Great.
“I didn’t tell her anything weird.” I didn’t think I had. “It seemed like a normal conversation.”
“With her…a normal conversation with her. But Chipmunk, normal with your mother is not normal with anyone else.” Daddy took my hand and led me into the living room where he plopped down and pulled me half onto his lap and half onto the couch. “Alright, let’s start again at the beginning.”
“Yes.” Where was the beginning? “Well, she called me the other day when you went into the grocery store to surprise me with dessert.”
That’d been really cute.
“You mean when I went in to surprise you and you changed all the preset buttons on the radio?” Daddy glared at me, so Ijust made my eyes wider and kissed his cheek. “Fine. I’ll stop mentioning that.”
No, he would not.
He was going to be frustrated about that for years and he was going to bring it up every time I drove him crazy…but his music taste was terrible and half the buttons were set to talk radio stations.
How did we have so many talk radio stations?
“Well, while I was trying to keep myself occupied and big, she called because she’d snuck her phone into that retreat and was hiding in the bathroom.” I wasn’t even going to begin to guess what that was doing to her karma, but it wasn’t mine, so I wasn’t worried about it.
I was slightly worried about the rest, though. “I told her about you coming and how we’re getting along and I wasn’t specific but she did thataww how cutething and started asking how long we’d been a couple.”
Daddy let out a long sigh but eventually nodded. “She was going to notice that anyway. We’re not exactly subtle or hiding that we’re together.”
Good, we were on the same page with that.
“But I’m still not sure how we jumped from our being a couple to Puritanical sexual views.” Before I could answer, he seemed to have a lightbulb moment. “Oh, she asked about the bedroom thing and then it came up that we hadn’t shared a room yet, so…so you probably said something about asking me what I was comfortable with before you picked an option.”
Yep.
“Consent and limits are important and I didn’t know your limits.” I hadn’t meant to go down the wholenot having had sex yetroad. “I didn’t say limits to her, though. That’s one of my limits. I’d rather not use BDSM or age play language around my parents.”
Daddy’s eyes flashed wide. “That’s a limit I am completely in agreement on.”
“Good.” It seemed like another good time for a cheek kiss. “What are your thoughts on sleeping arrangements?”
His first reaction was to close his eyes and groan, but since it wasn’t helpful, I decided to be patient through the sound effects. “Okay, so I hate the idea of making a bad impression on your parents if it’s not necessary.”
I love how he knew sometimes it would be necessary to upset them…it showed how smart he was.
“I’m going to predict that sharing a bed will make your mother happier because it will show…something related to commitment and us…us becoming one?” Daddy straightened his head and opened his eyes. “How did I do?”
“Amazing. A plus on the weird parent situation.” Unfortunately, this wasn’t something they could prepare us for in school. “She had a long rambling explanation but it boils down to us being fine to share a bed as long as it’s what we want.”
Daddy’s frown was cute, not worrying. “What do we want?”
I was kind of assuming we meant me, so I answered honestly. “Um, I want my Daddy with me at night so I can have attention. It’s exhausting to have to be a full grown-up all the time aroundthem. And they’re not great grown-ups, so someone else has to be the one to take charge.”
Good intentions did not mean good outcomes.
“You don’t have to sleep in my bed, though. We could get a blow-up mattress or move an actual mattress from a guest room into my room too.” I was flexible. “What are you thinking?”
“That I’m not having sex in your house so that your mother understands our souls are bonding or whatever she’ll say.” Daddy was back to looking like he wanted to laugh or sigh…another sign he was smart. “I don’t have a limits or moral issue in sharing a bed with you, but I don’t want her pushing you into something you’re not ready for.”
Best Daddy ever.
“I won’t. I’ve had lots of practice telling her no and sticking to it. She can be exhausting but she honestly wants to support me.” It was sweet and maddening most of the time. “I’m more worried about you.”
“I’m pretty sure we’re at a slightly unhealthy level of watching out for each other and we’ll keep circling around it if we’re not careful.” Daddy’s brows pulled together and he sighed, but he wasn’t frustrated at me. “Okay, sleeping together…actual sleep…what is your limit on that?”
