Page 54 of Two Daddies for Little Jenna

Drinking warm milk was Michael's favorite part of the day, which was why he now called Elijah over to the center of the yard, but Kristen tagged along too. If tiring ourselves out was the only way to get some milk, he'd get on the task right away.

Kristen liked to give mixed signals. Sometimes it felt like she wanted to be our friend, but other times she liked to get us in trouble and be mean to us. She hadn't been mean to us ever since Otis tried to kidnap me. Maybe she pitied me now, but her behavior had begun to lean on the mean side ever so slowly. We didn't know her past, but Michael guessed that she had gone through bullying and it led to her turning into a bully herself.

"Oh, Kristen." Michael blew air through his teeth. "Could you sit back for this one? We're playing tag but you get way too aggressive."

"Yeah," I conceded. "You roughhoused Elijah way too hard. Michael and I had to step in thinking you had gone rogue and were straight up attacking him."

"What? I don't get aggressive at all. It isn't my fault you guys are too soft."

Elijah scratched the back of his head. "It’s kinda true, though. I was about ready to have one of my panic attacks thinking I was going to be beaten to a pulp. Don't take this personally, but tag brings out the worst in you."

"We're not trying to be mean or anything," Michael added. "You can play with us in any other game. Just not this one. Some people just aren't cut out for certain games. Like Elijah when he races us. Running is too intense and he'd rather sit out."

When Michael elbowed Elijah in his sides, Elijah nodded frantically.

Kristen crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Tag is lame anyways. It's a game for babies."

Kristen was a middle, so she identified as an older age group. I could tell she was still figuring things out since she liked to play games meant for Littles.

When Kristen walked away, I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sheesh," I whispered. "Dodged a bullet. I was afraid I was going to be her next victim. Poor girl. I don't think she realizes she's even doing it. Must be like an impulse taking over. We're still the good guys, right? We weren't mean to her or anything?"

"Oh, no," Michael said. "We're definitely the good guys. Had we let her play and she hurt one of us, she'd blame herself for the rest of her life. Especially had she hurt me, because I deserve it the least among us, with me being such a good boy and all."

Just as we'd begun to play rock paper scissors to decide who was going to beit, all our Daddies stepped outside to watch us play. Everyone's Daddies began cheering for their Little. Mine was the loudest as they clapped and whistled.

Kristen scowled in the distance and rushed back into the house. I sure felt guilty for doing something that was supposed to be a good thing and for her own good. I dreaded every time we let her play. She always turned into a mean bully when she lost, which was surprisingly almost always.

Once we all stood apart, Elijah began chasing us. It wouldn't last long seeing how it was just three of us. First, he chased Michael. The boys liked to take it way too seriously. There were no rules, so Michael ran inside and thus began a long chasing sequence, one which involved me just standing on the sidelines and watching them run around the house. Soon they ran back outside and I didn't even bother running away.

"You're it." Elijah finally managed to tap Michael on the shoulder.

"Damn it, you always chase me first." Michael stuck his lower lip out in a pout and then ran towards me.

My tiny feet were no match for Michael's long strides. I didn't stand a chance.

"You're it." Michael tapped my shoulder and then giggled. "And that concludes the game. Wow, that was quite short. Maybe we should've invited Kristen after all."

"Yeah, you like to be roughhoused?" I threw my arms around him and laughed as we fell onto the ground.

"No!" Michael giggled as we rolled around on the grass, both of us trying to gain the upper hand.

Uncle John whistled to get our attention and we paused to look up at him. "No roughhousing, guys. One of you might get hurt."

"Sorry, Daddy," Michael said in a singsong voice and got off me. "Jenna started it."

"Come get your milk, guys," Daddy Nick announced, picking up the tray of sippy cups off the table. "You can go in and play after while us Daddies cook you dinner."

Six Daddies cooking dinner together. That would be interesting. The kitchen would be crowded but I couldn't wait to crayon on the kitchen floor with the others while they cooked.

"Yay, warm milk!" Michael yelled and waddled towards his Daddy.

I stood up and brushed the dirt off my pink top before running towards Daddy Clark who had my sippy cup ready in his hand.

"Careful, sweetheart," Daddy Nick warned. "You know the rules. No running."

But alas, it was too late. Before I knew it, I tripped over and was falling face-first towards the ground. Luckily my knee caught the fall but a sting of pain coursed through it.