Page 16 of Lost Boy (The Les’s Bar #5)

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“ W hat are you having?” Drew asked, setting a couple of cocktail napkins on the bar in front of Leo and Chrissy. Drew was one of Leo’s favorite bartenders, he was friendly and told great stories.

He wasn’t sure what they were drinking. He and Chrissy seemed to both be beer drinkers, but they didn’t go out like this a lot.

“What would you like, boy?”

He got a sweet, warm smile. “I think I’d like a Guinness, Sir. You?”

“Is that an IPA on draft? I think I’ll take that.”

“Coming right up. It’ll be just a second for that Guinness.” Drew tapped the bar and moved down to the draft handles. “He’ll ask about snacks next—pretzels, peanuts, popcorn—I usually just say bring them all.” He shifted in his seat, making sure he was comfortably close to his boy.

“Mmm… I do love a peanut with my beer, Sir.” Chrissy was blossoming with him, those smiles coming more and more often, that “Sir” frequent and easy. Well meant.

And Chrissy hadn’t hit anyone recently, so that was a plus. “Drew puts one of the TVs on just for me. Which should I ask for? Cartoon Network or HGTV?” He’d never been a sports guy. Football, baseball, whateverball—not his thing. Bars where there was nothing else on bored him to tears.

“Oh… dude. Cartoons. Boomeran g rocks.” Chrissy winked at him, and Leo swore he heard a tittering from the back of the bar.

Those were the same boys that would have given their left arm to be Chrissy once upon a time. Let them giggle. They were sweet, but none of them were his boy.

“Guinness and IPA, and I’m not even going to ask this time. Peanuts, popcorn, and pretzels.” Drew sat three snack bowls on the bar. “HGTV?”

“Boomerang, please.”

“Ooh. A new one.” Drew grinned at him, then gave Chrissy a wink. “Good influence.” Drew dug out the remote and changed the channel.

Chrissy chuckled, leaned into him a little bit. “It’s weird, going out like men who don’t have cats at home to spend all our time with.”

“Right?” He put his arm around Chrissy’s shoulders. “Like we might run into actual people that are interested in our company.”

“Ew. People.”

Oh, Chrissy did make him laugh. The joy poured from him.

“What were we thinking?” He chuckled and held up his beer. “To us.”

“To us!” They clinked their glasses together, then drank deep.

“Master Leo!” One of the little subs came up, hand soft on his arm. “Would you like to dance?”

“Hello, Ian. Good to see you, boy. Chrissy, this is Ian. Ian and I have talked a few times here and had scenes together… twice? Twice, I think.” He hated to dash Ian’s hopes, but he wasn’t the free agent he used to be, and his dance card, if he had one, was full. “Ian, this is Chrissy, my sub.”

“Are you sure?” Ian’s hand covered his mouth, and the boy looked honestly, utterly shocked. “But—I—oh. Sorry. I didn’t… understand, Master.”

“Obviously.” Was he sure ? What kind of a question was that? Leo gave Ian a hard look. “Run along, pup.”

“Yes, Sir!” Ian ran off, back to the gaggle of subs, and Chrissy put a little more space between them.

Okay. What did that mean? “Sorry about… whatever that was.”

“That was my reputation preceding me, I’m sure.” Chrissy winked at him.

“And mine.” He elbowed Chrissy and pulled him close again. Leo didn’t care about Chrissy’s reputation. Chrissy was different then. He was happy now. “And I don’t think we need to care about our reputations before we realized we both love Minions and hate people.”

“Right on.” Chrissy relaxed, leaning in hard. “I think we need matching Oscar the Grouch pajama pants. I think we’d look like twins.”

“It’s a plan.” He pulled out his phone and googled, clumsy thumbs typing and retyping to fix his typos. “Os-car-the gr-ouch-pa-ja-mas.”

“Leo!” Les appeared at his side and rested a hand on his shoulder.

He smiled. “Hey, Les. How are ya?”

“I’m wonderful. It’s a nice night. You’re drinking the new IPA.”

“I am. You remember Chrissy.”

“Of course. Welcome, Chrissy. It’s nice to see you again.” If Les had any thoughts of his own about Chrissy’s behavior last time the boy was here, he kept them to himself. “Guinness? Good choice.”

