Deep Daddy (The Daddy Den #2)

1. SAMMY

SAMMY

Sammy was bouncing around all over the compact kitchen and waving his arms from side to side to emphasize just how tasty his new pasta dish was. This was Sammy’s style. Food meant the world to him, and it always had done since he was a kid.

Now twenty-one years of age, food was just as important as ever to Sammy.

In fact, food was his whole life. Being one of the most up and coming social media chefs was something that made Sammy feel super-proud.

He had worked hard to gain his following, and was determined to get the benefits of healthy eating habits out there to the world.

But that wasn’t to say that it wasn’t hard work.

Far from it in fact.

As Sammy finished explaining the intricate details of his latest pasta sauce, Sammy could hear his voice cracking a little bit. He was tired, and often after a long day’s filming he would find his voice straining.

Come on, keep going.

Look happy. Sound happy.

I need to go viral on this one…

Sammy finished the take and immediately reached for a glass of water.

As he gulped the water down, Sammy felt the sweat dripping off his bleached blonde surfer dude hair.

It was hot in the studio, and the lights were extra bright too.

With his high cheekbones and toned body, Sammy looked great on camera and it was undeniably part of the reason why his TikTok, YouTube and Instagram channels had proven so popular.

Sammy was wearing a Sammy’s Kitchen t-shirt in crisp white, accompanied by a pair of tight red and yellow striped chinos. It was a good look, one that would pop on camera that was for sure.

The idea to produce merchandise had been Tucker’s, and although it meant it limited what Sammy could wear on camera, Sammy figured it was good for earning some extra money and getting his name out there into the world even more.

In fact, sometimes Sammy would get paranoid that his popularity was based more on his looks and image than on his recipes.

This thought sometimes even made Sammy a little bit sad.

With food being such a passion for him, Sammy wanted to be known for his skill in the kitchen rather than just the fact that he was kinda cute.

Still, Sammy didn’t like to complain. And like his manager Tucker said, without the social media Sammy would have to get a regular job and would never be able to get the big recipe book deal he was chasing.

Sammy took a look around the studio. It was a small studio apartment in the heart of one of the city’s hippest districts. With its exposed brick walls and sleek, modern kitchen design it really looked great.

Truthfully, Sammy didn’t know how he was able to afford to rent it, but fortunately for him it was up to Tucker to sort these kinds of things out.

Finances weren’t exactly Sammy’s strong point, so the fact that he had a manager to do all of that for him really took a load off Sammy’s mind.

‘Sammy, two minutes and then we’re going to film a promo. Got it?’ Tucker said, calling out from the other side of the studio as he tapped away on his laptop. ‘Energy! Energy! Energy!’

‘Okay, got it!’ Sammy shouted back, wincing a little. ‘No problem!’

Sammy’s throat was really starting to feel sore, but he knew that he had no other option but to plough on. The thing with producing content was that it was a never-ending process. There was no such thing as a maximum amount that could be made, it was literally limitless!

Sammy looked at his cell phone to take a look at how his recent uploads had been doing.

The most recent video was of Sammy attempting to make a jackfruit hoagie while balancing on a skateboard.

It was kind of dumb, Sammy knew that – but Tucker told him that this kind of gimmick would keep the viewers engaged and entertained.

‘Wow, one hundred thousand views!’ Sammy gasped.

But his smile didn’t last too long as he scrolled down and saw some of the comments underneath.

There were plenty of very positive comments but amongst them there were quite a few nasty and insulting comments too.

These were the comments that Sammy would always remember, the ones that would plague his mind late at night.

Sammy had always been a sensitive soul, ever since childhood. He knew it was crazy to feel so emotional about anonymous online comments, but Sammy just couldn’t help it.

‘Urgh,’ Sammy sighed, putting his cell phone down and pouring another glass of water for himself. ‘Why are people so… poopy?’

Sammy called out over to Tucker and asked if he could have a longer break, but Tucker replied and said that there was simply no time to spare. Sammy would have loved even a twenty-minute break to head out onto the busy street outside and grab a smoothie or even a little caffeine for a treat.

