it to you guys, but I’m really sorry about that.”
“Jackson explained everything, and yeah, if you think you were shocked, picture how we felt. He actually emailed us back and was so sweet and nice it was amazing.” Taking a sip of my drink, I thought about what she’d said. “What kind of drama?”
Laughing, she set her sandwich down. “He was so angry at me. He came storming into my house, losing his marbles. Jackson had been convinced that I’d done it on purpose.” She shook her head and a serious expression came across her face. “But I hadn’t. I’d never mess with people in the lifestyle like that.”
I wasn’t sure if she was a worrier or just wasn’t confident that I believed her, but I nodded. “No, I get it. Jackson explained, and with your books and all, I can see how it happened.”
She looked slightly less worried as she shrugged. “It was late. I should’ve just gone to bed, but I wanted to get the ads done for a new release.”
“So you really do write about”—I glanced around and dropped my voice—“puppy play and that kind of stuff? I mean, I’ve seen books online and stuff but…”
But I’d never thought I’d meet anyone who actually wrote about it.
That seemed slightly rude, though, like I was calling her weird or something. Melissa grinned; she seemed to understand exactly what I was thinking. “I like figuring people out and…I don’t know…I like telling stories, but the people in my head just aren’t as vanilla as a lot of other authors.”
“So you have kinky people in your head?” I was starting to feel like the most normal person at the table. That was just funny.
She snorted and gave me a snarky look that I’d only seen her aim at Jackson. “I’m not nuts.”
Nodding very seriously, I gave her an understanding smile. “Of course not.”
Melissa barked out a laugh, startling several people around us. “It’s no wonder he loves you. You fit right in with the rest of the family.”
“You think he loves me?” The fitting in part was interesting too, but not what caught my attention.
“He’s never gotten this serious about anyone this fast. He’s like, all ready to set up house and keep you. It’s really cute.”
Aww. “You don’t think it’s too fast?”
Shaking her head emphatically, Melissa’s expression turned serious again. “Not a chance. I know people outside of the lifestyle might not get it, but when you share a personal and special part of yourself with someone, it speeds up the whole getting-to-know-you process.” She shrugged. “Once you’ve seen someone in a diaper or with a tail, you move past the stupid shit really fast.”
Before she’d even finished, I started to choke. Coke went down the wrong way, and all I could do was cough and try to figure out how to breathe.
“Are you okay?” She asked it several times before I was finally able to nod.
Answering her with words took a bit longer. “I’m fine, sorry, just swallowed funny.”
Once she was sure I wasn’t going to pass out, her snark returned. Rolling her eyes, she sighed. “If you choke to death or I have to call an ambulance, he’ll never let us go anywhere else together.”
I leaned back in my chair and responded dryly. “Sorry to ruin your schemes.”
“You should be. I have plans that don’t involve you being dead.”
Laughing, I shrugged. “To be honest, I’m more curious about Jackson’s plans than yours.”
She thought Jackson loved us.
Yeah, I was much more curious about Jackson’s plans than hers.
****
“People are stupid.” Plopping down in one of the small chairs in the back room, I glanced at April, who’d followed me in. “Why do people want caffeine this late in the evening? Sawyer would kill me if I was drinking coffee at this point in the day.”
He wouldn’t just be mad, he’d tell Jackson on me—then I’d never get out of the blasted cage.
Shoving the sexy fantasy that tried to form out of my mind, because I knew that would just lead to frustration, I let my head fall back against the wall. April just smiled. “He loves you too much to even blink.”
“He says I’m a menace when I’ve had too much caffeine.” Sawyer might have had a few other choice words to say on the subject, and Jackson had just guilted me into doing better about not overdoing it on the coffee. I actually listened—most of the time.
“I just can’t believe that.” She sat down on a chair across from me. As she leaned forward her hair moved, and I could see the bottom layer that was still brightly colored peeking out from under the top layer, which so dark that it was almost black.
She probably wouldn’t believe a lot of things about Sawyer and me, but I wasn’t going to push it. “He’s funny when he gets worked up.”
“Now that I can believe.” April smiled and stretched out. “What’s he doing tonight?”
Probably getting fucked.
“Hanging out with a friend.” It wasn’t exactly lying, but the answer still made me uncomfortable.
Keeping the puppy part of my life private wasn’t an issue. I didn’t need to share it to feel like I was being honest about who I was. Some things weren’t anybody else’s business. But not mentioning that we were dating Jackson felt wrong…like I was ignoring him or denying that he was a special part of our life.
I had a feeling Sawyer would have a heart attack, though.
He was getting more comfortable about opening up with Jackson and admitting that Jackson was important to him. The fact that he let me take the picture of him curled up as his pup was huge. When Jackson had said that letting Sawyer have time as a pup might be a good idea, I knew it was perfect immediately.
It gave Sawyer a chance to relax and me something else to focus on besides my trapped cock. I hadn’t been sure that I actually wanted to ignore the cage, but Sawyer had been getting annoyed with me.
