Chapter 3
Stella stepped out of the shower and took a moment to allow herself to drip dry. As the new steam extractor silently cooled and cleared her bathroom, a naked Stella took a moment to compose herself…
Okay, just stay calm.
Don’t let Logan get under your skin again.
And don’t let him excite you too much either!
However it might have been a little bit too late to try and tell her body to calm down. Stella looked down and saw that her stiff, pink nipples were very much full of thoughts of Logan Rain.
‘Come on, he’s not even that hot,’ Stella muttered, frustrated at how much her own body was betraying her true attraction to Logan as she felt her special place tingling. ‘Urgh. Whatever.’
The truth was that try as she might, Stella couldn’t deny that Logan was looking more handsome than ever – and that was saying something.
Stella did a quick calculation in her head and worked out that Logan was around either forty-five or forty-six, maybe forty-four. Math may have been usually a strong point for Stella, but even thinking about Logan’s age was scrambling her brain.
Whatever his exact age, Logan was looking incredibly dashing, and his body was in better shape than ninety-nine percent of men half his age.
Logan’s getting sexier with ever year that passes.
He seems more like a Daddy than ever.
And yet he’d still never want to settle with me…
Stella picked up one of her large, super-cozy white towels and fixed it around her upper body and walked out of the bathroom and into her master bedroom.
With its clean aesthetic and high ceilings, Stella’s bedroom was a place of sanctuary.
Of course, Stella had entertained the occasional guy in there, but somehow none of them had ever quite lived up to expectations. It wasn’t that Stella was freakishly fussy, it was just that she needed something extra to truly get her going.
Stella needed a Daddy to dominate her and then snuggle up with her and Huggle the bear afterward.
It felt like a distant dream, but it was one that Stella wouldn’t give up on or compromise.
So, all in all, Stella’s bedroom was mostly a place of rest and relaxation rather than any steamy late-night fun for most of the time.
Stella padded over on the soft carpet toward her wardrobe. Despite wanting to appear as casual as possible around Logan, Stella couldn’t help but find herself deliberating over what to wear.
‘Stop it!’ Stella said, berating herself as she scrambled to pick out her favorite t-shirt. ‘Nothing is going to happen with Logan this time. He’s obviously in a bit of trouble and needs support. There will be zero action between us of the bedroom variety. I’ll be a friend but no more than that.’
Feeling pleased with herself that she had managed to put a stop her wandering mind and any burgeoning rekindling of romantic feelings toward Logan, Stella got herself dressed into a t-shirt and denim shorts.
If there was one thing that Stella was good at, it was helping others.
Logan had clearly come to her in need of assistance, and Stella was determined to do just that.
Now all that remained was getting to the bottom of whatever it was that had led to Logan showing up so abruptly.
But before that, Stella had a date with the best Little friends a girl could ask for…
Baby Bouncer was a wonderful place.
Being the only specialist Little hangout in Blue Rock, it could sometimes get quite busy. But not today. Pleasingly, Stella and her two Little friends Lilah and Nicki were the only people in.
Maybe it was too early for Blue Rock’s other Littles, but it certainly wasn’t for Stella and her best friends.
With its calming, pastel-colored walls and super-cozy furniture and fluffy rugs, Baby Bouncer was the perfect place to come for a morning milk feed…
‘Burrrp!’ Stella said, realizing too late that she was drinking her perfectly white milk just a little bit too quickly. ‘Hehe, I think I’m going too fast!’
Stella was wearing nothing but her multi-colored duck patterned onesie over a snug pure-white diaper. As she lay on her back and looked up to the turquoise ceiling, Stella felt so warm and cozy and most importantly – safe.
‘I love this place,’ Stella said, feeling perfectly in Little Space.
‘Me too,’ Nicki replied, suckling on her milk with a look of sheer pleasure on her face.
‘Me three,’ Lilah added, kicking her legs up in the air and pretending to cycle as she lay on her back.
