1. Dale

Chapter 1

Dale

Everything was up in the air. Dale knew that he had to leave his apartment in the city, and he knew that the sooner he left the better. But Dale didn't know where he was going to end up, and he certainly had no idea what he was going to do for money either.

Living in the big city had been a dream of Dale's since his youth. Growing up, he had adored watching all the TV shows where people lived exciting, fancy lives in the big smoke. It seemed like a far more exciting and rewarding life than the one he had grown up with. And for a while, Dale's experiences in the city had lived up to his expectations. He went out, had fun, and even met someone he thought he could trust.

But the person Dale met and fell for turned out to be a bad apple, and that would be putting things mildly…

‘ Urgh , just go away!' Dale grumbled, looking at his cell phone and seeing yet another message from his ex-boyfriend Benson.

Dale turned his cell phone on airplane mode and let out a long sigh.

He might have only been twenty-two years of age, but Dale wasn't exactly the typical na?ve country boy living in the city. Dale was sassy, sharp, and stubborn too when he needed to be.

With his blond hair and emerald-green eyes, Dale cut a striking figure. He was cute with a sexy side that more often than not didn't go unnoticed. But Dale's experience with Benson had seen his confidence tumble and crash. Benson had initially seemed like the most charming, dashing man in the city. However slowly but surely this fa?ade faded, and Benson revealed himself to be a manipulative, insecure, and even cruel man. He might only have been thirty-two, but Benson had a bitterness to him that would normally take a lifetime to build and fester.

But Benson was about to be old news.

Dale was determined to leave his ex in the dust and find a new adventure somewhere else. But the only question was where that would be…

‘Where do you think I should go, Rebel?' Dale asked, picking up his most cherished otter stuffie. ‘Maybe another big city? Maybe somewhere by the beach? Maybe even somewhere in Europe? And don't mention money… you know we're broke!'

Dale rolled his eyes and laughed ruefully.

It was all very well his dreaming of moving to somewhere spectacular, but the reality was that he barely had a dime to his name. In fact, Dale had a credit card balance that would make even the biggest of big spender's blush. The reality was that Dale's options were severely limited. If Dale wanted to move to somewhere special, he would firstly need to save some money.

‘We could always…' Dale said, casting his eye toward a photo of him and his parents from many moons ago. ‘Could I really do that?'

Dale sat down with Rebel under his arm and took a moment to think.

Having moved away from his hometown of Eagle Ridge when he was only eighteen years old, Dale wasn't sure that he could bring himself to move back there, even on a temporary basis. Dale was full of pride, and he worried that he would feel like he was skulking back home with his tail between his legs if he returned to Eagle Ridge.

I can't.

I promised myself I wouldn't.

But… if it helps me find my dream life?

Dale was torn. He knew that if he returned to Eagle Ridge he would be able to pick up work and then start to save some money. Rent was way cheaper there, and the general cost of living just couldn't be compared to living in the big city. Dale very quickly began to realize that he might just have to swallow his pride and head on home.

And it wasn't like Dale would be totally isolated either. His parents might have moved away to a retirement village on the other side of the state, but Dale still had a very good friend in the shape of Marshall who had stayed in Eagle Ridge. In fact, Marshall had always said that if Dale needed to, there would be a job for him at the diner where he worked.

Suddenly, Dale was seeing how this might just work.

And on top of that, the chance to spend some real time with Marshall again would be the icing on the cake. Marshall, like Dale, was a Little. It wasn't exactly a common lifestyle choice, and Dale had always cherished the fact that he had someone in his hometown who was the same as him. Together, the two of them would sneak away to their bedrooms and spend hours coloring, playing with toys, and even having sleepovers in their snuggest, most cozy rompers.

Dale was proud to be a Little. He knew it made him different from most people, but that didn't matter to him. After all, he wasn't harming anyone. All Dale wanted was to be able to express himself and live his truest life. And if that meant playing with toys and enjoying nursery rhymes, then so what?

Sadly though, Benson hadn't been quite so supportive of Dale's Little life.

Despite initially saying he was cool and open-minded to it, Benson had gradually started to get more and more negative every time Dale discussed being a Little or showing any signs of wanting to play or get himself into Little Space. It had left Dale feeling low and almost afraid to be his realest self.

So the thought of returning to Eagle Ridge and spending some cute, cozy Little time with his oldest friend was actually incredibly appealing.

‘Rebel, I think we're moving back home,' Dale said, a note of determination in his voice. ‘Not forever. Maybe not even for all that long. But I need to rest, reset, and bring my old Little self back up to its best.'

With that, Dale set about finishing off his packing and getting himself ready for the next chapter in his life. He might have been returning to the place he grew up in, but for Dale this was all about finding himself again and making sure that he was ready for whatever his next adventure might be.

A few short hours later and Dale was sitting on the train and gradually feeling the stress and strain that Benson had brought upon him disappear. He was leaving the city, and he was leaving behind some bad memories, that was for sure.

The train carriage was like something from the past. With his own little compartment, Dale was able to snuggle on the comfy old seat and dreamily watch as the scene outside his window turned from the vast metropolis of the city to the suburbs, and then to a far more rural picture.

With his headphones softly playing one of his favorite audiobooks into his ears, Dale soon found his mind wandering. And far from being bogged down by Benson, Dale's mind was far more eager to reminisce about all the good times he had experienced growing up in Eagle Ridge.

