Page 19 of Their Little House Boston (Five Little Roommates #3)

Boston

Things had been going really well with Elliot, Daddy Tripp, and me. We’d gone out together, all three of us, a few times, and his dog Juno pretty much stole my heart instantly when we met her on video chat.

There was so much cuteness in that ball of fur, I couldn’t even stand it.

I teased that I wanted him to bring her to our house so I could keep her, knowing full well that A) Tripp would never allow that, and B) we weren’t supposed to have pets here.

But the idea of snuggling up with her during a movie night sounded pretty fabulous to me.

I checked myself in the mirror one last time before hunting Elliot down. “I need a fit check.” I twirled slowly in front of him.

“Yeah, you nailed it. Those are your sexy jeans, and not an eye in the place will be anywhere else.”

“Sexy jeans? I didn’t know I had sexy jeans?

Aren’t they all the same?” I knew sexy jeans existed, of course.

I could reach into Elliot’s drawers and pick his out with ease.

But I always thought mine were all the same.

Heck, they were even the same brand and style.

Guess not, if Elliot liked these. I made note of which they were for future reference.

“Nope. Those cup your ass just right,” he said, giving my butt a playful smack. “Tripp gonna be here soon?”

I checked my phone. “Yeah. Next couple minutes.”

“Well then, you’d better hurry and kiss me before he gets here. And if you’re anywhere with chocolate, don’t forget my date tax.”

“Date tax?”

“Yes. Date tax. If I can’t be there for the cake or the pie or the cookies or the candy or whatever chocolate you are around, you have to bring some back to me. It’s only fair.”

“And did you bring me back a dessert last time you went out?” He’d brought me nachos, but I was ignoring that, enjoying our light teasing.

“Cheese is just as good,” he said with a grin. He wasn’t wrong. “Now, kiss me. He’ll come exactly on time and you know it.”

I gave him a far too brief kiss.

“Did you want to say hello?”

“Nope.” He tapped my nose. “This is your date, not mine. And it’s a first date for you two without me, so hurry on. I’ll wait for my tax.”

Another playful smack on my ass, and I jogged down the stairs, opening the door just as Daddy walked up the front steps.

“Little excited for our date?”

My head bobbed up and down like those silly bobbleheads, and I didn’t even care. “I am.”

I pulled the door shut behind me and hurried into his waiting arms. We’d kissed, held hands, and hugged during our times with all three of us, and we’d had conversations and video chats that went a lot further than that, but there was still a thrill about feeling his arms around me.

“Where are we going?”

“That’s for me to know,” he said.

He kissed my cheek and took my hand, dragging me to the car as I protested, very poorly, about needing to know where we were going to make sure I was dressed properly.

“You need to trust that if you weren’t, I’d have told you by now.

“Because you’re a daddy?” I asked.

“I suppose so, yes. But also, because I like you and wouldn’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

He liked me. Heart emojis bumped around in my mind.

Tripp opened the passenger door, and I slid inside.

We ended up at karaoke night at a local bar. It wasn’t a random date choice. Once, when we were talking about what little things I liked, I’d mentioned once how much fun I had singing silly songs at karaoke. Because, to me, anything silly and fun and not prim and proper felt little at first.

But the more I played and the more I talked to both Elliot and Tripp, the more I realized that there was fun, and then there were the things that helped me forget about the world around me and kind of slip away. And those were little. At least, to me, they were.

Coloring didn’t work as well for me, but blocks, cars, and listening to stories did wonders.

Crafts, too, as long as they weren’t hard.

Glue and glitter all day long. But cutting?

That brought all the thoughts back as I focused on making sure I didn’t mess up the lines.

I pretty much avoided that now when I was in the playroom.

Elliot said you never stopped learning about who you were and what you liked. So, yay me.

I ordered soda instead of alcohol, remembering what it was like the time I went to Chained with Elliot.

I hadn’t done anything I regretted. In a lot of ways, being drunk had helped me say things I needed to, but I had woken up with a horrible headache and missing parts of my memory from the night before.

I wanted to remember every single second with Tripp. Soda, it was.

We sang, both together and solo, listened to some really horrible renditions of songs that weren’t good in the first place, and heard a few people sing well enough that they should have been on open-mic night and not at a karaoke bar.

There was laughter, a few flinches, and a whole lot of shared food.

And when we could no longer take the noise, we went for a walk, finding a little café for dessert…

a café where I got a piece of chocolate cake to bring back to Elliot as my date tax.

We even kissed under the stars, but all too soon, it was time for me to go home.

I was happy for an evening when I didn’t want to say good night instead of one where I wished it were over. Having to endure the company of some dates I’d had in my past was no fun. Reluctance to part from Tripp was a good thing, even if I didn’t love it.

Tripp kissed my cheek and whispered, “Be sure to tell Elliot all about our night when you give him this cake,” making me once again hate the stupid rule that stated he had to stay outside unless prior arrangements were made.

“I will, Daddy Tripp.” It was the first time I’d called him that the entire night. It felt right, and the smile he gave in return reached his eyes before he gave me one last kiss and walked back to his car.

I ran to Elliot’s room, not only to give him his date tax but to let him know everything that was happening.

He snatched the box fast and opened it. “I guess I have to keep you.” He plopped onto his bed, taking the plastic spork that came with the cake and digging in for a huge bite.

“I left something for you on the dresser.” His mouth was full and, if he hadn’t indicated the piece of furniture with his head, I might not have understood what he was saying at all.

“For me?” I walked over and found a drawing of Koalakins one of the frames we made the first night with Daddy Tripp at Chained.

“You drew this for me?” It was good…really good.

“Of course I did. You weren’t going to use your frame. It required cutting.” He chuckled, his mouth still full of food.

“You saw that?” I hadn’t mentioned it, but he knew.

“Of course I did. I pay attention.”

“Thank you.” I wanted to say so much more than that, to tell him how it warmed my heart that he took the time to notice the small things, how it made me feel on top of the world. Instead, I sat beside him and opened my mouth.

“What? Didn’t you have your own?”

“No. I had pie.” And it had been delicious.

He let out a fake sigh. “Here.” He fed me a spork full of cake…his cake. It was the most delicious bite I’d ever eaten.

We devoured the rest of it as I told him all about my night…a night that I wanted to include kissing him breathless. He was very on board with that plan, and we were sure to tell Daddy Tripp all about it, not because he made us but because he thought it was as hot as we did.