Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 45251 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45251 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
I eyed the list Adam had so far. He would be in charge of the turkey and main dishes like ham, brisket, and lamb. Griffin was on specialty courses that showcased local food culture, including his passion for seafood, and I was on side dishes and all things carbs.
“The buffet will be open throughout December this year, and you have six weeks to present your dishes to us,” he told me. “It’s important that the Christmas theme ties it all together. We’re going traditional for this—obviously with our steakhouse twist.”
I nodded. “Understood, Chef. Thanks.”
“All right, good job today. Get some rest.”
“Yeah, see you tomorrow.” I pocketed the printout and stepped outside, just as Griffin got ready to leave too.
He must’ve talked to Adam about the holiday stuff already. “Are we doing regular services alongside the buffet?”
“No, not this time,” Adam replied. “We overdid it last year. Tracy and I didn’t go home until two in the morning most nights, and we didn’t get enough customers who wanted the regular menu anyway.”
Word. It’d just added extra work to our plates to keep the ingredients for our regular menu on hand.
“Okay, good.” Griffin nodded and zipped up his jacket.
They wrapped things up within seconds, both men as tired as I was, and Griffin stepped out into the fall cold too.
It wasn’t like I’d deliberately waited for him; it just felt weird to bail when we were leaving at the same time.
We’d been too busy today for me to get a decent number of interactions with him.
Now probably wasn’t a good time either because when I was tired, my filters took a hike. I could already feel my adultisms slipping. I wanted my jammies, my movie, and sound in the background when I fell asleep.
Griffin side-eyed me briefly as he aimed for his parking spot, and he halted his steps. “Do you live far away?”
I shook my head. “No, Sir. Just over on Alder.” So, five blocks.
He squinted a little, as if he was seeing the map in his head. “That’s long enough for me to offer you a ride.” He nodded at his truck. “Let’s go.”
Wow, really?
Um, okay!
Shit, I had not seen that coming.
I hurried after him, and it was crazy how quickly my heartbeat suddenly drummed faster.
Now I was going to get maybe three minutes of alone time with Griffin Lawson in the confines of his truck.
Holy crap.
I climbed in next to him, and he reminded me to put on the seat belt. Such a Daddy reminder! Right? Wasn’t it?
“I have a question of my own, if you don’t mind.” He backed out of the parking spot and fastened his own seat belt.
“I don’t mind at all, Sir.”
That one earned me a barely there reaction. I was sure it was the use of Sir.
“How do you unite or separate the primal masochist and the Little?”
Oh. Hmm. Good question.
“To be honest, I don’t feel my littleisms, if you know what I mean, around others,” I answered. “Like in the community, when we meet up—when I see Abel and the others. I guess the masochistic grown-up in me is in charge there.”
He nodded slowly and turned onto the next street.
“It could be because I’m single and haven’t met the right Daddy,” I went on. “Mister Madigan triggered a few of those reactions after he beat me once, and he and Abel invited me to sleep in their guest room. Mister Madigan wanted to keep an eye on me.”
Griffin nodded once again. “As he should’ve.”
“But I don’t mind my personal Little time either,” I felt the need to add. I yawned too. “Every night when I get home from work, I turn my couch into a cuddle fort, and I fall asleep to a funny movie. My Deadpool PJs are waiting for me as we speak.”
His mouth twitched a little, and even though he kept his eyes on the dark cobblestone streets, I could tell I had all his attention.
“You don’t sleep in your bed?”
I shrugged and then shook my head. “Not really. My bedroom is tiny, and I don’t have space for a TV in there. I like falling asleep to sound. So…yeah.”
I couldn’t explain it, but sleeping alone on a couch was less lonely than sleeping alone in a bed.
Dammit, we were almost on my street.
Griffin cleared his throat. “Have you identified as a Little for long?”
I had no exact answer for that one. “I read about Daddies and Littles when I was, like, eighteen or nineteen, and I’ve been drawn to that lifestyle ever since. But I guess I didn’t find my comfort as a Little until…I don’t know, two years ago? Something like that. But it sort of happened bit by bit. I didn’t hear about it being a spectrum until later, so I struggled to find my sweet spot first. I had some friends who were Littles, and they didn’t act like me.” Though, to be honest, they didn’t act like one another either. Everyone was different. Some changed their vocabulary, some regressed, some felt it was purely mental. “I sorta stopped defining it. I’m comfortable with the title of Little, but I still have traits some Tops have assumed made me a Middle.”