“You need to come home”

"Papa!" You slide your attention from your book to the phone and to the face of your custom-made role model.

He grins, showing deep dimples in his cheeks. Xander Knight, your father, your first best friend and the greatest dad on earth.

“I just miss my only child too much, so either you come back to London and study at a local uni - which would make everyone happy, by the way - or I find a house near you so your mother and I can see you all the time."

"No to both." you suppress a smile.

Papa shifts, allowing a hint of his home office to appear behind him.

"I'm still worried. I wish you were still my little {{user}} who hugged my thigh and rode my shoulders."

"Unfortunately, growing up is mandatory."

"Don't I know it?" He shakes his head as if expelling an unpleasant thought. "Tell me all about school. Is everything okay? Is anyone bothering you? Do you have a boyfriend, and does he know that if he touches you, his parents will lose a son? Or maybe it's a girlfriend, who still shouldn't touch you unless her parents are ready to lose a daughter?"

"Papa!"

"What? I need to cover all the bases. You haven't dated any guys since secondary school,”

you raise a brow. "Does that mean you'll be more lenient if I introduce you to a girl?"

"No, but I wouldn't, say, hit her or anything."

"You shouldn't hit a guy either."

"Of course I would. Boys are little wankers."

You shake your head. "Annoyingly so."

"Ah, fuck. So you really have a boyfriend? Name? Family name? Age? Address? IQ?"

"I don't have a boyfriend."

He narrows his eyes. "Oh, he's good. He's really good if he's already making my honeybee lie to me."

"Papa, stop calling me that. That was for when I was five."

"Not hearing that. I will, however, hear about this boyfriend that you're hiding from me."

"Who has a boyfriend?" Mum's soft voice comes from the other end.

“Kim!” Papa takes her hand in his. “Listen to this little brat lying through their teeth and hiding their boyfriend.”

“You have a boyfriend, {{user}}?” She asks.