Learning to Be Little Again by Meredith O'Reilly Page B

fluffed up her pillow. When I turned around, she was standing there, watching me.
    “All ready for bed, pumpkin?”
    She nodded, and I gestured her for her to get into bed. I pulled the covers up to her neck and said, “I’ll be right back. I have to get ready for bed and then I’ll read you a story.”
    “Okay,” she said, taking her teddy bear in her arms.
    I left her bedroom and headed for her bathroom, hurrying so I could be with her. I’d been tempted to bring a bottle or a pacifier for her tonight, but I’d decided not to. I wanted to go slow so I didn’t spook her or overwhelm her with age play stuff.
    When I returned to the bedroom, Juliana was right where I’d left her. I grabbed the books from my bag and then got in on the other side of the queen sized bed.
    “I wasn’t sure what type of books you liked to read for your goodnight story. So, I brought a few.”
    “Can we read them all?” she asked me quietly, with big eyes.
    I was going to have to talk to her about that tomorrow morning. Any time I asked her what she wanted to do or anytime she voiced her opinion, she said it as if she was afraid I would hit her. I wanted her to be open with me, not afraid that I would hurt her.
    “Of course we can, baby girl. Come here, you can lean your head against my shoulder so you can see all of the pictures in this first book.”
    She nodded and scooted over by me. She leaned her head on my shoulder and I wrapped my arm around her so I was cuddling her while we read.
    I ended up reading her all the books that I brought with me before she drifted off to sleep. I smiled as I looked down at her. She looked stress free right now. I hoped that she slept through the night because the dark circles under her eyes told me that she was still having problems with that.
    I placed the books on the nightstand, turned the lamp off, and snuggled closer to her as I followed her into dreamland.

Chapter Eleven
     
     
    Someone shook me and called out my name, waking me from my nightmare.
    “ What! ” I screamed as I shot up in my bed, my heart racing. I could feel sweat covering my entire body.
    “Juliana, you’re okay. You’re okay, baby.”
    I whipped my head around to see Robert looking at me like I was covered in blood instead of sweat. He looked terrified. What is he doing here ? I looked down at my footie pajamas. Oh yeah, I’m trying out age play again.
    “Juliana?” he asked cautiously.
    “I’m fine,” I said, falling back against my pillow and tossing my arm over my closed eyes. I took a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart and to slow my breathing. I didn’t want him to see me like this. He would know now that I was a freak and he would leave me.
    I didn’t notice the tears falling down my face until he said, “There’s no need to cry, little one. Your nightmares can’t hurt you.”
    I nodded, not chancing that I wouldn’t start sobbing if I tried to talk to him.
    “Come here,” he said, opening his arms.
    I opened my eyes and moved my arm off my face, hesitating for a minute. It still felt weird to me to act like a little girl in front of him. After my first experience, I was leery towards everything age play related.
    “I’m not going to bite, I promise,” he said again with a look of encouragement on his face, and before I even consciously made the decision, I was crawling into his lap.
    “That’s my good girl. I’m right here. Nothing can hurt you while I’m here,” he said, wrapping me up in a strong hold. He just held me in his arms for a while, not moving or saying anything. Words weren’t needed for this. Just sitting in his lap, feeling the bulge of his muscles tight around me, made the tears go away and my fear subside.
    After ten minutes or so, I took a deep breath and looked up at him. “Thank you for the hug. I feel better now.”
    “Are you sure you feel better? I could hold you like this all night if you want.”
    I had to think about that for a minute. It was a tempting