6. Arlo

CHAPTER 6

Arlo

I think this might be the best day ever.

Okay…not ever in the history of the world for anyone ever. But…it might be my best day ever.

Whenever I look up, Thomas is there, watching over me and making me feel so special and important. I played on the floor with the other littles until I started yawning too much. I didn't want to stop, but then Thomas was already there with some apple juice for me as well as a plate of yummy food that he picked out for me.

He gets us to sit down at a table and makes sure I eat enough so I feel better again. He tells me all about how he's traveled for work and that jet lag can be really rubbish so one has to look after oneself.

Except he's looking after me, which is so much better.

The meet and greet officially finishes late in the afternoon, and it seems a lot of people are heading to the bar to keep socializing. I'm conflicted as I'm having fun, and I like making new friends, but right now, I'm relishing the chance to be freely little. It seems too soon to stop.

"Hey, baby boy," Thomas says, breaking me from my reverie. "Are you okay?"

We're sitting at one of the tables in the yoga area, which is a sort of open-walled marquee. The staff are starting to clear everything away, including the toys from the playmat. I bite my lap, almost panicking that everything is evaporating too quickly.

"Arlo?"

"Yes, Daddy?" I say without thinking, snapping my attention back to him. A slow, warm smile spreads across his face. He licks his lips before speaking, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Would you like to go play on the beach?"

For a second, I just stare at him. Eventually, I realize that he's asking if I'd like to continue being little. But this time, it'll be just with him.

"Oh, yes, please!" I screech, clapping my hands.

Thomas laughs kindly at me as a couple of the staff look over. They might think I'm strange, but in that moment, it doesn't seem to matter to me like it usually would. At home, I'm constantly trying to fit into places where I don't belong. Right now, I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.

"Awesome," Thomas says.

I love his strong New Yorker accent. He sounds like he should be on the television or something. Maybe that's not just the way he speaks. He's got a confidence about him that makes me feel like he's often in front of people. I guess running those charity programs means he's used to dealing with rowdy children and such.

"May we please go now?" I ask eagerly. I know that in Bali, the sun sets around six or seven-ish. It would be so cool to see that.

Thomas chuckles. "Let's go change into swim shorts first just in case we want to go in the water. And Daddy might have a surprise for you, too."

I blink at him. "A surprise?" I ask weakly. "But…we only just met?"

He gently places his hand over mine. I raise my eyebrows. Gosh, that feels nice. When I smile at him, he seems to understand that I like it, and relaxes. "I hoped I might meet a special boy, so I packed some fun presents that I hoped to share with him."

"And him is me?" I ask.

He laughs again. "That's right, baby boy."

I squirm in my seat. "Thank you, Daddy," I whisper, not quite believing how lucky I am.

Just as I'm about to jump up from my seat, I feel something tickle against my bare leg. I look down to see a huge, fluffy orange cat twirling around my feet.

"Oh!" I squeak, reaching my hand down to offer them my fingers to sniff. "Aren't you gorgeous!"

Okay, so he might be a bit matted in places, but it's still true. He's a beauty, and once he's sniffed my fingers, he starts rubbing his face against my hand.

"Be careful, hon," Thomas says, sounding concerned.

"Aww," I coo down at my new friend. "He's a sweetheart."

A snort nearby makes me look up. A young female employee is tidying away some of the food from the buffet. Her name badge reads ‘Kirana,' and she grins at me. "Kucing mean to everybody," she says, pronouncing it like ‘ku- ching.' "You special, he like you."

"Does he?" I cry, ridiculously pleased. I can feel Kucing purring against my skin. Have I really been chosen by both a Daddy and a cat? Growing up, Mummy and Pa never let me have pets. They said they were messy and undignified. But I always wanted a cat or a dog or even a rabbit or a budgie.

Anything that might let me love it and be my unconditional friend.

Kirana abandons her stack of plates and comes over to smile at us, then puts her hands on her hips as she looks down at the cat. "Kucing my friend but I…" She frowns, thinking about the word, then mimics a sneeze.

"Oh, you're allergic?" I guess.

She snaps her fingers and nods at me. "Yes. But I feed him, and he no bite me." She cackles, like she admires that he's so fierce and can be won over with a good dinner. She spins around to get a plate off the table with some slices of meat on it. "You and your boyfriend feed Kucing?"

I blush and glance at Thomas. "Oh, um…" I say, feeling flustered.

But Thomas smiles at her as he reaches out to take the proffered plate. "We'd love to. Thank you."

Biting my lip and still blushing horribly, I can't help but smile at Thomas. Obviously he's not my boyfriend. But I like that he didn't bother to correct the nice waitress. She gives us two thumbs up, then gathers up the pile of crockery she put down when she came over to us, and bustles back toward the kitchen.

I pick up a slice of white meat, roll it up, then hold it out for Kucing to inspect. He sniffs it but then just looks at it.

"Here," Thomas says, beckoning with his fingers for me to give him the chicken or whatever it is. He gets a little side plate and quickly rips up the meat along with another slice. "There. Try that now."

Kucing is still watching me as I take the plate and put it on the floor by my feet. Again, he steps closer and sniffs it. But this time his little pink tongue flicks out and he takes a bite. Within seconds, he's gobbling up the lot.

Not wishing to disturb him in case it scares him off, I don't make a sound. But I clutch my hands into fists and beam at Thomas, who smiles back at me with a nod.

