Page 19 of Abbott’s Lost Spoon

Of course, I said that before he told me one of the rules was, I had to eat all my veggies if he made them. We’d cross that bridge when we came to it.

We talked about what kinds of things I liked to play with. We talked about all the foods that I liked, what shows and movies, if I had any toys I preferred, what I liked to wear, if I liked cuddling or just sitting by each other. Detail after detail of what we enjoyed. And he wrote them all down. And then his last one told me I’d made the right decision. Abbott wants praise. I hadn’t told him that, but it was true. I thrived on it.

Then we talked about where our first playdate would be. We both agreed Chained would be too much. It wasn’t as easy to fall into little space, and we didn’t wanna explore this side of our relationship with an audience.

He suggested my apartment because it was familiar—all my things were here; everything was normal in that way. But I didn’t want that. I wanted to go to Soren’s. I could bring a few things, but I wouldn’t have to worry about whether he knew where something belonged or not, or if I got weird about how he washed the dishes, or all the small things that could distract me. I also wanted to see if I could fit into his life more, and that seemed like a good start.

We decided to pick a day and not rush right into it. We had work and commitments, so it would be a week before we could explore this side of our relationship. But that was probably good, because it gave him time to prepare, but it also gave me time to prep.

My stomach growled. Loudly.

“I think someone needs brunch.”

I looked up at the clock. Yikes. It was getting close to lunchtime.

“I would like that, Soren. But first, let’s shower and get dressed.”

“Together?”

“Yeah. Together.” It was a tight squeeze, but we made it work.

Chapter Fourteen

Soren

A week later, the day came for our first daddy/little date at home. I expected Abbott to want to do it at his home where he might be more comfortable, but he surprised me by saying he’d like to come over to my home. He would be bringing some of his own little things, but it gave me the opportunity to do a little shopping.

Abbott said he had an outfit he wanted to wear, but I had a whole afternoon of fun to plan for a very special little boy and me, starting with lunch. Looking at the table, I moved a few things around. I’d gone back to the site where I found the spoons and bought the cutest place setting for the meal. A place mat, utensils, a sippy cup, everything matching and everything super cute. We had not discussed a particular theme he’d prefer, and I had made a guess.

I had so many other surprises, and as I heard a car pull into the driveway, I crossed my fingers that I’d made the right choices. I walked outside to meet him.

Abbott climbed out of the car with a backpack over one shoulder. I wondered what he had brought as I met him and took the pack. One arm around him, I walked him into the house and paused in the foyer. “I want you to be honest with me and if I didn’t get things right, you have to tell me. In all the words, okay?”

“You’ll get it right.” He spoke with such confidence, it scared me. “But I promise to share what I like best.”

“All right.” I led the way inside. “Why don’t we get you dressed and then we can have all the fun.” In my room, I set his backpack on the bed. “Do you want me to help you?”

“Yes, please, Daddy.”

My chest tightened, and I opened the pack. “I see you have a couple of outfits. Would you like to wear the shorts and T-shirt or the dino jams?” Please pick the jams!

He also had some training underwear, thick cotton, but no diapers. That was a conversation for another day, though.

“Dinos.” He patted the suit, and I recalled another night he’d worn an outfit with that theme. “Please.”

“How nice your manners are, my sweet boy.”

“Thank you, Daddy.” He sat down and held out one sneakered foot, and I helped him out of his big clothes then reached for the underwear.

“Okay, one leg.” I eased him into the underwear then had him stand up and pulled them over his hips. “Rest your hands on my shoulders, and we’ll get these footie jams on you. I smell lunch is almost ready.”

“I’m hungry!” He wriggled into the jammies and bounced. “Thank you for helping me.”

I’d have known without our conversation that he was not a little who needed much discipline. It would probably come up here or there, but so far, he was the politest boy ever. And since I liked playing and having fun and the joy of the daddy/little relationship, this was also perfect for me. I could be flexible for someone I wanted to spend time with, but how nice was it that we seemed to both like this dynamic.

In the kitchen, Abbott slid into his chair, the dino tail causing only minor adjustments before he looked down at his plate and the rest. “Daddy! Did you know I love dinos?”

Honestly, most littles liked them quite a lot, but I’d taken my cue from that one outfit, and from the delight on his face, I was so happy I had. “I thought you might.”