8. Bella

He wanted her? What? Seriously?

Was she dreaming? Or had she fallen and hit her head? But this felt very real. The way she felt about him felt very real. Even though she didn't really know Chase, she had a feeling about him that she'd never had with Jared.

Absently, she reached out and tucked her fingers into the collar of his button-down shirt, twisting nervously. When she realized what she was doing and that she was causing wrinkles, she snatched her hand back. "I'm sorry."

Chase smiled and pulled her hand back to the collar of his shirt. "Don't be sorry, baby. If twisting your fingers in my shirt is soothing for you, I want you to do it."

Huh. That was different. Jared had freaked out on her when she'd done that one time when she'd been afraid of a thunderstorm.

"I don't want to wrinkle it," she said hesitantly.

His warm hand cupped her chin, and when she raised her gaze to meet his, she felt warmth spread through her.

"I don't give a fuck if you wrinkle my shirt. If it comforts you, I want you to do it. Understand?"

Well, hell.

She nodded and slid her fingers back around the fabric, twisting it gently as she tried to figure out what she wanted to say. "I… um, are you sure you like me?"

Those steel-gray eyes darkened as he stared at her and tilted his head slightly. "I don't like that you're doubting it. Yes. I am absolutely positive. I haven't stopped thinking about you since Saturday."

Wow.

She was pretty sure her cheeks were bright pink. They certainly felt like they were on fire. "Oh."

He chuckled. "Is that a good oh, or a bad oh?"

"A good one."

"Yeah?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes. I mean, I've been thinking of you too. I think Ava was trying to play matchmaker."

A devastatingly sexy smile crossed his face. "I think so too. Not that I'm complaining."

"Me either."

"Are you working today?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Not really."

"You edit books, right?"

"Yeah. I'm freelance, though, so I run my own business."

The look on his face was more impressed than anything, something else completely different from how Jared reacted to her job. Her ex had always made fun of it, saying how he thought it was ridiculous that she read books for a living.

"That's impressive. I knew you were smart."

"Thank you," she barely squeaked out.

"I have a couple of things to do at the office this morning, but would you like to do something this afternoon? We could go to the aquarium?"

Excitement bubbled in her tummy. "There's a baby sea otter there!"

Chase chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes. You like otters?"

She nodded. "They're my favorite. They're so cute and I just wanna squish their cute little faces."

Her Little was so close to the surface, which was both unexpected and welcome. She just hoped he didn't mind. The look on his face made it seem like he didn't mind one bit.

"Well, I don't know that they'll let us squish their faces, but we can definitely go see them. How about I pick you up at noon and we'll get lunch before we go?"

She was practically wiggling with excitement as she bobbed her head. "Okay!"

"Do you need help picking out an outfit?"

That question made her feel so small, and she wondered if he had any idea what he was doing to her. As much as she would love a Daddy to choose her clothes, she wasn't quite ready for him to see all of her Little stuff in her room. It would give away just how Little she was and she wanted to get a gauge on what kind of Little he wanted her to be first.

"I can do it."

He smiled and nodded. "Okay. Choose something comfortable. You can be Little or big when we go but I'd love to see you Little. It's up to you, though, babygirl."

As soon as Chase left, she went into her room and spent the next hour digging through her clothes, trying to find the perfect outfit. Never in her life had she been so excited about a date. Wait, was it a date? Or was he just taking her out because he felt bad that Jared had upset her? He hadtold her he'd been thinking about her, though, so surely it was a date.

After narrowing her outfit choices down to three different dresses, she took a shower, shaved from head to toe, then used her favorite exfoliating peach body wash. By the time she got out of the shower, she was smooth all over and smelled like peaches and vanilla. With a towel wrapped around her, Bella stood in front of the steamed-up mirror and took her time applying light makeup and styling her hair.

Chase had told her he would love for her to go to the aquarium in her Little Space, which excited her and made her a bit nervous. Jared had never wanted her to be Little in public. Even the times they'd gone out of town on vacation where no one would know them, he'd told her no. She'd never used her pacifier or sippy cup in public, but there'd been a part of her that had always wanted to go out and do Little activities while being in that head space.

Questions swirled in her mind as she got ready. Was it too soon to date? Would Chase still like her when he realized just how Little she was? Was he looking for a Little girl of his own or did he just want something casual? Of course, her overthinking caused her anxiety to spike and suddenly she wasn't so sure going out with him was a good idea. She moved over to the toilet and sat down on top of the closed lid, her shoulders slumped as she nibbled on her lower lip until she tasted blood.

Even though she'd left Jared a year ago, their marriage had been over for two years or more. They hadn't even had sex for a year and a half before she'd left. Whenever she'd tried to initiate it, he'd always acted like he was too tired. When he'd started coming home smelling like perfume that was definitely not hers, she'd stopped trying. Why she'd stayed for as long as she had, she had no idea. Probably because she hadn't wanted to be alone. Even though she'd felt completely alone during her marriage, she still had someone in the house with her… someone to talk to.

