Moving a Little Heart (15 page)

"Daddies don't stay angry at their little girls. I think Matt is right, though," Jake said, smoothing her hair. "You need to have a baby day."

"These are the rules," Matt said two weeks later, as the five of them sat around the table for dinner. "Baylor, my darling, you are to do nothing unless you are told. Uncle Terry and Daddy Hayden will be spending the whole day with you, while Daddy Jake and I will be spending the entire evening. We expect you to follow directions as best as you can and not put up a fuss."

"If you do fuss," Terry added, "it will be dealt with right away. We want you to experience a total power exchange, and the only way we can give you that is by exerting our authority over you."

"If you respond well to this special day, we will be planning many more in the future," Hayden said, squeezing her hand. "I love baby days. Much more than Jake does, so trust that I will look for reasons to have them."

"One more thing," Jake finalized. "We've all decided that your little girl is about eight or so. We wanted you to have a tiny bit of independence so that we don't overwhelm you. But," he warned, "every time you protest or give us a fight that is not age-appropriate, we will subtract a year from your Little."

"I don't understand."

"Eight-year-olds have rules. We expect the need to be independent, but they require adults to set limits, and to show that they can't have all the privileges they want. We know that it is normal for an eight-year-old to be argumentative and to test the limits at times. We also know that that age group can be moody, and may struggle to manage their frustration and anger when they don't get what they want. They can also show off sometimes, and frequently crave attention from caregivers. Really," Matt said, chuckling, "it isn't much different than how you act now."

"Bite me." Baylor pouted.

"Perfect example. From an adult, we can laugh about that statement. From a child, absolutely not. You no longer have the privilege to be a smartass," Hayden said with a grin.

"As for reducing the age group," Jake cleared his throat, giving the other three the evil eye, "if you act out beyond what is expected or resist us to extremes, we will remove more and more of your independence. It's not my thing, but Terry loves adult babies. He will put you in a diaper and stick a pacifier in your mouth faster than you can tell him 'no.' Personally, I wouldn't go there with him."

"Me neither." Matt grew serious, glancing at his lover's frown. "He will still spank you with the strength of an adult, and you will not enjoy that one bit."

"Do I have any say in this?" Baylor rolled her eyes.

"No," all four answered in unison.

"This isn't fair."

"Now
that
sounds like an eight-year-old." Hayden tugged her ear. "Believe it or not, we are not doing this to make you miserable. You just haven't really had the chance to experience the extent of this lifestyle as a Little, and we want you to fully enjoy it. If you don't fuss and fight, the day will be a lot of fun."

"It sounds weird." Baylor wrinkled her nose.

"It might feel that way at first, but give it a chance," Hayden said.

"Since I don't have a choice anyway, I might as well say okay." She shrugged unhappily.

"I think we should start tonight," Matt suggested. "Let's put her to bed with this on her mind so that she can wake up to it in the morning."

"Good idea," Jake agreed. "Baylor?"

"Whut?"

"Stop pouting. As soon as you're finished with dinner, I'll give you a bath and get you into your pajamas. If you're a good girl, we can watch a movie."

She frowned. "You'll give me a bath? Are you going to get into the tub with me?"

"No. Eat your cauliflower," Jake said.

"I don't like cauliflower, and you know it."

"One bite rule," Terry announced, forking up a piece of the vegetable. He dipped it in cheese. "Open."

"No!" Baylor crossed her arms and pursed her lips in a sour face.

"I really hope that you are just trying to get into your Little mode right now, and aren't looking for a paddling, Sis." Matt elbowed her.

"Don't push me." Baylor shoved him back.

Matt raised his eyebrow and pushed her off the chair. Baylor scrambled to her feet and, without hesitation, grabbed a handful of the hated cauliflower and smashed it in Matt's face.

Stunned silence filled the room as Matt calmly wiped away the debris. He cleared his throat and stood up, towering over Baylor with an unreadable expression.

"Matt…" Terry said cautiously.

"You stepped over the line with that one, kid," Matt said quietly. Before Baylor could dodge him, she was hefted over his shoulder and marched out of the room. The sound of his smacking her rump over her sweats was drowned out by her protests to be put down.

He walked outside, paused, and dumped her into the icy swimming pool. Then he squatted by the edge as Baylor came up, sputtering.

"Don't throw food in my face again," he said calmly.

"Don't shove me."

"Don't talk back."

"Don't be an asshole," she retorted.

"Baylor Anne! Watch your language," Jake scolded, coming up beside Matt and grabbing her wrist. He pulled her out of the cold water and wrapped a towel around her body.

"Matthew! Get up here now!" Terry shouted.

"Great." Matt rolled his eyes as he stood. "The old man is pissed at me. Thanks a lot."

"You started it," Baylor spouted. "I hope he spanks you good and hard."

"If he does, I owe you one. I'm coming!" Matt yelled back, as Terry called for him a second time.

"Let's get you inside before you catch your death of cold. What were you thinking?" Jake said as he carried her back to the dining room.

"Actually," Baylor shivered, glancing at the mess on the floor, "I was thinking we might want to get a dog."

Jake and Hayden looked at each other and broke into laughter.

"I have an idea." Jake nudged Hayden. "Since Tweedledum and Tweedledee are going to be making some noise soon, let's go to her place and bathe our baby together."

"That would be fun." Hayden visibly brightened. "We've never done that with each other."

"There's a lot of stuff we haven't done together that maybe we should have." Jake wrapped one arm around his brother's shoulders while holding Baylor's wet body next to him.

The sound of wood striking flesh followed by a yelp from upstairs caught their attention and, laughing, the three hurried next door.

