Page 92 of Just A Little Fling

“It doesn’t make him naughty, but maybe stubborn.”

I knew he was talking about me, and he wasn’t wrong, but I wasn’t ready to say it aloud, so I snuggled in next to him and closed my eyes.

“Babbo, want another story, peas.” Papa smiled against my ear.

“I thought you might, so I have a second book, but then you gotta sleep. Deal?”

“Deal.”

* * *

It seemed like for me to leave little space I needed to nap, and today was no exception. Except this time, instead of wandering through the house to look for Babbo, I found him stretched out on the bed beside me with his laptop as he went through paperwork. He must’ve felt me stir because he glanced over and gave me a quick grin.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, sleepyhead.”

He didn’t seem upset or out of sorts with me, which was a good sign. I felt bad that I’d made him miss his luncheon with Owen because I knew they hadn’t spent much time together since Owen had moved in with Barrett. And I was bummed that I missed my first official playdate with the boys.

“You’re awfully quiet over there. Not awake yet?”

“I was just thinking that I missed my first playdate.”

Babbo’s hand came to rest in my hair, twirling the longer strands around his fingers. “I know, Sweet Boy, I’m sorry you missed it too, but the circles under your eyes said you needed sleep more than you needed to play games and eat more sugar.”

“You’re not wrong. I just don’t want you to be right.”

Babbo chuckled at my ridiculousness but didn’t argue with the point. I knew we needed to have the conversations I’d been avoiding since that god-awful night at the club. That was the moment when it felt like everything had gone to shit between us, and I really wanted our easiness back, even if only for a little while. Though truthfully, I wanted more than that. I wanted to figure out a way to have a relationship with him that didn’t send me running scared for the hills every time he made some reference to a potential future. But before I could explain any of that, my stomach let out a rumble that filled the entire room.

“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry.”

Babbo gave me a perplexed look. “What are you sorry for? If you’re hungry, you’re hungry.”

“Yeah, I know, but I don’t think you wanna hear quite that much of it.”

Babbo set his laptop aside, got off the bed, and held out his hand to me. “The only thing it tells me is that I need to get some food in my boy. Come on, let’s go see what we can find downstairs.” We walked down the stairs together into the kitchen, but once we got there, he told me, “Unfortunately, I don’t think the offerings will be as good as you would get at Stone and Vine, but I can offer a cheese crisp and some sliced apples.”

“Sliced apples, solid yes. I have no clue what a cheese crisp is.”

“It was what my mom fed me when she wasn’t in the mood to cook. Slap some butter on a tortilla, put on your cheese, broil until it’s crispy, and you’re done. I really need to go grocery shopping.”

“That sounds like three a.m. drunk food.”

“I can neither confirm nor deny that, but it does soak up a lot of alcohol.” Babbo went to work putting our food together while I sat at the island and watched him.

Babbo helped himself to a hard cider before he turned and asked me, “What are you having?”

I thought for a second and decided to just lay it on the line. I didn’t think he’d mind. “Can I have some chocolate milk in a sippy cup, please?”

“Of course you can, Sweet Boy.” Babbo snagged the sippy cup from the cupboard and prepared the requested drink for me. When he slid it across the soapstone to me, he gave me a thoughtful look and added, “You know we’re gonna have to talk about this, right?”

“Yeah, I know, but I don’t know what to say or where to start.”

“Eat first, and then we can figure it out.”

* * *

“Are you trying to run me off the road?” Babbo wasn’t super careful about where he steered his avatar when he raced around the track. After lunch, we’d put away our dishes and ended up on the sofa with our controllers.

“Me? Never. I want you to win.” His droll tone said otherwise.

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