Page 86 of Wrestling with Daddy
More confident.
Like Zeus.
He was already familiar with the metaphorical switch in his head where Nathan sat back and he let his inner pup out to play.
Ken had said it was okay to do it, too.
After a few playful nuzzles against each other’s midsections, and Ash—Champ—getting in his hind legs to paw at Lee, both Daddies took off the leashes and—in his case—the collar. Wagging their tails as they rested their behinds against their ankles in almost perfect coordination, he didn’t know who started running first.
The next thing he knew, the other pup was pushing a ball toward him.
Zeus wiggled. Balls were the absolute best, and this one was perfect, the same yellow as his markings.
They pushed the ball back and forth for a while. The pup caught Lee and his human talk in hushed whispers while sitting on a leather couch. He didn’t have the energy to try and guess what they’d be talking about, though.
Just as he didn’t have the energy to figure out how long he’d been playing before they were both called in.
“We’ve got a game for you two,” Lee announced. At the mention of a game, Champ’s wiggling intensified.
Zeus only tilted his head to the side, cautious—even more so when Lee’s focus shifted to him.
“These are Champ’s favorite treats. Ken tells me you like them too.” Lee showed him a small chocolate chip cookie that had Champ threaten to steal it in a quite athletic jump before Lee was pulling away and giving him a stern look.
“Woof!”
“Good boy,” Lee chuckled. “Now, I’m gonna hide this in one of my hands. You two will have to guess where it is, okay?”
“Woof!” This was Champ barking.
Zeus wagged his tail before he was joining Lee’s right side. Ken smiled encouragingly, so he was going to prove he was a good smart puppy.
This was easy, anyway.
The first try, both puppers started nuzzling and pawing at the same hand. Lee laughed at them because if they both got it wrong, there would be no treat for anyone, but they were stubborn. He’d seen cookie crumble! He was smart, and he knew where the treat was, dammit.
So, of course, the treat was in the other hand. Zeus growled. Lee had surely tricked them on purpose and that wasn’t fair.
Champ won the next round, and Zeus the next. When he won the fourth round, Zeus found himself thinking. Instead of munching on the cookie, he nuzzled Champ’s shoulder.
He noticed Lee’s eyes widen slightly, then soften. “You want to give your treat to Champ, boy?”
“Woof, woof!”
“That’s a very good boy.” Then Lee turned to Champ with a smirk as he offered the cookie. “I’m gonna have to teach you how to share like that, pupper.”
Champ didn’t seem to care. Neither did Zeus—he’d made a friend! He liked Champ. Champ was playful, and he smelled nice, and he played with him.
There weren’t any more rounds. After eating his treat, Champ nuzzled him, making him lose his balance. The next thing he knew, they were rolling on the floor, hitting each other with their snouts and pawing at bare or rubber-clad skin with their mitts.
It was fun.
So much fun.
He was panting by the time a voice broke through their own little world. “Enough, boys! Come up here.”
Ken!
Zeus’s whine came out of breath as Ken put a stop to their fun but he wanted to please the man.