Jake took Baylor to her room while Hayden put water on to boil. Then he joined them in the large bathroom and sat on the edge of the tub. Baylor had been stripped of her wet clothes and wrapped in a large, dry towel, shivering as she waited for the bath to fill.

"You do know that throwing food in your big brother's face was not very nice, right?" Hayden asked, tweaking her nose.

"He pushed me. You saw it," Baylor argued, amazed that she still was still maintaining the 'little' mode, especially after Matt had joined in and acted like a teenager.

"We saw everything that happened. After your bath, you are going to go back and clean everything up, and then you're going to go and apologize to your brother."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes, dear," Jake said, running his hand in the water and sitting on the edge of the tub with his back to the wall. "You have to. Go ahead and step in. Be careful."

Baylor moaned with delight as she sank to her neck under the hot bubbles. "Ahh, this is nice."

"I'll be back. Don't start anything without me." Hayden winked at Baylor. "I'm going to get the tea."

"I want hot chocolate!" Baylor yelled.

"There's nothing to start," Jake called back. "She is getting a hot bath, nothing more."

"Nothing?" she asked, flicking bubbles at him.

"Keep the water in the tub. Baylor, stop it," Jake warned as she blew a handful of bubbles into his face.

"Make me," she giggled, grabbing him around the neck and pulling him backwards over the edge. He landed with a loud splash, spilling water over the edge and onto the bathroom floor.

"What the…"

"Don't slip," Baylor laughed, dunking Jake under the suds. His feet were still dangling outside the tub, and he struggled to sit up.

"Help me out of here," he demanded. "Stop laughing. It's not funny."

"Yeah, it is. You fell victim to the oldest eight-year-old prank in the book. Good job, Ladybug," Hayden praised, giving Baylor a high five. He hefted Jake out with one arm and handed him a towel.

"You're wet," he said simply.

"No shit," Jake grumbled, ignoring the other two as they said 'ooh' about his swearing. "I swear, sometimes it's like having two eight-year-olds with the two of you around. Thanks." He took a sip of the hot tea. "That was very naughty of you, young lady."

"Daddy Hayden thought it was funny."

"Daddy Hayden is going to find himself eating dirt the next time we are in the field together."

"That's not nice," Hayden scolded.

"Betcha dirt tastes better than cauliflower," Baylor piped up.

"I really like her like this," Hayden commented, tossing towels onto the floor to mop up the water.

"That's because you aren't the victim of her pranks. I need to get changed. I'm soaked," Jake said.

"You could come into the bath with me. There is lots of room. For all of us," Baylor hinted.

"No, you are having a baby day. Stop trying to seduce me, you little horny toad," Jake insisted. "I'm going to toss these wet clothes in the dryer. Go ahead and wash her hair."

"Gladly," Hayden happily agreed.

Baylor closed her eyes as he massaged her scalp, remembering the very first day they'd met. "I'm glad I moved," she said softly. "I took my heart with me and found a safe place to keep it."

"Are you happy, baby?"

"Yes. I love you. Really love you."

"You know, that is the first time you've said that to me," Hayden said softly, rinsing the suds from her hair.

"Said what?" Jake asked, coming back wrapped in a sheet.

"I love you, too. So much. I am so lucky to have you. Both of you," Baylor said, kissing Jake's hand. "If I could, I would marry you both," she blurted out, then slapped her hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I mean…"

"One day that could happen, baby. The laws in this country don't allow that yet," Jake said, stroking her face.

"We would love nothing more than to have you like that, so don't apologize," Hayden added.

"I know. So sad, huh? Mmm," she cooed as Jake massaged her shoulders. "I don't want to be a little girl right now."

"Believe me, I don't want you to either," Hayden said. "But it's important for you to get back to that place and stay there. You are too easily distracted."

"Distracted? Not me," Baylor snickered, turning the hose on him.

"Baylor!" Jake hollered, jumping out of the way.

Hayden wrestled the hose from her and turned off the water. "That deserves a spanking."

"No!" Baylor squeaked, as he pulled her to stand with one hand and briskly smacked her wet, bubble-covered bottom with the other. "OWIE!"

"Owie is right," Hayden said, walloping her cheeks as she tried to slide from his grip. "Jake? Your turn."

"I want her over my knee. Hand me that bath brush."

"No!" Baylor was no longer laughing as she found herself facing the wet floor with her feet still in the tub. The rounded back of the long-handled, wooden brush smacked sharply against her right cheek, causing her to howl. "Not so hard! Ow!"

"You were a very, very naughty little girl tonight," Jake lectured, smacking the other side. "And naughty little girls get their bottoms spanked."

"I'm sorry!" Baylor yelped in earnest. The brush against a wet bottom hurt like hell!

Jake rested the brush against her red cheeks. "How many bad things did she do this evening?"

"Well," Hayden tapped his finger against his wet face, "she refused to eat her cauliflower."

"I hate caulifl—oooww!" The brush smacked both cheeks, right and then left, then resumed its position against her skin.

"She talked back to Uncle Terry," Hayden continued.

Two more solid smacks accompanied loud shrieking and splashing to escape.

"She smashed cauliflower in Matt's face."

"He pushed me! OWOWOWOWOW!"

"Let's not forget that she called him an asshole," Jake added, smacking her twice more. "Look how red that bottom is turning."

"Then she pulled you into the tub," Hayden said, stripping off his wet clothes and wrapping a towel around his waist.

Another two smacks were added to her crimson cheeks.

"And then she turned the hose on you. What a naughty little girl we have here," Jake said, popping her two more times.

"I was just playing," Baylor said, her voice choking up as she neared tears.

A hand replaced the brush. "Yes, and you were warned as to what would happen if you didn't mind your manners, weren't you?" Jake asked, clapping his palm vigorously against the steaming flesh.