Page 16 of Swing and a Little Miss

10

ABBY

I woke up to the insistent pressure of my bladder and actually smiled when I thought about my night. I had such an amazing time with Royce, and it seemed like he was the real deal. A real Daddy who knew how to take care of a girl. The way he used my body in the best possible way made me feel cared for in ways I didn’t realize I needed.

Rolling over, I pushed out my arms beneath the sheets and expected to bump against Royce's solid chest, but my arm swept across cold sheets.

“Royce?”My eyes snapped open, and the blue glow of my alarm clock displayed 3:27 AM. I reached out again as if Royce might materialize beneath my searching fingers, but he was gone.

The sheets pooled around my waist when I sat up, and I was suddenly aware of my nakedness in a way I hadn't been when he was there. The bathroom door was open, but no light spilled out from it, and the rest of the apartment was silent.

He was really gone.

A cold knot built in my tummy, and I almost cried. He hadn’t actually promised to stay the whole night, but I kinda hoped he would. Some part of me just assumed he’d be there when I woke up.

But this was probably for the best. Whatever happened between us obviously meant something beyond a single night of fun.

I was probably being naive, but I wanted it to be true.Don’t get your hopes up, Abs.

My bladder forced me to push aside my sadness and get out of bed. I winced slightly at the tenderness between my legs and padded to the bathroom.

The bright light made me squint as I glanced at the mirror above the sink. My hair stood up in messy spikes, and there was a small bruise blooming on my neck. My smile was back as I traced the mark with my finger. A souvenir from Royce.

I used the toilet and washed my hands before staring into the mirror again. What would happen at work on Monday? Would I have to see him and pretend that nothing had changed? Try not to think about how he bathed me like a child and then made me come so hard I nearly blacked out? He would probably act exactly the same as always, making me question whether I wanted to slap him or kiss him.

Only now I knew what kissing him was like. What all of him was like.

And there was no question that I wanted more.

Splashing cold water on my face helped clear my head and remind me I wasn't some lovestruck teenager. I was an adult woman who'd had consensual sex with a coworker. If he chose to slip away in the middle of the night, that was his prerogative. It didn't have to mean anything.

But as I shuffled back to bed, I felt more alone than ever before. My independence had once seemed so important to me, but after just a few hours with Royce, I just wanted to be his. I wanted him to want me. I wanted him to be my Daddy.

I hugged myself, suddenly embarrassed for how I’d behaved. I let him see parts of myself I'd kept hidden from everyone else in my life. I’d surrendered to someone I trusted, and then he left without a word.

Tears filled my eyes as I sat on the edge of my bed, running my hand over the sheets where he'd been. I needed to get back to sleep or I’d be a wreck for the whole weekend. Dramatically flopping into bed, I pulled the blanket up to my chin and then rolled over, facing away from where he’d been when I last felt him.

A flash of white caught my eye, so I reached for my nightstand. My fingers brushed over a piece of paper that hadn't been there when we went to bed.

My heart leapt into my throat as I realized the paper was torn from the notepad on my desk. It took a second for my eyes to adjust when I turned on the light, but everything inside me settled when I could finally read it.

Call me when you wake up, baby girl. I'd love to take you to breakfast.

- R

I curled the note to my chest, and a ridiculous smile spread across my face. Daddy hadn't disappeared—at least, not completely. He wanted to see me again for breakfast—the least sexy, most domestic meal of the day.

Relief washed through me as I reread the note. I was still his baby girl. Those two simple words confirmed that what had developed between us wasn't just physical. It wasn't just a one-time thing for him either.

After smoothing it out from where I’d wrinkled it in my fist, I set the note back on the nightstand. The clock now read 3:43 AM and exhaustion fully hit me. It was still hours before I could reasonably call and hear his voice.

My eyelids grew heavy as the adrenaline of my mini freakout wore off, so I curled onto my side and imagined Royce in his bed, dreaming about me.

In just a few hours, I could be sitting across from Royce at some sunlit cafe, watching him sip his coffee without any morning-after awkwardness at all. Maybe he would reach for my hand across the table and he’d hold it even if other people were watching.

It was a nice vision to fall asleep to. Not a guarantee or a promise. But something worth looking forward to.

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