Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

HUGO

“What about that one?” I ask, pointing to a young child on a scooter. He’s wearing a backpack and from it, a leash that the adult with him is holding on to.

We’ve been here for more than an hour now. Torin is shy, speaks sparingly and in a very quiet tone. His cheeks are in a constant shade of pink. But he’s super nice and I enjoy his company a lot.

“That’s a parent who is too lazy to teach their child self-control, so they put them on a leash like a pet,” Torin mutters. “I suppose that’s presumptuous and I understand that there are kids and situations that might benefit from them but… I don’t know. I see so many parents not parenting it’s difficult not to be judgemental sometimes.”

I grin as I chew slowly on another bite. Honestly, I’m stuffed. But the food is so damn good and it’s still sitting here, so I continue munching. We haven’t even had dessert yet.

“Have you raised a two-year-old?” I ask.

“No,” he admits. “But I took a psychology class in high school. For one of our projects, we had to choose from certain topics and somehow I got raising toddlers or something. I spent weeks observing different dynamics between parents and their children. By far, those who didn’t set boundaries and expectations, those who weren’t firm in their decisions and ended up caving in when the child would so much as whimper, those who played one parent off the other… their kids were the ones who needed leashes. You can have a happy child and one that knows not to run in front of a moving car.”

My smile is super wide now. The longer we sit here, the more talkative Torin becomes. Granted, this is the longest thing I’ve heard him say. His voice is still very quiet. Before I can answer, he continues.

“There are some exceptions. Some kids are hyperactive and stuff. I get it. I’ve also heard many of those common excuses—I want my kid to be happy; I want us to be friends; they don’t understand; boys will be boys; I don’t believe in discipline; I want my kid to be able to freely express themselves; I don’t want my kid to hate me like I hate my parents.” Torin waves his hand. “Half of that is simply laziness, stupidity, and not wanting to put in the effort. The other unresolved trauma from their own childhood and making an extreme one-eighty to make sure their kid doesn’t go through what they went through. In doing so, they’re creating a different kind of problem that will only kick them in the ass later.”

“You got a good grade, huh?”

Torin smiles. His cheeks are pink again as he nods. “Yes.”

Chuckling, I glance back out the window and watch again. There’s a tall, leggy blonde on her way by. She’s talking on her cell phone. “What about her?”

He watches her for a minute before answering. “She wants to project an appearance that she can’t actually afford. While everything she’s wearing is probably a knock off, I know for certain her purse is.”

I look at Torin, perplexed. That’s not exactly the question I was asking, but now I’m intrigued. “How do you know that?”

“The shape and scale of the logo on the front of it,” he answers. I look out the window, but she’s already gone. “I’m not much into fashion because I think it’s ridiculous to spend so much money on something, and for what? But if I were to give into societal pressure, Khoors is the one brand I’d probably buy. I like their quality, and their colors aren’t hideous. They’re also everyday styles that I’d actually wear. ”

When I’m still staring at him a minute later, his face heats.

“Fake it till you make it?” I ask.

He nods, shrugging.

“I was really asking if you thought she was pretty this time, though I guess I didn’t ask that clearly.”

“Oh,” Torin mutters. “Uh… yeah. She was pretty. In a fake kind of way.”

I laugh. Our conversation pauses as Susie comes back. “Ready for dessert?”

“Definitely. And some boxes, please,” I tell her.

“Of course, Mr. Bladen.”

“You’re supposed to call me Hugo,” I remind her as she smiles and walks away.

Susie is in her late forties, I think. She’s super nice and we’ve talked about her family a lot since I started coming here. She has three kids—all in their teens—and her husband installs security systems for big establishments, so she’s often alone as he travels.

“She’s not going to call me Hugo,” I say to Torin. “She never does.”

He smiles.

“Oh, that one!” I nod in the direction of the window as a gorgeous woman with long black hair walks by. “She’s super pretty, isn’t she?”

Torin nods again, but I think he doesn’t agree with me.

“Still not your type?”

Pink cheeks turn to deep red as he shrugs again. “I don’t like girls,” he admits, voice quiet.

