ME: Chinese?
NATE: Sounds good. Eggrolls? What else?
ME: Yes. Honey chicken. Steamed dumplings? And rangoons.
He sent me a thumbs-up emoji. I felt like it was a good compromise between what I liked to eat most, which was finger foods, and the more grown-up food he liked. Plus, I liked the sweet honey sauce, and of course, it came with rice.
I sat on the hood of my old beat-up car, waiting and hoping it wouldn’t be too long. I’d had the vehicle since high school, and I’d thought about getting a new one, but it was reliable, and Ididn’t have to worry over every scratch and ding because there were already plenty. Eventually, Daddy Nate pulled in beside me in the huge driveway, and when he got out, he handed me a key. “I don’t want you to ever have to wait outside, so here’s a key to the house.” Then he kissed the top of my head. That was something I’d started really loving that he did; it made my chest warm and fuzzy in the best of ways. “Let’s go eat.”
We walked through to the kitchen where Daddy sat the food on the table. I washed up and helped him get the plates and silverware out before we sat down.
I had stuff to talk about with him but wanted to wait until after we ate. Before I had a chance to get my thoughts in order, we finished eating, and he tugged my arm. “Come on, I want to show you something.”
I followed him upstairs, but instead of turning into the main bedroom, he pulled me to the front of the house and the smaller room that had a balcony over the front door. The last of the day’s sunlight was still streaming in through the window and the balcony door; just enough to light the room. “Whoa.” Daddy had started adding things to make a playroom. Daddy had said I could keep toys here, and he’d helped me order a bunch of stuff, but I didn’t realize he meant to give me a whole room. He’d mentioned a box to keep them in, but this one had my name on it over the bench with three drawers across the bottom and shelves on each side. Looking closer, I could see several Ellie the Elephant books already up there.
“I started fixing up this room before, but I didn’t have a boy, so I didn’t know what I should put in it. But now that I do, I’ve finished it just for you. What do you think?”
Ellie the Elephant stuffies and her friends lined up along some of the shelves and a cozy rug was in the middle of the room. Against one of the other walls, there was a video game console with two low rocker-style gaming chairs. If I moved in with Daddy full-time, I could still play Fortnite with Rob. Huh, I wonder if my sneaky Daddy already saw that coming?
Moving in?
Was I ready for that?
That was getting ahead of myself, especially considering Daddy and I hadn’t even talked about it, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted to be with Daddy Nate all the time. He was fun to talk to, smart, handsome, and I loved the way he took care of me. It wasn’t about the gifts and toys, although that was nice, but it was more about how he wanted me to be relaxed and happy. He made me feel loved, and our sexy times were great. Who wouldn’t want to live with the perfect Daddy over being alone in a tiny bed every night? I missed Daddy’s arms when I was away.
There were also clothes hung up in the closet, and I peeked in the dresser drawers and found even more. “This is your space, Gilly. You can put your big clothes in my closet if you want and keep your Little wear in here. Whatever you want, just ask and it’s yours.”
“Thank you, Daddy.” I ran over and hugged him. “This is awesome. Can I change into some of my new stuff?”
“Of course you can, silly boy.” I scrambled out of my clothes and put on some comfy and soft overalls with an Ellie T-shirt and clean socks. “You’re adorable, little one.” He hugged me and kissed my head again. “Do you want to stay over tonight? You can take a bath and play with your tubby toys.”
“I’d like that, Daddy.”
“Me too. Daddy doesn’t sleep well when his boy’s not here.”
“Can we have sexy time and a Daddy-bottle first, then you can read me a story while I fall asleep?” I rattled off, but Daddy smiled.
“Absolutely, sweetheart. Daddy would love all of that. Why don’t you play while Daddy gets your bath ready.”
“Yay! Thanks, Daddy.” It was like all the bad from today was gone. I swear, Daddy was a giant eraser and knew how to make it all disappear. This was the perfect distraction from the perfect Daddy.
16
NATE
Leaking all over the bed woke me up when I rolled over onto a huge wet spot, having forgotten to wrap back up. I grumbled and scootched Gilly over so we laid in a dry area.
“Daddy?” Gilly’s sleepy head popped up from under the covers.
“Come here and help Daddy out, please.” I maneuvered him into place, and he got the hint, latching on quickly. Those sated noises he made got me in the heart every time. This adorable boy was amazing and made my life better. Soon, I was going to ask him to move in with me. Now that he had a playroom, there was no reason for him not to be here. Meeting him home after work every day felt like an amazing next step. But I didn’t want to move the relationship too fast, especially when he was still stressing over his uncle’s business.
I cuddled him closer and dug my fingers into his thick curls. “Thank you,” I whispered, but I meant a whole lot more than simply having him nursing.
Soon we both fell asleep from the soothing experience.
I’d stocked up on some fun foods for Gilly, including cereal and Pop-Tarts, not that we would be eating that much sugar all the time, but it was fun to change it up occasionally. I popped a cinnamon-sugar one in the toaster and got to work making our coffee. “Do you want butter on it?” I asked as I pulled the tub out of the fridge.
“Butter? On a Pop-Tart?” He stuck his tongue out, making a face.
