Dear Daddy, Please Keep Me (Naughty or Nice #7) - Morticia Knight Page 0,3

of going to the club in Denver’s downtown, he’d opted to stay in and check out the goodies at Cuffd.

However, his prospects at the club hadn’t been all that great for a while. Ever since Corey had left him six years ago, he hadn’t managed more than a few hook-ups and a brief relationship with a fellow Daddy whom he’d met at Club Dare.

He chuckled as he recalled how desperate they’d both been to make it work. Despite the feelings of love that grew between them, they hadn’t been satisfied. If nothing else, at least their failed romance had cemented the truth of what they both needed to be happy.

A sweet little boy to love and care for.

But even so, they’d become close friends. Dalton folded his hands and let them rest on his belly. Maybe he should check and see if Clint was in town. His buddy was a pilot for one of the major airlines and could sometimes be gone for longer stretches since he flew International. If Clint had been super busy lately, he might not have noticed the email from Cuffd.

Dalton yawned, stretching his arms over his head as he checked the time. It was only a little after nine. And anyway, Clint might’ve been sleeping all day. Sometimes his schedule could be wacky. Dalton decided to go for it.

When Clint answered almost right away, Dalton was glad he’d taken the chance.

“Hey, Clint. It’s Dalton. Am I catching you at a good time?”

“Dalton! It’s been a minute. But yeah, killing time binge-watching a new show on Netflix. Nothing critical.” Clint chuckled. “It’s so great to hear from you. We really need to get together more often.” He sighed. “I’ve just been so damn busy.”

“No worries. I get it. The new buildings going up in downtown have kept me pretty damn busy too. One of my accounts expects a higher percentage of leases than normal.” He groaned. “A new firm that relocated to Denver is wanting a fifty percent occupancy by the end of the year, and they haven’t broken ground on construction yet. Can’t until spring. Anyway, that’s all very boring. I called about something else entirely.”

“Oh? If you’re wanting to head to the club, I honestly don’t have it in me tonight. I have a few days off before I head out again, though. Maybe tomorrow?”

Dalton chuckled. “Actually, I haven’t been much in the mood to hit the club lately either. There doesn’t seem to be very many littles in there anymore. Last few times I went, there wasn’t a one. I even asked Stan, and he said he didn’t know of any single littles who were currently looking.”

Clint grunted. “And if the bartender says he hasn’t seen any, that’s when you know it’s a fact.”

“Right?” Dalton glanced in the direction of his screen again. “So…that’s part of the reason I called. I was wondering if you’re still on the lookout for a boy? Or are you strictly vanilla these days?”

“Ha!” Clint responded. “I’m strictly alone these days, but not by choice.”

“Then that means you’re interested in getting into a relationship?”

Dalton was greeted by silence on the other end of the line. He wondered if he’d brought up a touchy subject for Clint. Finally, Clint spoke.

“Hey, don’t think I haven’t thought about it, Dalton. Some nights I lie here in bed, still wishing you were keeping me warm. Or that we were taking weekend trips like we used to. But we already know it wouldn’t work in the long run.”

It took Dalton a few beats to realize how Clint had interpreted his query.

“Oh! Uh, no. Sorry. Honestly, I feel the same way about us. But I was actually talking about something else.”

Clint laughed. “Listen to me making rash assumptions. I guess I took it that way because somewhere inside I was considering the possibility.” He sighed. “Man, here we are. Both in our forties and neither of us have had any luck finding ‘the one’. But don’t mind me. I’m kind of worn out at the moment, which tends to make me a bit maudlin. So, what’s up?”

“Well, I was wondering if you saw the email from Cuffd, the one about the Dear Santa letters?”

“Hmm. I don’t think so. Those usually end up under my promotions tab. I haven’t had much luck there in ages, so I’ve taken to ignoring the app for the most part.”

Dalton’s heart ached for his friend. He hated hearing how defeated he sounded. Sure, he’d also been discouraged by going