Under Pastel Skies

Chapter 4

Bucky looked around the coffee shop, his knee bouncing up and down in an erratic rhythm. He looked over his shoulder at the restroom door and bit his lip in thought. You'd been in there for a couple of minutes and he was starting to worry you were going to leave through the back door.

Your jacket was still resting on the back of your chair. Surely you wouldn't leave without it. Then again, it was freezing cold and you were only wearing a really light coat.

He took a sip of his hot chocolate and grimaced behind his mug. It was cold. Then, just as he was setting his mug back down on the table, you rounded the table and took your seat.

Tilting his head, he studied your face in the artificial light. Your eyes were glazed and you were avoiding looking at him. You picked up your mug of hot chocolate and set it down away from you.

Bucky's eyes were drawn to your hands as you clasped them in front of you. The back of your hand had traces of red lipstick. With slightly furrowed brows, he raised his eyes to your face. Your lips were slightly puffy and completely bare.

"Everything all right?" he asked.

You nodded. "Yes, I was just thinking." Your top teeth pulled at your bottom lip, worrying it. "The night we met, you told me you weren't looking for a sugar baby. What made you change your mind?"

Bucky ran his hand over the two-day stubble on his chin and jaw, and sighed. "It's... I don't know. When Sam told me I was going to meet you, I panicked. I googled the words 'sugar daddy' and I didn't like what I found." He paused and looked around him. The café was mostly empty. "If I'm doing this, I want to do it with someone I can trust, someone who isn't going to smile at me and check her watch every five minutes."

"I don't have a watch," you replied with a smug smile. He laughed. "What makes you think you can trust me? We don't even know each other."

He shrugged. "I know you're kind, passionate, talented, caring, and I have a feeling you don't care about money." He took something from his pocket and laid it on the table. "Otherwise you wouldn't have slipped this into my pocket this morning."

You glanced at the $300 on the table and sat back in your seat, crossing your arms over your chest. It was a classic defensive posture, and he realized just how careful and nervous you were. He looked down at his lap, cursing himself for making you feel uncomfortable. This wasn't off to a good start.

"Okay but I only know three things about you," you said, enumerating them on the tips of your fingers. "Your name is Bucky, you really like breakfast and you're an over-tipper. And I'm pretty sure Bucky is just a nickname so, really, I only know two things about you."

He sat forward in his seat with his elbow resting on the table and his fist supporting his head. A slow smile spread across his face. He tried to hide it behind his fist but he could feel it reach his eyes.

"I'll tell you everything you want to know, angel." He watched you with a soft smile but your face remained expressionless. "Fine." He took a deep breath and released it slowly. "My name is James Barnes. My middle name's Buchanan... hence Bucky. I don't know why my parents thought it was a good idea to name me after one of our presidents but they did."

You huffed out a laugh, and you both chuckled quietly.

"No one remembers President Buchanan anyway," he continued, straightening his spine. "I'm 36, 37 in March. I've never been married, and I don't have any children. I do have a sister, though. Her name's Rebecca, and she's a single mom with two kids. They all live in Indiana where I was born."