Jamie waited until he’d fully exited the bus before he took out his phone to check his notifications. He didn’t like people who tried to text and walk at the same time, thus ended up clogging the door just when people were in a hurry to change over and get moving. Though it was likely that nobody ever noticed, he still took pride in his tiny courtesy.

The notification showed a message from ‘Michelle ❤️ ❤️ <3’. It was, perhaps, a bit early in the relationship to put three hearts next to her name, but he’d been hit with the infatuation bug, and the extra flair in her contact info seemed harmless.

‘I’m at Drip and Foam, waiting on you to order!’

He smiled, typing out a reply, ‘Just a couple blocks away, see you soon!’

Walking down the bustling city street, he had to skirt around a Little girl throwing a tantrum, stamping her feet right there on the sidewalk and screaming about a doll. He shared a sympathetic look with the girl’s caregiver, who smiled and rolled her eyes just outside the Little’s field of view–there was no use getting mad at her for the display, if she knew how to regulate her emotions, she wouldn’t be Little.

Passing her, the slight whiff of baby powder wafting off the Little reminded Jamie to put a little pep in his step. He needed to pee, and while he could hold it for a while, he’d rather deal with the discomfort immediately.

A few steps away from the coffee shop’s entrance, he stopped, puzzled. Something about his train of thought bothered him, but he couldn’t put his finger on what.

Frowning, he ran the thoughts back, and started to get an idea. Why did I think about the bathroom after smelling baby powder, of all things?

Before he could think about it any longer, Michelle caught his eye, waving through the window. He dismissed the question and beamed, getting out of the wind and into the cozy, crowded cafe.

“Jamie!” Michelle said, getting up to greet him with a warm hug.

“It’s always nice to see you,” he replied, returning the embrace, feeling her body press against his. Glancing over her shoulder at the restrooms, he began to think of a way to excuse himself for a moment, but Michelle spoke before he could.

“Come on, let’s order–it’s an Espresso sort of day for me, I need the pick me up.” She chuckled and took his hand, pulling him towards the line in a way that left little room for protest.

“Do you come here often?” he asked, making conversation as they stood in line. With the odors of fresh coffee and baked goods hanging in the air, he felt he could have lived off the smell alone–she’d picked a good cafe.

“It’s my favorite,” Michelle confirmed. “My happy place is here, right between a latte and one of their scones. They heat them up in a toaster before serving, it’s magical.”

Her enthusiasm was infectious, and he looked up at the menu, skimming options. “Any recommendations?”

They stepped up to the cashier, and her eyes widened with delight. “Oh, you have to try–” Turning to the cashier, she just took the initiative, placing their order. “I’ll do a quad latte with extra foam, and he’ll have your ‘Original Cocoa’.” Facing Jamie again, she added, “They make it by melting real chocolate, it’s fabulous.”

Smirking, the cashier asked, “Do you want whipped cream on that cocoa?”

Jamie weighed the options, considering whether the extra topping would be worth it. He didn’t want to look too juvenile in front of Michelle, not when she was still getting to know him.

“If you have to think about it that much, you want it,” Michelle snickered. “Live a little!”

“Alright.” Smiling in a good-natured way, Jamie nodded, pleased to have the excuse. “I’ll try it with whipped cream.”

“Alright,” the cashier said. “You won’t regret it.”

Michelle paid, then took his hand, knitting their fingers together and pulling him towards a table. Jamie’s eyes drifted again to the bathroom, but he didn’t want to be rude or awkward on their first proper date–he’d wait.

“So,” he began, hands fidgeting in his lap as she smiled at him. Her smile had something to it that made him swell with feelings–warmth, but also something deeper. Desire, anticipation, emotions he didn’t really expect to be directed his way in general, let alone on a first date. “You–tell me about yourself?”

She raised a hand to her mouth, hiding a light giggle. “Sorry. It’s not a silly question, just…”

He shook his head. “I know, it’s just so generic–I’m bad at ‘first date talk’. I feel like…I don’t know, we’re supposed to ask about all the basic stuff, your favorite book, your job, whatever, but then I never even know what I’m supposed to say when I get asked questions like that.”

Michelle nodded. “Alright. How’s this for a question: Don’t tell me your favorite book right now. What’s the first book that you fell in love with?”

