“You can, Sam.” Sam, not Sammy. This was big boy time. I sucked in a deep breath and held it.
“Let it out.” I followed his directions. “Good boy. I know you’re worried about this but it’s time.
You’ve done amazing things at The Lodge and you deserve to show that off. They love and acceptall
of you.Even if you call me Daddy, even if you need to play with your friends for a while and I show
them around the club,nothing you dowill make them love you less. And they deserve to see how
proud they should be of your accomplishments.”
“And you’ll be there with us?” I’d been very careful about how much I told my parents about The
Lodge for a reason. Daddy was absolutely right, but I couldn’t do it without him next to me. I needed
his strength to get me through.
“Every step of the way,” he promised.
Okay. I could do this. And Daddy was right. It was time my parents see what I’d been doing so
they understood it was so much more than just a college job for me.
16
Theron
Sam was on an emotional roller coaster all day and there was nothing I could do to help him. It was
clear to see how much he loved and missed his parents. After his mom reassured me it wouldn’t be
rude at all, I excused myself to the bedroom for about an hour, giving them time to catch up with their
son without feeling like they had to be on their best behavior for my sake. I had no doubt they’d
grilled him about our relationship, but as long as they hadn’t said anything to upset him, I wouldn’t
intervene.
If I were them, I’d have concerns as well. There was a significant age difference between us. On
the surface, it would be easy to assume I was his Sugar Daddy, lavishing him with gifts in order to
keep the younger, beautiful man by my side. He’d dealt with so much in his life, faced rejection and
pain I couldn’t even fathom. They were well within their rights to be concerned about him.
I closed my laptop when I heard a soft knock on the door. I scanned the room to make sure none of
Sammy’s gear was on display. When I opened the door, Sammy was the last person I expected to see
standing in front of me. He practically fell into my arms when I reached for him.
“I didn’t want to interrupt you if you were still working,” he explained before I could ask why he
hadn’t come into the room. He never needed to knock before entering. “Dad wanted me to tell you
dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes.”
