We got to the movie theater and Xander literally buys enough to make my arms full. He got the large popcorn, jelly beans, licorice, an extra large slushee, sour patch kids and just a medium sized salty popcorn for himself and a bottle of water.

"We're going to see a movie, not several movies." I told Xander as we walked towards the theater room. He had taken everything he ordered for me. They had been placed in a white bag and he simply handed me my popcorn while he held onto the rest.

"Is it bad that I want to buy you a little bit of all the snacks?" Xander asked, his right brow raised.

"This isn't a little bit." I said gesturing to the bag he hand in hand and my popcorn. I only get a shrug and I shook my head at him. Xander was ridiculous.

Surprisingly, the theater wasn't packed, the tiny lights were on and I took to the stairs, Xander right behind me as I headed to the back. I hated when people blocked my view, be it with their heads or their hands or those annoying people that always take their phone out. So back it was.

"I'm so excited for this." I said, resisting the urge not to clap my hands happily. Xander was looking at me, a small smile on his face. I felt the familiar swoop in my tummy, my cheeks growing hot.

"You look gorgeous when you're excited."

"Oh my god, Xander." I didn't know what to do and I couldn't keep looking at him or I was going to end up kissing him. So I did the only thing I could think of. I grabbed a handful of popcorn and pushed it into my mouth, chewing aggressively as I looked away.

Xander let out an amused chuckle beside me and it's not fair. He just can't be throwing out words like that. I don't think my heart could take it.

"Stop chewing like that. You might choke." Xander said and I do as he said but I still don't look at him though. Thankfully the lights went out and the sound came on and yeah... the trailers begin.

Halfway through the movie and my popcorn was gone and I was scared. My heart was pounding in my chest as CeeCee grabs the can of paint and flips it onto the open space.

I let out a loud scream and reached for something to hold. That something being Xander's hand. I don't bother thinking too much about it. I just held on. The movie progresses at an alarming pace and then it gets to the part at the mental institution. She was in the shower and the next thing someone was being stopped and it startled me so much I hid my face in Xander's shoulder.

I felt the weight of his hand on my arm and I tried to calm myself down. I loved watching horror and thriller but it makes me all jumpy and scared.

"Wanna continue?" Xander asked, his voice a quiet whisper.

"Yeah."

Majority of the snacks Xander had bought were finished and we were near the end of the movie. I could feel it. They found him but I still didn't want to believe. I was still holding on to Xander's hand and he just let me.

It didn't feel awkward. It didn't feel uncomfortable. There was this humming feeling beneath my skin and it just reminded me of a song. What song though? What song or songs are we?

Finally we get to the end of the movie and I let out a loud whoop! Yes! I even got onto my feet and was so close to screaming out a loud yes when I was suddenly tugged backwards. Instead of falling into my seat, I sat down on Xander's lap.

I don't even have time to react.

"I know you're excited but you gotta keep it down. We're not the only ones here, kitten." He said, his voice that mix of gentle and stern. "Next time I can book a private viewing room but right now, I need you to be good and keep it down."

"But..."

"Kitten."

His stern voice sent a tiny chill down to my toes and I complied. It has been long. Too long since I've been spoken to like this. It has been long since someone took care of me like this, the snacks, the movie, the seatbelt. See, it's hard to pinpoint where relationships end and ddlb begins. Besides actually seeing a daddy dom with a little or a daddy dominant straight up telling you. There is next to no way you could tell.

But in Xander I could see the tells.

The seatbelt, the hand on my neck and the squeeze, the food, kitten. He called me a good boy.

What if I wanted a daddy dom so much that I was misinterpreting everything I was seeing. I could be overthinking this.

The movie ends a bit after that and the handful of people who were watching walked out of the cinema. Xander tapped my thigh and I got up. I don't let go of his hand though and we asked down the stairs like that, Xander a step ahead of me.

"What do you want to do?" Xander asked.

"A walk would be good. I feel like my tummy is about to burst." I said with a small laugh. I reached up and tucked some curls behind my ear.

"A walk would be great."

"This time I'm going to get you something." I said once we finally walked out of the dark theater, I moved closer to Xander. I wanted to know more about him and I was sure he wanted to know about me.

"Like what?"

"What's your favorite slurpee?" I asked.

"I don't really like slurpees."

"What? What? What do you like?" I asked Xander. We were walking slowly and I noticed some guys and girls turning to stare and they sure as balls weren't looking at me and I got it. Xander was just someone worth looking at. Like he's with a quadruple take not just a double take.

"I like malteasers."

"I do too. I hate anything with coconuts though." I said, sticking my tongue out. Xander chuckled and squeezed my hand a bit.

"Not the biggest fan of them either."