Jamie’s eyebrows raised, and he had to think about it for a moment. “Oh, wow, that’s…I would have been just barely learning to read, I’ve loved books since forever. Honestly, it’s probably like…The Pup in the Cup?”

“That’s a baby book, isn’t it?” Michelle asked. “By ‘Professor Pleasant’?”

“You asked the first book I fell in love with,” Jamie pointed out. “My mom says I asked for her to read it to me every night–I think that qualifies. Besides, it’s really well written–the author worked hard to get them perfect. ‘You can’t kid a kid, and you can’t befuddle a Little’, I think is what he said. He was a Little’s rights advocate, too–donated a ton of money to support services and adoption charities, especially after he and his wife found out they couldn’t have kids of their own.”

Michelle’s smile broadened. “You don’t need to justify your pick, Jamie–though I’m half expecting you’re going to tell me it’s still your favorite book.”

“I admire his work, is all,” Jamie explained, not mentioning that he still had a copy of The Pup in the Cup on his bookshelf at home. “What about you, what was your first favorite book?”

Before Michelle could answer, their orders were called out at the counter. She smiled, getting to her feet. “Just a moment, let me get that.”

Jamie considered using the opportunity to dart to the bathroom, but Michelle returned only a moment later with two mugs–one with a snowflake poured into the espresso foam, the other stacked high with a veritable monument of whipped cream, towering several inches up over the brim of the mug.

“Oh jeez, they weren’t kidding about the whipped cream,” Jamie began, staring.

“Come on, give it a sip,” she encouraged.

Picking up his mug, he did as she suggested, raising the lip of the mug to his lips. As he’d been promised, the cocoa was rich and sweet, warming his soul as it rushed down his tongue.

“Wow,” he said, lowering the mug. “That’s…wow.”

“What do you think?” Michelle asked.

“So…when I was a kid, I read The Arctic Express,” Jamie said, staring at the mug. “There’s a line in there about cocoa ‘as thick and rich as melted chocolate bars’. I always thought that was just a bit of magical imagination, it couldn’t exist in real life, but…well, I think I found it.”

Michelle tilted her head. “You like picture books, don’t you?”

Jamie hesitated. “I don’t know, I guess they were just on my mind.”

The corner of her mouth curling up in a smirk, she added, “By the way, you’ve got a bit of–on your nose, the whipped cream.”

“Oh?” Jamie crossed his eyes, and saw the speck of whipped cream she’d mentioned. The pile on his mug had of course left a bit behind, but he stuck out his tongue, trying to lick it up.

Giggling, Michelle asked, “Do you need a napkin?”

“Wha’?” Jamie asked, “And waste whipped cream? No wa–”

He froze, suddenly, tongue still waggling beneath his nose. The pressure on his bladder had vanished, and Jamie realized with horror that he’d lost control, warmth suddenly spreading down his jeans. All attempts to clamp down on his bladder failed–the flood gates had opened, and they refused to close.

For a second, he was the only one who knew, though Michelle saw his reaction and tilted her head in concern. “Are you okay, Jamie?”

Before he could formulate an answer, the puddle building on his chair overflowed, and splashing water echoed up from the floor as thin trickles ran down. Michelle heard, and her face softened.

“Oh, Jamie–don’t worry, I’ll go get some towels.”

He was too mortified to do much more than stammer, especially as others in the cafe began to take note. The next table over, he heard a muttered comment, low, but projected so that others would hear. “I can’t believe people are still letting Littles go out without a diaper.”

“I’m not–” he started, but he wasn’t even sure who’d made the comment, who he could argue with. “I just–”

At least, finally, his bladder ran dry, but the puddle beneath his chair was plenty big by then. A cafe employee was already next to their table, a pair of towels and a mop in hand, wearing a professional expression.

“Don’t worry,” Michelle promised him, standing up by his side. “They deal with this all the time when Littles leak. You’ve got nothing to be worried about.”

(Nothing to be worried about,) Jamie thought. (But…why couldn’t I hold it?)

...

I'm adapting one of my novels into an audiobook!

"The Baby Bet" is being crowdfunded, and it's gonna be given the full-on audio treatment! How cool is that?

Backers get the audiobook early - we need about 50 people to pledge to get our minimum funding, and if we go over we'll be doing some extra projects too!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/peculiarchangeling/the-baby-bet-coming-to-audio