Page 10 of Milo
“Good morning, Rory.” My voice is rough from sleep.
“Gah! Ineedthe tea!”
My brother laughs in the background, and Rory turns his head to talk to him. “Don’t be a spoilsport. My Myneedsa Daddy and flower Daddy might be the one.”
I snort. “I have no idea if he’s the one, but we had a lovely evening.”
“Come on, more, please!”
I snuggle back into my blankets. “Really, it was…”
“Yes?”
“Like a date. We ate his leftover pizza together and talked. Then we went to his place, and we were going to put up all theprints Izzy bought for him, but by then it was so late we couldn’t bang on the walls.”
Rory snickers. “Bang on the walls.”
“We’re going on a date tomorrow after I get off.” I squeeze my stuffed dragon.
Rory squeals in my ear, and I know he’s bouncing. That’s what he does when he’s so excited. His other bestie, Rowan, named him Rory Rabbit because of it and the name is fitting. “AHHHHHHHH! I’m so excited!”
Jacob laughs again. “Probably not as excited as Milo is.”
“No no. Of course not. And besides, I already have my perfect Daddy.” The sound of their kiss comes through the line. “I’m just so excited that Milo is inching closer, you know?”
I shake my head even though they can’t see me. “We don’t know that. But I know he’s attracted to me and we’re going on a date.” I nod sharply, as if to make it real. Clay is attracted tome. It still makes my head spin.
“My My My My My My,” Rory singsongs the nickname he gave me. “What are your plans today?”
I yawn and check the time. “It’s eight. I’m going back to bed for a few hours.”
“Fair point. I wanted to catch you before I went to the shop.”
“You can just roll out of bed and go downstairs.”
“Yeah, but if I stay in bed until the last minute, then I miss seeing Jacob before he goes to work.” His voice is all pouty and I just know his bottom lip is pushed out and he’s making some kind of eyes at my brother. They’re perfect for each other and I love Rory and his family so much.
“Anyway, to answer the question, I have a commission I’m going to work on for a little bit. The publishing company gave me a generous deadline. Then who knows?” I could surprise Clay with coffee or something in a few hours.
“Oh! Is this the fantasy cover?”
“Yeah, I’m really loving how it’s turning out.”
“Can’t wait to see it! Okay, I’ll let you go. You’ve satisfied my curiosityfor now. Kisses!”
“Talk to ya later, Rory.”
He hangs up and I check my alarms to make sure they’re all set, then cuddle my dragon closer and pass out again.
Or at least try to.
My mind keeps replaying last night. Meeting Clay. He’s attracted to me. No one has ever said that to me in my life. I’ve had people say I was cute, but never that they were interested. Maybe he just wants to be a nice neighbor. I’m sure I have lonely written across my forehead.
I fist my hands. “You’re better than this, Milo. You don’t need to get all sad after an amazing evening. We have a date for crying out loud!” I look to my stuffie who has no words of wisdom for me other than one. “Shit. I need to be Little. Rory really was right yesterday.” I sigh into my stuffie.
Everything’s better when I’m Little. When I just let all my adult cares fall away and there’s only what’s in front of me. But when I’m by myself, it takes more effort. That’s why I liked the club back in Louisville. I could go to the nursery and let a temporary Daddy take care of me. Or play with my Little friends. Without a Daddy I have to set things up and still take care of myself.
Tears well in my eyes, and I wipe them away. “Everything is okay. Everything is okay.Everything is okay.” Some days I really need to fake it until I make it. I squeeze my stuffie then throw the covers back and gasp at the shock of chilly air after being cozy under my blankets for so long. I run on my tiptoes to the bathroom to do my morning business.
