My Girls| a.i.

three

The next couple of hours does a lot to calm the previous nerves, the joyous energy and cute words that radiated out of Maisie calmed my fears and made me enjoy myself as I spent time with her. We passed the time until dinner playing tea party, coloring some pages from a Winnie the Pooh coloring book, and watching Toy Story as we waited for our dinner to arrive.

The doorbell rings, accompanied by Maisie's happy cry of "Pizza!" as she rushes towards the door, my legs following quickly behind her after I grabbed money from the counter. I quickly pay for the food, bringing it into the kitchen as Maisie bounces happily beside me.

I cut up a piece into smaller chunks for her before pouring her some juice into a sippy cup, serving myself two slices and some water before we both bring our food into the dining room. I help Maisie into her booster seat that is placed on top of one of the chairs, sitting beside her as we start to eat.

"Daddy tell me a secret," Maisie tells me after a moment, some sauce smeared across her cheeks as she talks. "Oh he did, did he?" I ask, cocking an eyebrow as I take another bite of pizza.

"Yep!" She says proudly, stuffing another bite into her mouth before taking a sip of juice. "He say you prettier than a queen." She announces, my eyes widening as I choke on the bite of food in my mouth. I hurriedly take a sip of water to wash the bite down, heat flooding my cheeks as I look down at my plate. Obviously Ashton was attractive but I didn't think he would see me as so. I let a small smile take over my lips at her words, a flutter of emotion rushing deep in my stomach.

"Did he say anything else?" I ask the toddler, her head nodding as a smug smile rests upon her lips.

"No tell daddy I tell you," She tells me first, my head nodding in agreement and reassuring her well enough so that she opens her lips to speak again. "He say he wanna take you out!" She tells me with an excited giggle, my lips curving into a full blown smile at her words.

"You like daddy?" She asks as she finishes up her pizza, my plate empty as well.

"Of course, I like your daddy. He's very nice." I tell her, her head shaking at me as she rolls her eyes sassily. "No, Elsie. You like like daddy?" She asks, her little blonde eyebrows wiggling at me as she asks.

"Oh," I mumble, heat once again burning in my cheeks as I look at the waiting toddler. "I'm not sure," I tell her honestly, "Maybe." I finish to appease her, tugging her napkin into my hands to wipe the sauce off her cheeks and fingers before helping her down from her chair.

The next two hours before I put her to bed are full of lots of giggles as we almost overflow the bathtub with an excessive amount of bubbles as well as create many different hairstyles with her shampoo. Her personal favorite is squishing her wet blonde curls into a tall Mohawk, her little arms miming playing guitar as she serenades me with a surprisingly good rendition of Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me".

"Okay, time for bed." I tell Maisie, earning a pout in response as she drags her footy pajama covered feet into her bedroom. As soon as we get into her room, I turn on her light before she drags me over to the rocking chair sitting in the corner of her room, telling me to sit while she picks out a book.

She returns moments later, a worn picture book clutched between her fingers. She thrusts the book into my hand, climbing onto my lap and settling in. I wrap my arms around her waist to pull her close to me, her head cuddling into my chest as I open up The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Her small yawns are the only sound in the room besides my voice, my tone soft as I read the familiar story. I let my eyes drift from the book to her face, her sleepy eyes contently following her little fingers as they trace across the illustrations filling the pages. The sweet innocence that radiates off Maisie is comforting to me, the honest expressions of her feelings refreshing in comparison to most people that I know.

I finish the story as Maisie starts to drift off, my arms slipping under her arms and pulling her to my hip as I stand up with her in my hold. I place the book back onto her shelf, flicking on the nightlight before carrying the sleepy toddler to her bed. I help her under the covers, her small body curling into a folded position as her petite hands grasp at the covers to pull them over her body and under her chin.

"Goodnight Maisie." I murmur, brushing the silky blonde strands off her forehead before placing a small kiss in their place. My lips linger on the skin for a moment, a small sigh of happiness falling out of the toddler's lips before a mumbled "nighty night" slips past her lips.

I switch the light off and pull the door mostly closed, leaving it open just a crack so that I can still hear inside and so that light from the hallway can still filter in. I turn after a last glance at the small girl who has caught hold off my heart in a way that I didn't know someone could. The fond affection I feel after just meeting Maisie shocks me; her charming personality, irresistible dimples, and warm heart making me want to spend more time with the curly headed child.

I walk down the stairs quietly, curling myself onto the couch with a blanket as I pull my phone out of my pocket. As I pull it out, it starts to ring, an unknown number that could only be Ashton flashing across the screen. I slide my finger across the screen, pressing the electronic to my ear.

"Ashton?" I ask quietly, a quick murmured hello and affirmation filling my ears. "How was she?" Ashton inquires softly, gentle background noise filling in the spaces behind his voice.

"She was amazing. We had a lot of fun playing and didn't have any problems. Turns out we are a lot alike so we got along well and I can say I laughed a lot more tonight than I have in a while." I tell him, smiling down at my lap as the words past my lips as I realize just how true that fact is. "I just put her to bed and I'm down on the couch." I add, a soft hum leaving his lips at the words.

"I'm really glad that she was good; I don't leave her with a sitter very often. I can tell she liked you, otherwise I wouldn't have felt comfortable leaving her with you-- no offense," He says truthfully, my laughter filling the space after his words as I reassure him that I understood and wasn't offended.

"I should be home in a little less than an hour, we are just grabbing a quick bite to eat." Ashton informs me, his voice gentle and deep as he speaks. "Take your time," I tell him, "Sounds like you don't get guy time too often." I add with a laugh, his sweet chuckle harmonizing with mine as he affirms my guess.

"As much as I appreciate the action, we are both exhausted and if I wasn't so hungry I'd already be on my way home." He states honestly, his tone light with laughter but at the same time heavy with exhaustion.

"Have fun and be careful on the ride home, the roads look pretty icy," I say, the second half of the sentence falling out before I could stop them. The words seem natural falling from lips while I talk to him but in context seem strangely intimate for only just having met Ashton.

"I always am. I can't be leaving my girls alone," He replies, tone serious and voice rich as the heavy words strike a chord in my heart. He mumbles a quick goodbye before hanging up, my hand dropping to my lap as my mind stays stuck on the extra syllable thrown into his sentence that seems to throwing my body into overdrive. The single letter he added onto the word, changing his meaning immensely and making my face flush and my lips curve into a wide blown smile.

"My girls"

My eyes fall shut as I bite down on my lips, my tummy fluttering as I try to contain the girlish squeal that is aching to squeeze past my lips. I feel myself falling into a crush that I know will be dangerous considering my feelings won't only affect only me, or me and Ashton, but it will also affect Maisie.

 

But I can't seem to help myself from wanting to be with Ashton, to feel what it be like if the affection and love that he showered over his baby girl was also extended to me. I couldn't help myself from wanting to be treated like a queen by Ashton, the epitome of a gentleman who loves his little bug and does everything for her. I can't help myself from wanting to be someone who can make Ashton smile like he does when he looks at Maisie or when he talks to his best friend Luke. I can't help myself from wanting to be someone that Ashton could love.
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What do you guys think of the story so far? I hope you guys like it! It's Friday finally and I'm exhausted but I wanted to get this up for you all! Have a good day/night darlings!
-Eryn xx