Seeing Emmett’s confusion, Kenneth said, “The food pantry can’t give away anything expired. Even by a day. They can lose their funding.”
“Which we made very clear on the flyers around town.” CJ pulled a marker from out of his pocket and wroteEXPIREDacross the front of the box as Kenneth loaded the cans inside. “Here, can you put this over on the bar? I don’t want to risk someone grabbing it by mistake at the end of the drive.”
Kenneth nodded and hefted the box across the room, explaining to Houston the problem when he set it on top of the bar. Houston shook his head, scowling. “Don’t worry,” he called over to him and CJ, “the club will replace any cans that can’t be donated.”
“Thanks, Houston,” CJ said, sighing when Kenneth slipped behind the bar instead of coming back over to them. “We may be down to just you and me for a while.”
Emmett couldn’t stop his giggle. “You might be right.”
CJ winked at him, and then they quickly put the cans that could be donated into another box, put a few more together, and then sat in the chairs behind the table.
“How did the club end up hosting a food drive?” Emmett asked, after a few other people had come in and left their donations. One elderly couple had handed over a dozen cans of green beans and a check for a hundred dollars. He thought he might cry when he’d accepted it, the woman explaining in a creaky voice how they’d struggled when their kids were young and were grateful they had the means to give back now.
“It was my idea, actually,” Ollie said, plopping down next to Emmett and scaring the crap out of him. “The club does other philanthropic work, but the food pantry reached out recently, asking for help.”
“Where did you?—”
His green hair was disheveled, tight shirt mussed, and there was a sheen of sweat on his forehead. He grabbed Emmett’s glass of water Houston had sent over to them via Kenneth before the two had disappeared behind a door with the MC’s logo on it on the other end of the room. After chugging half of it down, he sighed and set it back down in front of Emmett.
“Sorry, had to get the taste of come out of my mouth.”
“Gross.” Emmett pushed the glass back toward him, wrinkling his nose. “You can keep that.”
CJ snickered, hopping up and hurrying over to the bar. He returned a second later with a new glass for Emmett. “Here, babe.”
“Thank you.”
A shadow fell over their table, and Emmett looked up—and up—until he locked eyes with the club Enforcer. His mouth dried up at the way the man stared at him for a long second, then extended a hand. “Six.”
He just sat there for a moment, frozen, then scrambled up and took his hand. “Emmett.” He almost called himsir, just barely biting back the word. He was just so intense, it felt appropriate.
“I know. Rooster’s boy.” Six studied him for a few more seconds and then said, “You ever need anything and can’t reach him, you call me. Understood?”
“Um, yes?”
Six narrowed his mismatched eyes.
“I mean, yes, I understand. Thank you.”
Nodding once, he turned to Ollie, and his face softened, not a lot, and Emmett would have missed it if he hadn’t been looking right at him. “Behave yourself. I’ll be back later.”
“Yes, Daddy. Love you.”
“Love you more.” Six said it so easily, no hesitation. He obviously didn’t give a rat’s behind who heard him say it or if it ruined his “tough guy” image.
The tiny bit of unease left inside Emmett dissolved, and he grinned, sharing a glance with CJ as he sat back down. He had no doubt Six could be scary as heck when need be, but therewas obviously a gentle side to him too, one he didn’t show many people.
As soon as Six disappeared, Ollie turned to him and CJ. “So? How are we doing?”
CJ explained about the expired cans, pointing at the box on the bar. Luckily, they’d only received two more that they’d been forced to separate from the donations. He also pulled out the small cash box and showed the money and checks they’d been given as well.
“Not bad for our first time,” Ollie said, rubbing his hands together. “And we’ve still got another hour.”
Not long after Ollie returned, Kenneth slunk back into the main bar area, looking just as ruffled. CJ and Ollie teased him for a minute but then let it go, none of them caring any longer. Emmett chatted with them but mostly let them carry the conversation as he contemplated what CJ had said after Ollie had first disappeared.
You can ask about us, you know.
Could he really? He’d never had anyone to talk to about being a sub. Sure, Roni knew, and he’d told her about being a little, but they didn’t reallytalkabout it. And he’d told Rooster about what he was interested in, and they’d discussed all kinds of kink-related things, but he was a daddy.
