A Couple of Hour Later…
Aspen, Colorado…
Jason Adler…
When Mrs Roth called me an hour ago to tell me about what happened with my daughter and her mother, my ex, I had, been, beyond livid. My gut instinct was to board a plane and go get Dakota myself. It was only when Mrs. Roth explained that Dakota was actually on her way here that I calmed down.
To say I was excited about seeing my daughter again after fifteen long years of having no contact at all, would be a gross understatement. When Anna left me - I had stupidly thought that she would be back. Hell, I didn't even realise that she had left the country until I tried calling her cell-phone and getting an automated response that the carrier did not support international calls. My first instinct had been to board a plane and drag her back kicking and screaming but it was Jeremy who talked some sense into me. At the time I just hadn't even realised how toxic things with Anna had grown. Looking back on it now, I am almost thankful that she made the decision for us. However, no matter how thankful I am to her for putting an end to craziness between us, I simply have never been able to forgive her for taking my little girl away from me.
Dakota. She was the light in my life. The apple in my eye. My little princess. Although looking at the photo that Mrs Roth sent me through email, it was clear that she was no longer a little girl. Now she is all grown up. And beautiful. I am going to have to be vigilant with horny little assholes sniffing around.
Coming to the airport to meet her flight had been an impulsive gesture and there was a part of me that feared it might not go well but as her dad I needed to be the one to be here to greet her. I had to see her as soon as possible. Just to make sure that she was indeed ok. Mrs Roth had said Anna had given her a real shiner. Without details I had nothing to go on but my anger at my daughter being struck by her own mother was instantaneous. Anna was lucky that she wasn't in front of me.
"Flight 347 from London UK landing at gate 3 in ten minutes!" The announcement came over the boom-mic. And my stomach tumbled with excitement and dread.
"You ready?" Jeremy asked from my side.
Jeremy, or if you want to use the name Dakota gave him when she was just three because she couldn't pronounce Jeremy, Remy, has been my best friend since high school. All through my relationship with Anna, Remy was at my side. Never once faltered in his support. Hell, he was even nicknamed Uncle Remy by my daughter when she was old enough to understand the meaning of the word.
"I think so," I nodded, still unsure of what I was going to even say to Dakota.
'Hey kiddo!' seemed far too impersonal.
'Hey princess!' seemed far too familiar.
God, why did it have to be so complicated?
Dakota was my daughter. My flesh and blood. She was my little princess - I used to call her that every day when I got home from work. For the first five years of her life, she was my little princess - my very reason for doing everything that I did. It was because of her that I tried to make things work with Anna for as long as I did when in reality Anna should have only ever been a teenage holiday tumble in the hay so to speak.
I would love to say that I loved Anna and that losing her had broken me, but the truth was - because of Anna I had major trust issues and not because I had loved her. Because she had snuck away in the middle of the night, taking my daughter out if the country and never returning. She forbade her parents to tell me anything about my own kid, insisted that they burn every letter and card and gift that I ever sent, thankfully Mr and Mrs Roth did not agree with their daughters plan to cut me out completely. Although they hadn't exactly been forthcoming with my daughter either, but I was nothing if not fair and I figured that the fact they kept everything at all was a small win for my side.
"Why don't I grab us some drinks?" Remy offered.
"Yeah, that would be great, remember 'Kota has a friend coming with her,"
"Alright. Coffee for you? Water for the friend and what about the little one?"
"Fuck! I hate that I don't know a damn thing about my own kid," I growled, beginning to pace angrily.
"Well, it was anything watermelon flavoured when she was a kid right? So maybe something similar now?"
"It's worth a shot!" I nodded, digging in my pocket for money.
"Forget it. It's my treat!" My friend stated, before heading towards the local Starbucks while I watched the arrival board to ensure she was getting here on time. I couldn't afford to miss her.
If I missed her - I have no idea where she is planning on staying. I have no way to get in touch with her although, I suppose I could always call her grandparents back, but I don't want to have to do that. Ideally, this would be far better if I caught her here.
