Page 2 of Tessa

She suspected she knew the answer already, but she wanted to hear Jilly say it out loud. She didn’t want to make assumptions, and she knew that forthright conversation could help pull Jilly out of her state.

“Beau and Dax! I went over to say hi to them after dinner… and… Dax said they wanted to talk to me and then he said he loved getting to know me and wanted to take our relationship to the next level! He… like… talked about me moving in with them and everything!”

“I see.” Tessa couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy. Some girls had all the luck. She wanted a Daddy desperately and had zero prospects, and Jilly had just turned down two.

But she knew that wasn’t the point right now. She had to keep Jilly talking; she couldn’t let her get back to the vegetative state she’d lived in before Baze had come into their lives and got her into therapy.

“What did you say?” she asked, even though the answer was clear.

“I said no! I said I was very sorry and I loved their friendship, but I wasn’t ready to have a Daddy, and I really wasn’t ready to have two!”

“Two Daddies,” Tessa breathed. “How amazing would that be?”

Jilly ignored her and kept on rambling, “I feel so bad! Like maybe I led them on! I wasn’t trying to. I like them a lot. They are funny and smart and kind and talented, and they’d both be amazing Daddies!” She shook her head, her words coming out in a high-pitched wail. “I’m so dumb! I must have said something or did something. I must have been a tease somehow. I…”

“Jilly.” Tessa leaned forward and grabbed her friend by the shoulders. “Stop it. You did nothing wrong. And neither did they. They asked. You declined. It sounds like everyone handled it like adults. I’m proud of you.”

Jilly blinked and frowned, her brows furrowing together. “You are? But… why?”

“Because. Not that long ago, even just seeing two men would have made you shut down. Now, you made friends with them, and when you were uncomfortable, you stood up for yourself! That’s huge.”

“Yeah… but… then I freaked out. Look at me now! I’m a mess!”

“You don’t like confrontation or hurting people. It’s understandable. Everyone freaks out sometimes.”

“You don’t.”

“I promise you I do.”

Jilly sniffed, and the rocking stopped. “I just feel so bad that I couldn’t give them what they wanted, and I don’t want them to think I think badly of them. They really would both be amazing Daddies. I wish I could help them find a Little girl who would be perfect for them.” She sniffed again and brightened. “Maybe when Utopia finally opens for good and people start to come here from all over.”

Tessa didn’t point out that Utopia was designed as a destination for Littles and their Bigs to visit together, and that people who visited would eventually go back home.

“I’m sure they will find the perfect Little for them eventually,” she reassured. “Like you said, they’ll make great Daddies, and… they are super freaking hot.”

“Yeah… they really are.” Jilly laughed, fell silent, sat a minute, then gasped. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! Tessa! I just had the best idea!”

She jumped to her feet and pulled Tessa to hers.

“Uh… what’s going on?”

“You! You could be the perfect Little girl for them! I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner! You’re like… kind of a brat and extra sassy, but so sweet and not too bratty. Just enough of a handful to need two Daddies to put you in your place. And you are super attracted to them! It’s perfect!”

“Ummmm…” Tessa put her hand over her chest to still her racing heart and tried her hardest not to catch Jilly’s excitement. Just because she thought two Daddies would be a dream come true, and thought Beau and Dax were both super good-looking, did not make the three of them a match made in heaven. “I don’t even know them.”

“You could meet them! I could introduce you!” Jilly grabbed her phone off the nightstand. “Oh, Tessa, please say you’ll meet them!”

Tessa stared at her friend, no longer shaking or crying, and acting more excited than Tessa had ever seen her. She didn’t want to say no and send Jilly back into a state. Besides that, she just really didn’t want to say no.

“Um… sure I guess.”

“Great!” Jilly bounced on her heels. “I’m gonna text them right now!”

Chapter Two

Dax

“You need to learn to slow down and watch for social cues, babyboy.”