by Amy Cummings
Diana leaned in. “Honey, let me tell you a secret. Even these Daddy Doms think they have it all figured out. They act like it, anyway. But deep down, men can be slow witted when it comes to love.”
Kinsley laughed.
Diana winked.
Diana finished pumping and began putting her gear away.
“I know things have been better in the bedroom lately,” Kinsley said, “but I’m worried Raymond loves the kink. Not me. I love it too. But it doesn’t mean anything if we don’t love each other.”
“I have a feeling he’ll see the error of his ways. And I think it will be sooner rather than later,” Diana said. “Call it a Mommy’s intuition.”
“I hope so,” Kinsley said. “Thanks for hearing me out.”
“Anytime. I hope it helped.”
“It did!” Kinsley said.
“Now, you look too cute tonight to not have fun. Why don’t you go and play with some of the other Littles? Would you like that?”
“Uh-huh,” Kinsley said. “Maybe it would do me some good.”
“I think it’s exactly what you need. Go get into mischief. Not too much, though. That Braxton can be a strict disciplinarian.”
“Tell me about it!” Kinsley said.
Feeling a bit better, Kinsley hugged Diana and took off to join the other Littles. Raymond might not be there, but that wasn’t going to stop her from having fun.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Forrest Wilson, one of the senior partners, was droning on and on about something. Raymond truly had no clue as to what he was saying.
His mind kept going back to Kinsley. But unlike recently, where his mind had wandered to all the naughty fun they were having or the sexy texts she had shared, he thought of how badly he’d hurt her. How crushed she’d seemed upon hearing he had been called into work.
He hoped she was at the party. He hoped she was having a blast.
And he wished he would have never left.
The meeting finally broke and everyone seemed to be on the same page, except Raymond. He only hoped he hadn’t been assigned something crucial. He bumped into several people as they all filed out of the conference room and spilled into the hall.
“You okay, slick? Seem a bit distracted,” Jim Parsons said.
He was wearing his trademark arrogant smirk.
They walked toward their offices.
“Yeah. Just wondering why I’m here on a Saturday evening,” Raymond said.
“We’re all here, Ray,” Jim snorted. He stopped in front of his office and then craned his neck down the hall, watching Kim, one of the administrative assistants, come toward him. “Hey, I get it. Saturday night is the night for…other things…right? Why do you think the brass hires hot pieces of ass like Kim? She’ll give you whatever you want. Then you can focus on work. In fact…” Kim smiled as she passed the two men on her way into Raymond’s office, “…she’s about to give me a little something right now. See you around, Ray.”
Raymond watched with disdain as Jim confirmed his douchebag status by grinning arrogantly as he slowly moved his office door closed.
And that’s when Raymond lost it.
“You’re an asshole, Jim.”
The door flew open quickly. Jim stepped out, flexing his shoulders as if to intimidate Raymond.
“What’s that?”
“You heard me,” Raymond said. “Does your wife know about this? Or how about Kim? Do you think she really wants to do this with her life or are you and others taking advantage of her?”
Jim stepped closer. “What the hell, man? What’s wrong with you?”
“I’m just surrounded by assholes and what’s worse? I’m one of them.” Raymond shook his head in an exasperated groan.
“What is going on here?” Forrest Wilson said, walking up to the men and stopping. He looked thoroughly offended that anyone was causing a disturbance at his firm.
“Glad you’re here,” Raymond said. “I quit. This is my two weeks’ notice.”
By now Orson Blackwell had heard the commotion and wandered into the hall.
Forrest gasped as if he’d just heard the most offensive statement in his life. His leathery looking face—stretched tight from plastic surgery and unnaturally tanned—creased in a shocked frown.
People didn’t quit the firm. They did all they could to be a part of it. Who the hell did this young guy think he was?
“Ray, think about this,” Orson said.
“Okay.” Ray put a finger to his chin and exaggeratedly tapped it twice. “Done. Yep, I quit.”
