Page 12 of Their Little House Tristan
We had a good time together. I learned about the things he liked, and he seemed eager to learn more about me too.
We even helped each other with things around the house. I felt comfortable with him in a way I hadn’t with anyone else. He didn’t judge. He was kind and loving and accepting.
I had a feeling someone had hurt him in his past, but we hadn’t gotten into any conversations beyond the surface.
When I walked into my room, he was sitting on my bed, which was surprising. He hadn’t been in there yet. We had only interacted in the common areas of the house.
“Tristan?” I asked, putting down my briefcase on the chair. “Is everything okay?”
He nodded. “I wanted to talk to you.”
I took my suit jacket off and sat down next to him. His tone worried me. Had someone hurt him? Was something wrong?
Had I done something to distress him?
“Please tell me what’s going on,” I said. My heart was heavy thinking that this new friend I had, a new best friend, was upset with me.
“I was working today and… I’m getting ahead of myself. I’m so nervous.”
I put my hand over his. “There’s no reason to be. You can tell me anything. We can talk about anything. No judgment here. You are always safe to talk to me.”
He nodded. “I know. Thank you.” Tristan paused for a few moments then turned his hand and threaded his fingers with mine. “Do you remember the daddy from the other night?”
“The one who was staring at us while we kissed?” I asked. The daddy who had stood out among the rest and the only one we had even talked about.
“That’s the one.”
“What about him?” I stopped myself from coming to any conclusions or ruminating about what he might be talking about.
“I ran into him today. I don’t think he knew I worked there, but he came in and we started talking.”
Uh-oh. All promises of not jumping to conclusions went out the door. “That’s nice. Was he kind to you?”
Tristan nodded. “He was. He wanted to know if we wanted to play with him sometime.”
“Us?” I asked. “As in both?”
“Yeah.” Tristan shrugged. He was so unsure of himself sometimes. I wondered what caused that. I wished I could erase all of his fears. He was such a wonderful person, even if I had only known him for a short while. “What do you think?”
“I don’t know. What did you tell him?”
“I told him we would discuss it. He actually suggested we talk about it first.”
I blew out a breath and kicked off my shoes. “Is that something you want? Are you—have you been looking for a partner? A daddy?”
Tristan nodded. “I want one. I need one. Someone to help me take care of myself. Someone I can be safe with.”
My heart sank. It didn’t sound like there was room for me in this scenario. “I hope you find one soon, then. You deserve a good and loving daddy.”
“That’s where you come in,” he said, instantly confusing me.
“What do you mean?”
“We haven’t talked about the other night. I want to clear things up before I even make a decision about James.”
“Is his name James? He looks like a James. Strong and capable.”
Tristan nodded. “He does and, yes, that’s his name. The other night has been playing in my head over and over.”
