I hear laughter coming from upstairs and then Riley's bark. It sounds playful, but I can only imagine what they're doing up there. "I think I have to go. Orion's been way too quiet and now he's laughing."
"Have fun!" Rachel says, a tone of 'oh you shouldn't have left him alone' clear in her voice. "See you later, Garrett."
I hang up the phone and finish up the last dish. Orion's laughter is less, but I can still hear it drifting through the house. When I walk up the stairs, I'm greeted with Orion's big, brown eyes and cute smile. That smile is deceptive though, because there is paint smeared over his face and arms. I look down at Riley and drop my head into my hands. My dog now possesses two very brightly colored eyebrows. One is blue and the other red. Orion has blue, pink, red, and purple on his skin.
"I painted!" Orion says happily. I look back at him and try to turn my grimace into a smile. It's tough, but I manage.
"I see that." I step closer to him, looking over his shoulder at the desk. "Did you paint anything on the canvas?"
There is what I'm assuming is supposed to be a car of some sort. It's got a swirl of colors and I see the paint tray is all mixed together. The caps to the bottles are open too. I definitely should have been supervising for his first time using these paints. They’re much different from the cheap watercolors the last time.
"I think we've done enough painting." I move around Orion's chair and start collecting the bottles of paint. "We're going to make a new rule, okay? No paint unless Daddy or another Mommy or Daddy are with you, okay?"
"I sorry." His head is down and he's fumbling with his hands.
I stop what I'm doing and kneel down in front of him, my hands covering his. "Honey, look at me." I wait until he does, reminding myself that it's just paint and he didn't get it on the floor or anything. He is just having fun, much needed fun that he wasn't allowed to have growing up. "I'm not mad at you. Painting is a lot of fun, but we have to keep it not on our bodies, or the dog, right?"
"Yes, Daddy." His voice is still barely above a whisper. An idea pops into my head and I smile at Orion.
"Do you want to go to Austin's tonight for a playdate?" I see the way he shrinks in on himself, his shoulder barely rising in a shrug. "What if I could get someone there that could do face paint for all of you? Then you can get your whole face in whatever colors." I know the club hires out for events and I have the boutique's business card as well so I'll call and see what I can do.
"Really?" His eyes nearly pop out with excitement. I nod.
"Only if you're good and you help Daddy clean this up. I'm going to take Riley into the bathroom and clean him off and you clean this up." Orion nods. "Bring the paint tray into the bathroom when you're done and we'll get you in the bath to clean you off too."
"I not in trouble?"
I lean forward and kiss his lips. "No, baby. Not in trouble. We just can't make big messes like this inside, okay?"
I call for Riley to follow me into the bathroom. He's always loved water, so I don't have to fight him to walk into the shower of the guest bathroom. Before I clean him up, though, I pull out my phone and take a picture. This will definitely be going up somewhere. I also text Remington so he isn't blindsided for tonight.
Garrett
Hey, decided to stay for playdate after all. Do you mind if I bring a face painter for the boys? I'll explain when we get there.
Remington
Oh, Austin is going to go ballistic for that. As long as it's someone that's OK and aware of the situation, I'm good with it.
Chapter Seventeen
ThepartyatAustinand Remington's house isn't big, but it's full of people I don't know. Their house is nice too. I know this was Remington's place before Austin moved in only a few weeks ago, but it looks like they've lived together for years. There are pictures of the two of them together and some of friends and family. We're given a tour of the downstairs by Austin, but then he takes my hand and asks if I want to see upstairs. I look at my Daddy and he nods.
"Austin, be careful though, okay? Orion is still a bit shy."
"I will." I can see that Austin is kind of in his Little headspace. He's completely different from how I've seen him at work. There, he's the boss, making decisions and usually has a bit of an intense thinking expression. Now, he's smiling wide and there's something extra in the way he walks. I was going to chalk it up to just being happy, but then it clicks in my brain. I was walking like that this morning when I was wearing my training pants Daddy put on me. When we make it upstairs, the noise of the party dwindles until we're standing in front of a door. This house is kind of like my Daddy's, but they don't have the big window where my paint station is. Or the loft area where Daddy played pretend with me last night and this morning. After cleaning me up from all the paint. "Why are you giggling?"
I didn't realize I made any noise. I can feel my cheeks heat as Austin stares at me. I whisper my words in case anyone is around. I don't think there is anyone, but still. "My Daddy let me paint today and I got messy. I was just remembering it."
"Oh I love painting." Austin moves to one of the doors and twists the handle. "I like to color a lot too. This is my playroom."
I walk inside and take in everything. There are toys everywhere. They range from stuffies to castles and dragon figures. There are plastic dolls, princes and princesses, and superheroes lining two of the walls. An overflowing bookshelf sits next to a bed. It's just a single bed, maybe a full size. There's a large, fluffy chair that looks like it could fit three people in the other corner. I imagine that naps on that are amazing. The final thing is a smaller table with a stack of coloring books and a clear container of crayons.
"I like it," I say with a real smile. I turn around to look at Austin. He's still standing by the door, where I've walked to the middle of the room. "The chair looks comfy."
"That's my reading chair. Also the timeout chair sometimes." Austin looks sheepish when he says that. "You can use it later if you need. I heard Daddy Garrett has someone coming over to do face paint too."
"Yep." I smile, not at all jealous that Austin calls him Daddy Garrett. As long as I'm the only one calling him just Daddy. "He says I'm not allowed to paint my own face. I'm also not allowed to use paints without a Mommy or Daddy watching me."
