His friend poked him again. Koa turned to face the other Little instead of burying his face in his arms like he had been.
“What?”
“Manny still like you. He don’t look away.” Ethan tilted his head in the direction of the others.
Koa fought not to look. He couldn’t check to see if Ethan was right. Besides, he didn’t need to attract any more attention his way. He’d done enough damage for one night.
CHAPTER 2
After the awkwardmeeting with Manny, Koa decided to stick to playing for the rest of the evening. He didn't want to end up in another situation where his mouth got the best of him. It was fine. Itwould befine. He just needed some time to himself.
Ethan played with him for as long as he could, but eventually his phone rang and he had to leave. That job of his was annoying. Koa hated how it made his friend jumpy. He hated seeing the exhaustion on his friend's face anytime he came into the club after a long day. And this time he was having to go back instead of getting to go home like he should have been.
Koa scowled at the thought. What could he do? How could he make things better? He paused to think it through.
He was startled from the moment when a hand landed against his lower back. He turned to see who had approached him.
It was Manny.
"Are you okay, Koa?" he asked, his voice gentle.
Koa nodded. "I am just thinking about my friend."
Manny nodded and dropped into a squat, bringing his face closer to Koa's. "Do you mean your friend who was just here? Ethan?"
"Yes, that's him," Koa replied.
Manny hummed. "Do you want to share what's going on? Is it something that's not private? Maybe I can help."
Koa tilted his head, taking in the man before him. Had he seen him out on the street, he would have been intrigued. Manny was very handsome and the soft energy he gave out was like catnip for Koa. Though having him in this space, being a Daddy and an employee of the club, made things difficult. Not because they weren't allowed to date employees. There was no rule in place. Love could find anyone at any moment. Given the current situation of his life, in which he had embarrassed himself earlier that night, he wanted to retreat into himself.
But what if Manny had the answers he needed? What if his mind,his Daddy mind, was capable of finding a solution?
Koa took a deep breath. "It's just that he works a really hard job and sometimes, like tonight, that job calls him in. We were playing and he was happy, and now I know he's not."
Manny's hand was still pressed against his back. The touch was warm and grounding.
"That must be frustrating. You want him to be happy all the time, but as his Big side, he has to work."
Koa quickly shook his head. "He doesn't though. I told him to come work here. I give him work." His Little side started to slip out as his frustration grew.
Manny's thumb began stroking against his spine. Even through the onesie he could feel the touch. It was exciting and comforting. Everything that a Daddy would do for their boy.
Except Manny wasn'thisDaddy. He pushed the thoughts down, focusing on what Manny was going to say.
"I think," Manny started, "that you could be supportive of him. Sometimes people need their own situations to be brought to light in a different manner. It may be that it takes more time for him to see that his lifestyle isn't making him as happy anymore."
"But how do I support him?" Koa asked.
Manny smiled. It was all warm and fuzzy. It made Koa feel like he did when he held Mr. Teddy at home. He wrapped his arms around his middle at the thought of his bear and how he wanted him there in that moment. He was too worried he would reach out and hug Manny instead. That would totallynotbe appropriate.
"You could do something that you know he likes. Is there anything that he favors? Something that makes him happy that you can do that won't disrupt him?"
Koa closed his eyes for a minute to think. What did Ethan enjoy? His friend did love cuddles, like him, which was why he was great at running the Sunday Snuggles. But he also loved food and coloring. He liked to play pretend.
But how could he get any of those things to Ethan at work?
Then a memory hit him like lightning. Koa recalled a time that Ethan came into the club and started to not feel well. He remembered that Jacob, their chef, had made a special soup. Ethan had gobbled it down and felt better within the hour. Koaremembered how Jacob had jumped to help. How he’d stopped playing with the others and went into the kitchen to make the food.
