Denver petted my head while I washed the slimy saliva off my hands. "Did you have fun?"
"Yeah! I was shocked that there was a giraffe, too!"
"Two, actually. The other one just wasn't in sight."
My jaw dropped. "That's amazing."
Denver chuckled and bent over to kiss my crown. "I'm glad you're having fun, baby boy."
My cheeks warmed as I bumped my right hip against his thigh. "Did you have fun on the guided tour too, Daddy?"
"I did, mostly because you were enjoying everything so much. I took lots of videos and pictures to share with your sister."
I grinned. "Really? I'm sure she'll be happy. Thank you, Daddy."
Denver blushed and scratched his warm face. "Well, I will be looking at them a lot, too."
"Why do that when you have the real thing right here?"
My daddy's tanned skin flushed a deep red and he crouched down next to me while I dried my hands. I laughed and flopped over his back, but then yelped as he suddenly stood up with my body over his left shoulder.
"Now I've got you!" he growled teasingly, making me laugh as he bounced down the steps with me flopping around.
"Daddy, you've always got me because I love you."
Denver paused, then he moved my body down to be tucked against his left side. He gently kissed my cheeks and forehead, which I returned while hugging his neck.
"What's wrong, Daddy?"
His ice-blue eyes were red-rimmed now and full of tears. "I love you too, Emil. You really are the most amazing little boy in the whole wide world."
"Aren't I only amazing because I'm your little boy?"
He shook his head. "Nope, you just are who you are. And I am so thankful everyday that Charlotte came into my class several years ago so that I can have you in my arms right now."
I smiled happily. "I feel the same way," I replied, then pecked his lips. "Let's get Charlie a nice souvenir from our trip, okay?"
Denver chuckled. "Of course, baby. Maybe we can find something at the gift shop? One for you both?"
"Yes, please."
My daddy dominant smiled brightly. I was being honest with him and not holding back anymore.
Dallas was already at the gift shop, but he jumped when Denver's hand squeezed his shoulder. "Gosh, you gave me a fright."
Denver chuckled while apologizing, then asked, "What had you in such deep thought, Dad?"
"Surprise," he uttered, glancing at me. I grinned at him and he reached over to ruffle my hair. "You're such a good boy, Emil."
I grinned. "Yeah, I know. Daddy just told me that, too."
Dallas laughed while Denver kissed my right cheek. "Yes, he's my very good boy." replied Denver, grinning away. I love his smiles. He's so handsome yet pretty at the same time.
"Are you going to buy Emil something?"
"Mhm, and for his sister."
Dallas hummed. "All right. I will convene with you while Emil is looking around."
Denver smiled and nodded, then brought me to the other side of the gift shop and helped me look at the stuff on the top shelves. He set me down and let me explore while he went off to talk to his dad. It felt a little weird to be away from my daddy dominant's side today, even though he was less than twenty feet away from me.
Maybe it was just because we were in an unfamiliar area with other people around? Maybe that time in the mall is coming back to me a little bit, even though I was fine going to the bathroom alone at that college. Maybe I'm just thinking too much.
To keep my mind off the sense of unease, I hopped around the creaky wooden floor and started to look for something on the shelves I could reach. I hadn't seen anything particularly interesting on the higher shelves.
"Hey, buddy..."
I lifted my head and twisted around to see a young woman bent over a bit with her hands on her upper thighs. She smiled warmly, but I felt a little uneasy.
"Are you new to town?"
I tilted my head and she quietly cooed. I glanced to my left to see Denver still talking with Dallas. Thankfully, my man's body language told me that he was keeping an eye on me, so I felt a bit better.
"Ah, your daddy told you not to talk to strangers. You must take after your mom."
I shrugged and dipped my head, then stepped away to look at some other items. I saw a keychain with a little kudu-shaped rubber thing. Maybe something like that would be a good gift for Charlie? It wouldn't be intrusive or too childlike and she could use it with her keys.
"Say," started the girl, standing right behind me. I jumped and turned around, so she giggled behind her hand. "You're cute. What are you looking for?"
I frowned and moved away from her again. She's weirdly persistent about talking to me. There was nothing particularly wrong with her appearance or anything, but I could just sense that she had bad intentions. Her hazel eyes were cold and dark, and her smile looked genuine but creepy. It freaked me out.
The girl kept slowly creeping back to me to ask questions until I went and hugged Denver's waist. She stayed back and made a fake crying gesture, then smiled and waved. Denver had picked me up at that point, so I finally felt safe. I snuggled in and closed my eyes for a few seconds while my daddy dominant gently bounced me. Dallas firmly rubbed my back, so I was relieved.
