Page 3 of Jade

So he’d started looking into churches in need of a pastor or the possibility of starting his own, and just when he’d been about to give up, he’d found the listing for Utopia.

He’d always been told, of course, that BDSM and kink were scourges upon the name of Jesus from the Devil himself. But he’d been told that about a lot of things. Card games, dancing, and mental health care to name a few.

It seemed to him that if kinky people needed a church, then they needed a non- judgmental pastor. And he, as a pastor, needed an open-minded congregation. So he’d prayed about it, and the answer had been clear. He was supposed to go to Utopia. So that was what he had done.

Utopia was really an under-construction Vegas resort and casino that wasn’t yet open to the public but that currently housed Baze Patrick, the billionaire hotel mogul, and owner of Utopia, seven Littles, including Baze’s wife Luna, a construction crew, a two-person decorating team, a chef, and himself. He was sure that would be expanding soon. Baze was constantly bringing on new staff to help him get the place up and running. A pastor had seemed like the last thing they would need to hire, but Baze insisted he wanted his live-in crew to have the option to attend church services if they desired, and that he wanted a pastor on hand to perform weddings. Ryan had been there a month and he’d already performed one, so he couldn’t really argue.

With such a small group, his job was easy and he spent most of his time wandering the streets of Las Vegas, exploring the halls of Utopia, or simply reading his Bible in the chapel.

After a month here, he knew two things for certain: he was wholly out of his element both in the city of sin and at Utopia, and that he loved it. It was so different from the wholesome, small, southern town he’d grown up in. And he felt like he’d finally come home. Everything about the city and his experiences there called to him, as if every corner was ripe with opportunities for new experiences and new connections.

As such, he tried to make those connections every chance he got. That meant eating all his meals in the cafeteria and getting to know the crew, even if sometimes that just meant people watching.

Today seemed like one of those days. Chef Graham, whom he’d formed a fast friendship with, was of course, in the kitchen working, as a chef does during mealtimes, the decorators, Beau and Dax were nowhere to be found, the construction crew had the day off and the cafeteria was mostly empty. But as he’d quickly learned, empty did not mean quiet, especially not when there were Littles involved.

His boss Baze, and Baze’s gaggle of Littles were across the room, carrying on loudly with even more exuberance than usual, which was saying something.

He squinted across the room, trying to discern what all the commotion was. Were they wearing party hats? Turning in his seat, he cocked his head and watched. It was definitely a celebration of some sort. Someone’s birthday, maybe?

Before he could figure it out, someone plopped down in the chair beside him, and he looked up to see Knox, the bald and bearded construction foreman, Daddy to the redheaded one they called Margo, if he remembered correctly.

“Hey.” Knox nodded and grunted a greeting before picking the burger off his plate and taking a huge bite.

“Hey!” Ryan greeted, surprised by his presence and glad for the company. “What’s going on over there? Do you know?” He cocked his head to indicate the Littles and their festivities.

Knox finished chewing and set down his burger. “Do you really want to know? It might not make any sense to someone not in the lifestyle.”

Well, that kind of answer was like crack to Pastor Ryan. He was a curious sort, and although he still didn’t consider himself kinky, the more he learned about the lifestyle that was celebrated here at Utopia, the more he wanted to know. That was just the way he was. Nodding slowly, and getting excited, like he was about to hear something particularly juicy, Ryan pushed away his tray, laid his hands flat on the table and nodded. “Tell me.”

“Jade! Jade! Jade! Open mine first!” Her ex-roommate Mariah waved a flat package in her face and Jade blinked back tears, her heart swelling like the Grinch’s. When she’d decided to live like she was eleven instead of like a toddler the way her friends did, she’d dreaded telling them. She expected them to feel hurt, confused and maybe even a little betrayed.

She needn’t have worried. Not only had Baze taken the lead, holding a family meeting for her to share her news, he’d given her his full support and made it very clear that he expected them to do the same. He’d patiently explained that even though it was new, and might be confusing, Jade deserved to be her authentic self just the way the rest of them were, and she deserved to do so with their full support.

The announcement and explanation had been met with wide eyes and surprised gasps and even a few tears, but thanks to him, it had gone better than she could have expected.

And then he’d gone and done this. An eleventh birthday party, complete with snacks, party games, and a huge rainbow-colored, three-tier cake. And a pile of presents that seemed to stack to the ceiling. That might have been an exaggeration, but it was more gifts than Jade had ever seen in one place, even on their first Christmas with Baze, and that was saying something.

“Come have a seat, Jade, and open your presents,” Baze instructed, smiling encouragingly.

She shook her head, frozen in place. It was too much. What had he done?

As if he could read her mind, Baze came up beside her, took her hand and led her to her chair in front of the stack of wrapped gifts. She sat automatically, and as he pushed in her chair, he bent down to whisper in her ear. “I made a mistake when I first met you and got you the wrong things. Please let me fix it. An eleven-year-old Little girl needs things. Very different things than what I first gave you. I only hope that you’ll keep Leon.”

Leon was a stuffed dragon Baze had given her when they first met, and just thinking about him put her at ease.

“I could never get rid of Leon!” she gasped, aghast Baze would even think such a thing.

“I’m sure Leon will be as happy to hear that as I am.” Baze straightened, moved to her side, putting his arm around Luna and handed Jade a present.

With a deep breath, and Baze’s reassurances in her heart, Jade ripped into the first package. It was a tie-dyed comforter set, with matching sheets, bedskirt, and throw pillows.

“Thank you!” Jade breathed, getting excited and forgetting to feel guilty. “ I can’t wait to put it on my bed!” Her current bed set was a pale yellow covered in pastel flowers. She hated it but she’d never told Baze that. She’d never told anyone.

“You need to have a young lady’s room, not a Little girl’s room,” Baze told her beaming. “We’ll get it set up immediately, and there’s much more where that came from.”

He wasn’t lying. She opened present after present. Everything from posters and a bean bag chair for her room to actual panties, and new clothes to a makeup set and scrunchies to an iPad and even a desk.

“I… wow!” she exclaimed when she opened a laptop complete with a fancy case. “I wasn’t expecting all this. It’s too much.”