Caged In Read online

  They both chuckled. “I’m glad it made you happy.”

  Reed leaned in. “Now, what was that you said? You really like the Daddy dynamic and the fact I call the men I date boy?”

  Damned if Camden didn’t keep his gaze steady on Reed as he nodded. “Yeah.”

  “That’s not going to be enough, Cam.”

  Ohhh, that sweet blush.

  Would it ever get old? He doubted it. Camden sighed. “The first time I heard one of your boys say that, I was about six months into working here. I don’t remember the guy’s name, but I heard him call you that when you were both in your office. I was back in the breakroom putting my apron on. As I headed by your door, I saw you both kissing and then he said, ‘I’ll see you later, Daddy.’ And you said, ‘Be good, boy.’ Needless to say, I was surprised and slightly turned on. Google got a workout that night.”

  Reed snorted out a laugh. “I bet. So, you read a lot on it and searched for Daddy porn?”

  Camden rolled his eyes at himself and nodded. “Ugh. Yes. Why am I admitting this to you?”

  “Don’t stop admitting things, Cam. I’m getting to know a side of you I’ve never seen before. Come on.” He grabbed Camden’s empty Coke glass and refilled it. He walked around the bar and met Camden halfway. Grabbing his hand, Reed led him towards his office. He sat them down on the couch—a couch he’d spent several nights on over the years when he’d been too tired to drive home.

  Reed turned on the couch to face Camden, who did the same. They rested their elbows on the back of the couch simultaneously, making them both laugh. Reed said, “I looked forward to the times we can talk and hang out together, with other coworkers, but especially when we’re alone having lunch. In fact, I often wait to eat lunch until it’s your breaktime. You’re always kind and funny, but I’m seeing a whole other side to you and I really like it. When I saw you at Ace’s Wild holding that cock cage box, I thought to myself, ‘Who is this boy?’ All the things I knew about you seemed so small compared to what I didn’t know about you. I couldn’t have stayed away if I’d tried.”

  When Camden sat in silence, waiting for him to go on, he obliged. “Sometimes I would see your friends come in. I don’t know all of their names, but I think there is a Jacob and a Brian.”

  “There’s also Dylan. Those are my three roommates. And you’ve probably seen them come in with a couple women, as well. They’re my neighbors, Ruby and Adira. We all met during our freshman year through the university’s Gay-Straight Alliance, which was Adira and Ruby’s junior year. We got to know each other really well and hit it off. A rental opened up at the end of that year and the girls told me and the guys about it. We’ve been living there ever since.”

  “That’s great. I’m so glad you have such long-standing, wonderful friends. I look forward to hanging out with them a bit, when you’re ready for that.”

  The grin on Camden’s face melted him. Reed wanted to kiss him so badly. And realized at that moment, he could do that. So, Reed leaned forward, reached out and sifted his hands through Camden’s hair, and tugged him closer. The kiss started out slow, gentle, but Reed couldn’t stop himself from delving deeper. When he licked his way into Camden’s mouth, the boy’s breathy whimper went straight to his balls. He clasped the boy’s cheek with his other hand to hold him close.

  He’d never tasted anything so good. His boy’s flavor was like ambrosia to him. It hit him in that moment. It was the first time he’d thought of Camden as his boy. Pulling back, he looked into Camden’s eyes, searching for any signs that Cam was overwhelmed, but the boy’s dreamy look nearly did him in. When he didn’t pull Camden back in, the boy’s face creased in confusion. “Did I do that wrong? Am I a bad kisser?”

  “What? No! No, Camden. Not at all. You were amazing. I just realized while I was kissing you, it was the first time I thought of you as my boy.”

  The hopeful look on Camden’s face nearly did him in. “Really?”

  He nodded, serious. “Really.”

  Camden drew in a deep breath and let it out. Smiling his shy little smile, the one that Reed knew was going to be the smile that got Cam whatever he wanted—Reed was such a pushover for a sweet, shy boy—he continued, “Good. I want to be your boy. But, Reed, I have no idea how to do any of this. Like I said earlier, I’ll need you to guide me. I lost my virginity when I was eighteen. There was one other out gay guy in my high school. Anyway, he approached me and asked me if I wanted to go out with him.”

