Page 6 of Shotgun Daddy
And with Reece due to go on his break right about now, there was no time like the present to keep the tradition going strong…
“So, the audition,” Reece said, taking a seat next to Kyan and opposite Benjamin as the three of them hunkered down in a quiet corner of Mocha Madness.
“Nawwww, the suspense is killing me!” Benjamin squealed.
“It went well,” Reece said, a bittersweet smile on his face. “In fact, it went super-duper-mega-awesome well.”
“But why so sad?” Kyan asked.
“What didn’t go so well was the total slimeball of a director trying to get me to sleep with him in exchange for the part,” Reece said, the act of speaking the words out loud actually making the trauma feel real again. As he struggled to fight the sudden onslaught of tears, Reece knew that no amount of coffee art or work hustle could play down what had happened to him earlier. “I… it was…horrible.”
Before Reece knew what was happening, he was engulfed by his two best friends and felt the comforting and nurturing squeeze of a good, hard snuggle. The reality was that as much as Reece tried to play down the incident and rationalize it in his head, uttering the words out loud to his friends had made him understand that it was worse than he’d allowed himself to believe.
“Thanks, guys,” Reece said, wiping away the tears as Kyan and Benjamin held him and showed their love for him. “Urgh. Why do there have to be men like Timo Taylor in the world. I freakin’ killed the reading too. I was perfect for that part.”
“It sucks,” Benjamin said, his voice full of compassion. “But you did the right thing.”
“One million percent you did the right thing,” Kyan added. “We might be Littles, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t stand up for what’s right. You’re a hero, Reece. We need more boys to be like you.”
Reece felt grateful to have his best friends around him. But the truth was that as reassuring as their words were, there was the undeniable fact that Timo Taylor was not only going to blackball him as much as he could, the piece of crap was also likely to keep on doing his sleazy routine with many more boys in the future. And Reece felt powerless to do anything about it.
“Okay, let’s talk about something else,” Reece said, feeling comforted from the cuddle but at the same time more than ready to forget about Timo and actually enjoy his break with his friends.
“How about we talk about the sexy Daddy who just walked in?” Benjamin giggled.
“What, where?” Reece answered, looking around hopefully. “Wait, you mean… what’s he doing here… and no, he’s definitely not my type.”
Reece watched as Faustino Fendi walked into Mocha Madness, his dark sunglasses covering his eyes and his suit looking somewhat creased. Reece knew that Faustino had probably beenout partying and was likely in search of some caffeine to keep him awake.
“Are you sure Faustino’s not right for you?” Kyan asked, arching his eyebrow. “I know you and him have flirted before.”
“We so have not!” Reece protested. “Nope. He’s not for me. Definitely not. No way. Not going to happen.”
Reece folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair. But instead of walking toward the service counter, it appeared like Faustino was making a direct line toward Reece and his friends.
He probably wants to talk to Benjamin or Kyan.
Even if he wants to talk to me, I’m not interested.
I need someone stable, safe, and kind – not some crazy mobster Daddy…
Chapter 4
Faustino
Faustino’s eyes momentarily felt like they had been glued shut. He could hear the hustle and bustle of the city outside, but all he could see was total darkness.
Where am I?
What time is it?
What fucking day is it?
With much effort and a groan as the light hit him, Faustino opened his eyes and looked around the hotel room. With almost no memory of how he got there, or who he got there with, Faustino sat up in the unmade bed and looked around. Empty liquor bottles, scattered clothes, and even a broken flat screen TV made Faustino’s head throb in pain.
“Fuck,” Faustino said, shaking his head.
The truth was that Faustino couldn’t remember a thing beyond the point that he and Owen celebrated their heist with yet another bottle of whisky at one of the city’s exclusive members only bars. Faustino could handle his drink in the sense that he was able to consume it, but the flipside of that was that he oftenwoke in the morning with the distinct impression that things had gotten out of hand at some point.
