Chapter 18
PATRICK
While heading back to my apartment, my phone rang. Only one person was up at four am making phone calls.
“Hi, Randall.” I didn’t even have to look at the caller ID. It would have said some random number at the hotel, anyway.
“How did you know it was me?”
“You are the only one who calls me at four in the morning as I wandered the halls of your hotel.” I reached the elevator and pressed the down button.
“Why are you wandering the halls at four am?” he scoffed. “Your conscience bothering you?”
“Does yours ever bother you?”
“Naw, I don’t have a conscience.”
“Must be nice.”
“I heard things went well tonight.” Fingers tapping a keyboard traveled through the phone. “The footage of some of the perps trying to justify taking part in an orgy with barely legal women is fascinating.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”
“I love exposing the bad guys.” He chuckled, but there was a sinister edge to it.
“Well, don’t let me keep you from all your fun.”
“I was calling to let you know several people have responded to Kylie’s inquiry on the message board I showed you.” More tapping. “None of them checked out, but one creeped me out. He mentioned her sister.”
“How would he know about her sister?”
“That’s my point.” He sighed. “So, you know. Keep an eye on her. I’ll let you know if she responds.”
“Thanks, Randall.” I laughed. “I’m kind of relieved.”
“Relieved about what?”
“There are things in this world that creep even you out.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said, and hung up.
I looked back down the hall towards her door, wishing I was on the other side of it. I could not believe I had confessed my attraction to her.
If my internal reaction to her with another Daddy was any sign, I was falling for this woman.
My jaw tightened, and I stopped walking, staring at nothing in the middle of the hallway.
If anyone else dared to touch her, I would not be responsible for my actions.
She liked to tease, which made my dick hard.
I rode the elevator down and stepped out in the lobby. No wonder the streets were so empty; all of Vegas seemed to be in Quad II on a Thursday night. I darted in and out of a large group of people and made my way back to Quad III and to my apartment.
After a quick shower, I groaned as I slipped into my bed. It had been a long day and would be an even longer weekend. Thankfully, I was too tired to dwell on the raid or on Kylie and drifted into a deep sleep.
With nothing pressing, I slept in. I had some breakfast, got in a workout.
Peeked at my phone only long enough to make sure no fires had ignited before tonight’s activities.
I enjoyed little’s night. It gave me an opportunity to be around the littles.
Typically, I would enjoy being able to observe.
Now I felt the pull to take part with one particular little.
The staff met in the security department's conference room.
I spotted Kylie immediately, in uniform, waiting for the last instructions before the event popped off in less than an hour.
Quad IV staff welcomed the littles going on the trip with a special lunch before herding them into several waiting buses.
Kylie caught my eye as the meeting ended. The two of us, along with four other men, made our way toward the elevator and up to the top floor to get Rayna and Tinley.
As I suspected, they were already at about an eight when we arrived. The scale would be off the charts by the time we got to the venue.
“Finally,” Rayna moaned from the other side of the door. At least she learned her lesson from last time and left the door closed.
I pressed my thumb to the scanner and let myself in. Kylie followed. The rest of the group stayed outside.
“What took you so long?” Rayna stood in an altered Dorothy costume.
I didn’t even think about the littles dressing up.
How did that not occur to me? Dorothy’s signature blue-and-white gingham had been cleverly reworked into a vest and pleated skirt.
She’d paired it with her signature striped knee-highs and, of course, ruby-red Converse.
“Rayna, you look adorable.”
“Thank you, Uncle Patrick.” She clicked her heels together and giggled.
Tinley sat on the couch with Josh, dressed in an overall dress with embroidered puppies. Her hair was in two pigtails tied with fluffy rubber bands that looked like floppy ears.
“Hi, Uncle Patrick.” She grinned and hopped off Josh’s lap. “Hi, Kylie.” She skipped over and hugged her. She accepted the quick hug.
“Cute dress.” Kylie smiled. “Is that Toto?”
“Yep.” She nodded and swayed. “I found the patches online, and Daddy had someone iron them on this dress for me.”
“Very cute.” I tugged on one of her pigtails. “We all ready?”
“Daddy’s on a call.” Rayna pouted. “Please go get him. We are going to be late.”
“I promise they will not start the movie without you.” I bopped Rayna on the nose and headed towards Kyler’s office. He was finishing up when I poked my head in.
“You’re little is about to leave without you.”
“She already had her butt roasted once this morning.” He grinned.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, just finishing up something so I can give my little naughty girl my undivided attention. You good?”
I hesitated because I wasn’t sure of the answer.
Yeah, generally speaking, I was good. But the whole priority question popped into my head, and it had my brain in a bit of a scrambled mess.
I had everyone I cared about in the same room and was about to take them out into the real world where bad things happen all the time.
“Daddy,” Rayna yelled. Saved by the impatient little.
I followed him into the living room.
“Rayna Smith.” He sighed. “Did our discussion from this morning not take? Do you need another reminder before we head out?’
“No sir.” She blinked obediently, and I knew it wasn’t real, but it wasn’t an act either. It was hard to explain, but it was the game that Kyler and Rayna agreed to play in their relationship. They were fun to watch, but kind of annoying, but mostly adorable.