Chrissy offered Les a nod, a smile. “Thank you, sir. It’s one of my favorite indulgences.”

“I have heard such good things about the pair of you from Masters Neil and Isaac and their boy Alain. They say the two of you are made for each other.”

He smiled, feeling proud and humble at the same time. “Miracles do happen?”

Les shook his head. “This is not a miracle; it’s earned. For both of you.”

Leo beamed at his boy. It was well-earned, and his Chrissy made him proud every day.

“We’ll have to have you and Milo over soon. You can sit in our new beanbag chairs.” Leo winked at Les.

“Beanbag chairs?”

“Kitten-proof ones,” Chrissy added, that grin just getting wider. “They are the most fun ever.”

Les chuckled and shook his head. “I will have to take your word on that.”

Not everyone understood the things that made him and his boy tick, and Leo was fine with that. Most people didn’t understand the things that made him tick either.

“Chrissy! Come dance!” Milo came running over and took Chrissy’s arm. “Please? Come on.”

Chrissy blushed dark, shook his head. “I’m here with Master Leo, honey.”

He leaned close to Chrissy’s ear. “Go on if you want to. Have some fun. I’ll watch.”

“Just one dance, you spoiled beauty.”

Milo laughed and dragged Chrissy out on the dance floor. Leo chuckled too.

“They say you’ve tamed the savage beast.”

“No, I just took the time to see him.”

“He really is lovely.” Les leaned against the bar.

Leo nodded agreement, eyes still on his boy. “And spoiled, as Milo says, but that’s my right. Milo is the sweetest, you know. He’s been a good friend to Chrissy.”

“Milo loves him dearly, and after that nonsense with his ex, Chris needed a pal.”

“He did. He still does. Other than work, he’s very tied to me. I’d like to see him… well, do more of that.” Milo and Chrissy were dancing and talking, and he loved the smile on his boy’s face.

“Yes. There’s some work to do there. Especially with the younger subs.”

He sighed. He wasn’t sure what was going on there. “Do you think they’re jealous? The ones that used to hang out with me? Or are they… I know Chrissy has a temper.”

“Oh, now. Chris has never so much as snarled at a sub. He treats them with kid gloves.”

“Okay. So what is it then? Ian just came over here and asked me if I was sure about Chrissy.”

“Honestly? If I had to guess, I’d say that between his friendship with Neil and the rumors from his ex? The assumption is that he isn’t a sub.” Les rolled his eyes. “There can be weirdness when people don’t fit in boxes, right?”

“Rumors? How do they know his ex?” And who was he to be saying anything about a boy—a man—he threw away?

“Oh, that asshole—Zack Lehman is his name—he’s never done anything to be officially banned from the bar, but he’s not welcome. He’s in the lifestyle, though, and his sub is a bit of a gossip.”

“Yeah, from what Chrissy tells me, his style isn’t really The lifestyle.” Leo wondered how long it would be before the ex—Zack—would toss this sub out too. “You’d think these subs—I mean, they’re grown men, even if they are subs—would know better than to take the word of a banned Dom over say, yours. Or mine.”

Leo shrugged. “They’re still human, and maybe a little jealous. You’re quite a catch.”

He chuckled. “I’m quite caught now.”

“Well, that’s enough, isn’t it? To make some of them a little bitchy?”

“You’re so kind, Les.” Leo laughed. “Of course it is. I just never thought I’d be involved in… all of that.” He waved his hand vaguely in the direction Ian had gone.

“Well, you’re taken. That makes Chris a touch of a target. Envy is a cruel mistress.”

“He can handle it.” God, he hoped Chrissy could handle it, but he would step in if he was needed.

“I have this feeling most of them won’t dare mess with him while he’s hanging out with Milo. You’re a big deal.” Leo grinned and sipped his beer.

“I so am. I’m a huge deal. Ask Milo.” Wicked man.

“Pftt.” He snorted. “Milo just wants a spanking.”

“That’s him, by the way. The sub.” Les pointed to a young man dancing with a group of subs not far from Chrissy.

He didn’t know if Chrissy had seen him and was ignoring him or hadn’t noticed he was there.

“You can’t ask him to leave?”

Les shrugged. “I don’t have a reason yet.”

Leo’s eyes narrowed. “I could give you one.” He wouldn’t, but he’d like to.

