Chapter Eleven
DAISY
Daisy stared at her computer. She should have been making graphics for Janelle, but her mind was anywhere but work... That was a lie. Her mind was on Asher and his offer to go to the club before opening hours with Chilli.
Should she do it? No.
But she had been wanting to visit it for a long time now. It had been on her list of places to visit when she first arrived in Springfield.
Out of nowhere, her phone started ringing. She yelled, flinched, and flew out of her seat.
“He-hello?” she answered, taking a deep breath to slow her breathing.
“Are you okay?” Janelle asked. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong,” she replied, keeping her voice even.
“Something wrong. You haven’t replied to either of our messages. We are getting worried about you,” Janelle said. “What’s going on?”
“Messages?” she asked, pulling her phone away from her ear and placing Janelle on speakerphone.
And, sure enough, she had messages from both of her authors.
“Sorry, I got home about thirty minutes ago and was putting the groceries away.” Daisy sighed at the partial lie.
She had been fibbing a lot lately, and she wanted to stop. She didn’t like the guilty feeling she got every time.
“Lies.” Janelle laughed. “It doesn’t take you thirty minutes to put your groceries away. You know that. We both know it, but good try. What were you really doing?”
“I saw him,” she blurted out.
There was a pause.
“Saw, who?” Janelle carefully asked.
“Last night I went out, and I met a guy. He helped me avoid having a panic attack. I passed out in front of him. I didn’t have Chilli.
He found out I have a service dog when he took me home and scolded me for not taking Chilliher with me,” she rushed out.
“And then I thought I would never see him again. But I went to the grocery store, like you said—which I’m still mad at you for because all of this would have been avoided if I didn’t go—and my blood pressure dropped, Chilli alerted me.
I sat down in the middle of the aisle, and then he came over and helped me through it all.
He helped me drink water, and then he told me that he was going to help me do the rest of my shopping, which he did.
He even paid for my groceries and helped me put them away in my car. ”
Daisy heaved in a breath she desperately needed.
“And he’s a Daddy,” she almost yelled. “He’s a Daddy, and he is one of the owners of Behind the Scenes.
He told me to come tonight to see it before I hang out with some of the other Littles.
Well, that is if I want to go, but I don’t think I am.
I can’t see him again. Not after everything he has already witnessed. ”
“Wow, that was a lot,” Janelle hummed. “A lot has happened in less than twenty-four hours. First off, I want you to take a deep breath and slowly let it out. Everything is going to be okay; I promise you. It’s not the end of the world.”
“How is it not the end of the world?” Daisy asked.
“I almost passed out in the grocery store where people were looking at me. Then he saw me. He scolded me. He invited me to his club. He owns the bar I went to and told me to bring Chilli if I wanted to go there again, but he also wanted to be there. I’ve got to get out of this town. ”
“Wow,” she whispered.
“Exactly! He’s the landlord of my house,” Daisy wailed. “I’ve got to move out of here, and soon. I’m planning to get a lot done over the next week while I look at other cities and find a house. Then I’ll need a week off to pack everything, move, and settle in.”
That was the best bet. She had to do it if she wanted to survive and not die of embarrassment.
“Did he make fun of you?” Janelle asked.
“No, he didn’t, but why does that matter?”
Daisy wasn’t following her line of questioning.
“What did he say when he found out that you had Chilli? What did he do when you were sitting on the ground in the grocery store?” Janelle rattled off.
“He was concerned when I didn’t take Chilli and wanted me to bring her next time.
He doesn’t want me to leave the house without her,” she explained.
“And he took care of me at the grocery store and waited until I was better before helping me up. He made sure that I had everything I needed and asked if there was anything else he could do. But none of that is important! I need to get out of here.”
“I don’t think you do,” Janelle mumbled. “I think you need to stay there and get to know this man.”
Daisy’s mouth hung open.
“Did I stun you into silence?” Janelle chuckled. “Oh, come on. You had to think this through and realize it yourself.”
“Realize what?” Daisy asked.
“Hmm, maybe you haven’t. I want you to stay there and not run away. You’ve done that enough in the past. I want you to stay there and live your life.” Janelle didn’t answer her question.
“Janelle, what am I supposed to realize?” Daisy asked once again, growing impatient.
