Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Elliot

I washed the chlorine from Tinsley's body. She had been so hungry leaving the water park, we'd skipped showers and gone straight for the picnic. I hoped her sensitive skin wouldn't be irritated.

"Are you itchy, baby?"

She shook her head and continued playing with her mermaid Barbies. Slurping noises filled the spacious bathroom as she sucked her pacifier so hard, I wondered how it didn't hurt her jaws. She'd had a bottle and several snuggles. After her bath we were going to have a movie night.

I pulled the stopper in the tub, and she quickly slammed her hands over it. "Water! Water!" she yelled. "Oh nu."

Oh, we were going to be theatrical tonight. I grabbed her pacifier from the water and set it on the counter. I was sure she needed her sassy, little mouth free.

"The water needs to go home, so we can watch your movie."

"Waterrrrrrrrrr," she wailed, flipping on her belly and looking down the drain. "Come backs!"

Shaking my head at her antics, I scooped her out of the tub. "Aughhh, mermaids need water. Can't breathe. Halp!" she yelled, flailing about.

Laughing, I tightened my hold on her. "Oh no, what happens to mermaids if they don't have water?"

"They turn into sea carrots."

Sea carrots? "Baby, do you mean sea cucumbers?"

"Oh yeah, that's what Tinsley means."

"You are very silly," I told her, pressing a kiss to her nose. Setting her on the bed, I turned to get her a clean diaper. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw naked booty cheeks running from the bedroom and back into the bathroom.

"Tinsley Harper!" I scolded before chasing the runaway mermaid.

She was already sitting in the tub, plugging the drain back up. She looked at me in triumph as she flipped the taps back on.

"Tinsley." I tried to be stern, I really did, but she was so damn cute.

"Get in the ocean, Dada!" She patted the bath like I didn't have the two brain cells it took to understand that she was pretending the tub was an ocean.

"Maybe I don't like the ocean."

She gasped in outrage.

"What's in it for me if I get in the ocean?"

"You can play mermaids with Tinsley."

"Can I be a merman?"

"Nu."

Snorting at her answer, I started to undress. "Can I be Prince Eric?" I never got to be a fun sea creature. Last time, she made me be Skuttle, the dumb bird who didn't even know what a fucking fork was.

"Nu."

"You know, you're awfully bossy for a mermaid," I said, climbing in the tub.

"Tinsley is the head mermaid."

"Oh, I see. Well, can Daddy be the head merdaddy?"

"You can be Ursula."

I frowned. "The squid lady?" I loved to have this conversation with her. She got so into the details. It drove her crazy when I called Ursula a squid.

"She was a cecaelia, Daddy! A C-E-C-A-E-L-I-A!"

"Right. Right. A seacilla."

"Daddy!" she yelled as she splashed me.

I threw my head back and laughed, unable to keep the charade going. "I love you so damn much, my little mermaid."

She giggled and climbed between my legs. "Love you, Dada."

I laid in the tub with her for another hour while my body became an island for her babies to sunbathe on. Watching her play so freely was such a beautiful gift—one I vowed to never take for granted.

"Tinsley hungry," she said, bringing me from my thoughts.

"You're hungry?"

"Yas-huh."

"Let's order room service, yeah?"

"Macaroni and cheese?"

"Nope."

"Nu?" she questioned, looking horrified.

"No. Only sea carrots," I teased.

"Dada." She groaned, splashing me again.

Snuggled together on the couch, I rubbed Tinsley's belly. She was cuddly and sleepy.

"Good day with you."

Smiling, I kissed her cheek. "I had a good day with you, too."

"Best ‘cation ever."

I loved that she was so easy to please. This was an inexpensive vacation, not more than four hours from our home, and not even crossing state lines.

"I agree."

She twirled my wedding band around my finger. "Tomorrow?"

This time I knew what she was asking. "Tomorrow we are going to do some shopping and then we're going tubing in the afternoon."

"Fun," she answered.

"I think it will be fun."

"Scary?"

"Well, new things can be scary, so maybe? But I think the fun will outweigh the scary."

"Yas-huh," she agreed.

"What is something you want to find tomorrow while we're shopping?" It was a silly tradition we'd started on our honeymoon. We'd pick up some touristy item, usually something tacky, and proudly display it on our "memory shelf" in our home. My favorite was a shot glass shaped like a pair of boobs. They had nipples and everything. Tinsley's favorite was a set of salt and pepper shakers that were shaped like turtles, but when you flipped them over, they had human anatomy.

