7. Kylie
KYLIE
We'd only been on one actual date, plus today, which barely counted since he was basically working for me the whole time. And now I was bringing him back into my apartment where he could clearly see all my secrets out in the open.
That could’ve either been the beginning of something great, but it was much more likely to be the end of something that wasn’t meant to be. Which kinda ruined the high I’d been riding all afternoon.
I pulled into my designated spot and reminded myself to breathe. It was just dinner and a movie. Or maybe just dinner. And if he left before dinner, at least I had a happy customer to be grateful for.
Jordan grabbed the takeout bags off his passenger seat and followed me to my door.
I unlocked it with slightly shaky hands and then held my breath when I flipped on the lights.
“Um, come on in.” I had a stack of coloring books on the coffee table from when I was organizing them this morning.
And my blankie was draped over the back of the couch.
It was the yellow one with satin trim that I needed to fall asleep with every night. “And please excuse the mess.”
It wasn’t actually a mess, but it wasn’t as sterile as it was when he’d picked me up last night.
I put my new Squishmallow on the chair so I could look at it while we watched our movie but I wouldn’t be tempted to cuddle it inappropriately.
Not when I had a sexy man with me who I could do inappropriate things with.
My instinct was to panic-clean, maybe distracting him with the food while I hid my treasures.
But then I blew out a heavy breath and decided to let it go.
Either he would be okay with what he saw or he wouldn’t be.
Standing here with my heart in my throat wasn't gonna change his reaction, and it was better to find out sooner rather than later.
Before I got too attached.
Before this thing between us grew into something I wouldn’t be able to lose.
With any other guy, I would have shoved all my toys into a closet and tucked my coloring books under the bed until I was ready to reveal my truth. If I was ever ready.
But I didn’t want to waste my time or Jordan’s.
There was no sense in hiding who I was. That was just delaying the inevitable.
So I decided to just rip off the band-aid. That was what Cassie always said, and she went through a lot of band-aids.
"I’ll get some plates." I led him past the couch without acknowledging anything he might have thought looked out of place and dropped my keys onto the counter. "You can put the bags right there."
"This smells amazing." Jordan started unpacking the containers while I pulled out plates. Unlike last night, I didn’t immediately close the cabinet, giving him time to notice the sippy cups and divided plates among my regular dishes.
If he was looking, there was no way to miss the signs.
And I wasn’t gonna hide it from him. Not with Jordan.
I pulled down two standard plates for our dinner and left everything else where it was.
Jordan stepped up behind me and pressed his chest against my back. His breath was warm on my neck and my whole body froze in place for a second.
"Are those yours, cupcake?" His voice was soft and without a hint of judgment in it.
All I could hear was my heart still pounding in my ears as I prepared for the worst.
This was it. The moment I was dreading but that we had to address.
I put the plates down and squared my shoulders before I turned around to look him dead in the eye. "Yes." My voice came out steady, even though I was afraid I might melt right into my floor. "They're mine because I'm a Little."
I braced myself for the questions and confusion that usually came in moments like that.
There was a specific method of polite backing away that people did when they didn't understand something and were trying not to be rude about it. I'd not only witnessed it with my friends, but I’d experienced it myself on more than one occasion. That was why I usually only dated within the kink community. But I hadn’t expected to be dating ever again. At least, not for a while.
Not until Jordan.
But Jordan didn't back away.
Instead, he wrapped both arms around me and pulled me flush against him. Before I could even catch my breath, he pressed a soft kiss to the side of my jaw, right under my ear.
"Good." His voice vibrated right to my core. "Because I'm a Daddy Dom looking for his Little."
My breath hitched, and my jaw dropped as I absorbed his words. "Are you for real?"
"Very real, cupcake." He pulled back a bit farther so he could fully look at me.
The warmth in his eyes was the same warmth I'd felt every time he smiled at me in the morning, but now it felt different.
Heavier. "I've been in the lifestyle for years. Scenes, mostly, and nothing that ever turned into an actual relationship.” He inhaled deeply and then cocked his head to the side. “I wasn’t sure I’d ever find the right Little to build a life with. "
"Just scenes?" Troy and I had scened a few times when we were getting to know each other, but it definitely wasn’t the same as being in a relationship. "You've never actually had a Little that you could Daddy?"
