Page 21 of Just A Little Love

I already knew my coming response was the absolute opposite of how I should answer him. If I listened to my most recent pep talk to myself, I'd jump at the chance to take the easy out Rory tried to hand me. Like any good fool, I did not listen to the good advice I just gave myself.

“If I wanted to back out, I wouldn't ask Reed to do it for me. That's not fair.” Rory looked indignant at the suggestion he couldn’t handle his own business.

“Jakob is sensitive, and it’s hard for him to make friends, big or little. Reed said he’d do it in case he got upset.”

“Really? Why would anyone dislike him?”

“I don’t think it’s dislike so much as social anxiety. He’s genius-level smart but anxious around people. I like him too. It’s probably why he and Owen get along so well, although Jakob is more willing to leave the house.”

“Well, I don't intend to hurt his feelings, and I agreed to help him. Are you sure you want to keep doing this thing?”

“Yeah, Bunny. I wanna keep doing this thing.”

“Great. Yeah, me too.”

I kept my voice neutral, but internally, I did my version of a happy dance, albeit without the butt wiggle.

If we were going to prolong our time together, and because I wanted to show him what a proper daddy I could be for reasons I would not discuss with myself, we’d need more than a couple of outfits. Jakob might comment if Rory was short on little items if they were in regular contact. We’d need to head back to the kink store and pick up some additional supplies.

The need to keep Rory close and continue with this scheme made no sense. And I refused to examine why I was going to do it, anyway. If I were rational, I would suggest Jakob be told Rory couldn’t help after all, and let Reed do the dirty work. I wasn’t being rational, though, and I didn’t want the easy out. The memories of Rory snuggled into my lap the other night did something to me, and I wasn’t quite ready to give up yet. Eventually, we'd part ways, but not today.

“Here’s the thing, Baby Bunny. If we are going to keep this up, then we'll need more supplies. Are you up for more shopping?”

Chapter 12

Rory

The previous week had been a whirlwind in all the best ways. When I met Gabriel at The Diner, I didn’t understand the rabbit hole I’d stumbled down. Now it’s New Year’s Day, and I was in the heated passenger seat of a luxury SUV on my way to Mercer City for another round of shopping. How had this become my life? If it was a dream, please let me stay asleep.

Daddy,ack, Gabriel, asked for my bank information last week to do the wire transfer, and that gave me a little peace of mind. I’d asked him to wait until after the party to handle it. He kinda rolled his eyes at me but agreed anyway. Hopefully, thecontractor will get to my house and see what can be done. I don’t know how far the money will go, but it’s more than I could reach on my own.

I tried to be subtle and watch him drive, but he caught my sidelong gaze and gave me a quick grin before he turned back to watch the road. So much for being subtle, but it was difficult to be upset at being caught when he reached over and entwined our fingers. His thumb caressed the side of my hand, and his touch sent goosebumps across my body. We weren’t legitimately dating and I felt more comfortable with Da-Gabr-, oh screw it, Daddy, than I had with any guy before.

“Where are we going?”

“We have two stops to make.” A shit-eating grin plastered across his face. “I think you’ll like them.”

“Do you want to tell me?”

“No, thank you,”

We ended up at the same upscale shopping center as the kink store. Daddy came around to get me out of the car and took my hand, like he did before, when we walked down the pedestrian path. The twinkly lights and decorated fir trees were as pretty as ever.

We’d walked a few blocks down the pedestrian zone when Daddy stopped in front of an imposing two-story building that, like the kink store, looked a little old-fashioned with its archedbay windows and red brick facade. When I moved closer, I saw they’d set up the display windows as a ski town. One side housed the miniature town with shops and shoppers holding tiny packages. Instead of people, mice in winter sweaters with crocheted scarves and mittens meandered around. The mice looked individually crafted from felted wool, complete with pink noses and slim whiskers. The other window mice skied and snowboarded down an Alpine mountain.

PDA wasn’t usually my thing, but I wouldn’t give up holding my Daddy’s hand for anything. I could feel his body heat next to me and the strength of his grip. I felt safe and secure, like a baby swaddled in a minky blanket. My only responsibility was to let Daddy handle all the adulting. I could simply exist, and it felt so damn good. My fingers tightened, and Daddy glanced down.

“Bunny, you good?” He looked concerned, but I gave him my brightest smile.

“Yeah, I’m excited to see the inside.” My excitement was making me twitchy and I couldn’t control bouncing on the balls of my feet.

“I can’t keep a boy from his toys. Let’s go!” Daddy pushed one of the heavy wooden doors and ushered me inside in front of him.

This place was breathtaking. There were more toys than I’d ever seen in one spot. It reminded me of movie shots of FAO Schwartz. “Daddy, where should we go first?” Maybe I shouldn’t call him that in public, but his smile told me he didn’t mind at all. There wasn’t anyone close enough to overhear, anyway.

“Let’s start in one corner and work our way around, okay?” We didn’t stay too long in the infant section. I don’t think my little was small enough to need bottles or rattles. They had some soft stuffies, but they felt too small for me, and the blocks there wouldn’t be great for building.

“Daddy! Look at these!” I’d found some plastic brick blocks for building larger structures. There was a play area, so I grabbed a few and started putting them together. Late afternoon on a quasi-holiday meant the store wasn’t busy, which also meant plenty of room for me to create a masterpiece. I grabbed a frame, added some wheels, and made a truck. Daddy helped me build a tower with an opening underneath to let my truck pass through. It was an architectural masterpiece.

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