Page 33 of Deep Daddy

However if Harrison thought he was going to be able to hide his feelings, he was probably forgetting just how in tune Max was to his feelings. After all, the pair of them had been through plenty together rover the years – and it wasn’t that long ago that Harrison had come to Max’s support through some difficult times too.

‘So… let me guess,’ Max said, a knowing look on his face. ‘The new book. And that asshole of a Dean.’

Harrison paused for a moment. There was no point in trying to fool Max, he was far too sharp for that. No, the only answer was to be honest and open.

‘Yup, and… yup,’ Harrison said, furrowing his brow. ‘But…’

‘Life’s tough, man,’ Max said, cutting Harrison off before he could go any further. ‘but trust me, you’ll find it a whole lot better with a boy like Sammy. And, you know, you’re still the biggest Daddy on campus even after all these years…’

The two men laughed together.

‘We should do this more often,’ Harrison said, warmth spreading over his body as a fresh glug of whisky hit. ‘And next time we need to make sure Michael’s here too.’

‘That sonofabitch is too busy making millions,’ Max chuckled. ‘But if he can fit us mere mortals into his hectic business schedule, then fuck yeah he should be here next time.’

Harrison appreciated Max’s no nonsense approach to the world. Max was a real straight shooter and was pretty much the perfect friend to have who would cut through the crap and get to the point.

While it was true that Harrison’s life still wasn’t perfect, he knew that he had plenty to be grateful for. And with his writing juices beginning to show signs of flowing more since Sammy’s arrival on the scene, Harrison was happy enough to take it step by step. Handling Dean Hoffman was another matter, and one for another time.

All Harrison wanted to do right now was bask in the happiness of having a sleeping, satisfied boy in the playroom and one of his best Daddy friends for company as the evening turned to night.

Life was good, and Harrison was ready to run with it and make it even better…

* * *

The morning came and after bidding farewell to Max and Louie, Harrison decided that he wanted a little time to sit down at his laptop and write.

But Sammy had other plans…

‘Poo! I want to play more Lego,’ Sammy said, stomping around the kitchen in his bright red pajamas. ‘I want Lego! I want Lego!’

Harrison took a moment before losing his cool. Yes, he wanted to spend some time writing, but he sensed that Sammy was probably feeling sad that he no longer had a Little to play with. Sammy and Louie had bonded so well together that it was understandable that Sammy might act out a little bit. With this in mind, Harrison decided that he would play the diplomat and offer Sammy a compromise.

‘How about I play Lego with you for half an hour, and then I’ll do some writing?’ Harrison asked, taking a knee and opening his arms out. ‘What do you say, boy?’

‘Okay, Daddy,’ Sammy said, immediately running to the Lego in the play area and tipping it all out on the floor.

Harrison could see that while Sammy might have accepted his compromise, there still might be tricky ground to navigate. But rather than waste any time wondering, Harrison simply got involved with the Lego and began to build a space station to go alongside the spaceship that Sammy and Louie had made the previous day.

While Harrison could tell that Sammy was still a little put out by not having his Little friend to play with, everything ticked over okay. And with the space station built, Harrison glanced at his watch and saw that the half hour was up, and it was time for him to do some much needed writing.

With this mind buzzing with ideas and a real desire to let it rip on his keyboard, Harrison stood up and stretched out above him.

‘Okay, now you play and make some more spaceships,’ Harrison said. ‘I’ll be in the office typing, so just give me a call if you need help.’

‘No!’ Sammy replied, stomping his foot. ‘Not fair. I want you to stay.’

‘Now come on, you know that we agreed to half an hour,’ Harrison said, standing with his hands on his hips but keeping an even tone in his voice. ‘And we’ve actually gone over by a couple of minutes too. Don’t worry, I won’t be too long. But I really need to do this work.

‘Stinkers!’ Sammy said, stomping his foot again and this time leaning over and picking up the space station and holding it over his head. ‘Stink! Stink! Stink!’

Harrison could see that Sammy was teetering on the edge of a full blown tantrum.

This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all.

However as much as Harrison felt sympathy for Sammy, he also couldn’t deny the fact that Sammy was out of line. This wasn’t good behavior and as a responsible Daddy, Harrison knew that he had to clamp down on it quickly.

Put the space station down nice and carefully,’ Harrison said. ‘We spent a lot of time making that, didn’t we?’