“Mmm,” I answer as I watch more people walk by the big glass windows. “Oh, oh! You like boys!”

Torin sinks a little on the bench beside me as he nods. I wince. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to say that so loudly. I didn’t know it was a secret.”

He laughs a little. The kind of laugh that isn’t quite funny, but trying to find humor in the situation. I feel really bad.

“It’s not. I just… people can be jerks and I already don’t like to be looked at, so…” Torin shrugs again.

I wrap my arm around his shoulders and give him a sideways hug. “I don’t care that you like boys. Three of my besties are gay.” I think about it for a minute. “Or bisexual. I didn’t mean to announce it, though. I’m sorry.”

Torin sighs. “It’s okay. I didn’t think you’d care. I guess I didn’t realize you didn’t know that.”

“As far as I know, no one does. You’re so quiet.”

He smiles, bowing his head. “I have social anxiety. I’ve had it since I was a kid, and it’s only gotten worse as I get older, so I’ve never made any friends. It’s made me a very… well, quiet person, I suppose. I spend a lot of time alone.”

I squeeze him tightly. “I’m your friend, Torin.”

His eyes meet mine. I’ve noted before that they’re dark, and I’d always assumed they were brown. But this close, I think that maybe they’re brown and charcoal. So unique. So beautiful.

“Thanks,” Torin says. He leans into me, resting his head on my shoulder.

We remain silent as we continue to watch the people through the big glass window until Susie brings us our dessert with some boxes. She sets our panna cottas in front of us, then starts scooping our plates into different take-out containers.

I moan indecently as I eat my dessert, but it’s definitely moan-worthy. I’m no longer interested in the people outside as I enjoy my panna cotta. No one makes it like Antonio’s.

Unfortunately, it never lasts as long as I’d like it to and I’m paying our check within a few minutes. “I usually run here and home,” I admit as I lean back. “I eat far too much when I come here.”

Torin laughs. It’s quiet and shy, just like everything else about him. “I have some cash,” he offers, pulling out his wallet.

I shake my head. “Nah. I invited you. My treat.”

He bows his head, trying to hide his smile and pink cheeks. “Thank you.”

I nod. “Ready to go?”

“Yes.”

We get to our feet and head for the car. “I’m only a mile and a half from here.”

“That’s convenient,” he says .

“It’s dangerous,” I counter. “I work out longer than most of the team, just to work off the calories I consume here. But it’s so good.”

He grins. “It is.”

“Okay, let’s go home.”

I lead him to my car and open his door for him. Not going to lie, I’m enjoying seeing the way his cheeks flush all the time. Now is no different as he climbs into my car. Once he’s completely inside, I shut his door and round to the driver’s side.

“Should we get your car now or later?” I ask as I climb in.

Torin shrugs. “It’s up to you. Now is probably better so you don’t have to leave your house again.”

“I don’t mind at all. But I don’t want you to feel trapped or anything. I don’t want you to feel like you can’t leave when you want to.”

I’m pulling into traffic, so I only catch his shy smile from the corner of my eye. “I don’t feel trapped, Hugo,” he says, voice quiet.

Since he seems indifferent to it, I drive us to my house instead of back to the arena. I’ll make sure he doesn’t stay too late because he has a long drive home. An hour! I can’t even imagine. All that time driving. Ew.

I don’t hate driving, but unless it’s for some greater purpose—like a trip or visiting someone—it just feels like such a waste of time. Especially when it’s just work you’re going to and from.

It only takes us three minutes to get to my house. It’s right inside a subdivision. Shutting off my car, I hurry around the other side and pull open Torin’s door before he can. Once again, I get to see his pretty cheeks pinken. He has such fair skin, so the pink is incredibly obvious. And adorable.

“Here we are,” I announce as I close his door. “Not a forever home because who knows where that’ll be.”

“Do you know where you want to live when you retire?” he asks as I lead him to my door with my hand on his lower back.

I shake my head. “Playing with L.A. has been amazing. But it’s not just the great seasons we’ve been having and now that we have an equally awesome coach. It’s because I’ve never had friends anywhere else like I do here. I can’t imagine living away from them, but I know realistically, once we all retire, the likelihood that we’re going to be living as close as we do now is slim. We’re from all over the country. So yeah, I don’t have any plans. I try not to think about it at all.”

