Done Adulting Vol. 1 Ch. 140

“How did your visit with Cheryl go,” Ella asked. They were lying next to one another nude in the quiet room. Becky and Amanda had both gone back to work and school, so Jamie was back at Little Hearth every weekday.

“That’s what you wanna talk about right now,” he asked.

“I wanted to ask earlier.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Because ten minutes after you got here you got all handsy under the drawing table, and I guess I just forgot,” she said with a post-coital giggle.

“I did, didn’t I?”

“So? How was it? Her visit, I mean, before you make a dirty joke.”

“It went ... fine.”

“What does that mean?”

“I didn’t need to worry about breaking her heart or what she’d think of me.”

“That’s good. I told you so.”

“It was just hard watching her leave. We still feel pretty strongly about each other.”

“How strongly?”

“Not romantic love, if that’s what you’re asking. I’m not sure there’s a word for it. For the kind of love between us, I mean.”

“Are you okay, though?”

“Yeah,” he assured her. “I just miss my friend … Wonder what it would be like, our relationship, if we ever got to enjoy it when things weren’t so emotionally charged.”

“Did your mom and Manda like her?

“Manda wanted her to stay.”

“Really? That doesn’t seem like her.”

“She said it was just because it would make me happy, but I think Manda liked her as a little, too. Maybe she wants a little sister.”

“How would you feel about that?”

Jamie sniffed dismissively. “I’m not ready for that. I don’t want to share Manda with anyone. I’m not ready to do that.”

“You might have to one day.”

“I know I will. I just … Well, how would you feel if you had to share Stacy?”

“I’m sure I’d resent the hell out of it.”

“Exactly. I’m just not ready to not be the center of her attention … Scares me a little, the thought of it. I guess I still rely on her a lot emotionally, even with me and Mom being just as close now.”

“It’s different with a sibling.” Ella only ever hinted at her own siblings. She rarely ever discussed her life before, and the conversation always stopped when it came to family.

“Yeah,” Jamie agreed.

“So what now,” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

Ella shrugged. “I mean, that kinda takes care of any unfinished business back there.”

“We’ll see each other again,” Jamie said defensively. “We’ll write. It’s not forever.”

“I know ... I just mean you don’t really have anything to be concerned about, as far as there goes.”

“No, I guess I don’t.”

“So now what?”

“Now I guess I just live here. Keep building my life.” He paused. “… Were you ever jealous of Cheryl?”

“No.”

“Never?”

“Never. For one, she lives in another dimension. For two, you’ve said a bunch of times you're not in love with her. For three, we’ve never really defined our relationship. Doesn’t seem fair to get jealous.”

“We could; define our relationship, I mean,” Jamie said.

“We could, but why?”

“To … I don’t know. Are we dating?”

“We’ve never been on a date,” Ella replied.

“We’ve been on playdates ... Where we’ve slept together. That seems kinda like a date … Similar to my dates back home, except with sex.”

Ella laughed. “You really are adorable. I guess, yeah, we’re boyfriend and girlfriend, significant others, something, I don’t know. It’s not like there’s a list of relationship categories people apply to littles here.”

“It does kinda feel like humans on a desert island sometimes, the two of us.”

“Gee, thanks,” Ella said.

“You know what I mean.”

“I do.”

“But I guess you’re right. It really doesn’t matter what we call it.”

“We could get married someday,” Ella joked.

“Littles can get married,” Jamie asked, missing the joke.

“No, but we could do it anyway. Right here. Diane could officiate. Just think of how much that might piss off Bobby and Billy.”

“They’d make terrible wedding guests,” he said, now understanding what she meant.

“Every wedding needs at least one asshole to give an inappropriate toast and start a fight.”

“And Donna should come – we need someone to cry hysterically, too.”

“Hahahaha!”

“I haven’t seen her in a while. I think Manda has been purposefully keeping her away from me.”

“That’s good.”

“I guess she sees her on campus. I don’t want her to stop seeing her friends just because of me.”

“So long as they’re not boys?”

“I just want her to be safe,” he said, shaking his head. “Mom’s had twenty years to get used to the idea of her dating. I practically just got here.”

“It’s sweet that you want to protect her.”

“But I need to get over it? I know.”

“And you’re jealous.”

“I know I’m jealous. And I need to get over that too. I don’t begrudge her a dating life, in theory. I’m just …”

“Scared of her falling in love and not being there as much for you?”

“Is that wrong,” he asked.

“No. It’s natural.”

“Think it’ll go away?”

“You feel guilty about it?”

“Kinda, yeah,” he said honestly.

“Yes, it’ll go away.”

“I need her still.”

“You’ll always have her.” They lay there quietly for a while until there was a tap on the door. Jamie reached for his clothes.

“It’s just April or Carrie,” Ella told him.

“And?”

“And she’ll be cleaning you off in two minutes anyway.”

“I know … It’s weird, after that.”

“Come in,” Ella said.

“Hey littles,” Jean said as she opened the door.

“Shit!” Ella sat up and covered herself and moved a few inches away from Jamie before Jean could see them. Jean would have scolded any other little for language like that, but she knew she wasn’t supposed to ever scold Ella. She froze when she turned the corner of the door and saw them. April burst through the door and slammed it shut behind her, bumping into Jean.

“Jean!” April exclaimed.

“What’s going on in here,” Jean asked, looking from April to Jamie to Ella and back to April.

“Nothing,” April hopefully replied. Ella and Jamie instinctively fell back on being littles, not needing to say a word so long as a big was there to stick up for them.

“It doesn’t look like nothing.” April, Jamie, and Ella all said nothing.  “… It looks like a couple of littles took their clothes off. I have a cousin does the same – ran down the street nude while my aunt chased after her and all the neighbors watched.”

“Yeah,” April forced a laugh, “What parent doesn’t tell that story? Hahahaha. I’ll get them redressed. Why don’t you go start a sing-along out there,” April said as she guided Jean to the door by her shoulders, opened it, gave her an almost-shove, and closed the door again. She turned back around at the smiling couple.

“Sorry. She got away from me. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

“We’re just gonna hang in here all day, actually,” Ella said.

“’Kay,” she laughed, “Guess I’ll knock when it’s lunch time.”

April left, and shut the door. Carrie was right there when she looked up. “Everything alright,” Carrie asked.

“No,” April replied.

“What’s the problem?”

“I’m jealous of two littles’ love life. How pathetic is that?”

In the room, Ella and Jamie were having a good laugh. “Did you hear what she called us,” Ella asked.

“Jean? No … It’s a good thing she’s an idiot.”

“She called us a ‘couple.’”

“A ‘couple of littles.’”

“Close enough,” Ella said.

“So that’s what we are? A couple?”

“Yeah.”

“I like that,” Jamie smiled. “A couple. ‘They make such a cute couple!’ Maybe people will say that about us.”

“We could get matching fleece vests, wear them to the farmer’s market together,” Ella joked again.

“I hate those people,” Jamie said with a smile.

“Everybody hates those people, except those people.”

“You’re right … We should definitely be those people.”

“But first …” she said, pushing Jamie on to his back and moving herself on top of him. He reached up and ran his fingers through her hair. His eyes softened.

“I meant it, by the way,” Jamie said.

“What.”

“When I said I love you.”

“I love you, Jamie,” she said, her fingers caressing his chest. “You’re one of the best things that ever happened to me.”

“It’s always going to be complicated, isn’t it, being littles and being a couple.”

“Not if we don’t let it be.”

“So just don’t let it?”

“Just don’t let it,” Ella said and pressed her lips against his.