Jackson
“Do I need to say the words again?” Cooper sighed, and I could almost hear him rolling his eyes even though his face was turned away.
“No.” Sawyer was starting to get frustrated, which was the only time he ever really got short with Cooper. “I’m fine.”
“No, but everything is going to be fine. You just need to relax.” When Cooper opened his mouth to continue the lecture, Sawyer broke in.
“Coop—”
Now it was my turn to interrupt. “If I have to turn this car around, there will be no spankings for a week.”
That got their attention. Sawyer finally cracked a smile, and Cooper grinned. I could see the naughty wheels in his brain start to turn. Evidently, so could Sawyer.
“Dirty little slut.” But Sawyer said it with a smile, and Cooper didn’t seem offended. So I didn’t worry.
Besides, we were almost there.
As we pulled into the parking lot, I could see people on the other side of the park underneath a pavilion. There didn’t seem to be a sign, but I could tell from the way Sawyer watched them that it was his company. “We can still turn around. You can drop me off at home and then come back. You’ll only be a few minutes late.”
“I know.” Sawyer reached for my hand. “I just have to remind myself that the hard part is done—this is just going to be awkward.” Cooper and I had met Sawyer after work on Tuesday, he was so nervous about telling his boss after work, we hadn’t wanted him to drive.
It ended up going fairly well. Lee was right; he was clueless, but not malicious. Sawyer was still so overwhelmed, though, that I was glad we’d gone to meet him. Sawyer was confident his job was not in jeopardy, but introducing us to the rest of the company was still awkward.
“We’re fabulous! They’re going to love us.” Cooper’s enthusiasm had Sawyer and me smiling, but I knew Sawyer wouldn’t relax until the barbecue was over.
“Yes, we are.” I tilted my head back, and Cooper leaned forward to give me a kiss.
“And besides, didn’t Lee say she was going to be here?” Cooper started bouncing around the car looking out the windows. “She’s really starting to open up.”
Cooper was excited and nervous, but he was right. They were going to love us, and Lee was starting to open up. It was going to take a while for her to see that there were people out there that didn’t care that she didn’t follow traditional gender lines.
I think it helped that she could see there was something different about us. The other day Cooper had come in after work to say hi and give me a kiss, as he was excitedly telling about his day, she rolled her eyes and said he looked like some kind of little yappy dog. Cooper almost died laughing.
If she stayed around long enough, she was going to end up figuring out the rest. She was too smart, and Cooper was too open for it not to happen. I didn’t mind the idea, over time, and I’d grown to like the idea of having people in our lives we could talk to about it. Especially people I wasn’t related to.
Cooper probably wouldn’t care, but Sawyer would take time to get used to the idea. I just hoped that she wouldn’t figure it out before he was ready. Lee’s generation seemed to look at things very differently, though. Cooper and Sawyer still had more of the shyness about being different than I expected, but Lee didn’t have that innate need to hide what made her unique. I found it fascinating.
After everything that had happened with their families, I guess I should have expected it. Most of the time, it looked like they’d moved on from the traumatic experiences that drove them both from their homes at such a young age. I had a feeling that they needed to talk about it all a lot more than they were letting on.
Before, Sawyer was too worried about sharing things with me and showing me who he really was inside for me to push too hard. The way things had changed for us lately and the trust he’d given me, I had to think that it was time for some deeper conversations. Mom always said that sharing things made the burden lighter.
Well, it was time for me to help take some of the weight he’d been carrying around.
“I think I see her over there. She’s the one on the sidelines glaring daggers at the overdressed man in the suit.” Cooper stopped his bouncing and gave the man a quizzical look. “Why is your boss wearing a suit to the park?”
“Why did he tell me the company embraced new romantic designs and supported my innovation?” Sawyer was serious, but Cooper still burst out laughing every time Sawyer said it. Sawyer just rolled his eyes. “I’m not a fucking rocket ship.”
I couldn’t help it. “No, you’re like one of those expensive self-driving cars.” That had Cooper laughing so hard he was nearly on the floor.
Sawyer didn’t seem to think Cooper was that funny. He opened his mouth to say something, but I reached over and took his hand. “You ready to go? Lee looks like she could use someone to keep her dad away.”
Giving him someone else to focus on seemed to help. Sawyer nodded, “Her dad said the other day that he didn’t understand people who made choices that were difficult but that he wasn’t going to make things harder at work for anyone who was unique.”
Cooper and I both rolled our eyes. Cooper flopped back against the seat. “He’s a moron.”
“Yup, he really doesn’t get the difference between people who are making a lifestyle choice and what Lee is going through.” Sawyer couldn’t seem to understand it either. The more we learned about what Lee was dealing with at home, as well as her struggle to figure out who she was, the more respect I had for her.
Cooper said the other day that not killing her dad got her huge props from us. I’d had to laugh, but unfortunately, agree.
Sawyer sighed. “Let’s go rescue her.”
Taking a cue from him as he reached for the door handle, Cooper and I got out of the car as well. We all knew it was going to be awkward and stressful, but I thought it would be a good test run for how sharing our relationship with more people would go.