I don't even know what to expect. Will she be happy to be home?
Will she want a hug?
An explanation of how things have gotten so screwed up.
In all the years she has been gone I fear that I have forgotten how to be a father. I fear that I am going to do or say something wrong and make her regret taking the chance on coming home. I am not at all used to feeling this way. Suddenly the same voice came over the boom-mic informing us that the flight was now unloading.
My eyes flew to the door where she would appear just as my best friend re-joined me at the chair area.
I caught her the moment she stepped through into the main airport - bleached jeans that had to be fucking sprayed on were clinging to her legs, rips and tears showed far too much flesh for my liking and is that a fucking tattoo on her thigh? Knee high black suede boots with an impossibly high spiked heel held her a few inches taller than she clearly was. A black top that was like a second skin clung to her upper body back thankfully the black mid-riff leather jacket was hiding whatever definition her upper body had from view. Long blond hair was teased and styled to add volume and a little extra height, Jesus my daughter looked like she should be splayed out on a fucking car hood in a fucking Whitesnake video. My natural and gut instinct was to throw a blanket over her and usher her out of here.
And that feeling was only further founded when I caught sight of some sleazy asshole nudging his friend and watching my daughter's ass as she laughed with the girl at her side.
Holy shit.
A waterfall of chestnut coloured hair, which was also teased up to within an inch of her life but curled down in an abundance of beautiful glossy curtains around her beautifully shaped face, full plump lips curled into the single most sinful smile I have ever witnessed, a small nose sat symmetrically on her beautifully smooth face, dark make-up framed a pair of light eyes that I couldn't make out the colour of at this distance. A pair of long legs that were covered in jeans that were just as tight as my daughter's and a long baggy t-shirt that had the Korn bands logo on the front was a move appropriate look for travelling. A longer leather jacket sat down to her thighs and a pair of skater-sneakers on her feet. She still stood to the same height as my daughter in her heels.
Fuck! I can feel my body reacting to the sight of the beauty at my daughter's side. This is not good. If she is my daughter's friend that means she is young, enough to be my daughter. And here I am thinking about what it would feel like to have those long sinuous legs wrapped around me as I pound her like a fucking demon on speed.
Making a conscious effort to drag my gaze back to 'Kota to see the exact moment she swept her gaze towards me. A flash of recognition swirled, and she stopped dead in her tracks. Then when I smiled, the biggest smile brightened her entire face, and she broke into a run towards me.
"Dad!" Jesus, how is she managing to run in those heels?
Not really caring about social formality, I raced towards her and enveloped her in my arms, holding her tight and thanking whatever deity there was that she was back with me, but it was also as I drew closer that I caught the shiner around her eye. Don't get me wrong, she had done as good a job as she could at covering it with make-up, but it was so fresh that masking it completely was never going to work.
Anger laced my veins so viciously that it felt like it was replacing all the blood.
Anna had struck her daughter. My daughter. Our daughter and in that moment my hatred for my ex reached a brand-new lethal level inside me. I made the decision at that moment that no matter what - I would find a way to ensure my daughter stayed here. I didn't care what it took - she was never going back to Scotland.
Anna had her shot, and she blew it. Now it was my turn, and I didn't intend to blow it.
Jeremy Danielson…
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
Dakota had grown into a stunner. The long naturally blonde hair was styled in a way that wouldn't be out of place in a 1980's rock video. Azure-blue eyes shone with the type of confidence that a lot of women failed to achieve. Baby pink lips are full, ripe and all natural. There didn't seem to be a single thing false about this young woman's appearance.
It was her eyes that I was drawn back to - as clear as a late summer afternoon sky, they sparkled and held so much emotion that it was almost blinding and entirely impossible to pull myself out of. The bruising around the left eye was fist sized and looked painful to say the least - half of her face swollen from the impact of the punch.
