by S. L. Finlay
Something the army always wanted from the marines was a level of stealthiness. They didn't want marines to be super obvious all the time because sometimes they would need to sneak up on the enemy. Sometimes they would need to be unseen. Daddy had told me that many of the boys couldn't get this at the start, and that perhaps rather than the army teaching them, they should be learning these skills from their wives and girlfriends, who always seemed better at sneaking up or appearing somewhere unannounced to catch their partners being naughty. Usually just drinking when they should be working though as Daddy's unit was usually pretty good, even when they were being naughty.
The first time Daddy had told me his theory that marines should learn stealthiness from the women in their lives, I had laughed and told him that I doubted anyone else in the world was as good at being stealthy as I was. Talking to the other wives and girlfriends though, they all felt a similar way to how I did. They knew how to sneak up on their partners, they knew how to get close without him knowing. They knew how to find out exactly what they wanted to know, even if it only was just what was for breakfast.
This morning, I saw the breakfast before it was on my plate, and I was happy, but then when Daddy took me in his arms and held me close, showering me with kisses, it made me forget the food that had coaxed me out of my warm bed completely.
"Mmmm... Daddy!" I squealed happily before returning his kisses.
We were making out in the kitchen for a while, me on my tippy toes to meet Daddy's lips as he bent down to return my kisses. It felt great to be this close, to feel this close and to feel Daddy's warmth. I wanted more, I wanted more from Daddy.
But, there were the eggs. I was being cock blocked by the eggs as Daddy told me that I needed to sit down so he could feed me. Pouting, I turned around and took a stool behind our breakfast bar. Sitting on the breakfast bar was the newspaper. I flicked through it while Daddy chatted to me about his day so far.
He had gone for a run and had been chased by a dog. It was a German shepherd. When it had started chasing him, Daddy thought it was playing until he had seen teeth. Then he realized the dog was angry, but he wasn't going to slow down or stop his run. So he kept running while the dog chased and it's human handler ran after them, calling out the dogs name.
The image inside my head was a funny one. How Daddy managed to remain fearless in the face of an angry barking dog who was bearing its teeth was beyond me. I know I couldn't. But he was calm, collected, and undeterred from the laps he was running.
"How many did you do this morning?" I asked.
"Only fifty." Daddy told me.
When we had first gotten together, if he said something like that, 'only' followed by a big number, I would feel my eyes bulging out of my head and jaw dropping, now days I knew that he wasn't being modest, Daddy worked so hard to maintain his fitness that fifty was a low amount.
He worked so hard that even eating fatty foods like bacon and eggs wasn't a big deal like it was for the rest of humanity. He just burned them off quickly. Not that he ate these foods very often, they were mostly a weekend treat specially for me.
Daddy put my meal down in front of me then. There was a couple rashes of crispy bacon with sough dough toast and poached eggs, perfect.
Daddy put his own food on a plate before sitting down beside me and chatting away as we both ate our breakfasts.
Even after all the time we had been together, we still had a whole lot to say to one another. I think it was because we both had very different careers, groups of friends and lives. It kept things fresh that not everything in our lives crossed over, and that we were such different people.
As we chatted, Daddy told me he had made some plans for the day.
"What plans?" I asked, a little surprised. I had wanted a day to relax and hoped whatever plans he had made were not plans that involved other people. It was comfortable being with Daddy, but if there was someone else around who I had to impress and I had to worry about what clothes to wear and how to behave of course it would impact that whole relaxation thing and make the day a little bit stressful.
Daddy shrugged and told me that there was no-one else, only us.
"What are we doing then?" I asked before I popped a bit of bacon into my mouth and chewed, awaiting his answer.
Daddy just smiled, "maybe I want it to be a surprise." He told me, his voice playful.
I shook my head and cut up some more bacon. Whatever he wanted, he could make it a surprise if he had to. That was fine. We all had our secrets.
It occurred to me then to ask, "what should I wear for this surprise?"
Daddy chuckled slightly, "maybe you shouldn't wear anything."
At Daddy's works, I looked up at him and saw the cheeky glint in his eye. I grinned back at him without meaning to, the grin just came to my face unbidden. As much as I wanted to do as Daddy wanted me to, and to wear nothing at all, I knew better. I couldn't do that. But, I could tease.
"Oh yeah?" I asked, "so, how are you getting me out of the house with nothing on?"
Living on an army base, you don't have quite the same freedoms you would have in civilian housing. Daddy knew that, I knew that. It didn't stop him from continuing with teasing me though as he went on, "I don't mind if anyone else sees you naked." He told me.
"You don't?" I asked, "I don't believe you!" I declared as I cut up a bit of toast with egg on it.
"You don't believe me?" Daddy asked, his plate more and more bare. If he was going to force me to go from this house naked, I wouldn't have much longer until that happened, I could see from his plate.
Daddy was already dressed for the day after his exercise and shower, I on the other hand was not. I wasn't ready for a day spent out there in the sun with nothing on. As much as I loved a good bluff and a good joke, I was never sure if Daddy would go through with his threats.
This time though, Daddy wouldn't. He merely shook his head at me and turned back to eat some food. It was a little while before he told me, "wear something pretty, neat casual."
