Page 19 of Poppy's Place

Chapter 14

Carter

Being away from Poppy really sucked. I had meetings and talks scheduled from morning until night on Sunday and Monday, so at least I didn’t have a lot of time to sit around and be distracted by thoughts of her. But when I did have a few moments to think about my girl, the pain in my chest was all-consuming.

I’d never been one to believe in fairytales and happily ever afters and all that nonsense, but the connection I felt to Poppy—even after sharing those first few words with her—had to count for something. Instead of worrying about what the calendar or traditions suggested was an appropriate timeline, I was moving full speed ahead with plans for my baby girl.

So far, we’d only met at her place because her playroom and all her favorite things were there. But I wanted her to be comfortable at my house too. The large Victorian I bought was meant to be an investment, but after putting a couple hundred thousand into renovations, I realized that I had basically designed it to be my dream house and just stayed in it.

It was way too big for just me, and the basement had evolved to mostly be a man cave with open space on one side if there ever were Littles who also wanted to spend time in there with us.

Poppy had her public playroom for her friends, but I also wanted her to have private space at home with me. It was important that she felt comfortable being Little in my house too, in case we wanted to start doing sleepovers there.

As soon as I dumped my luggage and took a quick shower at my place, I ordered dinner to be delivered to Poppy’s and headed to grab a bouquet of flowers for her.

There was a flower shop down the street from the Bean Box, and her friend Briana worked there. When Briana saw me walk in, she eagerly clapped her hands and bounced on her toes.

“Daddy Carter. How are you?”

“I’m doing great, Briana. How are you?”

“Good. Busy until just about an hour ago.” She glanced at her watch. “You have good timing.”

I grinned and gestured to a small vase with a poppy bouquet in it. “Do you think Poppy would like that?”

Her eyes lit up as she nodded. “She’ll love it. I always think of her wherever I’m working with poppies.” Briana picked up the vase and carefully placed it on the checkout counter. “Do you want this one or something else?”

“That’s perfect.” I handed over my credit card. “When do you think we’ll see you in Poppy’s place again?”

She frowned and then blew out a sigh. “Well, things are a little up in the air for me. I might have to move.” She rolled her eyes,and her lower lip popped out. “I mean, I am going to be moving. My landlord is selling the condo I’m in, so depending on where my new place is, I’m not exactly sure.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Briana. That must be stressful.” I signed the receipt and lifted up the vase. “If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know. I know lots of people with rental units, so I can ask around.”

She smiled and looked up at me with a sweet expression. “Thank you, Daddy Carter. Poppy is really lucky to have you.”

I smiled and turned to leave. Not only did I get a cute gift for my girl, but I had a new plan brewing in my mind.

When I got to Poppy’s, the delivery person with our Chinese food was there, so I grabbed the bags and punched in the door code she set up for me to let myself in. Once I got into her apartment, I expected to find her standing there waiting for me, but the front room was empty. “Baby girl, Daddy’s here.”

I heard a soft giggle from the bedroom, but that was it.

Apparently I was supposed to go find her.

“I guess my beautiful girl doesn’t want the present I brought for her.” I put the food and flowers down in her kitchen and went toward her bedroom. The door was cracked open enough to be an invitation without me being able to see inside.

“I’m in here, Daddy.”

I pushed open the door and saw her wearing a bright pink tutu with ruffled panties underneath…and nothing else. Her legs were spread open with her knees wide on the comforter, a beautiful display for me to come home too.

“Hi, Daddy. I was just thinking about you.”

I kicked off my shoes and took a few steps toward her as I raised an eyebrow. “Why is there a wet spot on the center of your panties, Little girl?”

She flicked one of her nipples and shrugged dramatically. “Just getting ready for you to come see me. You were gone for a very long time.”

I was indeed. Instead of joining her on the bed, I sat on the edge of it and clasped my hands together over my lap. “As happy as I am to see you, my beautiful girl, I also owe you a spanking for touching yourself while I was gone… And right now.”

“A spanking?” Her voice was raspy, and she tugged her panties to the side so her pink folds were fully visible to me.

---