Page 2 of Two Daddies for Little Jenna

"Fine, I won't do it again." John did it again, causing Michael to push his lower lip out in a pout. "Starting now."

When John took a seat next to me on the lounge chair, he sat his boy down in his lap and the cowlick sprang right back up with full force.

"Hi, uncle Nick." Michael gave me a warm hug, quickly going back to holding onto his Daddy again. He popped his binky and let it hang from where it was clipped to the straps of his overalls.

"You don't come around to visit me anymore, Michael," I said, trying to keep a straight face. "You've forgotten all about me ever since you got married to your Daddy."

"Uncle Nick, you're teasing me!" Michael gaped at me before burying his face in John's shoulder, peeking up at me as he blushed. "You stole my line. You know I was off to Europe on my honeymoon. I couldn’t have visited you even if I wanted to. I returned yesterday and I miss it already."

I burst into laughter and ruffled his hair. "And did you bring me anything?"

"Yes, I did." He hugged me again. "A hug."

“A hug should do,” I said. "How's married life then?"

Getting married to his Daddy was all he'd ever wanted. Now that he had, he was the happiest I’d ever seen him.

John shrugged. "I didn't want things to change, which was why I took so long to propose and then fix a date. But now that he's my husband, I'm glad things are just the same. He's still my same sweet boy and I'm still his caring Daddy."

Michael looked up at John and there was nothing but love in their eyes. Sometimes I envied them. Deep down I always wished I could have anything close to what they had, but something always stood in the way.

Michael rested his head on John's shoulder and looked at a girl sliding down the slide in the center of the room. "Are you watching over the playroom tonight, Uncle Nick?"

I nodded. "But just until the event starts. Then I'll be reading a story for everyone. I think everyone's gonna love this one."

Sometimes the club held events for Littles in the event room. Whenever my new book was out, I made sure I read it at one of the events. It was great publicity. I wrote the stories while Marcus, the co-owner, illustrated. It was more of a hobby so we barely made any profit, but we had quite a few fans, Michael being the biggest of them.

Michael straightened and wiggled in John's lap. "You're done with the new book? I hope puppy Zoey finds a loving home in this one. She's been through so much. Are you going to gift me a signed copy like you always do?"

"No, darling," John said to his boy. "We'll buy one this time. Uncle Nick has to make some money so he can invest back into producing new ones."

I chuckled. "No, I don't mind, John. Michael's the only one I gift my books to because he's my biggest fan. Besides, it's more of a hobby. Marcus and I barely make any money from them, and we never really intended to. It gives me great joy knowing a Daddy out there is probably reading a bedtime story I've written. They have themes of never losing hope and happily ever afters because I hope it inspires Littles to be strong even in times when the future looks bleak."

"Whoa, I must be special if you don't gift them to anyone else." Michael's eyes lit up as he fluttered his eyelashes up at me. "You know so many Littles, uncle Nick. Who's your favorite?"

"Uncles aren't supposed to have favorites," I whispered as he leaned closer, pushing his ear to me. "But it's you, Michael. Don't let the other Littles know, though. I don't want them feeling bad."

"Aha, I knew it!" He fist-pumped the air with a hand. "It must be because I'm just such a good boy. The other Littles are naughty and they misbehave, but I listen to my Daddy. Sure, I've had calls from my naughty side, but I've learned to control it. I've been thinking about holding a Ted talk here at the club. There's so much I could teach the other Littles about behaving and being good for their Daddies."

John tried to pinch his boy's bottom, but Michael had swiftly covered it with both hands by then.

John rolled his eyes as he bit back a laugh. "They're such lies, I can barely keep a straight face. Brat, I practically had to drag you down to the club because your dinosaur shorts were dirty and you didn't want to go without them."

Michael scoffed and crossed his arms defensively. "If wanting to look good is a crime, then arrest me."

Before I could say anything, there was a shriek from the middle of the room. It was drowned in the noise, but some of the Littles stopped what they were doing and stared at Hillary. Jackson had fetched her a glass of milk but he was so excited, he accidentally tripped and spilled it all over her frilly pink dress.

"Stop annoying me, Jackson!" Hillary almost shouted with balled fists, instantly causing Jackson's face to fall. "You never leave me alone when I come here.Can I get you this? Can I get you that? Do you want to play tag with me?I just want you to stop. This is the best dress I have and now you've ruined it. How am I supposed to get the Daddy of my dreams without it now?"

I excused myself and crossed the distance to Hillary. Jackson looked like he was getting teary-eyed but he was trying to stay strong.

"Uncle Nick, please ask Jackson to stop annoying me. Look what he did you my beautiful dress."

"I was just trying to be nice," Jackson said in disappointment.

"May I have a word with you, Hillary?"

I led her to a corner of the room and looked around to ensure we were out of earshot. "I've been keeping a close eye on Jackson since he's a new member. He's a Little so he has a hard time talking about what's on his mind, but I'm certain that he likes you romantically, Hillary. I'm good at reading people. I can tell."