  Camden’s gaze met his, but Reed didn’t want to interrupt, so all he did was nod. Camden started talking fast, as if trying to get it all out before he chickened out. “So, I wasn’t really that attracted to him, but no one had ever asked me out, so I couldn’t make myself say no.” Camden laughed, then said, “He took me to McDonald’s, of all places. Needless to say, I wasn’t impressed. But it turns out he only wanted one thing. He told me he didn’t want to go to college a virgin and that he thought we should fuck. Believe me, I swooned.”

  They both laughed for a minute, and Camden shook his head, seemingly unable to stop. “So, he drove me to this strip of woods behind his house, and we climbed in the back of…wait for it…his mom’s station wagon. No blankets or pillows. No preparation for anything except a huge bottle of lube and a strip of condoms longer than his arm.”

  Reed laughed when Camden rolled his eyes. “Right? Obviously, he had delusions of grandeur. Anyway, to make a long story short, he wouldn’t even think of bottoming, so I kind of volunteered. We started kissing but god his breath was awful, and he slobbered all over me. I turned my face away, and he took that to mean he could latch onto my neck like a succubus trying to suck the life out of me. Finally, we were naked, and he had a condom on.”

  “Jesus, what an idiot. Was it as bad as I’m assuming it was?”

  Camden snorted and nodded. “Oh yeah. I think he might have known enough to prep me, but unbeknownst to me, he was woefully inadequate at it because I definitely wasn’t ready for him. He finally got the head in, after quite a bit of pain. Before I could tell him to pull out, he came. Like, legit finally popped in after a lot of struggle and cussing from me, and bam, he was done. He pulled out, tore the condom off, and said, ‘Thanks, man, I appreciate it.’ And that was the night I lost my virginity.”

  “Fuck, Cam. I’m sorry. That’s awful.” Reed was pissed for eighteen-year-old Camden. “Let me ask you something. You rushed through that story as if you were nervous. Do I scare you, Camden? I’d never, ever want to do that.”

  Camden shook his head. “No, Sir. It’s just… The whole story is embarrassing, and I feel stupid for going along with it, but I thought you should know that’s how things went for me.”

  “Good. I’m glad you’re not nervous, and I’m glad you told me. Thank you. So, hopefully your next was better?”

  Camden glanced down at his hands. “I haven’t been with anybody since then.”

  Reed sucked in a surprised breath, but before he could say anything, Camden continued, “It hadn’t been a priority before he asked me. It wasn’t a priority after. I worked hard in high school and graduated valedictorian. I started going to college here and that’s all I’ve been doing. Studying and working, working and studying.” He let out a nervous laugh. “That and watching an enormous amount of porn.”

  Reed chuckled and clasped Camden’s hand. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about. If you think I haven’t watched an enormous amount of porn in my lifetime, you’d be wrong. But what that means is we need to take things slowly. I’m fine with that. I would never want to hurt you. We’ll prep you properly.”

  Camden’s forehead furrowed and he shook his head vehemently. “We don’t need to do that. I… Look, I didn’t want that to happen again, so I bought a bunch of dildos a few years back.” He snorted and Reed couldn’t help but grin. “I found the pack online. It was called ‘The Bottom Boy’s Training Pack.’ I shit you not.” He raised an eyebrow, as if saying, “See what I did there?” and Reed chuckled. “Anywa
y, it has six different dildos starting really small and getting really big. Needless to say, I’m pretty much ready for anything short of the Washington Monument.”

  Reed barked out a laugh and Camden grinned, obviously happy he’d been able to make Reed laugh. “But I gotta be honest, if you’re bigger than that, it’s gonna be a hard pass for me.”

  They both laughed for what felt like forever. It was amazing to be able to sit and talk and laugh with Camden. Finally, Reed got ahold of himself, his face mock serious when he answered, “Well, you’re in luck. The last time I checked, I measured just a smidge under monument size.”

  He watched as Camden did his best not to laugh, a grin wanting to push through as he nodded his head. “That sets my mind at ease.”