But what Sammy would have truly loved to have done was taken a full hour off to get some rest and relaxation in. Sammy couldn’t help but let his mind wander and consider exactly what he would get up to if he had the time…

Coloring a big book of dragons, elves, and handsome princes?

Making pretend with a big box of wooden kitchen toys?

Maybe even having a story read to him before a long nap?

All of these options sounded utterly dreamy to Sammy. But Sammy knew that for now at least, they were off the cards. Even so, Sammy’s desire to have fun and let himself bask in his Little based activities was hard to shake.

Ever since he could remember, Sammy had known that he was different to most people. Being a Little wasn’t what defined him, that honor went to being a chef. But his identity as a Little was still super-important to Sammy.

Littles wanted to play, to relax into a world of Little fun with their toys, craft, story books and games. Littles wanted to be cared for, they wanted to be looked after by a big, strong Daddy – and if this involved some strict discipline too, then that was all the better!

Sammy had all of these desires himself. But with being so busy on an almost 24/7: 365 basis, it made things tricky to say the least. The idea of finding a Forever Daddy to nurture him, punish him when he was naughty, and to offer a whole ton of other naughty benefits was something that just seemed out of reach.

‘At least I’ve got you, right Zozo?’ Sammy said as he crouched down and opened up his rainbow-colored backpack. ‘My bestest stuffie for life!’

Zozo was a beetroot-colored bear. Sammy had owned the stuffie since he was eight years old and happened to see Zozo in a vegetable farm store during a road trip with his parents. They had been inseparable ever since, and Sammy took Zozo everywhere he went.

Tucker was never keen on seeing Zozo out of the backpack though, his thoughts being that it wouldn’t be good for Sammy’s public image if people knew he was a Little.

Sammy didn’t like this, but grudgingly followed Tucker’s advice.

Anyway, Sammy would still always make sure to check in on Zozo and provide him with little snacks and snuggles.

Nothing could ever truly come between a Little and his stuffie!

‘Let’s go!’ Tucker called out, beckoning Sammy over to the other side of the studio. ‘Now let’s make this promo pop!’

Sammy walked over toward Tucker and couldn’t help but notice that Tucker was wearing a very shiny new necklace. It looked like it had diamonds in it. There was no way it was real, it just couldn’t be!

Still, Sammy knew that Tucker liked to hustle and had a ton of other clients on his roster too. Maybe the diamonds were real? Either way, Tucker was looking pretty fancy in his designer t-shirt and slicked back multi-colored hair.

‘Okay, kid, we’re calling this the Knife Swipe Challenge,’ Tucker said, passing Sammy four incredibly sharp Japanese chopping knives. ‘Trust me, this one will go nuts on TikTok. Just try not to cut yourself!’

Tucker let out a long, hard belly laugh. Sammy giggled, but inside felt nervous. He really didn’t want to mess around with knives this sharp, they could be super-dangerous.

But more than that, Sammy really didn’t see how this had anything to do with food. There wasn’t a fruit or vegetable in sight.

‘Tucker… I… um…’ Sammy said, not knowing how to express his uncertainty.

‘Yeah, yeah, where’s the food?’ Tucker laughed, dismissing Sammy’s concern. ‘Don’t worry. The more hits we get, the bigger the book deal will be. But speaking of deals, I need your log-in details to make a money transfer. We’ve got a big promo deal on the horizon. It could be the one.’

Sammy nodded and gave Tucker the details, but all he could think about was getting back home and making some dinner for himself and Zozo too.

* * *

Back at his apartment after another long day of promos, TikToks, and a longer video for his YouTube channel, Sammy was barely able to stay awake. Sammy could feel his eyes shutting, his eyelids heavy and at the point of needing matchsticks to prop them up.

‘I’m… done?’ Sammy said, looking over to Zozo. ‘Can you write this recipe book for me?’

Sammy had been desperately wanting to finish his recipe book for so long. It was his passion, and he knew that if he could just carve out enough time to really focus on it then he would be able to produce something brilliant.

But that was easier said than done.

