Page 30 of Their Little House Colter
Dallas’ lower lip moved out into a pout, but I frowned at him and he giggled. “If we eat too much, we might barf all over the lanes!”
Littles around us all groaned and looked to their daddies who made rules of their own. Nobody wanted barf all over the lanes.
In the end, Colter got a hot dog, nachos, and a grape slushie to drink, and Dallas got a hot dog, popcorn, and a cherry slushie. We sat at a little table by the snack bar while they ate then found our lane just as the music and lights kicked in.
“This is so fun!” Colter said. “We’re going to win all the prizes.”
Each daddy/little team was eligible to win the door prizes brought by Ms. Lily, and since I had two littles, our scores would be averaged in some way for fairness. It didn’t really matter because I had a feeling no little would leave empty-handed. Not in an event planned by our Ms. Lily.
Lucky for us that was true because although we had a great time, we were not the most skilled of the teams, and our scores were on the sad side. But after we all bowled our frames, we gathered at the snack bar again for the awards.
“I’m getting ice cream and a cheeseburger,” announced Colter.
“Bowling makes me hungry,” agreed Dallas. “I’m having a corn dog and a fried pickle.”
“Oh, I want fried pickles!” Colter quickly changed his order to ice cream and the pickles, and I could only hope his stomach was iron clad enough to survive it.
“Everyone ready?” Ms. Lily stood up and waved her hands. “Time to give out the awards.”
“Pretty sure we didn’t win,” stage-whispered Colter.
“Let’s start with the highest-scoring team of the evening.” Miss Lily held up a trophy shaped like a unicorn. “Bridger and Hudson, come on up here.”
I never knew littles would love trophies so much. As the awards were handed out, one by one, they cheered for each other. Best form, best attitude, best bowling shoes, best plaid shorts, it went on and on until nearly everyone had a trophy…except us.
Colter and Dallas looked at each other and linked hands. I prayed they wouldn’t be missed, although I still had faith in Ms. Lily.
“And finally, the best friends award to Colter and Dallas and of course Ari. They played fairly, with great sportsmanship and never got upset even when they had gutter balls.”
The cheers were even louder than before, and I hugged my two littles hard before letting them go up to get the “bestest award of all,” according to Dallas. And I couldn’t have agreed more.
Both of my littles fell asleep on the way home, and nobody got sick. I took them to my house, helped them undress, and tucked them into bed before collapsing beside them. Rumor had it, there would be a mini-golf event soon, and we’d be there to show friendship and sportsmanship again.
But next time, no fried pickles and ice cream. Nobody barfed in the lanes, but one little boy had quite a tummy ache and needed a cup of mint tea to settle it late in the night.
The next day, my pro bono client received a huge settlement, something I hadn’t been sure of at all because the other party was not only incompetent but a liar. I couldn’t wait to share the news with my men. They were the best support system a daddy, an attorney, a partner could have.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Dallas
Tonight was special. Not only were we going to Chained, but we were going with our daddy. Officially our daddy. We were all going together. It was exciting to go to the club as a unit. Chained was a place of safety and acceptance. I knew that no one in the place would bat an eye at two littles with their daddy, but it meant something to me to go there together.
To have our daddy play with us.
“Ready?” Colter knocked on the door but pushed it open before I answered. He had seen all of me so, even if I was naked, there was nothing to hide.
“Yeah. I’ve got my bag. Why am I nervous?” I asked, placing my palm to my tummy.
“Is it nervous, or is it excited?” Colter asked, coming over to hug me. “Because I’m excited, but it feels the same inside.”
I pulled him in for a kiss. “You’re right. I think this is excitement. It’s hard to tell them apart.”
He nodded. “Ari should be here soon. He’s taking us to eat first. Did you see the text?”
I hadn’t. I was in the shower, so I supposed I’d missed it during that time.
“No. Where are we going?”
