Page 39 of Two Daddies for Little Jenna

Breaking the hug, I looked at them. This time my smile was genuine. I was getting a lover and a friend. What more could I ask for?

"I'll be fine for now," I said, shifting my glance between them. "You guys go back inside and enjoy your time. Our schedules don't always match for us to have such a large get-together."

Jenna shook her head and like always, I loved the way her pigtails slapped her on the cheeks. "You need us more. Elijah and Michael have their Daddies to take care of them. It's my duty to take care of you."

"You look tired, Nick," Clark said. "Have you been sleeping well?"

"Yes," I lied, but Clark's eyes narrowed slightly. Being a Daddy, he was so good at catching people in lies.

"A good night's sleep should help nevertheless," Clark said. "So off to bed with you."

"Oh, I know!" I clapped my hands in excitement. "Why don't we sleep under the stars tonight? I wasn't allowed to go outside growing up, so I've always wanted to feel closer to nature."

"And get eaten by wild animals?" Clark said. "I'll ask Elijah if it's safe at night. It probably should be if we start a campfire to scare away the animals."

Clark soon returned with some wood, blankets, and comforters. Starting up the fire, we sat around it for a while before going to bed under the stars. Our feet were tangled with Jenna's and we cuddled up with her in the middle to keep her warm. She stared up at the stars in fascination with the brightest smile. It didn't take much to make her feel happy. She hadn't had a nap that day, so she slipped into sleep in no time. I stared at her sweet face in the pale moonlight. I was falling so hard for her.

When I woke up the next morning to birds chirping and soft sunlight, I was pleasantly surprised. I hadn't slept so well in a long time. I turned to find Jenna staring up at the sky and she didn't move a muscle.

"What's wrong?" I stretched my arms above my head and noticed Clark was missing.

"Oh, thank God you're up." She sighed. "Daddy just went inside. He said I'd end up waking you if I made any movements, so I had to stay very still for the past ten minutes. He said you needed sleep to help you heal."

I chuckled as she sat up and adjusted her hair. "I think he was just messing with you."

"Damn it!" She looked so cute when she was mad. "He's not getting away with this. It's just like the time when he lied that underpaid workers were sitting in vending machines to dispense warm milk."

I pulled her back to lay next to me, taking her face in my hands and caressing it. "You look so pretty even just out of bed. I just want to hold you here for hours and do nothing but stare at your pretty face."

She moved her face closer to give me a peck on the lips. "Won't we be late for work? I have a pretty busy morning. Need to check in with the vendors one last time for the event tonight."

I sighed. "I won't be going into work for a while. John had a chat with me yesterday while you were out for a walk. He's concerned I'm ignoring my personal well-being by overworking. I agreed with his suggestion that I move out to some other place. I'm terrible at maintaining a work-life balance and living above the club isn't helping. You can come with me to help with apartment hunting. I'll have to ask your Daddy's permission, though."

Jenna had been working out of the back office for half of the week. It was enough reason to drown myself back into work. But John was right. I needed to work on myself first. Nothing was more important than self-care, not even work.

Jenna's eyes widened and she wiggled closer to me, her mouth forming a little circle in excitement. "I have an idea! Why don't you move in with Daddy and me? He's always complaining about how the house is too big for us. We'll have so much fun watching movies and having playdates! Just you, me, and Daddy."

I was taken aback by how forward Littles could be sometimes. She was asking as if it wasn't a big deal. It was why I adored Littles. They were innocent and sweet when in their headspace.

"Moving in is such a big step, darling." I stroked her cheek with my thumb. "People do it when they're serious about each other."

When her face fell, I wanted to kick myself.

"How silly of me. We've only known each other for a few weeks but I fell so hard for you. It's forever in Little time and I thought you were serious about me. No hard feelings I guess."

My face lit up. "Are you saying you're serious about me?"

She nodded. "Are you not?"

"I am. But I wasn't sure how you felt. We are moving fast, but it feels so right, doesn't it? Nevertheless, I can't just move in with you."

"Why not?" She cried pleadingly, sticking her lower lip out in a pout. "I get to see Daddy every day but not you. I wish I did. I wish we all lived as one big happy family."

"Family," I said with a smile. "I like that. But you're forgetting your Daddy has to want it too. He cares about you so dearly but he doesn't know me well enough. If I were in his place, I would hesitate to let someone move in so early on. It's just how Daddies are built. We do everything we can to protect our loved ones from getting hurt."

"But you won't hurt me, Nick. I just know it. As for Daddy's approval, leave it to me. Daddy likes to spoil me rotten. He doesn't say no to my wishes, and this is my biggest one yet. Ever since I told him about my tragic past, he lets me have everything I want."

"Aw, darling." I kissed the top of her head and rested my head on one of her pigtails. "That's so sweet of you, but you shouldn't have to convince him. If he's not ready to have me in his home, then I don't want to intrude."