June glances at the ceiling. “You could add one of those sheer curtains and let it drape all around you. It would feel like you were in a fairy tale. And lights! Twinkly lights!” She giggles as she turns to me. “Sorry, I got carried away.”
I inch forward slowly. “It’s okay. Those are fun ideas. The curtain might make me feel claustrophobic, but the lights would be so pretty.”
“Does your Daddy… I mean Cannon. Does he let you sleep here?”
I nod. My Daddy… Could Cannon be my Daddy? It’s so hard for me to wrap my head around. The idea of being Little. It’s foreign to me, and yet it feels right. Like it fits me.
I take a risk and tell her, “The bed is too high up. I was afraid I might fall.”
June doesn’t even flinch. “Then this is an excellent idea.”
I’m already at ease with her. She’s so kind. June doesn’t have a mean bone in her body.
“I love your outfit, by the way. Lavender is so pretty on you, and the sparkles.”
“Thank you.” I glance down at my shirt, reminding myself that the rhinestones spell out the words good girl. Apparently, this doesn’t make June flinch.
“You have so many books. I guess you like to read a lot.” June squats down to pick one up.
I flush again and wring my fingers as I join her.
But again, she simply holds up the babysitting club book and grins. “I love this series. I haven’t read it in a long time. Maybe I could borrow it sometime?”
“Sure.” My heart is racing. She’s so full of life, and I want to be like her. I want to feel the way she obviously does. Happy. Free. Little?
I sit on the mattress and scoot back to the pile of pillows.
June joins me. When she picks up one of the stuffed bears, she says, “I love teddy bears. I’ve got one that’s really old and a new one that Daddy got me.”
Feeling more relaxed, I reach for the doll I’ve been sleeping with. “I really like this doll. I remember one of the girls having a similar babydoll at one of my foster homes.”
“She is pretty. Plus, she’s soft, so you can sleep with her.”
“Yeah.” I’m not sure what to say. I feel like a fish out of water.
“Are you going to stay?” June asks softly.
I shrug. “I don’t know. Cannon says he wants me to, but I’m having a hard time…trusting him.”
“I get it. It’s hard for me to trust, too. I was married to Pete for three years. He wined and dined me, rushed me to the courthouse, and then lured me to that damn house of his. I was stupid and naïve. I still feel like an idiot for falling for him. There were red flags, which I ignored.”
I reach for her hand and give it a squeeze. “I did stupid things, too. I could kick myself.”
June’s eyes are watery as she takes a deep breath. “Well, the important thing is that we’re here now. Blade says that Cannon feels deeply for you. I hope you’ll stay. I know it’s super strange at first learning what it means to be Little, but I can already tell you are enjoying it on some level.”
When she glances around at our surroundings, I giggle. “Yeah… I don’t know. I’m still trying to grasp it. I mean, who wouldn’t like the idea of someone taking care of them in every way? I think I keep asking myself why? What does Cannon get out of it?”
June smiles broadly. “Oh, he gets everything out of it. Doms in general—but Daddy Doms in particular—are deeply fulfilled by caring for their submissives. It fills their tank every time they do something for us.”
“That’s so hard for me to grasp. I’d think he would be exhausted from cooking for me and then cleaning up after me. He even fixed my hair.” I reach up and touch the bows.
“It’s so cute. He did a good job. I think these Daddies must take classes on how to care for a Little. They must have seminars about pigtails,” she jokes.
I giggle again. Every time I make that sound, I feel lighter. I want that. I want a life where I don’t have ten thousand things to worry about. I’m not sure how practical it is in the long run. Even if I stayed, I’d have to get a job. I can’t just live here rent-free and mooch off Cannon for the rest of my life. Plus, what if something happened to him and I was left alone again? I wouldn’t be able to take care of myself, and that feeling is horrifying.
“Do you work?” I ask June on a whim.
“Yes. I teach English as a second language online. I used to be a teacher before I met Pete, but the asshole insisted I quit my job, and then when I escaped him three years ago, I went into hiding so he wouldn’t find me. I started teaching by video chat, to keep myself safe.”
