Their Little House Colter (Five Little Roommates #1)

Chapter One

Colter

I shoved my hoodie on top of my little clothes and zipped the backpack up, just like I always did when I was going out. It put a buffer between the items I was actually carrying the backpack for and whoever might see them if I opened it up to grab an item or shove something new inside.

All it took was my grandmother seeing my paci and assuming I was doing drugs, for me to have that rule firmly in place. How she jumped from a paci to drugs, I didn’t know, but thankfully she believed my story of it being a neighbor’s. I hated lying to her, but I wasn’t about to tell her that I liked to wear diapers and have a hot daddy change them. Some things were best left private.

It wasn’t that I was ashamed of being little or of anything, really. It was more my hatred of awkward uncomfortable conversations, people judging me, and having to explain myself. If it was a random stranger, oh well. But I was at the apartment I shared with Mike, my roommate.

Mike wouldn’t be comfortable with me being little or any other kink. He was one of those people who thought anything outside of missionary with someone of the opposite sex was somehow not wrong, but also just not in his desires. He didn’t judge, but he also didn’t understand. He couldn’t hear about a blindfold without being uncomfortable. There was no way I could explain my desire to forget about the world and give all my cares to another, especially when that included wearing a onesie. Not in a way he would comprehend.

And that was fine because he was my roommate, not my friend.

When I first went off to college, I had this fanciful notion that all my roommates were going to become friends. That hadn’t been true. We all got along, and the four of us stayed in the same dorm suite for a couple of years before I ended up with a single. But the relationship didn’t last past that.

Now that I had graduated and was on my own, I had Mike. Unlike college, where my roomies and I had things in common, Mike and I had none. I couldn’t even say we were different enough in to be an opposites-attract situation. Nope. We did our own things and coexisted, what I called practical roommates. It halved the rent and, since both of us had entry-level positions, our budgets required that.

Could I have tried to explain about who I was? Yeah, and he’d have tried to understand, but it would have made things awkward and uncomfortable. So, why bother when I could keep that side of myself private, avoid that. At least, that was the logic I used.

And we got along on a superficial level for the past few years. In truth, I didn’t like covering up who I was, and it was getting really, really old.

“Hey, where you going?” Mike looked up from forking at his frozen dinner, looking at it like it probably wasn’t that edible.

“Oh, I was just gonna go hang out with someone from work.” Which was true, but it wasn’t work related.

“Did you want some company?”

I felt bad having to turn him down, but I really needed to get in some little time, and if Mike came with me, I’d have to pivot to something else.

“I’d love some. But I think they want to talk to me about something.” That would be whether we should get a semipermanent dressing room at Chained, but he didn’t need to know that.

“Oh. Well, have fun, then. On the way home, would you mind driving through some place because this”—he put his fork down—“this ain’t cutting it.”

No part of it looked appealing, so that didn’t surprise me one iota.

“Yeah, I got you. I don’t think I’ll be out too long. I’ll text you when I’m headed home, just in case you found something else.”

I raced downstairs just as my rideshare was pulling up. The driver said the address in a way that told me he knew exactly where I was going—and was amused. I didn’t have the energy to care.

Being a little and having a vanilla roommate sucked. It just did. Sadly, it was also my only option at the moment.

One day, I was gonna get the promotion and finally get my own place. I’d choose a two-bedroom—one for being big, the other for being little—and I’d have firefighter sheets, get my stuffies out of storage, and fill my freezer with chicken nuggets of all different shapes. I could just be myself and not have to hide at my own place.

After a short ride, I went straight inside to check in, give them my phone, and wait for my coworker, Bryan, who, as it turned out, had already booked us a room as an apology for running late. Bryan was never on time for anything. He needed a daddy for more than just little time.

We got dressed; the difference between the two of us was pronounced. I had a onesie with a tiger on it and short shorts with knee highs punctuated with light-up sneakers, and he—he was wearing the equivalent of toddler clothes he had made himself. Every detail was exactly like you’d find in the toddler section.

I was very impressed with his talent. They weren’t the kind of styles I liked—the puffy pants instead of letting my legs show —but I had to admit, he looked great. And he stood out. Daddies were always interested in him.

“You okay, Colter? You seem kind of off.”

“Yeah. It’s just…today would’ve been a perfect day to be little at home, you know?” Staying snuggled in bed with my stuffie and cartoons sounded like pure bliss.

“Yeah, I know. I’d offer you a place with me, but my lease is one person.” He’d give me a spot too. Bryan was nice like that.

The two of us knew each other from work, but I didn’t discover his little side until we were both here for a craft class.

“That’s because your entire apartment is the size of some walk-in closets.” I wasn’t sure how it legally was an apartment, but he had privacy, so I wasn’t one to talk.

“You’re just jealous.”

“Actually, I am. Not about the space but the privacy.”

On the way to the little room, I checked out the little bulletin board to see if there was anything cool coming up. There wasn’t, but I saw an advertisement for an apartment. Only—it wasn’t an apartment, but a room in a house—a house full of littles, looking for a like-minded roommate. They even had a playroom.

And the rent? Almost exactly what I was paying now.

I wasn’t sure if that was going to be doable or not, but I was definitely going to look into it and really think about it before calling. Being in a house full of littles could be amazing…or it could be a whole lot of drama.

He tugged at my hand, ready to go find a daddy for the night, and I tore off the phone number strip and put it in my sock for safekeeping.

Bryan and I played together until, just like always, he found a daddy to play with and told me not to wait for him.

I couldn’t just find a random daddy for the night. It took me a while to warm up to one, and it just made for awkwardness. That was another way I was envious of my friend—he could fall into little space and have fun with anyone. Me? I couldn’t remember the last time I fell completely into little space. Maybe tonight…