Page 4 of Tying Little Tay (Littles of Rawhide Ranch #13)

Guilia

Guilia had had no idea that Tay had been feeling all of that.

“Tay,” she said softly, her heart breaking for the Little in front of her.

“You should have said . I thought that you were just bratting me. I didn’t know that you wanted…

” She took a deep breath and tried again.

“No. That’s not entirely true. But I was aware of the power imbalance between us and didn’t want to push you into something you weren’t ready for. ”

Tay made a noise that was half-hiccup, half-giggle. “What are we like?”

“Indeed,” said Guilia. “Well, now that you have said the things… I would not like it if you left Rawhide Ranch. You are the best part of my day.”

“I am?” Tay’s eyes were wide with surprise. “I thought I was just annoying.”

“If you were just annoying,” said Guilia, “I would have told you to stop, rather than make sure your favorite flavors of ice cream are always in stock.”

“Huh,” said Tay. “I really misunderstood all of that, didn’t I?”

“Yes,” said Guilia. “You really did. And in the future, I expect you to tell me when you are spiraling about something.”

“It’s hard,” explained Tay. “My ADHD makes my RSD—my rejection sensitive dysphoria—so much worse. It means that even the slightest rejection can hit me like a wall, and my emotions overwhelm me. I know logically that I’m being ridiculous sometimes, but I can’t always tell when. It’s just easier not to say anything.”

Guilia looked at Tay and then nodded toward the toilet that they’d just thrown up into. “I’m not sure that’s entirely true.”

Tay pulled a face and got up, offering Guilia a hand. “Perhaps not.”

Their eyes were an enchanting green, and Guilia longed to lose herself in their depths, but not now.

Not without boundaries and discussions and the aforementioned punishment.

“So, I don’t quite know what the best punishment is, right now,” she admitted.

“It feels wrong to kick whatever we would like this to be off with a punishment, but at the same time it is what you expected.”

“It is.” Tay looked sheepish.

“Perhaps,” said Guilia, an idea coming to her suddenly, “You should pick your own punishment.”

Tay looked skeptical and more than a little hopeful.

“I would trust you to pick something that you know befits such a prank, taking into account the chaos you wrought, the mess that ensued, and the amount of disrespect you showed for me and my work.”

As she spoke, Guilia could see Tay’s shoulders drooping. “It’s okay,” she said gently. “I’m not angry; I’m just disappointed that you chose to do this instead of coming and speaking to me.”

“But that’s worse ,” wailed Tay. “Are you kidding? I don’t want you to be disappointed in me.”

“Then make me proud by picking a suitable punishment for yourself.” It was an excellent punishment, Guilia realized. It would make Tay really think about what they’d done, and in order to wipe the slate clean, they wouldn’t be able to half-arse it either.

“I will.” Tay looked determined. “I’ll do the best job ever.” Then, suddenly shy again, they added, “And… about us?”

“Si, Tay?”

“Do you think that we could… that you could… I mean…” They went to tug their sweater up and over their head, but Guilia tugged it straight back down calmly.

“Use your words. Come on, tesore, you can do it.”

“What does that mean?” asked Tay curiously. “Tesore.”

Guilia felt herself flush. She’d been using the endearment all morning, without even really realizing what she was doing. “It means treasure,” she said.

“Treasure?” Tay’s voice sounded awed. “I’m your treasure?”

“Of course you are,” said Guilia, and she could hear herself slip into her no-nonsense head-chef mode. “You make excellent pasta, for one thing. And for another, you are very kind to your friends.”

“Treasure,” Tay repeated again. There was a soft smile dancing on their lips. “If you have a nickname for me, do I get one for you?”

There was another question there, under the one that they’d asked, but Guilia wasn’t going to push them into saying that one out loud. That would be asking too much of them.

“I think that’s an excellent idea, mi tesore. I was thinking that Daddy might fit quite nicely.”

There was a long silence in which Guilia thought she might have misread the situation entirely, and when she met Tay’s eyes, they were filled with tears. “ Cazzo ; Tay, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

“No no,” said Tay. “Please don’t apologize. I just… I would like that. I would like that very much.”

“I’m not sure how that would work when we’re working together; we should go and speak to Signore Derek about that.”

Tay nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, please.”