13. Mikey
Chapter 13
Mikey
‘One… last… pancake,’ I say, almost groaning as I cut up the final pancake in Cheryl-Anne’s epic stack.
Maybe it was the extra-syrup, or the additional sprinkling of walnuts, but this might just be the pancake stack that beats me.
I’ve eaten some big plates of carb-heavy foods in the past, but even for a big Little like me, this is something else.
‘See, not as easy as you thought, is it?’ Cheryl-Anne giggles as she walks past my booth. ‘But I think you can do it if you really go for it.’
‘I hope so,’ I say, taking a deep breath as I push my fork into the final pancake. ‘I’ve never failed a food challenge before!’
Then, just as I’m about to put the pancake in my mouth, I hear a voice from behind me.
Immediately, I know who it is.
How could I not know…
‘And you’re not going to fail today,’ Trent says, walking into view. ‘No boy of mine quits.’
Despite sending the breakup text a few hours ago, my head is still spinning. I don’t know how to react to seeing Trent. The fact that he’s driven hours to be here with me is a big deal, I know that beyond doubt.
‘You’ve got this,’ Trent says, a smile on his face but a firm tone in his voice.
I don’t wait a second longer.
I put one half of the final pancake in my mouth and gulp it down.
The second half of the pancake soon follows.
As I wash it down with my glass of milk, Trent takes a seat opposite me.
‘I… I… don’t know what to say,’ I mumble, barely able to make eye contact with Trent. ‘I think I sent that text way too quickly. I don’t know… I panicked. Sometimes I get a bit overwhelmed by my feelings and my go-to is to duck out.’
‘I hear you,’ Trent replies, his eyes full of warmth. ‘Believe me, I’ve been there plenty of times in my life too. But…’
‘Yes?’
‘Well, you’ve got me now,’ Trent says. ‘If you still want to be my boy, I can promise you that I’ll always be here for you. In good times, and in the tougher times too. That’s a big part of being a Daddy as far as I’m concerned. I want to be the man you turn to. Any time you feel like things are getting too big or tough to deal with, I promise I’ll be ready.’
Listening to Trent, I can tell that he means every word he’s saying.
I can feel myself getting emotional, but I can’t just forget the fact that since our night together it’s been nearly impossible to arrange any time together.
I know that I need to bring this up and see what Trent thinks.
It wouldn’t be responsible to bury my head in the sand just because Trent made a romantic gesture coming here to see me.
‘But…’ I say, struggling to find the right words.
‘It’s okay, take your time,’ Trent replies, placing his tanned hands on mine and smiling warmly. ‘I’ve got a hot chili avocado on toast special on the way, we’ve got time.’
I giggle.
Right away, I feel more at ease and think I’ve got the right words for what I need to put over to Trent.
‘Okay, it’s… we’re both so busy,’ I say. ‘I’ll always have my long-haul deliveries and you’ll always be chasing the waves. I wouldn’t ever want you to even think about limiting yourself just so we could see each other. But… I think I need to be in a relationship where there’s regular contact. Date nights. Sleepovers. Brunch at Morning Milk . I want all the things that other Littles have with their Daddies. Is that selfish or silly of me to think?’
Trent looks like he’s about to speak, but he pauses.
I don’t know what Trent is about to say, and I’m a bit worried that I’ve annoyed him or said something that he didn’t want to hear.
I needn’t worry though, because Trent’s face soon breaks out into a broad, handsome as all hell smile.
‘It’s not silly at all ,’ Trent says, his voice reassuring and full of love. ‘The truth is that I want all of those things too. I know we’re both busy and love our lives as they are, but I’m thinking that if we both sit down and work out how to make sure we get enough time…’
‘You think we could work it out?’ I say hopefully.
‘I’m sure we can,’ Trent says. ‘Maybe I should have spoken sooner about my concerns too. I’ll try to do better in future. But, either way, I’m positive that we’ll be able to work out a schedule that means we get more than enough time together. Hell, we might be seeing each other so much that you’ll end up asking for extra drive time to get some alone time!’
‘ Hehe , never!’ I giggle. ‘I’ll never get bored of you, Daddy.’
‘And the same goes for me too,’ Trent replies, reaching over and wiping a smudge of maple syrup off the corner of my mouth.
‘I love you, Daddy,’ I say, the words coming out so quickly that I don’t have time to stop myself.
‘I love you too, boy,’ Trent replies, his eyes full of emotion. ‘To be honest, I think I knew that from the first time I saw you. We’ve come a long way in a short space of time. We might have just got over our first speed bump, and there will be more in the future. That’s just life. But I know that my love for you won’t ever change. I want us to be forever .’
I want to pinch myself just to check that this is really happening.