"What was that about?" murmured Denver, cupping the back of my head.
"She was weird. I didn't feel safe around her."
Denver stiffened. "I'm sorry, baby. Would you like to leave now?"
I nodded. "Yes, please."
He looked at his dad, who nodded at us to go ahead and then brought me outside. I rested the bridge of my nose against his left cheek with a soft sigh on my lips. Denver pushed his fingers through my hair and pressed his lips to my face.
"Baby boy, I was watching you. Should I have intervened?"
I shrugged and shook my head. "I think I did all right, considering my small stature. I probably would have called out to you in my childlike mind if it went too far."
"I know, Emil. Thank you for coming to me."
"I didn't talk to her either because I had this sense she would get even weirder if I did."
Denver patted my back. "You did well. Once Dad comes out, I will leave you with him and then go talk to the manager of the exotic zoo. If that girl working there truly was planning on doing something bad to you, then the manager can decide what to do with her."
"Okay, Daddy." I murmured, then yawned. "Aside from that girl, I really did enjoy the zoo. Thank you for bringing me."
"You're very welcome, Emil. But you must thank my dad, too. He was the one who had the idea for today's fun."
"I will, I promise." I replied, then tucked my nose down against his neck. His comforting scent blocked the animal smell, so I was happy to just rest in my man's arms until Dallas comes outside.
When he did, Denver handed me over to his dad, then he returned inside what I would say looked like a wooden hovel-like gift shop. I guess it was supposed to look more cabin-like, but it was totally worn down and looked like it could collapse in on itself at any moment. Although I know it won't because I saw the structural beams on the inside and they looked really sturdy.
"Emil," murmured Dallas, so I lifted my head and smiled at him. His ice-blue eyes gleamed with happiness. "I will miss you and my son dearly when you return to your home, but please come back soon."
I hugged his neck tightly. "I promise we will, Dally. I know Daddy will want to come back soon, too. He loves you a lot and I know he misses you so much. He was really excited to come here."
Dallas sniffled. "I'm really glad to hear that, bud." he whispered, hugging me tightly. "Perhaps I should go up and visit you both, though. Rita has been telling me I need to take some time off. Been working too hard, apparently."
I leaned back and grinned. "That sounds great! Daddy and I will be moving to a nice house somewhere in the suburbs not long after we get back. You'll be happier there with more greenery and less noise."
Dallas teared up a bit more. "Thank you, Emil."
I gently kissed his cheeks and the dam silently burst. He hugged me tightly as he leaned on the side of his truck, his shoulders shaking as he silently cried. He must have missed Denver a lot and felt really lonely without him. Denver was all he had as family for a long time. It made me want to cry a bit, but I merely hugged Dallas a bit tighter and rubbed his shoulder blades.
A short time later, probably no more than ten minutes, Denver returned outside. Dallas had the front passenger's side door open while I was sitting on the seat facing him as he stood next to me. He had blown his nose a few times and I had spent a little time pressing a damp napkin around his eyes to cool the heated skin down. Dallas was grateful, although his cheeks were warm. I petted his graying dark brown hair as Denver approached us with a stern expression. I think embarrassment from having cried was overwhelming Dallas as he shifted slightly away from his son.
Denver's expression darkened when he noticed his dad's and my odd behavior, but he greeted Dallas and met my lips as soon as his dad moved back. From the way he grasped my waist, I could tell that my man was weirdly jealous. Maybe he's still hung up on the fact that I liked how he and his dad are nearly identical?
"Daddy, what's wrong? Did everything get taken care of already?"
Denver nuzzled my left cheek and kissed my throat. "Yes, what I needed to do has been done. What were you and my dad up to?" he asked, since Dallas had gone around the other side of the truck.
"We were talking, Daddy. What else would we have been doing?"
Denver shifted his position and curled over a little more to rub his right cheek on my chest. My beloved man must be really jealous.
"Daddy, Dally and I were just talking about visitations. I promised that we would come back soon and I agreed on your behalf that he should come visit us after we've moved."
Denver blew out a deep breath and straightened as Dallas climbed into the driver's seat. "Dad, I do want to come back and or have you visit us as soon as possible. I left you alone too long."
Dallas' breath hitched and I watched Denver's eyes widen as sniffling started up again—this time from behind me. I smiled very gently at my man and curled down to whisper, "Dally was just embarrassed that he was crying over his desire to see you again. I love you and only you, Daddy, as my beloved man, lover, daddy, and dominant. Dally is both like a real father and a close friend to me."
