I turned back to my laptop and scanned through my social media. Amanda hadn’t released the video, but she swore it’d make waves. I couldn’t let that be our only marketing. For the last two hours, I sent emails to the newspaper, TV channel, and even our local radio station. I’d hound them until they responded.
When the front door opened, I didn’t look up from my laptop. I refreshed my email again, hoping somebody would respond to my pleas for media coverage. After the third click, I gave up. There was plenty of work that needed to get done, fliers to hang, comics to pull for customers, and…
None of it mattered when I spottedhim. Where I expected an awkward teenager stood the broad shoulders of a man. When he leaned over a long box, flipping through comics, I couldn’t help but gawk at the curves and how they flowed into the ass of tight-fitting jeans. From this angle, I couldn’t see his face, but as I flipped through my Rolodex of local asses, none were close to this perfect creature.
Would it be awkward if I interrupted his browsing to make suggestions? I owned the store. That’d be natural aslong as I didn’t reach down and see if those buns were as firm as I hoped. I didn’t trust myself, not when this bear thumbed through old issues ofDefenders of Earth.
He reached up to pull a new comic from the wall, and I caught sight of the hairy arms covered in tattoos. I fought back a gasp. Had the universe taken pity on me and manifested a fantasy? He turned his head, and I realized I had a bona fide daddy bear, complete with beard browsing comics. It was Christmas, and I had been a good boy… averygood boy.
He headed toward me with a stack of comics in hand. I tried looking busy and knocked a coffee cup full of pens off the counter. I reached for the fliers to keep my hands busy, sending them flying. The man caught the papers and set them down.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey.” The desire to touch those thick forearms was implied.
“Can I get these?”
There were nearly twenty comics. Normally, I could read a person based on their purchases. He had a mixture of science fiction, superheroes, and a few comics with more scantily clad women than plot. I surveyed his haul.
“You have a pretty eclectic selection going on.”
“Oh, they’re not for me.”
I wanted him to say they were for his boyfriend, no, ex-boyfriend. They had broken up but stayed close friends. The narrative wrote itself. I imagined they spent theirThursday nights watching new episodes ofGalaxy Cadetsand then switching channels to a drag show.
“They’re for my son.”
It didn’t compute at first. My daddy bear couldn’t really… “Oh, you have a son?” My brain realigned, realizing I had a straight man in front of me. This burly, fluffy man with a growing patch of white in his beard wasn’t adaddy,just a dad. Everywhere bears wept.
“He’s eight. He’s a reluctant reader and?—”
“You’re hoping comics will do the trick. Got it.”
He nodded. I reached for the stack and started splitting it into two piles. “Let me give you a hand here. Murder! Murder! Murder! is not for an eight-year-old. We should skipVixensunless you want him to find out where space babies come from. And there is no way you’re giving himCastles and Dragons.”
“How can that be bad?”
“Ever hear the phrase, anthropomorphic penis?”
He grew cuter as he blushed. I continued separating out the comics. On the wall behind me, I snatched a couple of issues. “These are good. The art is a little flashier, but the dialogue is on grade level. The superheroes are solid role models in these.”
He rubbed his beard, eyes wide. “This is out of my comfort zone. I haven’t read comics since Nana bought me thefunniesback in the day.”
“Funnies? You don’t look sixty.” I gave him a wink. Straight or not, I’d flirt until he ran screaming from the store.
Red cheeks again. Did daddy bear enjoy the attention?
“We started reading some fantasy books together. He wasn’t a fan. Too many words, he said.”
The image of him with his son reading the books only made him sexier. I had never been serious enough with a guy to consider children. If the man was this handsome, I’d consider. I’m sure my mom’s grandmother instincts went off just thinking about it.
“We’re new… to Firefly, that is.”
That explained why I didn’t know his name, lineage, and every dirty secret. Small towns had boundary issues. It’d only be a matter of days before the ladies at the market gossiped about his arrival.
“I’m Jason.” I held my hand out.
His paw of a hand gripped mine, and my knees almost buckled. A big guy with muscle under his fluff sent my heart aflutter. “I’m Simon. Thanks for helping me step up my dad game.”
