Page 44 of Saving Little Jenna
Everyone raised their hands, but Michael was the most excited since he raised both his hands.
Chapter 14: Jenna
Despite all the hugs and smiles going around the room, only time would tell if Kristen could really change. As Michael and I built a tower block, I was looking forward to the sleepover just to see Kristen's true intentions. She could reveal her true colors once again when the Daddies weren't around. If she did, it would be the end of her drama. I was determined to tell the truth to Daddy if she was mean again, even if it meant we'd never see her again.
When it was time for a nighttime bath, Kristen received a call about a family emergency. Marcus, Kristen's Daddy, soon arrived to pick her up. Just like that, the threat had neutralized itself at least for now and we could relax.
"Thank God I won't have to sleep with an eye open tonight," Michael whispered from the corner of his mouth. "Trust takes time to build and she'll have to earn it."
In the bathroom, our Daddies undressed us until we were in our underwear. Surprisingly, I wasn't shy about being naked before Michael. It had nothing to do with him being gay or a boy. Instead, we had grown so close as friends over the past few weeks that I could be stark naked and still not be shy. Society had sexualized nudity but there were times when it wasn't. Sometimes it was just liberating.
"Michael, this place better not be a wet mess when we return," uncle John said as we lay in the bubbly bathtub.
"Okay," Michael said, dragging out the word and then giggling.
"You say that every time, but this time you better mean it. Jenna, you're a good influence on him. Help him be a good boy, will you? We'll be right outside, so just give us a holler if you need anything."
The moment our Daddies left Michael splashed water at me and giggled.
I resisted the urge to splash back at him. "Nope, I'm gonna be good for my uncle. This place will be spotless when they return."
"Boo!" Michael said. "You're such a spoilsport."
I grabbed onto the floating alligator toy and squeaked it. It quacked, causing me to giggle.
"Alligators don't quack," I said, squeaking the other ones too. "Hey, thanks for taking all the blame yesterday, but you didn't have to do that. I'm sorry for getting you in so much trouble. It was me who suggested revenge in the first place. I was so surprised when you took all the blame. No one has sacrificed themselves for me before."
"No worries, silly," he said as if it was no big deal. "That's what friends do for each other. When you make a friend, you're with them through thick and thin. Not just the happy moments, but also the difficult ones. Besides, there was no point in getting both our bottoms busted."
It was my first experience of having a friend and he had set the bar so high.
When I smiled at him and put my head on his shoulder, he continued. "So, you're in love with your Daddy too, huh? I noticed how you mentioned our Daddies loved us to death. Your Daddy and you finally confessed your love for each other I suppose?"
"Yup," I said. "But now that it's out of the way, the only thing that now remains is me trusting him with my past. It isn't that I don't trust him, but there's this fear of being judged and looked at differently. I need to tell someone to get this off my chest. I've been carrying it around all my life and it refuses to stop haunting me."
"I know what you could do." He wiggled his shoulder and I took my head off it. "Maybe you just need to practice saying it out loud. Once you see that a friend doesn't judge you, it'll be much easier to tell your Daddy."
I shrugged. "I already know you won't judge me, probably because you're a Little and I consider you a good friend. But sure, it might be good to finally let it all out in the open instead of letting it consume me from the inside. Well, here goes nothing."
I started right at the beginning when I was born into a strange world but it seemed normal since it was the only world I knew of. Then I went ahead with all the terrible child neglect I went through, also assuming it was how all parents treated their children. I was deliberately as brief as possible with the details since I didn't want to traumatize him, nor did I want to relive the memories vividly and burst into tears. But still, his eyes kept widening and he gaped at me in horror as I went through the years. By the time I was done, his mouth was wide open and he hadn't blinked in a few minutes.
Shaking his head, he brought himself back to the present. "Wow, that turned dark real fast. I'm traumatized just hearing it, but don't you worry. I'm a big boy and I can handle it. It's strange that you accepted physical abuse as a part of normal life, but it wasn't your fault. You didn't know the outside world was different. Oh, Jenna. I wish we all could've saved you from all those horrors back then. What we can and will do however is save you in the present. My friend, Elijah, went through a portion of what you had to go through. I'll tell you what his Daddies told him. You can't change your past, but you can't let it destroy your future either. I'm glad you escaped. You're here now and we won't let anyone hurt you anymore."
Throwing his arms around me, he gave me a hug. "If you're meant to be with your daddy, he'll love you unconditionally and just the same after you tell him about your past. And knowing uncle Clark, that's a given. You know, I've been hiding something big from my Daddy too. I do that sometimes when a worry is too big."
"No way!" I gasped. "But you've been together for years. Daddy always says you two are so close that you've become one person."
He nodded and let out a sigh. "True as that may be, Littles will be Littles. Learning to trust your Daddy with your worries is a lifelong process. The big ones are so big I end up overthinking instead of going to Daddy with them. So Daddy proposed to me a year ago but I haven't heard a peep about it ever since. Neither of us brings it up, but he's supposed to fix the date. You know how we Littles are. We always dream about getting married to our Daddies. I haven't told my worry to anyone, but frankly, the longer I stay engaged, the more I worry that he's changed his mind. Maybe he regrets proposing and wants to call off the wedding."
I chuckled and booped his nose. "It's the farthest from the truth and even you know it. Everyone knows you and your Daddy love each other to death. I knew it when I first met you and saw how uncle John looked at you with love while you were playing with your toys. I hope my Daddy looks at me like that after so many years together. Everyone wishes they had a love like yours, Michael. Daddies are good at taking a hint, so imply that you want him to fix the date. It doesn't matter how far away the date is. It's only to calm your worries."
He nodded with a bright smile. "I'll give it a try. It sure feels great to talk about your worries instead of ruminating."
That made two of us. The secret of my dark past was now out in the world and there was no stopping. When the time came to talk about it with Daddy, it was only going to be easier.
We chatted until our Daddies came back in to towel dry us and then it was off to bed. We were carried to Michael's nursery where we were dressed. He always slept with his Daddy and only used the bed in the nursery when he had guests over like now. It was big enough for two and soon we lay in it together.
"You'll come pick me up in the morning?" I asked and Daddy nodded, giving me a quick peck on the lips. "Goodnight, Daddy. Love you."
