Caring Fireman Daddy by Scott Wylder
CHAPTER TWO
Darius
“Nice to meet you, Betsy,” I stand up to shake her hand. If she kept swinger her feet in my face, inches away from her sweet middle, I don’t know what I would do. She is just so cute. “My name is Darius. Pleasure to meet you.”
She reaches out her hand, “Nice to meet you Darrius.” I shake her hand. It is small and delicate. I hold it a bit too long.
“I think I lost. I hurt you, I didn’t mean to. Daddies are supposed to protect,” I say.
“Oh, I know. I asked for it.” She puts her hand on my shoulder. I shudder despite myself. She makes me look at her and says calmly, “It was my idea. I played too rough. Besides, you fixed me up. That makes it even better.”
“Does it?” I ask, looking the ground.
She punches me playfully on the shoulder knocking me out of my guilt trip. “Of course, it does, Silly,” she giggles. “I’m still hungry. Do you think there are still cupcakes?”
“Let’s go check,” I say and stretch out my arms. She willingly hops into them this time to get down from the SUV. She is walking just fine and takes my hand, not my arm. I don’t make a big deal of her holding my hand, but, secretly, I love it. I shudder a bit again hoping she can’t tell. There is something magic about her.
“I hope they still have vanilla,” she says.
“Is vanilla your favorite?”
She turns to me and says with a wink, “Only in cake and ice cream.”
She lets go of my hand and skips back to the house like it was nothing. Of course, I follow. I think I’m going to follow her anywhere.
The next day, back at the station, I cannot stop thinking about Betsy. At the party, I almost blew it running into her like that. Now I can only hope she’ll call me. I gave her my number and she put it in her phone. All I can do is hope for the best. She knows Frank’s girl, Talia, but I don’t want to resort to asking a friend for a girl’s number. If she wants to call me, she will.
Frank works at the station uptown, but he often comes over to our firehouse for “inspections.” Really he comes to hang out because our firehouse has a pool table in the basement. It was over pool once that we discovered we were both Daddies in the Lifestyle. That is how I got invited to Recess. Recess is the best part of the whole month. It seems like everything else in life is either leading up to or crashing down from Recess. Last night was the first time I found a Little I connected with, or rather I ran into her. She chose me for Hide and Seek that made me feel chosen.
When Frank arrives, I immediately ask if he wants to play pool. In the basement we don’t have to explain ourselves to anyone. Being a Daddy is sometimes hard to explain.
“So, Talia is having a sleepover with a few friends on Friday, why don’t you come over and chaperone,” he says as he casually makes the shot to the corner pocket.
“Sure, OK. I can see if I can make it. I wonder if that new girl, Betsy, will be there.” I am trying to sound cool and indifferent. I am neither cool nor indifferent.
“Maybe,” Frank says as he dusts the end of his cue with chalk. “Why don’t you try knocking her over with your charm this time?”
“You heard about that?”
“I know a lot of things, Darius. Come by, say, around eight. We’ll be roasting marshmallows.” Littles love s’mores and anything else that reminds them of a childhood they often missed out on first time around.
“I’ll see,” I say, but he knows I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
I arrive up at Frank’s ten minutes early on Friday, trying to be casual. I try listening to music, playing with my phone, checking my teeth in the mirror hoping there is nothing stuck in them. It has been a while since I got hung up about a girl. I just want to take care of someone. I want a Little to make safe and to spoil.
I knock on the door right at eight. There is the muffled sound of squeals and giggles. I can hardly wait. However, there are not a lot of girls there for a sleep over. It’s just Frank, Talia, and Betsy. I’m being set up. I should be angry. I am a little angry. I’m a bit embarrassed. I’m also happy to see Betsy again.
She was wearing a tight, short lavender t-shirt with a unicorn on it; pink suspenders; a shiny purple skirt; and socks with pink hearts that go up to her knees. There is a unicorn Band-Aid on her right knee, covering the scratch from where I tackled her a few days ago. If she is wearing ruffled panties and a diaper, I am going to lose my mind.
For some reason, I forget how to speak and just stand there stunned. Betsy wiggles back and forth knowing I was looking, and she seems to like it.
“Shall we?” Frank says as he motions to the backyard. On the patio there is already a fire going in the fire pit and fun dance music like at Recess. There are marshmallows, chocolate bars, and graham crackers already set up. The cool air feels nice, but it will get cold soon. The fire will keep us warm. Betsy and Talia dance around the fire like nymphs out of some Greek legend, like out of a dream. Frank and I are on the sidelines like satyrs waiting for the moment to pounce.
Frank and I crack open a few beers. We speak quietly and hope we are out of earshot. “You set me up, Frank,” I say. I sip a beer, mesmerized by the girls in the darkness, lit by the flame.
“Maybe,” he says as he takes a sip and then he holds up his beer for a toast. “Cheers, Darius, and good luck.”
I see the girls whisper to each other. Littles and their secrets. Talia and Betsy walk over hand-in-hand, swinging their arms back and forth like they’re on a field trip. Perhaps they have come over to tell us their secret.
“Hey, why don’t we play Hide and Seek,” Talia says.
“I love that game,” Betsy squeals. I’ve been set up again, this time by Talia. I’m going to roll with it.
“I don’t know, I can be pretty dangerous,” I warn. I wink at Betsy, she wiggles again.
“Don’t be silly.” She giggles and lightly taps my chest. Electricity jolts through my body. “Now count to 50.”
Without thinking Frank and I count out loud, “One, Two, Three…” The girls scurry away. It is not quite dark yet, but it’s getting there. We’ll play a few rounds and then we’ll have s’mores, maybe then we’ll cuddle. If I’m lucky.