We’re inside my house now. We kick off our shoes and then I make a pitstop in the kitchen to drop the food off on the counter. I don’t like to put really warm food in the fridge, so I leave it to cool a little more.

“Want a tour? Then we can hang out in the den. I have movies and a big TV. There’s also game systems in there if you like games.”

Torin nods. “Yeah, sounds good.”

I bypass the living room. It’s become a room where I just take my dates, since I don’t use it for anything else. I have three other gathering places that I use for entertaining, instead. There’s a den on the first floor where my friends and I usually hang out.

I point it out, but then get sidetracked by my project room. “Oh, look at this!” Pushing open the door, I step inside, pulling Torin with me. My brand-new 3D printer is sitting like a time machine on its table.

“I just got this software that stitches together images and can make a 3D image of anything for me. There’s a scanner there, but I also use a camera sometimes. Then I have this bridge software that turns the 3D image into a file for the printer software and I can print anything!”

To prove my point, I take my most prized printing that I’m incredibly proud of making successfully off the shelf—an exact replica of my hard dick. I hand it to Torin with a huge grin.

His eyes go wide. His cheeks heat so much that the red runs into his hairline and down his neck. “Is that…?” His eyes flicker to my pants and then back to the cock.

“Yes!” I exclaim. “It’s exactly like the real thing! Like this vein is perfect and everything.” I trace my finger along the vein.

Torin looks slightly mortified, so I pull it back. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. That was inappropriate, right?”

He shakes his head. “No. It’s fine.”

I put it back on the shelf, unsure what to say now. “I’m sorry. I can show you how it works. Want to make one?”

I didn’t think his eyes could get wider. I’m wrong. He shifts awkwardly.

Oh, I’m fucking this up. “I’m sorry,” I say again and close my eyes. They open nearly right away when I hear his breathing get heavier.

He looks like he’s ready to freak out. Not sure what to do, I grab him and hug him tightly. Squeezing him so tightly I might be hurting him. “I’m sorry, Torin.”

Torin takes a deep breath, and I’m relieved when his arms come around me.

“I… I have a habit of saying inappropriate things,” I admit. “When I’m excited, especially. Usually, my friends try to help me from saying the wrong thing.”

Torin turns his face into my neck and takes a deep breath. “Your friends shouldn’t be trying to change you, Hugo,” he says quietly.

“No, no. They’re not. I get so excited sometimes, and I love to learn new things and want to understand everything that I just… blurt out whatever’s in my head and sometimes those things come out really awfully because there’s so much I want to ask and the words get so confused and mixed together. I’ve hurt people’s feelings. I’ve upset them or offended them and that’s never my intent. My friends just remind me that I need to think before I speak when I get excited. Just so my words aren’t mean when I don’t intend them to be. I didn’t remember to think about what I was showing you or saying. I’m so sorry I made you uncomfortable.”

Torin sighs. The tension in him has gone. His fingers dig into me and I hug him as tight as I can.

“It’s okay,” Torin says. “You have a very nice… model dick.”

I laugh, and because his face is still tucked into my neck, I feel him smile.

“I’m just very… shy, I guess. I was startled and… Yeah. I’m okay.”

I nod. “Just so you know, when I asked if you wanted to try the printer, I didn’t mean your dick. Not that you can’t try that, but I just meant… the printer. You know?”

He laughs quietly. “Okay.”

We’re quiet for a long time as I hold him in my arms. Hugging him. It feels so good. It’s been a really long time since I’ve hugged anyone. So long, in fact, I’m not even sure when the last time I had a hug like this is.

“Am I making you uncomfortable now?” I ask.

Torin shakes his head .

“I’m going to try to ask this without making you uncomfortable,” I warn him. He laughs again. “How do you feel about cuddling? You know, platonically? It’s been so long since I’ve hugged someone and it feels really good. I think we all need hugs sometimes.”

Torin sighs. “I’d really like that.”