Page 31 of Ace

Of course, Lizzie had stopped melting the second they’d stepped foot into the toy store like any Little would and was gazing around the place with awe-struck wonder. “Wow!” she exclaimed, taking in the floor-to-ceiling shelves stocked with every kind of toy and game known to man.

“Come on,” Ace said, pulling her toward the baby doll aisle. He was on a mission and had no time to get distracted by the wonders of the toy store. He’d bring her back another day.

There were five different tea sets to choose from, everything from fancy porcelain realistic child-sized sets to smaller, plastic ones. Ace counted the stuffed animals they carried between them. Fourteen. There was only one set with eight settings, so he grabbed two of that one, and carried them to the counter, stacking them on top of the stuffed animals head, with a withering stare at his Little, daring her to protest.

She seemed to get the message. “Thank you, Daddy,” she said solemnly. “I knew you were the bestest Daddy ever.”

His heart melted and his frustration faded away. His stress level got even better when the cashier took both sets and slid them into a large plastic bag with handles that he could carry without squishing anyone.

“Daddy’s hands are gonna be full,” he told Lizzie. “So we can’t hold hands. That means you need to stay close to Daddy and not run off. It’s very crowded here today and I don’t want to lose you.”

“Okay, Daddy!” She was nice and agreeable now, but as soon as they got out of the toy store, she started skipping, even with her arms still full of stuffies.

“Lizzie,” he warned when she started to get ahead of him.

“Sorry, Daddy, but I won’t get lost! I know where the room is and I can get there on my own!”

“That doesn’t matter,” he said firmly. “Stay with Daddy or you’ll get a spanking when we get back up to the room.”

That stopped her in her tracks as she looked up at him with wide eyes. It was the first time he’d truly threatened her. He hoped she listened. A punishment was not on his agenda for the morning. When she started moving again, she walked carefully by his side, measuring her steps carefully to match his and he tried not to smirk.

For a few moments he’d felt decidedly in over his head with this Daddy stuff, but he’d risen to the crisis and all was right with the world. He kept her close as they made their way back up to the room.

When they got there, he unceremoniously dropped all the stuffies on the bed, unboxed the tea sets and set them up on the small table, cramming the place settings together so they would all fit. He even included one for Bert, just in case so he didn’t get accused of forgetting about him or leaving him out and hurting his feelings.

Then he pulled every chair in the room up to the table, including the time out chair, and piled the stuffed animals four to a chair to make them fit. Thankfully they were small enough he could do that.

“How’s that look?” he asked when he finished.

“It looks perfect, Daddy,” Lizzie replied with a happy sigh, sidling up beside him to lay her head on his shoulder.

“Can we go do bumper cars and the rest of our things now? Do you think they’ll be okay?”

Lizzie seemed to seriously consider the question, furrowing her brows and tapping her chin with one finger. Then she marched across the room to the mini fridge, pulled out the carton of juice boxes he’d bought for her, took every single one out of the box and placed it in front of a place setting. He watched with cautious curiosity. He had no problem if she wanted the scene to look and feel more realistic, but he’d draw the line at opening the juice boxes.

Thankfully, she didn’t try, instead grabbing the bag of trail mix they’d snacked on the night before and dumping it into one of the serving bowls that came with the set. “There!” she exclaimed triumphantly, stepping back to admire her handiwork. “Now we can go!”

“Oh good,” Ace replied, kissing her cheek. “We’ll go back down to the bumper cars in a minute. But first, do you need to go potty?”

Chapter 12

Ace

Much to Lizzie’s dismay, he had insisted on making her go potty before they could get back to having fun, but now they were finally back down at the amusement park in the long line for the bumper cars.

“I love bumper cars! I love bumper cars!” she shouted as she bounced up and down in place.

Ace shook his head with a bemused smile. “I’m starting to question the wisdom of your breakfast choices.”

“Too late!” she informed him, still jumping.

“Settle down, little one.”

“Ugh! Okay, fine! But you’re no fun!”

Ace just rolled his eyes. She was very high energy today and her Little was out in full force. It was a lot to adjust to but he loved to see it.

The current timer on the bumper cars counted down to an end and they all stopped where they were, spread throughout the arena.