Dear Daddy, Please Spank Me - Chara Croft Page 0,46

and unnecessary punctuation reassuring me that nothing was actually wrong.

“Just Christmas drama, Ellen,” I told her as I read through it, since she tended to get snippy if I didn’t keep her in the loop.

She paused mid-chew, slanting an unimpressed look up at me, then went back to eating.

“Fine,” I said. “We’ll call it ‘enthusiasm’ instead, if you insist.”

The tip of her tail flicked, but otherwise, she ignored me. I’d put up with that from her, but not from my… boy?

I tried out the feel of the word, rolling it around my brain as I smiled. I was working us up to “boyfriend,” too, but no, “boy” was better. “Boyfriend” didn’t really encompass everything I wanted with Jordan.

The Daddy research I’d done included all sorts of variations of what being a Daddy and a boy might mean for a couple, but I already had a sense of which ones would suit us best… and hopefully Jordan would prove me right on that when I called him later. Because ignoring me like he’d done after the first time he’d come over? It would be one thing if he really didn’t want this—I wanted to be in charge, but only as long as that worked for him, too—but after spending more time than I probably should have paying attention to him and trying to figure out what made him tick over the years, it was crystal clear to me that he was just running scared.

He got a pass for that first time since we were obviously both new to this and I hadn’t had a chance to prove myself to him yet—although just to be clear, I definitely would have tracked him down eventually if he hadn’t come back to me on his own—but this time? One way or another, I was going to make sure that he realized he could count on me. That he should be running to me, not away.

Although actually, maybe the best way to do that was make sure he couldn’t keep running away.

I refocused on the messages about Christmas from my sisters, a plan brewing in the back of my mind. Over-the-top and too excessive? Probably. But since I’d already made my peace with those traits being part of my basic personality—and so far, all the “intensity” that other guys had complained about seemed to work for my boy—I wasn’t going to worry about it. Not unless Jordan said no.

My finger hovered over the screen for a second, logistics playing out in my head, then I hit the call button.

“Oh my God, Andy, why are you calling?” Kate asked, answering after three rings. “The whole point of having a group message thread is so we don’t have to, like, be interrupted.”

“Because your Saturday morning schedule is so busy, Kay-Bay?” I teased her.

“Yes,” she huffed. “Mom is giving me driving lessons this afternoon, and I’m trying to pick an outfit.”

“You’re literally going to be sitting in a car.”

“In public.”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“This is important, Andy. I’m busy. And I’m hanging up. Just message me if you want something. God.”

“Hang up and I’m not bringing any of your Christmas presents home with me,” I threatened.

She sighed, drawing out the sound so long that I almost laughed. Then, finally, “Can’t you just call Liz instead? She’s sitting here being super unhelpful, so I’m sure she’s got plenty of time to talk.”

I heard a squawk of protest in the background, and the muffled sound of something being thrown. Hopefully, nothing more than a pillow.

“Jesus, brat,” I said, shaking my head and grinning as I imagined their antics. “Can you two please settle down and let me get a word in edgewise? I want to talk to you guys about Jordan.”

Silence. Then—

“Oh my God,” Kate squealed, all brattiness vanquished in an instant. “You mean Jordan, your hot crush from those YouTube videos? The one we’ve been telling you to ask out? Wait, did you? Did he say yes? Did—mmph.” I was pretty sure the girls were wrestling for control of the phone, but then Kate came back on, sounding breathless. “Hold on, Andy. I’m putting you on speaker because Liz is annoying.”

I laughed. I hadn’t gone very far from home for college since in-state tuition was cheaper and I liked being within driving distance of my family, but even though I was just a few hours away, I usually felt a little guilty for not getting back to visit often enough.

But on the other hand, the amount I didn’t see my sisters