Page 7 of Their Little House Tristan
“Yes, please.” More than anything. “I’m looking for the cars.”
“Oh, they’re over here.” He led me to where the tracks and the Matchbox were, and we made a huge track and raced our cars round and round and round. I couldn’t remember having this much fun.
But, soon enough, the day caught up with me and I needed to go to bed.
“Hey, Tristan?” He dropped the last of his Matchbox in the bin. “Have you ever gone to Chained?”
“I work there.”
“That’s so cool. I thought maybe we could go together one day.”
“I’d like that.”
His face bloomed into a smile. And had we not been little and in this room, I’d have thought maybe it was an invitation—one I wanted to take him up on. To press my lips against his, to caress his cheeks, to lean in to his touch.
But he was little. And my roommate. And he was…I wasn’t… Neither of us was a daddy. No point going down that path. Especially not on the day I met him.
“I’d like that a lot.”
Chapter Five
Bellamy
“I like playing blocks. Do you?”
The question stunned me. I loved Chained, but it wasn’t often I came with another little. Especially one as handsome as this one. If I did play with the others, I either never saw them again, or they didn’t play with me a second time. I tried not to take it personally, but sometimes, I couldn’t help it. It felt like I had the plague and there was no cure.
This was different. This one lived with me. That didn’t have me worrying about it ending like the rest, though.
Once I thought it was my outfit, so I changed to another pair of soft overalls, but that didn’t help. I tried to put myself out there, introducing myself when I arrived, but again, I had to play alone all night.
Playing alone was the pits.
Sure, it was fun to have the daddies watch me play but I wanted friends. Someone to talk to and have a good time with.
“I love blocks.”
He smiled and sat across the pale-blue table from me. “Do you like the big blocks or the little ones?”
I studied both block bins. I knew which one was my favorite but didn’t want to make a choice that would alienate me again. I questioned everything when this was the side of me that was supposed to be free and easy.
Then again, I had to be myself. Masking was hard. But he’d been very nice at the Little House, so I could try.
“I like the big blocks. The little ones hurt the tips of my fingers when I try to pry them apart.”
Tristan flashed a bright, toothy smile. “Me too. One time, I even pinched my skin in between two. It hurt and made my fingers hurt for a few days.”
“Ouch. I’ve done that too. But the big blocks slide together easier. Plus, I like the colors better.”
We decided on building a castle. I worried the whole build about if he was one of those people who liked to destroy a creation with a swat of his hand or if he was more like me and took it apart one piece at a time.
I preferred calm and quiet play. I liked to take my time. My life was hustle and fast-paced and I liked this part of my life to be the opposite.
“That’s a great castle,” Tristan said and moved around on his knees, looking at our masterpiece from all angles.
“It is. We did a great job.”
Instead of going back to the side of the table where he had been, Tristan sat next to me. His thigh and knee were pressed against mine but he didn’t seem to mind. I certainly didn’t mind.
