"No, I'm good. Thank you." He gives me a smile as he loads the bowl and fork into the dishwasher. "Daddy." I add it as an afterthought. I'm not sure how often I should be referring to him as Daddy when we're together. Does he like it all the time or just when I'm in that Little space?
"What are you thinking about, baby?"
Now I'm thinking how I need to stop wearing my thoughts in my expression. Instead of saying that, I shrug. "Just thinking about you. Us."
"Care to elaborate?" He's done putting the dishes in and closes the door. A couple of buttons make that softdingnoise to say it's started the cycle.
"How often do you want me to call you Daddy?" I'm trying my best to not be embarrassed. After the times we've hung out this weekend already, there's no reason I should be feeling anything but calm and maybe curious.
"As much as you want," he says. He rinses off his hands once more and then walks around to wrap his arms around me. I smile into his chest, taking a deep breath of his smell. He's still in his shorts and shirt, while I'm in my underwear, the hoodie large enough to cover my upper thighs. "I know we're jumping into this and I love what we've done so far, but whatever makes you comfortable is okay with me."
I tilt my head back and look up at him. He's standing and I'm sitting on the stool, which gives him the height advantage by at least a foot. "I want you to be comfy too, Daddy. What do you like to do?"
"If my answer is you, does that count?"
I laugh and bury my face against his chest once more, squeezing him tighter in my arms. I can feel myself letting the rest of my worries go as the seconds pass. My belly is full, I'm relaxed, I don't have to think about how I'm going to get to work tomorrow or if I'll wake up cold. I know that I'll be going to sleep next to my Daddy tonight.
"It's still early." Daddy pulls away from my hug, but doesn't move far away. "Do you want to play a bit and then take a shower before bed?"
"Yes, please." The thought of a shower with Daddy is an incentive to make me do anything. Almost anything. I'm sure there's something I wouldn't do… Maybe.
"I don't have any toys here yet," he says. He takes my hand and pulls me down the hallway and into the office room. "But I do have some watercolor paints and paper, if you'd like to do that."
"Oh, yes, please." I'm excited for this. I love painting of any kind. I haven't done it in years, but I still have a few of my old projects from my younger school years. My parents would have thrown them away years ago, but they make me happy.
"How about you go use the bathroom first and I'll get everything ready?" I nod and do as he asks. When I come out two minutes later, he's holding paper, a paintbrush, and one of those strips of small, watercolor paints. The one that is a thin strip of plastic with the oval shapes and has the primary colors. "Where would you like to set up?"
"Umm." We're right at the foyer, we could go either way. I look up at the upper level and then down the hallway, unsure of what would be best. Daddy uses his free hand to hook over my shoulder and pulls me toward the living room.
"I'll make the decision," he says confidently. "Plus, I think we might have to do this at the table or Riley will try to help. With his tongue or feet."
That makes me giddy and I follow Daddy's directions to sit at the table while he gets a cup of water for the paints. I don't know what I want to paint. Maybe a rainbow, or turtle, or… I don't know. I look up and watch Daddy's every move as he sets the cup down and then sits beside me. He has his tablet again.
Riley is curled up on the floor under the table and I slide my bare toes under his back. They're immediately warm. I wait until Daddy gets everything set up just right before I reach for the paint brush. It's a tiny plastic one, probably came with the paint set, but it'll work all the same.
"Do you want any other toys to keep here?" Daddy asks as I swirl the brush into the blue color. "I'm going to order a few things now."
I shrug. I don't know what I want. I liked the things that Austin picked out, but some of them I don't know if they would be fun to play with on my own.
"Honey." Daddy's voice is stern with just that one word and I pause mid-stroke to look at him. His expression is calm. "If you're going to make it a habit of not talking, that's fine. But Daddy needs to know ahead of time, okay?"
I swallow and nod. "Okay. Sorry. I like the stuffies. And I liked the bottle yesterday, too."
"Do you want to pick some out? Then you can go back to painting." I nod and Daddy scoots his chair closer so I can see the screen. He pulls up a website that was already saved and starts scrolling through it. There is so much to look at and the paints are forgotten about. It's more than just toys. There are clothes and blankets, bottles, sippy cups, more toys, and…
"That." I point to what looks like a necklace at first. It's a thick, black band, about the width of a belt, it buckles together and there's a pacifier set in the middle. I don't know why, but the second I see it, I know I need it.
"Are you sure?" Daddy looks at me and then to the screen again. I barely register his eyes on me, because I don't want to take them away from the item. It's beautiful and I can feel all parts of me getting excited for it. "Do you know what that is?"
"Yes, Daddy." It's a gag, but with a pacifier instead of a ball or anything else. "I love it."
"Consider it bought, then." He adds it to the cart. "Anything else?"
"Blanket?" I love the one he has downstairs and I think about the Ninja Turtle sheet I have at my apartment.
"What color would you like?" Daddy asks. He tilts the screen to me again and I look through so many options before settling on a pale green with white polka dots that looks so, so soft. It has rounded corners and edges that are extra thick. "Done. Now, will you paint me a picture I can put in my office?"
"Yes, Daddy." I smile and he leans over and gives me a kiss before I go back to the paper before me.
