Page 13 of Hunting Little Hope
I woke up smiling. It took me a few seconds to realize why. Then it came back to me in pieces.
Master Troy’s warm voice across the table and the way he’d looked at me like it wasn’t a chore to keep me company. Not to mention he was downright drop-dead gorgeous and filled with all that Dominant confidence that made my panties wet.
As dates went, I felt pretty good about our dinner last night. In actual fact, I was feeling pretty giddy, which was ridiculous. It had been one date.
I rolled onto my side and stared at the pale strip of sunlight cutting across the bedroom wall while I clutched my new stuffed bear to my chest.
And then I reached for my phone before I could talk myself out of it.
Alas. No new messages.
Which wasfine. We’d exchanged numbers, but that didn’t mean Master Troy was supposed to message me at six in the damn morning.
Idefinitely wasn’t going to be messaging him this early either. That just reeked of desperation in a way I was not comfortable with.
Still, I set my phone back down a little more carefully than necessary.
My mind then drifted to Master Lee.
I hadn’t seen him since our art class, and we’d never exchanged digits. Maybe I would have seen him if I’d gone to the evening social instead of on my date with Master Troy.
I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d found someone more obviously suited to him than I was. Someone who didn’t get accidentally sorted into the wrong dating program and then fight tooth and nail with themself the entire time they were with him.
The thought tugged at something uncomfortable in my stomach.
Which was unfair. I didn’t belong to him. He definitely didn’t belong to me. And our time together had been nothing but kindness from a sweet man who saw a woman floundering.
I stared at the ceiling.
I could quite honestly say that when I’d signed up for this, I might have had a bit of my namesake building up inside me, but I’d never imagined that I’d meet two men within the first two days whom I really liked and felt that I connected with.
Master Troy was steady, confident, charming, and exactly the kind of Master I would normally adore. And Master Lee was sweet, gentle, and the perfect Caregiver if I could just finally relent and admit how much I enjoyed giving in to that side of me.
I didn’t know what it said about me; I liked both of them. A lot.
Well... maybe it didn’t have to say anything. There was absolutely nothing wrong with figuring things out as it went along. There were still plenty of events to go through and—in fact—loads of potential partners to meet.
Pushing aside all these crazy thoughts, I jumped out of bed, quickly got dressed, and rushed down to breakfast. As had become my habit, I stuck to the sidelines and observed the people in the large cafeteria. I didn’t see either Master Troy or Master Lee, but that could just be because I was having breakfast at a ridiculously early hour, more than they were trying to avoid me.
Probably.
The rest of the morning flew by, and I somehow managed to keep my cool through it.
And when I finally checked the schedule and saw my name slotted into the Littles rotation again, I didn’t freak out.
Instead, something inside me sparked. That ever-present curiosity when I thought about being Little. And excitement!
I could do this.
Iwoulddo this.
The activity room was set up differently from the first day. Low tables, plastic cups filled with paintbrushes, and a suspicious number of glitter bottles were stacked on each table.
There was a huge sign up against the wall.
Face Painting Challenge
Oh my goodness. That sounded like a lot of fun.
