“So…” Rob pressed as soon as the front door closed after they brought us home. “What do you think?”
“It was fun.” I had been more at ease around Nate than I would have expected. There was something about him that was soothing, and he always asked me what I liked or wanted instead of assuming or ordering me around as I’d feared might happen. “I’d like to see him again. He was so handsome, but I don’t know if he liked me.”
Rob dropped his wallet and keys in the basket on the kitchen counter where he kept them. “Of course he did. What’s not to like?”
I shook my head. “He left with just a quick peck on my cheek. That’s like what you give your nephew or something.”
“Nuh-uh. He was being polite.”
I didn’t know if that was actually good or not, though Rob seemed to think so. I shrugged and headed to my room, not wanting to talk about it anymore. It would be just like me to get my hopes up only to find out he didn’t feel the same.
A few minutes later, Rob tapped on my door. “Gilly, look at this.”
I opened the door a crack. “What?”
He held his phone up to my face, showing me a text chain where Nate had asked Preston for my phone number. “Tell him yes. Give it to him.”
“Already did.” He sing-songed and danced his way back into the living room; the little matchmaking devil was damn proud of himself.
I couldn’t be mad, though. For once, I was excited about what might happen next, which was probably the reason I couldn’t get to sleep. Finally, I turned on my closet light and dug my binky out of its hiding place. After I double-checked the lock on my bedroom door, I climbed back into bed. I thought about what might happen next between Nate and me. Would he become my Daddy? Would he let me have my binky? What about a bottle? There was nothing better than a warm bottle at bedtime or even first thing in the morning. Would he let me drink from my bottle and watch cartoons?
None of that was probably going to happen, but a boy could hope. Eventually, I fell asleep, dreaming of what could possibly be.
4
NATE
Two days later, and I still couldn’t stop thinking about Gilly. I’d gotten his number but hadn’t used it yet. Why? Because what if he found out about the lactating and ran in the opposite direction? Probably as fast as he could, or maybe he already knew. Preston lactated and he was very cozy with his new boy, and I was sure he and Gilly talked about their dates and such. Surely, Bobby had to have said something—anything. As far as I knew, no one was talking about it, and I hadn’t a clue on how to broach the subject with Gilly. I’d never wanted to be with someone like this who didn’t know about it, or so I assumed. And wanting to date Gilly was also a new feeling for me. How quickly I’d changed my mind when face to face with the cute boy.
Monday, I went to work like normal. Stopped in at both my active sites, did some paperwork, filed a permit, and called a meeting with my sales team, which meant John, since he was actually theentiresales team. But we needed more jobs, and he was the key to bringing them in. Eventually, I finished everything and sat at my desk with nothing else to do. Well, I could have found something productive, but I didn’t want to. Gilly was my focus, and I hoped he liked me and was open toseeing me again. With the newness of this, I hadn’t a clue what to get him, but my mind swirled with a whirlwind of prezzies he may like. Maybe something as simple as a coloring book would work. While I got the feeling he wasn’t a boy seeking gifts, I really wanted to impress him.
Later that night, I went home, and instead of letting everything grind in my head, I prepared to get more information. Given I didn’t have a boy of my own yet, I got situated to pump and pulled up the Brotherhood website to peruse while I did. It would have been easier to go to the club and just ask my questions from another brother, but tonight, I opted to search the chat boards instead. After an awkward minute of trying to search and nearly dropping my equipment, I finally landed on what I wanted.
How to Tell Others.
And down the hole I went. There was a different bit of advice for every possible situation, but I didn’t know if any of it was helpful. Then I found the best thing I probably could have read.
Be honest. Be straightforward. And if you’re not accepted, remember that says more about that person than it does about you.
That took me back to Brotherhood 101.It’s normal, and there’s nothing wrong with me.
I wasn’t going to let my whole world shatter because of one boy. Having only casually dated Littles who already knew about me and were into nursing but nothing serious, for once in my life, I wanted to build something real in a true partnership. That would make my mother happy, for sure. My parents had always been so supportive of me, but they worried I’d be alone forever. Theynow lived in a retirement village outside of town, and with my brother, Brandon, in the military and stationed outside of the country, I was sure they would be able to relax more once they found out I had a partner.
I wanted this with Gilly.
How would Gilly feel about it? We still had a lot to learn about each other and many conversations to be had. One thing was for sure, though, if I didn’t ask him out on another date, I would never find out where he stood with any of it.
With a deep breath, I finally gave in and called Gilly.
“H-Hello?”
“Gilly? It’s Nate.”
“Hi, Nate. I can’t believe you called me.”
“Why wouldn’t I? We had fun on our date, right?”
“Um…yes. I did.” That was a good sign.
