26. Gabby

Ian and Maddie's house was enormous and stunningly beautiful. She was in awe as Sean drove up their driveway, and when she stepped out of his car, she felt a bit overwhelmed. Since this was her first slumber party ever, she was feeling a bit of nerves as well as excitement and was unsure of what to expect.

She had seen all those movies where teenage girls have slumber parties and stay up all night having pillow fights and eating candy, but somehow she didn't think that Sean and Ian would let them get away with that, even though Maddie assured her over text that she had a secret candy stash that her Daddy didn't know about.

Sean opened her car door and reached in to unbuckle her, holding his hand out to help her out. He was always doing simple, yet thoughtful things like that, and it always made her feel small. He was very good at keeping her in a Little headspace, and it made her feel safe to express herself more. She was still shocked with herself that she had initiated sex with him, but she was dang proud of herself too.

"Ready?"

Before she could answer, the front door flew open and Maddie came bounding out of the house.

"You're here! Come on, I want to show you my playroom! Hi, Sean," Maddie said, barely giving Sean a sideways glance before grabbing Gabby by the hand and tugging her toward the house.

Ian chuckled as he walked outside to help Sean carry in their bags and the dog. Sean grinned when he put the furball in Ian's arms and grabbed the bags. Ian scowled down at the dog, who began licking his hands. Both girls giggled at Ian, who seemed to be acting more disgruntled than his face let on.

"Don't give me that face, dude. We aren't getting one of you," he said to the dog.

Maddie grinned over at her and winked.

"I bet I'll have a dog by the end of the month."

Gabby giggled and followed her sister inside the house. It felt weird thinking of her as her sister, but that was what she was, and so far, everything had been going so well that she felt as though they would become close friends too. She hoped so anyway.

"Come on, I'll give you a tour."

Following Maddie through the house as she showed her all around, Gabby was sure she would get lost if she had to try to find a room by herself, but luckily, Maddie seemed stuck to her like glue. By the time they got upstairs and into her playroom, Gabby was so turned around she had no idea how to get back downstairs.

"Oh my gosh, it's so pretty! I love your teepee."

There was a pink and white teepee set up in the corner of the room with several blankets and pillows situated inside along with string lights illuminating the area.

Maddie giggled, "Thanks. I love to lay in there and read. It's so fun."

The entire room was beautiful and perfectly matching, yet Gabby still loved her own playroom more. However, she might need to show her Daddy the teepee and convince him that she needed one.

Maddie sat down on her knees in front of a toy box and pulled out several dolls, holding them up for Gabby. They looked like American Girl dolls, but she wasn't sure since she'd never actually seen one in real life. Taking the one Maddie was holding out for her, she plopped down on her bottom, and they began dressing their dolls and doing their hair while chatting.

At one point, Maddie paused and grabbed Gabby's left hand.

"Is this new? I didn't see it the other day."

Blushing, she tried to pull her hand back, but Maddie held it tightly, turning it every which way to examine the ring.

"He proposed to me before we came."

"What?" she practically shouted before jumping up to her feet and bouncing up and down excitedly.

Gabby giggled and ducked her head. She wasn't used to this kind of attention, and while it was exciting and fun, she felt slightly out of her element.

"You have to tell me all about it. Every single detail."

Once Maddie sat back down, Gabby spent the next half an hour telling her about what had happened before they came over, and when she stopped talking and looked over at her sister, Maddie was grinning like a fool.

"Oh my gosh, that is so romantic. Sean is such a good guy. When he approached me at the club, I thought he was so handsome and sweet. We had fun until Ian came storming in there, claiming me like an untamed animal."

Confusion filled her as she looked over at Maddie questioningly.

"What do you mean?"

Realizing what she had said, Maddie blushed and shook her head.

"Oh nothing, it's just silly. I'm just so excited for you."

Her entire body went numb, and she knew it wasn't ‘just nothing'.

"What do you mean when he first approached you?"

Looking down at her doll, Maddie seemed unsure of what to say, and when she raised her gaze back to Gabby, she smiled softly.

"It's really not a big deal. I was at The Playground by myself when I first met Sean. He offered to read me a book, and while he was reading to me, Ian showed up and claimed me for everyone to see. That was before I knew Ian and I were actually a thing."

