Page 21 of Bash

I grabbed the bottle of juice from the fridge and tucked Allyson in before walking around and climbing in beside her. She lifted her head and I slid my arm under it, supporting her. The position had become very familiar over the last few days. Holding the adult bottle with my free hand, I brought it to her mouth. She opened and sucked sweetly.

She made a soft hum in her chest as she traced my tattoos with her fingers. After a few minutes she wrapped her hands around my arm and pulled it down to rest on her belly. I rubbed her tummy in lazy circles, listening as her sucking noises became slower and softer until eventually they stopped all together. Removing the bottle, I grabbed her purple pacifier from the nightstand and slipped it into her mouth. I laid there for a long while just watching her sleep and reflecting on how thankful I was for the changes that had happened in my life recently.

***

Allyson

“Where are we going, Daddy?” I asked for the second time. Maybe if I kept asking, he’d give in.

“It’s still a secret, Allybaby.”

Sighing, I sat back in the seat and crossed my arms. “This is not my favorite game.” Daddy had told me that morning the Daddies had a big surprise for us.

“I know, Daddy’s so mean, huh?”

“Yas-huh. The meanest.”

He laughed and reached over to take my hand. “I promise it will be worth it.”

Frowning, I reached forward and turned the air in the truck on higher. Daddy’s hand was hot, he must be burning up. I stayed cold and I knew he tried to keep me warm, but that was ridiculous. He was gonna heat to death.

“Are you warm, baby?”

“No, but you are. Your skin is so hot!”

“No? I’m actually feeling a bit cold,” he said, his forehead drawing up in concentration.

“Do you think you’re sick?” I reached over and felt his head. “You’re very warm.”

“I’m a Daddy and Daddies don’t get sick,” he argued.

I sighed. “I’m gettingsickof hearing you talk about how you don’t get sick.”

“You must have on your very sassy pants today,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

Silly Daddy, he’d dressed me. I didn’t even have on pants. Instead I wore a pretty pink floral dress and the cutest pair of jelly shoes. They were pink with glitter sparkles. I’d vowed to never take them off as soon as Daddy showed them to me.

“Let’s go over some rules for today’s surprise, okay, Allybaby?”

“Yas,Sir.”

“I love your sweet manners, but how about yes,Daddy?”

She grinned, wide and proud and I knew exactly how she felt. I had that same smile whenever I got to call her mine.

“When we get to the surprise, there are going to be lots of people there, so I want you to stay close to Daddy or with one of your uncles or Auntie Kay, okay?”

“Yas, Daddy.”

“Good girl, if you need to go potty or need a juice break, tell Daddy, understand? I won’t be upset or feel inconvenienced at all.”

“Yas, Daddy.” Gratitude filled my heart for him and his patience for me.

“Thank you, baby.”

When we turned into the parking lot for the park, I squealed. There were balloons and food trucks and even a band!

Daddy chuckled. He parked his big truck, hopped out, and walked around to open my door. I knew better than to take off my seatbelt so I waited patiently for him to unbuckle me. He turned me toward him in the seat, but blocked me from getting out of the truck.

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