A Few Hours Later…
Jason Adler…
I'm going to Hell!!
The devil himself is going to appear any second in my living room and tell me it is time for me to start my sentence of eternity burning in the deepest pits of Hell. And for what? For having the most inappropriate crush on my daughter's best friend.
She is only twenty-five years old, and I am ten years older than her. I am nearly old enough to be her fucking father. I am disgusted with myself. I can't be feeling this way. It's not right.
Yet, I can't stop the way my cock stiffens at the idea of her calling me daddy. God I am fucking twisted. I need help. Right?
I wish to fuck I could say that my attraction to her was merely physical but it's not. Over the past couple nights, we have sort of settled into a routine - I think she is finding it hard to alter her schedule, given the time difference I suspect it will take a little time for her to adjust, and until then I am taking advantage of the fact that we find one another in the kitchen at the same time every night, almost like a standing date.
We talk.
We laugh.
We sit in compatible silence.
In all my years of dating - nothing has ever felt so right. One second of silence with Charleigh is worth more than the five years I spent with Anna. I know I shouldn't say that, given Anna is the mother of my child and for that I will always be grateful but that is where any affection for my ex-ends.
Listening to what Dakota told me herself and then hearing more from Charleigh about the way my little girl was forced to live - I am beyond livid. If I could somehow get my hands on Anna, I would ensure she knew that she had her shot with our daughter and from here on out, she would be best to just forget she even had a kid because there is no way I am allowing Dakota to go back there. Ever!
Charleigh has been completely transparent with me - telling me exactly what life was like for my little girl in the years I have been absent. The state of the home she was forced to live in, the fact that Dakota was the one who not only ran the house but did all the chores, worked as many hours as she could while continuing to go to school and get top grades, dealing with her mom's illness and trying to get the woman to see that she had to take her medication if she wanted to be close to normal and how that fell on deaf ears. Every single thing that Charleigh told me was down-played by Dakota who I have come to realise is not just humble but genuinely unaware of what an amazing young woman she has become. Fucking Anna did that. And I will never forgive her for that.
The woman who was supposed to be a mother to my daughter has never once tried to build-up my little girl, to ensure that she knew her worth in this world. But hearing the way Charleigh talks about Dakota and the way they interact I know that this woman I am becoming more and more infatuated with has done so much more than Anna ever did, it only endears the girl to me even more.
"Thank you for dinner," I tell her as Jeremy and 'Kota begin the task of washing dishes, leaving Charleigh and I to slump down onto the plush sofa.
"You are welcome, and thank you for letting me stay-"
"I told you sweetheart - you are important to my daughter, so that makes you family," I explained once again.
"Thank you," the blush that crept up her face was single handedly the most adorable thing I have ever seen. God, I have it so bad for this girl.
Over the few days they have been here, Charleigh and I have spent a lot of time talking, mostly at night but those moments have become what I look forward to the most. This woman is smart, educated, and funny, not to mention run-way model, beautiful. And the more I try to deny it, the more it is like she is seeping into my heart and effortlessly tearing apart all of the walls I have erected around myself to protect me from the type of pain that Anna inflicted.
It is in that moment that I realise that Charleigh is so far from Anna that they are at opposite ends of the scale that determines a person's worth and heart. Where Anna was all about herself - Charleigh is about helping others.
Where Anna would get mad at anyone who dared laugh at her for silly little things - Charleigh accepted it and laughed with you.
Where Anna didn't care what she did - Charleigh is about ensuring her actions have a positive effect on others.
Where Anna always put herself above our daughter - Charleigh had done nothing but stand by my daughter's side and encourage her to come home to me - that is a debt that I simply don't know if I could ever repay.
I mean, there are times when I am sure that she is as attracted to me as I am to her, but I simply can't be sure, and I refuse to be that man. I have never pushed myself on a woman and I don't intend to start now but damn it if I don't want to. I want to know how she would react.
Would she welcome me?
Would she tell me to get real?
If she accepted my advances, what would she taste like? It isn't the first time I have wondered what it would be like to take her in my arms and kiss her as if my damn life depended on it. And I don't suppose it will be the last time either because I swear to all that is holy this girl just gets more beautiful every time, I see her. And with the storm hitting us, we have no real timeline of how long we are going to be stuck together in close quarters.
Am I excited about the prospect of what could happen? I would be lying if I said that I wasn't. It has been a long time since I have felt anything close to what I am now feeling for this woman and where normally, I would have backed away and created distance - I really don't feel like I need to or want to with Charleigh.
At the risk of sounding like some sort of pussy-whipped douche - I have this sneaking suspicion that Charleigh is it for me.
If I claim her as mine - I just know that I am never going to want to let her go. If I give into these feelings that I am harbouring, then it is going to be for keeps. She will be mine. All mine. Forever.
The thought has me almost delirious with need to do as my thoughts have suggested. However, I have to try and keep my head straight because there is more to factor in here - my daughter for one.
For the next few months at least, Dakota has to come first. I have a lot of ground to make up thanks to Anna and I need to do that without trying to claim my daughter's best friend. My heart stutters in my chest in what can only be described as defeat. And fear. Fear that someone as amazing as Charleigh is going to end up finding someone else while I do the right thing by my daughter.
Charleigh Smith…
Telling Dakota of my crush on her dad was the right thing to do. I wasn't lying when I said that I had read enough romance novels on the subject to know that a lot of the anger and hurt could be avoided as long as you were honest, much like anything in life - honesty was the best policy.
