Page 3 of Stay, Baby
"Yes." My reply is automatic. I know what to say. "May I go?"
Bash cocks his head, his floppy brown hair shifting to show off his high cheekbones. He's handsome in a menacing way that I don't know what to do with.
"Sweetie," the woman murmurs, touching meagain."I'm Sue. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Please stop touching me," I croak out, my throat closing over with fear. Where am I?
two
LULU
Glancing around, I realize I'm on the other side of a booth. The tent blocks the sun, offering some relief from the anxious heat making me clammy.
"Mommy, look!" A girl, no, a woman, skips over to the beautiful woman who keeps touching me. "They were giving out free stickers!"
Absolutely confused, I watch the interaction.Mommy?
"How fun!" Sue exclaims, turning away from me to look at the other woman. The newcomer is wearing baby-blue leggings and a very long sweater with bows printed all over it. The socks peeking out from her boots are hot-pink, matching the hair ties keeping her bright-blonde hair in long pigtails.
She's cute. My Little takes note and catalogues everything she wants of this girl’s outfit.
"Hi!" the pretty girl screeches, bounding over to me. I suck in a breath as my worry skyrockets at her energy but she doesn't seem to notice and introduces herself. "I'm Cora!"
"H-hi, Cora," I reply because it's polite and Bash and Sue are watching. "I'm Lucinda."
Internally, I cringe at my own name. This is just another moment where I'm not the light my mom birthed me to be.
"My Mommy hire you?" Cora bounces on her toes and looks back at Sue. They can't have much of an age gap...
Glancing around again, I think I might throw up. This is way too much for me. I'm confused and not quite processing anything. "No," I whisper and swallow, trying to find an escape. "Excuse me."
"I hire you, then!" Cora skips around and blocks my exit. I've been in this situation many times before but normally it's my father locking me in a basement with no way out. Not a fun girl who looks like everything I wish I was.
"Cora, baby, come here," Sue coos, and wraps her arm around the smaller woman's waist. Cora pouts but otherwise allows Sue to pull her away from me.
That one act makes me sad, which can't be right because I was feeling sick about being stuck here with them.
Before I can utter a word, Bash is there and handing me a flier. "I saved you from being trampled, you can repay me by listening to my spiel about the positions we have available." He curbs the guilt trip in his statement with a wink.
Feeling a little blank and mute, I just wait him out. I'm in public, someone would come to my rescue if this guy hurt me.Hopefully. And if they don't it would probably be because they saw me being rude to these nice people.
Gosh, I hope they're nice.
"We are a brand-new establishment a few miles out of town. Actually just finished the final touches." Bash looks excited to tell me about whatever this is, so I stay quiet. "A group of us have acted on the idea of creating a kink-friendly shelter for survivors. By survivors I mean, abuse, accidents, loss, homelessness, and general mental health struggles. We offer a range between long-term board and support groups. Well, wewilloffer."
I glance down at the image on the front of the flier and admit I'm intrigued and a little envious of the people who get to live there.Am I a survivor?
"We're in the hiring process. All positions need to be filled which ranges from cleaning staff to counselors and support team members. If you would like, we can have an onboarding interview in person to discuss areas of interest. Our boss and founder would be an integral part of finding a placement that would benefit you and the program. Thoughts?"
Thoughts?Oh. "Nice," I mutter, flipping through the pages and refusing to look at him because the blush that rises to my cheeks embarrasses me.Nice?I'm so rude.
Bash chuckles and taps the pages. "I think you would fit in very well, little one. Every staff member is kink-informed or is in the lifestyle."
"The lifestyle?" I squeak. What the heck is happening?
Bash frowns a little but straightens his shoulders a bit. "You met Cora and Sue. Sue is Cora's Mommy, and Cora is her Little girl. Many of us are of the age play community."
"Has t'go," I breathe, panic pushing the childish words out of my mouth.
