1. Arlo

Chapter 1

Arlo

Arlo took a moment to appreciate the sights and sounds around him. To say that it was impressive would be an understatement, that was for sure.

Deep in the Sunset Forest undergrowth, Arlo was surrounded by tall, ancient trees that had been around for far longer than most towns and cities across the country. The multitude of green shades on the tree leaves made a wonderful collage of color that was only enhanced by the shafts of sunlight that burst through them at every opportunity.

The grass underfoot was healthy and green, and there was even an old tree trunk nearby that would make the perfect spot for Arlo to sit on and gather his thoughts as he spent his evening and night in front of the fire he was planning on making for himself.

Arlo was twenty-five years old and had loved the great outdoors ever since he was a young boy. There was something so freeing and natural about living without all the distractions and diversions of modern life.

But more than that, Arlo loved the adventure and fun that came with the wilder side of nature. Whether it was camping, rock climbing, or even skinny dipping in a mountain lake, Arlo loved nothing more than letting his wild side out.

With his choppy blonde hair and sparkling green eyes, Arlo had always stood out from other boys. Some might have called him a feminine boy, but Arlo was more than his delicate appearance – he simply loved to be as active as possible and never took a backward step when it came to physical activity or going up against the boys.

In fact, Arlo had taken his competitive streak all the way through high school and into his adult life too. Arlo's grandfather had given the majority of his life in service to the military, and Arlo's dream ever since he was in elementary school had been to join the armed forces and serve his country just like his grandfather had.

There had been setbacks along the way, and plenty of doubters too, but Arlo succeeded in joining the military and even passed the grueling tests required to join one of the elite companies. Arlo knew that he would be one of very, very few men but he didn't let this put him off. But despite fighting his way onto the company, Arlo hadn't realized that his toughest battles were yet to be fought…

‘Okay, so… let's get the tent set up,' Arlo said, carefully taking his stuffie Sass out of his backpack and placing him on the tree trunk .

Arlo might have been ex-military and super into any kind of physical challenge, but that didn't mean that he loved and needed his most cherished strawberry stuffie any less. With his cute little eyes and big smile, Sass was the most huggable strawberry in the world – well, certainly the most huggable strawberry that Arlo had ever come across.

Being a Little was a big part of Arlo's identity.

Sure, he had broken down barriers in his military days, and he was always looking for a new challenge to take on, but Arlo still loved all the things that Littles loved. Whether it was coloring with an array of pens and pencils, playing in a pillow fort, or simply lying down in his favorite romper and listening to nursery rhymes, Arlo was a true Little at heart.

Unfortunately, not everyone had been willing to let Arlo express his Little side, or even allow him to have that side of his life acknowledged. But that was in the past. Arlo had left the military and was determined to find a new adventure.

‘I'm thinking there's plenty of time before sunset,' Arlo mused, looking up at the sky and judging the position of the sun before checking his watch too. ‘We should totally go for a walk and explore. What do you say, Sass?'

Sass simply looked back at Arlo with his customary wholesome smile and Arlo giggled to himself. Putting it mildly, Arlo could be strong willed, so it made perfect sense that his BFF was a stuffie who couldn't actually answer back and disagree with him!

‘Okay, I'll take that as a yes,' Arlo chuckled. ‘But first let me get this tent up. And I might even try to beat my six minute record too. '

With that, Arlo set about getting his tent up as quickly as he possibly could. It didn't matter that he had plenty of time on his hands, nor that there was no one else to compete with, Arlo simply wanted to beat his own personal best time.

‘Yay! Five minutes and… forty-three seconds,' Arlo exclaimed, proudly taking a step back and admiring his perfectly assembled tent.

Arlo picked Sass up and put him in his backpack and the pair of them left camp and began to walk deeper into the woods.

Merrily humming as he walked, Arlo soon heard the distinctive sound of water trickling. And sure enough, a quick diversion eastward and Arlo found himself near a truly picturesque river.

‘Wow, this is nice,' Arlo uttered, keeping his voice low as he watched a pair of birds swoop down and take a quick drink on the opposite side of the riverbank. ‘So cool. Way better than taking all those dumb orders from that butthole of a sergeant…'

Arlo might not have had a good relationship with his old sergeant, but he wasn't about to let that get in the way of enjoying the sights and sounds around him.

As he stayed in a deep crouch position and watched the birds casually go about their business, Arlo suddenly became alerted to the sound of rustling in the bushes over on the other side of the river.

But this wasn't the light touch of a bird or even a rabbit.

It could be a bear.

Stay low, stay calm .

I really don't need to get eaten today!

However Arlo's fears that he was about to get mauled by a wandering bear were soon put to rest. Out from the bushes emerged a proud, elegant deer. It was a male deer too, his antlers looking majestic as the sunlight hit them.

‘Look Sass, he's come for his late afternoon drink,' Arlo whispered, his eyes fixed on the captivating sight in front of him.

The deer had a regal and naturally dominant look to him. He might not have been a brown bear, but there was no way that this deer would back down for anyone.

And seconds later, a female deer and her young adolescent made their way through the bushes and toward the river's edge. Arlo felt his heart miss a beat as the perfect family lapped up the water together.

Suddenly, Arlo's mind was filled with wistful thoughts of finding his own big, strong deer in the shape of a Daddy…

He'd be fast, strong, and proud.

My Daddy would look after me and make me feel special.

And he'd do all the naughty things to me too…

As his mind wandered, Arlo lost his balance momentarily and in an attempt to regain it he crunched a branch underfoot. This sound was enough to draw the attention of the deer and before Arlo could say ‘Come back, Daddy', the deer family was gone.

