Page 21 of Daddy's Bliss

Chapter nine

BLISS

I wake up to Tandy cooking blueberry pancakes. She’s wearing my bathrobe which comes halfway up her long legs.

“Good morning, sunshine,” she says.

“Good morning.” I stretch and yawn, still feeling languid from the mind-blowing, stress-relieving sex.

“Hazelnut or vanilla?” I hold up two bags of organic coffee.

“I think vanilla with the pancakes.” She’s flipping them onto a platter beside applewood smoked bacon.

“Last night was wonderful, Tandy.” I look up at her as she walks over to begin loading up my plate. “Thank you.”

“You need to get out of the habit of thanking me,” she grins. “When someone makes love to you, they aren’t doing you a favor.”

I sigh. “I know. Old habits die hard.”

She sits across from me and drums her fingers on the table thoughtfully. “Yeah, you’re right. Speaking of old habits, there some things we need to sort out.” I must look stricken because she leans over to take my hand. “Bliss. What are you afraid of?”

“That you’re going to dump me.”

“I’m not, okay? Look at me.” When I obey, she holds my gaze. “I’m not. You got that? But you remember what we talked about last night, right? Our roles?”

“Yes. You’re the Daddy.”

“That’s right. And there are some rules that we’re going to go over later today. Can you come to the shop around five?”

I nod. “Sure.”

The rest of the day is occupied by what the evening holds. I didn’t ask why she wanted to meet at the shop. I didn’t ask what rules she had in mind. I only know the idea of obeying Tandy makes me feel tingly, and the thought of what might happen if I disobey makes those tingles even stronger. Seeing that picture of her in the leather stirred something in me that I didn’t know was there. The stinging slaps she landed on my ass were as stimulating as the sex. Throughout the day I stay wet just from the memory. What is it about the thought of her taking control that leaves me both breathless and apprehensive? Tandy has cracked the shell of my repressive upbringing and the woman who’s emerging is an erotic contradiction, a conundrum.

Change is good, though, and I decide it’s time to take some initiative that doesn’t involve Tandy. I walk into Fancy Bloomers to find the owner at her usual perch behind the counter. When I started working here, she did the bulk of the arrangements. Now I do most of the work while she sits at the counter taking orders I struggle to fill. I haven’t brought up the raise in over a month and last night was a reminder of how much I need it.

“Maxine, do you have a moment?”

She sighs heavily and puts down her phone. “Sure. What?”

“A couple of months ago I asked for a raise, remember?”

The lines on her forehead deepen as she frowns. “Yes. I remember.”

“I went online this morning and looked at some of the job postings for other florists in the area. I’m making way less than I should. I can barely pay my bills.”

“Really? You seem to have had enough money for tattoos.”

I struggle to keep my anger in check. “What I spend my money on isn’t any of your concern. Everything is more expensive…”

“Yes, including the cost of running a business.”

“Maxine, I deserve a raise and we both know it. I worked a ton of overtime during the pandemic. I overheard you bragging about how selling flowers for funeral arrangements alone had given you your best year. I worked holidays, weekends, and you promised me a raise that never came. I need it. This week.”

She barks a laugh. “Well, you aren’t getting one this week, Bliss. Maybe by the end of the summer. And it’ll be a good one. At least two dollars.” She hands me a sheet. “Carpenter Realty is staging two houses this afternoon. They’ll need all these arrangements by five.”

She picks up her phone and I see the glow of the game she’s playing reflected in her glasses. I want to scream at her, to tell her I quit, but I can’t just walk out without something else. What I can do is look for something else, so in the back room I fill out an online application with a garden center that just opened not too far from my house.

I should have done this sooner, but my need for continuity has kept me in this shitty, dead-end job. I’m not even sure if this is what I want to do, but I’m good at it so what choice do I have?

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