Kylie stared at them both. Her wide eyes darted back and forth. She was not familiar with Rayna’s antics. Before she waded into something, I had to intervene.
“Okay.” I clapped my hands together. “As we discussed yesterday, we are heading out of the casino and going straight to the parking lot. Slight change of plans. We are going to travel in our own bus to The Sphere. If anyone in black or your daddy or guardian tells you to do something, you do it, no questions. Am I understood?”
“Yes, Uncle Patrick.” The girls said in unison.
“Bus is waiting.” I motioned to the door. “Let’s go.”
“Why do I feel like that speech wasn’t just addressed to the little girls?” Josh laughed and hit Kyler on his shoulder.
“Because it wasn’t.” I pointed at them. Josh shook his head, but Kyler’s eyes grew wide, but he let it go. “Kylie, let’s go.”
She jumped into action, opening the door and leading the way into the hall. Two of the guards moved ahead of her, while the other two would bring up the rear. The maneuver was smooth and practiced, getting us down the elevator and into the party bus without issue.
Tyler and Maddox were already on the bus when we arrived.
The ride to the venue was short, just at the far end of the Las Vegas Strip. We could see it in the distance. Rayna pointed it out every few minutes as the images on The Sphere showed scenes from The Wizard of Oz. She and Tinley could barely contain themselves. Kylie was stoic, but on alert.
Once we arrived, it was another straight shot from bus to elevator, elevator to seat level, and a short hallway into the theater.
Once in the sectioned off area for the girls and Tyler, we were able to relax.
The girls had a few friends from little's night sitting just a row down from their seats, and they could giggle and point and squeal with their friends to their heart’s content.
Even Tinley appeared relaxed and in the moment. I was delighted she was having a good time, even though she kept looking back to make sure we were all there.
Kylie had a seat in one corner of the sectioned off space, her hands in her lap and eyes glancing around.
Her gaze swept the room, never landing on any one thing for more than a second.
It had to be overwhelming. There were about one hundred and fifty caregivers and a little more than that of littles.
We had a few poly couples in the group as well, which made the total count with staff about three hundred twenty people.
It was easy to pick out who the bigs were and who the littles were.
Some dressed up like Rayna and Tinley, others in obvious little outfits. Even some bigs were dressed up, with the Tin Man and the Wizard himself the most popular among them.
Kylie took it all in. I wanted so much to know what she was thinking and feeling, to check on her and make sure she was okay, but I couldn’t.
I told her I trusted her, and I did.
She needed to trust herself.
The whole group experienced every emotion in the 75-minute show.
The energy was overwhelming, a tidal wave of shared emotion.
I admired how a little could strip away reality and really live in that world where the tornado scared them and the wizard made them cower like the lion, and the entire theater collectively pulled for Dorothy on her journey home.
It was even more amazing how the adults were drawn in right there with them.
At the end, the whole place erupted in applause.
Kylie got caught up in the excitement, rising to her feet, joining the rest of the bigs and littles celebrating the experience.
As the exuberance calmed, staff dressed as characters came out to announce the continuation of the show in the lobby.
We filed out with the rest of the crowd.
The building was secured, but anything could happen. Kyler was having a private, stern word with Rayna. Thankfully, she was listening to him and stayed close.
Tinley was already in Josh’s arms, watching the whole scene with eyes wide with excitement, not fear.
I approached Kylie.
“I want you to stay with Tinley. If anything looks off, let me know.” She nodded. “You good?”
“Yes, I’m fine.” She cleared her throat. “I got it.”
She slid past me and waved Josh and Tinley to follow her right behind Kyler and Rayna.
She said something to Josh, who then placed Tinley on her feet.
The simple shift created a better barrier around the little.
They moved with the crowd into the hallway and toward the escalator.
The hologram show began on a small stage in the lobby.
Littles ran up with their bigs in tow, some broken away from their caregivers.
They would certainly pay for that later.
A group of littles had shown up to littles’ weekend unaccompanied. Staff were assigned to manage them, which became necessary almost immediately when they started pushing their way to the front.
Our party made it to the ground floor. Kylie and Josh had their heads together again.
There was a column, center stage, but behind the rush up front.
She and another guard guided them in that direction, and once there, Tinley clung to her daddy like a koala bear.
Her eyes darted around, taking in the rest of the show. Good thing Josh was six feet four.
“We have eyes on Rayna.” A member of my staff reported. “Stage right. She found a flying monkey on the ground.”
I spotted them and chuckled as Rayna animatedly chatted and touched the monkey’s wings. The lobby show lasted about ten minutes. Once complete, our staff announced the guests could look at the exhibits and buy souvenirs. The buses was rolling out in 30 minutes.
They had a show open to the public in an hour.
As the crowd dissipated, our crew gathered, keeping a distance but allowing the girls to enjoy themselves. Watching everyone so lost in their joy carved out a hollow space in my chest. I hadn’t felt this alone in a long time.
With the look on Kylie's face, she was feeling it too.
I was tired of it. Maybe she was too.
Maybe tonight would be the perfect night to decide what we both wanted.