Anna actually struck her.
I know that it was stoking Jason's hatred for his ex and seeing the extent of the damage with my own eyes I can't say that I blame him. I had always thought that Anna was slightly unhinged but to actually lash out at her own daughter. That was more than unhinged. And I know if she were stood here in front of Jason right now - I would have a hard time holding him back.
My best friend was nothing if not loyal and he was one of those people who would do anything he had to for the people in his life. I think it was why we still got along as well as we did because I was the exact same way and as always, my affection for Dakota was as instant as it had been the day she was born.
Fuck.
I am having some intense attraction to a girl that I have been something akin to an uncle to from day one of her life. That is some messed up bullshit.
But just look at her - natural blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes, a cute as a button nose and ripe baby-pink lips, high cheek-bones that were puffy in a way that some women pay for by way of fillers and other cosmetic alterations. A body that was curvy in all the right places. Shit was that a tattoo on her left thigh? The unmistakable tiger stripes peaked through the gashes of the skin, tight jeans she wore. The length of her legs, although short were shapely and curved - images of them wrapped around me filtered through my mind, the image of her naked spread out before me was so vivid that I could feel my body reacting without so much as a hesitation.
Yep, I'm going to Hell.
I am old enough to be her father and I am having some serious dirty thoughts. Shaking my head, I caught the exact moment she laid eyes on my friend. The bag she had been carrying slid from her shoulder and she held it out to the beauty at her side - fuck me, what the fuck was in the water in Scotland?
Waves of chocolate brown hair tumbled from her head, ice-berg blue eyes sparkled in the lighting of the airport and a mouth as full and ripe as Dakota's curled into an innocent smile as she took my girl's bag - wait what?
My girl?
Had I really just thought that?
God, I am in big fucking trouble here. I need to find a way to dampen this attraction. There is no good that can come from it. Except the feel of her body wrapped around me like a boa-constrictor squeezing the life out of me. What a way to go! Fuck. Stop it. Get a fucking grip of yourself.
"Dad!" Dakota called out as she started to run to him and have fucking mercy those perfectly shaped tits bounced with every step and how the fuck was, she managing to run in those heels?
Jason took off and they met somewhere in the middle of the space between them. Hugging tight. I was happy for my friend. Albeit a little jealous at the fact she was in his arms - I know it is entirely irrational given that he is the girl's father but damn it, I wanted to feel her body against mine. I wanted to feel the curves against my hands. Smell her sweet scent. Hear her voice in my ear.
Pushing my irrational thoughts from my mind, I focused on being happy for my best friend. For fifteen years he has been a shadow of who he should be. It was like watching him barely functioning. Granted getting a girl pregnant at a young age wasn't ideal but the moment that 'Kota was born, he was besotted and vowed to do anything and everything for his little princess as he called her. I have never seen a more devoted dad. That was only confirmed as he bought a house, moved both 'Kota and Anna into it and became a family unit. At first things seemed ok. Happy even despite the fact that Anna and Jason barely knew each other - they had Dakota to unite them.
It didn't take long for things to go downhill. I think at the beginning Anna was jealous of the attention that Jason gave to his, to their daughter. Anna had always been what I would call high maintenance and at the time I simply couldn't understand what it was that Jason saw in her but as time went on, I began to understand it - it wasn't even really Anna that he was interested in. As cruel as it sounds, she was just a means to keep his little girl close and because of that the arguments and fighting grew until it felt like that was all they ever really did. I would spend more time than not, on all fours pretending to be a little 'Kota's horse. We would play, we would draw, we would watch Disney movies, The Little Mermaid being her favourite, we would have tea parties with her dolls and teddies, I would read stories to her. At times it felt like she was my own kid, with the amount of time I spent entertaining her while mommy and daddy fought like it was World War three.
Before I even knew it my legs were propelling me forward and I reached them just as Jason began brushing her hair back and asking if she was ok. The soft tone of her voice was like music to my ears and a, balm on my recent broken heart.