Yes, he might have wanted to escape for a new adventure when he was a teen, but Dale could now see precisely how wonderful his childhood had been.

All that green space.

The lakes, the forests, the little stores.

I'm actually looking forward to being home…

Growing up in Eagle Ridge had been fun, wholesome, and way less dangerous than city life. Dale thought back to all the long weekend days spent playing with his friends, galivanting in the dense woodland and building forts and hunting for butterflies to marvel at and observe.

Life had been sweet.

In a way, it felt kind of foolish that Dale had ever wanted to escape at all. But he knew that at the time, his desire to leave and explore the wider world had been very real. And the truth was that Dale still felt that urge now. He was determined to enjoy himself for however long he was in Eagle Ridge, but he was convinced that when it was possible to leave and discover a new place, he wouldn't hesitate.

‘So many memories…' Dale said, his mind still flashing through his life back in Eagle Ridge. ‘And some naughty ones too…'

Dale giggled to himself as he remembered the Eagle Ridge waterfall where he would sometimes sneak off to for some private fun. He made a mental note to do the same once more, and this time he would bring a little toy with him to add to the experience.

Dale wasn't afraid of his kinky side. In fact, he embraced it. And having expanded his experiences in the city, he saw no reason why returning to his smalltown home should put a stop to that. Sure, he might not have anyone else to play with, but that didn't mean that he couldn't have some very special fun.

Even the thought of lying naked, hard, and with his cheeks parted underneath the waterfall's powerful jet of water was making his cock stiffen inside his flimsy briefs.

But before Dale could get too excited, he saw a message flash up on his phone – and even better, it was from his friend, Marshall…

MARSHALL: Yo Dale! I've got some good news for you. Not only have I booked you some shifts at The Hot Plate… but guess what? I've got you the studio apartment above the diner. It might be small, but it'll be perfect for what you need. And the best thing is that you won't even have to pay rent on condition that you help with cleaning up the diner at the end of the day. You can thank me later hehe! XoXo

Dale immediately felt so happy that he wanted to jump up and down and shout at the top of his voice. Somewhere to stay, and for free too? It sounded too good to be true. Helping out with the evening cleanup would be no big deal, and not having to pay any rent would mean that he could save way more of his wages. This was perfect. And Dale knew that he owed it all to Marshall.

DALE: Hell yeah! That's radical! Thank you soooo much, Marshall. I owe you one. Actually, I probably owe you about a hundred. I can't wait to see you again. It's been too long. Actually, it's been waaaaay to long. Speak soon XoXo.

As the train continued to chug along, Dale was feeling increasingly good about his return to Eagle Ridge. Dale couldn't quite believe that he hadn't been back to visit once since leaving, and it kind of made him feel a bit bad. Seeing how loyal a friend Marshall was, Dale figured that he probably had some making up to do on that front.

And the more he thought about it, the more Dale realized that the kind of loyalty that Marshall showed was way more than anything his friends in the city had ever shown. Life in the big city was fast, frenetic, and it seemed like making real friends was in fact pretty hard. Dale had a big social circle in the city, but when it came down to it none of them really went out of their way to help him when he pulled away from Benson.

Marshall on the other hand had come through when it mattered.

And Dale was determined to make their friendship his priority when he got himself back home. Littles always stuck together through thick and thin, and Dale was going to make sure that he and Marshall got their friendship back to its best.

With hope in his heart, Dale looked out of the window once more and watched as the sun set over the horizon. There was still a long way to go on his journey, but Dale knew that when he woke up, he would be back home – and this time he knew that he was going to be happy to be there.

And with that, Dale brought Rebel in close, let his eyes slowly shut, and allowed the audiobook's dulcet tones send him off to a most satisfying sleep.

‘ Mmmmm ,' Dale said, slowly coming round as the train's brakes brought it to a slow, screeching halt. ‘I'm… home.'

Dale opened his eyes and immediately felt his heart flutter as he saw the sign on the train platform. Eagle Ridge. The last stop on the journey. And it was a stop that filled Dale with more joy than he could have anticipated.

‘Rebel, we're here, we're finally here,' Dale said, kissing his stuffie on his black nose.

As he stretched his feet and arms out to shake off the sleep, Dale knew that this was a big moment in his life. He'd been through a lot in the last few months. From Benson turning bad to deciding to leave his city dream behind him, Dale hadn't felt able to relax for so long.

But somehow, all it had taken was seeing the Eagle Ridge sign to fill Dale with a sense of belonging and homecoming that he hadn't known in quite some time. The emotion of the moment was in danger of getting the most of Dale, and he felt his eyes fill with tears.

‘ Durr , get a grip, silly,' Dale said, laughing as he realized that he might have been over-egging the moment just a touch. ‘It's just a frickin' sign at a train station.'

Dale reached up to the overhead bag holder and took his backpack down. He had packed lightly because the reality of the situation was that he didn't have many possessions. But that was okay. Dale knew that he had what he needed.

He had Rebel, his most loved stuffie.

He had a place to stay and a job too.

And most of all, he was free from Benson and ready to start his life again.

Speaking of which, Dale knew that instead of dawdling on the train, what he really needed to be doing was getting his butt to The Hot Plate where Marshall would be waiting for him – and so too would be a stack of piping hot, syrupy pancakes!

‘Maybe this is home sweet home after all,' Dale said, taking his bag and confidently stepping out of his carriage and then off the train and onto the familiar safety of the Eagle Ridge train station. ‘Now let's get moving…'