Friday, February 3rd

166.)

The next Friday, I skipped therapy. Blossom and I had arranged hangouts with our respective Best Friends for Saturday, so we weren't doing the whole beach house thing. My therapist's office was actually pretty far away. Plus, I didn't have time to think about my homework.

Stephanie had asked me to think about baking when I was younger, and how it compared to nowadays. But with all the new ideas for Academy M bouncing around in my head, I didn't have room for something as fruitless as introspection. I had diaper smut to write.

Instead, that Friday, Blossom and I went to see a movie. You know, like a normal date for normal people.

"Think about all that popcorn!" Blossom whined. "Your mouth will get dry... you'll drink more pop... you'll have to get up in the middle of the movie... it won't be fun at all!"

"This is a conversation most girlfriends don't have," I sighed. I was driving for once, because my mom let me use the car. It felt weird, but strangely powerful. Like I had a lot more control over the situation.

"I'm just saying. Diapers and movies basically go hand in hand."

"So you usually go to the movies in a diaper?" I asked, knowing full well she had never done that even once.

"I've fantasized about it at least as many times as I've gone to the movies, so I think that counts!"

There was an animatedness to Blossom Brixley that didn't often show. Sure, she was a pretty well adjusted college girl with a successful social life, good grades, and half the campus wanted to fuck her, but the unfiltered excitement that she shared with Amy was something else. Something different. Something vulnerable. Something a little more awkward, like a time capsule from middle school Blossom that only got opened when she was around Amy.

"Okay, so we'll go to your house and get the diapers you keep under your bed?" I asked.

"I see your point," Blossom pouted, because she didn't have any diapers under her bed or anywhere at the sorority house. "We could get yours though!"

"Ah yes, let's wear my drugstore diapers for those quality old-lady feels." To be perfectly honest, I hadn't bought a new pack since I started going to the beach house. I had two or three left, but they paled in comparison. Simply put, they weren't doing it for me anymore. I was well and truly spoiled by boutique diapers.

"You're no fun," Blossom sulked.

"Anyway," I said, because I had ulterior motives, "I thought a normal date for us would be nice. I mean, our relationship isn't just about ageplay stuff, right?"

It was starting to feel that way. We hardly ever got time together outside of the weekends, and we always fell into ABDL scenes or reading my ABDL erotica. A lot of what we talked about was Academy Works or baby stuff. And tomorrow I was supposed to hang out with her and Becky; what was I going to say if Becky asked what we had in common?

"That's true! You get the full Blossom Brixley dating experience. Clothes shopping, giving me ego boosts while I try on outfits, and getting pulled around on my arm as arm-candy to elevate my status."

Sometimes Blossom thought that was how people viewed her, as a commodity. Dating Amy was actually relieving, because Amy saw her as a complete person.

"Thanks, cupcake. For being you. I'm a lucky woman."

"Don't overdo it," I said, rolling my eyes.

To be honest, I was nervous. I'd been on dates before, and Blossom and I had been formally together for a few weeks already. But I thought that maybe, once we were out in public and couldn't make stupid baby jokes all the time, we wouldn't get along. In a way, the movie was a test run for the whole weekend. It felt like a gauntlet for our relationship.

But we both liked the same candies, and we shared a bag of popcorn at the theater. She got a Diet Coke, which I could tolerate. Maybe it would be good for me.

"My mom and I used to sneak in candy from the gas station, because it was cheaper," I told Blossom, as she put a little extra salt on our popcorn. "It felt like we were breaking the rules, but in a fun way. But now, I wonder if that's even a rule at all. If we walked in with a bag of groceries, do you think anyone would stop us?"

"I don't think anyone here gets paid enough to care, honestly. It might be a rule, or maybe it's just something everyone decided sounded like a rule and so that's why we do it. But my dad used to make us sandwiches for movies because he said that sandwiches were ideal movie food; compact, quiet, and filling."

It was actually something nice to bond over: Amy's mom brought snacks in from outside because it was cheaper, and Blossom's dad brought food in from outside because it was better. Were the two situations really so different?

"What was your favorite gas station candy to bring in?"

"Uh, hm... I liked 3 Musketeers a lot. But I always finished the whole thing before the previews were over. My mom got Red Vines, so I wound up eating half of hers. So Red Vines feel like movie theater candy to me now, and 3 Musketeers don't."

Of course, Blossom and I got Sno-Caps and peanut M&Ms, because they were the obvious choice of at-theater candy. I could never find Sno-Caps at a gas station.

"Becky puts Sour Patch Kids in her popcorn and I do not support that. Sour and Salty is not a combination for me, no thank you." Blossom took a seat in the theater and Amy took the chair next to her. The movie lights were still up bright as people shuffled in and local commercials played on the screen.

"I like learning stuff about you, cupcake; it makes me feel closer with you."

"You'll run out of things to learn eventually." I hoped so, anyway. I hoped we got that far. I reached over and took a handful of popcorn from Blossom's lap.

"That might be true! I'll be an Amy expert!"

She took a sip of her DC and offered the straw to Amy.

I took a sip, but Blossom's efforts to persuade me in the car reminded me that too much soda was probably a bad idea. When the movie started, Blossom reached over and held my hand. Not because the movie was scary, but just because she wanted to hold my hand.