I know it's silly, but it feels like we did that together. We worked as a team. He didn't take over or dismiss me. I feel respected.

Plus, the joy of winning over a reportedly grumpy cat gives me a deep sense of satisfaction.

We quietly watch Kucing until he's licked the plate clean, then he scampers off to sit by one of the wooden beams that's keeping the roof up. He proceeds to start licking his paw and rubbing his face, having a post-dinner wash.

Happy that I've done a good deed, I hop off my chair and smile at Thomas. "Beach now, Daddy?" I ask.

He chuckles at me and stands up himself. "Swim trunks, sunscreen, then beach," he says in a warm but no-nonsense tone.

I open my mouth to protest that it's creeping toward the end of the afternoon and that we probably don't need extra suntan lotion. But then I think about Thomas's hands rubbing slippery cream all over my back.

"Okay, Daddy!" I reply eagerly. "Race you back home!"

I'm aware that it's not really ‘home,' but I know Thomas gets what I mean. However, as soon as I break into a run, Thomas cries out after me.

"Whoa there, slugger!"

I turn and see he's raised his hands and is looking sheepish as he walks toward me. I raise my eyebrows and trot back to meet him.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," I say in a small voice, upset I've done something wrong. I was just so excited!

But he shakes his head and reaches to take my hand. My heart leaps as I let him, loving how he rubs the backs of my knuckles.

"Daddy's got a bum knee, sweetheart." He looks down at his right leg apologetically. "I have to be careful when I run, and warm up properly and all that other boring grown-up stuff."

Immediately, my heart lifts in relief. I didn't do anything wrong! I just didn't know, but now I do. But then I feel bad again. I shouldn't be happy. Thomas has an injury.

Perhaps there's something I can do to help? My heart lifts once more.

"Oh, Daddy has a poorly knee! Arlo kiss it better!"

Not really sure what I'm doing, I drop his hand which makes him stop walking, then I crouch down and press my lips noisily to his hairy knee. His skin is warm and tastes salty from sweat and previously applied sunscreen. I giggle at the silliness of what I've just done, but then I look up at Thomas through my lashes.

Oh.

He's looking down at me with wide eyes, and takes a deep breath as our gazes meet. It occurs to me in that moment what crouching in front of him like this also puts me in front of.

I know I want to take things slow. We both do. I'm sure somewhere in the back of my mind I can even remember why. But in that moment, all I can think is how much I'd love to free my Daddy's cock and swallow it all the way down so he makes the most delicious noises. After the way he's taken care of me, I want to make him feel so, so good.

But then he clears his throat, grins, and offers me his hand so I can stand back up again.

"It's a miracle!" he exclaims. "I'm cured!" He gives his leg a jiggle that makes me laugh, and suddenly, all those complicated, sexy, adult feelings drift away.

I've done a lot of that before, and it never really ends up with the other guy acting the way I wanted. Those boys at school always just sort of took me for granted and never told me I was good or that they liked what I did the way I hoped. Well, except for Chris. He was always nice and looked out for me. Until he went away to university, at least.

Anyway, enough thinking about all that nonsense. What I haven't done a lot before is get to run around like a silly person, not even when I was tiny. Neither of my parents was afraid to issue a swift slap if I acted too childishly out in public, so I learned at a very young age to mind my manners.

It took me until I was grown to realize that a little frivolity done respectfully doesn't hurt a soul.

As Thomas walks normally, I zoom around him with my arms outstretched. "Look, Daddy! I'm an albatross following your pirate ship!"

"Oh, dang it!" he cries in mock distress. "Ain't albatrosses bad luck?"

I stop flying and wrinkle my nose at him. "Only if you shoot them down, Daddy," I say.

He raises his eyebrows. "I did not know that. Clever boy."

When he ruffles my hair, I hum in delight and start flying around again, protecting our ship until we make it back to our rooms.

Thomas goes right, and I go left. I only pout for a second that we part ways, because I realize that if we each go separately, we'll be back quicker than if we went to one villa then another. That means we'll get to the beach sooner.

Excited, I race up to my door and let myself inside, stripping off my clothes before the door has even closed fully.

As I hurriedly drag my trunks up my legs, I look back at the trail of clothes I left in my wake. My little wants to leave them there, seeing as Mummy isn't here to scold me about them. But then I think of Thomas and how he kindly helped me unpack earlier. Everything was so nicely in its place until I came back in.

The urge to make Thomas proud, even if he isn't here, is what draws me back over the room to pick everything up. I hang the slightly damp T-shirt and shorts over the sides of the wicker armchair to dry off, then put the underwear in the tote bag I specifically packed for that purpose. I know the resort has a laundry room somewhere. Not that I know where it is or how I would use anything.

That's a problem for another day. Right now, I'm proud that my room still looks nice, and I've got my octopus-patterned shorts on, ready for the beach. I shove my feet back into my flip-flops, grab my key card, and go.

Of course Thomas is the one who remembers the sunscreen. And hats for us both. And a spare T-shirt for me in case I get cold. And it turns out that his surprise is a brand-new bucket and spade set that also has molds in the shapes of starfish and seahorses and the like.

As we go down to the water to play in the sand and watch the sun set, I think I might have been right earlier.

This really has been the best day ever.

I wonder what tomorrow will be like.