She sounded a little bit sad, and Tay felt awful. They gave her a huge hug. “You find lying—even about pranks—really stressful, and I knew you wouldn’t want to lie to Miss Grayson about wanting a sleepover when we were instead doing an ice-cream heist. You’re still one of my best friends; I promise! I just didn’t want to put you in a difficult situation.”
Mandi looked thoughtful. “That makes sense, I think I understand.”
“We’re okay?” There was a pit in Tay’s stomach that threatened to swallow them whole.
“We’re okay.” Mandi beamed at them and enveloped them in a hug. “Now, where’s this epic sandcastle?”
Mandi, Holly and Sadie all declared the sandcastle to be the greatest ever constructed, and the four of them ended up playing in the sand together. Mandi focused on detailing the windowsin the turrets while Holly and Sadie attempted to storm the drawbridge while Tay defended their creation.
“Snack time!” said Guilia. She’d laid out plastic plates with fruit cut up into cute shapes for the Littles, and tumblers filled with water. “Tesore, why don’t you show your friends where they can wash up.”
They’d already fallen into a pattern together, as if they’d been cohabiting for years, as opposed to Tay having only stayed over for one night. In the bathroom, the other Littles circled them and waited expectantly.
“She’s my Daddy,” whispered Tay. “And I’m her Little.”
“Makes sense,” said Mandi and the others all nodded. “You two have had a special connection for a long time. It’s really lovely seeing you so happy.”
CHAPTER 18
Guilia
Having Tay’s Little friends around was actually pretty lovely. Guilia hadn’t been sure how well she’d cope with all four of them—despite her assertion that she’d lived at Rawhide Ranch for five years. She’d been living at the Ranch, yes, but working in the kitchens. In fact, she barely came into contact with Littles, other than the ones she worked with. So this was certainly a new experience for her.
And it was an experience that she was enjoying.
They were all sweet, and seeing Tay interact with their friends gave her an insight into her Little that she hadn’t seen so much before.
Tay was bubbly and friendly, but also caring. Somehow they managed to balance Mandi’s anxiety with Holly’s pep and Sadie’s sass, without any of them ever brushing each other up the wrong way. It was a remarkable skill, and one that Guilia suspected that Tay had honed in their childhood.
Despite their penchant for pranks, she’d long noticed Tay’s people-pleasing leanings. Wanting everyone to be happy and being on edge if they weren’t. Almost as if they were waiting for someone to lash out at them; not physically, but emotionally…
But when they were in Little space, it was like all of that just melted away. It was as if they were getting to experience the pure joys of childhood delights for the very first time.
If nothing else, Guilia wanted to be able to facilitate that for Tay.
Everyone was eating their fruit, but Tay hadn’t touched their water.
“You have to drink up,tesore, it’s hot outside.”
“Could I have something else?” They grinned at her cheekily and Guilia swore that her heart skipped a beat.
“Of course you can… once you’ve finished your water.”
There was a pause as green eyes met hers, testing, seeing if Guilia was going to bend. She didn’t say anything else, didn’t push or argue, all she did was raise an eyebrow and wait for Tay to drink up.
Silence fell across the table as the others looked between the two of them, clocking the silent battle. Then, without breaking Guilia’s gaze, Tay lifted the tumbler to their lips and drank.
“Ben fatte,tesore, good job!”
They rolled their eyes at Guilia, but there was no malice or cheekiness to it. The tips of Tay’s ears had gone slightly pink and Guilia could tell that they were delighted with the praise but didn’t know how to show it. But they finished all of their water and were rewarded with some fresh lemonade from the fridge, along with the other Littles.
“Are you coming back to our room tonight?” asked Holly, when she, Mandi and Sadie were getting ready to head off.
Tay sent Guilia a look. “I… I was thinking that I might stay here tonight as well… Is that okay, Hols?”
“As if you need to ask,” she said, and hugged Tay. They looked at Guilia over her shoulder, and Guilia realized that the two of them were going to have to start thinking about the future now, even if it felt very quick.
Tay clearly didn’t want to bring it up first, but when the door closed behind the Littles and they started tidying away the sand pool, Guilia broached the topic.
