Dan
He didn’t sleep worth shit. All night, he’d lain awake, staring up at the ceiling above him, searching for answers he didn’t have.
For months now he’d been fighting his attraction to Kylie. Maybe if they’d met at a different college, maybe if they weren’t so…differentthey could have made things work. They were both smart, ambitious, a little nerdy.
But they hadn’t met somewhere else. They’d met at Rawhide. And not only did he have his own less-than-Big side to contend with, Kylie was very much a Little. Even more than he was. And he was the farthest thing from a Daddy.
Though he’d certainly come close last night. At least, it felt like he had. He’d tapped into some hidden toppy side of himself, more so than he’d ever done before, even with Kylie.
What did it mean? For him, for them?
He wasn’t any closer to an answer by the time he finally dragged himself out of bed to get ready for the day. Or by the time he was standing in front of Kylie’s dorm room door, trying to work up the nerve to knock.
He was still standing there, staring at the dark wood, when the door swung open and Kylie nearly plowed straight into him.
“Oh!” Eyes round with surprise, she jerked backward, her blonde ponytail swinging wildly. “Dan. Um. Hi.”
Unlike the night before when she’d been dressed in her “Little” clothes, this morning she was looking much more like the version of herself everyone else was used to seeing. Her white button down shirt was freshly pressed, her tie perfectly knotted and the pleats in her skirt sharp as knives.
He never could decide which version of her he preferred, as he found them both equally alluring.
“We need to talk about last night.” Thanks to the lingering arousal, which was not at all helped by the teasing bits of creamy thigh between the bottom of her skirt and the top of her knee-high socks, his words were rougher than he’d intended. A sharpness that earned him a narrow-eyed glare from his best friend.
“We can talk later. I’m going to breakfast with Eliza.”
When she tried to skirt around him, he simply stepped to the side, blocking her path. “You’re not meeting Eliza for another hour.”
“Maybe we changed our plans.”
“Did you?”
She hesitated, just long enough for him to know she was at least considering outright lying to him. But in the end, her responsible side won out and she sighed. “No. I just don’t want to talk about last night.”
“Well, too bad. We need to.”
“Fine.” Turning on her heel, she marched back into her dorm room and flopped down onto her bed, arms crossed. “When did you get so bossy?”
“Dunno.” Amused by her sulky attitude, he stopped in front of the bed and smirked down at her. “A certain bratty Little girl seems to bring it out in me.”
Pink bloomed on her cheeks. “I’m not Little. Not right now.”
“Uh huh. Which is why you’re pouting on the bed because you didn’t get your way. Because that’s how Big girls act.”
“Shut up, Dan.”
“Don’t let Professor Renard hear you saying that,” he teased, not bothering to hide his enjoyment when the color in her cheeks darkened. “You might get another spanking.”
“Is that what you wanted?” Fire flashed in her eyes as she jerked her head up to glare at him. “To rub it in my face that the most gorgeous woman in the world caught me acting like a total brat last night?”
“Aw, Ky.” Guilt tangled in his chest as he crouched down in front of her, resting his hands on her thighs. “That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry.”
Kylie sighed, the tension draining from her shoulders. “No, I’m sorry. I’m just feeling really out of sorts after last night.”
“Because of Professor Renard or me?”
“Both.”
Fuck. Somehow, he’d convinced himself she hadn’t been nearly as affected by their almost… whatever it was last night as he had been. “Yeah?”
