Page 6 of His New Toy

“Yes, I would have guessed as much. There’s something a bit sweet about you, isn’t there?”

Before Seth could think to respond to that, the oven chimed. Clark moved away to attend to it, and Seth took a full breath. He caught that smoky scent lingering in the air, and his cheeks pinked.

“Dinner’s ready,” Clark said cheerfully as he pulled the food out of the oven. “Please, go sit.”

Seth hurried to obey.

The food smelled amazing. Seth wasn’t exactly a cook, and so he wasn’t often excited about food. A lot of his meals were just the cheap freezer kind that he could prepare quickly and eat in the privacy of his room. His housemates were all perfectly fine, but Seth just preferred not being out in the open if he could help it. It felt too vulnerable.

Kind of like how he felt right now, with just a little something… off. Something about Clark made Seth feel very seen, and he wasn’t sure how to deal with that. Especially alone with Clark late at night in this fancy house, as Clark served him an equally fancy dinner.

“Wow,” Seth said as Clark placed the tray on the table. It contained several pieces of salmon, all coated with a rich-looking glaze, roasted broccoli, and what looked like a rice dish. Seth’s mouth watered. “This looks incredible.”

“And tastes as much,” Clark said. “My chef Lydia has been working for me for eight years, and very much knows her way around the kitchen.” He picked up Seth’s plate and served him a healthy portion of each food.

“Thank you,” Seth said meekly, when he was handed his plate back. Though tempted to start right away, he waited patiently while Clark served himself.

Clark seemed to appreciate the manners, smiling at Seth as he set down the serving utensils in exchange for his own knife and fork. “Now don’t hold back,” he said, nodding at Seth. “You need to keep up your strength after all.”

“Yessir,” Seth said, grabbing his own utensils. “And thank you again. For dinner.”

“Think nothing of it,” Clark said. “As you can see, I’m alone in this big house of mine. I appreciate the company. The nights get long by yourself, especially in the winter.”

Seth could understand that. It was a beautiful house, but he could see it feeling cold and lonely if you were by yourself.

“What about you?” Clark asked, just as Seth took a bite.

Seth chewed and swallowed quickly. It did indeed taste as incredible as it looked and smelled. “Me?” he asked.

“Mmhm. Do you have anyone to keep you company?”

“Oh,” Seth said flustered. “No, I–no.”

“A shame,” Clark said, gazing at him. It made Seth feel very, very seen, and he fought the urge to squirm in his seat. “A smart, handsome young man like yourself.”

Seth just kept blushing, but he didn’t know how to stop it. “Oh, um.”

“I hope I haven’t made you uncomfortable.”

“No.” Seth said, “I’m just not used to this.”

“Would you like to be?”

Seth met his eyes, and there was something dark and watchful there.

“I-I don’t know.”

Clark laughed, but it was soft and fond. “Well,” he said, picking up his fork to go back to the meal, “If you figure out the answer, do let me know.”

They got through the rest of dinner on easier topics. Clark asked about what Seth was learning in his coding classes, and that put Seth on steadier ground. When they finished the meal, Clark stood and began to pack up the leftovers.

Seth collected their dishes without being asked, and then took them to the sink. There was a stainless steel dishwasher beside the sink, and he just rinsed and stacked the plates into it.

By the time he finished, he turned around to see Clark leaned up against the kitchen island again, watching him.

“Thank you, Seth.”

“It was the least I could do.”

---