Page 64 of A Little Bit Naughty

He looked over the table again and added two saucers with a couple pieces of pancakes on each—breakfast for the stuffies. He knew Izzy would love that.

“Izzy?” he hollered again. When he didn’t hear anything, he stood at the bottom of the stairs. “Izzy! Breakfast!”

He waited a little longer, but there wasn’t a sound. Not even water running. Finally getting concerned, he climbed the stairs, grabbing the package on the way.

“Izzy?” He knocked softly on his own bedroom door. If Izzy was naked, or even just having a moment of reflection, he didn’t want to disturb him.

But when he poked his head inside, Izzy wasn’t there either. Izzy’s suitcase, already packed, was still just where they’d left it, the kangaroo hoodie and a pair of headphones resting on top.

He ventured further into the room, then poked his head into the bathroom. When he saw the playroom door open on the other side, he had to grin. Apparently his baby boy had gotten distracted by the toys.

And, he had to admit, it would probably be really hard to hear through all of those walls. Yep, he was definitely going to put that door back in to the hallway so Izzy, er, someone in the playroom, would be able to hear him downstairs.

When he got to the playroom, it took him a minute to find Izzy. And then his heart clenched.

He wasn’t happily playing on the floor. He wasn’t even wearing a cute onesie or those innocently dirty overalls that made Remi want to both pinch his ruddy cheeks and bend him over the nearest flat surface.

He was staring at the wall in jeans and a navy blue t-shirt, seemingly frozen in place.

“Hey, baby boy.” Remi kept his voice soft as he entered the room.

A muscle twitched on Isaac’s face, but he didn’t answer.

“I made breakfast,” he whispered, daring to come closer.

Isaac shook his head, just the hint of a motion. “I’m not hungry.”

What the hell had happened in the twenty minutes since Remi went downstairs?

“It’s pancakes,” he wheedled, “just the way you like them.”

“I don’t like pancakes.” Isaac’s voice was barely audible.

What? Had Remi got it all wrong? He was certain that Isaac was looking forward to this. He’d enjoyed the waffles a few days ago, and those were practically the same thing. Unless he’d been lying about that? The joy on his face when he’d filled the little squares with blueberries had seemed so genuine.

Maybe Isaac didn’t like pancakes and just hadn’t had the courage to tell him.

“OK, we can make something else. I have sausages. Or we could have cereal? Oatmeal? Eggs?” Remi wanted to sound calm, but he could hear the edge of desperation in his own voice.

“Not hungry.”

Fuck. Having Isaac shut him out was horrible. This didn’t seem like him at all. But on the other hand… how well did they really know each other?

“I have a present for you,” he offered. He’d meant to add a nickname, but it died on his lips. This didn’t seem like the time for it.

He held up the package. He didn’t know which one this was. There were so many things he’d ordered, but whatever it was, it was certainly for Izzy.

Isaac looked over, a flash of excitement in his eyes, but it was buried fast.

“Here, let me get it started.” He pulled up the edge of the tape, freeing it enough that a sharp tug would allow the flaps to part. “Do you want to open it?”

Isaac shrugged then, slowly, took a step closer and yanked the tape off. It was like he was a robot. No, because he certainly wasn’t emotionless. Remi just didn’t know what feelings were churning behind his mask.

When Isaac didn’t open the box, Remi flipped it open.

His heart fell when he saw what was inside. It was a cooking set. A completely non-gendered one with wooden vegetables that stuck together with Velcro and could be cut with a little wooden knife. But still, out of all the traditionally masculine toys he’d ordered—robots and ferocious animals and tool kits and so many dinosaurs—why did this have to be the thing they opened now?

Isaac took one look at it and slapped his hand on top of the box, sending it clattering to the floor.