10. Arlo

CHAPTER 10

Arlo

It's pretty late by the time we get back to the Kuta Paradise Resort and Spa. I'm utterly exhausted by all the drama, but luckily for me, I have Thomas taking care of everything.

I keep catching myself feeling guilty. But whenever I do, I force myself to replay Thomas's words through my mind. He wants to be my Daddy and look after me. And even though I made a poor judgment call, getting robbed really wasn't my fault.

It's hard for me to believe that I'm not hopeless and a burden, having been told that my entire life. But I understand that if I don't listen to Thomas and keep repeating myself, then I will actually become annoying.

So I probably say ‘thank you' far too much, but that feels like a step in the right direction. At least when the nice lady who organized my passport told me to take care and I said ‘you, too!' that made sense for once.

Having spent most of the day at the consulate, we haven't eaten a bite since the delicious rice bowl at the market. So before we do anything else, Thomas steers us toward the dining room, where the buffet is open for dinner. He helps me pile up my plate with noodles, vegetables in a sweet sauce, sticky rice balls, skinny fries, and chicken nuggets as well as a big glass of tropical juice. I'm glad he knows I need a bit of little time and a lot of Daddying without me needing to say a word.

Thomas finds us a table on the terrace. It's cooler inside with the ceiling fans, and I almost protest, even though I know he must have his reasons. However, they become clear before I even get the chance to sit down.

"The welcoming committee is here," Thomas says with a knowing grin and a jerk of his chin. I look around to see Jolly running up toward us. I gasp and remember that the staff shoo him and any other wildlife out of the dining area when it's busy. But outside is okay.

"Jolly!" I cry, holding out my hand for him to sniff. But then for some inexplicable reason, a lump rises in my throat, and my eyes get wet again. "Oh, Jolly. I had a bad day."

Before I can get properly upset again, Thomas reaches over and squeezes my arm. "It worked out okay in the end, though, didn't it?"

I take a shuddery breath and manage a small smile. "Yes, actually," I agree. I hate, hate, hate what happened.

But having Thomas rescue me like a knight in shining armor will undoubtedly be one of the fondest memories of this whole trip.

Maybe of my whole life.

We eat our late lunch in amiable quietness. I save Jolly a couple of my nuggies and am aware of Thomas chuckling at me as I peel off the crispy coating with my fingers, but I don't care. He's not mocking me. I feel like he's almost delighted by me, maybe. It certainly makes me happy to put the chicken in Jolly's new special bowl and feed him the meat on the floor. At first, the kitty sniffs at his gift suspiciously. But then he chomps everything down with gusto as usual.

Once my tummy is full, I feel less shaky, and my eyelids start to droop. "Ah, hang on there a minute, champ," Thomas says, getting me to my feet. He picks up my shopping bag and Jolly's licked-out bowl. "We need to still sort a few things before you can crash. Besides, we're still tryna kick that jet lag's ass, right?"

I hum, not sure I wouldn't rather just fold over on the dining table and fall asleep here. But the part of me that wants to please Thomas and do as he says wins over, so I allow myself to be directed out of the dining hall toward the resort's lobby.

Of course Jolly tags along with us. "Good kitty," I say, despite the fact that he keeps twining in between my legs and almost trips me up a couple of times.

Thankfully, reception isn't busy when we approach, and both the members of staff are very sympathetic when Thomas explains how my wallet got stolen with my keycard in it. I'm worried that not having my photo ID in the form of my passport will cause problems proving who I am and stop me from getting a new keycard. But the staff reminds me that they scanned it when I arrived, so they can look at it and see I am who I say I am without having to cause any more fuss.

I'm so relieved. I don't think I could handle any more stress or forms to fill out or hoops to jump through right now. I'm still ashamed that I got myself into this mess in the first place, but the staff is so nice and echoes what Thomas said about it happening fairly regularly to tourists, so not to worry.

Besides, thanks to Thomas, I have my shiny temporary passport, which will get me back to London with no worries…apparently. I still want to head to the airport early before my flight to make sure, but that's over a week away. I don't need to be concerned about that just yet.

"Okay, so here is your new keycard," the woman behind the desk is saying to me, but I'm struck by a sudden thought as she slides it over the counter to me.

"What about the old one?" I interrupt.

She frowns at me. "Old one?"

"Is it still active?"

"Oh," she says with a smile, shaking her head. "No, it's no good now. Only this one works."

"Besides," Thomas chimes in. "They might be able to see the resort name on the card, but without this disposable wallet, they'll have no clue what room you're in."