We saw Glass Onion, which was kind of like a spiritual successor to the movie Knives Out. Both of them were mystery movies, and both of them were very good. Classic whodunit films, with a lot of creative misdirects. As a high concept writer, I appreciated things that came together like that. And I appreciated this movie in particular, because it wasn't convoluted or hard to follow.

"So, did you guess it by the end?" Blossom asked, as the two of them got up to leave the theater.

"I did, and then I second guessed myself," I admitted.

"That sounds just like you," Blossom laughed.

On our way to the exit, I stopped her. "I gotta run to the bathroom." She gave me a look and I gave her a look back. "Don't start!"

"I didn't say anything!" Blossom said, but Amy had already ducked into the women's room.

There was an inherent regressive nature to a movie date, Blossom mused to herself as she waited for Amy to come out of the bathroom. Like, sure, it was something that adults did too, and nobody was arguing that. But the quintessential teenage date was to go to the movies, right? Probably because teenagers didn't really have many other places to go and the movies were a pretty sure bet for three hours spent with someone without too much space for awkward pauses in conversation.

Blossom paced up the hall to examine the movie posters for anything that might have caught her interest, but the days of movies needing to get your attention right then and there were far in the past, probably thanks to social media and viral marketing. As such, nothing really jumped out at her. Oppenheimer, maybe. But that was probably not going to be date material.

I met with Blossom outside the bathrooms and we went outside into the dark evening of winter. It wasn't even that late.

"So Valentine's Day is coming up," Blossom said.

"Oh." I was a little blindsided. Valentine's Day was something I celebrated maybe once in high school. Other than that, it was just a reminder that my diaper kink was probably too weird to land a long-term relationship. Funny how things work out.

"We haven't been dating a long time, so if you don't want to go overboard..." Blossom trailed off, letting Amy finish the thought for her. She was trying not to pressure her partner.

"Well, uh... what do you usually do on Valentine's Day?" I asked.

"Usually around this time of year, there are at least a few guys trying to get my attention. So I usually let them try and outdo each other because I'm a little bit conceited; I probably shouldn't enjoy that attention as much as I do. To be honest, I don't remember the last time I was actively dating someone during Valentine's Day, so I might be at a bit of a disadvantage. But I do want to do something romantic for you, I think."

"I'm not great at romance," I sighed. "I'm just getting comfortable kissing and stuff, and... I don't know. There's so much expectation around Valentine's Day..." Expectation for romance, but also other things. Like sex. I suddenly felt very anxious.

"Okay, so let's get rid of all that expectation."

I gave Blossom a look. My face said: "really?" with a question mark at the end. Sarcasm.

"I mean it. Like, what does it mean to us? What is our Valentine's Day? Let's get rid of all the societal baggage, all the drama, all the expectation; let's figure out what we want it to be for us."

"I'm not sure," I mumbled.

I felt like anything I wanted would conflict with what she wanted. I felt like I'd ruin it. But instead of letting that thought run in circles in my head, I decided to follow Stephanie's advice and put it out in the open.

"I want to make sure you have a good time. And... and I want to do what I can to make that happen. Maybe, within my comfort zone?"

Blossom gave room for thought before she replied.

"That sounds great, cupcake. I promise to be honest with what I want, and you promise to be honest with what's comfortable for you. Deal?"

I nodded. It seemed like a fair trade.

"So, what do you want then?" I asked.

"Well, it's a Tuesday, so anything with the beach house is probably out - we both have school stuff that day too. So maybe we could do something at the sorority house? We could go on a date, or do movies, or something?"

Truthfully, Blossom didn't usually pick her own Valentine's Day activities. It was like she'd said; usually it was guys tripping over themselves to get her attention. And then some pretty raunchy sex.

"No privacy," I said, more thoughtful than disappointed. No privacy meant no lewd stuff. It was kind of liberating. But I wanted it to be special too. I wanted it to be a Valentine's Day that Blossom would remember, one that stood out from all the others. And there was only one thing I had over all her previous lovers and consorts. But fuck, was it a bad idea.

"We could see a movie," I suggested, like we didn't just do that. "A kid's movie. And, uh. Have a kind of like, Little date...?"

"A little date, or a Little date?" Blossom asked, trying her best to capitalize one of those two Ls.

"A Little date," I said unhelpfully. "We could, maybe... do the diaper thing. At the movies. Or something..."

This was a pretty watershed moment for the both of them. There'd been the trip to New York City, which had involved diaper stuff outside of the house, and had gone… not poorly, but not ideally either. And that did stick with Blossom as a point of concern. But at the same time, she couldn't think of any better way to improve upon that experience than to actually take another step and try again.

"I like that. I like that a lot, cupcake!"

"Until you actually do it," I said. "Remember last time? You were so nervous. But maybe this time you'll wear pants." Pants might have been too high a hope for Blossom Brixley; I would settle for a long skirt.

"I could wear my Selkie dress!" Blossom said cheerily.

"Oh, please don't do that. I want to draw as little attention to us as possible."

Blossom pouted.

"Clearly I just need to get you one as well, so we can both draw attention in a good way."

"Don't you dare." Anything that drew attention to me was a terrible idea for a gift, and that wasn't even taking into account the price. Thankfully, I didn't believe Blossom would actually buy me a Selkie dress. And if she ever did, it wouldn't be for a trip to the movies. She knew me better than that.