Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
So I was good.
Right?
Letting him avoid talking about things that made him uncomfortable hadn’t been my best call.
“Potty time.” Making sure my voice didn’t hold any questions or embarrassment, I brought him closer to the toilet and pushed the front of his pajama bottoms and training pants down. “Good boy. All ready.”
We needed a better word for that, but after a second, he leaned back against me and figured out how to relax the right muscles while he was mostly asleep on his feet. There was no embarrassment on his part and my aim was spot on, so we were finished in record time and hadn’t made a horrible mess.
We were amazing.
“Good boy.” Giving his dick a shake and tucking him back in his clothes, l moved us to the sink where I washed his hands while he leaned into me and pretended to start snoring again. “Oh no, what will I do? Can I brush my baby boy’s teeth while he sleeps?”
That got sleepy giggles from Alick and it was adorable, but it also let me know he was still tracking what was going on…so that meant he was awake, right?
I mentally debated that as I got his toothbrush ready, then gave up figuring it out as I stepped behind him and eased his thumb out of his mouth. “Open, please.”
His eyes seemed to automatically close as his mouth opened.
Did they not work at the same time anymore?
“Good boy.” That seemed to be the only reasonable response since actual questions were out. “Brush. Brush. Brush.”
I wasn’t going to claim a full two minutes, but I hit all the major spots and didn’t gag him, so I was going to count it as a Daddy win.
“Spit.” Getting the toothpaste out of his mouth was a bit harder than I’d anticipated, but after a few false starts, once he opened his eyes again, we made it work. “Good boy.”
Yep, teeth were clean.
Water wasn’t flooding the bathroom.
Hell, even his pajamas were still dry.
Yep, Daddy win number two.
“Okay, cuddle time.” Kind of. We had one small thing to work on first, but I wasn’t sure I needed to list it out. “You’ve been such a good boy.”
He flashed me a sleepy smile as he shoved his thumb back in his mouth.
I just chuckled when that was all I got but I didn’t need anything else. His happy contentment was the perfect response and made me feel just as good.
I just hoped it continued.
Keeping my fingers crossed, I took him back to the bedroom and did my best to discreetly grab the bottle and diaper to transfer them to the nightstand. After hopping him up on the bed, I leaned him back and picked up the books.
“Which one should we read first?” Putting the books in his free hand, I kept my voice even and curious as I took off his sleep pants as unobtrusively as I could. “The flower book or the gnome book?”
He had a lot of books with garden and nature themes, and I wasn’t sure if that was deliberate on his part or just because his friends kept giving them to him.
He made thinking sounds as he studied the book but he was also going back to pretending to snore, so I was getting mixed signals from him. But the question gave him something else to focus on and I had him diapered and his pajama bottoms back on before he got tired of the game.
Perfect.
With visual evidence of the diaper hidden away, I peeked around the books and pointed to the one about the gnome. “That one. I’m curious. I need to know what the problem is.”
Alick’s giggle said he knew what the problem was with the grumpy gnome, but he wasn’t volunteering the information. Giving him a teasing frown, I sat him up and then shifted him around so he was leaning against the headboard. “You know. That’s sneaky. Now I have to find out.”
Quiet but definitely mischievous giggles escaped around his thumb, but he shrugged like he had no idea what I was talking about. “Hmm, I’m not sure I believe that.”
There were more giggles as I climbed up on the bed, but they quickly faded into a yawn when I picked him up and settled him between my legs. When his back was lying on my chest, I traded his thumb for the bottle and opened the book as he started to suck.
Diaper on. Panic off. Cuddles in play.
Daddy win number three.
Chapter 21
Alick
Oh, dragons above.
Sliding deeper under the covers as I remembered how our evening had gone and what I was wearing, I told myself I needed a second to think. Just a few seconds to decide how I was going to react was all I needed. Yes, just a bit and I’d be fine.
“If you leave the bed, just be aware I’m going to follow you.” Grady’s voice was even and almost cheerful and made me imagine strangling him for a moment. “I won’t talk unless you ask me something, but I’m going to follow you.”