  “Oh good. I wouldn’t want you to worry unnecessarily about my giant, nearly monument-sized cock.”

  Camden giggled. Flat out giggled, and it was the sweetest sound Reed had ever heard. Strange or not, it was the thing that turned Reed on most since Camden arrived, all sleep tousled. Reed reached forward and pulled Cam until he straddled Reed’s lap. Camden gasped and reached out to grip Reed’s shoulders, eyes dilated, desire clear in his gaze. Reed clasped his face in his hands and drew him slowly in, sipping at Cam’s lips until he opened up and allowed Reed in.

  Camden started grinding himself against Reed. It was then Reed realized he was gone for this boy. So fucking gone. The whimpers and the little mewling kitten sounds, oh fuck. He moved his hands around behind Camden, pulling him closer, helping him move those sweet little hips of his as their kiss grew even more heated. Camden cried out softly and Reed pulled back, realizing he was probably overwhelming him. Camden was panting as their gazes locked together. His face was flushed, and his eyes were passion-glazed.

  “I’m sorry. I was going to come if we kept doing that. Should we…? Should we be doing this? I still work for you. I just… I want it, like really want it, but I know you wanted to wait, and I don’t want you to feel guilty.”

  Reed groaned, knowing Camden was right. He looked up, face as straight as he could make it. “Camden Sinclair, you’re fucking fired. Your last shift was tonight.”

  That broke the tension in Camden’s shoulders and he giggle-snorted. “I already quit. You can’t fire me!”

  “I’m the boss. I can do whatever I want.” Reed sighed and gathered him close. Camden wrapped his arms around him and squeezed. That the boy was a great hugger made Reed happy. He hoped that meant he was a snuggler as well. Reed liked to snuggle. He couldn’t keep himself from moving in for one last, chaste kiss, before he clasped Camden’s still-flushed cheeks and brought their foreheads together. “You’re right. I know you’re right. We’ll wait until after your last shift on Friday. But this week is going to suck. I’m already addicted to you, and we’ve only just begun.”

  Camden must have loved the sound of that because he pulled Reed close and hugged him tight again, whispering, “Me too, Sir.”

  “Aww. Jesus, Cam. You’re killing me. How am I supposed to resist you right now?”

  “You’re the stronger one here. You’re leading me, remember?”

  Fuck, he’s right. And though Camden was mostly joking, Reed knew there was more than a little bit of truth in those shaky words. He grew serious, wanting to assure Camden that he didn’t think this whole thing was a joke. “You’re right. I guess I should start leading, huh?”

  He stood up, Camden still in his arms and giving a little squeak at the sudden move. Reed slowly let his feet touch the floor, clasped his face and pulled him in for one last kiss. “Come on. I’ll take you to your car. Don’t think I didn’t see that yawn a couple minutes ago. I’ll follow you home—”

  “Oh…” Camden shook his head. “You don’t need to do that.”

  “Shh. I’m leading you, right?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Reed couldn’t keep a growl at bay at that Sir. “Then don’t argue. I wouldn’t be any kind of Daddy at all if I let you drive home on your own when you’re this tired.”

  “Okay.”

  Such an obedient boy. He couldn’t help but wonder what other orders Camden would obey. He shook that thought right out of his head. It wasn’t conducive to letting Camden walk away that night. He clasped Camden’s hand and headed towards the side door. Turning off the lights, he shut and locked the door behind them and ushered Camden into his car. He followed him home and lost a little bit more of his heart to Camden as he walked out to Reed’s idling truck, opened his door, and stood on tiptoes to reach Reed’s mouth for one final, searing kiss.

  With a shy little wave that matched his shy little smile, Camden let himself inside his house and Reed made his way home knowing he was done for. Completely and utterly gone over his boy already.

  Chapter 5

  Camden

  His palms were sweating. Why were his palms sweating? It wasn’t a big deal. He didn’t have to tell her anything at all. It wasn’t like she’d know by looking at him. Would she? He scoffed at himself. Of course, she wouldn’t. He got out of his car, wiped his palms on his pants, and headed into Trattoria Benzo, the little restaurant he only ever visited with Reagan.

