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“I’m going to appreciate any present you get me too.” He seemed to be stumped at what to say next, so he kissed my cheek. “I’ve been really trying to be good for you too, Daddy.”
So repeating it over and over made it more true?
Got it.
“You have.” Squeezing his hand, I pulled him closer and kissed his cheek again. “Alright, let me get something out of the trunk and then we’ll go inside.”
He sucked in a breath like I’d said I had Santa back there. “Okay, Daddy.”
Stefan was so subtle.
It got even worse as I released his hand and went around to the back of the car. “Then we’ll go inside and we’ll have some fun.”
He wasn’t really listening to what I was saying, but it seemed he tracked some of it even though his eyes were following every movement I made. “What kind of fun, Daddy?”
The slightly distracted tone in his voice had me trying not to smile. I wasn’t even sure he’d realized he’d asked a question. “How about we read a book?”
That had him blinking as he realized what I’d suggested. “Read?”
“Yes, I thought we could curl up and I could read you a book for a while.” Pulling his present out from the trunk had him sucking in a breath again, but he didn’t ask about the decorated bag just yet. “We could do one of your new ones or try something more young at heart.”
Or just young.
I had a variety of books currently on my shelf and I was positive we could find something he’d enjoy no matter what his headspace was.
“I like books and…and Kenzie said you’d read to me.” Stefan’s strategy seemed to be to make sure I knew most things that could go wrong would be Kenzie’s fault.
But since Kenzie had been the person to suggest most things to Stefan, I didn’t fault him for that line of thinking.
“I would love to read to you.” Swinging the bag a bit to catch his eye, I shut the trunk. “Let’s go figure out the best way to cuddle.”
Stefan’s attention kept bouncing back and forth between the bag and the conversation, so it took him a second to realize he had a question. “Are there lots of options?”
“Yes.” Taking his hand, I led him toward the house. “We could sit side by side on the couch. You could curl up on my lap on my big chair. We could curl up in my bed—fully clothed, of course.”
That got a giggle out of him and he blushed, but he also kept watching the bag as I swung it out in front of me. “Do…do the options change if I can’t be little? That’s what this is, right? Seeing if I can be little.”
“No, it’s seeing if we can bring out your little side. I already know he’s there. He might just be hiding. You look kind of shady sometimes. He might be stubborn.” My teasing response got another happy sound out of him.
“So you’re not going to worry if he’s stubborn?” Stefan’s gaze finally lifted up to meet mine for a moment. “If he’s stubborn, should I sit next to you?”
“First, do you have any limits I should know about? Did any of those options make you feel nervous or like we needed to put it off? Remember, it can be for any reason.” I’d run into people who had some fascinating limitations, so nothing would shock me.
Stefan actually took the time to think about it. “I think the bed would give me…well, grown-up thoughts. So, since that’s not our goal, maybe we don’t do that yet?”
“I think that’s a very logical answer.” Leaning over, I kissed his cheek again. “Thank you for telling me how you feel.”
His blush that time seemed to be because of the praise. “You’re welcome…Daddy.”
Stefan was still working through his feelings on the title, so I just took it in stride and tried not to draw too much attention to it. I simply squeezed his hand and led him up on the porch. “Taking that into consideration, I’m going to make the executive decision to curl up in the big chair. It’s oversized enough that we’ll be able to have a good cuddle, and I think you’ll like the gliding motion.”
And I was pretty sure being held would tempt his little side to peek out at least.
“I…I liked cuddling with you in the library the other day.” Stefan worked at the admission, looking sweet and nervous at the same time. “And…and I liked the way you held…the way you helped me with my applesauce.”
Giving his hand another squeeze as we headed into the house, I shut the door behind us. “I thought that was the perfect way to spend a lunch break and I’d like to do that more with you.”
He cocked his head, making me smile as I realized I’d been a bit vague. “The cuddling and feeding part. It doesn’t just have to be at lunch.”
