Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
No.
“But we’ve got to play games and figure out something fun for dinner.” The snack would hold him over for a while but it wouldn’t last forever. “We’ve got all those new games, and now that we’re full and had a nap, I think it’s the best time to pick out one.”
With everyone in a good mood, I couldn’t think of a better time.
“Can we have noodles?” Joel leaned over the side of the tub in an attempt to look around the door, but he almost gave himself a concussion. “I didn’t fall. I was careful.”
Bullshit.
Tate was shaking but he managed not to laugh out loud. “My lap caught him. Don’t worry.”
They were both ridiculous. “That was very helpful.”
Joel was almost giggling but aimed wide eyes at me instead. “Thank you for worrying about me. I like being special.”
For fuck’s sake.
“That doesn’t work when you’re giggling.” Well, it kind of did and he knew it based on the twinkle in his eyes. “Come on. Toys back in the bag and then we’ll find something fun to wear. Do you want pajamas or real clothes?”
For some reason Tate was snickering again and looked like he was a kid with a secret. Joel was watching him with an odd expression on his face, but he didn’t stay focused on Tate’s giggles for long. “Jammies.”
That might’ve made Tate laugh even more, but it was hard to tell. Focusing on Joel shouldn’t have been easier since he was naked and piling up bathtub toys, but it was, so I didn’t worry about Tate. “Good job. How about your spaceship ones or your superhero ones?”
He complained about having to wear clothes, but he had a hoard of pajamas. He also liked all his endless jammies and spent the last of his cleanup time bouncing his head side to side. “Astronaut or hero?”
That took more thought than I thought it should’ve, but by the time his toys were put away and the water was draining, he’d figured it out. “Both.”
As I tried to decide if he was fucking with me, Tate managed to stop laughing long enough to grab Joel’s towel to help him out of the tub. “How about the top of the superheroes and the bottom of the space ones?”
Oh.
Joel’s giggles said he was fucking with me in a fun new way, but his eager nod said his silly side liked the idea. “Yes. The rocket will push the hero higher and higher.”
“Not too high.” I could just see him jumping off the couch and ending up with a broken arm. “You can’t play games if you get hurt.”
Adult or innocent.
Joel wasn’t worried. He gave me an adorably sweet smile as Tate wrapped him up in the towel and then leaned close to kiss my cheek. “You take good care of me.”
Brat.
Tate started coughing which made Joel glare at him. “You’re tattling.”
Yep.
“Sorry.” Tate lifted one shoulder. “You’re so cute when you do that. I can’t help myself.”
Sighing dramatically, Joel pouted. “Aww, you can’t use that against me. It’s not fair.”
Shit.
Tate had done the same thing to him that Joel had tried to do to me, so I found myself glaring at both of them. “You both have learned some very bad habits over the past couple of years.”
It was definitely the neighbors’ fault.
They both immediately started shaking their heads, and Tate frowned. “No, we’re just really sweet and you like that about us.”
Some of the more colorful dirty words my grandfather had always used fired through my head, but I managed not to let them escape. “You need to work on making that more believable.”
My dryly delivered retort had Joel giggling. “Jammie time.”
Yes, or he’d end up getting a lecture, and Tate must’ve realized he was in the line of fire too because he wrapped Joel up in a big hug and lifted him off the ground. “Let’s escape before he starts fussing at us.”
Tate was definitely where Joel was getting a lot of his bad habits from. But he was right. They were kind of cute, so I didn’t point that out as I picked up the snack box and followed them out of the bathroom.
Giggles were already coming from Joel’s bedroom, so I took a second to put the box in the kitchen and grabbed the cage I’d washed off earlier. I wasn’t sure if Joel was in the right headspace for it, but he wasn’t hard, so I was going to take advantage of it.
I’d picked the one that looked the easiest to actually get on him and lubed the inside like Derek had said to, but I was going to keep my fingers crossed that it was as straightforward to get on as he’d said. Derek had made it sound incredibly easy, but looking at the toy in my hand, it felt like I was replacing one of the parts in the back of the toilet instead.