Chapter Twenty-One
DAISY
“Wh-what happened?” she asked, slowly sitting up.
Asher was looking at her with wide eyes.
“Asher?” she said hesitantly. “Is everything okay?”
He continued to stare at her. Daisy looked around the living room to see that everything was where she’d left it.
“Asher?” she called once again and gently touched his hand.
“Baby, how are you feeling?” he asked.
Her eyebrows bunched together. “Why are you here?”
Concern flashed across his face, and before she knew it, his hands were cupping her face, gently moving it from side to side.
“He didn’t say anything about you not remembering,” he mumbled to himself.
Asher pulled his phone out.
“Asher,” she tentatively said. “Is eve—”
“Mike, she doesn’t remember anything. You didn’t say anything about her not remembering,” Asher said with the call on speaker.
“Did she hit her head when she fell?” the man asked.
Her eyes darted between Asher and the phone. What were they talking about?
“No, I made sure she didn’t hit anything when she fainted,” Asher said. “I’ve checked her head, and there don’t seem to be any bumps. Do you think you should come back and check her over again?”
“Asher,” she said again.
“She called me Daddy twice and doesn’t remember anything.
Mike, I really think you should come back.
Better yet, why don’t we head to the ER, so you can get some scans done?
I’ll feel better when I know nothing is wrong.
Then we can figure out why she doesn’t remember anything,” Asher quickly rambled.
Her head was swirling with so much information. She’d called him Daddy. Daisy did remember uttering that word twice when she was waking up, but she had been dreaming about her Daddy... One she didn’t actually have and only came to her in her dreams.
“Why don’t you allow her to talk?” Mike suggested. “Everything looked okay, and you said she didn’t hit her head. If she still doesn’t remember anything in thirty minutes, we can head to the ER, but talk to her.”
The call ended, and Asher looked at her.
“How are you feeling?” Asher asked again. “You called me, ended the call, and I came here. Then, when I got into the house, you fainted.”
Everything came rushing back to her. The talk with Rainey, her emotions going everywhere, and her calling Asher.
“Sorry about calling you,” she whispered.
She knew it wasn’t a good idea. Look at the mess she had made.
“No.”
Her eyebrows bunched together. “No?”
“Yes, no. You aren’t going to say sorry for calling me when I told you to call me if you needed anything. You did just as I asked, and you were such a good girl for doing that.” A smile formed on her face, but it quickly fell. “But you were also naughty for hanging up on me and not answering.”
“It’s not like I didn’t want to,” she mumbled.
“Then why didn’t you?” he asked.
Daisy looked at her hands, playing with them to distract herself. It’s not like she didn’t want to... she really did, but there was something holding her back. And then she was panicking so much that she physically couldn’t.
“Baby,” he gently said.
She didn’t move.
“Can you look at me?” he asked, but she didn’t want to.
One peek, and she knew she would be telling him everything he wanted to know. She wasn’t so sure she wanted to spill her guts to him. Not when she was super vulnerable and would end up in tears by the end.
“Daisy,” he warned. “Now.”
Her gaze found his, and he smiled.
“I’m not mad at you. I was very worried when you ended the call. I could hear the panic in your voice. You are going to be okay, but we need to have several conversations, don’t we?”
They really did, but Daisy didn’t know if she was brave enough.
“Why did you hang up on me?” he asked. “Remember, no lying. I don’t appreciate it. I know you don’t like doing it, either.”
She took a deep breath, psyching herself up for telling him why. She had worried him. It was the least she could do for him.
“I didn’t think you actually wanted to talk to me, so I hung up,” she replied. “I thought that it was all just a front. I didn’t want to do something you were going to regret later or tell me that I shouldn’t do it again.”
Daddy cupped her face with his hands... His warm and—wait. She’d just called him Daddy in her head.
“You’ve gone all stiff. What are you thinking?” Asher murmured.
“No-nothing,” she stuttered.
“Lie.”
Her cheeks heated, and she quickly closed her eyes.
“Look me in the eyes when I say these words,” he gently said, and she made eye contact with him.
“I want you to know that when I say something, I mean it. I never do or offer things that I don’t want to do.
So, when I told you to call me day or night, I truly meant it.
I want you to rely on me. I want you to tell me everything, no matter how big or small. ”
Her mouth opened and closed several times, and she tried to think of something to say. She wasn’t expecting that.
“You are important. I don’t think you’ve been told that enough in your life, but it’s a good thing I’m here to remind you,” he continued. “You are everything I want.”