Denver hugged my hips tightly and pecked my lips, then left me to go around the front of the truck to calm down his crying father. I smiled happily and hopped out of the truck to approach the high exotic animal fencing that ran along next to the parking lot. I wanted to give the Charleston men some privacy and see if I could spot the ostriches and emus again.
I always thought ostriches and emus were around the same size because they are rather similar in their general appearances. But I was shocked by the ostriches' huge bodies, long legs and necks, and the strong beaks that eagerly snapped up the pellets that kids and adults were either tossing in their direction or holding out on their palms.
I think my favorite of those two types were the emus, though. Their smaller size was much less intimidating, kinda like me, but they were still really tall for a bird. And one of the emus was a little sparse in feathers at the top of his head, making it possible for me to see his scalp. For some reason, I thought that emu was just so adorable. The lady driving the bus said that particular emu was affectionately named "Hector" after an emu in a popular kids' TV show made and aired in Australia.
I walked along the fence, wondering if I could spot Hector since the area where they were located was fairly close to the parking lot. But the acreage was insane for this exotic zoo. So most of the animals had tens of acreages per kind. Apparently, there was a total of eight hundred acres, which would make sense to me. There were so many different types, and there was even a petting zoo area with Pygmy goats on one side and big deer on the other. There were ponies and a zebra as well, which was being kept away from the small herd for awhile due to an injury.
I watched the big tour bus drive along the road about half a mile away, so I grinned when I spotted the emus rushing up to the bus. I had no idea which one Hector was, but I did wonder about the food situation. Apparently, the pellets had most of the nutrition the animals needed, but there was really no greenery on the ground. There were lots of trees and a few watering holes scattered here and there, but that can't be enough, right?
Well, I guess I don't have to know everything. The animals look well-fed and happy, and I didn't catch any signs of abuse. They were all either friendly or overly friendly with everyone.
"Hey there," whispered a voice from behind me.
I gasped and whirled around, slamming my back against the fence. The girl from earlier giggled while my chest heaved from fright.
"You're so cute," she whispered, crouching down in front of me. She looked up at my face and grinned. "I've already been given a warning and I was supposed to stay in the backroom until you guys left, but I couldn't help myself. You were just so cute standing in front of the shelves while looking around. Those big green eyes are so pretty; they shine like jewels."
I was totally frozen in fear as her fingers moved towards my face. My heart was pounding in my chest so hard that it physically hurt me and my breath was caught in my throat. Her hazel eyes were filled with something scary, but I couldn't tear my gaze away from her "sweet" face. I thought I could call for my daddy if necessary, but I can't do it—my voice won't come out.
"Your daddy and grandfather are quite attractive, but you..." she breathed, stroking her knuckles along the curve of my jaw. "You are stunning."
After her brief mention of Denver and Dallas, my breaths now came out in short puffs. Her wine-red lips curled up. "You look vaguely familiar. Maybe your mom did modeling?" she tested, then continued, "Acting?"
Her smirk deepened after my visible flinch. "Interesting," she whispered, then she pried my stiff fingers off the fence. "You should do both. I'm sure you will succeed."
She squeezed my stiff hands and kissed my palms, placing them on her cheeks. "Ah, such a cute little boy. Emil, was it? I'll remember that."
Just before I could find my voice or my strength, Denver suddenly shouted and she dropped my hands. The girl kissed my left cheek and ran off while giggling. Denver scooped me up a second later and held me tightly.
"Shit, I have terrible timing!"
"Uh-huh," I mumbled, curling into a ball. "But thanks for coming to my rescue like a knight, Daddy."
"Em?"
"Yuppers."
Daddy growled deep in his chest, which made it vibrate a lot more. That made me feel so much better.
"Daddy, are you gonna scrub me clean?" I asked with a giggle on my lips.
"Yes, sweetheart. I have to rid your precious body of her stench and touch."
"I love bath time!"
Daddy petted my head and hugged me tightly, climbing into the backseat with me. He buckled us in and curled his arms around my form, ignoring Dally's questions. I was getting sleepy, so Daddy gladly let me snooze on the way home.
A bad encounter that could have been so much worse...
Now, you've witnessed Denver's jealousy. What is going to happen in the next chapter?
See you again next Saturday! I love you all very much. <3
- Alessa (Kelpie) xoxo
Updated: 2/18/2023
Word count: 2898