Page 9 of Kylie’s Kakes

I was floating on air for my ride home and as I quickly washed up and changed into my work clothes. The whole time, I kept catching myself sporting a ridiculous grin like I’d never been on a date before.

The truth was, I’d been on plenty of dates in my life. Just none since Troy. And that was a long time ago.

My afternoon shift at The Bean Box passed in a blur of lattes and mobile orders, but I was grateful to be so busy. It gave my hands something to do while my brain obsessed about what I was gonna wear and what we would talk about.

I was cleaning up spilled chai tea when I got a text from Poppy. Hey, girl. How was your first day at the kitchen?

I typed out three different responses before actually hitting send. Great. It’s so spacious, and I got a ton of baking done.

As much as it felt like lying, I didn't mention Jordan. Poppy was my best friend and I told her everything. But I wanted to keep this thing all to myself for a little while longer. If we had a second or third date, I’d tell all my friends then. But until I knew there was something worth talking about, it was too soon. I didn’t want to get everyone excited. And I definitely didn’t want to deal with all the pressure or expectations or questions from the people who were as anxious for me to find a Daddy as I was.

By the time I closed up at six, my nerves had fully caught up to my excitement. An hour didn’t feel like enough time to get ready for my date, but I was glad it wasn’t longer or that would just be even more waiting. And I hated waiting.

My first priority was another shower, but I didn’t wet my hair. I kept that dry and put it in some heat rollers while I tore through my closet. None of my clothes felt perfect for the occasion, but I finally settled on a simple green dress that Brianna said made my eyes pop. When I pulled out the rollers, my hair curled just enough to be dressy without looking like I'd tried too hard. After one last check in the mirror, I made sure my makeup was even but not too heavy right as the alarm went off on my phone.

A moment later, my doorbell rang. It was Jordan. He was exactly on time.

That gave my tummy a fluttery feeling. Like maybe he was as anxious to see me as I was to see him.

After a final pep talk, I squared my shoulders and opened the door. He was standing there with a bouquet of pale pink peonies and a nervous smile.

"Hi." He held them out to me. "These are for you. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I panicked and asked the florist for whatever looked happy."

"They're perfect." I took them and immediately buried my face in the blooms, mostly to hide how hard I was smiling. "Come on in while I find a vase."

My apartment was small and extremely dated, but it didn't look like he was judging me at all. He glanced around with genuine interest and slipped his hands into his pockets. “Nice place.”

“Not really, but it’s cheap and close to work.”

“I can appreciate cheap and convenient.” He took a few steps and was standing right behind me when I opened my cabinet.

I reached for the one vase I owned and silently gasped when I remembered exactly what else was on that shelf.

My two baby bottles were right there, lined up next to my mixing bowls where I always kept them. They were in soft pastel colors that were about as subtle as a neon sign.

Oops.

I grabbed the vase and quickly shut the cabinet door, hoping he didn’t notice.

If he did, would he call me on it? Ask if I did a lot of babysitting or had a kid of my own. If he did ask, what would I tell him? The truth would be easiest. I’d never had to explain my Little side to someone outside of the kink lifestyle, so I wasn’t sure what words to even use, but thankfully, I didn’t need to.

He didn’t ask, so I didn’t bring it up.

And that was good. Maybe. Probably. Some small part of me almost wanted him to ask so we could get that part out of the way. At some point, I’d need to find out if he was the kind of man who wanted to be dominant. One who wanted to be my Daddy.

But that conversation wasn’t forthcoming, so I filled the vase with water and arranged the peonies with slightly shaky hands. "These are gonna look so pretty on my counter." I put the vase down and grabbed my purse before he could ask any questions I wasn't prepared for. "Ready?"

"Ready." He held the door for me on the way out and again at the car. Troy used to do that too, and it was nice. I’d almost forgotten how much I liked it.

“You look beautiful, Kylie.” Jordan walked beside me and lightly placed his hand on my lower back to direct me to his car. His extremely expensive car.

“Is this a…Maserati?” I didn’t know much about cars, but one of my favorite songs was about a Maserati, so I’d looked them up. “Wow.”

“Yeah.” He held my hand to steady me as I climbed in the car, then stood there and watched as I buckled my seatbelt. “It’s a little flashy, but I wanted to impress you.” He winked and then closed the door.

I was impressed.

I’d been impressed since the first time he walked into the coffee shop…and he continued to impress me with every interaction.