Page 96 of Wrestling with Daddy

“That’s silly,” the boy answered with a pout, “and very sneaky, Daddy.”

“You think?” Ken sighed even if the gesture couldn’t hide the smile plastered on his face. “I think you love that Daddy thought through everything so you had the best weekend you could possibly have.”

“What if I have performance anxiety?” Nathan questioned. “Maybe I had a traumatic experience at a recital in middle school. I’m sure people can get PTSD from that.”

“Jokes about mental health aside,” Ken did his best to stay serious while driving the point across, “I’m sure you’re going to be fine. Besides, it’s Zeus who’ll be on the stage, not Nathan, right? And Zeus is the strongest puppy there is.”

Nathan nibbled on his lip for a second. “Fastest, too.”

His voice was small, but there was a hidden smile there.

Playful pup…

“Of course.”

“I still don’t know what to do, though. And Ash said I have to be backstage ahead of time for last minute stuff.”

Ken was glad he had a solution to that problem. Said solution came in the shape of the car keys he’d tucked into the back pocket of his jeans.

“Why are you handing me a set of car keys?” Nathan gaped, his mouth not fully cooperating to close.

The boy was adorable, good enough to eat. Ken’s appetite hadn’t gone down since that morning.

“Because, my handsome boy, I grabbed all of your toys when I passed by my place this morning. They’re in my trunk.”

That didn’t help with Nathan’s slacked open jaw, but it felt good to have the boy so stunned he didn’t know what to say.

“Not spouting off the first thing that comes to mind, brat?” Ken couldn’t help but tease.

“Shut up,” Nathan protested while snatching the keys and muttering something about what a mean Daddy he was.

“You’re forgetting something, boy.”

The sugarcoated warning made Nathan stop. Of course, he’d already started to run toward the parking lot outside. He turned around, frowning and looking mildly impatient.

“What?”

“Your manners.” Ken beckoned him with a finger. “Good boys would say thank you and ask for a kiss.”

Nathan huffed. “But I’m a brat, remember?”

“Believe me, I do,” he teased. “But that doesn’t mean you get out of doing as good boys do. It just means you don’t appreciate the ability to sit down for a week.”

“But I don’t wanna be punished,” the boy had the nerve to whine, and bat his eyelashes, and wrap his arms around Ken’s neck. “I want a reward system.”

“Do you now?” Ken hummed.

Nothing wrong with indulging the brat.

A bit.

“Yes.” Nathan nodded eagerly. He seemed so sure of whatever was going to come out of his mouth next. “Positive reinforcement works best at maintaining good behavior. So you should do that.”

“I thought you didn’t want to behave, brat.”

Nathan gasped, frowned, opened and kept his mouth shut, then frowned again—all in a matter of two seconds.

“Whatever. You have to give me rewards.”