Page 24 of Ace

“It’s non-negotiable,” Ace told her. “Little girls don’t need to cuss. And following the rule will remind you who you are even when you can’t be that person.”

“That blows,” Lizzie announced but she wrote it anyway.

“A couple more for now, and this one is really important. Since you spend so much time in a Big headspace, you need to be intentional in telling Daddy all about your day and all the things that happen in it. There might be something important that doesn’t seem important to you at the time because you aren’t feeling Little. But it’s hard for Daddy to take care of you properly if he doesn’t know what’s going on in your life.”

“I guess, but I don’t really understand this rule. How do I know what’s important and what’s not? Do I just give you every stupid detail of my day? I brushed my teeth, I went pee, I watched a show, I ate ramen for dinner. None of that is important.”

“It could be. But I think you will know if something is important enough to tell me or not. And if in doubt, tell me anyway.”

“Okkkayyy. Be prepared to be really bored,” she said, rolling her eyes as she wrote it down.

“I can deal,” Ace retorted with a laugh. “Besides, nothing about you is boring. Anyway, last rule. Ready?”

She sighed an exaggeratedly put out sigh and bobbed her head up and down.

“The last rule is always to be honest with Daddy. No lying.”

Lizzie blanched when he said that. It was fast, and she recovered quickly, but he saw it. “Is there a problem, little one?”

“No, Daddy,” she said sweetly, and busied herself with writing it down.

But he’d seen the hesitation. He knew he hadn’t imagined it. He had the distinct feeling she was hiding something and whatever it was, she wasn’t sharing.

“Honesty is important in all relationships, but especially in ones like this,” he told her, hoping that the reminder would prompt her to draw out whatever she was hiding from him. It didn’t. She finished writing and closed the book.

“Daddy, I’m hungry. Can we order dinner now? I heard the mac and cheese was really good, and that Chef Graham can make shark chicken nuggets! Can we have that?”

Ace sighed inwardly and forced a smile. It was hard for him to move on to the rest of the evening when he knew his babygirl was hiding something from him, but she obviously wasn’t ready to talk about whatever it was and he had to respect that. Besides, he couldn’t really punish her for breaking a rule before it was a rule, so moving on to dinner was probably for the best. “Sure, sweetie. If they have that in the kitchen tonight, we’ll get that. If they don’t, do you have a second choice?”

“Maybe a burger or something? You could order from King’s.”

“King’s isn’t a part of the room service menu. They don’t deliver.”

“Maybe not to regular people,” Lizzie countered, sticking out her tongue, “but they’d deliver to you. Bear could run it up.”

“You’re probably right.”

He made a few quick calls and in the end they ended up with food from both places. Mac and cheese and shark nuggies for her, and a burger and fries for him. They ate it in silence, both tired and lost in their own thoughts, with Lizzie doing a happy food dance every few minutes.

When they were done, he fixed her a sippy cup full of juice, spread her special blanket over the bed, and pulled back the covers, waiting for her to get in before climbing in beside her.

“It’s not even close to bedtime, Daddy,” she said with a giggle even as she curled up with her head on his chest.

“Then don’t go to sleep,” he teased, making her squeal when he tickled her sides. “Let’s watch a movie.”

“Orrrr… we could do other fun things.” Her hand slid down his belly and came to a rest on his cock, which she squeezed through the fabric of his sweatpants.

With a longing groan, he moved her hand. “Remember, this weekend is about solidifying our relationship and spending time together,” he reminded her.

“I know how we can solidify our relationship,” she countered with a wink, her voice full of innuendo.

“Ha. No. The answer for right now, little one, is no. Daddy wants to get to know you better and spend good time with you before we get back into all that. Besides, I just spent all this time getting you into a Little headspace. Why would we go back now?”

“Ugh fine!” Lizzie sighed dramatically and bounced off the bed.

“Where are you going?”

“To get Bert. We can’t watch a movie without him!”