He taps the new key jovially, but a fresh wave of shame washes through me. "Um…it was still in the cardboard so I wouldn't forget my room number." Again, I add silently.

"Ah," Thomas says, but then he shakes his head and smiles again. "But it's okay. Like the nice lady said, it won't work anymore."

I hum as I pocket the new keycard, but try as I might, I can't shake the uneasiness that's settled in my stomach.

As we walk back to my villa, I chew my lip, getting more and more anxious. Those boys were wild and obviously have very low ethics. They might think it would be funny to come and try to get into my accommodation. There's nothing stopping them from getting up onto my porch, after all. The porch where Jolly hung out on this morning as he waited for me.

"Hey, hey," Thomas says as we get to the little turn-off that leads down to my villa and a couple of others. I didn't realize it, but now that we've stopped I can see I'm shaking and breathing heavily again. "Arlo, it's okay."

"What if they find me?" I blurt out. "What if they just walk through the resort? It's all open, after all. They could peer through my windows, or…or what if Jolly is around? They might chase him or…or…"

Thomas squeezes my shoulders and shakes his head. "I've been thinking about the same thing, all right? We're not going to let any of that happen, not tonight anyway."

"We're not?" I repeat with a sniff.

He grins at me. "Nope. You know why?" I shake my head. He looks down and winks at Jolly like he's Thomas's co-conspirator, then he looks back up at me again. "Because we're going to have a sleepover at my place!"

I gasp as excitement pushes everything else aside. Never once as a child was I permitted to visit any of my school friends' homes, let alone to stay the night. "Really?"

"If that's okay with you," he says a little more seriously. "Another option is to go back to reception and see if we can't get you a different room. I know the resort is pretty full with the retreat, but we could try."

I consider what he's saying. That doesn't sound like a bad idea. Sensible, even. But then I almost certainly wouldn't be near Thomas's villa, and that makes me sad. We only have a limited amount of time together as it is.

"May we please have a sleepover tonight?" I ask tentatively. "Then perhaps inquire about a different villa tomorrow?"

A beaming smile breaks out across Thomas's face. "That's an excellent plan, baby boy." I know he's just indulging me, but the praise seeps through me like warm treacle.

"Yippee," I say with quiet enthusiasm. "Could we go to yours now?"

Thomas nods. "You ever built a blanket fort?"

I gasp again, even giddier now that we've discussed logistics. "No! Can we?"

"Of course, baby boy," Thomas tells me. "So why don't we pack you up and move on over to my place? When we get hungry later, we can order in room service. We'll feed Jolly on my porch this time so he knows where to go if he wants to find us now."

"And the blanket fort," I say, feeling my age melt away with my concerns. "Can…can it be a cave full of treasure?"

"Of course, little buddy!" Thomas cries like he's never heard such a wonderful idea in his life. "And if you like, we can play sea monsters in the hot tub and watch the sun set from the back porch."

I hug myself. After such a horrible day, that sounds like the most fun adventure I can imagine. But try as I might, some grown-up thoughts slip in.

"But…Daddy only has one bed," I whisper.

I like the idea of snuggling up with Thomas and falling asleep. I really do. I just…I'm afraid of doing that sort of stuff with him. That sort of stuff ruins feelings. It makes things complicated. I don't want to spoil what we have. It's already been tested so much by what happened today.

Gently, Thomas takes one of my hands between both of his. They're so big and calloused compared to mine. I really like the contrast.

"We're going to make a cozy blanket fort, aren't we?" he asks me. I nod. "So Daddy will sleep there, and Arlo can have the bed. Is that all right?"

I hum, torn between relief and disappointment that I have no right to feel. That's the perfect solution! But what if Daddy is uncomfortable? He's still limping on his knee a bit. Oh! Then Arlo can sleep on the floor!

I make the disappointment go away. If I don't want sexy grown-up times, then I can't expect us to share a bed and for nothing to happen. But the idea of sleeping in the same room still sounds really nice and comforting. Safe. Those awful thieves won't know Thomas's villa number to come sneak around and look through the windows. We'll all be protected there.

And my Daddy is saying he wants me to be little for all the rest of the evening and take care of me. His boy. How could anything be more perfect than that?

"That's amazing, Daddy!" I cry in response to his question. I punch the air with my free hand, but then I calm down and place it over where he's still holding my other hand reassuringly. "Thank you, Daddy. For everything."

I might have already said it a hundred times, but a hundred and one won't hurt. Especially not the way that Thomas beams at me.

"It's my pleasure, baby boy. Come on. Let's go get your things. We have another adventure ahead of us."

He's right. We do.

And I can't wait.