Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 54968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
“Here.” Celeste held out a lab coat. “Put this on. It’ll give you some protection so you can ease into your new style.”
“Do you think it suits me?” she asked as she took the coat, still looking down at herself. “I mean, it’s so girly and so pink. I haven’t worn anything girly or pink since I was a small child.” Except for my lingerie.
Celeste took a seat in her swivel chair and pulled out a second one for Zara. “You’ve been hiding from the world for so long you probably don’t even know who you are.”
“Yes. That’s it exactly.” Zara smoothed her hand under her skirt as she sat.
Celeste shrugged. “All you can do is try different things and figure out what makes you comfortable. But that dress looks amazing on you. The pink complements your skin tone.”
A noise at the doorway had them both swiveling to find Sadie stepping into the room. She was all professional, wearing black pants, a blouse, and low pumps. She also had a clipboard in her hand and a pencil tucked above her ear.
When she lifted her gaze, she stopped dead, mouth hanging open.
Zara couldn’t help but giggle. She jumped up and spun around in a circle, causing her dress to flare out around her. “What do you think?”
“Oh my God. I love that dress!” Sadie stepped farther into the room.
“Right?” Celeste said, nodding.
Zara stopped spinning to face her new friends. Or maybe they were more like sisters. Family. She already felt closer to them than any other women she’d met. Even in college, she hadn’t grown this close to other women.
Zara had always felt like she didn’t quite fit in. Now, she wondered if perhaps the reason had been that she was Little and hadn’t met anyone else with those same feelings.
Sadie looked down at her outfit. “I feel very boring now. After work, I’ll tell Daddy to let me wear something pretty to dinner. Then we’ll all be pretty.”
Zara rolled her eyes. “You’re always pretty, Sadie. You don’t have to dress up to know that.” She chewed on her bottom lip as she realized those words applied to her, too.
Celeste’s calm voice came through again. “Before I came here, I was a lot like you, Zara. I rarely got dressed up. I didn’t know anything about makeup. I spent every waking hour in a lab devoted to science. In the last several years, I had only dressed up one time for a gala. Several photos are still floating around social media of me in that dress. Every time I see it now, I smile. I felt good about myself that night. What matters is that we, as women, find our style and do what makes us feel good. Sometimes, that means honoring our true selves only in private spaces like this basement, but that’s okay as long as we let our inner Littles out enough to feel happy.”
Zara nodded slowly. “That was so lovely, Celeste. Thank you.”
Sadie dabbed at a tear in the corner of her eye. “Yes,” she whispered.
For a moment, the three of them stood there smiling at each other. For Zara, it felt life-affirming. Maybe she’d finally found her people. Could she really be a part of this family and stay here forever?
Sadie finally shook herself, straightened, and took a breath. “I almost forgot why I was down here.” She tapped her clipboard. “I just printed out the weather report. There’s a big storm coming in. We have top-notch generators and backup batteries, but make sure all your data is backed up. You never know what might happen in a power outage.”
Celeste nodded. “Got it. Thank you.”
Sadie spun around, but at the doorway, she looked over her shoulder. “I’m looking forward to a dress-up party tonight.”
Zara stood to put on her lab coat and prepare to get to work, but before she had an arm in the sleeve, another body filled the doorway.
“Hey, girls…”
Zara lifted her gaze to find Phoenix leaning in, and she wasn’t surprised to see that he, too, had stopped talking and stared at her, mouth open. He recovered faster, though. “Nice dress, Zara. I just came to tell you that we’ve canceled all the afternoon events. It won’t be safe for rock climbing, scuba diving, or helicopter tours.”
“Thanks for letting us know,” Celeste said.
He nodded. “Hawking is beefing up security in case of a power outage, and he said to tell you he won’t be able to join you for lunch, but, and I quote, if you don’t order both breakfast and lunch and take the time to eat every bite, you can expect…” He smirked.
Zara held her breath, wondering what the other half of his sentence would be.
Celeste rolled her eyes. “Spit it out, Phoenix.”
“I’m warning you. It’s cheesy. I almost can’t say it with a straight face, but I’m certainly going to catalog it in my head in case I ever meet the perfect Little girl for me.”