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Griffin
I cupped the side of Max's neck and pressed my thumb against the underside of his chin, tilting his head back so he was forced to look up at me. "If you get a migraine, call me," I ordered.
He smiled a little. "I will. I promise."
Leaning down, I softly kissed himâjust a mere brush of our lips. But it was enough to make my heart clench in my chest. Goddammit, I didn't want him to go to work today, but Axel needed him for meetings. Besides, he couldn't be home today since I would be working on his surprise. I'd spent half the night awake ordering shit to be rush delivered today.
I was hoping this would settle him and make him feel safe enough to regress with me.
"Good boy. I'll see you this evening, okay? Don't hesitate to call me if you need me." I kissed him again. "My driver is downstairs."
"You're spoiling me."
I chuckled and kissed the tip of his nose. "Not spoiling you enough, baby boy. Now go on. Get to work."
Once he left and I'd received confirmation that he was in the car, I headed to my spare room that we'd put all of Max's things in. I quickly moved them out and took them to my room, putting them away in my drawers and my closet. Then, I moved everything around to accommodate all his little things. I'd just finished rearranging the dresser when my doorbell rang. For the next several hours, I unpacked shit I'd ordered and arranged it in his little spaceâstuffies, new bedding, fuzzy rugs, a TV, movies, coloring books, crayons, toys. I texted Max whenever he texted me, not wanting him to feel abandoned in the slightest, especially after the meltdown he'd had over the weekend.
My phone rang as I was rearranging a huge stuffed animal that was just about as big as I was. Grunting, I stood and pulled my phone out, sighing at Axel's name.
"What?" I grunted.
"Don't you fucking what me," Axel snapped. "Where the fuck are you, Griffin? Why is Max telling me you're not coming in today? You have a goddamn job."
I scoffed. "I had no meetings today," I reminded him. "I had more important shit to take care of."
He made a low, growling sound. "More important shit than your damn job? Than this family, Griffin?"
"Yes," I snapped, getting pissed. "Max has had a fucking shit weekend, brother. Did you know he was living on the east side? In the heart of the east side, Axel?" Axel remained silent. "His fucking family has been taking his paychecks and controlling his life. I'm trying to take care of him and give him what he fucking needs. So yeah, Axel, I took the fucking day off because Max is more important than my fucking job and our goddamn family, just as I know Novella and your kid is more important than anything else for you."
"What the fuck do you mean his family has been taking his money?" Axel growled.
"Not over this line," I warned him. Axel made that damn growling sound again. "I'm working on taking care of it," I promised him. "I'll be back at work tomorrow. Keep an eye on Max for me."
With that, I hung up and pocketed my phone again so I could begin cleaning up the mess I'd made. Boxes were everywhere, and it was going to take a lot of trips up and down the stairs to get rid of all of this, but it was worth it.
Max was worth everything.
~*~*~
I shifted my car into park before angling out of it, nodding once at the security guard as I made my way to the building. He lifted a hand in a wave before going back to his job. The doors in front of me slid open, and I walked through, passing the receptionist and heading to the elevator. After scanning my fingerprint, I headed up to the top floor, excited to see my boy.
I knew he'd been swamped most of the day, so I was hoping my plans would settle him. And hopefully, he wouldn't have a migraine. I didn't mind cuddling him and taking care of him. I loved it, actually. But it made me feel all out of sorts when my boy wasn't well. Seeing him laid up in bed for three damn days, barely remembering a single moment of it because of his pain, had left me wanting to rip off my skin.
I hated not being able to help him. To cure him. I knew he was seeing a neurologist. Knew they'd done multiple tests. But they hadn't found anything yet. All they could do was prescribe him medications.
Max looked up when I knocked on the door of his office, and fuck the way his eyes brightened and that shy, sweet smile tilted his lips. Everything inside of me settled. I was head over heels for him. Would do anything in the world for him. I may be his Papa, but he fucking owned me.
"Papa," he breathed, immediately standing from his desk. He rushed around it and crashed into me, snuggling close and burying his face against my chest. I wrapped my arms around him, my right hand cradling the back of his head. I pressed my lips to the top of his head, breathing him in.
