Tally came and sat at the breakfast bar, picked up his spoon, and eyed the bowl suspiciously. Then, with a little shrug, he tucked in only to stop after one spoonful and stare at Sam with wide eyes.
“This is delicious!” he said with his mouth full.
Sam shook his head and smiled. “I’m sure you have had muesli before.”
Tally didn’t answer at first, he was too busy shoveling the cereal into his mouth. “Not that I remember,” he said with a shrug.
Sam wondered if that was true. Maybe he had grown up on a diet of unhealthy food. Maybe breakfast wasn’t a regular thing in his world. The nurse had said he had grown up in the care system. Maybe nobody had ever taken care of him.
That thought made Sam sad. He knew Tally was an adult now and supposedly could take care of himself, but he didn’t seem to be doing a very good job of it. And if he hadn’t had loving care as a child, he should certainly get some now to make up for it.
Sam frowned. He loved taking care of people. He got a kick out of it. Feeling needed and wanted was a buzz. If he was brutally honest, it was probably the thing he missed most about Danny. And here Tally was, all sweet, vulnerable and good looking. Ticking all his boxes. Or being shoved into all his boxes by Sam’s loneliness. This was going to be harder than he thought.
He watched Tally wolf down his food. Sam was used to eating breakfast in the late afternoon. After years of owning a bar he was fully nocturnal. Tally didn’t seem to find it odd at all. But then again, sex work was a nocturnal occupation as well.
By the time they finished eating, it was time to start opening the bar.
“I’ll just get dressed, then we will go downstairs,” he said.
“I’ll wash our bowls up!” beamed Tally.
“No! It’s fine, I’ll do them later,” said Sam, alarmed at the thought of flooding.
Tally’s shoulders dropped, but he nodded his agreement. Sam felt mean, but it was clear that Tally was a disaster in the kitchen. It was lovely that he wanted to help, so Sam just needed to find him something to do that couldn’t end in calamity.
Sam walked into the bedroom and quickly grabbed his work clothes. Black jeans, timberlands and a tight black tee shirt with the bar’s logo on it. He quickly towel dried his hair and tied it back in a ponytail before throwing his clothes on.
Then he hurried back to Tally before anything else could go wrong. But the young man was just sitting patiently at the breakfast bar where he had left him. He grinned when he saw Sam and Sam couldn’t help grinning back.
“Come on, let’s go to work.”
Tally beamed and slid off of his seat. Sam noticed the young man was wearing his old battered trainers and not the ones Sam had given him from Danny’s collection. Sam guessed that Danny’s shoes must not fit that well, and he made a mental note to buy him some new ones in the right size.
He turned to head downstairs and was startled when Tally’s small, slender hand slid into his. Holding hands sparked a happiness within him that was surprising. It was strangely upsetting to have to pull his hand away after a few short steps, to walk down the stairs.
When he got to the bottom, he felt a moment of anxiety. He wasn’t sure if he wanted Tally to take his hand again. Sure, it was lovely, but did he want to walk into the bar holding hands? He wasn’t sure what his staff would think. It would be a hell of a way to make introductions.
But Tally didn’t reach for his hand again, and the dilemma was solved. Except Sam felt the absence like an ache. He frowned. What the hell was wrong with him?
He walked into the bar with Tally a few steps behind. Deirdre was picking the chairs off of the tables and putting them back onto the floor. Roger was restocking the glasses behind the bar and John was doing a final sweep of the floor. They all looked up.
“Hi everyone, this is Tally. He is staying with me for a while. Tally, this is Deirdre, Roger and John.” he said, gesturing at each person as he said their name.
Deirdre frowned and narrowed her eyes. She was a short, plump woman with an ample bosom. Sam had never seen her in anything but a sparkly dress, perfectly coiffed blond hair and heavy eyeshadow. Today’s dress was pale pink and the eyeshadow deep purple.
She ran her gaze over Tally and then looked at Sam suspiciously. Sam swallowed nervously. He could see how it looked. Tally was young, pretty. The bandages around his wrists stark. He looked vulnerable, and it looked like Sam was taking advantage.
Deirdre suddenly threw open her arms and rushed forward, pulling Tally into a tight embrace. “Oh, what a sweet little baby gay! We’ll look after you, Sugar.” And she ruffled his pink hair.
Tally didn’t seem to mind at all, and when Deirdre released him and he stepped back, Sam could see that he was positively beaming.
Roger and John waved and got back to what they had been doing. Deirdre went back to setting the chairs out. Sam let out the breath he didn’t know he had been holding. It had all gone surprisingly smoothly. He didn’t know why he had been so worried.
Chapter 8
Sampulledoneofthe bar stools around to behind the bar and placed it in the corner by the drinks display.
″Sit here,” he said.
