Kiss Me if You Can

"Daddy!"

"Come on in, Josh."

As soon as the door opened, Pete rushed in and immediately clung to Josh's leg. His mother followed, smiling, greeting him warmly. Pete, with his arms stretched wide as if asking for a hug, looked unbelievably adorable, but Josh couldn’t move immediately. The face of Chase, who had been looking at him a moment ago, overlapped with Pete’s. It felt strange that no one had noticed the resemblance despite how similar they looked.

"Daddy?"

Pete called him with a confused tone. He was reaching out with his arms and tapping his feet in impatience, which made Josh unable to resist and pull the small body into his arms.

He had grown so much.

Would Pete grow as much as Chase? Even though he was still a child, his long limbs and above-average height made it clear that his future would be something impressive. After savoring the warmth of the child and the scent of his skin, Josh placed Pete on his shoulder, just like usual. That’s when Pete’s mother, who had been watching them, spoke up.

"A vacation, huh? You haven’t been gone long, have you? I’m happy, though."

There was a hint of concern in her voice, as if she was worried something might have gone wrong at work. Josh casually lied.

"My employer wasn’t feeling well, so they canceled all the plans. The remaining staff members are rotating to take long vacations."

"Oh my, really? That’s too bad. Is it serious?"

Josh had no words to respond to his mother’s concern. So, he repeated his usual line.

"I can’t talk about the client, mom."

"Oh, right. Sorry. I hope they get better soon."

His mother quickly adjusted her words and changed the topic to something more mundane. Pete, who had climbed onto Josh’s shoulders, started tapping his head and wriggling his hips.

"Do you like riding on Daddy’s shoulders that much?"

His mother asked with a smile, adding, "You’ve never asked to be carried by me, though." Pete nodded his head from atop Josh’s head.

"Daddy is really tall. Like this tall."

As Pete stretched out his body while still sitting on Josh’s neck, Josh quickly grabbed his legs to keep him steady. With that, Pete could move freely without any danger, but he seemed to be unsatisfied.

"I could go higher."

"You’ll grow up big soon, Pete. Then you won’t have to climb on anyone’s shoulders to see from that high up."

"No, Daddy."

Pete buried his face in Josh’s head and rubbed his lips against him, and Josh was puzzled by this unexpected behavior. For a moment, Pete hesitated in the same position, then mumbled with his lips still on Josh’s head.

"You saw him last time, the pretty one."

"Huh?"