I nodded then and thought about what I had in my wardrobe. It was sunny outside, and warm. There was plenty of opportunity for us to go somewhere nice. I would wear a pretty dress. I had the perfect dress in mind. It was one that Daddy and I called 'little wear for big girls'. 'Little wear' for us was clothes I wore inside the house just for Daddy, things that made me feel little. For me, I usually wore onesies and cute slippers. I wasn't into nappies like so many other littles were. They were okay though. 'Little wear for big girls' though was different to 'little wear'. It was similar to my little wear in that it was not just clothes that made me feel little, but also clothes I could wear when I went out into the adult world. 'Little wear for big girls' was something that looked nice and pretty and girly without being too obviously little.
Today I was wearing a pale blue dress with a pink ribbon around the middle. The dress had petticoats underneath which gave it a bit more of a puffy look. Puffing out just enough to look cute without being 'too much', it was perfect for wearing on ambiguous outings with my Daddy.
After I finished my breakfast, Daddy got to reading his newspaper as I got myself ready. First, I had a shower and let the hot water run over my skin as I washed myself with soap suds and relaxed under the heat of the water. I let my mind wander ahead to where Daddy could be taking me. I knew my Daddy and knew it would be somewhere nice. He always took me to nice places and spoiled his little baby girl. Daddy liked to make me happy, as much as I liked to make him happy too.
After a long hot shower I toweled off with one of our big fluffy towels. It was soft on my skin and made me feel like a beautiful princess. Everything in our home was designed to make me feel that way. I was Daddy's princess, as he would tell me when he bought one more luxury item for me, and I deserved the best.
When it came time to dress after I had towel dried, I went through my drawers and found a pale blue lingerie set which I put on my soft skin, imagining Daddy's delight when he found something as feminine an
d delicate as this lacey set when he undressed me later. When I put on the beautiful dress.
When I looked at myself in our bedroom mirror which sat atop my dressing table, I smiled to myself. My girlishness and princess look was something that Daddy loved, it was also something that was so different to his macho exterior. We were opposites, and we both loved that! My softness to his hardness. My sweetness to his sternness. We were different, but in a way that complimented one another. In a way that just worked.
It was nice to be with a man who I felt was so different to me in a way that made me feel like more of a woman. Daddy made me feel like I was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He made me feel like I was special, and not just special to him but special always. It felt great to be around this man and it felt amazing to know that what we had meant so much to him too.
As I walked out of our bedroom in search of some shoes and my handbag I let a smile cross my face. We really were perfect for one another. There were problems, sure, like in every relationship. The truth though was that we fit together really well. I couldn't believe how well this worked when I would reflect on our relationship. Sometimes it felt as if someone had made us specially for one another. I know that's cliche, but it's true.
When I had found my shoes and handbag in another part of the house, I went in search of my Daddy in the kitchen.
Walking into the kitchen, I saw it: Daddy's face. He went from contentedly reading his newspaper to looking at me and having his jaw drop. That jaw drop was something I loved and knew I would never get tired of. It let me know that I had hit the mark when it came to my outfit, hair, make-up, whatever. I giggled self consciously though before Daddy had me come over for a kiss.
Approaching him, I gave my Daddy a big kiss and he told me how beautiful I looked. Eating up his praise, the smile upon my face was so big that it made my cheeks hurt. Even after all these years, Daddy could still make my face hurt with his compliments. They were sincere, he meant every word of them, and because of that, the smiles I gave him back, and my fluttering heart were enough to show how much I appreciated them.
We kissed a little more before Daddy made me twirl around for him. I twirled a few times, showing him my pretty dress and what it looked like from all angles before Daddy gave me a quick nod of approval.
"It looks beautiful, baby girl." He told me.
"Thank you Daddy!" I squealed happily.
Then Daddy reached out and cupped my face, forcing me to look him in the eye. We looked one another in the eye and I gave him a small smile before he told me, "you look beautiful!"
"Thank you Daddy!" I squealed again.
"No, really, I mean it. I am so lucky to have you." Daddy told me, a small tear in his eye.
Daddy didn't normally show emotions this way, so it caught me off guard. I wasn't sure what to do or what to say, so I stared at him for a long moment as Daddy wiped that tear away. He looked sad, but not properly sad, more like a happy sadness. I knew he was thinking of his deployment then and didn't want to keep the sadness in my own heart. It was odd to behold his expression for this reason. I didn't really say or do anything for a long moment until Daddy collected his things and took me by the hand. He led me out to his car. We were about to have a surprise adventure, and only Daddy knew where to.
CHAPTER THREE
That Saturday was a perfect day for the two of us. We started by going on a long drive in the countryside, then to a beach Daddy thought I would like. As we walked down the soft white sand of the beach, we both smiled about how perfect this all felt. The sun was on our skin and the wind in our hair. It was a perfect day to be alive and to be with the man I love. It was a perfect day for the both of us and there was nothing that could make it better. Or at least that's how it felt as my Daddy held my hand and we walked together in a state of bliss.
