Rich Kid (The SPARK Files #3)

Chapter 24

Wallace

Wallace’s heart was so buoyant it was like he could float away with the brightly colored fish that were currently swimming over his head. All morning, Volt had been by his side, so attentive and adoring that Wallace felt like he was almost drunk on it. Wallace might have worried about being too clingy, but those worries couldn’t even begin to get a toehold, because Volt couldn’t seem to keep his hands off Wallace, either.

When they walked between exhibits, Volt sought out Wallace’s hand every time, intertwining their fingers and rubbing his thumb over Wallace’s skin. When they stood in front of another tank, reading the informational paragraphs or watching the aquatic wonders lazily swim by, Volt would squeeze an arm around his waist. When they caught the seal-feeding demonstration, Volt stepped behind Wallace and encircled his shoulders, pulling him close so Wallace’s back nestled against Volt’s broad chest.

Not to mention all the little kisses Volt kept sneaking. Nothing inappropriate with all the noisy children swarming around them, but it seemed like every time they stopped, for even a second, Wallace was getting another kiss on the cheek, or on the top of his head or, chastely and so sweetly it made his heart ache, on the very corner of his mouth.

What had been borderline inappropriate was Volt feeding Wallace little bites of creamy pastry on their picnic blanket earlier. “A creampuff for my creampuff,” Volt had told him. Which would have been amazing enough if Volt had just bought him the treat, but the way that Volt scooped up each little dollop of filling and made Wallace lick it off his fingers would have been downright scandalous if anyone had looked on.

Wallace had been almost tempted to let Volt pull him behind a tree for “a taste of his cream,” but as naughty and exciting as the idea was, he didn’t really want to try something like that when kids were flying down the pathways on their bikes and scooters.

But maybe some other time, alone on some hiking trail with just the hint of a possibility of being found out… well, if he knew they weren’t in imminent danger of getting caught, he wouldn’t say no.

Because, and here was the crazy part, Volt was his boyfriend now.

He, Wallace Clark Wollencroft, had a boyfriend. A beyond-sexy boyfriend. A sweet boyfriend who was holding his hand—in public—as they wandered around the aquarium.

God, he just couldn’t stand it, knowing how lucky he was.

“Hey, do you want to pet the stingrays?” Volt asked, his steps slowing as they passed a sign for the exhibit. “It looks like we’d get there right on time.”

“Sure,” Wallace agreed. “I’ve never touched a stingray. It sounds dangerous.”

Volt looked away for a moment, distracted, then replied. “The internet tells me that they’re very docile, like puppies. And the ones in the petting zoo have their venom removed.”

Even though he’d grown up around bots, it was still a little surprising how Volt could just access the internet in his head. Was he reading? Watching videos? Or gathering data through some sort of generative artificial intelligence process without his conscious awareness?

Wallace had never been too curious about sparks before. Well, he’d had the normal curiosity of anyone with a computer science engineering degree, but he’d always thought of it like quantum physics. Light could simultaneously be both a single particle and a wave, computers could be sentient, and the reasoning behind it was beyond mortal understanding.

But now he wanted to know everything.

“What do you like to do?” he found himself asking as they waited to pet the stingrays. “In your free time, I mean.”

Did that sound dumb? He hated when people asked him that. He never knew how to answer, assuming that his responses would be all wrong and the person who was asking didn’t care anyway. People just made small talk because they were supposed to, right?

But now he really wanted to know. Hopefully Volt would tell him.

“Well, you know about the dancing,” Volt told him, clearly thinking as he spoke. “I listen to a lot of music. I actually put sound dampeners in my room because even though I’m capable of hearing it without playing it out loud, the acoustics are different when it’s filling a space.”

“Wow. That’s cool. What do you like to listen to?”

Volt shrugged. “Anything with a beat. Stuff I can sing to, sometimes.”

Wallace looked up just in time to catch Volt looking away. He’d said that a little too casually. Was he shy? “Will you sing for me sometime? And dance for me again?”

Volt gave him a sinful smirk. “I’ll dance for you anytime, baby.”

Wallace knew he wasn’t very good at peopling, though he at least knew enough to figure out that Volt was implying something sexual. But he got the sense that there was something more there. “I mean,” he tried carefully, “that I’d really rather be there when you’re doing what you love. I want to hear your voice.”

“I just sing along to what I’m listening to,” Volt protested. “It’s not like the dancing.”

Now Wallace was enthralled. “I’d like to hear you anyway. If you’ll let me.” He leaned in close to Volt’s ear and added, “Daddy.”

