Chapter 4
Truce
I turned toward Luke, who had joined me as soon as I walked through the door. As we reached the stairs, the sound faded a little so I could hear my own voice again. “Who is that little cutie?”
“Who?” Luke scrunched up his face. “Oh, do you mean the boy you stopped to ogle? You asked me that last night. How the hell am I supposed to know?”
I laughed. “Ogle? Was it that obvious?”
Luke shrugged. “Last night was the first time I ever saw him.”
“Me, too.”
“I can find out his name if you want.”
“Please do.” That little had looked scared to death of me. If I moved too fast he’d probably run away and I’d never see him again. Sometimes it paid to have minions to do certain groundwork.
Before heading upstairs to our usual hangout, I greeted some old friends hanging out at the edge of the dance floor.
Before I knew it, was being pushed and pulled into the crowd.
A circle of guys danced around me. I loved it.
But the air there was hot and cloying, and half the guys were drunk or zoned out on who knew what.
This was a nice establishment, but ironically my favorite kink club felt safer. There, the rules were strict. Drinking yes, but no drugs. For scenes, consent required questioning of any hands-on participants three times with three yeses before moving forward.
I made my way to the edge of the dance floor and stepped off. Disappointed faces glanced my way but didn’t try to interfere.
For a few seconds, I was not the center of things, not Truce the leader. I raised my gaze over the heads of the crowd and saw Luke talking to an ex he kept hooking up with even though he kept promising, “This time is the last time.” Obviously, he hadn’t yet talked to the intriguing little.
I glanced at the table where he had been.
My heart sank when I saw it was empty. Then I saw him and another little who had joined him coming off the dance floor and returning to the table.
That second little I’d seen around a lot, including Kings and Queens, but I’d never hooked up with him.
I didn’t seek littles. Until now, apparently.
Behind me, I heard murmurs of my name but ignored them. I headed for the table before my usual crowd could sweep me away again.
All of a sudden, I was unsure of myself. That never happened. I grabbed a nearby chair and plunked it down at their table, sitting forward and leaning on my elbows.
“Are you ever going to introduce yourself?” I said to the new boy.
His gorgeous blue eyes grew round and big. His pink lips parted. His shoulders tightened. Okay, I’d been right. He was terrified of me. But I wasn’t the scary sort, so why?
The other little began bounce in his chair. “His name’s Kairo and he has social anxiety.” He held out his hand. “Hi, I’m Kimmie. I’ve seen you a lot down at Kings.”
“Same.” I met his eyes but already knew he wasn’t my type. I had all types, but right now he wasn’t. Kairo was.
“You two are peas in a pod. Have you been friends long?”
Kairo gulped, still silent.
Kimmie tilted his head. “About twenty-four hours.”
Kairo watched me. Not smiling. I was familiar with that look. It was fear and want all mixed together. Something caught in my throat. This little wasn’t on the meat market. Not the way a lot of guys here were. He sat apart. Maybe that’s why I’d noticed him.
I’d been around the block once or twice, for sure. Most guys came out into the nightlife to indulge the restless spirit. Sex was the number one topic of conversation. If you took the time to get to know somebody, that changed. But so many, especially young ones, didn’t have patience.
For others, the world worked differently.
More like a fairy tale with a happily ever after.
At least, it worked that way in their dreams. They were harder to win over.
They weren’t here to be tempted into the back alley behind the bar.
When they said, “Let’s get coffee,” they meant real coffee.
Like a first date on the brink of a second.
I could read him well. Kairo fell into that second category.
I took a deep breath as if to inhale the hope I saw in his eyes.
It was like standing at the top of a snowy ridge overlooking a pine forest, the air glacier fresh.
I could move freely. As if all the muscles in my arms and legs had been released from the chains in the Kings and Queens dungeons after a really great scene.
There was a hint of euphoria. A jolt in my chest.
I didn’t believe in love. I certainly didn’t believe in love at first sight. Impossible. You had to know someone before that happened.
And yet.
It was as if we’d met before. That was a completely new sensation for me.
“Is it Kairo with a K?” I asked, trying to keep my voice soft but still heard over the racket.
His eyebrows jumped. “How’d you know?”
“Lucky guess.” I looked down at his pink cat. I knew how to be a daddy but had rarely played the part. Now, it came naturally. “What’s his name?”
“Pinkster.”
“Does he like to be petted?”
“I—I don’t know.”
The music pounded. I had to read his lips to make out the words. “You don’t know?”
He shook his head.
I didn’t want to touch the cat if he didn’t agree to it.
“Well, Kairo, I’d love to introduce myself. My name’s Truce.”
“I—I saw you last night.”
“I saw you, too, before you ran away.” I held out my hand.
Kairo looked at it as if he’d never seen a hand before. It took him a few seconds before he reached out and pressed his palm to mine. I gripped his fingers with a gentle squeeze. Our first touch was a formal handshake.
“I didn’t run away,” he protested, clasping my hand.
“No?”
Slowly, he shook his head. “Not really. I needed to go home, that’s all.”
He tried to hide his shyness, which could be annoying with some, but on him it was adorable. Something woke deep within from a place I’d forgotten existed, the space that embraced wonder and longing.
The new feeling skewed my thoughts. I knew how to handle just about any situation. But right now, I had no idea what to say.
Kimmie was still sitting with us, slowly sipping his drink and watching.
Finally, I blurted the first thing that came to my mind. “Would you like to come upstairs and sit? It’s quieter there.”
