Chapter 20
20
DONNIE
It’s been a week since the fight, and I haven’t seen Shiloh or Toby once since. Jess tells me they’ve been in when I’m not around, and Lucky seems to be the designated coffee fetcher when I am in my shop. Such is the case today.
“Buying for all three today?” I ask him when he reaches the front of the line. At least the boy has the decency to look embarrassed when he gives me a quick nod. “Let them know I’m not mad at them, alright? They don’t have to worry about coming in when I’m here.”
Lucky looks up at me in confusion. “Why would you be mad at them? Did they do something naughty?”
The wording of his question and the way he starts rubbing the corner of his shirt between his fingers makes me tense. When Matt gave me the breakdown on the various kinds of kinks that he’s seen in and around the people who live in the house across the street, he mentioned something about age play and age regression. I wasn’t sure at the time who might fall into that category, but I’m pretty sure I’m seeing it now.
“Go sit at my special table, Lucky. I’ll bring the drinks over once I clear this line,” I tell him, handing him the pack of crayons I keep behind the counter for the few kids that come in around family visit days. His eyes go wide at the sight, but he follows my instructions, pulling out a coloring book from his backpack as soon as his bottom hits the chair.
It takes about ten minutes to clear the line before I can go over to the table I keep reserved for my friends, half hidden by the counter. I spend a couple moments just observing the young man as he sucks his thumb and colors what looks like cartoon animals in various professional attire. He seems to pay special attention to the cats and dogs on the page he’s working on.
“That’s cute,” I say as I sit down across from him. “Are you coloring it for someone special?”
Popping his thumb out of his mouth, he doesn’t look up to answer, but keeps coloring with intention. “Shy-Shy and Toby have been sad a lot. This is for them,” he tells me before he looks up into my face.
“But don’t tell Daddy. I don’t want him to be sad that I gave someone else one of my pretty pictures.”
Having said his piece, he returns his concentration to the page in front of him.
Shy-Shy? That must be Shiloh.
“Why are they sad?” I ask him as I sit across the table from him.
He shrugs and continues to color with his thumb in his mouth. Glancing up at the clock above the door, I realize there’s only ten minutes until the next block of classes, and I’m not sure if Lucky has one that he’s supposed to be heading to.
“When is your next class, Lucky?”
He pops his thumb out of his mouth and pouts like I’m taking away his toys. I can’t hold back the chuckle at how it looks for a grown man to be so purely innocent. This boy is so fucking adorable that I can understand why some guys would want to have a boy like this.
The sound of the door opening has me looking up into the panicked blue eyes of Toby scanning the room. He heaves a visible sigh of relief at seeing Lucky in the corner, but tenses as soon as his gaze lands on me.
You’d think I would be used to it by now, but the rejection from this boy hurts like nothing I’ve ever felt before.