Page 29 of Gideon

Even though I had my own clothes, I knew Daddy wanted to pick them out, and he had a good idea of what I liked, and of course went with the clothes he had bought, which I was sure were super expensive. I was glad I didn’t have to worry about those sorts of decisions, and after I’d been to the bathroom, Daddy dressed me in a gorgeous white dress with red polka dots all over it and two fancy pockets I could fit all sorts of things in. I had white ankle socks with lace ruffles on them and Daddy asked if I wanted to wear my Tinkerbell sneakers and I agreed readily.

He pulled out a red cardigan because he didn’t want me to get cold and Daddy even asked me if I liked the shirt he was going to wear. I very bravely told him I’d like it better once we were home and he wasn’t wearing it anymore.

I got a kiss for that.

Daddy made me sit in the back of the car because he said Little girls didn’t sit in the front as it was too dangerous. I thought I caught him muttering something about a booster seat, but I must have misheard. I mean I knew I was short, but surely he wouldn’t make me sit on one of those?

My tummy was back to being all squirrely when we got to the club, but after being greeted by the same nice man on the door, Daddy ushered me in and straight to the playroom.

We walked through a door that said Littles and Carers Only and it was like I’d entered paradise. My eyes immediately went to the trampoline that a Little girl and a Little boy were bouncing on. It had a safety net all the way around it, and I wanted to bounce so badly. But then I saw the train and my heart just about stopped. All the way around a huge play mat were tracks. A train big enough for Littles to sit in the carriages was tooting its way around the room. There was a Little boy with a very cute engine driver’s hat on, and another Little boy sat in the first carriage with one of those carton juice drinks with a straw.

“Oh, Daddy,” I breathed.

He smiled and pointed out a few things in the room like the bathrooms and the fire exit, but I was too awed to really take anything else in, and he chuckled. “What do you want to do first?”

“Everything,” I squeaked out, and he laughed. Then a Little girl wearing a romper suit rushed toward me and I cringed back into Daddy. She stopped immediately and looked back at the lady sitting talking to another man on the sofa. “Roxy,” the lady said, “sometimes people you haven’t met get frightened when you run at them.”

I looked at Roxy. I loved her blue romper suit, and her pigtails, but I caught the sheen of tears in her eyes as her shoulders drooped. “Hi,” I said shyly. “I’m Abby. It’s my first time in here.”

Roxy beamed and finished walking over to greet me, giving me a hug, which startled me. “So, I can introduce you to everyone, but what would you like to play on first?”

I looked longingly at the trampoline that two Littles had just gotten off and glanced at Daddy. “Let’s take your shoes off,” and he bent and undid my sneakers, slipping them offand putting them in a cubby. “Go have fun, and if you need anything I’ll just be there.” He pointed to two sofas. Roxy held out her hand, and we both ran and climbed on. In another moment, I’d forgotten about all my problems and was too busy bouncing with my new friend.

Gideon

“She’s a sweetheart,” Meghan, Roxy’s Mommy, pronounced, watching both Abby and Roxy on the trampoline. “Wherever did you find her?”

“Here,” I said. “Her supposed friend brought her to watch one of Mike Ford’s demos.”

Meghan’s mouth fell open. “Oh my God,” she said with feeling.

“She needs friends,” I said, watching the two on the trampoline giggling for all they were worth. “She doesn’t have any family or support network.”

“She does now,” Meghan murmured as David, Graeme’s Little, joined our girls.

I sat back in satisfaction. This was exactly what I hoped would happen. The door opened and Dion walked in. He paused for a moment watching the three on the trampoline and I recognized the longing on his face, but then he saw me and lifted his chin. I excused myself and joined him, angling my body so I could still see Abby. “Max’s got the Little, and he’s on his way here after he drops her off.”

I heaved a sigh of relief. “Which ER did he take her to?” We would make sure she got all her health bills covered.

“He didn’t,” Dion said.

I looked at him properly. “I thought she was in bad shape.”

“She is. Duke took her to a safe house and called Doc.”

I nodded, because that made sense. “Good.”

Dion nodded his agreement, even though he didn’t have to. It looked like we really were getting into the finding and rescuing business.

I gazed at my friend while he watched the Littles. Out of the four of us, Dion was the one with the uber-rich wealthy parents. He hadn’t had anything to do with them after he joined the military. He’d been to the funeral of his god-parents and ignored his parents who had tried to talk to him, and we all knew why. We’d seen the whip scars on his back—his father’s brand of punishment—and while he participated fully in the club, he’d never picked up a whip. Not that he needed to engage in any sort of impact play to satisfy any lust-driven subs, but I sensed the same dissatisfaction in him we had all just about reached.

“Jonathan Rice is here asking about the playroom. He has a Little with him.”

Well,fuck.

“I’d normally tell him to get the hell out as we haven’t finished vetting him officially, but I don’t like the look of the Little.”

“What do you mean?”

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