Page 52 of Just A Little Magic

He quickly undid them and pushed my shirt off my shoulders to toss in the hamper in the corner. Hismovements were quick and efficient, and because of that, I felt less vulnerable. This wasn’t about sex. This was about taking a bath and getting clean. He kneeled on the floor and handled my shoes and socks before rising to his feet again. Next, his fingers deftly released the clasp of my slacks.

Before moving on, he glanced up at me. “Pants only? Everything?”

“Silly, Da.”

“You’re right, baby, that was a silly question. You can’t take a bath with clothes on. What was Da thinking? Good thing my sweet baby knows what to do.” With that, he pulled down my pants and underwear and helped me step out of them. “Baby, step over here and go to the bathroom before you get in the tub.”

Maybe I should have been embarrassed to be in this position, but it felt nothing close to it. Da helped me and nothing more. There was no pressure. No insinuation I should do more. Da would protect little me, and that was all that mattered. Nice was too mild of a word, but I couldn’t think of a bigger one. So I stopped trying and let myself enjoy the moment we were in.

“Baby, let’s get you in the water before it’s not one step below boiling and you complain about the super-hot water being too cold.”

His teasing tone made me smile and giggle. With his help, I stepped into the steaming, thrashing water. He handed me the sieve and plastic animals I kept stashed away in the bathroom cabinet. “Play with your farm animals for a little bit, okay? I forgot to grab your clothes.”

With that, I dumped the animals in the sieve and had them bring the rain over and over again.

When Da returned, he sat on the closed toilet seat and watched me play. I snuck glances at him and his half-smilehadn’t faded yet. I continued to play in the tub until the water began to cool off.

Da continued to check the water every once in a while, and after the third or fourth dunk of his fingers, he said, “Hey, baby, it’s time to get clean, okay?”

I nodded my head. By now, the bubbles had popped away, but the jets kept my bottom a little covered. It didn’t really matter because he’d seen everything before anyway.

“Do you want to wash yourself or hop into the shower?”

“No.”

“No? No to which one, baby?”

“No out.”

“Oh, you want to stay in the tub. Do you want to wash yourself or should I do it?”

“You, Da.”

Without saying anything else, Da grabbed the loofah from the shower faucet, my regular shampoo, and the citrus-smelling bath soap. He dropped to his knees next to the tub. He used the sieve to wash my hair but carefully kept the soap out of my eyes.

“Thank you for sitting so nicely, baby. I’m almost done,” Da said as he did a final rinse of my hair. “Just a little bit more, and I’ll get the rest of you.”

He double-checked for residue and called it good. After he set aside the shampoo, he put my citrus bath gel on the loofah. “You want to do this part or okay with me?”

“You.” Da quirked his eyebrow but didn’t make a move to touch me. “Peas.”

“Sure thing, baby. Let’s get you clean so we can get you to bed. It’s been a long day, hasn’t it?”

Da started at my neck and worked his way down. His touch wasn’t sexual, but it soothed and relaxed me. He cleaned everypart of me, and even though I was naked, I didn’t feel vulnerable. With his efficiency, it didn’t take long to get it done.

“All done. Let’s get you out and in your jammies.”

Da held my hand when I stepped out of the bathtub. He wrapped one towel around my waist, and he used the other to rub the water out of my hair. When he was finished, he dropped it on the hook and turned back to me.

“Baby, you okay if I dry the rest of you?”

I nodded, and he reached for the towel around my waist. Just like with the cleaning, he worked quickly and efficiently. I was in a big head space but only just barely. The thread that kept me there was fraying fast.

When he was done, he tossed the towel on the same hook as the first. Da pumped some lotion into his hand and then retraced the towel path. If I were asked to name a time I’d ever been more relaxed, there was no way I could have offered one up. His hands on my skin made me want to melt from the inside out. My bones felt squishy, and my heart rate was a slow thrum.

When he finished, he kneeled so I could step into my pull-up first and then the pajamas. I needed help keeping the footed part straightened out, but Da did all that. When he zipped me up, he also dropped a quick kiss on my nose and made me giggle.

“All right, wiggle worm. We’re almost done.”

---