Page 10 of Their Little House Tristan
If they got it, they didn’t want it because they moved on to another area and played with toy cars, seemingly dismissing me as part of the wallpaper. That was their choice. At least I was still capable of being moved by a cute little or two. I had begun to wonder if I’d lost my passion. Standing up, I left the little room for the night and went home. It was still early enough for popcorn with King. He’d be glad to see me, even if he was using me for buttery treats.
Chapter Seven
Tristan
I’d seen Bellamy a few times since that kiss at the club, but we both kind of pretended like it never happened—even though I wanted it to happen again and again and again. We shouldn’t be ignoring it. I shouldn’t be ignoring it. But I had to find the strength to bring it up, to just tell him straight out that I liked it, and I wanted to do it again, and see where he stood on the subject.
But I was scared. What if he said it was a mistake or that he didn’t enjoy it or that he didn’t want to play with me anymore? It wasn’t like I was asking him to be exclusive or be my daddy or…really anything. But to be able to kiss him again when we played? Yeah. I’d really like that and wanted it to be our norm…or at least our norm until we found our own daddies.
I put my pack in my work locker and headed into the kitchen for my shift, resolved to talk to him about it when I got home. It was one of my earlier shifts for the week, so there was no excuse that it would be too late for a discussion, like most nights would.
When I walked into the kitchen, the first person I saw was Janice looking frazzled and rolling silverware.
“Hey, we got a big party tonight, and they’re taking the function room. Any way you could help me?”
Even if I didn’t have the time, I’d have made it. Stress rolled off her in waves.
“Yeah, sure. What is it, like a club meeting?” I was still new enough that I wasn’t up on all of the activities that took place here, and honestly, I didn’t need to be, since the bulk of my job was washing glasses.
“It’s a wedding.”
That caught me off guard.
“Why didn’t you call me earlier?” I’d have come in without hesitation.
“Because they called about a half an hour ago to check on availability. And you know how Miss Lily is—all about love and all that good stuff. She turned the function room over to them.” Janice didn’t even sound mad about it. She too was all about “love and all that good stuff.” She’d met her wife here during a ropes class. I never asked her which of them was the knot master, which I knew wasn’t the correct term, but it was what the kid in my scout troop called himself, and it always amused me.
“I got you.”
The two of us went about rolling silverware, lining bread baskets with napkins, setting up chairs, and all the fun stuff that came with larger parties. Thankfully, Miss Lily had talked them into having a set menu, so the chef was on that as we did our part. Simple hors d’oeuvres, bread, and soup. That was it, and it was perfect for the servers who came in last minute to help.
They were using the space as more of a place for them to hang out after the ceremony than for a full-on wedding experience. From what Janice said, they met at the club, which was pretty awesome in my books. I half wondered if I would recognize them from the little room the other night. Not that my eyes had been on anyone other than Bellamy and that hot daddy.
I really should’ve asked him his name…or maybe not. That night had been so far outside my past, very limited club experience, that was for sure.
It kept me busy and that was good. It distracted me from thoughts of Bellamy and kissing him in the little room, and it made the shift go faster. But as soon as setup was complete, it was time for me to get to my normal assigned duties.
I didn’t mind washing dishes. Most nights, I enjoyed it, but tonight, once I got into a groove, my mind went back to the situation at hand. Dishes were monotonous. They didn’t require any brain power. And consequently, my thoughts liked to wander straight back to the little room.
It was official, I was definitely talking to him tonight. Because this couldn’t go on. I needed to know where he stood, whichever way it went.
“Hey, Tristan?” Janice stood in the doorway, looking quite frazzled.
“Listen, can you help me? The wedding party has decided they want to play in the main area, now, and so we have to dismantle everything.”
I looked at the dish pile. It was pretty much done.
“Yeah, I got you. Let me just tell Miss Lily I’m helping, so she isn’t looking for me.”
It didn’t take much effort to get the room cleared. It was a multipurpose space and designed accordingly. Our list included folding tables, stacking chairs, carrying dishes back to the kitchen, etc. But when you had to do it quickly, there was the intensity to it, and it felt like a lot. It didn’t take long until I was as frazzled as Janice appeared.
I was on my way out of the room with my last tray of dishes, when who did I come face-to-face with? The daddy from the other day.
“Oh. Hi.” I stood in front of him, staring. Way to make a good impression. “I…uh…I work here. And I was…I’m carrying dishes.”
“I see that.” He chuckled.
“I saw you before, when I was with one of my housemates. And I was, you know, not working.” Talk about losing my ability to speak. I was too focused on his eyes, his smile, the little bit of scruff growing on his cheeks.
