Page 5 of Bad Daddy

“Oh, uh, sure.” Danny didn't care. Nakamura was the one going out of his way. “Wherever works for you?”

“Great,” Nakamura said conspiritually. “It’s perfect hot cocoa weather.”

Chapter 2

Perfect hot cocoa weather apparently meant fancy artisan hot cocoa at a little cafe a few blocks away from the campus library that Danny didn’t know existed. Nakamura asked if Danny wanted to walk over, and Danny was relieved to agree. Even though Nakamura was Lily’s friend, Danny hadn’t been looking forward to getting into a car with a quasi-stranger. He had done that enough to last a lifetime.

It was only a few blocks, but they were long blocks, so it was a bit of a walk. Normally Danny wouldn’t mind since he was well-used to walking or public transit-ing pretty much everywhere, but it was cold and windy and he was wearing Clint’s coat, not his nice warm one, so he was shivering pretty badly by the time they got to the cafe.

He also felt kind of bad, because he was pretty sure Nakamura had driven to the campus library, but he had chosen to walk over to the cafe with Danny. So now not only was Nakamura also red-faced from the weather, but he’d have to walk back to get his car.

Great first impression, Danny told himself miserably, as they finally approached the cafe.

The walk over had been okay though. It had been too windy for much conversation, but Nakamura had asked how Danny knew Lily, which was a safe topic, and then he’d talked about his own relationship with Lily and her family in general. It was interspersed with funny stories that Danny might have teased Lily about later if he were braver and they had had that kind of relationship. His own responses got a little more stitled the longer they walked, but that was only because he had to focus on keeping his teeth from chattering.

Nakamura got to the door first and opened it, then held it instead of going right in. It took a second for Danny to realize that he was holding it for Danny. He hurried inside, unable to quell his sigh at the welcome rush of warm air.

“Much nicer in here than out there,” Nakamura said, pulling off his gloves. His hair was windswept but managed to look good, effortless in that dumb, model-type way that Danny, until just now, had figured didn’t actually exist in reality. “But I’m sorry.”

Danny didn't know what he was talking about. “What for?” He asked.

“Suggesting we walk in this. I didn’t realize it was that cold out until we were a few minutes in.” Nakamura ran a hand through his tousled bangs. “I would have offered to drive you, but I wasn’t sure how you’d feel getting into the car of a man you’d just met.”

“Oh,” Danny said, and he was glad he was already flushed from the cold, because Nakamura’s concern warmed him. Danny had gotten into the cars of plenty of men he had just met, often for not very long, but it wasn’t an experience he particularly enjoyed. “It’s okay,” he added. He was still freezing, but the warmth was starting to penetrate. “I’m used to the cold.”

At Nakamura’s sudden frown, Danny added quickly. “You know. Happens every year, right?”

“Right,” Nakamura said after a second. “Well, here, it’s time to warm up, yeah? Pick anything you like. My treat, like I said.”

Danny nodded. “Thank you, I appreciate that.” He was out of his element with Nakamura, because the man was a friend of a friend, and someone Danny wanted to impress, but at least Danny had learned how to accept being treated graciously without making it too weird. It was all about not looking a gift horse in the mouth.

This was a far cry from the interactions Danny usually had with men more powerful than him though. Those were all about him angling to get a meal or cash from them in exchange for the only thing Danny had to give.

He still didn’t know what Haru’s game was. What the man wanted.

Why he was acting so nice.

Danny looked up at the menu as a distraction from the worry, but his heart sank as he took in the hand-lettered chalkboard. All the menu items and prices were written in cheerful bubble letters that bled into one another. Danny couldn’t read them.

“Does anything look good to you?” Nakamura asked after Danny had spent too long trying to pick apart even one of the menu items. He sounded careful again, like he was worried Danny might bolt.

Danny was not making a good impression.

“Just a lot of options,” Danny said. He summoned up a smile. It wasn’t one of his best, but it would do. Time to just fall back on what he always did, when he was out with someone else and he couldn’t read the menu. Certainly Clint never minded the chance to jab at how even a simple menu was difficult for Danny to read. “Maybe uh, you could order for me? Since you know what’s good.”

“That’s a heavy responsibility,” Nakamura said with gravity. “Hot cocoa is serious business. Are you sure you trust me that much?”

Danny couldn’t help his startled look. Nakamura had to be joking. Right? “Sure,” he said weakly.

“Right,” Nakamura said decisively. “Then I accept my mission. Any allergies I should know about?”

Danny shook his head. “Um, no.”

Nakamura nodded, considering. “Are you a sweet person or a savory person?”

“I-I like both?”

Nakamura tapped his lips in thought. “How to do you take your coffee?”

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