"Maybe a coffee mug?"

"Oh, are we going to start a mug collection too?"

"Yas-huh," she answered, nodding her head exuberantly. "Not for coffee, though. Is yucky."

Chortling, I squeezed her tight. "You make me so happy, little one."

Tinsley

Resting my cheek against Daddy's chest, I listened to his heartbeat. Laying with his thick arms around me and his scent surrounding me was so calming. He patted my diapered butt gently. He'd put a movie on for me and I was watching it through heavy eyelids. Every once in a while, Daddy would look at me to see if I was sleeping or not. I wasn't. I was a tough cookie. Sleep wasn't gonna get me.

Daddy tried to move me, and I whined.

"Baby, I need to go pee. I promise I'll be fast."

"Nu."

"Baby," Daddy warned.

"Go wif you," I mumbled, closing my eyes.

"You can't go with me to the bathroom, baby. You're so sleepy. Let me tuck you in and I'll come to bed too."

"Nu." I was not budging on this issue.

"Tinsley Harper…"

"Nu."

"Tinsley Harper, you are being…"

"Elliot Michael…" I interrupted. Oh shit. Sleep deprivation. That was the only answer.

"Oh, little girl," he warned, setting me on my feet.

My butt clenched in anticipation, and I covered my cheeks quickly.

"No, Dada!"

He had my diaper unsnapped and my body over his knee before I could even fully process what I had done.

His large hand covered both of my cheeks as he brought it down in rapid succession. Smack. Smack. Smack.

"Daddy," I cried, kicking my feet out.

"Oh, I'm Daddy now, huh? Because I wasn't when you were being sassy."

Smack. Smack. Smack.

"I'm sorry!"

"No, I don't think you are, little girl. That's twice this trip that you haven't used my proper title and I warned you last time what would happen if you did."

Smack. Smack. Smack. Smack.

"What's my name, Tinsley?"

"Dada," I sobbed, going limp over his knee.

"That's right, I'm Daddy."

Smack. Smack. Smack.

"How many letters are in Elliot Michael?"

He wanted me to do math? Now? At a time like this?

Coughing, I tried to count. "Eleven," I answered.

"Nope." Smack. Smack.

"Thirteen?" I cried, kicking out. My poor butt was on fire and my heart was heavy. Why had I been disrespectful to Daddy?

"Thirteen," he confirmed, setting me on my feet between his legs again.

He held my hips firmly in his hands. "Go get your naughty girl paddle from my bag under the bed."

I sobbed, but ran to do as he asked. Thirteen with the naughty girl paddle?

Locating it quickly, I ran it back to Daddy and waited for him to position me again. Tears rolled down my face. I hated that I had upset him.

"I'm sorry, Daddy." I was feeling so very contrite now.

"I know you are now, baby. You're still my good girl, you just made a naughty choice." He kissed my forehead before laying me back across his knees.

"Thirteen, baby, I'm not going to make you count them because I want this to be over as much as you do, but do not make me have to repeat this lesson, do you understand?"

"Y-yes, Daddy." I hiccupped.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

I swear that thing was carved from the wood of the forest in Dante's Inferno. It packed a terrible sting.

"Ouchie! Ouchie!" I cried.

"I know it hurts your ass, baby, but do you know what else hurts?" Daddy lectured between swats.

"N-nu, Dada."

Smack. Smack. Smack. Smack.

"My heart, because you were deliberately disrespectful to me. You know calling me by my name when we're alone together is a big deal to me, but you chose to do it anyway. Do we disrespect each other, Tinsley?"

"N-no, Daddy," I sobbed.

"No, we don't."

Smack. Smack. Smack. Smack.

" Last two," was all the warning I got before he brought the paddle down with more force than before.

"Ouch, Daddy!"

Daddy patted my back while I cried into his leg. "Shhhh, it's okay. It's over now, baby. You took your spanking like such a good girl," he soothed. Standing me between his legs, he let me cry into his chest while he whispered praise into my hair.

A few minutes later, he took my hand, and started getting me ready for bednight. I didn't fight him this time. He fastened my diaper back on before tucking me in on my tummy. He handed me Count Cluckula and then put my pacifier in my mouth. I was exhausted. Daddy rubbed my back softly before kissing the back of my head. "Rest, baby, I'll be here when you wake up."