Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
I realize I’m still holding on to Chase’s shoulders, and I release him immediately, my face heating as he rises to his full height.
“I’m going to put this in the trash. Wait right here, okay, Little one?”
I slowly nod, though I don’t know what I’m agreeing to. Why would I wait for him? He surely didn’t mean it. He was just being polite.
I take several steps back until I’m flattened against the wall next to the row of tables. But the wall feels like it’s vibrating to the music, and the texture of the drywall makes my hands feel funny when I touch it.
Crap. I recognize I’m about to be overloaded with stimuli, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I can tolerate any one or two things at a time, ignore them, stuff them to the back of my mind. But this party is hitting all my hot buttons.
I need a chance to regroup. I’ll never make it to the locker room. I’d have to walk through the flashing lights to get there, and I’d probably end up having an anxiety attack and making a spectacle of myself.
I glance around as the rate of my breathing increases. Finally, I stare at the table. It’s my best option. I immediately drop down onto my hands and knees and crawl under it. I keep crawling along the wall until I get to the corner of the room three tables away from where I entered.
The beauty about being Little is that if anyone saw me, I could just say I was playing hide and seek.
When I reach the corner, I turn around, sit on my butt, pull my knees up to my chest, and wrap my arms around my shins. I take several deep breaths. I feel better already. Now I just need to sit here until my anxiety subsides. It might take a while. No one will probably notice I’m missing.
Chapter Three
Chase
I rush back into the playroom to find Josie is nowhere in sight. I spin around in a slow circle. She’s short, but I’m six foot. She’s not in this room. Fuck. Maybe she went to the bathroom or… I hurry out of the playroom, intent on finding her.
I don’t know what those few minutes meant to her, if anything, but my eyes are wide open now. That Little girl isn’t just shy or introverted. I don’t know how I didn’t notice before but she has some sensory sensitivities. It’s plain as day to me now.
She’s not in the hallway. I rush to the locker room and arrive just as a woman is coming out. “Did you see a woman in a Cinderella costume in there?”
She shakes her head. “No one is in there right now.”
She could be wrong. Josie could have been silently hiding in a stall. But I don’t want to waste time investigating if Josie has gone out the front door, so I take long strides to get there next.
Misha is at the entrance. “Hey, did you see Josie?” I ask. “Did she leave?”
Misha shakes her head. “No. I’ve been here for over an hour.” She frowns. “Could she be in the bathroom?”
I run a hand over my hair. “I don’t think so, but…”
Misha steps away from the desk. “Let me take a look.” She understands my urgency. Bless her. Anyone who’s known Josie for even a short while knows she’s very Little. Everyone at the club looks out for the Littles.
I pace for a minute while Misha goes into the locker room. She returns, shaking her head. “She’s not in there. I checked every stall.”
“Thank you, Misha.” I spin back toward the playroom. I must have overlooked her.
As soon as I step into the room, I stop and look around again. I don’t know what possesses me to squat down, but as soon as I do, I see her feet under the punch table. I blow out a relieved breath and smile. Why didn’t I think of that?
Josie was clearly pretty upset when I left her. Unnerved. I should have known she might find a hiding place.
I make my way through the crowd to the corner before I drop down onto my hands and knees and crawl partly under the table. I’m too tall to sit under here. This is going to be awkward.
Josie is in a tight ball in the corner, her small arms wrapped around her knees. Her eyes go wide. The lighting is dim, but I can see her well enough. “There you are,” I declare, deciding to lower onto my side and prop my head on my palm. I’m hoping my position isn’t threatening to her. “It’s really loud and crowded out there, isn’t it?”
She nods slowly and then she cringes as if nodding caused her pain. She jerks one hand up to the back of her head and scratches her neck.