Chapter Twelve

When I agreed to go to Chained, I did it with the intent of having an open mind, but I had no idea what to expect. Once again, the internet was my friend. I could learn anything there from how to fix a windowsill to what kinds of activities I might find at a place like Chained. To my chagrin, there was not a lot about this club that I could locate, but there were a whole lot of clubs that invited people who had particular "kinks" to come.

I didn't think of Lane as kinky. To me, that had a whole other feel rather than what I saw in him that night in his footie pajamas. No matter how he dressed or what we were doing, he just seemed like himself. Fun, silly, serious, adorable…those characteristics were present in him all the time. But would it be different at Chained?

Frankly, some of the pictures I saw were a little scary for me—a guy who I learned from a podcast would be called "vanilla" among those in the know. My favorite ice cream flavor…what did that say about me? But also, I wondered what kind of reception I'd get at the club. Would I be an embarrassment to Lane?

The craft day was being held in the afternoon. I didn't know why I expected the club to be open only at night.

"It mostly is," Lane said when I asked as we approached the building that housed the club. "Or at least most places are, but sometimes they have special events. I am new to Chained, but I understand they often have fundraisers for all kinds of charities as well. But it's nice to have an afternoon party, especially for the littles and their caregivers. In my experience, not many places will do something like that."

"Really?"

"Yes. Others often take precedence to us. Chained even has a special room just for us. I imagine that's where we'll have our craft day."

I opened the door and held it for Lane to precede me inside.

"Welcome!" A woman wearing a frilly pink dress sat behind the desk in the foyer. "Are you here for the craft day?" She giggled. "You must be because nobody else is coming in until after nine. I'm Kerry. Names please?"

"Hi, Kerry." Lane stepped forward, his backpack straps over one shoulder. "I'm Lane. I received an invitation and this is Elio, my guest. We called in his information, too."

She canned a ledger on the desk in front of her. Although she was dressed and spoke like a little girl, she had a real efficiency about her that reminded me of a certain iconic cartoon girl. "I see you here." Lifting her head, she gave a nod. "Daddy says my reading is getting very good. Please leave your phones here, and do you need help finding the changing rooms?"

"My phone?" I clutched the device in my jacket pocket, ready to protest.

"It's policy," Lane murmured. "People's privacy is very important, and all phones are cameras. I can find the changing room, Kerry. I had a tour."

"Oh, I see." Not that I was that hooked on my phone in general, but I was pretty used to having it on me. "Let me silence the ringers so it doesn't bother anyone."

"Your daddy is very nice," she said to Lane.

"Oh, he's not…I mean…" Lane seemed at a loss, so I stepped in.

"Thank you, Kerry. You seem very nice, too. I bet your daddy is proud of you." He'd handled it just right, and we left her smiling. Along a hallway, we passed many doors. "These are the private changing rooms. They are all booked tonight, but there is a room where everyone who wants to change clothes and did not get a private room can do that. It's right here." The door opened as he spoke, and a man emerged accompanied by another holding his hand. The second man wore tiny shorts and a tight shirt that was, from what I'd seen online and what Lane had explained, to be an adult-sized onesie. Knee socks and light-up sneakers completed the look.

"You okay?" Lane asked after they passed us with a cheerful greeting.

"Yes. I think so. Just something I haven't seen before. But they were friendly."

Lane set his backpack on a bench and took off the hoodie he'd worn over a very tightly fitted T-shirt with a cat on the front that looked a lot like Cat-terine. He also had brought shorts and changed into them, along with socks and sneakers. I noticed most of the other littles were being dressed by their daddies.

"I should have helped you," I murmured while stuffing the hoodie in the backpack. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine. Don't worry." He selected a locker and opened it. "We can leave our things here."

I placed the backpack and Lane's street shoes inside, and Lane closed the locker and handed me the key. "Ready?"

He grinned. "I'm so ready. I love crafts."

"What kinds of crafts will there be?" I was curious. "Coloring like the cute bunny you drew for me?"

"Oh, there's sure to be coloring," he said. "And probably lots of glitter."

"Glitter?"

He laughter rang out and a couple of other littles turned toward him. "Glitter?" one asked. "My daddy doesn't like me to play with glitter."

"Sometimes it gets in our hair," Lane confided then held out a hand. "I want to play now."

His voice had changed timbre as he spoke, and I thought I was getting to see his little come out or whatever they might call it. "You'll have to show me the way," I said, squeezing his fingers. "I'm kind of excited."

"I'm very excited." He looked around. "Let's go. I hope that boy's daddy isn't in charge. He'd probably hide all the glitter."

"Lane?"

"Yes?"

"If there is glitter, try to keep it out of your hair?"

He shrugged. "I try."

We walked through several areas on our way to the little room, but they were dimly lit, so I didn't get a really good look. Enough to know I was seeing some of the pieces of dungeon furniture I'd viewed online, but with no people around and just the actual equipment, it looked less menacing.

Not to say that I wasn't glad that we walked right past it. I was all for consenting adults doing their own thing, but I didn't think I'd like to flog or be flogged. And I was concerned about what we might find in the little room, but when we got there, it was filled with daddies and mommies and other caregivers and littles dressed like the ones we'd seen in the changing room. They were gathered around a number of tables doing…crafts. Coloring and painting and folding paper and putting together models, all sorts of things.

Lane gave a little bounce. I'm going to make goldfishes, okay?"

"All right." I let go of his hand, and Lane darted off to a table where lots of sparkly metallic paper was in use. By the end of the day, I'd learned a lot but a couple of things in particular. One, littles were all about snack time, and two, the glitter situation was worse than I'd feared and it did get in people's hair. Also, I had more skill at crafts than I'd thought.

On the way home, after he'd gone to each station and done the activities, some with me helping, listened to a lady named "Miss Lily" tell us about some upcoming events that got everyone all excited, and then finished up with a big fat oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, he could barely keep his eyes open. "Did you have fun, Lane?"

He yawned and leaned his head back. "Most fun ever. Thank you for coming with me."

I reached over and ruffled his hair. "It's okay, Lane. I had a good time, too."

His eyes snapped open. "Really?"

"Absolutely. It was fun to watch you having such a nice time."

He fell asleep on the drive while I processed the day. I was doing a lot of processing lately. I hadn't been shocked by anything I'd seen. Rather, I'd had fun, too, just being there and watching the interactions.

Surprising but true.