Chapter Thirteen

Things with Elio had been going great. We'd been together for a while now, and every day I spent with him, I liked him more. We'd even gone to Chained a few times for some of their private events. It was a huge step for Elio.

The day I handed him the first invitation to look at, I wanted to show him why I'd been screaming. The worry on his face had me jumping in and trying to alleviate it quickly, and giving him that paper had been the fastest way to do so. No part of me had thought it through. Had I, I'd have held off, not wanting to inadvertently push anything Chained on him.

When I showed him, the initial reaction I saw was the curiosity in his eyes. I tried not to read too much into it. We hadn't talked about him being a daddy or possibly being a daddy for me even though daddy conversations had arisen. It was natural that they would, since he was learning about me.

Chained wasn't anything that had been put on the table as even a consideration for us as a couple, and there I was offering for him to come and not just any time; no, I picked a special event. And to my surprise, he wanted to come without asking any more questions about the event. Even when I gave him a chance to change his mind without feeling like he was being a dick, he didn't take it.

We had so much fun that day and a few others since then. I had a little snow globe we made together on the shelf. It had been a blast to create, but better than that, it was a daily reminder that we'd gone there together and that he hadn't stood there watching like many of the newer daddies often did. Nope. He dove right in, and we made a craft together.

My favorite event, out of the handful we'd gone to, had been story time. It wasn't in the little room, making it a tad more low-key. There had been a lot of brand new to the scene littles there exploring the club. Seeing the wonder of it all through their eyes was fascinating, but I didn't pay attention for long, instead allowing myself to fall into little space and enjoy the time with Elio and other littles.

We were in the main room, and a local artist slash author, who also happened to be a mommy, came and read her book. It had nothing to do with being little, and that made it better, allowing me to immerse myself in the tale. It was an alphabet book about bugs, and I loved it. All the illustrations had started as oil paintings, and they blew me away. I wasn't a huge fan of insects, but the book had kind of made me want to be.

Best of all, I sat there thinking how much I liked it that Daddy's here. That was when it hit me—it was too late to be keeping a "daddy distance" with Elio. That line had been crossed; that ship had sailed; that time had passed. I already thought about him as Daddy.

And I needed it to cut it out. He was my boyfriend. I loved our relationship. He did, too. It was nice being with someone willing to express their feelings instead of filtering them. I tried to do the same for him.

The question sat there staring at me. Did I need Elio to be my daddy, or was this enough? Going to Chained with me was huge. I loved that he did that for me. But if he said, "You know what? That's just not my thing," I could say with confidence that I'd have been okay with that.

Elio was fundamentally different than my ex on every level. And not just my ex, anyone else I'd met in I couldn't even tell you how long. Elio saw my little side as part of me. And even if he didn't fully understand it, and even if he didn't want to fully be an active part of that time with me, he saw that as the me he cared about. And he respected it and cherished it in a way I'd never experienced before. It was huge for me, that realization that I could have Elio and I could have my little side, even if if he didn't want a more active role in that side of me.

"You be good." I went to get Cat-terine off my lap so I could go to Elio's place for a movie. I wasn't sure which one Elio had picked out, but he seemed legit excited about it, and I was as always over-the-top giddy to be spending time with him, so it worked.

He'd invited me over for a lazy Sunday morning, a rainy one at that. I couldn't wait. Cat-terine, on the other hand, was not thrilled to have me leave. The tiny little ball of fur was keeping me from getting up. Sure, I could have ripped her from my lap, but it might hurt both of us and it would for sure piss her off.

That gave me an idea. I picked up my phone and called him up. He answered on the first ring.

"Everything okay?"

"Well, yes, and no. I have a little one here who doesn't want me to leave. How would you feel about having her over, too? Maybe I can make a makeshift litter box, so you don't have to worry about that."

"I think it's a great idea," he said without skipping a beat, "and you don't need to. I have some disposables in the storage closet."

"Disposables?" Was that even a thing? Must be if he had them in the closet.

"Yeah, they make disposable cat litter pans. One of the tenants left them a long time ago. I sort of forgot about them, and then you got your fancy litter box. Cat-terine is a bit spoiled. She wouldn't have used them. So I didn't think to give them to you. But now it'd be a good time. I'm going to run and get those, and you can make your way over."

When I arrived at their apartment with Cat-terine in my arms, he was just coming back from the storage closet. Perfect timing. And sure enough, he had a package of disposable cat pans. Who knew they were a thing?

But it was more than that. The place was decorated for our movie date.

"Let me set up this litter, and I'll show you what I've done for our day in."

"Okay," I said, on autopilot, my eyes still taking in the room.

"What do you think, Cat-terine?" There was a huge stuffy shaped like pancakes on the couch, a cartoon on the television, and an elephant-shaped gift bag on the coffee table, begging me to just take a look. I somehow managed not to and I was quite proud of myself. That thing was itching to be opened.

When he came back, he asked, "Did you look at your present?"

I could've been looking that whole entire time. Ugh.

"No, I wasn't sure it was my turn or if it was another of many gifts chosen to spoil a certain cat." He did treat her like gold, one of his best qualities if anyone were to ask me.

"Yeah, I guess I do, do that." He took Cat-terine from me and rubbed noses with her. "But how can I not? You're the kind of cute no one can resist."

I grabbed the bag and sat on the couch, tossing the tissue paper. When I reached inside the bag, there was a pair of footie jams and a crochet hook, complete with paci attached to it, similar to the one I wore the first time Elio saw anything little about me.

"What's this?" I asked.

"I thought we could have a daddy little day…you and me together. We could watch The Princess Bride and you can wear your new cuddly pajamas and use your paci. After the movie, we could have lunch. I got that macaroni and cheese you like, and I even found the cutest dishes that have small squares in them to separate your food—divided dishes, I think they are called."

A little day. Elio was offering me a little day. No, that wasn't true, it was a daddy/little day. Elio referred to himself as a daddy. That was huge.

"Yeah, I don't know if they're the kind you like. They have these little panda bears on them. I thought they were cute." He set the kitten down.

"Pandas?"

He nodded.

"I love pandas." I nearly tackled Elio to the ground. "You're amazing."

"I think that's your title." He kissed the top of my head.

I held him closer. "Want to help me get dressed?"

He stepped back slightly. "Yeah." His enthusiasm was overflowing. Not having been daddy to a little before, it wasn't a surprise that he didn't have the normal gear. It was a pair of pajamas that I loved, but was missing things like thick underwear or even a diaper. I ended up wearing my boxers underneath.

But really, none of that mattered. He took this time to do this for me. All of this was for me.

We snuggled up on the couch together. I sucked down my paci, my head in his lap, watching one of my all-time favorite movies, and when it was over, we had lunch together. The divided dish was far cuter than I'd imagined it would be, and I was imagining cuteness.

"Was this okay?" he asked, pointing to the macaroni and cheese.

"This was so much more than okay, Daddy."

It was the first time I had said that word aloud in relation to him, and I meant it with every fiber of my being.

"Is that okay?" I asked.

"More than," he said.