Volt chuckled. “Three hours of being my boyfriend and you already know how to wrap me around your little finger.”

Wallace beamed. He was actually doing this. Getting to know someone. Flirting. And he wasn’t screwing it up or acting awkward or anything.

Well, maybe he was a little awkward. But that was the most wonderful part. Daddy liked him anyway. Daddy was even maybe a little bit awkward at times, too.

“No pressure,” he said, squeezing his Daddy’s hand. “But I really would like to hear you sing. Or we could sing together, not that I’m any good.” Volt’s voice was probably precision-tuned to perfection, just like his body was. But maybe it didn’t matter so much. Not between them. “And if you feel comfortable with it.”

Was that the right mix of supportive and not pressuring? It seemed like the right thing to say. He was going to read a thousand books about boyfriend-Ing when he got home.

“You know, I think I’d like that.” Volt dropped a kiss on Wallace’s head, the soft note in his voice making Wallace feel like, for once, he’d gotten it exactly right.

And now they had one more thing to do together!

They were next up at the tank, and after quickly washing their hands, they both lowered them into the cool water where the handler was petting a giant ray.

“Can I really touch it?” Wallace asked.

“Yep,” the relaxed handler agreed. “This is Stella. She’s a Southern Stingray and she’s five years old. She’s also the most likely to come over for petting.”

“And she won’t bite?” Wallace confirmed, even though he’d just seen two toddlers poking her while their mother kept—ineffectively—reminding them to be gentle.

“She’ll eat any fish that swim her way, and she can crush crustacean and mollusk shells easily with her strong jaws, but if you’re not a smaller organism that she can filter up through her mouth, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Her mouth’s on the other side,” the handler added.

Wallace lowered his hand a little, finally daring to touch. “She’s smooth. Er, slimy?” There was a texture he couldn’t quite describe.

“Like velvet,” Volt agreed, petting the large animal a little further down.

Stella wiggled, pressing up into Wallace’s fingers. “This is so cool!” he exclaimed, giggling, before covering his mouth with his dry hand. God, was he a child?

“It is cool,” Volt agreed, pressing his side against Wallace’s. “I never would have experienced this without you.”

Just like that, Wallace went from embarrassed to euphoric again.

They spent a few minutes petting the ray, then washed their hands again to let the next people in line get a turn.

“So,” Wallace looked around, nerves kicking in again. They’d circled back to the entrance. “I think we’ve seen the whole aquarium now.”

Was this the end of the date? It wasn’t like Volt needed to eat, so Wallace couldn’t suggest lunch. Should he invite Volt over to his apartment? Or would that be too much? Should he let the spark get back to his day?

When Wallace had gone on dates with women before, he’d always felt drained and exhausted at the end. If they didn’t coax him into going somewhere else, he was usually eager to go home.

He had no idea what to do when he actually wanted to extend a date.

“Back to the park?” Volt suggested. “The cafe by the west entrance should be open now if you want to grab a bite.”

Could it really be that easy? “Um, yes. I mean, yes to the park. I don’t need to eat anything yet.” Truthfully, he was getting kind of hungry, but he’d already eaten a ton of calories at breakfast, and Volt didn’t need to see him stuffing his face again so soon.

Volt gave him a quelling look and then bent toward his ear. “Whatever you’re thinking, I want you to stop. You promised me a healthy lunch every day, baby boy, and you owe me now for a whole week.”

Was it wrong to moan out loud in a public place about eating a healthy lunch?

Because Wallace was dangerously close to doing it. “Yes, Daddy,” he murmured.

And he didn’t even feel guilty. Or fat. Or any of those things.

He felt special.

It was like he was a whole different person now. Someone who he wouldn’t have recognized a few months ago.

Feeling daring, he reached for Volt’s hand as they walked out of the lobby, still a little awestruck when Volt not only twined their fingers together, but gave him an adoring glance in return.

On the way to the cafe, Wallace peppered Volt with questions. What was his favorite color? Gold, which Wallace should have guessed. What kinds of movies did he like? Action, comedy, and rom coms, but nothing too scary. Did he prefer cats or dogs? Neither, because he hadn’t spent enough time with them to know. But he loved plants and took care of everything growing in the atrium. What was his favorite season? Autumn, when the leaves turned every color of the rainbow.

Wallace soaked it all in, trying to memorize everything. He didn’t even feel awkward or try to think up bland lies when Volt asked him the same questions in return. How could he be embarrassed about saying that purple was his favorite color when Daddy had already seen him in lingerie? For once, he didn’t have to hide that he hated horror movies and anything with a creepy soundtrack, because Volt felt the same way.