Kimmie grinned over the lip of his glass. “Sure, we would!”
My smile stiffened. But my gaze swept over both littles. Whatever it took to talk more with Kairo, I’d accept it.
“Great.” I pushed my chair back and stood, offering my hand to Kairo.
Kairo raised his hand to meet mine and I gave a little tug as he stood.
I kept his hand in mine as I led both littles upstairs to the second bar. Older guys tended to congregate up there. My group wasn’t old but none of us were in our twenties anymore, either.
We approached the bar and I turned to Kairo. “Would you like a drink?”
“I would!” Kimmie interjected.
“Of course.”
Kairo’s pupils were still blown from the darkness downstairs. I squeezed his hand, then let go to pull out my debit card. Kimmie wasn’t shy at all. He asked for a vodka lemonade.
I nodded to the bartender.
Kairo blinked. “I—I don’t really drink much. Whatever’s sweet?”
“How about a chocolate martini? They make them great.”
“Really? That’s a real thing?”
I nodded. “Like dessert.”
Kairo nodded in return. “Okay.”
I ordered the same for myself which made Kairo’s mouth open in surprise.
A few of my friends had followed me, Luke being one, and we took one of the bigger rectangle tables.
My friends had been trained. If I showed interest in someone, they might hang around but they always kept some distance.
They sat at the other end of the table and lured Kimmie over with a few sweet words.
As soon as Kairo sat beside me with his drink, his shoulders hunched forward. I read body language well. Discomfort. Nervousness.
Kimmie had said he was socially awkward.
Things were the opposite for me, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t experienced that myself.
Memories came flooding back to when I was knock-kneed and clumsy and desperately wanted to go to the prom with a boy.
I finally asked a guy I thought was cute and gay.
He said yes, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t shaking the whole night.
Everything had been glitter and strobing lights, sour punch and rock-hard cookies.
The walls were decked in sea-themed creatures.
I’d sweated my way through every dance, barely bold enough to hold hands with my date.
I really liked him but I was afraid of criticism and rejection, not realizing most people felt that way throughout their high school years.
I didn’t think I was good-looking at all.
I couldn’t seem to do anything right. Years later, it was through kink that I grew into my looks and became more confident.
“Kairo.”
He looked up at me.
“Let’s get something out of the way right now. I didn’t come here tonight to hookup. So don’t worry about that.”
His mouth turned down. “You didn’t?”
“Nope.”
He blinked rapidly. “Why not?”
“Well, I like just hanging out, too.”
His lips pressed tight until the edges turned pale. “Then why do you want to talk to me?”
I thought I heard the question wrong. I echoed his words aloud. “Why do I want to talk to you?”
“I'm weird, I know. I'm a little. I have a stuffed cat. If you're not a daddy, and you're not looking for any hookups, why do you want to talk to me? Why don't you want me?”
Foot in mouth. It tasted rotten. People knew me as a great seducer. I was really blowing it.
“I didn't mean that how it came out.” I lifted my hands to my face and groaned.
Then I laughed and peeked at him through my fingers.
“Do you want me to want you?” Without waiting for an answer, I added, “Because I do.
But you looked so scared both last night and tonight. I didn't want to chase you off again.”
His body relaxed. His shoulders lowered. “Oh, you were being polite.”
I suppose I was. That hadn't always been the case. I could be crude and rude and a drunken asshole. But I didn't feel any of those things right now. It was something else. Something deeper. Like I wanted to look after this boy. A lot. Find out what made him tick.
“I'm not always polite,” I said to him. “But with you it seemed right.”
He looked down at the table, up at me face, then down again, grabbing for his pink cat.
“You can pet Pinkster. He likes it.” He waved the stuffy in my face.
I reached out, touching gently. “He’s soft.”
He nodded. “The softest of all my cats. The toys, I mean. I don’t have a real cat but I think a real kitten would be softest of all.”
“I think so, too.”
He looked up through long lashes. “So do you want me or not?”
It was a bold, funny and wonderful question. I leaned on my elbows, facing him. Then I reached out and grabbed his drink. There was a little paper straw in it and I held it up to him. “Drink some of this first. Then I’ll answer.”
He still held the cat in both hands as he leaned forward and sipped which I held the glass. I felt like I was feeding him his first grownup meal. It was awesome. Surges of pleasure coursed through me.
I had only played at being a daddy a couple of times. It had never felt like this.
He sipped half the drink before I took it away. “Okay, that’s enough for now.”
It wouldn’t do to get him too drunk to ever remember me. I wanted to keep seeing him. For a few more hours, at least.
“It’s like a chocolate shake.”
“You like it?”
“Mm.” He rubbed his stomach. “Thank you for the drink, sir.”
“Sir?” I loved the word sir. But…. I leaned forward and whispered in his ear. “Do you think you might want to call me Daddy?”
This was going fast. Maybe too fast.
But then he surprised me as he turned in his chair. Our faces were only inches apart. The light in his eyes brightened. “Yes, Daddy.”
I hooked his fingers around mine, pressing both our hands together against the tabletop. I had no plan. I hadn’t been looking for a little in my life. In most kink, scenes played out, then were done and over. This was different.
Sudden visions bombarded my mind of me holding him in my lap, never wanting to let go.
In front of the TV or a warm fire. Just me and him breathing each other in.
Of playing games with him stretched out on a floor, our hands touching every time we reached for the same car, crayon, stuffed animal or teacup.
I wanted to dress this pretty little one, diaper him, bathe him and take him to bed.
What was happening?