24. HARRISON
HARRISON
Everyone was having a great time at Zane’s penthouse. With its high ceilings, glass walls and open-plan rooms, it was a great place to enjoy some beers, high-spirits, and celebrate what had been a spectacular success of a day.
It was nice to see some familiar faces that Harrison hadn’t seen in a while. Catching up with old friends and being in the city was great, in fact.
Now that his situation at college was sorted out, and his book too, Harrison decided that he wouldn’t be a stranger to the city for so long again.
That said, not everything at the party was totally to Harrison’s liking…
‘Here’s to Harrison!’ Zane said, standing on the glass staircase that led up to his master suite. ‘Three cheers to Mr. Bestseller!’
The gathering of Daddies and Littles all raised their glasses and toasted to Harrison. Harrison felt himself blushing. It had been a long time since he’d had this kind of focus on him, especially as far as his writing was concerned.
Harrison would have to get used to it. But in the meantime, his torment wasn’t quite over yet either…
‘Speech!’ Michael called out, laughing at Harrison’s obvious discomfort. ‘Speech! Or the beers are on you all night!’
Grrrr. Michael knows I hate public speaking.
But I’m not paying for the beers all night, so…
Here goes.
‘Fine. Fine,’ Harrison said, trying to hide his annoyance but failing. ‘Michael Dornan everyone. He might be a millionaire but I wish he’d invest some money in being slightly less of an SOB!’
The room burst out into laughter and Michael acknowledged the joke with a big smile. Harrison may not have especially enjoyed all the attention being on him, but he would have to get used to it all over again ready for when his new novel was published.
But first of course Harrison would need to actually finish it. Sure, what he had written had been strong enough to cause a highly competitive auction between publishers, but that would count for little if the ending didn’t do it justice.
Harrison however felt confident about his work for the first time in a long time, and that was down to his boy, Sammy. It was time to tell the world exactly that too…
‘Sometimes a boy changes everything,’ Harrison said, speaking to the crowd but focusing his gaze directly on Sammy. ‘And I can consider myself incredibly fortunate to have met my special boy. Sammy, thank you for changing my life. None of this would have happened without you.’
Everyone cheered, and it genuinely felt like the kind of moment that Harrison would remember for the rest of his life.
‘Okay, now everyone quit staring at me and get back to having fun!’ Harrison bellowed, happy to see everyone listen to his command and resume the party. ‘Sammy, a word please.’
‘Yes, Daddy?’ Sammy said, his angelic face perfectly lit underneath the exquisite lighting of Zane’s penthouse. ‘Is everything okay?’
‘It is, but I have a question,’ Harrison said, his voice serious. ‘I’ll just spit it out. Would you consider moving upstate and living with me… for good.’
Harrison waited for a response. For once, Sammy’s face was hard to read and Harrison couldn’t help but think it was all too overwhelming a moment for his boy.
Holy hell. Why isn’t he answering.
Was that too soon?
Has today all been too much for the boy to handle?
‘We can always come back to the city,’ Harrison said. ‘I’ll have book promotions to do, and you can do some of your filming too. We can make it happen in a way that actually works for us. We’ve both learned from our past experiences. But I say that us living together is a risk worth taking…’
‘Daddy! Of course I want to!’ Sammy said. ‘I was just trying to think of the best way to say it. It’s not easy having a famous author as a Daddy!’
‘However you say it would be perfect for me,’ Harrison said. ‘Anyway, how do you think the prospect of making food for you makes me feel? I can barely make a stew and I’ve got an online chef sensation as a boy!’
The two of them laughed.
The truth was that their own individual success was what made them such a good match. Harrison knew that he had his writing, and Sammy had his recipes.
There was no jealousy, insecurity, or rival ambitions. Both of them had their goals to work to, and when all was said and done at the end of the day – they had one another.
Harrison and Sammy embraced and kissed. As Harrison’s tongue briefly entered Sammy’s sweet mouth, the heat between rose at triple-speed. As incredible as their emotional connection was, there was no denying that physically Harrison and Sammy were a perfect match too.
‘Easy now!’ Chris laughed, walking past them and toward Zane, Michael, and Max. ‘We’ve got a long night ahead of us for that kind of thing!’
Harrison pulled away from Sammy and growled.
Chris was right, of course. The Cuddle Corner had plenty of fun rooms to explore, and Harrison knew in that moment that both he and Sammy would be making the most of them later that evening…
* * *
To say that The Cuddle Corner was jumping would have been an understatement. In fact, there probably wasn’t a club or bar in the whole of New York City that was as full of fun and good spirits as the Little Club that night…
‘Weeeeeee!’ Sammy squealed, his face full of unadulterated joy as he slid down the neon green slide in the play room. ‘Daddy! Daddy! Look at me!’
Harrison smiled and waved as he watched Sammy crash land into the big, dense ball pit.
It was good to see Sammy enjoying himself with his friends from the city.
Sammy, Stevie and Regan were all positive souls who made great Little buddies - and so was Louie too.
The five of them together looked like they could become a formidable group of sassy, fun-loving Littles.
With Lars there too, it was truly a fun experience for Sammy. And the best thing about it was that there wasn’t a camera or phone in sight. Sammy was enjoying himself without thinking about making content or a filming schedule.
‘I think you’ve found your match,’ Zane said, putting his arm around Harrison and handing him a beer. ‘I mean… who else would even get you inside a playroom? Come on, it must be love!’
Harrison chuckled. But Zane wasn’t wrong. Far from it, in fact.
I think it’s always been love.
I think… I think…
I think I’ve just thought of the perfect closing moment for the novel.
‘I know that look, the author is thinking!’ Chris said, joining them. ‘And if that means words get typed onto the screen tomorrow, then I’m all for it!’
The three men laughed and enjoyed their beers together. But it was time to take themselves out of the playroom and into the special Daddy bar area. There was far too much noise and excitable boys flying around for them to concentrate and have a proper conversation.
As they sat down at the large round table with some suitably comfortable and Daddy-friendly armchairs, Chris revealed that he had more big news…
‘About what we discussed,’ Chris said. ‘I talked with some of my contacts, and they’re incredibly interested in Sammy’s recipe book idea. So as far as I’m concerned, I’d love to take Sammy on as a client and see about turning him into the biggest and best version of himself he can be.’
‘Hell yeah!’ Zane said, taking a big gulp on his beer.
Harrison was delighted to hear this news too. He knew that Sammy had the determination, talent and desire to succeed. In fact, it reminded Harrison of him all those years ago before his first book was published.
Sammy had experienced online success, but if he had a successful cookbook then his whole world would open up and change.
Harrison knew how powerful a moment like this could be, and as excited as he was he wanted to ensure that Chris totally understood the terms and conditions that he would need to stick to when representing Sammy…
‘But no crazy social media stuff, right?’ Harrison said. ‘Just like we discussed. It has to be all about the food for my boy.’
‘I wouldn’t have it any other way,’ Chris said. ‘I think between the two of you my hands are going to be full over the next couple of years. I won’t have time for anything else…’
‘Well at least we’ll be two single Daddies together,’ Zane said, a wry smile on his face.
Harrison could see that both Zane and Chris were now turning their attention to the cute single Littles in the club. That meant it was time for Harrison to make an exit and find his own boy.
There was a new kink room in the club that catered to food and messy play, and it had Sammy’s name written all over it…