Jim laughed. “You’re having a mental breakdown. I always knew you couldn’t handle the pressure of this job.”
“I’d say I’m finally thinking straight. We give our lives to the job and for what? Broken homes? A title and money we can’t take with us to our graves? I’m out, guys. Done.”
“This isn’t some Frank Capra movie!” Orson said. “You’re throwing your life away!”
“My hope is that I didn’t throw my relationship away by coming to this pointless, stupid meeting tonight,” Raymond said. He looked Forrest in the eyes as he spoke.
The elder partner stammered to form a response. Orson, no doubt trying to gain favor with his boss, shook a finger at Raymond.
“Don’t bother with two weeks. You’re done tonight. No one speaks to Mr. Wilson that way!”
“Just did,” Raymond said.
He was not sure what had come over him, but he loved it. He’d never felt so empowered.
“Give me your keys, damnit! Even that car you drive is ours. We pay the lease!” Orson said. His face was red in anger.
Raymond fished his keys from his pocket, put them in Orson’s hand, and smiled. “Just to recap, Jim you’re an ass. A big horse’s ass. Orson and Forrest, I quit and up yours. Let’s see…yep, I think that about covers everything. See you around, boys. Oh wait, I won’t because you’re in this office ninety percent of the time.”
And with that, Raymond gave a salute and headed down the hall.
Raymond walked away from the building and down the street a bit before calling Kinsley. She didn’t answer. He wondered if it was out of anger or if she was too busy having fun at the party. He hoped it was the latter and not the former.
He then called Braxton. It took four rings, but the man finally answered.
“Hello, Raymond.”
Raymond could hear the party going in the background. Laughter. Conversation. A stark contrast from the drab office he’d just left.
“Hi, Braxton. I hate to ask. I know you have guests over. But I could use a favor.”
“Of course,” Braxton said. “What do you need?”
“A ride,” Raymond said. He then explained what had happened.
“That’s great!” he said. “Want me to bring Kinsley?”
Raymond thought about it. “No. Because if you don’t mind, I need to make a stop on the way home.”
Raymond elaborated on his plan.
“Deal,” Braxton said. “I can be there in ten minutes.”
“Thanks, my friend. I owe you.”
“Not at all,” Braxton said. “Just hang tight.”
Disconnecting the call, Raymond took a deep breath and relished the night air.
It felt good to be free.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“I’m sorry I was mean to you the other day,” Kinsley said to London and Sydney.
Both girls rushed in for a hug.
“It’s okay,” Sydney said. “Sometimes we don’t like to share, either.”
“Yeah, sometimes I get spankings because of that,” London admitted.
“Uncle Braxton sure spanks hard, doesn’t he?” Kinsley said.
“My bottom was red for two days after my last one!” London said. “He gave me a case of the ouchies!”
“Want to play with us?” Sydney asked. “This is our friend Rachel. And Sadie, Traylor, and Evie said they met you earlier.”
Kinsley looked at all the other girls
. “Sure. What are we going to play?”
Evie stepped forward and opened her hand. The other Littles gasped before giggling gleefully.
“What’s that for?” Kinsley said, looking at the firecracker she held.
“It’s to cause a distraction,” she said. “We’re going to set it off, and when one of the Bigs goes to look into it, we attack!”
“Attack?”
“With the water balloons,” Rachel explained. “Traylor brought them. They’re in the playhouse.”
All the girls laughed.
“That’s so naughty!” Kinsley said. “We’ll get spankings for sure!”
“Not if we get all the Littles here in on it. We all agree to keep quiet and they’ll never know who did it. They wouldn’t spank us all. I mean, I don’t think they would,” Evie said.
Mischief sounded good to Kinsley. At least it would take her mind off her troubles.
“I’m in!” she said.
“This is going to be epic!” Sadie said.
“I’ll spread the word to the other Littles,” Traylor said.