‘I think we’re three lucky little babies,’ Stella squealed before gulping down some more milk. ‘My tummy is getting super-full. I think I might need to go pee-pee.’
The three friends giggled and allowed themselves to enjoy their milk, the perfect nursery rhymes as the played on the speaker system, and the general feeling of total relaxation.
Being in Little Space was something that Stella adored.
As much as Stella enjoyed her day-to-day life, nothing quite matched up to the sensation of feeling herself regress and become her most authentic Little self.
Nicki and Sam felt the same way too and Stella felt blessed to have them both in her life as good friends.
‘Who wants to have a stuffie race?’ Nicki squealed, rolling over and picking up her super-cute giraffe stuffie.
‘I think my Rumble might win!’ Lilah giggled, parading her bumblebee stuffie with pride.
‘Naaaaw, good try but Huggle will be the champ!’’ Stella smiled, before realizing that her diaper was fit to burst. ‘But first I think it’s time for me to call for Miss Peartree to come change me. I’m all wet!’
The three friends giggled and cooed in delight as they waited for the Baby Bouncer nanny to arrive to change them.
Excitement for the stuffie race was building, but first there were three sets of heavy, fluffy diapers that needed changing – and fast!
The seated area out front of Drink Devine was one of Stella’s favorite local hangouts. Drink Devine was an all-purpose wellness space that covered everything from sound therapy to the comparatively commonplace yoga Pilates.
The fact that the café served up some of the tastiest and freshest juices in all Blue Rock was the cherry on top of the gluten-free cake.
But as much as Stella was in heaven at Drink Devine, evidently the same could not be said for her old college flame Logan…
‘What the actual fuck?’ Logan said, his impossibly handsome face all scrunched up as he just about managed to swallow down the wheatgrass shot that accompanied his berry smoothie. ‘I’ve tried a million different shots in a million different bars, but none of them tasted like… that.’
Stella rolled her head back and laughed.
It felt good to be getting a little enjoyment out of seeing Logan suffer. After all, it was Logan who showed up so abruptly and without and warning. It was only fair that Stella was allowed to indulge in a little bit of payback.
‘It’s good for you,’ Stella said, a big smile on her face. ‘But seriously, wheatgrass is genuinely incredible when it comes to healing aches and pains. I swear by it.’
‘It’s early evening, we should be pounding the beers!’ Logan said, the disgruntled look on his face showing no sign of going anywhere. ‘Anyway… I probably owe you a bit of an explanation.’
At this point, Stella assumed that Logan was going to explain why he had shown up unannounced in what looked to be quite a distressed state.
As reliably rugged as Logan had looked, on reflection Stella had realized that there was something not quite right about him. There had been an edge, a slight haziness to Logan that wasn’t how Stella remembered him at all.
But rather than explain what was going on right now, what Logan wanted to set straight was something from a long time ago…
‘You know, I always felt bad about how we left things in college,’ Logan said, taking a sip of his berry drink. ‘I know we’ve seen each other since, but it’s always felt like a cloud above us, you know?’
‘Yeah, that’s a fair comment,’ Stella said, a wry smile on her face. ‘I guess the last thing you needed was a Little clinging on to you…’
‘I figured you’d say that,’ Logan continued.
‘Well, I want to own it. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for leaving without giving you a proper explanation.
And I’m sorry for waiting until now to sit down and have this conversation.
I fucked up. I failed college and knowing that you were so focused on your studies, I just didn’t want to drag you down with me.
But rather than have an adult talk about things, I just cut loose. ’
‘Yeah, but you were also afraid of commitment,’ Stella said, her voice quivering just a touch. ‘You knew how much I liked you. When you left town, it hurt.’
Logan nodded and appeared to be contemplating something.
Stella noticed that Logan was still wincing a little if he moved his shoulder too much, but rather than try to press Logan for any further details on his current situation, Stella decided that it was better to keep the conversation flowing.
‘So… tell me,’ Stella said. ‘Have you managed to find your Miss Right since we last hung out?’
‘Hmmm. What do you think?’ Logan said, a wry grin back on his face.
