Dakota spent most of school that week working on his senior project. He decided to go with "detective" since that's what Lucas suggested.
"Just because your project is on the career of 'detective' doesn't mean you have to stick with that career," Lucas urged.
Dakota had learned some things about Lucas that he didn't really notice before. Lucas was wise, and decently smart. The ex-prostitute had a good head on his shoulders, and that made Dakota a little upset when he realized that Lucas had never gotten the chance to receive a high school diploma.
"Do you want to go back to school?" Dakota had asked that week, "I mean, surely you have a job that interests you?"
Lucas had never answered him, except once with a half-hearted shrug.
That was another thing Dakota noticed- Lucas didn't like talking about his future.
"I gave up on my dreams when I realized I could never achieve them," Lucas replied softly when Dakota confronted him about it. Those eyes, so big and blue, Dakota couldn't help but feel his heart squelch with sadness. He wanted to make Lucas feel happier.
He wanted him to dream.
"What was your dream?" Dakota asked by the end of the week. He wanted to know what kind of person Lucas was before he lost his parents. He wanted to know what made Lucas happy.
"Dakota, it hurts to talk about it," Lucas had replied, "Because it won't happen. Not now."
"Tell me anyway," Dakota replied, looking into his eyes with a pleading yet empathetic expression, "I want to know who you were and ...who you wanted to be."
Lucas seemed to shift underneath Dakota's pleading gaze.
"Don't laugh," Lucas warned, with narrowed eyes.
"Promise," Dakota nodded, urging him to continue. Lucas took a few moments before admitting defeat.
"Well..." Lucas sighed, "I wanted to be an engineer...and work for NASA."
"What?!" Dakota gasped, "That's so cool!"
"Yeah, well," Lucas glared at the floor, "You can't be an engineer at NASA without a high school diploma. I know some basics because of advanced courses in high school, but without a college education, I'm not fit to be an engineer at all."
Dakota was highly intrigued. He didn't take Lucas for a person who would be an engineer, of all careers.
"So...are you good at math?" Dakota asked, "What about computers? Robots? Chemistry?"
"Those are all very different things," Lucas replied, "I am- I was good at math and physics. Calculus was my s**t. It's one of the reasons my parents were so proud of me. 'Look at our son, the mathematician. He's going to work at NASA someday.'" Lucas seemed to take great interest in the floor, swinging his legs off the side of the bed.
It was raining that day, and the boys were stuck inside. Lucas's pause in his words was filled in by the intense pitter-patter against the window.
"Now look at me," Lucas mumbled sadly, "All I'm good for is sucking dick."
"That's not true!" Dakota replied, grabbing up Lucas's hand and kissing it. Lucas looked, with a blush, into Dakota's eyes. Dakota knew Lucas was reading him, and Dakota was about to let Lucas know how he felt, truly.
"You can still be an engineer if you want to," Dakota replied, "If you really wanted to, you could."
"Dakota, I'm not allowed to go back to high school," Lucas stressed, "How am I supposed to go to college?"
YOU ARE READING
Finding Yourself
RomanceBDSM was not the lifestyle Dakota Moore had in mind. He had spent most of his teenage career running away from orphanages and taking care of his homeless little sisters. Once they were adopted by two rich gay guys, everything in Dakota's life sudden...