“Me too,” Rachel said.
Kinsley surveyed the backyard. There were tons of Littles—guys and gals—all having fun. Some were sitting with their Bigs, some were in the pool, and some were running around in a game of tag.
A cute guy ran past them, wearing nothing but a swim diaper, and jumped in the pool. His Mommy trailed after him, yelling at him to be careful.
Seeing the interaction made Kinsley wish Raymond was there to care for her. She hoped she could have that relationship with him, but she wasn’t sure anymore.
She tried her best to forget about it all as she got to work with the others hatching their plan. They spent the better part of an hour spreading the word, sneakily filling the balloons and hiding them, and getting everything place.
“Ready?” Evie asked.
“Your Daddy is going to tan your hide!” Rachel said.
“Nah,” Evie said. “He doesn’t know I have the firecrackers. He’ll never tie this back to us as long as everyone sticks to the plan. We don’t say anything!”
“Then I guess we’re ready,” Rachel said. “Looks like everyone is in position.”
She gave a thumbs-up to Traylor from across the yard. Traylor returned the gesture then ducked behind a column. She then did the same to Sadie on the opposite end.
“Best get in position,” Rachel said to Kinsley.
Kinsley nodded and ran to the playhouse and hurried to the top.
With water balloons coming from all different directions, the Bigs wouldn’t know who had fired them.
That was the Littles’ hope, at least.
“Let’s do this,” Evie said.
She held her contraband lighter to the firecracker, lit the extra-long fuse, and casually walked away with Rachel.
There was no stopping it now.
It was about to get real.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this,” Raymond said. “Means the world to me.”
“Anytime,” Braxton said.
They had arrived at Braxton’s place. Raymond was in awe of the party he found. He didn’t know much about Littles and Bigs, but he respected how open and at ease everyone seemed. They didn’t appear to have a care in the world. Raymond was jealous. Maybe one day he could reach that point.
Quitting his job had put him on the right track, at least.
“Hey there are guy Littles here, too,” Raymond said.
“Oh, sure,” Braxton said.
Braxton began to say something else, but his words were cut short by a loud bang that shook the backyard. Several people screamed. Everyone stopped to look and spot the source.
Raymond had been standing closest to it. His ears rang but he was fine. He ran to where the small blast had occurred, trying to make sure the area was secure.
That’s when the barrage came for him. It unfolded in slow motion. Raymond could see each and every water balloon as they flew toward him. Red. Yellow. A blue one. Green, too. They came from multiple directions. He tried to duck, but the first one collided with his face before he could act.
By the time the others landed, he was drenched.
“Buddy, I’m sorry!” Braxton said. He was scanning the backyard to see who was responsible for the attack.
The chatter in the backyard had stalled. Even the music had been turned off. All eyes were on Raymond.
Braxton spied Kinsley on the second level of the play structure. She was trying to hide behind the wall but kept poking her head up to see Raymond.
“Little Kinsley,” Braxton called. “Are you responsible for this? Or partly responsible, I should say.”
“Uh, me?” Kinsley said.
“Yes,” Braxton said. “You.”
“It’s okay,” Raymond said. He laughed as he wiped a sheen of water away from his brow. “I deserved this. I deserve more, truthfully. Kinsley, honey, can you come down here, please?”
Kinsley shook her head as she looked down on her boyfriend. “I don’t know if I want to talk to you.”
Raymond nodded knowingly. “I understand. You can stay there.” His voice was loud. He looked up at Kinsley. “I’m so sorry I left tonight. I should have told the firm no. I realized as soon as I’d left—before I actually left—that I’d made a mistake.
“I don’t ever want to make that mistake again. You are the most important thing in my life, but I’ve been awful at showing that. I’m asking you to forgive me.”
Kinsley was speechless. She forgot about the dozens of people strewn about the yard, watching the story unfold. She forgot about Braxton and all the kinky fun she’d had. All she could think about was Raymond and how she loved him but also what she feared.