  When he found her in a booth towards the back, he headed her way. She stood up to hug him when he got close enough. She pulled away but kept her hands on his shoulders, narrowing her eyes. Uh oh. He held his breath as they finally sat down across from each other.

  “Something’s different about you. What’s different about you? I just saw you yesterday.” She squinted her eyes at him as if she was rolling around the possibilities in her mind. Fuck. He didn’t want that. The only way to distract her was to talk about food or change the topic.

  “Nothing’s different. You’re paranoid. Did you order for us? What are you getting?”

  Okay, that was obviously a stupid question. She always ordered the same thing: Ribolitta soup. Her pause was long, and her silence was loud. Again, with the narrowed eyes… “Yes, I ordered already. And you know what I’m getting. I always get the same thing. And so do you, Mr. Pesto Fettuccini with Chicken and Roasted Pine Nuts.” She waited a few beats, and when he didn’t say a word or meet her gaze, she said, “Curious.”

  “What? There’s nothing curious. I just thought maybe you wanted to try something new. That’s all.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down. He avoided her eyes and dug into the bowl of fresh, warm, focaccia bread. After eating a couple pieces, he sat back and sighed.

  “I’m waiting.”

  Dammit.

  “For what?”

  She scoffed and his face heated. “You’re so bad at hiding things. So bad.”

  “Rae…”

  She threw up her hands. “Fine. Fine. I’ll leave it alone. For now.”

  “Very magnanimous of you.”

  “Wasn’t it?” She winked and dipped a piece of focaccia bread in some olive oil, popping it in her mouth. She closed her eyes as if in ecstasy and moaned. If he wasn’t super gay, he’d probably be looking at her in a whole new way. But he was super gay, so her virtue was safe. He smirked at her and she smirked back. Finally, they settled into comfortable conversation, their meals arrived, and there was nothing but silence while they ate the first few bites of their food.

  Reagan ate a few more bites of her soup, then paused and tilted her head. “Maybe nothing’s changed and you just look tired.”

  He gave her the best unimpressed, resting bitch face he could muster. “Gee, thanks so much, friend.”

  She laughed at him and leaned over to spear a piece of the pesto covered chicken and popped it in her mouth. Used to her taking such liberties, he didn’t say anything, so she continued, “I don’t mean it in a rude way. You look great. You always look great. You just look like you didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  He chuckled, knowing she hadn’t been trying to be mean. The girl might joke a lot, but she didn’t have a genuinely mean bone in her body. He responded absentmindedly, “Yeah, well.
That happens when your brother—”

  FuckFuckFuckFuck.

  He watched as her face scrunched up before her eyes blew wide open and she gasped. Jesus, this wasn’t going to go well. She was as theatrical as Adira, and he’d never hear the end of it. She pointed her spoon at him with narrowed eyes. “When my brother what?”

  “Nothing, he just worked me hard during my shift last night and—”

  She shook her head quickly. “Nope. That blush after you just said that and the fact that you’re still blushing speaks for itself.”

  Camden made a face that he hoped expressed how ridiculous she was being and tried again. “Whatever. I blush at anything. I was just blushing because I said he worked me hard, that’s all.”

  Oh damn, Camden, you’re good.

  He gave himself a mental fist bump but realized too late his satisfaction with himself tipped her off. Jesus, he was actually really bad at this.

  “I almost believed you, but no. Come on, spit it out. I know something happened between you two. I won’t tease you. Cam, I’ve been hoping you two would get together for years!”

  His mouth dropped open in what he was sure was a very unflattering way. “Years?”

  She blinked and gave him her best you’ve got to be kidding me face. “Anyone who’s worked at Big D’s for any length of time, and cares enough to pay attention, sees how attracted to each other you both are. They’d be blind not to.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “It’s not. I swear. I don’t think either of you were completely aware of it, but people don’t hold flames for each other for years while working together without showing the signs. My brother has had his eye on you from the beginning. I know him well. He’s always focused on you when you’re there. For the most part, you have no clue he’s flirting. But you blush and stammer and sometimes trip over yourself when you realize he’s watching you or wants to talk to you. It’s adorbs.”