Page 8 of Leland

She pushed back her chair and opened her arms to me. Unsure of what she wanted, I hesitated.

“Give me a hug, you stubborn little cuss.”

She smelled like lilies. That was the first thing I noticed when I stepped into her arms. The second was how good it felt to be hugged. Rubbing my back, she rocked us back and forth. “Honey, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed you that hard.”

What she had been pushing me about was silly in comparison to our fight. Daddies Ink was holding a raffle and she wanted me to give a free session for the event. I didn’t feel that a free session with me would bring in the type of money we were trying to raise. Not wishing to admit that to her, I’d told her I didn’t want to. She pushed, I pushed, and then I’d lost my temper. Digging my nails into my palm, I tried to ignore my racing thoughts. I wasn’t used to being hugged unless it was by one of the Little girls and I hated the emotions clogging my throat.

Swallowing, I said, “I’m sorry I threw a cup at you. I-I...” I wanted to say ‘I love you’, but fear stopped the words from coming. “I really like working with you.”

“I really like working with you too,” she said as she gave me a final squeeze. “Even if I want to spank your ass.”

Heat rushed to my face before I even registered the chuckle that came from Leland.

It wasn’t a secret Kay was a Mommy Domme and honestly, she probably really did want to spank me.

“I love you too much to let you keep hurting this way, Little girl.”

A lot of people care about you, silly girl.

Leland’s words played back inside my head. Was he right? Did people care about me?

“I’m not a Little,” I argued instead.

She threw her head back and laughed. Her long blue hair shimmered in the light as she laughed.

“Youarea Little and you arethe most stubbornLittle I’ve ever met.”

I rolled my eyes as anger built low in my belly. Grinding my teeth together, I worked to keep myself in check. Why couldn’t they understand why I could never be a Little?

“Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt,” Leland said as he placed his large hands on my shoulders and led me from her office.

“I’m proud of you for apologizing.”

His praise made my tummy flip and once again, I bit my cheek in irritation. How fucking pathetic could I get?

“Thank you,” I said, trying to be kind. It wasn’t his fault I was grouchy.

“Have you already broken down your station?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, you’re good to go for the day. I’ll call you later tonight to check in, and I’ll see you Sunday, okay?”

“Oh, you don’t have to check in. I’m fine. We didn’t even do a scene or anything.”

He smiled gently at me and those damn elephants ran through my belly again. “We didn’t do a scene, but we talked about some hard things and then you apologized to Kay, which was another hard thing. You may be feeling fine now, but the scary feelings may come later.”

“Oh,” I answered lamely. I was so stupid. Why hadn’t I thought of that?

After grabbing my coat from the hook in the break room and helping me into it, he walked me through the shop. My face burnt in shame as I walked past all my coworkers and the clients who had seen me pitch a fit.

A firm, solid hand on my back helped me to relax just a tiny bit. “Everyone makes mistakes, sugar.”

He walked me out the front doors and over to my bike. My bike was the one thing in my life that always brought a smile to my face. I had purchased it on my own with my first realpaycheck. It was an ocean blue with white pedals and white tires. My favorite part was the white wicker basket on the front.

After pulling my helmet from the basket and securing it on my head, I climbed on.

“Be careful riding home, okay? Make sure you look both ways every time.”

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