“What about the next time they call?” Kinsley said. “And the time after that? I can’t live this way, Raymond.”
“I know, honey. I can’t either. So, I kinda did a thing tonight.”
“What?”
“I quit my job,” he said. “And I told my boss, ‘Up yours.’ True story. Like, I have no job.”
Kinsley’s face lit up. She jumped several times and clapped.
“So what do you say? Do you forgive me? Please?”
“Of course, silly! Raymond, I love you!”
There were several “Awws” from the crowd.
Raymond got on one knee and reached into his pocket.
“You don’t have to beg,” Kinsley called. “I said I forgive you.”
“I’m not on bended knee to beg,” Raymond said. “I’m asking you to marry me, Kinsley.”
Kinsley couldn’t believe it. She nearly fainted when one of the outside lights shimmered off the diamond Raymond held.
She jumped for the pole that led to the ground and slid down. She ran to Raymond and put her hands over her mouth in amazement.
“Kinsley Norris, you would make me the happiest man in the world if you would be my wife. I’m a recovering work-a-holic who currently has no job, but I promise you I will take care of you, love and protect you, and put you first until the day I die.”
Kinsley sniffled and sucked in her bottom lip. When she could finally speak, she said, “Of course! What took you so long?”
Raymond stood and threw his arms around Kinsley. He lifted her and spun her around while showering her with kisses.
The party broke into wild applause and cheers.
“They’re getting married!” Rachel said.
“Let’s celebrate!” Evie said. She pulled her extra firecrackers from their hiding spot and began lighting them as she cast them in the air.
“So you did this!” Vic said, cutting through the crowd to find her.
“Oh shit!” she said.
“And naughty language,” Vic said.
Diana, standing by him, had to stifle her laughter. “I think someone has a paddle and a bar of soap in her future.”
“Oh drats,” Evie said.
“That’s better,�
� Vic said. “But you’re still getting that naughty mouth washed out. After your paddling, of course.”
The crowd continued to cheer for another minute before it finally died down. Conversations resumed and Evie, Rachel, Traylor, and Sadie gathered around Kinsley to see her ring.
“He stopped and got it on his way home,” Kinsley said, blushing. “Just for me!”
Through all the well-wishers, she saw Braxton standing along the perimeter, smiling with pride.
“Excuse me,” she said, cutting through the crowd.
“Congratulations, Kinsley,” he said.
“Thank you, Braxton,” she said. “For everything. I don’t know what to say.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Braxton said with a dismissive wave.
“You did,” Kinsley said.
The two hugged tightly. Braxton kissed her cheek.
“You’re a very special girl. Raymond is a good man. I’m so happy for you both.”
“Can I still come play?” Kinsley asked with a blush.
“Of course,” he said. “If Raymond doesn’t mind.”
“Trust me, I don’t think he minds,” she said with a giggle. “You know, it’s kinda funny. I came over here wanting to experience what it was like to have a Daddy. Turns out, my Daddy lives next door to you.”
“Yes, he does. But you’ll always have a special place in your Uncle Braxton’s heart,” Braxton said.
“Kinsley, honey,” Raymond said, bringing with him a man, “this is Tim. Rachel’s husband. And, eh, Daddy. He’s the head of Sunkiss Records. He just offered me a job!”
Tim shrugged. “It’s boring nine to five stuff. Just corporate attorney work, keeping us on the up and up.”
“That sounds amazing!” Raymond said as he pumped the man’s hand. “Thank you. I can’t wait.”
“I appreciate you taking it on,” Tim said. “Our last attorney is retiring in two weeks and I haven’t even started the search. This helps me out a ton.”
“Two weeks, huh? Sounds good to me,” Raymond said.
“Me, too,” Kinsley said. “Gives us time for a honeymoon.”
“Honeymoon?” Braxton said. “You just got engaged.”
“We aren’t waiting,” Kinsley said.