Sammy got up from his small kitchen table and went over to the refrigerator. Opening the door, Sammy saw that there wasn’t much in there at all. Down to his last fruity juice box, a half-eaten pasta from two nights ago, and a barely edible old banana, things weren’t looking too rosy.

In fact, it wasn’t just the refrigerator that was looking a bit on the bare side. Sammy’s apartment was still pretty much as unfurnished as it had been when Sammy moved in well over six months ago.

With the sad old couch and ancient TV set and not a whole lot else, it really didn’t look like the kind of place that Sammy’s viewers and followers would have imagined that he lived in. In fact, it was the total opposite to the studio apartment that Sammy filmed in most days.

The irony wasn’t lost on Sammy either. But Tucker said that it was far more important to spend the money on the studio than it was on Sammy’s own place.

Sammy didn’t really understand why he couldn’t just live in the studio.

It was an actual apartment after all. But Tucker had explained that it was down to some kind of deal he had agreed over the place only being used for a business, or something like that.

‘Well, at least we have our pens and paper!’ Sammy said, walking back to the table with a juice box. ‘Maybe when this book is done and sold to a publisher, we can get ourselves a new place?’

That was very much Sammy’s dream.

But right now, that dream felt as far away as it ever had done.

Before Sammy could do any more scribbling down of his new risotto recipe, he felt his eyes close again. The recipe book would have to wait, it was time to snuggle down on the old couch with Zozo and get a much-needed nap.

Because Sammy’s day wasn’t done yet, there was still the small matter of meeting his fellow Little friends at the Little Club later on that night…

* * *

Despite his hectic schedule and the fact that his nap turned into a two hour snoozefest, Sammy was happy to have made it to the club. With its flashing lights, jumping party tunes, and totally happy and welcoming atmosphere it was always a great place to hang out.

Sammy was at the club with several of his friends. Sammy, Stevie and Regan were all still out on the dancefloor, each one of them having the time of their lives as they boogied the night away as their hunky Daddies watched on and talked amongst themselves.

The Cuddle Corner was maybe the one place where Daddies and Littles could come together and express themselves totally naturally.

Not everyone appreciated the way that Daddies and Littles chose to live, and some people could even be judgmental and horrible.

But there was none of that kind of attitude in the Little Club.

It was a truly safe space where everyone could just be themselves.

But as much as Sammy loved being at the club, he couldn’t escape the fact that something wasn’t quite right. It didn’t make any sense to him though, he should have been having a great time…

I’m with my friends.

The party is popping off!

But… I don’t feel so good…

Sammy waved over to his Little friends and pointed toward the outdoor chill-out garden. It was time to take himself out of the noise and upbeat energy for a moment and clear his head.

Sammy didn’t want to admit it, but in that moment he really would rather have just stayed at home and carried on sleeping. But after working so relentlessly for the previous two weeks, Sammy had wanted to make the most of his night off and socialize.

There just didn’t seem to be enough time to fit everything in the Sammy liked to do.

It wasn’t just nights out partying, but other things as well.

In fact, in the last three weeks alone Sammy had missed out on several playdates, paint parties, and even a big picnic in the park.

As a Little, these were what Sammy loved to do, but because of his schedule it just hadn’t been possible.

Sammy loved to have fun, and right now it certainly didn’t feel like he was having anywhere near enough of it.

As he sat down on the bench and looked up to the night sky above, Sammy actually felt like crying. He was exhausted. He felt totally burned out. He was…

Who the hot desert is that?

OMG, that’s one smoking hot Daddy.

And he’s walking over here for some reason…

Sammy didn’t know where to look. He felt sure that the Daddy was walking over in his direction, and he was so big and gruff looking that it was making Sammy feel all tingly down in his special place.

With greying silver fox hair that was cut immaculately into a smart style, this was no ordinary Daddy that Sammy might expect to see out partying.

The man’s large, clearly muscular body was perfectly housed inside a finely tailored suit and Sammy also couldn’t help but notice the man’s perfectly polished shiny black shoes.

This man was a gentleman of some style. And much to Sammy’s surprise, he was headed straight in his direction.

But what does he want with a silly social media chef like me?