Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
I stare at him wide-eyed. “Okay.” I don’t know why that response slips from my lips, but his smile makes it worthwhile. He’s pleased. I like that.
When he pulls up outside my apartment building, my nerves return. What will he think? What will he say? What if he judges me?
Chase parks the truck, jumps down from his side, and rounds to my side before I have a chance to consider extricating myself from the seatbelt. I don’t need to because he does it for me and then lifts me out of the truck, sets me on my feet, and grabs my bag. “Lead the way, Little one.”
I rush forward and open the door to my building. I hold it open for him to pass and then lead him to the stairs. “Is this okay? I don’t like the elevator.”
“Of course, Little one. Do I look like I’m not in good enough shape to climb stairs?” he teases.
I giggle. The sound shocks me. He’s made me laugh several times. It pleases him. He smiles every time. “I think you can make it. It’s just one flight. My… I mean I think it’s safer on the second floor.” I catch myself just before admitting my parents chose this second-story apartment. That’s embarrassing. I’m twenty-two years old. He doesn’t need to know my parents live close by and check on me ten times a day.
He doesn’t acknowledge my new faux pas. I would have been mortified if he had. “It definitely is, Little one. Smart girl.”
When we get to my door, I type my code into the keypad and open the door. I maybe should have simply taken my bag from him and shooed him away, but he seems determined to enter my apartment. So what if he thinks I’m weird. I shouldn’t care.
I’ll probably never talk to him again after tonight. It will be easier this way. Maybe if I give him a full tour of my space and open every drawer and closet, he’ll be mortified enough to leave quickly. Keeping my private life a secret from him will only prolong the inevitable.
I push the door open and step inside, letting him follow me.
Chapter Five
Josie
Chase enters and shuts the door before I have the guts to turn and look at his face. I can’t read his expression.
I start rambling. “It’s small. I don’t need much.”
He glances at my open bedroom door before looking at me. His brows are lifted, and he has a goofy expression on his face. He finally chuckles. “You fibbed to Daddy, Little one.”
I gasp. When did I fib?
He chuckles. “You told me it was messy. Somehow I knew that wouldn’t be true.”
My face heats and I look away as I sidestep him to take off my shoes and stick them on the shoe rack next to my door.
Chase hands me my bag and removes his shoes too.
“Oh, you don’t have to do that. It’s just a habit. I’m not a germaphobe or anything. I just have sensory processing disorder.” Shoot. This means he’s not going to leave immediately.
“Give me a tour, Little one,” he says gently.
I glance around. “You can see most of it.” I wince as I spot a sippy cup on the counter and my latest drawing hanging on the fridge. Suddenly, I want this over with.
When I had the thought in the hallway, I was mostly kidding in my head, but now it seems like a good idea. I rush across to the kitchen area and start opening drawers. I open cabinets next. Everything I own is revealed.
I have a weird adrenaline rush as I hurry into my bedroom, flip on the lights, and open my drawers and my closet doors. Next, I head into my small bathroom and open the vanity drawers and cabinets.
When I spin around, Chase is standing in the doorway. He holds out both hands, making eye contact with me while he reaches for me. He sets his hands on my shoulders and slowly draws me closer until he’s hugging me.
He tips my head back, meets my gaze, and strokes the back of my neck.
I’m breathing heavily. I can’t process what’s happening. Why is he still here? Why hasn’t he run from the apartment?
“Josie, I know you’re Little, Baby girl. Were you afraid I would judge you?”
I shiver when he calls me Baby girl. It’s the kind of sweet endearing thing a Daddy says in my mind when I picture having a Daddy of my own. It’s a dream. Not something I could ever have in real life. “Uh huh.”
“I will never judge you, Josie. You’re precious and adorable. I’m glad you live your life authentically. So many people deny who they are inside and never let it out. Or they only practice what they feel inside a few hours a week at a club. It makes me so happy to know you let yourself be Little at home.”