Series: Paige Michaels
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
“After a quick shower and brushing your hair, you’ll be fine. There’s always an excuse not to try something new,” Mateo counseled.
“Are you going tonight?”
“I’m taking Nora. She likes having time to enjoy herself without responsibilities.”
“Will it be strange to see me being Little?” Maya asked, forcing herself to be brave.
“No. I want you to be happy. If being Little makes you happy, why would I have a problem with that? If you’d chosen destructive things—drugs, alcohol, crime—I would have had a big problem. Being yourself isn’t a problem.”
Maya smiled at her brother. “Thanks, Mateo. Deke makes me happy. I love him as much as he loves me.”
“I’m glad to hear that, Precious Girl.”
Hopping to her feet, Maya rushed toward the handsome man who had approached without her noticing. “Hi, Daddy.”
“Would you repeat that last part again, Precious? I never get tired of hearing it,” Deke said with a smile on his face.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too, Maya.”
Deke swept her into his arms and gave her a fierce kiss that made her heart beat faster. When he lifted his head, Deke told her, “I’m never letting you go, Precious Girl.”
“I’m okay with that,” Maya answered, clinging to his shirt.
“Congratulations, you two. Welcome to the family, Deke.” Mateo stood and held his hand out to Deke.
“Thank you, Mateo,” Deke answered as he shook his hand.
“I got cupcakes, Daddy. Ellie and Nora are going to Blaze tonight. Could we go home and clean up a bit? I think I’d like to go, too.”
“I think that is a great idea, Precious Girl. I think you’ll have a lot of fun. Go grab the cupcakes and we’ll be off,” Deke instructed.
Looking around as they walked in, Maya clung nervously to Deke’s hand. Maybe this isn’t a good idea.
“Deke! Maya! I’m glad you came tonight. There has been a spy sent from the Littles’ daycare every ten minutes. Look, here’s the next one,” Bear said, pointing to Ellie who peeked around the door.
“Maya! You came.” Ellie rushed in to hug her friend.
“Ellie, they have some paperwork to fill out, and then I’ll bring Maya to you,” Bear told the excited Little.
“I could just stay here,” Ellie suggested, holding Maya’s hand.
“I could just tell your Daddy that you didn’t stay in the daycare as he instructed,” Bear mentioned casually.
“You never saw me!” Ellie said quickly before hugging Maya again. She whispered into her friend’s ear, “Everyone can’t wait to meet you.”
Maya didn’t have time to answer as Ellie raced back down the hall. “Is she going to get in trouble?”
“I think she’s okay,” Bear reassured her, pointing toward Ellie’s Daddy, Garrett, who watched from a position just out of view. “Come into the office and we’ll get everything set up for you.”
In just a couple of minutes, they stored their things in a locker. Maya liked seeing her things intermingled with Deke’s. That simple visual image reassured her that this relationship was real.
“You’re thinking too hard, Precious Girl. Come on. I bet the Littles are getting impatient,” Deke told her, taking her hand.
“Are they going to like me? My Little, I mean.”
“They like Maya. Your Little is just a part of you. They already like your Little,” Deke reassured her as they got closer.
He laughed and pointed at the row of Littles lined up against the half wall of the daycare. They all waved and called, “Hi, Maya!”
Maya walked faster as she returned their greetings. When she got inside the play area, there was a swarm of hugs from everyone she knew and introductions to a few people she didn’t. Everyone seemed very nice.
“Come color with us!” Riley invited. “I have a new tattoo design, and I need color suggestions. Would you color one for me?”
“Of course.”
Maya didn’t have any tattoos, but she knew that it was important to get everything right when putting something permanently on someone. “What a great way to try out different combinations.”
“Whatever we decide is the best, Riley’s going to make temporary tattoos for us to wear,” Daisy told her.
“That’s neat,” Maya answered.
She looked around at all the different ways the Littles colored their suggestion. There weren’t any with somber colors. She picked up a deep brown and started filling in some of the areas. As she added different shades of brown and dark red, the design popped off the page. It looked totally different from everyone else’s.
“Wow,” Nora exclaimed, looking at Maya’s progress. “I wouldn’t have thought of using those colors on the design. It looks amazing.”
“Wait until I’m finished. I may screw something up,” Maya said with a laugh.
“I don’t think so,” Riley commented, nodding as she watched Maya color.
A new voice interrupted their discussion. “Isn’t this an adorable collection of Littles,” he commented from the entrance to the daycare.
Maya looked up to see the older man her mother had tried to fix her up with at La Havana. Immediately her face heated, and she knew she was blushing. “Oh, no,” she whispered to the others.