Laughing, running into the water, singing songs we loved in the car on the way there as they came on our radio which was playing way too loudly to begin with. Being with this man had been so perfect the whole time that my heart sung out every moment I got to spend with him. I loved him so much that it hurt sometimes.
As the evening wore on, we decided it was time to grab something to eat. Going to a nearby restaurant, Daddy and I ordered all the things we loved, to top off a fantastic day. I had a strawberry milkshake as we settled in, and we chatted. Then when it was time to order food it was all seafood and white wine. The little girl in me giving way to the woman that Daddy loved so much.
It did strike me as a little odd that Daddy wasn't eating quite the healthy meals he normally ate when he ordered chocolate cake for desert. But then, I was enjoying myself too much to ask any questions. We shared a slice of the most beautiful Bavarian chocolate cake I had ever tasted before Daddy took my hand and asked me if I'd like to go for a walk along the beach again, this time as the sun was setting. Of course the idea struck me as super romantic and I said yes with a huge smile on my face.
Daddy paid our bill and took my slight hand in his big strong hand. Together, we walked down the beach, through the happy families enjoying the sunshine. Normally, I wouldn't want to deal with screaming children on a date, but these ones were anything but. They were playing happily. A little loudly, but happily none the less.
Smiling at my Daddy, I imagined that those children could be like ours. Our children could be just as rambunctious and excited. They could be just as happy and loving. I imagined what they would look like, what they would behave like. I imagined what our children would be like and it made me smile.
Imagining mine and Daddy's children was blissful, those fantasies of our children gave me some insight into what it was I wanted with him in the long term. I would always imagine our children whenever there were other children around. I would imagine our children playing and having fun. I would imagine them as beautiful and happy, just like Daddy made me feel. Our children would be like little versions of us. I wanted to see them, to meet them.
But I was jumping way ahead of myself, and a squeeze of the hand bought me back to the present. "What are you thinking about?" Daddy asked me.
Looking up into his face I gave him a cheeky grin before my ever-illusive go to answer, "stuff."
"Oh?" Daddy asked, still looking down at me as he took slow steps through the sand. "Just stuff?"
I nodded, then made a point of looking at two little girls who were making a sandcastle nearby. Daddy followed my eyes and when he saw what I was looking at, a genuine, warm smile broke out onto his face. He knew what I was thinking. Daddy didn't say anything though, he just smiled, squeezed my hand again and kept walking.
"I wanted to show you something, actually." Daddy told me.
Giving a little nod I asked, "what's that?"
"There's a special spot that I think you'd like, I've been wanting to show you for some time." Daddy told me.
I hadn't been to this beach before, or even to this part of the coast, and I wasn't sure what was here. Being unsure of what Daddy could want to show me, I trusted him enough to follow along anyway. I was enjoying the walk, just as I had enjoyed every moment of this day we had had together. Time with Daddy was always special to me, and time when we could be together and be happy meant more to me than I could ever express to him. Having that time, and really being able to appreciate every moment I had with Daddy was important to me. I knew he was going away, and I knew it would be any day that he would be forced to leave my side, so that made every moment we spent together that much sweeter.
Daddy squeezed my hand, and I squeezed his hand right back. We began the silent conversation we often had where we were squeeze one another's hands and look at things around us without talking, it was like we were telling one another, 'look there! That bird!' without having to actually open our mouths. Daddy and I frequently had these conversations, and it made us both very happy whenever we did this.
But, we were coming closer to where Daddy had wanted to show me and he told me, "baby girl, I want it to be a surprise."
"It is a surprise! I don't know where we're going!" I told Daddy, excited to find out where he was taking me.
Daddy shook his head slightly before telling me, "I'm sorry, but I am going to have to blindfold you, just to make sure!" His voice was dramatic, but it made me giggle all the same.
"Blindfold me?" I asked Daddy, "that seems pretty drastic!"
Daddy nodded, "it is. But it's for your own good, baby girl."
"Is it? What harm does that do, if I see where I am going? What if I should fall?" I asked.
Daddy chuckled and in a funny sort of voice asked me, "but what if you should fly, baby girl?" Daddy's words were from a quote we had seen somewhere online, and I understood the in joke right away. I giggled and turned around, facing away from him.
"You may blind fold me!" I told Daddy before turning back a second later, "but first, a kiss?"
Chuckling, Daddy gave me a kiss. His lips were warm and wet and the kiss felt wonderful. I swooned, but just a little bit. Then Daddy had me turn around so he could blindfold me. Once the blind fold was on, he asked me if I could see. Shaking my head, I told him, "no, Daddy. I can't see a thing."
There was a moment's silence, then, as if out of nowhere, Daddy picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. When he had thrown me over his shoulder, I had squealed a little and laughed. Feeling giddy and excited, I pretended to kick my legs as if I was going to try and get free from this fireman's hold, but Daddy held me tight.
As Daddy carried me, I could feel the ground changing through his shoulder. It went from being sandy where we had been standing and him sinking a little with every step to then being rocky and feeling the hardness of every step through his shoulder. Daddy stepped over some rocks and I sighed slightly, wondering exactly where we were going, and why it had to be a surprise. This whole day had been a surprise. One big, giant surprise after another. Now this man who I loved was topping it off with some other surprise.