“You’ll find out soon, but you have to promise that you are going to stay in Springfield for a little longer and not run away.”
Daisy huffed. “I don’t run away.”
Hurt flashed through her at Janelle’s words. Daisy didn’t run away from things. She faced them head-on.
“Sure you don’t,” Janelle muttered. “You left the last city you were in suddenly because you had an episode in the coffee shop and got embarrassed."
“The man was a jerk and said I was faking everything. He wasn’t kind to me and made everyone look at me.
People were pointing at me and whispering!
” she exclaimed. “It was a smaller town than Springfield. I knew I couldn’t stay.
Not when everyone was gossiping about me.
I couldn’t walk down the street with or without Chilli without people pointing and laughing. ”
It was her worst nightmare all over again. But this time, she wasn’t going to wait for the rumors to start.
“Yes, they were turds, but you aren’t going to run away this time.
You didn’t mention anyone making fun of you.
This man, Asher, was super nice to you and made sure you had everything you needed,” she pointed out.
“I think it’s a sign that everything is going to be okay.
You just need to trust that this town is different. ”
“But what if it isn’t?” she asked and sat in her chair.
“Then you pack up and go to Petersburg and live there. No one will bother you. You know that someone will be looking over you,” Janelle said.
“Petersburg?” Daisy tilted her head. “Where is that?”
“I haven’t told you about Petersburg?” Janelle asked.
“Oh, man, I should have told you a while ago. It’s a town that has a rule that men take care of their women.
They are all Daddies. They make sure everyone who visits or wants to live there understands the lifestyle.
They are very strict, but they love their women.
I also heard there was a fire station there and they are all Daddies. ”
“That exists?” she whispered.
It sounded like a dream... something from a book that was too good to be true.
But Daisy wished she could live somewhere like that. To not be judged for who she was or deal with her medical conditions. To be able to let her Little free.
“Yeah, it really does. Maybe you should visit sometime,” Janelle suggested. “Though you need to stay in Springfield a little longer.”
“I think I might just go there instead,” she mumbled.
“No, you are not running away. If I find out that you left, I will drag you back to Springfield. Give the town a chance to prove it’s not like the last places you lived in. I think you’ll be surprised.” Janelle trailed off.
“I don’t know,” she whispered, not feeling sure about anything.
“Daisy, listen to me. You’ve read all my books and love them. We’ve both been looking for this type of love from a Daddy,” Janelle said. “I think you should really stay in Springfield and give it a chance. I think it might surprise you, the people and the town.”
“Do I have to?” Daisy closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.
“You don’t have to since I’m not your Dominant, but I suggest it. I think it would be good for you to stay longer than a year, like you have in the other places,” Janelle said. “But if you want to move, you can. You know I’ll support you either way.”
“But you’ll make it known that I made the wrong decision,” she mumbled.
Janelle laughed. “I will, but you know I mean it out of love. Think it over. I want you to live your life and make friends. I want you to settle down and feel like you are at home, not like you are on the run.”
“I’m not on the run, and I never have been.”
“Daisy.” She sighed.
“Okay, fine. Maybe I’ve been fleeing towns because of the gossiping people,” she whispered.
“Exactly. I want you to be happy. Go do things that you normally wouldn’t do,” Janelle said.
“Fine, I’ll stay here for a little longer,” Daisy agreed.
“Perfect, I need to go back to my writing cave, but I’m proud of you. Great things are coming your way, and I can’t wait for you to experience them,” Janelle said before she hung up.
Daisy looked over at Chilli, who was lying on her bed, sleeping soundly. The conversation played in her head. Was she really going to stay in Springfield? Even after everything had happened at the bar and the grocery store?
After picking up her phone, she unlocked it and brought up Asher’s number.
No.
She shouldn’t do this. It was too soon.
But she wanted to see what BTS was like. Maybe she could even find a Daddy there.
Daisy
Does the offer still stand for me and Chilli to come early and look around?
Daisy put her phone down, took a deep breath, and shook her hands out. Everything was going to be okay. Now she just needed to get back to work while she patiently waited for Asher to respond. She could do that.
Almost immediately, her phone buzzed. Daisy looked down at the screen and gasped.
Asher was calling.