The color must have drained from her face because suddenly, Maddie was up on her knees, moving closer to her.

"It was a long time ago, way before you guys met, and it really was nothing. He was just being nice to me."

Gabby knew her Daddy had a past and had been with other women before. She knew that he had played with other Littles at the club, but knowing that he had been interested in her sister, her new friend, and the only reason Sean and Maddie weren't together now was because of Ian, it made her feel ill.

Did he still want Maddie? Or think about her while he touched himself? Or while they had sex? Getting up to her feet, Gabby made her way to the door and looked down the hall both ways before figuring out where the staircase was. Maddie jumped up and ran after her.

"Gabby? I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

Shaking her head, Gabby went downstairs and somehow found the front door, swinging it open and walking outside, not wanting to break down and have a panic attack in front of everyone. Olly was in the house with Sean so he wasn't around to help her.

Walking down the long driveway, tears began to fall as thoughts of Sean and Maddie filled her mind. It was probably stupid. Nothing had happened between them, but he had been interested in her and that meant that he could still have feelings for her.

"Gabby!"

Sean's voice yelled from the doorway of the house as he scanned his surroundings looking for her. Instead of going to him, she continued walking toward the end of the driveway, unsure of where she was going to go, but just knowing that she needed to get away. She didn't want to be a second choice or watch her Daddy drool over another woman in front of her, especially since they were sisters and would probably be around each other often.

She heard Sean jogging up behind her, catching up with her quickly and wrapping his hand around her elbow, stopping her in her tracks. Yanking her arm from his grasp, she started walking again, wiping at her eyes.

"Gabby, stop, right now."

His tone was stern, and a shiver ran down her spine at his command, making her stop in her tracks, but she didn't turn to look at him. Walking around her so he was standing in front of her, he cupped her chin and tilted her head back until she was looking up into his scowling face.

"What's going on, little girl?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Gabby shook her head, unable to speak.

"Young lady, you just walked right out of the house without telling me what's going on, scaring Maddie and myself half to death, so tell me what's going on because I have no idea what the hell is wrong."

"You wanted her!" she shouted.

Taking a step back, Sean looked at her with confusion, his brows furrowed together.

"What are you talking about?"

"You wanted Maddie. You tried to get with her at The Playground. You wanted her, and you probably still want her because she's so much prettier and better than I am. You settled for me because you couldn't have her because of Ian."

Sean stared at her in disbelief for several seconds before he opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off.

"I want to go home."

Watching his expression change from disbelief to concern, he reached out to touch her, but she pulled away and started walking back up the driveway, stopping at the passenger side of his car. He followed, stopping in front of her and leaning down until he was eye level with her.

"Baby girl, there is no one in this world I have ever wanted more than I want you. Nothing happened between Maddie and me. She was there alone, she looked a little unsure, so I offered to read her a book, hoping to ease her. I could tell it was her first time there."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Gabby refused to look up at him. She wanted to believe him but comparing Maddie to herself, it was no match. Maddie was prettier, curvier, well educated, and everything else that was better.

"I want to go home," she whispered.

Letting out a sigh, Sean stepped back and nodded, pulling his car key from his pocket and unlocking the doors. Snatching open the door and climbing in before he had the chance to help her. She closed herself into the car and waited while he walked back toward the house and emerged again after several minutes, carrying their bags and the puppy.

She wasn't sure if she was being irrational or not but it felt like her heart was shattering at the thought of her Daddy being interested in another woman, and that seemed to be all that she could focus on.

Sean didn't say anything when he opened the passenger door and set Olly on her lap, closing them back into the car and making his way to the driver's side. Cuddling her little furball close, Gabby let out a shaky sigh, trying to will the tears away until she could be somewhere alone.

The drive home was silent. She could feel her phone vibrate several times in her back pocket, but the only other person who had her number and would actually text her was Maddie, and the thought that she had ruined their new relationship made her feel even worse, so she ignored it.

As soon as the car was parked in the driveway and Sean pressed the button to open the garage door, Gabby unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car, carrying Olly in her arms into the house. She went straight up to the nursery, and for the first time since she'd been living with Sean, she closed the door behind her.