curious enough to make me actually bring up the topic when Destin finally left.
If all Daddy wanted to do was make dinner and talk about our day, that was fine with me.
Mostly.
“But when you said breakfast for dinner, I thought you meant pancakes or waffles.” I needed to get a better pout because mine was just making him smile.
He actually chuckled. “Eggs are usually considered a breakfast food.”
“But not broccoli.” I stared at the omelet that was starting to come together on the stove.
“It has lots of cheese, though.” He winced. “Probably too much.”
I giggled, leaning against the counter to get a better look. “There’s no such thing.”
Leon rolled his eyes but turned back to focus on the pan. “You won’t even notice the vegetables, and biscuits and jelly will be almost like dessert.”
Sighing dramatically, mostly because it seemed to be making him smile, I propped my elbows on the table and rested my head in my hands. “But no real dessert? I know there are more cookies.”
He chuckled. “Oh no, you had plenty of junk food today, Mr. I’m Going To Eat Frosted Flakes For Lunch.”
“That’s cheating.” Straightening, I huffed. “You never said that would mean I didn’t get dessert.”
“Daddies don’t cheat. They make the rules.” He said that so smugly I almost missed the fact that he was basically calling himself a Daddy.
“Who said? That’s just mean.”
He gave me another smile. “Ray.”
Destin’s Daddy was a meanie.
“But just one more won’t hurt.” I must’ve been getting better at looking cute while whining because I could see Daddy considering it.
“One, but only if you don’t use too much jelly and you eat the vegetables without any more fuss.” He raised one eyebrow to give me that Daddy look of his before turning back to the stove. “Do we have a deal?”
What would he do if I was naughty and broke it?
“Yes…Sir or Daddy…what should I call you?” I wasn’t trying to poke at what had happened earlier…but it couldn’t hurt to see what he was thinking.
He shrugged but stayed very focused on the eggs as he started to put them on our plates. “Well, I think whatever you’re most comfortable with is probably the best answer.”
I couldn’t help myself. I giggled. “That’s a very good non-answer.”
He snorted, but I saw a little bit of a grin peeking out as he put a biscuit on my plate. “Possibly.”
Trying not to laugh, I tried again. “But you have a choice as much as I do.”
Leon nodded, but it took him a few seconds before he answered. “Sir felt like a reasonable title when you used it before…but I guess Daddy is technically the right term considering our relationship.”
But how did technically right feel to him?
He didn’t seem to think a lot about himself when it came to decisions.
“Yes—Daddy. It’s the right term.” He paused for a moment as he picked up the plates, then started moving again like it was nothing.
“Okay, how did that feel?” I could see he was going to do something like shrug or make some weird comment again, so I changed tactics. “I like saying it and I’ve kind of been thinking of you as Daddy for a few days. How did it feel to you when I said it?”
As he set the plates down and went to grab silverware, he thought for a few seconds. “How I feel about this is very important to you.”
Were we finally getting somewhere?
“Yes.” Keeping it simple seemed best with him even though I wasn’t sure that had been a question.
“Is that because you need confidence in how your Daddy feels or is it something else?” He finally came around to sit beside me and I took that as permission to start eating.
Taking a few bites gave me a moment to collect my thoughts. With anyone else, even Destin, I might’ve kept it simple and tried to keep more to myself, but that didn’t feel like the right answer with Leon.
“That’s part of it. I won’t be able to relax if I think something I’m doing is making you uncomfortable in a bad way. I know you’ve had some experience with Destin being little, but that seems more theoretical than practical with you as a Daddy.” I paused to take another bite and let that sink in.
He was right. The cheese did cover up the taste of the broccoli.
Not that I was going to admit that.
“And the other?” He set his fork down and shifted on his stool to see me better.