"Because... I don't know. Because that's what people do?"
"Or you could stay here. In my bed this time, not the guest room. Just sleeping," he adds quickly. "I'm not asking for more than you're ready to give."
The offer should terrify me. It doesn’t.
"Okay," I say. "I'll stay."
His smile is radiant. "Good girl. Now let's get you upstairs before you fall asleep standing up."
He leads me to his bedroom, and I'm too tired to do more than notice it's tastefully masculine before he's handing me one of his t-shirts.
"Bathroom's through there. Take your time."
I change quickly, brush my teeth with the toothbrush he wordlessly provides, and emerge to find him already in bed, reading.
He sets the book aside when he sees me. "Come here."
I climb into bed, and he pulls me close, so my head rests on his chest.
"Comfortable?" he asks.
"Very."
"Good." His fingers trace lazy patterns on my back. "Sleep, sweetheart. You've earned it."
"Ethan?"
"Mm?"
"Thank you. For everything."
"You're welcome. Now sleep."
I close my eyes, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat… and fall fast asleep.
The morning after our first night together, I wake up tangled in Ethan's sheets with sunlight streaming across his face.
He's already awake, watching me with an expression so tender it makes my chest ache.
"Morning," I murmur, stretching.
"Morning, sweetheart." His fingers trace down my bare arm. "How are you feeling?"
"Happy. A little overwhelmed."
"Overwhelmed how?"
I consider the question. "Yesterday was great, in the best way. But now I'm lying here wondering what comes next."
"I thought we clarified that yesterday a bit, but I’m happy to have a deeper conversation if you need to. What do you want to come next?"
There's that question again. The one he keeps asking. The one that forces me to be honest about my needs. The one I can’t avoid until we figure it out. I guess I just have to spit it out.
"I want to explore the dynamic more," I admit. "What it actually looks like in practice. I want to know what it’s like to be your little. I’m curious about so many things and I feel like we are tiptoeing around."
Ethan shifts so we're face to face. "Tell me what you're curious about, I promise I won’t judge you."
Heat floods my cheeks, my face feels like it’s sunburned, I’m sure if I reach up and touch it I’ll be able to feel the warmth. How do I put this into words? "Everything. I've read about it, fantasized about it, but I don't actually know what it feels like to... surrender like that."
