Page 18 of A Little Cinny Latte

“What are we doing here?” I ask as we pull up to Dark Satin a few days later.

When Daddy told me to pack my favorite little clothes and Eefoowie in my bag, I knew I would get to play today, but I didn’t think we’d be going to the club. Honestly, I didn’t even know the club was open this early.

“I have a surprise for you,” John says as he parks. He gets out of the driver’s side and jogs around to open my door. He reaches in and unbuckles my seatbelt.

Such a Daddy.I love it.

I smile as I get out of the car. I stand on my tippy toes and place a sweet kiss on the corner of Daddy’s lips.

John leads me to a side door, rather than the main entrance, and I cock a curious eyebrow at him. “What are you up to?”

He grins. “You’ll see, sweetheart.”

John keeps his hand pressed to the small of my back as he guides me through the back halls of Dark Satin. When we take the wrought-iron staircase, I immediately know we are headed to the playroom.

But what I don’t expect is the sight that greets me as soon as he opens the door. The whole playroom is decorated with twinkling Christmas lights. Initially, I thought the room decorations were unchanged from a month ago, but upon further observation, I discovered that the Christmas decor had doubled, or perhaps even tripled.

It’s not just the lights; garland and ornaments are everywhere. The room is filled with wrapped gifts in each corner, and there’s a large tree lit up in the center. I spot the same stockings hanging on the far wall—only, wait, no. Theyaren’tthe same stockings. These are filled with not just stuffies but all kinds of things. And this time, each stocking is labeled.

I read each of the names out loud, starting from left to right. “Riley, Ash, Wylan, Jules, Rowan, Noah.” I spin around to face my Daddy. “What’s going on—”

My words falter when I see all my friends and their Daddies standing with John.

“Surprise!” They all cheer together. “Merry Christmas!”

I giggle, rushing over to my friends. Seeing all of them here and in their outfits, ready to play, has me bouncing with excitement. I’m already starting to feel little, and I know that it’s okay. Each of my friends feeds off my enthusiasm, and soon enough, we’re all bouncing in place and giggling.

“You have the best Daddy ever!” Wylan cheers. “Did you know he set this all up?”

Ash nods. “Daddy John said he’s going to spoil you today. He said today we get to celebrate Christmas again. We have the whole day planned. We get to decorate cookies, color, and make ornaments out of pinecones and glitter!”

“He even found us some Christmas movies for us to watch together after lunch,” Wylan says. “And before we leave tonight, we get to open presents! It’s like it really is Christmas all over again!”

Grinning, I spin around, feeling happy and slightly overwhelmed. I nuzzle against Daddy’s chest, wanting to cuddle against his warmth. He gave me what I always wanted.Christmas with my Daddy. I didn’t even have to wait a whole year.

A few tears slip down my cheeks as I look around at all the pretty lights and take in all my smiling friends. Suddenly, I’m thinking about Mom, and how much she would have loved this. She always thought Christmas was one of the most romantic times of the year.

I couldn’t agree more.

“Thank you, Daddy,” I whisper against his sweater.

“You’re welcome.”

What I really want to say is ‘I love you, Daddy,’ but it’s too soon. Instead, I nuzzle back against him.

As if understanding my thoughts, John squeezes me tight, hugging me the way I crave. “I know, baby boy. Me too.”

Epilogue: John

Valentine’s Day

Twinkling pink lights illuminate our tree, and I toss the last of the pink tinsel onto the branches for the finishing touch. My sweet boy has had a stressful, busy month. With everyone and their mamas ordering baked goods, poor Riley has been overworking himself.

I always knew he was a hard worker, but seeing him get up at three in the morning every day and working late into the nighthad my Daddy instincts on overdrive. I knew I couldn’t tell him not to work, but I made notes of ways he could cut time next holiday. Till then, I was doing extra Daddy overtime, and I loved it.

Every day, I made sure my boy had healthy meals already prepared and ready to go. When he got home, I helped him into the bath, making sure to stock up on the fun-colored bubbles that always make him giggle.

I didn’t care whether we went to his place or mine since they were only five minutes away from each other. What I did care about was making sure my boy was as well rested as possible, and that he knew he could be little anytime he needed to be.

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