“Okay, then step up on the changing table. Daddy will help you.” I assisted him up to sit on the table and took off his T-shirt. “Lie back now.” I eased off his jeans and underwear and replaced them with the pair of thick training pants he’d wanted to bring tonight and his new unicorn onesie, the one that looked glittery, although blessedly it was only an illusion. Seemed to be a theme tonight.
The room was really nicely done and as soon as I’d dressed Hal, he moved around checking it out. One wall was a hand-painted mural of unicorns in every color of the rainbow, frolicking in a field of wildflowers. It was very beautiful, but there was glitter—albeit a digital version—waiting. And before long, my boy was ready to bounce on out of there and get to the little room.
I was always struck by the contrast between the adorable littles as they crossed the main floor and all the black leather worn by so many others who were enjoying their particular kinks. Someone asked me once if I thought it was unpleasantfor them, if maybe there should be another route for them to the little room. But, honestly, I never saw them seem upset or unhappy about passing the St. Andrew’s cross or the spiderweb or the spanking benches—all in use. They paid little or no attention, it appeared, because at Chained, everyone did their own thing without judgment. Within limits. The dungeon monitors were always on hand to make sure there was no harm or nonconsensual activities.
The hallway on the other side of the room held all sorts of private rooms and specialty areas like the one we were headed for. On the way, we passed the pet play room, where there were kitten training classes going on. So cute, but Hal had hold of my hand and was towing me toward the little room. “It’s not real glitter, but it’s glitter,” he reminded me. “So we can play but we won’t get it in our hair.”
“Very good. It’s not easy to get it out of your hair,” I reminded him. “But Daddy doesn’t really mind because you have such a nice time.”
“There’s Ernie!” he squealed. “Ernie where is the glitter?”
My little’s bestie drifted over, his face a storm cloud. “It’s not glitter, it’s like a video game, and you can make a picture, but it’s not the same.” The rumble of disquiet from the room caught my attention. Apparently Ernie was not the only one who felt that way. As we entered and moved toward the display in the middle of the room, I caught sight of Ms. Lily heading in our direction.
She paused, shaking her head.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Is the virtual glitter not popular?”
“It’s a disaster. I’m going to have someone set up a real glitter table before we have an outright rebellion. Right before you got here, there was even some chanting.”
“Oh dear. Do you think it’s a good idea for me to even take Hal over there?”
“It’s up to you, but be prepared.”
“Hal, do you want to try the virtual glitter or wait for the real stuff?” I asked.
“I want to try.” He nodded his head decisively then cocked it. “And then the real stuff.”
I shrugged and we worked our way over to the giant screen. Looking at it, I’d have thought at least some of the littles would really like it. No, it wasn’t loose glitter to get in their hair, but it was bright and very sparkly. Since the others had rejected it, however, Hal had complete access to the device. The attendant described it as fingerpaint, and Hal tapped the screen with his index finger, crowing in excitement when the sparkling glitter bloomed under his finger.
“Daddy, look!” He planted his full hand on the flat surface and trailed it down. “Glitter!”
Before my delighted eyes, my little threw his whole heart into creating a work of art. The attendant showed him how to make it print, and the moment it emerged from the machine…in 3D…the whole room went wild. Littles lined up for their turns, and Ms. Lily was able to send the real glitter back to wherever she kept it hidden most of the time.
My little created beauty where others only saw disappointment.
He always made me so proud.
Chapter Seventeen
Hal
We’d been together now for over half a year, and it was rare that we slept in separate places. More often than not, I stayed at his place. It was closer to work and a lot bigger, but he’d stay at my place too, and never once did he complain about my shitty apartment or having to walk all the way up multiple flights of stairs to get to me.
To me, it made more sense to spend the bulk of our time at a home that meant something to him, as opposed to a place I signed a legal document to be at. The two just weren’t the same.
After work, I went back to my apartment to grab some clothes and head over to August’s place for the weekend. The office was closed on Monday. It was the birthday of the man who founded the company, and, from the very first year, he closed for the occasion. I’d heard lots of interesting stories about him, and he sounded like quite an interesting guy, but he’d been gone a long time now, and no one in the office knew him beyond the lore. Year after year, the company kept his traditions going. Not that I would complain about getting an extra day to not work and still get paid.
I packed my unicorn. My bear was already at Daddy’s, along with most of my little things, and off I went. This time, I was taking my car and leaving it there. The parking garage I kept mine in was having some structural concerns, according to the sign up at the gate that also reassured us everything was fine. I didn’t know how “structural concerns” and “fine” could go together, but when August offered to let me keep the car at his place, I wasn’t going to turn it down. I rarely used it anyway. It took me months to get new tires because I didn’t need them, so even after I had set the money aside, why bother?
When I got to the parking garage and found my car, I was startled by what I initially thought was a squirrel running under it. Squirrels were a whole different breed in the city. They weren’t cautious like the ones where I used to live. They had zero fear of people, vehicles, or anything, from what I could tell. I put my bag in the trunk, keeping an eye out to make sure he had left.
“Listen, you might as well come out of there, because I’m starting the car.”
It didn’t move. As much as I didn’t love squirrels, I didn’t want to hurt one. I ducked down with my phone’s flashlight on, thinking I could scare it, despite its obvious lack of fear, only to see a little kitten looking back at me.
“Oh, sweetie, what are you doing down here?”
I took him out after a little coaxing and snapped a picture of him in my arms. I sent it with a whole bunch of exclamation points, a few hearts, and someit’s so cutefaces that probably meant something else entirely, but they were as close as I could find.
