Pretty Boy (Perfect Boys #1) - K.M. Neuhold Page 0,67
to get out of here and make it to dinner,” I say, kissing him again anyway because it’s too hard to resist. I can feel the curve of a smile on his lips, his hands clinging to the front of my shirt like he’s as unwilling to stop kissing as I am.
“I ain’t complain’,” he murmurs against my mouth.
He might not be, but his stomach is. It growls loudly, making us both laugh as we break the kiss.
“Come on, let’s get you fed.”
The restaurant I made reservations at is close, so we walk. The night is warm, the sea breeze keeping it comfortable as we amble down the street. I point out a few different businesses I’ve invested in here and tell him about the vacations my family used to take here when I was a kid that made me fall in love with the area.
The closer we get to the restaurant, I start to notice Sterling leaning into me, turning his head and rounding his shoulders, just like he did when we first met. It doesn’t hit me until right now how much less he’s done it since moving to Vegas.
“What’s wrong, Pretty Boy?” I ask quietly, tucking him closer.
“It feels like everybody’s lookin’ at me,” he whispers. I glance around. There are a couple of people glancing in our direction, their eyes lingering on him a few extra seconds before moving on.
“Do you want to go back to the room to eat instead?” I ask, my heart sinking. I was looking forward to spoiling my boy tonight with a nice night out in Nice, but if he’s uncomfortable, that won’t do at all.
He makes a quiet, helpless kind of noise that breaks my heart. “I dunno,” he answers, chewing on his bottom lip.
“What if I made sure we had a nice, private table? Would that make you feel more comfortable?”
He considers the question a few seconds before nodding.
I manage to do just that, getting us a table on the patio, looking out over the water, far away from other guests, but Sterling is still quiet, the joy and lightness that he had before we left the room completely gone now.
“Be a good boy and tell me what I can do, sweetheart,” I say, not making it a request. I need to make this better for him, by whatever means necessary.
“Nothin’,” he says, looking out over the water with a hint of sad resignation in his tone. “I forgot for a minute, that’s all.”
“Forgot what?” I ask.
“That you look like that.” He gestures at me. “And I look like this.” He points at his face. “You’re so good to me that I just…forgot.”
Frustration surges through me, followed hotly by sadness. It seems like every two steps forward I manage to make with his confidence, there’s one step back. I don’t know how to get through to him once and for all to make him see what I see when I look at him.
“Pretty Boy…”
He shakes his head, a forced smile appearing on his lips. “I don’t wanna ruin our trip. It’s so beautiful here, Daddy. Can we just…not talk about this for now.”
As much as I want to force the issue, I agree to drop it for now. He’s right; we’re in a beautiful restaurant in the south of France, and I want him to have a good time.
Chapter 21
Sterling
I feel bad for ruining the evening. Barrett dropped it when I asked, but I could tell he was still worrying about me. It’s silly anyway. Nobody was staring any worse than usual, but I kept seeing lingering looks and got to thinking again that a man like Barrett doesn’t belong with me.
When we get back to the hotel, I slip into the bathroom to splash water on my face and get myself together before bed. I already wrecked our date; I definitely ain’t gonna be too mopey for vacation sex.
When I step back out of the bathroom, he’s already in bed, in nothing but his underwear, leaning against the headboard, just like he does at home, except he’s holding a tablet instead of a regular book. He has a pair of glasses on, which I’ve never seen him wear before, but dang if they don’t make him look even better than usual. I crawl into bed, the weight of the cock cage tugging at my cock and making my balls ache in a way that’s become familiar over the past couple of months.