Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 106065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
“Sloan had a brilliant idea earlier and added Build-A-Bear to my list of errands,” Greer continued. “When you wanna be little, you don’t have to say anything. You just grab this—” He opened the box, and I could barely believe my eyes. It was a frog! A stuffed frog in a light-green color. “It reminded me of your car. I thought, this will be perfect for little Corey.”
I sniffled and pinched my lips together. I was gonna freaking explode soon. They’d done this for me? Why? I couldn’t believe them. I didn’t deserve such kindness.
“When you’re holding this stuffie, we know where you are mentally.” Sloan grabbed the frog and placed it in front of me on the mattress. I felt the soft fur against my leg, and it looked so cute. So perfect.
“I wouldn’t trust me to pick out clothes for the little fella, but I did see these.” Greer pulled a pair of tiny All Stars out of the box, and that kind of broke the levees. A little, anyway. My eyes welled up, and I spluttered a teary giggle. “Sloan loves his Chucks collection.”
“I definitely do.” Sloan smiled.
When Greer snuck in for a kiss, I looked away from the private moment and picked up the frog, and just like that, I was in love with an anatomically incorrect frog with its long legs and arms. He was perfect. Many stuffies were just filled with synthetic wool, and I liked some weight to it. I didn’t want my stuffies filled to the max either.
“I will name him Chuck,” I croaked, hugging the frog to me. “Thank you so much. I can’t believe you did this for me.”
Chuck would fit in the bed with Buddy, Beast, and me tonight.
“Our pleasure, kid.” Greer squeezed my knee. “I’m gonna let you and Sloan discuss boundaries. I gotta tend to the chickens. But I meant what I said earlier—whether you want a beating or… You let me know, you hear?”
I mustered a grin and nodded. “Thank you, Sir.”
“Christ, you’re cute as fuck.” He cuffed me lightly on the chin, then left the bed—and the room.
I buried my smile against my new stuffie as a burst of happiness caused me to twitch and eeeep.
The disbelief continued coursing through me too. Tension was fading like it’d never done before. Without a proper meltdown or emotional release.
It wouldn’t go away completely without a release, but everything was better than the pressure rising.
“Are you ready to talk rules?” Sloan’s eyes sparked with a pinch of mirth. They were bluer today.
“Yes, Sir.” I sat a little straighter and positioned Chuck on my lap, his back to my stomach. “I do want chores. What Greer said at the table—I wanna do stuff.”
“We can make that happen, for sure.” He mirrored my stance and crossed his legs. “Before we begin, I’d like to know what kind of Little you are. You regress, if I interpreted it correctly?”
I nodded hesitantly. “Yeah, but…not much. For some reason, I’ve regressed more with Marcus, and I haven’t been entirely comfortable with it. It’s felt like I’ve been held down by my own mind-set.”
“I understand. You will regress how much or little as you’re comfortable with,” he assured. “Since you’re going home soon, it’s probably smart we keep it as simple as possible. We don’t want to give you more worries.”
Yeah—smart.
“I don’t want to think about going home yet,” I confessed.
“That makes two of us.” He smiled ruefully. “Unfortunately, I have this Daddy Dom brain, and I have to think ahead. I don’t want you to be extra vulnerable right before you leave.”
I knew he was right.
“So we’ll try this a few days…?” he suggested. “Just while you sort through your thoughts, think about your relationship with Marcus, try to find your way again… It’s a lot of thinking for a little boy. And I understand how overwhelming that can be.”
He was right again. I did have a lot to think about, and they were so darn sweet to let me land softly.
“I wish we could find a magical fix that made all this go away in just a handful of days,” he said, “but I’m hoping you’ll at least feel a bit better. Perhaps you’ve reached a conclusion or two, maybe the chaos in your head has settled a little, and hopefully you’ve warmed up to us enough to stay in touch.”
I let out a breath and nodded, and I dropped my chin to the top of Chuck’s head.
Let’s face it—warming up to Greer, Sloan, and Archie was already well under way. I’d liked Greer since I’d joined the community, and he’d evidently chosen partners who were ridiculously compassionate, giving, and attractive. Taking a chance and trusting them wasn’t as difficult as perhaps it should be. And hey, if they wanted to stay in touch after I went home and tried to piece my life back together, I’d come out and visit as often as they wanted me to.