8. Trace
TRACE
I pulled on my red plaid pajamas and did one last lap around the living room. As I went, I fluffed the couch cushions and made sure the dominoes were ready for us to set up…before knocking them all down.
Everything had to be perfect for our sleepover…and Everett’s cameo appearance.
I'd told Connor to skip our usual video game onesies tonight and wear the red plaid instead because I had a special surprise for him. He begged for details, of course. But I was strong and didn’t even hint at why I wanted us to match.
There was no chance he would suspect I’d found the Connor Cow in plaid, so I wanted the full effect when he walked in my door.
A high-pitched squeal snuck out of me when I heard him knock on the door. Connor always showed up exactly on time. Never early and never late. I loved that about him.
With zero chill, I yanked the door open and thrust the Connor Cow out in front of me before he'd even said hello. "Happy early birthday!"
Connor's whole face went slack as he looked at the cow. For one horrifying second, I thought he was sad. But then his eyes welled up and he grabbed the cow and squeezed it to his chest. "Oh my god." His voice cracked with emotion right there in the hallway. "You actually found him."
"I actually found two of him." I grabbed mine and squeezed it too. “We’re twinsies.”
He bounced on his toes and then looked down at himself. "I think I just wet myself a little."
Normally, that might be a problem. But not on Little night. "Diapered?"
"Diapered." He nodded as relief flooded his face. "Thank god I put it on before I left."
I stepped back to let him in, and he toed off his shoes in the entryway before shrugging out of his hoodie and shimmying out of the baggy sweats he was wearing. Underneath his outside clothes was an identical set of red plaid pajamas that I was wearing.
"I love that we all match." He threw his arms around me and the cow was squished between us. “You’re the bestest friend ever.”
Once we untangled ourselves, Connor made a beeline for the snack spread I'd laid out on the coffee table to inspect it.
I had the good chips in the big bowl, warm dino nuggies under foil, a whole tray of cheese sticks, and a bowl of fruit salad to pretend like we were making good choices.
There were other snacks too, so we grabbed a few of everything.
"Nice job, Trace. You really went all out." Connor picked up one of the character plates with little dividers and started loading it up. He popped a chip into his mouth and chewed it. “I approve.”
"It’s your early birthday. I wasn’t gonna feed you cheap chips."
We settled onto the floor in front of the coffee table, and I showed him the stacks of dominoes I’d pulled out.
“I was thinking we could make a domino run.” I pointed to various places in the room as I described my plan.
“We can snake it up the bookshelf, around the couch leg, and all the way to the kitchen doorway.”
"And then we can knock it all down?" He wiggled his fingers like he was ready to do the honors.
"Yes, then YOU can knock it all down. Another present for you."
"Yay!" He chomped down on a dino nugget and bit off the head. "Why are you in such a good mood tonight?"
I hadn't even realized how much of it was leaking out until he said it. "Because of Everett. You’ll see when you meet him. He’s such a good Daddy already."
Connor paused with the second half of his dino halfway to his mouth. "Slow down. You met the guy yesterday and now he's your Daddy?"
I exhaled dramatically and sat back from the table, leaning on the couch. "I know how it sounds."
He scoffed. "It sounds like every red flag I've ever heard about in one sentence."
"I know." I picked at the crust of a pizza roll just because I needed to do something with my hands. "But it doesn't feel fast at all. It's the opposite of a red flag. It’s like a big ol’ green flag that says, go, go, go. He gets me like no other guy ever has."
Connor didn't look convinced, but he eased up enough to let his curiosity sneak in. "What's he like?"
I told him as close to everything I could manage between mouthfuls of junkfood. I described how he found me and went with me to the toy store. Then he bought me nuggies and juice without batting a single confused eye. And that he said he wants to be my Daddy.
As he listened, Connor put his plate down, and I could feel him sliding further into his own Little headspace when I described the way Everett was so quick to take care of me. Just reliving it helped me loosen up some of my big thoughts too.