It was just so remarkably easy to be himself around Volt.

Wallace admitted to not knowing anything about plants, but now he was thinking about the lounge at Prism in a whole new light. It was Daddy’s garden. His tapestry. He wanted to learn all about it.

Wallace even admitted his love for tiny dogs and showed Volt pictures of all the cutest breeds, with long, brushable hair and bows on their little heads.

He’d never been allowed a dog as a child, and his apartment complex didn’t allow pets. But… maybe he should think about changing all of that? He’d never liked his apartment much anyway.

He truly was becoming a different person. He even felt like he was getting good at this casual chatting and getting-to-know-you stuff. It was simple when everything about Volt fascinated him.

Who gave a damn what his father would think about his future, hypothetical tiny dogs? Or his gorgeous, muscular boyfriend.

He was feeling wild and free and, for once, completely and totally himself.

At the cafe, he didn’t hesitate to order exactly what he wanted: a hearty chicken vegetable panini smothered in gooey cheese, a smoothie without a spec of protein powder in it, and a decadent cookie. Not that he ate cookies at every meal, but he knew that Volt wouldn’t judge, and he wasn’t going to let himself feel guilty about it.

He got his tray and looked around for Volt, who was supposed to be finding them a table on the sunny patio.

When he finally saw the man, however, he was pacing back and forth outside the patio fence, face drawn in a scowl.

Had Wallace done something wrong?

Instinctively, he started racking his brain for what it could have been. Had he been too talkative? Too awkward? Had he taken too long to order his lunch? Should he have pretended he wasn’t hungry?

His stomach clenched. Or maybe he hadn’t done anything wrong, but Volt was angry with him anyway?

It wouldn’t be the first time.

Carrying his tray and feeling increasingly awkward because he wasn’t quite sure what else to do with it, he approached the gate that ringed the patio.

There was a moment before Volt saw him, and then his face split into a grin.

Relief swept through Wallace like a balloon rising in his chest. Volt wasn’t angry.

But Volt’s mouth still twisted in apology as Wallace got closer. “Hey sweetheart, I just got a call from Angel, and I need to head out. I’m sorry to cut our date short.” He raised his arm over the tray between them to stroke Wallace’s cheek.

“Oh, um, okay.”

“I really do apologize.” His face looked strained. “I’d hoped to stay longer.”

He didn’t look like he wanted to leave at all, and Wallace was going to take a leap of faith and believe him. Greedy as he was, didn’t want to say goodbye. “Are you sure you have to go?”

“Yeah. It’s Prism. Angel needs me.” His voice was weary. Tight with some emotion.

“Oh.” Wallace’s first thought was… What if Volt had another client? They hadn’t talked at all about monogamy or Volt’s work or anything else. Would Volt still be sleeping with other people?

Wallace was flooded with disappointment, and maybe a bit of resentment. But he should be a good boyfriend now, right? Supportive? He felt like a dork, standing there with his tray full of food that he’d planned for their shared lunch while Volt was about to walk away. “Well, uh, okay.”

Volt nodded back, his face strained. Did he have actual work to do? Aside from strutting around in a loincloth? Whatever he was heading into seemed to be stressing him out.

Wallace knew what that felt like. “Can I help with anything?” he found himself asking.

Volt’s eyes popped open, like that was the last thing he’d expected to hear. But he covered it with a smile. “No, sweet thing. Nothing for you to worry about.”

That didn’t feel right. Like they were back at Prism, in a fake bubble of sexual bliss, not in the real world. This was the very thing that Wallace had been so anxious about—that his time with Volt wasn’t real. That Volt just saw him as a customer. A bank account.

“Will you tell me about it though? What’s upsetting you?” he heard himself asking. It sounded like a line from a movie.

Then he realized that it was probably too pushy. This was their first date. Volt had some sort of work emergency—though Wallace couldn’t for the life of him think of what sort of work emergency a sex worker could have on a Sunday afternoon before Prism wasn’t even open—but it wasn’t really his business to pry. “I mean, only if you want to,” he added hastily, looking away.

God, he was screwing all of this up. He should have just said see you soon or something and been done with it.

It took him a moment to figure out what was going on when Volt pulled the tray from his fingers. He held on for too long, and his smoothie went flying in what would have certainly been a catastrophic mess if Volt hadn’t caught it neatly from the air with inhumanly quick reflexes.

Volt put the tray neatly on the nearest empty table, just a few inches across the low fence. Why hadn’t Wallace thought of that? It was like his brain had seen the three-foot tall barrier and assumed he couldn’t put his arm over it.

God, he was a mess.