‘I think you’ve probably found plenty of Miss Right Now’s,’ Stella said. ‘But anything longer than a weekend? I’m guessing not.’
‘You’d guess correctly too,’ Logan laughed. ‘And you? There must have been a Daddy to catch your eye’
‘Still single. Still working hard. Still…,’ Stella said, trailing off.
‘Yeah?’
‘Still trying to find my happy place, I guess,’ Stella said, suddenly feeling a pang of emotion. ‘Hey, I’m volunteering again.’
‘Oh, great. Doing what?’ Logan said, his interest piqued.
‘A dog shelter,’ Stella replied, smiling. ‘It’s called The Dog Den. Honestly, I know you’ve always liked dogs. It’s incredible how many super-sweet little mutts they get in there. I’d take them all home with me if I could.’
‘I bet you would!’ Logan laughed. ‘You’ve got a thing for scruffy, charming strays…’
Stella giggled.
Suddenly, there was that old electricity between them again. It was undeniable. Despite being so different, the pair of them had a lot more in common than appeared on the surface.
Ever since she first met Logan on campus as a nervous twenty-one-year-old, Stella had felt a connection between them. And now, if it was ever in doubt, it was clear that this very same connection was still there.
Despite being a little bit self-conscious at times, Stella never found it difficult to act flirtatious with Logan. And it was as if Logan just had that special something in him that unlocked another side of Stella that so many other people just couldn’t get to.
Logan, of course, never found it hard to flirt in even the wildest, most inappropriate settings.
The rumors around campus had been that Logan had managed to work his way through at least half of the Literature faculty in the first semester alone. Logan had always denied this, but Stella never quite believed him.
‘Okay, okay,’ Stella said, the pair of them spending a little too long staring thirstily at one another. ‘I need to know something else.’
‘Shoot, honey,’ Logan replied, now seemingly enjoying his berry drink far more than he had anticipated after the wheatgrass experience.
‘I want to know what your deal is,’ Stella said, a hint of steely insistence in her voice. ‘You can’t honestly expect to show up looking a hot mess and ask to stay with me and then not explain what’s up. Come on, even for you that’s pushing it…’
Stella paused and waited for an answer.
Suddenly, Logan’s facial expression turned from one of flirtatious banter to something altogether sadder.
This was really something, Stella could tell.
‘It’s okay, you can trust me,’ Stella said, reaching over and placing her soft hand on Logan’s far more rugged, not to mentioned tattooed, hand.
‘Well, it all began about nine months ago…’
Logan proceeded to explain that he had built something of a debt. He was gambling and losing. But instead of quitting while he wasn’t too far behind, Logan had decided to try and gamble his way out of the debt. Of course, this only led to more financial woes.
It turned out that Logan had got himself into so much debt that he had ended up homeless. His car was all he had left in the world. And speaking of Logan’s car…
‘I had to leave it,’ Logan said. ‘I was so fucking scared that the cops would show up. I mean… I’m not even insured currently.
I’m screwed. The whole situation is fucked up.
I could have been arrested. Maybe even ended up in county jail for a short sentence.
Or worse. It was the way I just had no memories beyond winning that God damned drag race. It just makes no sense.’
‘Oh boy,’ Stella said, moving closer to Logan and putting her arm around him. ‘You’ve been a in a bad situation, that’s for sure. Don’t worry though, I’ll help you through it. That’s what friends are for.’
Logan nodded and the pair of them shared a moment.
There were deep feelings between Stella and Logan, there was no questioning that. Even in the times where their friendship had slipped off the radar, or where the lines had been blurred, it had never been in doubt that the pair of them cared about one another.
But as much as she wanted to be there for Logan, Stella couldn’t help but wonder whether being associated to someone with a dubious criminal record might actually hamper her career at EcoPlay.
Stella felt guilty for even thinking this, but her career was important to her.
Stella would have to tread carefully with how she handled this.
Stella’s only hope was that, for once, Logan might be ready to play it safe and stick to the rules…