Page 11 of Lakeside Little
“No, have you?”
“Of course, I’m used to working outside all day, I don’t play when it comes to my sunscreen.”
“But you do play with the hand moisturizers,” I giggled in return, it happened quickly, like a slip of the tongue. I hadn’t meant to be bratty, but it felt fun.
Diego forced a straight smile and nodded. “I’ll mark that down,” he said. “One count of sass. How do you plead?”
“Guilty.” I offered with a pout, hoping it would work in my favor.
He hummed and nodded. “I spoke to the council of—of Daddies, and they agree with me, you’re off with a warning, but the next time you sass me, there will be a punishment for it. And—” his eyes scanned the room. “It might mean confiscating one of your dolls. Or your phones.”
My smile dropped. “Not my phone,” I said, frisking myself for it in my pocket. “I won’t do it again. Pwomise.” I extended a pinky finger to him, and he extended his in return.
“And if you break it, I take your pinky too,” he said. “Kidding.”
I was somewhat forgetful of things like summer hats and sunscreen, so it was nice to have someone tell me that I had to wear them. I would’ve remembered, eventually, and rushed to wear them. This was something I missed about being a little, most of the time, it was just playing alone, or with other littles. I needed the structure a Daddy could offer, it was important in some ways to me that I could have someone to offer that, but it had been so long, I’d forgotten the joy of it.
Daddy Diego prepared a lot for the day, which explained why it took him so long to come over. There was an entire cooler of ice and a second cooler with waters and some juices. I rummaged through the box on the backseat of the car, seeing that he’d even packed little fruit snacks and some cold cuts, probably to go with the bread rolls in the paper bag.
“I know I packed quite a bit,” he said. “But who knows how long we’re going to be out there, and I would like to catch a lot of fish. I might not have the social reach you do, but people love seeing pictures of big fish.”
I stared blankly at him. He’d been brainwashed by the straight men for so long. I bit my tongue and just smiled.
“What?” he asked.
“It’s just—that’s what straight guys do, and you’re not.”
He laughed. “And that makes up about all my friends.”
“Do they know you’re—”
“Yes, it’s not a secret I ever kept from anyone, even my religious trauma family,” he said with a forced laugh. “So, this is an important question.”
Gulping hard, I didn’t know where he was going with it after what he’d just said. “Ok.”
“When I catch a huge fish, will you take a picture of me with it?”
Instant relief brought sweat quickly drying at my brow from the icy car AC. “Yes, of course.”
“And I’ll take a picture of you with it as well.”
“Oh, you don’t have to—”
He laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m just playing. But you can if you want, and you are my good luck charm, so I’m gonna need you to bring that with you on the boat.”
I nodded. “And I’m gonna need one million positive affirmations.”
“Like, you’re such a good boy,” he asked, and he didn’t need to give me the others because that was worth a million all by itself.
Diego drove to my cousin’s house in town and Oliver was laid out on the front lawn in a pair of speedos, sunbathing right beside the white boat. It was a small center console fishing boat branded with teddy bear stickers and vinyl across the front and small roof area above the console.
“Boat looks incredible,” Diego said as we startled Oliver.
“Oh, lord, I forgot you were coming by,” Oliver said. “I was almost asleep.”
“You shouldn’t sleep in the sun,” Diego said.
“And have you put sunscreen on?” I asked, hiding behind a Diego as I giggled.