“Wh-what?” Her eyes grew wide.
“From the moment I saw you across the bar, I knew there was something special about you. I had to find out. I had been trying to figure out how to approach you when you took a sip of your drink and started to cough,” he explained. “I was up and walking before I even knew what I was doing.”
Her mind was working overtime, trying to remember everything he was saying. Was he actually saying this, or was she dreaming?
Only one way to find out.
Daisy moved her hand and pinched herself, yelping afterward.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his eyes flying across her body. “I knew I shouldn’t have let Mike leave so early. Tell Daddy where it hurts, and I’ll call him now. Better yet, why don’t we just go to the emergency room so they can do a full workup on you?”
“Asher,” she whispered.
“Yes, that way they can find out if there is anything else wrong, and I’ll be there to hear it. I will know what’s wrong so I can help you manage everything,” he muttered to himself.
“Asher!” she said louder, but he was still talking to himself.
Maybe she shouldn’t have pinched herself.
“Daddy!” she yelled, and his eyes landed on her.
“Are you all right? Are there any new symptoms?” he asked.
“I pinched myself,” she mumbled, not really wanting to fess up to what she had done.
“What was that?”
Daisy rubbed the back of her neck. “I pinched myself.”
“Why did you do that?” he asked, checking her arms. “Where is the owie? Let Daddy make it all better.”
“It’s on my left arm,” she replied.
“Oh, Little Flower. Why did you pinch yourself so hard?” he asked before leaning down and gently kissing it. “You are going to leave a bruise if you do that again.”
“I wanted to know whether this was real or if I was dreaming,” she whispered, not realizing how silly that actually sounded.
“You wanted to know whether this was real or if you were dreaming,” he repeated. “Why?”
She shrugged, not looking at him. There was no way she was going to tell him the truth. Daisy would rather stay silent.
“Daisy.” His voice dropped an octave.
“I wanted to know because you were saying really sweet things about me and I was worried that it was all a dream that I would wake up from!” she rushed out, her voice getting louder. “I was worried it was just a really good dream like before, and I would wake up so disappointed.”
Tears pooled in her eyes, and she took a deep breath, still not looking at him. She couldn’t now, with what she’d just blurted out to him.
“Oh my,” she whispered. “Pretend you didn’t hear anything, all right? I can’t believe I just told you that.”
Asher cupped her face once again, forcing her to look at him. “No. I won’t forget that I heard anything. You aren’t taking back what you said. I heard every single word. I’m sorry someone told you that you weren’t enough and would never find someone.”
She blinked and processed his words.
“Everything I said was real, and I mean it. There is a connection between us. I know you feel it. I want to explore it. You’ve already called me Daddy. I’ve already called myself Daddy in front of you,” he explained. “I think we should give this a try.”
“I don’t know,” she whispered, doubt creeping in.
“What has you unsure about everything?” he asked. “Just talk. Don’t worry about it making any sense.”
She reared back, skeptically.
“I’m serious. I want to hear all your unfiltered thoughts about why you are unsure about this,” he said. “You aren’t going to offend me.”
“Because you are you, and I am me. We don’t know each other that well.” she listed. “I don’t know whether I’m going to stay here for long or not, and I don’t want you to be mad at me if I leave.”
“I would never be mad. Very sad that you were leaving, but not mad. And there is such a thing as long distance,” he gently explained. “You having a service dog doesn’t bother me.”
“You are still you, and I am me,” she mumbled.
“What about that? Yes, I am a male and a Daddy. You are a female and a Little. It works out perfectly if you ask me.” He smiled.
“That’s not what I mean.” She glared at him.
“Then tell me what you mean.”
“I mean, you are super handsome and have several businesses. You probably have so much more money than I do. I’m no one.
I work for two authors and make enough to live.
I save everything else for when I move. I don’t have a hot body, and I definitely don’t own multiple businesses!
” she said. frustrated. “There is so much difference between us that it would never work out. People would be looking at us like we are crazy to be together.”
Daisy took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself.
“First things first, you aren’t going to be putting yourself down any longer. I don’t like it. Everything you just said is a lie, understand?” He raised an eyebrow.
She just blinked once. Twice.
“Do you understand?” His voice had a hard edge to it.
“Y-yes?”
“I see we are going to need to work on that. It’s a rule if we are going to be together. You cannot put yourself down. If I hear you do it, there will be consequences,” he firmly said.
Don’t ask.
Don’t ask.
Don’t ask.
“Like what?” she asked.