Page 15 of Two Daddies for Little Jenna

She made a face that said it was farthest from the truth. "I wouldn't do that to you!"

"Just because you want to see Nick again, it doesn't change things between us. I wish you'd be honest with me about your feelings, but I know you're having a hard time being honest with yourself. You've been crayoning yourself hanging out at the club with your friends ever since you met Nick, and Nick's in all of them looking at you from a distance. You've been thinking about him but you don't want to. You need me to take control and that's exactly what I'll be doing. You'll let Daddy make the decisions hereon."

"Okay," she said quietly, slowly blinking up at me. "I do want to see Nick again."

"Thank you for being honest with yourself about your feelings." I kissed the top of her head.

"And I do want you to take control. I have a hard time making small decisions and this one's so big, Daddy. I know you'll make the right decision. How could you not when you always want the best for me? So what's your decision?"

She trusted me and yet she looked so scared, scared that I secretly didn't want her to see Nick again. But it was farthest from the truth.

"You're seeing Nick again," I said and her face instantly lit up as she gave a quick wiggle of excitement. "You're going to call Nick and tell him you changed your mind. You need to figure out what you want from him, sweetheart. If you realize you want him to be your Daddy, that's fine. If you come to realize you just want him to be a friend, that's also fine."

"I'll do that right away." She bobbed her head up and down. "Nick was fine with it when I asked if you could join us, so I want you to come too. The three of us are gonna have so much fun!"

The next evening, I bathed her after feeding her lunch so she'd relax. When it was time for a nap, she wanted me to sleep with her for just a little bit. Soon I found myself drifting off into sleep and when I woke up, I was worried Jenna would be late for her date.

I patted the space next to me on the bed in darkness but she wasn't there. Of course she was already up. She was so excited for her date she must've barely gotten any sleep.

Walking over to the window, I undid the blinds and realized I hadn't overslept after all. It was still pretty bright outside. Stretching my arms above my head, I went downstairs to find Jenna patiently sitting on the floor by the front door. She was all dolled up for her date.

"Daddy!" She almost jumped when she turned around to see me standing over her, then sticking her lower lip out in a pout. "You're not ready. Nick will be here any minute."

I laughed and shook my head. "Any minute? He's supposed to pick us up in a few hours. Is that what you've been doing? Waiting for him? You didn't even wait for me to dress you? I should be the one pouting."

"Oh, this?" She shrugged as I scooped her up in my arms and took her to the couch, her hands wrapped around my neck. "I just threw on whatever I could find."

She was dressed as a grown-up. Maybe she thought that's how Nick would like her.

"Well, you look really pretty. You sure you don't want me to dress you up as a Little?"

"No, Daddy." She shook her head and I missed her pigtails terribly. "You should go get dressed too. Two hours pass by in no time. Do you need my help choosing your outfit?"

I had given it much thought ever since she told me she wanted me to join them. I knew things would stay platonic if I tagged along. Since I wanted them to discover what they wanted, I had to stay away.

"I don't feel too good, sweetheart. Why don't you two go on without me?"

"Oh no!" She climbed into my lap and put the back of her hand against my forehead. "You don't feel hot. I can cancel and we can go another time. You don't take care of yourself, Daddy. You need someone to look after you."

"Of course not," I said. "I'll be fine. It must be the food we ate yesterday. You know I have a love-hate relationship with spicy food. I love it but it doesn't sit well with my tummy."

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion and then they widened. "Wait a minute. You're doing this because you feel like the third wheel, isn't it? Well, you won't be!"

"It's not that. I just want you to know each other without feeling like you're being judged and watched. My presence will only influence your decision. But I promise I'll come with you to all your future dates if you want me to."

"This isn't a date, Daddy." Red stained her cheeks as I stroked her head. "Didn't we agree it was just to see what we wanted from each other? If Nick tries to kiss me, I'll push him away and run away. I made it clear that this isn't a date."

I took her face in my hands and forced her to look at me. "Listen to me, sweetheart. There's a valuable lesson to be learned here. Littles have a hard time making decisions but Daddies can only help them so much. There comes a time when Littles have to make their own decisions when it comes to matters of the heart. So you can turn down Nick's kiss, but only if it's what you want. Not because you think it's what I'd want. Understood?"

She nodded frantically and snuggled into me. "Best Daddy in the whole world."

I took her hand and kissed it. "Now, do you want me to read you one of Nick's books as we wait? I can sing you that lullaby from his book that you like so much."

I didn't need to ask her twice. Jumping out of my lap, she ran towards the stairs. She loved Nick's books so much, they were all she read these days.

"No running in this house, Jenna!" I scolded in my stern Daddy voice. "You could trip and end up hurting yourself."

"Sorry, Daddy."