Page 19 of Snuggle Bug

Pretty boys ought not to smile like that.

It makes the receivers of those smiles feel like they’re about to have a heart attack.

"Think twice before smiling at me in that way, beautiful boy. I've spent a lifetime on this planet around people who never issued me such pretty smiles, and my psyche doesn’t have the proper defenses in place to protect me from its effects. I may pass out on this bed of cushions and never wake up. Wren and Jako will have to pry my lifeless body up, and when the coroner comes, he’ll accuse you of murder. You killed me with a smile. You wouldn’t want that for your Daddy, would you? I don't think you could live with the guilt."

Calloway squeals, then thrusts his arms around me. He climbs on my big body, and I damn near faint right then and there. "I’ll frown from now on."

I tousle his hair. "We’ll pretend it’s opposite day. Your frowns are really your smiles and your smiles are your frowns. That way, you won’t cause me to have an aneurysm."

"A smile can’t kill you."

"It’d sure suck to be the one to make me find out."

Calloway musters up all his strength to issue me a frown. His face contorts, his lips curling down, his eyes slanting. "I’m not sure this is the most convincing frown."

There’s too much joy lurking behind Calloway’s blue eyes for his frown to appear real. With a growl, I bury him in my arms, and force his face against my chest so I don't have to look at him at all. "You couldn’t be a frowny boy if you tried. No, your soul is made of butterflies and rainbows. Smile into my chest. That way, you’ll spare me."

I hold Calloway like this for gods know how long. My arms squeeze his body tight, securing him in their grip, refusing to let him move. I don't want my precious little man to budge or think that I’m anything less than crazy about him.

Sometimes, when I was a boy, I used to watch birds make their nests in trees in my backyard, and I’d think: I’m not the type of person to want a bird of my own. It’s far better to enjoy them while they’re with me, while they’re preparing to migrate South for the winter, than to try to lock them in a cage.

Right now, I’m locking Calloway in the cage of my embrace, and I don't even care. He’s not leaving me. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever.

"You’re stuck with me, precious boy. Sorry, but you’re Daddy’s now."

"It’s funny you say that, Daddy. I was thinking the same thing."

There’s a toy beluga whale laying by my feet. I have no idea how it got there, because Calloway and I weren’t playing with it when we played Sea Rescue. I pick it up, then zoom it across Calloway’s back.

"I want to tell you more things about me, Daddy. Things you don't know yet." Calloway turns his head up, his lackluster frown fully gone. He’s not smiling or appearing upset. He’s gazing into the distance behind my head, while staring straight at me, totally lost in thought.

I make the beluga whale swim into his hair, then bury it under a wave of his floppy locks. "Go for it."

"Can you keep playing with the beluga on me? It makes me feel more comfortable."

I lean in and press a quick peck to his nose. "Of course."

Calloway preens. A blush hijacks his left cheek, before spreading across the bridge of his nose and seeping into the right. "You gave me a nose kissy."

"A nose kissy for my baby boy. I pray there’s nothing wrong with that."

Calloway whips his head back and forth so quickly I think he’ll give himself whiplash. "Not at all. Baby like nose kisses."

"Very much," Calloway whispers, the sudden change in his voice so intoxicating that electricity charges through me.

I plant the whale on top of his head. "Tell me what you wanted to."

Calloway presses his nose into my chin. "Well, as you know, we’ve been together for a long time. Nearly a year. I was eighteen when we met, and I’ll turn nineteen soon. Still, I haven’t actually shared a ton about my past with you."

I frown, using my thumb to caress his head instead of the whale. "I thought I knew everything about you."

Calloway grits his teeth. "For this entire year, I let you think that I had a normal family life. A happy one, a childhood with a white picket fence, a puppy, and a mother who baked apple pies every day when I came home from school. You thought that I was Mr. American Boy, the ultimate boy next door that you didn’t want to spoil."

"You don't actually have a puppy?" It’s telling that’s where my mind goes first. I don't care if you fail to be honest about your family. But if you lie about having a sweet little dog, that’s another story.

Calloway snorts. "Yes, I have a dog. Luna."

"Good." I push out a breath of relief. "You’d better not tell Daddy fibs about that. I wouldn’t be able to forgive you."