Chapter Eleven
That evening, Maisie was a bundle of excited yet nervous energy as she prepared for her date.
“You look great!” Sophia told her.
“Yeah. You’re going to blow Declan’s mind,” Naomi added.
The women were standing in Maisie’s bedroom. Maisie thanked them, but she wasn’t so convinced as she studied herself in the full-length mirror that hung on the back of the door.
The pink babydoll dress she wore was cute, she thought, but should she dress in “big girl” clothes? And what about that diaper underneath her frilly panties? That was too much. Right?
Yet every time she went back into the closet to reach for her “big” clothes, something just didn’t feel right.
Her friends had watched this process play out several times, so she wasn’t surprised that they were seemingly reading her mind now.
“He needs to see the real you,” Naomi offered. “I know big girl Maisie is just as much you as Little Maisie. It’s not like you’re in Little Space all the time. But you told us you’ve been excited about coming to camp. That this is your dream.”
Maisie nodded.
“Then live it. Don’t hide who you truly are,” Naomi said. “You have to do that enough in your vanilla life.”
“She’s right,” Sophia offered. “And besides, it’s obvious he’s a Daddy. And you know what Daddies like to see.”
The women laughed.
Maisie smiled. “That’s true. I might as well just be myself from the beginning and see where it goes.”
“That’s the spirit!” Sophia said.
Maisie was ready to fully embrace her Little outfit when a knock at the door told her it didn’t matter one way or another now—she was out of time.
“He’s here!” Sophia said. She giggled. “Why am I excited about this? It’s not like I’m the one going on a date.” She touched Maisie’s arm. “I’m just happy for you, friend.”
“Thank you,” Maisie said. “We’ll see where this leads. And who knows? You two might meet someone soon. Lots of Daddies around here, it seems.”
The women followed her from the bedroom and toward the front door, with Naomi saying, “Hey, I saw the way Declan looked at you last night when he came to our rescue. I think this is going to go really well.”
Maisie drew a deep breath, tried to contain her excitement, and then opened the door.
No one was there.
“Where’d he—”
Before she could finish the question, two eggs swooshed through the air. One landed on her face, and the other burst on her dress.
“Hey!” she cried.
Laughing could be heard and more eggs started flying. She quickly ducked inside, slammed the door shut, and called, “It’s another attack!”
The sound of eggs pelting the door could be heard. A moment later, the Littles also heard them hitting glass and looked to see some splattering on the window.
Then, though, much as the night before, they heard Declan yelling, “Hey! Who’s doing that?”
The women peered out the window to see him rushing into the clearing and looking around the trees where the eggs had been flying from.
A minute later, apparently unable to catch whoever it had been, Declan came onto the porch. Maisie had the door open now, waiting for him.
“Thanks for chasing them off.”
He looked disappointed. “I wanted to catch them. This is getting ridiculous!” Looking at her outfit, he smiled apologetically. “You look cute. But I suspect you want to change.”
She glanced down to see the egg on her chest. It matched what she’d already raked off her face, though some sticky remnants remained on her skin.
“Do you mind waiting a few minutes?”
He took her hand and smiled into her eyes. “You take all the time you need.”
Maisie hurried toward the bedroom.
This was not how she’d imagined her date starting.
***
With her Little clothes ruined for the night, Maisie dressed in a “big girl” outfit.
If there was a bright side, it allowed them to leave camp and go back into the “vanilla world,” heading to a nearby town that was about fifteen miles away.
“I’m sorry about what happened back there,” Declan said as he guided the car carefully around some mountain curves.
There was still plenty of sunlight, and Maisie could see the beautiful scenery as they drove along.
“Thank you. But it’s not your fault. I can’t believe Derek did that!”
“You still think it’s him?”
“Has to be. Why would someone else target me like that?”
“Well, maybe because you’re beautiful. Could be jealous of you.”
She tried to hide the fact that she was blushing, choosing to look out the passenger window at the picturesque valley below.
“I’m not beautiful,” she said, before adding quickly, “but thank you.”
“Really? Because I’d say you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. And that’s a fact.”
She wanted to keep staring out the window, afraid she’d blush too hard otherwise, but she needed to look at Declan to search him for any insincerity. Part of her thought he was just being nice.
But when she finally looked at him, she saw nothing but honesty.
She smiled.
“Thank you,” she said again.
“I’m just telling the truth.”
They finished their descent down the mountain, the road leveling out as the car zoomed toward the town.
A sense of peace and security washed over Maisie. She was more content than she’d ever been, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on why. It just seemed as if her whole life had led to that moment. Right there. Sitting in that car with that man.
You’ve read too many romance novels. Calm down, Maisie.
But it didn’t matter what she told herself. There was no stopping those growing feelings.
And as pretty as the scene before her was—the mountains and trees painted pink and yellow by the setting sun—she couldn’t take her eyes off that man who sat behind the wheel.
Usually not the type to make the first move, she couldn’t help herself as she reached for Declan’s right hand that rested on the center console. He shifted it and a moment later, they were holding hands, causing sparks to rain down Maisie’s core.
He took his eyes off the road just long enough to smile at her.
She smiled back.
In that moment, everything was perfect.
Despite the way it had started, something told her this date was going to be amazing.
And that it just might change her life.