Chapter 9

Raelynn

Two of theLittles scooted over a bit and Raelynn sat on the seat they'd created for her. The girl who had asked her to join them held out her hand and said, "I'm Wren," as they shook hands.

She was a beautiful girl with red ringlet curls that Raelynn could only dream of having. Her nose and cheeks had a light dusting of freckles, and her eyes held a light of mischief that let Raelynn know she was probably a handful for her Big.

"I'm Rae-Rae. Well, Raelynn when I'm Big, but right now it's Rae-Rae."

"That's a pretty name."

"Thanks." Why was she suddenly so shy?

"I'm Hayleigh," a tall brunette girl said, her dark eyes shining with warmth and welcome.

"Hi," Raelynn said as she waved in Hayleigh's direction.

"You know me already," Sadie said from her spot next to Hayleigh. "I take it that things went well this afternoon?"

Sadie's sly smile made Raelynn laugh. "Yeah, it went really well." She felt her cheeks heating and knew there was a blush staining her face.

"Yay!"

"Wait…" Wren interjected, "What went well?"

"Our new friend here," Sadie explained, "got to the ranch only to find the Daddy she's loved and regretted leaving for forever works here."

"Who..." Hayleigh asked, "you mean Les?"

"The one and only, or should we say Rae-Rae's one and only?" Sadie laughed.

"Well, this is a story we all need to hear, but first, what are we doing for Repeat Day?"

Wren changed the subject and Raelynn was glad for it. She and Les were just getting to know each other again. She wasn't sure where it was going and didn't really know what to say about it.

"Well, since it's Repeat Day, we could repeat some of the best antics we've ever done," Hayleigh suggested.

"Oh! Can we repeat the unicorns? Please say we can do the unicorns again!" Wren was bouncing on her seat in excitement.

"Unicorns?" Raelynn asked, "What unicorns?"

"See, the Bigs kept saying there's no such thing as unicorns. We knew if they spotted one in the wild, they couldn't deny they existed. So, we arranged for some of them to simply appear out of the blue."

"No way, Wren. I don't think any of us sat right for a month. Besides, it didn't go well."

"But, that's why we should repeat it. So, we can get it right this time. Nobody said it should happen the same way."

"It might be nice to try and get it right but still, not the unicorns."

"Rae-Rae's repeating a relationship. Maybe we can do something like that," Sadie suggested.

"But we love our Bigs and besides, I don't think there is anyone in my past I'd want to try again," Hayleigh pointed out.

"Not where we try a past relationship, but we all have those moments we wish had gone better, right? We could try them again and get them right this time." All the girls leaned forward a bit at this idea, as if they wanted to hear more of what Sadie was suggesting. "I know I'd love to go back and not make such a terrible first impression."

"That's not a bad idea," Wren admitted.

"Um, I know I'm new," Raelynn cut in shyly, "But, doesn't trying to change the past usually turn into a disaster?" She looked around at the other girls, who seemed to be considering her words.

"Well, most every antic around here turns into a disaster, so we're used to it," Wren finally said. "Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

There was silence for a few moments, accompanied by low sounds of fidgeting on their seats, as they all considered this.

Raelynn could think of plenty of things. None of them good and almost all of them ending in a roasted bottom. The idea of a hot bottom wasn't totally unpleasant, though. It had been a long time. But there was one possibility that she thought the girls needed to consider before they did this.

"I saw a movie once where this guy tried to fix all the mistakes he made in his relationship and every time he tried to change something, it ended with him not having the relationship anymore."

That made the girls really think about their idea, before they finally decided it might not be worth it.

"So, that brings us back to the drawing board. What are we gonna do for Repeat Day?"

Wren's question was met with silence. Raelynn really wanted a chance to see them again so she spoke up.

"We could think about it tonight and get together some time tomorrow to discuss ideas."

"Good plan," Wren declared, "Let's meet up here tomorrow night."

"Just in case, we should get Rae-Rae's number. We can add her to the group chat and if any of us can't make it, we can reschedule."

Raelynn gave out her number and quick as a flash, her phone started pinging with texts. Before she had a chance to check it, Daddy came walking up.

"I hate to end the fun, but we have to get going, babygirl."

"Okay, Daddy." She stood and all the girls stood too, giving her hugs as she got ready to leave. Raelynn accepted each warm embrace, thankful to have made some great new friends.

Les

Les closedthe door to Raelynn's room. God, he hated leaving her. He'd find Master Derek tomorrow and tell him what was going on. It was short notice, but maybe he could get some time off to spend with his girl. For now, he'd helped her into her pajamas and had left her tucked into her bed reading on her e-reader.

As he approached the front desk, he noticed Derek standing in front of it, arms crossed and leaning against it as if he was waiting for something. Maybe they had a new guest coming in. Sadie usually greeted them as well, but she was at the bonfire tonight.

As he got closer, he noticed something else. There was someone working at the desk who shouldn't be. That was weird. John usually worked down in the Dungeon. Les wondered if Luna who he should be relieving was sick. But no. That wasn't right. He'd seen her earlier as he and Rae-Rae had been headed to dinner.

As he came to his station ready to clock in, Master Derek spoke, "You've been here a while, Les."

Shit, was he about to get fired or something? "Yeah, a couple years now, I think."

"Since the day you got here, I suspected you loved someone. You never gave a second look to any of the Littles who came through, and the few times you've had to step in on something, your heart wasn't in it. While you're protective, extremely protective, of all the Littles here, it seems to be as more of an Uncle."

Les remained quiet. He didn't really know what to say. Every word was true, so he couldn't deny it. He just didn't know where the conversation was going.

"Imagine my surprise when I found out from my wife that, not only was I right, you do love someone, but that the someone you love checked into our resort. That you've reconnected. That you've become her Daddy while she's here."

"I'm..." Les started to apologize but the truth was he wasn't sorry, and he didn't think Derek was mad about it. The man looked like a big, tough guy but he had a soft spot for Littles and was a hopeless romantic who often tried to set couples up if he saw they might like each other. Les decided to keep it simple. "Yeah, that's right."

"I looked and you haven't taken any time off since you started. Don't you think it's time you took some?"

"I was gonna talk to you tomorrow about that."

"Good," Derek said as he clapped Les on the shoulder, "Then you won't mind that I already took care of it. Go, spend time with your Little girl."

"Now?" Les asked, shocked. He'd been sure this would be too short of notice.

"Yes, now. I've got your shifts covered. You've got nine days off."

"But she's only here for six more days."

Derek didn't answer, he just hummed as he walked away. Les stood there in shock for a while before deciding he was wasting precious time. He practically ran to his apartment, gathered up anything he thought he might need, then rushed back. He couldn't wait to hold Rae-Rae all night long. Hopefully, she'd let him.