Page 26 of Lisa's Unexpected Valentine's Day

One eyebrow climbed as he watched her. She was fiddling with the knife, poking the fruit and frowning at it. “I guess you didn’t have a good experience?”

“Yeah, you could say that. Just guys barely saying hello before they wanted me on my knees so they could stick—” She chopped off the words and cleared her throat. “Sorry. I guess I’m still upset about it.”

“You should be. That’s not how it’s supposed to go with a real Dom. There should have been discussions about expectations and a lot of other important details long before it ever got to that point. But there are… well, a lot of abusers out there. Submissives can come off as vulnerable prey and that draws them in.”

She was still playing with the knife, and her hands had gotten twitchier about it. It was starting to drive him nuts, worryingshe might cut herself. “Uh, here, let me just take that before we have an accident,” he said, as he reached across the island and plucked it out of her fingers.

Her eyes widened. “But—”

“I think we’ve got enough fruit. Maybe you can find the butter and syrup in the fridge for me?” While she was doing that, he popped the second waffle out and poured a third.

The house was filling with the scent of fresh waffles. If he knew Maya, it wouldn’t be long before she appeared to claim a stack. The conversation lapsed as he moved around, pulling down plates, retrieving a partial bag of chocolate chips he’d hidden up high, and grabbing the topping bowls so they could set it all up neatly.

“Can I do anything else?” Lisa asked as she watched him rushing around. She seemed anxious. Her hands twisted around and around each other, as she sat there.

Keeping her busy seemed like a good idea, and luckily there were lots of little things to do. “Can you check and see if we have whipped cream? If not, there should be some Cold Whip in the freezer.”

“Do you guys really put all of this on your waffles?” She seemed incredulous and he could understand that since there were a lot of options piling up on the island.

“I usually stick with the basics. Maya likes to get creative sometimes.”

“Wow! My husband and my best friend talking about me behind my back? That’snotallowed.” Maya’s voice was filled with outrage. She was standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips, and a ridiculously over-the-top look of upset on her face.

He turned, one eyebrow going up. “Are you telling me what’s allowed, young lady?”

“Yes!”

“You want a spanking before breakfast? I would have thought your butt would still be sore from last night, but I can put this spatula to use, if I need to.”

“No, no, that’s okay, Daddy. I was only kidding,” she said quickly. Her hands dropped to swing loose, a sign of surrender.

“Then stop upsetting your friend.” He jerked his chin in Lisa’s direction.

Lisa’s eyes were wide and there was a shocked expression on her face. She’d gotten up and now her arms crossed over her chest as she watched them both and trembled. “Maya, we weren’t really talking about you. We-we were just—"

Maya’s belligerent expression vanished. “Lisa! Oh honey, I’m sorry. I was just teasing. We play like this sometimes. I was only pretending to be upset.” She hurried over to her friend and wrapped her in a hug.

After a second Lisa relaxed into the embrace, and the tension went out of her. “After last night, I’m surprised you’re even speaking to me. I’m so sorry about that,” Lisa said.

Maya put her head close to Lisa’s and started speaking to her in a low fast whisper. Rick couldn’t make it out, and he didn’t try to overhear what was being said. Instead, he gave them their privacy and busied himself with pulling the finished waffles from the warming oven. There were enough to get them started, though he would probably be making a second round soon enough.

By the time everything was set out, Lisa seemed less upset, and the whispering had stopped. “I love waffle day,” Maya announced, as she grabbed a plate and took one off the top of the stack.

She proceeded to load it up with one topping after another, until the waffle disappeared underneath it all. Lisa just stared, wide eyed, and with her mouth hanging open slightly. “Maya, can you even taste the waffle under all that?”

Maya giggled and took a big bite, instead of answering. She managed to get whip cream on her nose, and Rick leaned over to wipe it off with a napkin. It was a normal response for him. When Maya acted younger it called to his caretaker side. He couldn’t help but notice Lisa’s reaction to it though.

Lisa watched the caring moment with something akin to hunger in her eyes. And then she busied herself with claiming a waffle of her own. She was much more circumspect in her toppings. Some cherries, butter and a little syrup were enough for her.

For a few minutes they were all busy with breakfast, and no one really said much. The first waffles vanished quickly and when they were down to the last one, Rick poured another onto the iron. “So, ladies, how many more waffles should I make?”

“All of them,” Maya said quickly.

Lisa considered the half-eaten one on her plate. “I think I can manage one more, but I’m not used to big breakfasts.”

“Those are rookie numbers,” his Little girl pointed out.

Lisa rolled her eyes and sighed. “Well, maybe two more.”

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