Page 25 of Lance & Clayton

I chuckled and stroked his cheek with my thumb. "Boy, I sure hope not."

When he got his head out of my lap, I crossed to the other side of the nursery, quickly returning with a wrapped present.

"A pressie, yay!" He wiggled on the floor, his legs spread out.

His joy knew no bounds when he opened it, bouncing up and down before showing it to me. "Look, Daddy! It's the dinosaur figurine collection I asked for. Now I can fight Michael's wolf figurines. I was expecting to get it for Christmas."

"No." I shook my head. "I'll bring you the moon if that's what you ask for."

"Thank you, Daddy." His face suddenly fell as he stuck his lower lip out. "I wish I could gift you something in return, but I don't have anything. I don't own anything."

"Aw, it's alright, bright eyes." I pulled him in closer and kissed his head. "I only want one thing, and I already have it. Do you know what it is?"

He thought for a while before shaking his head.

"It's you and your happiness, silly." I tapped his nose and he giggled. "You deserve everything you wish for, sweetie, because you're a good boy. Good things don't always happen to good people, but I want them to happen to you. As your Daddy, I'll ensure that for the rest of my life."

"Thank you, Daddy," he said, throwing his arms around me. "Not just for the nursery and pressie, but everything. I've never felt so cared for."

"Now," I said, lying back on the floor and taking him with me. "I've been thinking about the pizzeria a lot lately, and I want you to be involved one way or another. It's named after you, after all."

"Oh, I wasn't serious about that. I thought you knew. I don't want you to regret naming it after me later on."

Daddy gave me the look, which meant I was being silly. "I really want to. I want the world to know how much I care about my boy."

"Well, then maybe I could give some suggestions? You can take it or leave it, but we'll call it my contribution. Since pizzas are from Italy, I want the place to feel like you're in Italy. People would want to get away from their stressful lives and go there but not just for the food, but to escape the harsh realities of the world and just relax."

"Very clever", I said. "Like how being a Little helps you escape from the rest of the world and just relax."

"Exactly." He nodded before continuing. "I don't want the menu to be too expensive. Paintings on the walls from indie artists would be a nice idea too. They wouldn't be expensive and the artists would get some exposure."

"All good ideas. I can't wait to start it. I can picture you standing next to me. In fact, I had a dream last night that you were with me on the opening day, holding onto my hand and telling me how good everything looks."

With his head on my chest, he looked up at me. "I can't wait either. All the boys would be so jealous."

Just as we got off the floor, the doorbell rang and Clayton looked at me.

"Oh, who could it be?" I said, taking his hand and leading him to the front door.

Chapter 13: Clayton

When Daddy opened the door, it was Michael clinging onto his Daddy and sucking on a paci.

"Michael!" I jumped up and down, clapping my hands. "We weren't expecting you. Are we going to have another playdate?"

He popped the paci to speak. "Daddy said you were moving in and I wanted us to pop by and say hello. We literally live a stone's throw away, you know."

"Oh, we're gonna have so much fun!" I led them in and we sat on the couch. "Our Daddies are gonna be tired of all the playdates they'll have to attend."

"Never." Uncle John shook his head. "Your Daddy and I love to have a grownup conversation while you boys play. Your Daddy and I are best friends, after all. Just like I hope you and Michael will one day be."

"We already are best friends, Daddy," Michael said bewildered. "Grownups take years to make a best friend, but us boys only take minutes."

"Oh, Daddy just gifted me a nursery. You should see all the toys I have now. I share, just like you did that day with your figurines."

I proudly led them to the nursery where Michael's jaw dropped.

"Whoa!" he said, looking in every direction. "It's bigger than mine."

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