"Nope." He tucked a tuft of hair away from my eyes and just stared at me. "I’ve been so focused on my career for so long that I wasn't looking for anything serious. But then I noticed a certain barista who made me feel things I haven’t felt before, and I was smitten."
"You were?" My face felt warm and melty again, but not in a bad way. In a really, really good way.
"I am. Present tense." He gently guided me to the table and sat me down before serving me from each container. "I saw the bottles in your cabinet and started to wonder. To hope, really. But then when you were giddy over the Squishmallow, I had a pretty good idea I was right about you.”
“Why didn’t you say anything last night?” I pointed to the drawer by my sink. “Forks are in there.”
Jordan smiled and grabbed the rest of what we needed before sitting down beside me instead of across from me. “I wanted to see how the night went and figure out a way to bring it up organically.”
I smiled at the times it almost had come up. “I wasn’t very subtle, was I?”
“There were a few moments.” He picked up a spring roll and held it in front of my mouth. “Open?”
My tummy tingled as I opened my mouth and then took a bite when he placed it between my teeth.
“Good girl.” He popped the other half of the spring roll into his mouth and raised his eyebrows. “Mmm.”
I folded my hands in my lap and soaked up the satisfaction that came from being called a good girl while I waited for him to make the next move. If Jordan wanted to feed me, I was here for it. It wasn’t something I needed from a Daddy, but it was something I liked.
He reached for a spoon and held it over the pile of fried rice on my plate. After I nodded, he scooped up some rice and carefully placed it in my mouth. “You mentioned your ex. Was he your Daddy?”
I froze, but it was mostly instinctive. After everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours, I had no reason to hide from Jordan. Nothing good would come from holding back. "Yeah, he was. Troy and I were together for a while, but now we’re just friends.”
Jordan nodded and opened a bottle of water that I hadn’t noticed earlier. Instead of trying to pour it into my mouth, he just handed me the open bottle and then took a bite of noodles from his own plate. “You’re still friends? Tell me about that.”
I grinned, wondering if Jordan was the jealous type.
He had nothing to worry about with Troy, but it was kinda funny that he focused on that aspect above everything else he’d just learned.
“Troy’s a good guy. He’s kind and caring, but after a while, it became clear that we were okay together, but not exactly right for each other. ”
“In what way, if you don’t mind my asking?” Jordan loaded up some noodles onto the spoon and held it up for me.
I happily accepted the bite then chewed and swallowed before speaking again.
“Well, we were both just learning about our kinks, and as we experimented with different things, he leaned into his disciplinarian side and loved when I was a brat.” I sighed as I considered my next words.
“I guess I can be a brat sometimes, but I prefer to be good. I’m a people pleaser at heart and don’t really like to be punished. ”
Jordan narrowed his eyes. “Did he take advantage of your trust?”
“No, not at all.” Troy never hurt me and never would. “He’s actually with one of my best friends now, and they’re perfect for each other. She’s wild and he’s strict, and they both love each other. I’m really happy they found each other…and I know I’ll find someone right for me.”
“You think so?” Jordan’s voice was low and a bit rough as he stared right into my eyes.
“I do.” I opened my mouth and waited for him to bring another spoonful of food to me.
Jordan took in what I’d shared and continued feeding me a balance of veggies, noodles, rice, and chicken.
I was getting full, but I didn’t ever want this meal to end.
I loved letting him take care of me and was curious how he’d react to me at the end of the conversation. "Your friend is also a Little?"
"Yep. We’re part of the Little Lovelies.
It’s a club we made up for playdates and tea parties.
We even have a permanent playroom with all our stuff that we meet at with the Daddies sometimes.
" I picked at a loose thread on my shirt to have an excuse not to look at him when I whispered the next line.
"Maybe you can come with me some time and meet them. "
"I’d like that very much, cupcake."
"I like that." I smiled and looked up at him. "When you call me that, it makes my tummy tingle."
"I like calling you special names that are only for me." He placed his hand on my neck and ran his thumb across my jaw. “And I hope that you might want to call me by a special name someday too.”