Home. He smelled like home.
"You ready to head home, baby?"
He nodded. "Let me finish this email, and then, we can go," he told me, peeling himself away from me before heading back to his desk. I stayed leaning against the doorframe, watching as his fingers flew over his keyboard.
Axel popped up beside me. "You're lucky you're family, Griffin," he grunted.
I rolled my eyes. "Fuck off, Axel.:
He looked at Max. "You can go ahead and head out, kid. Just send me a copy of my schedule for tomorrow."
"It's already been forwarded to you," Max said, not looking away from his computer screen as he continued typing. "I also sent everything you need for your first meeting of the morning."
Axel nodded. "Thanks, kid." He clapped a hand to my shoulder before heading toward the elevator, his fingers flying over the screen of his phone, no doubt texting Novella. I used to think his obsession with her was super unhealthy, but now that I had Max, I understood him.
"Done," Max announced a moment later. He turned off his computer and stood, stretching his arms over his head before turning to me. I held my hand out to him, and he eagerly stepped forward, placing his hand in mine. I gave it a gentle squeeze as I pulled him to my side, leading him toward the elevator after he shut his office door behind us. "What's the plan for tonight, Papa?"
"Carb overload," I told him with a cheeky grin. "When we get back home, the attendant downstairs should have our pizzas waiting for us. And then, we can do whatever you wantâwatch a movie, cuddle, entirely up to you."
He leaned against me as the elevator doors closed behind us, and my heart clenched in my chest when he inhaled deeply, snuggling closer. "Carb overload sounds really good," he mumbled, his voice muffled by my chest.
I wrapped my arm around him, giving him a squeeze. I was so fucking gone over him.
~*~*~
Max stepped out the bedroom wearing a pair of pajama pants with kittens all over them and a plain, long-sleeve white shirt. I stood from the couch, holding my hand out to him. He'd fallen asleep a few minutes after eating almost an entire pizza by himself, and when he woke up, he'd claimed he'd wanted a shower, so I cleaned up the mess we'd made while he did his thing.
But now, I wanted to reveal his gift to him. I was nervous as hell, but thankfully, it didn't show.
"I have a surprise for you," I told him.
He grabbed my hand, linking our fingers together. His brows pulled low over his eyes as he looked up at me. "A surprise?" he asked tentatively, like he wasn't sure if it would be a good one.
I pressed my lips to his forehead, and without responding, I led him over to what was going to be his room. Granted, it still was, but it was now his little space. Adulthood didn't belong in here.
When I pushed open the door, he gasped, his eyes immediately filling with tears. His lips trembled, and he sobbed. "Thiâthis is f-for me?" he choked out, flapping his hands around and bouncing like he was on the verge of having a complete meltdown.
Internally, I was freaking out. Was this not the right thing to do? Was it too much? Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I was already screwing up as his Papa.
"Max, baby, if you don't like itâ"
He burst into tears and crashed into me so hard, I fell back against the door. I gripped him to me as he fell apart, sobbing into my chest and clinging to me. "It's p-perfect," he sobbed. "You're such a g-good P-Papa. The b-best."
"Oh, baby." I cuddled him close, letting him get it all out of his system. We didn't say anything else, and after a few minutes, his tears began to slow. I took him to the attached bathroom, which I'd decorated to look like he was underwater, and cleaned his face as he admired the decorations and the shower curtain and all the brand new towels and rugs.
He clasped my face after, stroking his fingers through the stubble along my jaw. "You're the best Papa ever," he whispered, running those pretty eyes over my face. Leaning forward, he smacked a loud kiss to my lips, giggling after. And God, the way my heart softened. "The bestest."
I chuckled and booped his nose, making him squeal. "Do you want to explore your playroom?" I asked him.
Immediately, he jumped down, almost stumbling until I latched an arm around him, steadying him. Then, I let him go, watching as he rushed into his room and face planted into the once-neat pile of stuffies I'd ordered him.
Sitting in the recliner in the corner, I kicked back and relaxed, watching as my precious boy began to play with his toys, making a disaster of his room. Clean up would be a pain in the ass, but it was so worth it to see the happiness just vibrating off of him.