Everything Trent is saying makes perfect sense to me, and I just can’t quite get over the fact that such an incredible man told me that he wants me to be his forever.
‘I love you, I love you, I love you forever too!’ I squeal, leaning over and meeting Trent’s lips in the middle.
As we kiss, I feel adrenalin surging over my body.
This is an incredible moment, something that I never actually believed would happen to me. And I certainly didn’t think that I would make my true love declaration in a roadside diner either – but I’m not complaining!
‘Okay, I think this might call for free milkshakes and coffees all round!’ Cheryl-Anne calls out from behind the service counter. ‘We celebrate true love at my diner in whatever form that might take. Hey everyone, how about we show some love to our newest couple!’
With that, the other guests in the diner break out into cheers and applause.
I feel myself blushing intensely, but with Trent holding my hand and taking the attention on himself, I feel safe and secure – and I gradually begin to enjoy the moment too.
I’m enjoying the moment so much that I do something I’ve never done before at the diner.
I take Atty out of my backpack and hold him above my head.
‘Don’t forget my best friend Atty!’ I call out, totally losing any feeling of being self-conscious at the attention.
‘Hell yeah!’ a burly truck driver calls out. ‘Let’s hear it for the cutest damn seahorse I’ve seen!’
As another wave of cheers goes up, I look at Trent and smile.
To say that this delivery drive got off to a sticky start would be a huge understatement. But that’s something to be put well and truly in the rear view mirror from here on in.
Me and Trent are back on the right track, and there’s no turning back now.
I’ve found my Forever Daddy and I couldn’t be happier – even if my belly feels like it might burst from Cheryl-Anne’s epic pancake stack!
The drive back to Los Torros has been eventful, that’s for sure.
Daddy let me drive his Porsche and I let Daddy drive my truck!
While I enjoyed driving a much smaller vehicle, I definitely prefer my usual truck driving experience – and I think Atty does too!
As I pull up at the cove, I see Daddy pull in shortly behind me.
‘Well that was an experience,’ Tret says, smiling as he hops down out of the truck. ‘I think we’ll probably both stick to our usual rides from now on, right?’
‘Yup, I think so, Daddy,’ I giggle, clambering out of the 911 with Atty. ‘But one question… why this cove?’
‘Ah, right, I guess I haven’t told you about Captain’s Cove before,’ Trent says, a knowing glint in his eye. ‘Come on, follow me.’
‘Captain’s Cove?’ I say, intrigued. ‘Okay, Captain Daddy! I’m right behind you.’
With that, I follow Trent as he walks down a partially concealed track.
It’s steep and I can tell that not many people know about this place. There’s no sign of other people coming here whatsoever – no signage, no official walkway, nothing.
‘Woah… is this… yours ?’ I say as we suddenly walk into a small clearing with a beautiful little beach and an equally charming surf shack.
‘Well, it’s mine, Reece’s, and Ranger’s,’ Trent says. ‘We used to come here all the time until the old owner passed away. When the place came up for sale, there was no way in hell we were going to pass on our own private cove.’
‘ OMG , I love it!’ I squeal.
‘You’ll love this too, boy,’ Trent says, walking to the shack and opening the door to the surfboard store. ‘This right here is your first surfboard. Daddy’s going to give you your first lesson today. Right here and now. The waves are just perfect for a first time paddle.’
‘Yay! A million yays!’ I reply, totally losing my cool and running over toward the board.
‘Quick, let’s strip down to our pants and get in the water,’ Trent says. ‘Trust me, no one will see. And there’s not much better than a dip in the ocean after a long drive.’
With the sun in the sky and the water lapping up onto the shore, I don’t waste a single second and quickly strip down to my pants – and then remember that I’m wearing a jockstrap.
‘Hey, it’s not like I haven’t seen those sweet cheeks before,’ Trent says, noticing me shyly covering my butt cheeks. ‘Anyway, the extra flexibility will help on the board.’
I giggle and watch as Trent fetches my new surfboard and hands it to me.
‘A boy always remembers his first surfboard,’ Trent says. ‘Consider this my first gift to you as your full time Daddy.’
‘Thank you so much, Daddy,’ I say, delighted as I look my board up and down. ‘I promise to look after it.’
‘Good, you’d better,’ Trent laughs. ‘Because if you don’t, I’ll have you bent over it for a good, hard paddling – and not the kind of paddling you do in the water, either!’
‘ Hehehe , I’ll try my best,’ I laugh.
With that, the pair of us run into the shallow water together.
I’m looking forward to my first ever surf lesson, and the fact that it’s with my Daddy is just the icing on the cake.
The only question is whether I’ll be able to concentrate with Daddy’s semi-naked body on display the whole time!