Page 70 of Icebreaker
Or at least until the end of summer.
“’Tank you, Daddy.”
When he ruffled my hair, I got the swoops in my tummy. When he pushed my pacifier between my lips, I wanted to melt into a puddle on the floor and stare at him forever. How that would work as a puddle didn’t make sense, but I wasn’t a science major, so it didn’t matter. Cartoon science didn’t have to make sense.
“You’re welcome, kiddo. Let’s get you set up in the living room andmaaaaaybethere’s some stuff in the closet you’ll like.”
“Hurry up, Daddy B!” I bounced on the edge of the bed and shouted, “Hurry up. I wanna see.”
“Patience is a virtue,” Daddy B said sternly, but I knew he was kidding.
I looked him straight in the face and said, “Hurry up, peas.”
Daddy B laughed and pulled his clothes on. I thought I had the handsomest Daddy in the world. His shoulders were at least a mile wide, his chest was solid muscle, and his tummy was flat, except for where I could run my hands down on the sides—that part was bumpy. He had these really cool cuts on his hips that I liked to lick. His dick was the prettiest though. It was long and thick, and when he got excited, it turned the prettiest, darkest pink. And then he made me feel all the good things.
But the very, very best part of my Daddy was how sweet he was with me. He never got impatient or yelled at me or acted like I was in his way. He remembered to message me when he went out of town for games, and he checked in with me during theday, and I liked it. When we went to practice, he always waited for me to finish my work, and then we went home together. He cooked me dinner and made sure I ate my snacks. He was the very bestest Daddy.
When he was dressed, I pulled Daddy into the living room for a movie marathon and whatever he had tucked away in the closet. He waved me to the faded denim-colored corduroy couch, and I sat politely because that’s what my Daddy asked me to do. I did such a good job that Daddy gave me a kiss and told me so. It was hard, but I managed to stay on the couch and not look in the closet myself because he walked soooooo slow. When he turned around, he had a basket full of toys in his arms—some of them wrapped, some of them not.
“What’s all that?” My legs took over and I bounced on the edge of my seat.
“Well, Mr. Impatient,” Daddy said as he dropped next to me, “these are toys I played with when I was a kid. Most of them belonged to my parents and then got handed down to me, but there are a few new ones just for you.” Daddy B propped the box up on his knees before he asked, “What do you want to look at first?”
“Your toys, peas,” I answered. I hearted new toys, but his toys? That would always be a big, gigantic, huge yes. Daddy nudged me with his shoulder until I looked at him, then he leaned over and kissed my temple. Warmth pooled in my tummy and spreaded throughout the rest of me.
If I could have his kisses forever, I’d be completely happy. But that was probably never going to happen. Still, I refused to think about it. Just because I loved him didn’t mean he loved me back, and that was okay. But if I thought about it too much, I’d get sad and ruin the moment. So I pushed those thoughts away and focused on the cardboard box Daddy B balanced on his knees, waiting for me to pull out something new.
“Oooh, what are these?’ I pulled out some soft-bodied buildings, sort of. It was a house made out of a log and a store made to look like a stump. Daddy B pulled out some woodchucks that looked like a family, and then some grandparent-looking ones too.
“I was obsessed with them when I was little.” Daddy B booped me on the nose with one that he plucked from my hand. “They’re theWoodseyfamily.”
“And I play with ’em?”
“Yep, kiddo, anytime you want.” I threw my arms around Daddy B’s neck and hugged him tight. They might be the cutest things I’d ever seen. “Before I lose you in them, let’s look at the rest.”
The remaining unwrapped toys were fun, but nothing compared to the chipmunk family. There were Matchbox cars, a set of large plastic blocks, and an Etch A Sketch that somehow Daddy still remembered how to do fancy designs on.
“Last, this one is new, but I thought we needed something to celebrate our vacation together.”
“Awww, ’tank you, Daddy. I loves it.”
“You haven’t opened it yet,” Daddy reminded me.
“I know, Daddy,” I said with a firm snap of my head.
“In that case, you’re welcome.” He carded his long fingers through my hair and pulled me in for a quick kiss before handing me the package wrapped in tissue. I was right. I did love them.
Inside were two tiny pocket stuffies. They were itty-bitty enough that no one in the world would know I had one hidden in my pocket. One was a fox and the other was a hedgehog. They must have had magnets because they were holding hands. They were perfect. And sweet.
“I thought maybe you’d like to be able to have a stuffie, or two, with you when you went out.”
“They’re us.”
“Yeah, I kinda thought so too.”
“I take one, you gonna take one, and then they gonna hold hands when they get home,” I announced. Daddy gave me an indulgent look but didn’t tell me no, so the answer must be yes.
“’Tank you, Daddy B. I gonna make you a prezzie too.”