"You don't like a lot of things, do you?"

"I like you."

I tripped and I probably would have ended up with my nose on the floor if it wasn't for Xander gripping my hand tightly and pulling me right up.

"Are you this clumsy?"

"What can I say? You bring out the best of me." I said with a shy smile. Xander chuckled and I didn't even know what to do. What do I do? What do I do about the butterflies in my tummy?

"You're quick with your sarcasm."

"Not really. I wish I was this sarcastic when I'm dealing with Moy." I said with a sigh.

"Moy?" Xander asked. There was a cold tilt to his tone.

"You know... I thought you would have done like a background check on me." I said, turning to face him. Still walking backwards as I did so.

"I didn't. I would have found you months ago if I did but I knew we'd still end up meeting again." Xander said and I smiled up at him. "So, who's Moy?"

"He's my boss." I replied.

I want to say Xander had a lot of layers but I didn't know enough about him to say that. I only know what I've seen and heard so darned was intriguing and I wanted to know more.

"Do your underlings know you're a cheesy man?"

"It is none of their business."

"I can imagine you pouting a gun at a man's head and glaring at him because he heard you say something cheesy." I teased, sticking my tongue out at him.

"You have a wild imagination." Xander replied. He had a calculating look on his face and I didn't want him to have it again. So I took off into a run, pulling Xander along with me as I ran.

We got out of the theater and that's when I stopped. Xander doesn't let go of my hand still and neither do I.

"So I might have gotten you something." Xander said and I turned to him, staring at him in excitement. I loved presents.

"What? What is it?"

"It's a little present for you." Xander said and really, the excitement doesn't die down. I've been with him all day and I've even been in his car so when did he have the time to get me a present.

"Xander..."

"I'm not telling you anything. I'll give it to you when you're ready to go home." He said with a smirk. There were so many possibilities. What could he have gotten me? Was it shoes? Or clothes? Hair products?

"You know I'll probably be thinking about this throughout our walk." I said and again, Xander smirked.

"You can ask me anything. Isn't this walk about us trying to know each other better?" Xander asked and ugh, he was right.

We walked for a while, talking about little things. Xander's favorite color was purple and he told me this in confidence after ten minutes of teasing from me. I told him mine was orange and we moved on.

"Have you ever been arrested?" I asked.

"No evidence, no arrest." He replied easily.

We took a turn and suddenly the street was less busy and it was okay for me to laugh out loud without drawing attention especially when Xander told me his favorite tv show was How I Met Your Mother.

"Why is that funny?" He asked, he looked so close to pouting and wouldn't that be a sight to behold.

"It's not what I expected. I thought you'd either be too busy or your favorite show would be those serious ones like Law and Order or House or Deception." I said and he frowns at me. His brows furrow and he looked adorable.

How can a man who is over 6'4, a man who is a kingpin, a man who looks hot then gorgeous then handsome, also be adorable? How's it fair?

"I literally told you I like watching The Big Bang Theory this morning." He said and ooh yeah. "I like to laugh and these shows are pretty funny."

"Alright. I'm sorry. You just seem like a pretty serious person." I said, smiling softly at him.

"Maybe what I need is you."

"Me?"

"You're fun, you're funny, you literally glow whenever I see you. You are serious, yes, but you also know how to let go." Xander said. We had stopped walking. We were standing close to each other and I couldn't look away from Xander. I didn't even want to look away from him.

He doesn't know. He doesn't know. I let go but not in the way I want to. It's easier to push that away by being playful and drinking and laughing, smiling too.

Xander doesn't know.

I stepped closer to him, my hands slowly reaching up. I placed them on his collar, lightly tugging on it.

"Thank you for saying that." I replied, smiling at him. Xander was staring at me. His gaze all over my face and I knew he sensed that something had changed.

"Let's get you home, Bram." He said and I nodded.

I took a step back and walked away. Shit. I was probably overthinking this. What the fuck am I doing? What the fuck was happening? Why? Why? Why is my head always in disarray? Can't this be simple and straightforward? He had all the tells. I was part of this community, that was my life style so I know some of the things... the quirks? What if Xander wasn't a daddy dom and didn't understand what was happening? Or hated the lifestyle?

Shit. Shit. Shit.

There was a weight on my neck again and it felt like I could feel it everywhere.

"You're fine." Xander said, his stern tone echoing in my head. I took in several deep breaths and let them out. Once I was settled enough, I turned to him.

"You are giving me whiplash. You talk different, act different, you know just what to do and say, you call me all these nicknames and if I don't ask, I don't think I'll probably be able to sleep because I'll just be thinking about this over and over again."

"Bram..."

"Are you a daddy dom?"

—

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