Page 20 of Soothing Little Sylmen

I immediately felt guilty for having forgotten my friend, reaching out to take him and then hugging him tightly to my chest.

My Daddy chuckled. “I hope you don’t mind that I invited your friend to join us. When I saw the care you took tucking your stuffie in for a nap, I figured you two must be close.”

I nodded vigorously, and tapped Daddy’s pocket where he’d tucked away his phone. Once he’d slipped it free and handed it to me, I typed a quick message.

Thank you. His name is Bowzer and he’s very happy to meet you.

“It’s an honor to meet you too, Bowzer,” Daddy said as if conversing with stuffed animals was perfectly normal. With introductions done, Daddy grabbed one of the food boxes and opened the lid. The scent hit me hard. I dropped my head back as my eyes rolled.

“Someone’s hungry,” Daddy teased.

I nodded as I moved back into an upright position. Daddy went about feeding me, taking a bite here and there himself but mostly focusing on ensuring I got what I needed. He was so good at taking care of me, so good at understanding what I needed and providing it.

When I shook my head at another bite, he finished off what was left. Then he pushed the containers underneath one side of the fort, so they weren’t in there with us and pulled out the books.

“Do you want to read now, sweet boy, or do you want me to put on a show for a little bit? It’s still early for bedtime.”

I made a square shape in the air to show that I wanted to watch something with him. The fort was conveniently placed in a way that we could see the TV from where we were. Daddy only had to adjust one corner that was blocking my view and then we had the perfect little cave.

He turned it on and scrolled until I tapped his leg to show what I wanted to watch. It was an old cartoon; one I hadn’t seen in a long time. I so rarely took the initiative to regress on the ranch back home. I thought about it constantly but putting it into action when I was alone was harder. Plus, I never knew who would come in while I was Little.

The show played as Daddy’s arms wrapped around me, holding me tight to him. I sank into the comfort of his touch, into the comfort of the old show. Eventually he nudged me, saying that it was time to read and he was going to turn the TV off. I didn’t pout, because I was so content there was no reason to. He had given me everything I wanted. He’d been spoiling me all day.

He read each story to me. All five books were over before I knew it. Then it was just me and Daddy. I tilted my head back so I could look at him. He stared down at me, and I didn’t stop myself this time. I raised one of my hands and used my fingertip to trace along his face, moving over his skin and noticing every little part of him. He was a beautiful man, both inside and out. I was lucky to have found him, and honestly, I didn’t know how I could deal with losing him at the end of the week.

When my hand reached his lips, I jolted, realizing what I’d done. I went to pull away. Daddy grabbed my wrist to stop me. He pressed a kiss to my fingertips, his gaze never leaving mine. Then he kissed my palm. Then my wrist. He kept going and going up my arm until he hovered right above my mouth.

“Can I kiss you, sweet boy?” he asked softly.

My barely-there nod helped him close the distance. His lips touched mine, pressing softly as if he wanted to take care. Everything in my life felt like it aligned at the connection. This man, this Daddy, was the other half of me.

Chapter Ten

Gael

I stared at my sleeping boy. It was probably creepy to watch him this way. He had no clue that I was not asleep as well. We had agreed that I would stay in his room with him, though I was adamant that I sleep on top of the covers and he be tucked in. I wanted him to know that I wouldn’t do anything, not without his express consent. My sweet boy agreed, and I was glad I set the rules, because after that kiss I felt as if control was something I didn’t even know, something I didn’t even have. How could someone fit so perfectly in my life?

Sylmen was my new obsession. He was everything.

Any time I wrote lyrics or produced the melody for a song, it was often triggered by one moment. It would inspire me to the point that I would hear the melody or know the tune.

When I looked at Sylmen, I could pretty much hear an entire album, song after song, verse after verse, about love and loss and needing to trust that life would work out. I longed for an instrument to play. Maybe getting the song on paper would alleviate this fire inside of me.

But I also didn’t want to leave my boy’s side. I didn’t want to step away and leave him vulnerable—to wake up alone wondering if he’d done something wrong or where I’d gone.

My mind kept playing the kiss on repeat. The way he’d looked so vulnerable, how he’d given his consent, how his hand had felt tracing across my skin like he was memorizing me. It was staggering.

My boy started to wiggle, and I knew it wouldn’t be long till he woke up. I decided that he needed Daddy to take over this morning. He had expressed to me that he wanted to be Little 24/7, but yesterday had been kind of a test run. We needed to see where we aligned.

Even him choosing the Butterfly Room was part of the journey. I could see the longing he had to go with the Caterpillars. I could see how he wanted to just be taken care of rather than have to interact.

I would give that to him.

Easing out of the bed, I moved over to my phone to text Amelia.

Gael

Sorry to bother you so early. Is there a way to get food delivered to my room at this time of day? Well, to my boy’s room.