I liked the crazy needy feeling that would run through me when I started thinking about sex and couldn’t actually get hard. It was insane. I knew I was turned-on. I could feel everything in me want to get erect, but the cage prevented it, and that was just an immediate reminder that Jackson had put it on me.
Knowing I belonged to Jackson like that was…erotic…special.…We were his boys…his pups.
The most incredible sight I thought I would ever see was Sawyer laid out on the bed and watching Jackson with wide, emotion-filled eyes as Jackson slipped the cage over his cock. Sawyer had asked for it—or at least said something to let Jackson know it was what he wanted.
He knew we both belonged to Jackson.
“Cooper, are you even listening to me?” April was grinning when her words caught my attention.
“Yes?” Judging by the way she was looking at me, though, I thought the answer was probably no.
“I asked you what Sawyer and his friend are doing.” One eyebrow went up, and she smiled. “Twice.”
“Oh. Um, sorry.” Shrugging, I tried to look casual. “They’re going out to dinner and to hang out since I’m working late.”
“That’s good. Neither of you seems to do anything with other friends a lot.” Her smile dimmed slightly. “I know you guys love each other, but don’t forget you need stuff that’s just for you.”
For other couples, I knew that was true, but I wasn’t sure that applied to the two of us…or the three of us.
There wasn’t anything specific I could pin down, but I’d never felt like I needed anyone else. Sure, I liked talking with April and the other people I worked with, but aside from the occasional invite to something, they were basically just work friends.
Sawyer didn’t even really want that. He’d made it very clear that he needed the people at work to stay there. I think in his mind, the less they knew about us, the safer we were.
He was probably right.
But I think the biggest thing was that when he wasn’t around, I missed him.
“We like doing things together. He’s my best friend, not just my boyfriend or something casual like that. It’s different. Besides, I’m starting school soon, so I have that and it’s just for me.” Shrugging, I decided changing the subject might be a good idea.
April was getting curious and if I wasn’t careful, she was going to ask something that I wasn’t sure how to answer…not without oversharing. “Have you heard anything about the new location yet? Any good gossip about what they’re doing?”
She didn’t look happy about the change in subject, but she didn’t stop me. “Maybe. I was talking with someone the other day and they said that the bigwigs were out looking at some locations recently. Evidently, they’ve got it narrowed down to a few choices now, but I’m not sure where.”
“That’s better than I’d been imagining. Any idea what the timetable looks like?” With school starting in just a few weeks and everything all ironed out with that, I was starting to feel a little more confident that I’d come across like a functional adult…at least on a résumé.
She laughed and shook her head. “You already know the answer to that.”
Giving her a big grin, I shrugged. “But eventually, I’ll ask and you’ll be able to say that you know something.”
“You’re like that kid on a car trip who keeps asking if we’re there yet.”
Grinning, I shrugged. “Yup, that would be me.”
“You must drive Sawyer crazy.” She was laughing, probably teasing, but I nodded.
“Some days, yes.” There was no point in lying about that.
“Hey, before I forget, I saw that you put in a request to change your schedule on Sunday and work first thing in the morning again. Are you sure? That shift sucks.” April had meant it as an innocent question, but she’d inadvertently brought up something else difficult.
We were going to meet Jackson’s parents.
“Sawyer and I are going over to a friend’s house for a barbecue. Is the switch a problem?” There was the tiniest part of me that perked up at the idea of having to cancel the plans.
It wasn’t a huge fear or even something that I was worrying over, but it was still going to be weird. Jackson was sure his parents wouldn’t have an issue. I was having a hard time imagining that. My experience with parents hadn’t left me quite as confident as he seemed to be.
People came around and after a while realized the mistakes they’d made. But I didn’t want Jackson to have to deal with that. Knowing that both Jackson and Melissa were so confident it would be all right made it easier, though.
April nodded. “That’s fine. It’s good you guys are getting out of the house. Up until recently, when I asked what you had planned, the answer was always nothing. You two were the biggest homebodies I knew.”
Because Jackson liked taking us places.
He had lists of things in his head that he thought we would love. Like the amusement park last weekend. Sawyer and I weren’t so crazy poor anymore, but we’d had to be careful for so long that we didn’t think about going places.
Sure, we’d go to the movies occasionally, or we’d go out to eat, but I really did prefer watching a movie at home with delivery. April was just one of those people who always liked going places and doing things. “I like being home.”
“Sometimes you’re like a five-year-old in a twentysomething’s body, and other times it’s like you’re fifty.” She stood up and stretched. “You have a few more minutes, but I want to check on a couple of things. Take your full break.”
“Got it.” I wasn’t going to argue about getting to stay off my feet longer. “We’re still on for going over those reports after my shift, right?”
Working late wasn’t what I wanted to be doing, but it would be important if I ever got the manager’s position. I wanted to go in knowing as much as I could about the store and not start confused and feeling like I was already behind.
April turned as she was walking out the door. “Yes, you catch on quick, so it might not take us that long.”
Getting home early sounded wonderful. I was more than ready to see what my guys were up to and to figure out what I could talk Jackson into. I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted, but it had been days since I’d come, and I couldn’t wait to tell him what a good boy I’d been.