Page 22 of Mariah

“Yes, I have but I mean… there’s one in particular who seems to have caught my attention and made me start to think about things.”

“Oh, it’s like that, is it?”

“I mean… it might be.”

“Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. It was bound to happen.”

“It was?” Graham was shocked at his brother’s unbothered tone.

“Graham… you are a Daddy-Dom. It’s who you are. And you’re a good one. The kind any Little girl would be lucky to have. You went though some shit and you got hurt and you needed time to heal. But you were always gonna be a Daddy-Dom again.”

“I was?” Graham wished he felt as sure as his brother sounded. In his heart, he knew Mariah was nothing like Kaylie, but in his head… all he knew was he never wanted to feel that hopeless again. “It just… it feels like it’s too soon.”

“It’s been a year. Actually, closer to two. And in that time, you’ve healed. You’ve grown. You’ve had the power of hindsight, which will give you better instincts and intuition moving forward. So tell me about this Little. What is she like, and what’s still holding you back?”

“Well, I truly had no intention of interacting with any Littles. I thought I’d be able to avoid close contact. But this one lives here. And my boss wanted me to give her a job.”

The story poured out of him. He told Pierce everything from his initial reluctant agreement, their first week working together, to fixing her favorite breakfast for dinner on her birthday and surprising her with a cake. He told him about the unfortunate mushroom incident and almost killing his boss, and their maintenance contract and putting her on probation. “I told myself that if I called it maintenance, I could keep it purely professional and it wouldn’t affect me.”

“Uh-huh. And how’s that working out for you?”

“It… it felt good to take care of someone in that way again. Even if it was somewhat of a business transaction.”

“And how did she feel about it?”

“I think… okay? She’d have definitely preferred to be punished, but she took it okay. We had a good conversation afterward and I told her about Kaylie and about everything that happened.”

“Wait. Stop. Hold the presses. You told her about Kaylie?”

“Yeah… so?”

“So you said you hadn’t told anyone about Kaylie aside from me, your therapist, and Trey. If you told this girl… I don’t know, bro. That seems significant to me.”

“I guess.” Graham wasn’t so sure. He’d also told Pastor Ryan and Baze. “Mariah is sweet. And I think she’s had a rough go of things.” He didn’t feel the need to tell Pierce she’d been homeless or that she was currently in the care of his boss. “I don’t want to jump the gun and think I’m ready if I’m not gonna be. She doesn’t deserve that.”

“You’re right. But she also doesn’t deserve to be strung along, and you’re definitely starting to act like a Daddy.”

He groaned. He knew his brother was right, and he hadn’t even told him about the special dinner he’d made her or how many times he’d called her “little girl” over the course of dinner. Not to mention how many times he’d had to bite his tongue to keep from saying very Daddy-like things.

“Even if I wanted to be more… I’m her boss. How do I go from boss to Daddy? That seems like it would be hard to balance.”

“In the real world, it probably would be. In a place like Utopia… I’m sure it’s manageable. It seems like a place like that would allow for blurring of certain lines.”

“I guess you’re right. But am I ready to blur those lines? Is she?”

“I don’t know, bro. The only way to know that is to talk to her and to be honest with yourself.”

“Right.” He knew his brother was right. He also knew he was ready. The fact surprised him, but he was sure. “You’re right. And you honestly helped a lot. I’m glad I called. Thank you.”

“Just doing my job as your big brother,” Pierce said with a chuckle. “Speaking of which, I’ve got one last piece of brotherly advice for you.”

“What’s that?”

“When you talk to Mariah… start at the beginning. Don’t start at blurred lines and the conundrum of having a boss who’s also your Daddy. Slow down and start at the beginning. Find out if she even wants a Daddy and how she’d feel if that Daddy was you. It might be all clear in your mind now, but if she thought you were off limits… she’s probably not there yet.”

Graham sighed. “Stellar advice, big bro. As usual.”

“I do my best. Listen, Mikey is hosting a poker night at his place and I promised him I’d grab some extra beer on the way so I’ve gotta hop off. You good?”