‘Oh well, it's not like I'm finding a Daddy any time soon,' Arlo said, wryly. ‘I live in a tent! '

Speaking of which, Arlo figured it was probably time to head back and start work on making a fire that would keep him and Sass warm through the evening and then into the long, dark night ahead…

The night sky above Arlo was a perfect black littered with countless stars. And while the campfire might have been burning bright, Arlo was struggling to stay warm. Even with his thick padded jacket on, Arlo would have loved nothing more than to feel the warm embrace of a Daddy's strong arms wrapping around his body and pulling him in close.

Still, the lack of a Daddy wasn't going to dampen Arlo's spirits too much.

‘So beautiful,' Arlo said, casting his eyes toward the half-moon and the endless supply of stars that shone above him in the sky. ‘I wish I could stay out here all night.'

But Arlo knew that it was nearly time to head inside his tent and hunker down for the night. A good night's sleep would help Arlo come up with a plan for what he was going to do next.

Since leaving the military, Arlo had relied upon his savings and living as low cost a life as possible to get by. But with his money running lower by the day and no sign of a plan formulating in his head, Arlo knew that sooner rather than later he would need to put some kind of concrete plan in place .

In the months since leaving the military, Arlo had travelled from town to town in search of something. Precisely what that was, Arlo wasn't entirely certain. All Arlo knew was that he hadn't found his place to settle down yet.

Arlo's parents had moved to Europe as part of their retirement plan, and while he knew that he could go and visit them, Arlo still hadn't actually told them about what happened with his military dream. Or more specifically, that his dream had kind of turned into a nightmare.

The longer Arlo could put off telling his parents the truth, the better as far as he was concerned. Arlo didn't like the thought of lying to them, but he knew that there was still unfinished business that needed to be settled before he could give them the full, complete picture.

But whatever he had or hadn't told his parents about his short-lived military career, Arlo had far more prominent things on his mind. Namely, how he was going to get all warm and snuggly in his tent.

After ensuring that his campfire was safely extinguished, Arlo climbed into his tent and got inside the thermal sleeping bag with Sass alongside him.

‘Okay, what shall I dream about tonight…' Arlo sighed, his mind quickly brining up images of what his dream Daddy might look like.

Before Arlo knew it, his body was tingling to the thought of what he would do if a big, gruff Daddy unzipped his tent and made his way inside. The thought of being devoured by a wild, mountain man Daddy was enough to make Arlo's hands wander down toward his special place .

However the extra snug fit of the sleeping bag made any kind of horseplay a little bit too difficult. Arlo thrusted his hips upward in a mix of arousal and frustration and then resigned himself to simply drifting off to sleep and hopefully having a sexy dream instead.

‘Maybe it's for the best, Sass,' Arlo said, his eyes feeling tired. ‘I need as much sleep as I can get. Tomorrow, we'll go into town and see what this Eagle Ridge place is all about…'

With that, Arlo's eyes shut, and he fell asleep.

A Daddy wasn't about to burst into his tent, but that didn't mean that Arlo wasn't closer to a strong, outdoor Daddy than he might have imagined.

To the sound of birdsong, Arlo sat up in his tent and felt refreshed from a good night's sleep.

It turned out that going to sleep with naughty thoughts of Daddies was in fact conducive to a sound sleep, and Arlo giggled as he remembered the dreams that had filled his head as he slept.

From his military training, Arlo knew how to get himself ready in double-quick time. After a quick wash and toothbrush at the nearby river, Arlo packed his tent in efficient style and found himself ready to rock and roll into Eagle Ridge.

While his time in the military might have ended on the sourest of sour notes, Arlo didn't see the whole experience as a washout. The fact that he was now capable of being so independent and self-reliant was something that filled Arlo with pride.

Sure, Arlo might have craved a Daddy in his life, but the number one most important thing was his independence. It might have seemed like a contradiction, but Arlo truly appreciated the fact that he could live self-sufficiently, and this was in a large part down to his military training.

‘I wish it hadn't ended like it did…' Arlo said, applying the finishing touches to his fully loaded backpack. ‘But it wasn't my fault. And I'll never, ever say it was either.'

The truth was that when Arlo's Little side was discovered, most of his fellow soldiers were cool with it. But most didn't equal all . All it took was a couple of bullies finding out about Arlo's other side and soon enough his life was being made hell on a daily basis.

What made matters worse was that when Arlo complained to his sergeant, he simply dismissed Arlo's complaints out of hand. Arlo had been hurt by this, and he knew that if his direct commander didn't support him then he was fighting an uphill battle.

As the weeks turned into months, Arlo became more and more depressed. The daily jokes, pranks, and outright hostility from a small number of bullies made Arlo lose his outgoing, happy, and determined outlook on life in service.

Soon, Arlo was rebelling against rules, doing his own thing, and finding himself in constant trouble with his superiors. It was a recipe for disaster .

And when it all came to a head, Arlo found himself out of the military with his reputation in tatters. Sure, he was in the process of filing an appeal against the judgement and also a complaint against his bullies and the sergeant, but Arlo knew that the odds were stacked against him.

All in all, it was a chapter of Arlo's life that had started as the realization of a dream but ended up resembling nothing of the sort.

‘ Poop ,' Arlo sighed, frustrated with himself that he had allowed his morning to be soured by thoughts of what had gone wrong in his life. ‘No more stinky thoughts this morning please. What I need is a milkshake with all the toppings and extras a Little could ever ask for. Now come on Eagle Ridge, don't let me down…'

With that, a reinvigorated Arlo made one final check that his camp was clear and then began the trek into Eagle Ridge.

It was a step into the unknow, but Arlo feared no one or nothing.

But Arlo hadn't met the Eagle Ridge Daddies yet…