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We enjoyed some more private time in the changing room before heading home, and when we were back in the car, driving home, Lake leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “I guess there are things to do besides change in there.”

“Did you have a good night, Lake?”

“Every time I think I’ve had the best time ever, you show me a better one. How did someone as good at being a daddy as you not have a boy all this time?”

“Simple. I hadn’t met you.”

“You’ve met me now.”

I reached for his hand. “Exactly.”

Chapter Sixteen

Lake

I couldn’t remember the last time we had a little sleepover with so many of us there. Sammy wasn’t able to come. He and his daddy already had a weekend trip planned, but everyone else was coming. Between moving, starting a new job, people getting their daddies, and schedules being chaotic, the stars didn’t align. It felt like forever since we all could just get together and spend not a few hours at Chained but the entire night together.

On my way home from work, I picked up far more snacks than we were ever going to need. I got chips, animal crackers, gummies in all sorts of cute little shapes, applesauce pouches because…well, applesauce pouches, drink boxes, the yogurt drinks that came in baby bottles—anything and everything I thought one of us might want. And, of course, we were ordering dinner on top of all that.

Tonight was about us and our friendship. No daddies. No wake-up alarms. No bedtimes. The only non-little who was going to be present was Dog. Dog lived for that attention and didn’t take away from our little space. He was a welcome distraction.

I had blankets set up with pillows and an area for stickers and all sorts of stations set up. Galan helped me with the organization of it all, and I appreciated not only the time I got to spend with him but also the guidance. Usually all of the activities were on top of each other; Daddy’s organizational skills made it a thousand times better than that.

It would be like Daddy was there even though he was having his own night out with his friends.

Abbott, Brock, and Rowan arrived one at a time with their overnight bags, any special toys they wanted to bring, and more snacks. It was going to be a good night. No. A great night.

It wasn’t the first time they’d slept over since I moved, but it was the first time we all managed to be here together. Everybody knew where to put their bags and how to find everything they needed.

The first order of business was changing into our little clothes. I had footie jams on because they had pockets. And today, I had a little car that Galan had given me that I wanted to keep with me at all times. Pockets were a must.

We started with a movie, like we often did. It was a short one, not full-length, but it gave us time to sink into little space and not really think about anything but the silly cartoon aliens.

“What should we do first?” Rowan asked when I clicked off the TV. His gaze flew to the pile of plastic bricks. The real question was if we could build castles first, and we all knew it.

“Legos?” Abbott asked.

Rowan raced over.

Legos, it was. At first, we were all there, but then a couple of us broke off. I played with some stuffies, and Abbott colored. This was hardly an organized evening. Just all of us playing together or at least in the same place.

These were all things we did at Chained. Nothing extra special in that way, but being just us and not needing to be fully big until morning if we didn’t want to, made it special.

I piled the snacks onto the coffee table, grateful Dog wasn’t one to steal treats.

“Our daddies would not be impressed,” Brock said. He was right.

They didn’t mind spoiling us, but generally speaking, they preferred we had some actual food with our food.

“It’s okay. I don’t need to tell them,” he added, as if his daddy wouldn’t have bought just as many for us if the sleepover was at their place.

We ate and ate far too many snacks. Maybe we did need a daddy here so we didn’t all get a bellyache.

“Remember how we played dress-up and there were some animal costumes at the mommy-daddy-free event?” I asked, and they all said they did. “Daddy took me to a theme night, and it was all about animals. And they had real animals there. It was so cool. And I think that’s probably why they bought those costumes.”

I went on and on and on about all the details, and they listened, waiting until I was done before peppering me with questions until I stopped babbling.

“So, he’s Daddy now?” Brock asked.