I have always had a thing about forbidden love - and nothing was more forbidden in my eyes than falling for your best friend's dad. And falling I am. I knew it was going to happen from the very first second that my eyes landed on him in that airport.
With his full head of dark hair, there was no signs of a receding hairline. The truly magnificent bone structure that made Michael Angelo look like an average Joe, the glow in those beautifully translucent green eyes that I swear held the power to render me paralyzed when trained on me like they were right now. A beautifully long nose that somehow sat perfectly at the centre of his handsome face, an extremely light dusting of freckles around the bridge and upper cheek-bones gave him an almost boyish quality to his aesthetic. Not to mention those pillowy soft, plump lips that were a naturally mauve colour - there was nothing about this man that was fake. He was all natural and all man.
Even his body was beyond anything that I have ever witnessed before. I am not as inexperienced as Dakota when it comes to men, but I am also not a slut. I like to have sex; I mean who doesn't? But I think I have slept with maybe 5 men which given my age, really isn't all that many and almost all of those were relationships, so no I am not overly experienced, but I do know that no man I have been with has ever looked like Jason and they most certainly have never had the effect on me that this man does.
"So, 'Kota tells me that you are a bit of a unique woman-" he suddenly commented.
"She did?"
"Yeah. We were talking about my garage and how I am looking for a mechanic and someone who can handle the admin stuff, 'Kota said that you could maybe help me out?"
Thank you, 'Kota! I silently sent, out to my friend.
"Yeah, I can help out,"
"You know cars?"
"Cars, vans, bikes - basically anything with a motor in it. I am your girl!" Oh God, why did I have to say that?
Just as the heat crept up my face again, I caught the way Jason's eyes darkened as they slowly perused my frame - it was so intense that it felt like a physical caress just ghosting over my flesh and I swear to God my panties were suddenly flooded with the possessive nature in which he was suddenly watching me.
God, the idea of him taking control of me was a turn-on I have never felt before. I am not at all about giving up my control but there is something about Jason that I trust enough to hand the reins over to him. My thighs suddenly clenched together in search of relief from the fire that was threatening to engulf me whole. I caught the exact moment he realised what I was doing - his eyes shot straight up to mine and the hunger, desire and lust that flashed at me was a mere second before he shut it down, but I know what I saw.
Jason wanted me.
My heart felt like it was going to burst right out of my chest at the idea, but I had to remain composed because for whatever reason - he had just made it abundantly clear that whatever was between us, he wasn't going to pursue. Disappointment swamped the arousal until it was burned completely out.
Why was he pulling back?
Didn't he, want, to, want, me?
"So, you are a mechanic?" He asked, his voice hoarse as if the desire was still riding him hard but it really was the only remaining evidence of his flash of need.
"Yeah-"
"How did that happen?" He asked, dropping his back against the plush cushions of the super comfortable sofa.
"Well my dad has his own garage back in Scotland - and I was always a daddy's girl-" there was that flash of hunger again, "so I sort of begged him to show me how to do what he did, and as a tomboy; it made sense to me to learn the family business regardless of the fact that most girls didn't want to get dirty like you do from working with engines and stuff, but I was in my element. Dad showed me everything there was to know, but as I grew older - the more I wanted to be like the other girls I hung out with, so I decided to go to college and get my qualifications in admin, at least I would be able to still help my dad that way,"
"Ever worked on a snow-mobile?" He asked me thoughtfully.
"Well, where we live we have very little need for such machines but we did have one customer who bought one to work his farm on the off chance that we did somehow get some big storm and I worked on it some, it was my dad who did most of the work though, but I watched every step he made with it," I admitted as honestly as I could, "why?"
"Well, obviously we have a lot of snow-mobiles given where we live, and I would need someone who knows their way around said machines-"
"I'm a quick study, you only need to show me once and I will know what to do!" I am not just blowing my own trumpet here - I have always had this unnatural knack of being able to pick things up easily, especially when it comes to engines and other motor issues.
"Ok, what do you say to a trial period?"
"Wait, are you offering me a job?"
"I am!" He nodded, "I understand that you may want to leave to go home sometime soon but while you are here, I could really use the help, what do you say?"
"I say, yes. Absolutely yes," I smiled, throwing myself at him and hugging him tightly, "thank you, you have no idea - I am not someone who enjoys just sitting around doing nothing, so this is perfect!"
The truth was sitting around this house the past few days has been driving me nuts. I hate being idle. I have always felt like I have needed to be doing something and this was totally unexpected but definitely a good thing for me.
Now I just had to find a way to ensure that I could work with this man without making a complete idiot of myself.
Wait - did he just breathe me in?
The solid band of his arms enveloping me was like Heaven but what I hadn't expected was the way his face turned into my hair, and he literally breathed me in as if he needed me to survive. And there goes my panties again.
Christ - thank God he couldn't smell my arousal because that would be embarrassing on a level that I am definitely not ready for. Not when he is so intent on reigning himself in and fighting whatever this pull between us is.
Working with Jason.
Would it bring us closer? I can't deny that the idea definitely has me excited. Maybe, just maybe this man was it for me. The one man I was meant to be with. Forever.
Woah where the fuck did that thought come from? I have to get control of myself but now that thought has taken root - I'll be damned if I can't dislodge it. I am in real trouble here.