“Her place smelt like cat pee,” Dakota muttered with a scrunched-up face. “I will never go into houses with Sir ever again.”
“Yeah, don’t blame you there.” I had to agree. It was bad enough when customers came in here smelling of cigarette smoke.
“It wasn’t that bad,” Allister huffed. “I’ve gone to worse places.”
“Gotta make the government pay out money as much as I can to people who really need it.”
“You file taxes?” Beckett just had to butt in.
I gritted my teeth as Allister turned his attention to the bane of my existence, which gave me time to just talk to Dakota, thankfully.
“Things seem to be going good for you,” I hedged, glancing around to double-check that I had no one else to serve.
“It is. Yeah.” Dakota glanced at his dom before turning back to me. His brown eyes were a lot fuller of life than they had been the first time I met him. “We’ve...got a better understanding of what I need and what I want. I still just like kneeling for him mostly.”
Yeah, I knew that feeling. Well, sorta. Before I could really figure out what to say, or how without giving anything away, he went on. “How’s Noah?”
“Good. Working at the animal shelter.”
“Has he brought home a dog yet?”
“No, thank goodness. I don’t have time to care for any sort of animal. Plus the apartment is too small for one.”
“Right. One bedroom thing.”
I hummed.
“I don’t mind. Noah is....well Noah. We’ve always shared.” Then, as I rethought those words, I had to retract. “Space, I mean. We share space. Nothing like...uh yeah.”
“I didn’t think otherwise,” Dakota spoke slowly. “You two have always been close.”
I dropped my shoulders with a nod. “He’s kind of seeing that guy over there.” I tilted my head towards Beckett, voice low.
“You aren’t happy about that.”
Gah. Why did he see more than what I wanted?
“I’m glad he can find his happiness,” I said after a moment of thinking over my words. “Noah deserves to be happy.”
“So do you,” Allister butted in. “You’re old enough to get into a few different clubs now, you know.”
Don’t remind me, I thought. Out loud, “I’m happy with what I have.” A lie, but who the heck cared?
“Sir?” Dakota leaned into Allister and stage whispered. “He’s still a bad liar.”
“Dakota,” I huffed, dropping my chin to my chest. “Stop reading me. I’m not a freaking book.”
“You are a horrible liar,” Allister laughed. “But I won’t push.”
After a deep breath, I lifted my head and squared my shoulders. No, Allister wouldn’t push. Not with me. Not when he may be one of the very few people who knew what I did need.
Beckett had to put himself into the conversation once again. This time, my teeth clinked together so I didn’t say something that would give myself away. “I was starting to think you didn’t have any friends, other than Noah. And, I’m still trying to figure out what you two are together.”
“Of course I have friends.” Noah and Dakota. Everyone else was just family. But that was more than one, so the S could stay on that word. There was a reason I needed to explain Noah and me together. I’m sure he’s done that more than once to this man already. Hopefully. “Dakota was my very first friend.” Technically. In a messed up way.
“So I fall under family?” Allister asked, confused, but a little quiet.
“You’re his...whatever.” I waved my hand. “You know more than anyone could possibly know about me and my issues. So yeah, family, Allister.”
