Preston smiled. I saw a light behind his eyes that looked warm. And the way he talked was like a spoonful of honey to my mind.
“I think I said I was glad you texted. I left you my card because I hoped you’d contact me.”
“Hmm.” That didn’t really answer my question. “But you’re not a daddy.”
“I came into that room on Friday because it was new and looked intriguing.” His mouth scrunched and he took a sip of his Coke. He looked like he wanted to say more but didn’t.
“You say you’re not a daddy, but then you picked me up from the floor,” I whispered. Stating it was almost too intimate, at least to me, to say it out loud.
His fingers tapped the table. “Instinct.”
I bit my lip but still couldn’t stop my words. “Maybe daddy instinct?”
He didn’t hesitate like I thought he would. “Maybe.”
It was like being doused in warm water. That liquid feeling poured through me. My body remembered his arms around me. The room almost faded but I quickly got my wits about me.
“But did you really think that?”
“I wouldn’t have left you my card if I didn’t think it.” His voice faded. “If I didn’t maybe want that again.”
There it was. He wanted that feeling. He’d never said anything about sex. Was he the daddy I’d been waiting for? Someone who wanted to actually experience my little and baby tendencies with me? And not just to get off?
I wasn’t sure how to respond. His words were what I wanted to hear. But he hadn’t ever been a daddy. Would my eagerness scare him?
“Maybe I texted because I wanted that again, too,” I boldly stated.
It was almost too much to hope for. It seemed like a high expectation because I’d yet to find that in anyone beyond momentary, shallow age play.
Our food came and we busied ourselves with that for a minute. I put mustard all over my burger, then picked it up to take a bite and the bottom fell out. I set it down quickly, putting everything back on it and getting mustard all over.
Preston laughed. “That always happens to me, too. I like lots of junk on my burgers. Usually, I have to cut them in half.” He held out his knife and fork. “Here. Let me.”
I watched as he pulled my plate toward his and reached out to my food. Before doing anything, he looked up at me with those beautiful eyes of his. “Okay?”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
Hell, I already wanted to call him Daddy. Every move he made showed me that he wanted to care about what I needed. But maybe he didn’t consciously believe it yet. What was most important was he’d liked how I made him feel. But I had to be sure. I’d been hurt too many times.
He cut my burger perfectly. This time, I could take a bite without losing it all. “Perfect,” I said, chewing fast. I was starved.
“Looks tasty.”
“It is.” I devoured the half in my hand losing only one pickle in the process.
Preston ate with much better manners. I had to ask for extra napkins. We both laughed about that.
Afterward, we kept looking down, then up at each other. It was heady. Like there was a whole world between us just waiting to explore. We chatted about jobs. I found out he did litigation in the financial sector for a fairly large company, but he never mentioned the name.
He found out I was a psych major.
“You’re the age I was when I was experimenting with kink.”
“Yep.” But I wasn’t experimenting. I’d known I was a little for a long time.
“May I ask how old you are?”
“I look young for my age. I’m twenty-four now. I took a two-year break between high school and college.”
