Page 28 of Tying Little Tay
“Holly?”
Holly grimaced. “I’m not sure how to respond to that.”
“Why don’t we try for truthfully?”
“Bluntly so?” Holly was autistic and had a habit of forgetting to soften her words sometimes. Tay didn’t mind. They found Holly’s openness refreshing, even if the bluntness sometimes took them by surprise.
“As blunt as you like.”
“Of course you’re in love with Chef Guilia, just as she is in love with you. The thing you need to consider is whetheryou actually want to be in love, because pushing the chef away because you’re scared would be cruel.”
Tay blinked. “Does anyone ever really want love?”
Holly stared at them. “Of course. It’s all most of us can think about. It’s certainly what I want for myself. And you want it too.”
“Do I?”
Now Holly just looked exasperated. “I never had you pegged as lacking self-awareness, Tay. Yes, it’s all you want. It’s why you’ve been testing the chef with prank after prank after prank. You wanted to see if any of them would push her away.”
“Huh.” Tay thought that they’d been doing pranks because pranks were fun, and because people usually thought Tay was pretty cool for coming up with them, but what Holly was saying made sense. “And nothing pushed her away.”
“Not even the prank where we stole months’ worth of work. In fact, all that did was bring the two of you closer together. You deserve to be loved, Tay, and you need to trust that she does, and not keep testing her.”
Tay got up and went through their dresser, pulling out clothes in an attempt to hide the fact that they were crying. It didn’t work.
“Shit. Too blunt?”
“No, just blunt enough.” They looked at Holly, eyes brimming with tears and didn’t even feel embarrassed about the excess of emotion. “I think I probably needed to hear that.”
“Clearly,” said Holly, and then added. “I suppose a hug would be helpful round about now?”
Tay sniffled and nodded. “Yes, please.”
And their friend, who really wasn’t a touchy-feely kind of person, wrapped their arms around Tay and gave them the biggest hug.
Holly hadn’t been living at Rawhide Ranch for very long, but somehow they’d seen through all the bluster and masks that Tayhad in place to protect themself. She saw though all of that to the scared Little at the heart of it.
Tay clung on to Holly and let themself cry. She patted them on the back and made vague soothing noises.
When Tay eventually stepped back, Holly looked at them curiously. “I did good?”
“Yes, Holly,” Tay found themself smiling. “You did really really good. Do you… do you mind that I’m spending so much time with Chef Guilia?”
Holly looked thoughtful. “I don’t know. I think I miss seeing you every day; you work so much that I’d usually only really see you in the evenings or on your days off anyway, but I am happy for you.” Something clouded her eyes. “I guess I’m a little envious—not of Chef Guilia, per se, but of the fact that you have a Daddy Domme. That’s something that I’d really like for myself.” She picked up the stuffie on her pillow and cuddled him close.
“You could always ask Master Derek…”
“I could, but I can’t help feeling like I’d prefer it if she found me. Not that she ends up with me because some guy thought we’d be good together.” She grinned at Tay’s startled look. “I mean yes, he’s not just some guy, but also, I want someone who chooses to be with me. Maybe I’ll have that, and maybe I won’t, but in the meantime I’m in the best place for a Daddy-less Little.”
Sitting back down on her bed, Holly picked up her hairbrush, and started brushing her long strawberry-blonde hair. “And besides, I get to live vicariously through you! Is it amazing?”
“It’s everything,” said Tay. “The sex, the kink and the Daddy-Little time. She knows just how to look after me and that feels nice, if a little alien. I’m not used to someone looking after me like this.”
“But you could get used to it?”
“I could definitely get used to it,” they said.
CHAPTER 24
