Page 11 of His New Toy

Then yesterday came rushing back, and he remembered the trampoline and Clark’s house and the snow–

Followed by the very vivid memories of what else had happened, late last night.

He flushed all over, reaching over to turn off his phone alarm. His plan last night had been to get up at eight, which would give him plenty of time to go home for a change of clothes, and then head back out to work. So he should get up and… get started on that.

And see Clark.

Seth dragged a hand over his face. Had that all really happened? He turned his head to see the bottle of water sitting there on the nightstand. He shifted under the covers and felt how stiff and sore his thighs were from tensing against the counter last night. It had been real.

Holy shit.

Seth stared at the ceiling for long minutes, trying to decide what to do. He knew he needed to get up and leave this room. Turner‘s Toys would still be expecting him at ten am, and he needed to get home and then to work. Was he going to take the bus? That would take more time, round trip.

He was pretty sure Clark had offered to drive him last night, but for that to happen he would have to go downstairs and face the man.

And how would that go? Would Clark touch him again? Tease him? Or would he pretend as though nothing had happened?

Seth took a deep breath and forced himself to get out of the bed. There was no way of knowing, and wasting time worrying about it wasn’t going to do him any good. Sunlight was streaming in as he neatened the bed again, and when he glanced up at the nearby window, he could see a thick covering of snow all over everything.

His room was nice and warm, and he hated that he’d have to go back to his drafty little room to change for work. It was so nice to get up and not immediately be shivering.

Seth made quick work in the bathroom, changing out of the pajamas and into yesterday’s clothes. He brushed his teeth before grabbing his backpack and leaving the room.

Downstairs he could hear sounds of someone moving about, so he gingerly padded down the stairs and then headed toward the kitchen.

Except it wasn’t Clark in the kitchen. Instead, it was a woman in a neat uniform, chopping vegetables. Clark had mentioned last night that he had a chef. Was this her?

“Um, good morning,” Seth said.

The woman looked up from her dicing. What was her name again? L-something, right? It looked like she had several meals in their preparation stage, the counter was covered in ingredients.

“Morning,” she said briskly. “There’s coffee and fresh bagels in the dining room.” She gestured with her knife to the room next door to the kitchen–one Seth hadn’t been in last night.

“Oh, uh, thank you.”

She nodded and returned to chopping, knife moving quickly and effortlessly under her hands. She was standing nearly where Seth had been last night. Where he’d–

Then Clark was strolling into the room. He was dressed as he had been the day before, in a crisp button up, though now he was also wearing a tie and a well-fitting suit jacket. He looked handsome and put together, and so far out of Seth’s league it wasn’t even funny.

The man took in where Seth had been staring, and when their eyes met there was something devilish and knowing about them.

“Good morning,” Clark said with an amused smile. “Sleep well?”

Seth was sure he had gone crimson as Clark walked right up to him, crowding closer than he needed to. It felt entirely too possessive, and Seth’s whole body responded to it, his heart picking up its pace.

“I did, yeah,” Seth managed. “Thank you for the room.”

“It was nice to have you here,” Clark said softly, and Seth’s breath caught in his throat. When he met the man’s eyes, the intensity there made him want to squirm.

Clark held it for a beat, and then wrapped an arm around Seth. The touch was a warm band across his back reminding him so much of last night he almost stumbled.

“Come, let’s eat,” Clark said. “I think I’m ready for a good cup of coffee, and Lydia makes it best.”

Lydia snorted behind them but otherwise didn’t reply as Clark led Seth out of the kitchen and into the dining room. It was a blessing to be out of the kitchen and away from Lydia and the kitchen counter, even if it meant that Seth was alone with Clark.

The thought almost gave him a small thrill.

In the dining room, Seth was greeted with a huge wooden table, with easily a dozen matching chairs surrounding it. There were two places set, right across from each other, and a spread of bagels, two different cream cheeses, and fruit, along with two steaming mugs of coffee.

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