"He sounds too good to be true." Connor squeezed his cow to his chest and sighed. “And he gave you a blow job?”
I giggled and nodded. "I offered to give him one, but then I fell asleep. I guess I still owe him."
Connor glanced at the clock on the wall and gasped. "When’s he gettin’ here?"
"Now. Well, soon." I looked around to make sure it wasn’t too messy. “I told him seven, so…any minute.
Connor sat up straighter, and I could see the skepticism war with pure excitement on his face. After a minute, I’m pretty sure excitement won out completely. "Okay. Okay, I have so many questions."
I exhaled in relief, excited that my two favorite people were about to meet. "He said he's ready for the interrogation."
"Good. He's gonna need to be."
I hopped up and refilled the snacks that didn't need refilling yet and checked my reflection in the microwave door. Connor caught me and just smirked around a mouthful of chips, but I knew he'd absolutely be bringing it up later.
At exactly seven, there was a knock on the door, and my whole chest went warm. Daddy came!
When I opened the door, Everett was standing there with his arms full of surprises.
There was a bag of candy in one hand with two Squishmallow coloring books peeking out of the top with a huge bucket of crayons hanging from his fingers.
And in his other arm was a bakery box that I knew was full of cupcakes.
“Hi, Everett.” I took the box from his hands and immediately opened the lid. "Wow. That's a lotta cupcakes for three people.”
"I panicked at the bakery." He put everything on the counter and then took the box from me. "There were too many flavors, so I went for a mix of everything."
“You made the right choice.” Connor appeared beside me, holding his hand out to Everett. “I’m Connor, the best friend. And you must be Everett, the Daddy.”
“That’s me.” Everett grinned and shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Connor. I’m happy to know Trace has such a solid support system around him.”
Connor raised an eyebrow then pointed at his eyes with two fingers then pointed at Everett’s eyes. “He does. And we’ll be watching you.”
“Got it.” Everett turned to me and held out his arms.
I immediately walked into his chest, happy to feel him against me after waiting all day to see him. “Thank you for the treats.”
“Of course.” He kissed my temple and squeezed me again before letting me step back. “I want you to have a great sleepover tonight.”
“We already are.” I held my arms up so he could get a good look at my jammies. “And we’re twins. Me and Connor…and the real twin cows.”
“I can see that.” He tapped my nose and picked up one of the Connor Cows. “You all look adorable.”
“Can we start with cupcakes?” Connor and I both looked at Everett for his approval.
“Sure, if you’ve already had dinner.” He looked at the food on the table and raised a brow. “Well, it looks like you’ve eaten.”
I grabbed a grape from the fruit salad and put it in my mouth. “We’re eating healthy stuff too.”
Everett didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t argue with my logic. “Well, then, I guess it’s cupcake time.”
As if we’d rehearsed it, Connor and I both jumped up and squealed. “Cupcake time!”
Connor and I opened the box and named each flavor. They all looked good except the burnt almond. We both scrunched our nose at that one, and I looked up at Everett. “I think the burnt almond one is for you.”
He smiled and cocked his head. “Yeah, is that the one for Daddies?”
Connor giggled, and I felt my cheeks warm as I nodded. “Yep. Yucky flavors are for Daddies.”
As we sat on the couch and ate our cupcakes, I couldn’t help staring at Daddy.
He looked good in my living room with his sleeves pushed up and his eyes always on me.
If Connor wasn’t in the room with us, I would have dropped to my knees and claimed the prize between Everett’s legs that I didn’t get to taste last night.
When we were done, Connor opened up the tub of crayons and immediately started sorting them by color, muttering something about needing the good reds before I hogged them all. He was silly.
Everett caught my eye over the top of his head and winked. “Will you color a picture for me, sweet boy?”
Tears threatened to well up, but I held them in. “Yes, Daddy. I’ll do it extra good for you.”