“He’ll cause a problem; I have no doubt. I’m simply exercising patience.”

He wiggled his fingers, forcing them to relax instead of balling into fists. “I’m glad you used the word patience; I wasn’t headed in that direction.” He picked up his beer and took another sip, gaze moving back to his boy.

Milo was keeping himself in between Chrissy and the other sub, and Leo would bet it was on purpose.

The sub, whose name Leo had yet to ask for because he honestly didn’t care, broke out of the group and headed for the bar. Leo tried not to watch him, but it wasn’t easy since the man seemed to be trying to get his attention.

“Hey, Drew.”

“What can I get you, Edward?”

The guy was here enough that Drew knew his name? Good grief.

“I will have a tequila, rocks with lime, please. And I’d like to buy this handsome man another beer.”

Drew glanced at him, and he shook his head no. “I’m fine, thank you.”

“You’re the vet who tamed that animal, Christopher, aren’t you?”

Leo shook his head. “You’re very clever, Edward.”

“Thank you! I do want to warn you, though. He’s a con man. He has really hurt some good friends of mine.”

He kept the eye roll to himself. “That’s not going to work on me, boy. I don’t gossip.”

“Of course not. It wasn’t gossiping. Just a friendly warning. Have a lovely night, Sir!”

Leo watched him go with a sigh. “He wants me to ask Chrissy what he’s talking about.”

Les didn’t seem to be particularly worried. “Do you want to know?”

“Yes. But only because I want to be able to say I know what he’s talking about, and I don’t care.” Leo glanced at Les. “Because I don’t care.”

“Of course you don’t. He’s your boy, and you know his issues.”

“But I don’t want to upset Chrissy by asking, like I don’t trust him or something.” Which was probably the answer. Preface it with why he’s asking. “That little shit knows damn well what he just did. I know it.”

“Manipulators understand their jobs, don’t they?” Les rolled his eyes, then he smiled. “Here come our boys.”

He found a smile for Chrissy and held his arms out. “Did you have fun? We were enjoying watching you.”

“We did. Milo always makes me laugh.” Chrissy came up close, lips close to his ear. “Did Ed bother you, Sir? I’m sorry. He’s a snake.”

He shook his head slightly. “He is a snake. But you know where I stand. He can rattle that tail all he likes. I’m not moving.”

“Me either, Sir. I know who loves me.” There was no doubt in his boy’s voice.

“Is he making you uncomfortable? We can head out if you want to.” He slid his hands around Chrissy’s waist. “Or we can just have a good time and let him stew in it.”

“We’ll stay. He doesn’t matter.” Chrissy cuddled. “You matter.”

How far his boy had come. He was so proud he could burst. Take that, Edward .

“I kept your beer safe. Nobody spit in it, I promise.”

“Good to know. I’d hate to have to beat someone to a pulp. It might slow down our night.”

“You and your temper.” He started to say something to Milo and Les, but they’d disappeared. He spotted them on the dance floor and decided this would be a good time to ask his question. “So, I have to ask a question that has nothing to do with trust, and everything to do with needing to know the facts so I’m armed next time that Edward, or God forbid his Dom, try to shake things up between us.”

“Okay. I’ve got nothing to hide from you, Sir.”

All right, that was less evasive than he’d expected.

“Such a good boy.” He took a quick kiss, chaste enough for a bar, but with a hint of heat, a promise for later. “Edward claims you’ve hurt people he knows. He called you a con man.”

“Bullshit. Zack says that I lied about being a submissive. That I deceived him to get him to bring me here.” Chrissy didn’t glance away, didn’t blush. “You knew that was one of my questions after he asked me to go. You know the truth.”

He nodded. “I do. I know who you are. I just needed to know what I was going to say.” Zack’s inability to be a good Dom to a sub as kind and beautiful as Chrissy was a failure of his own character, not Chrissy’s.

And Chrissy’s straight-forward answer honored him, allowing him to feel proud, strong, like he was trusted without reservation.

“Thank you. You shouldn’t have to keep answering questions about him. You shouldn’t even have to think about him. So I appreciate it, and I’ve got your back. I promise.”

“Thank you, Sir. It’s starting to get loud. Want to go get something amazing to eat?”

“Sure.” He slid off his barstool. “Let’s get out of here. Tacos?”

“You are so speaking my language. Yes, Sir.”