Page 6 of Tessa

As always, Baze was quick to reassure her. “No, Tessa, I’m not mad. Seeing Jilly that upset again must have been very hard and you handled it so well. And I like Beau and Dax a lot. They are good guys, and I’m sure they’d be fantastic Daddies. But I am worried. It is awfully fast and abrupt. One minute they are asking Jilly to be their Little girl and the second she says no, they move on to you?” He frowned. “You are not a consolation prize, and I don’t want you to be treated that way or to feel that way.”

Tessa felt a stab of pain in her heart, but it eased quickly. “I hear what you are saying, Mister Daddy, and maybe I’m being naive, but I don’t really feel that way. It’s weird, but I got the feeling that Beau knew Jilly wasn’t gonna say yes, and he seemed very interested in getting to know me. And Dax said I was just Beau’s type.”

“Well, that’s good,” Baze answered slowly, obviously choosing his words carefully. “And it could very well be true. Given what I know about those two, it seems accurate.”

Tessa was intrigued, leaning forward in her chair, ready to gleam any tidbits of insight Baze might have to offer.

“Beau is generally better at reading people than Dax is. Dax seems to wear his heart on his sleeve, and I’m almost certain he has a Little side, although I could also see him being a good Daddy. He’s very fun and spontaneous and generous with himself.”

“So… I got the impression that… like… Beau is a Daddy to Dax, but they both want to Daddy a Little girl.” Tessa sucked in a breath. Her heart was racing. “Do you think that’s right?”

“That’s also my impression,” Baze confirmed with a nod. “And for the record, I think Beau daddying Dax might be a newer development. I don’t think it’s been going for years or anything. It seems like something that developed naturally over time.”

Tessa nodded, but bit her lip in worry. If she met with them and decided to get to know them with the intention of being their Little girl in the future, would they be okay with something that happened fast and suddenly? Or would they want to develop their relationship with her the way their own had developed? Slowly and naturally? Did she have the time or patience to be able to wait that long?

“I have to go make sure everyone is up and get Luna ready.” Baze squeezed her shoulder as he walked by. “It’s gonna be okay. Trust your gut and be open to possibilities but don’t feel like you have to take them just because they’re there.”

Tessa breathed deeply, letting Baze’s wisdom cover her like a warm blanket. “Thank you, Mister Daddy.”

To distract herself, she got out a coloring book and some colored pencils and started a picture of a sweet baby giraffe that reminded her of Gus. She took her time and did her best work, outlining and shading all the giraffe’s markings. When she was done, she printed her name on the bottom, added the date and carefully tore out the page. Sometime during her coloring she’d decided to present the picture to her potential new Daddies.

The idea of doing so made her feel nervous and vulnerable, but also excited. If nothing ended up happening between them, it was just a picture, but if it did, then it would be a sweet keepsake of their first date.

“Okay, girlies! Time to line up! Breakfast is being served downstairs in five minutes!” Baze called out.

Tessa hurriedly put away the coloring book and colored pencils, and raced to the back of the line, her heart pounding.

Ahead of her, her twin sister Ellie, an adult baby most of the time, cradled in her Daddy’s arms, reached out for Tessa’s hand and squeezed it. Ellie didn’t let go as they stepped onto or off of the elevator, holding tight until they stepped into the dining area off the kitchen that was used as a cafeteria for the staff and Littles who lived there.

Most everyone was already in line for food, even though they had arrived right on time.

Sucking in her breath, Tessa scanned the room, until her eyes found Beau and Dax sitting together at a table at the far corner of the room. Neither of them had food in front of them, so they’d waited for her to get there.

Their eyes met hers and Beau lifted a hand, curling his fingers up to wave her over.

Her heart in her throat, Tessa dropped her sister’s hand and made her way over to them.

Beau

Tessa looked adorable in a bright sundress with a headband in her pixie-do and jellies on her feet. She had a stuffed giraffe and a piece of paper in her hand.

As Beau watched her make her way across the cafeteria, her body language a juxtaposition, with a skip in her step and a worried frown on her face, his heart clenched.

She was, as Dax had said, exactly his type, but this wasn’t just about him; it was about Dax too, and for once, Dax wasn’t wearing his heart on his sleeve. He seemed to be approaching the situation with caution and uncertainty. Beau assumed his reaction was due mostly to the spanking and lecture he’d gotten the night before, after the Jilly debacle, but he couldn’t be sure.

Still, Dax remembered his manners and stood as she approached, pulling out a chair for her between the two of them.

When she reached the table, she ignored the chair, sticking her arm out in front of her, the piece of paper, which he could now see was a coloring page, clutched in her fist.

“I made this for you,” she offered, her hand poised directly between them, waiting for someone to take it.

Dax got to it first, and Tessa released the paper when he gripped it. “Tessa, this is very good coloring!” he exclaimed, holding up the paper so that Beau could see the colored-in giraffe.

“It is very good coloring!” Beau agreed. “And it kind of looks like your friend there.” He nodded to the stuffed animal she was clutching tightly against her chest. “What’s your giraffe’s name?”

Gasping in surprise, as if she’d forgotten she’d brought him, Tessa held the stuffie out in front of her, presenting it for their inspection. “This is Gus,” she said shyly.

“Gus is a wonderful name for a giraffe. Is Gus hungry? Does he like pancakes?” Beau asked with a twinkle in his eye. His own stomach was rumbling, but he had an ulterior motive as well. His hope was that once they all had food in front of them, they’d have something else to focus on besides their own awkwardness and conversation between them would flow more freely.