Page 18 of Daddy Bear Picnic

“I made extra, and one specifically extra for you,” he said as I pulled away to look at it. “The rest are going to thecommunity center in the morning. You want to deliver them with me? Did you meet Leo yet?”

“Briefly.” We’d barely said a word to each other, but that was on me. Knowing he was a little like me had my guard up. I didn’t want to make the same mistakes I did with other groups of littles whose only goal was to find a Daddy and less about the play lifestyle.

“Well, you can come with me tomorrow then,” he said. “Only if you want though.”

“Of course, it means getting to spend more time with you,” I said, dipping my nose into the flowers. “What type are they?”

He shrugged. “Picked them from the garden. Don’t tell Ezekiel, I don’t know what he’ll do if he find out I’ve been picking at his babies.”

I took the flowers and placed them inside one of the glass vases that had been left before. It had been recently cleaned, as had all the leftover cutlery and plates. Everything was thankfully in a useable state.

“So, what do you think about the bird house?” he asked. “I left it for you to paint, and the stand can come away if you want to hang it from something.”

“You think of everything.”

“As a good Daddy should,” he said, and I could’ve swore his pecs popped against the shirt. “I told my brother I wasn’t going to be back tonight, so he shouldn’t call or text.”

I gnawed my top teeth into my lip. “I have you all night then?”

“As long as you know what to do with me all night.”

“I’ve got a couple ideas.” I giggled. “Firstly, dinner? I made spaghetti O’s with hot dogs and the garlic bread. They’re my favorites. I even made art about them once before.”

“You did?”

“Yuh. It’s a lot of circles in fun colors.” A big smile recalling the art tingled on my face. “You actually make me feel inspired.”

“Then let me keep inspiring you, baby.”

I knew he was going to. He sweated inspiration and left it wherever he went, and I was destined to follow it around, adoring him, and in return, he created a safe little space for me to play in.

8. ELIJAH

Malcolm wasn’t a bad chef all things considered. He’d prepared quite the meal for us, all the way down to the dessert, which seemed to be his priority, and I didn’t mind that at all. I preferred desserts, you didn’t get to gain as much weight to turn into muscle as I did without first chowing down on some of the most decadent desserts.

We ate in the living on the floor with the food on the coffee table that had been here probably since before even I was alive. It had a certain look to it that screamed it was old and had been painted over time and time again.

“I’m gonna get sofas,” he said, side-eyeing the old one still in the living room. “Those things are not fit for sitting.”

Dessert was melted chocolate and a small carton of pineberries. We took it in turn to feed each other the fruits dipped into the chocolate and making a small mess in the process, which he neither of us seemed to mind.

“We’ll have to get you all cleaned up,” I told him.

“I’ll have to turn the water heater on,” he said. “At least until we get a boiler in that will have instant hot water.” He chewed his lip a little. “If you want to take a bath with me.”

I nodded. “You think you’re ready for all of this?”

He nodded as I aimed to put a very warm chocolate drippy pineberry in his mouth. “I’m ready,” he said with his mouth partially full. “But maybe we can—”

I ran my finger across his chin, taking the chocolate residue and licking it clean. “We can get a little more dirty if you like first.”

He swallowed with a hard gulp. “Yes, Daddy.”

“Good boy. Now, let’s finish up the fruit. It’s important for the diet.”

Malcolm washed the food down with one squeezing pulse of his hand around the carton of apple juice. He sighed and showed me his mouth as if he was on trial for not eating the fruit. That would never be the case. He was obedient without fault.

There was something so absolutely precious to his every action. It felt like I’d been staying around town for this long just for the chance to meet him. And of course, my natural pull to this house had all been for the moment we met. Who knows, if Gladys had been here first, I wonder if they could’ve had some type of fling. The thought brought a smirk to the corners of my mouth.

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