It hadn't been long after Anna disappeared with Dakota into the night that I met Lauren. Blonde. Curvy. She was very much like a dream come true. My ideal girl - you see I have always had a thing for blondes, maybe a little cliché I know, but I like what I like. Anyway, we were married six months after meeting. I settled into married life relatively easily. Lauren was my world and had remained that way until about a year ago.
When I hit thirty-three years old, I made the decision that it was time to start a family, but Lauren was almost dead-set against the idea.
I tried to push my needs aside. I tried to bury the desire to have a family deep inside so far that the only thing that was ever going to happen, it festered. It set my gut on fire.
Why was I bending over backwards to give Lauren what she wanted when she showed no sign of concern about what I wanted?
In the end my resentment towards her grew too strong to hide. I became insufferable to live with. Walking around with a permanent scowl and the attitude of a petulant teenager who believed his anger was righteous. Some might say it was but realistically, now that we are separated, I know that it was simply a case of two people wanting different things. With that in mind, I moved out.
Jason being the man he was, offered me one of the spare rooms in his home for as long as I needed it. So, for the past year we have lived together. I have put my needs on hold because there simply hasn't been a woman I have met who has seemed worthy of entering a life-long commitment with.
Dakota.
The name. The woman. The sight of her taking me completely by surprise. Images of her walking with a round belly, carrying my child flashed through my mind and I found myself taking a step back. This was wrong. What I am feeling is so wrong on so many levels that I feel a tidal-wave of shame well up inside me.
I have become a dirty old man. I shouldn't be looking at her like this. I was there the day she was born. I was one of the first three people in the world to hold her tiny little body. God, I need help.
"Uncle Remy?!" Huh? Her voice tore through the mental degradation of myself.
I barely had a second to gather myself before she was throwing her tiny arms around me and pulling me tight against her Heavenly frame. For a few seconds I was dumbfounded - unable to catch myself until I heard her breath me in and that was when my arms lifted and wrapped around her waist, lifting her slightly from the ground and spinning her around.
"Hey, kiddo!" I chuckled as she squealed excitedly. Fuck her body felt amazing pressed against mine. The soft cushion of her full round breasts smashed against my upper abdomen, the brush of her luscious long hair grazed against my hands where I held her and the scent of her seeped through my flesh like some sort of air-borne virus - taking up residence inside me where it slowly spread through my entire body. Coconut and lychee were what she smelt like, and it was intoxicating in ways that I had never felt with another woman before.
"How are you Uncle Remy?" She asked, using the name she had bestowed upon me when she simply couldn't say Jeremy. It was a name that stuck and honestly, it never felt so good to hear a woman call me it than when she did.
"Glad to have you home, pumpkin!" I chuckled, finally placing her back on her feet, pulling away a little too soon for my liking but her father, and my best friend, was standing right there.
Pumpkin. It was a name I had given her after the year she begged to dress up as a pumpkin for Halloween but then refused to wear anything but that costume for a whole month afterwards. Fuck, so many memories that had been placed to the back recesses of my mind burst forth and it only served to make me feel more guilty for my growing attraction to her.
"You look good, pumpkin!"
"Oh-" her voice faltered as her eyes dropped and that was when I got my first real look of the bruising around her eye.
Anna had gotten her good. A deep angry purple and blue stain was clearly concealed by make-up, or at least that was what she had tried to do but the bruise was just too fresh to be able to mask. My concern for her was so instant that it scared me - was this the first time that Anna had lashed out at her daughter? Of all the things that Anna had done, I never thought that she was capable of this.
I would give anything to ease this girl's worry. I would give my left nut to tell her that she was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen but with Jason stood watching us I knew that I couldn't. I had to hide it. I had to bury it. And once again I feared that burying my emotions was going to fester as they had with Lauren - if they did; what did that mean for my friendship with my best friend?
Fuck me. Why can't life just be fucking simple for once?