Which was just as scary as Sawyer was imagining…but there was a part of me that was ridiculously excited to be able to say that they were mine. As we walked across the grass field toward the crowd of people and the one clearly disgruntled girl that needed a family who understood her, I couldn’t help but be proud of Sawyer.
He’d seen someone in need and had stepped out of his own comfort zone to help. Sawyer didn’t always understand how incredible he was, but from the smile Cooper was giving him, I knew we could both see it, and I promised to find more ways to remind him.
****
As both boys flopped down on the couch, I had to smile at how different they were even when they were worn out from the stress of the day. Cooper was tired; I could see it in his eyes, but it was also clear he’d snuck too many desserts, because he was still bouncy and twitchy. Sawyer, on the other hand, looked like he’d been running a marathon and was exhausted but relieved it was finally over.
“How about we get you guys ready and you have some pup time?” Walking over to the couch, I leaned down to give them both kisses. Hopefully it would burn some of Cooper’s excess energy so he could sleep tonight, and it would give Sawyer a chance to relax and process everything.
Both of my sweet boys nodded, and Cooper, of course, was the first to climb off the couch. “I’ll go get the stuff.”
“Thank you.” As Cooper walked toward the bedroom, I turned to Sawyer. “I’ll be right back. I have something I need to grab from the kitchen. You start getting undressed.”
Sawyer nodded and sat up slowly. He wasn’t going to win the race for who could get naked the fastest, but every time he showed me his pup, he seemed more comfortable and just happier overall.
Heading into the kitchen, I went over to the junk drawer and started digging through the odd items to the one important bag at the back. I’d had it in there for days, but I’d been worried that someone would find it first. Pulling out the little package, I felt a knot start to form, but I could feel the smile on my face. Sure, there was a part of me that was nervous, but I was fairly confident they would love them.
Sliding the two small surprises into my pocket, I went back out to the living room. Sawyer was naked and standing around like he was already lost in thought. Cooper, however, was sitting on the floor, spreading everything out, nearly bouncing with excitement.
“All right, let’s get you ready.” Trying to figure out how I wanted to do it, I thought for a second as I crossed the room and sat down on the floor. “Come here and kneel for me. I have a surprise for you.”
Cooper’s eyes widened, and he scampered around the gear to plop down beside me. “What is it?”
Smiling, I shook my head. “Just wait a minute.”
He grinned at Sawyer. “Hurry. He won’t show me until you come here.”
Sawyer shook his head at Cooper’s enthusiasm but started moving toward us. When he was kneeling on the other side of me, a questioning look on his face, I picked up their collars. “These aren’t your final collars. We’ve discussed that. However, until we’re ready for that, I thought these needed something to give them a little more personality.”
Sawyer was watching me intently, but I could feel Cooper—he was so excited that he was nearly bouncing off the walls. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the name tags. “Okay, Cooper, you first, because I’m not sure you could wait even thirty more seconds.”
Both boys nodded, and I could see laughter behind Sawyer’s quiet expression. Picking up Cooper’s collar, I started putting on the shiny tag. It was a silver metal with black writing, but it had an iridescent layer over it that gave it a rainbow effect when it caught the light.
“Cooper, you were the one who charged into life trying to figure out who you were and what you wanted. You didn’t take the easy road, and you didn’t hide from what made you special. You are my Maverick, my excitable pup who charges right in and isn’t afraid of making waves.” Giving him a tender kiss, I buckled the collar around his neck while he smiled and fought to contain his excitement until Sawyer got his as well.
When Cooper’s collar was around his neck with the tag hanging down, I reached for Sawyer’s. As I started to put his tag on the little metal ring, I smiled at him. “Sawyer, you took a chance on making a life with Cooper, then again when you found puppy play, and again when you guys talked about wanting a master…and the biggest chance of all was when you took one on me.”
Pausing, I gave him a kiss as I watched emotion grow inside him and threaten to spill down his cheeks. “You are my Chance—because I want you to remember how strong you are and how proud I am of you.”
As I brought the collar up to his neck, a shiver ran through him and the tears spilled over. Before I could wipe them away, Cooper leaned over and kissed them away. “That’s the perfect name for you.”
Sawyer didn’t seem to know what to say. He looked slightly helpless and overwhelmed as I buckled the collar around his neck. Positioning his black tag with silver writing down his neck, I brought my hands up to cup his cheeks. “I love you. Sawyer…lover…pup…friend…Chance…every part of you.”
Before Sawyer could respond, Cooper’s enthusiasm bubbled over. “Let’s go look. Come on. I have to see it in the mirror.”
Taking Sawyer’s hand and pulling him up, he half dragged and half carried the still slightly shocked Sawyer across the room. Laughing, Sawyer finally got caught up in Cooper’s whirl of emotion. They ran back to the bathroom and I could hear them giggling and making excited noises.
Cooper’s voice echoed from the bathroom. “Oh, look! It’s got something on the back. Let me read yours.”
I knew exactly what the back said:
Master’s pup
As both my pups came running out of the bathroom, grins on their faces and love in their eyes, I couldn’t help but feel my emotions wash over me. Finding my sweet pups might have been a complete accident, but I was their master by choice, and I couldn’t think of anywhere else I would rather be.
~~~