The past year had taught her a lot of things. One of those things was that being alone wasn't as lonely as she'd thought it would be. She'd been able to be more authentically herself without him there, and that had made her happier than she'd felt in years. Would Chase want her to be authentically herself, though?

A knock at her front door made her eyes widen and she realized she'd been sitting on the toilet overthinking things for much longer than she should have. In a panic, she rushed out of the bathroom toward the front door and through the peephole, saw Chase standing on the other side.

She cracked the door open and looked out at him. He had a stuffed otter in his hand, and she practically swooned when he smiled at her, but as soon as he saw her, his eyebrows furrowed.

"You okay, Bella?"

She hesitated slightly before opening the door wider while she held onto her towel with the other hand. "Sorry. I got distracted. I just need to put on some clothes."

He tilted his head, and it seemed as though he wanted to say something, but he held out the stuffed toy for her instead. "I thought you might like to bring a friend to the aquarium with you."

The otter was incredibly soft, and she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as she held it to her chest. "Thank you. You can come in and wait while I get dressed if you'd like."

Fifteen minutes later, they were walking out to his car. She had chosen a blue cotton dress that landed mid-thigh, with long sleeves, and she paired it with a pair of ballet flats. The otter, which she decided to name Ozzy, was clutched in one arm while her miniature backpack purse was slung over the other shoulder.

Chase opened the door to his SUV, and when she climbed inside, she was surprised as he reached for the seatbelt and buckled her in before closing her into the car. His scent surrounded her, and she almost wished she'd worn a pull-up instead of panties so she wouldn't have to walk around wearing soaked underwear all day.

As they drove through the streets of Seattle, she worried her bottom lip some more.

"Want to tell me what those distressing thoughts you're having are, little one?"

She glanced over at him and wondered how he knew. Was she that obvious? Gosh, he probably thought she was a fool.

"Ummm…"

He glanced at her with a stern expression before looking back at the road. "I should tell you now that lying to this Daddy isn't something that will ever be allowed, so truth, please."

The steel in his voice told her he was absolutely serious.

"I just don't want to do anything to embarrass or disgust you," she blurted out.

Within seconds, Chase had the SUV pulled over at the side of the road and he was turned toward her. "Where would you even get the idea that you could possibly embarrass me or disgust me?

She was more than thankful for having Ozzy the Otter in her hands right then because the way Chase was looking at her was making her feel squirmy.

"Jared never wanted me to be Little in public. I don't know how you want me to act and I don't want to do something stupid and scare you away and I don't even know if this is a date or not and what if I say something dumb or?—"

The warmth of his hand covered one of hers, giving it a slight squeeze as he cut her off, "Okay, calm down, little one. Take a breath. Look at me, please."

After hesitating for a few seconds, she raised her gaze to his and found nothing but warmth and reassurance looking back at her instead of judgment or annoyance.

"First of all, this is very much a date. If you want it to be. I want to date you. I'm a man who knows what I like and what I want, and I like you and I want you. We can move as quickly or slowly as you want. I'm forty years old and I've been waiting to find my perfect Little. As ridiculous as it sounds saying this so soon, I think you might be her."

He paused just briefly, warming her from the inside out with a soft smile. His words sounded so genuine.

"Secondly, there is nothing you can do to embarrass me. You can be as Little as you want to be with me. You want to wear diapers, I will put you in diapers and check you in a private area while we're out and about. You want to have a tantrum and throw yourself on the floor in the middle of a store, go ahead. You'll have a red bottom once we get home, but you can still go ahead and do it if you want to. You want to suck on a pacifier or have me spoon feed you baby food, I would love that. I get off on control and being a Daddy so the more you rely on me and let me take care of you, the happier I am. But I'm also okay with it if you want independence at times. There is no right or wrong way to be Little with me."

"And you're not going to scare me away. I've been a Daddy a long time and I know Littles have tendencies to push buttons and be naughty to test boundaries and see how dedicated their caretakers are. I won't be scared away that easily, little girl. Unless you tell me you don't want me or are not interested in me that way, I'm not going anywhere. I'll still kick your ex's ass in court and I'll still be your friend. But my hope is that you would like to explore a relationship with me."

Wow. Who was this man and what planet had he come from?

"I can see the wheels turning in your head, Bella. How about this? Would you like to spend the afternoon at the aquarium in Little Space?"

Yes. That was the first answer that popped into her head. She wanted it so badly. More than she could ever remember wanting to do anything with Jared. Chase made her feel excited about her future. He made her feel excited about everything. After taking a deep breath, she slowly nodded. "Yes."