by Rye Hart
“You knew his wife, dad?” I asked.
My father looked at me and I could see the answer in his eyes. I knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that he not only knew Marcus' wife, but that he'd cared for her too. And because of that, a lot of puzzle pieces started to fall into place, the biggest piece being his hostility toward Marcus.
“I did,” dad said slowly. “I knew her well. We dated before she dated Marcus.”
My head was spinning. I knew they both went to UCLA, but as far as I knew, they'd gone in different years. My father was bit older than Marcus, but Gina was a bit older than Marcus too. I never put two and two together until that moment, but then it hit me.
“You hate him for taking Gina away from you,” I muttered. “You're jealous and think he stole her from you.”
“I didn't take her away,” Marcus said. “They split up long before I ever came into the picture. Gina left him of her own accord, and then months later, I started dating her. She made the decision, not me. I had absolutely nothing to do with their relationship or their break up.”
And just like that, it all made sense. My dad felt like Marcus took one woman from him, and now he was worried Marcus would take me away from him too. And in both cases, my father felt like Marcus wasn't worthy of either. I could see the pain in my father's eyes and knew that I'd hit on the truth of the matter from his perspective. “Daddy, I love you, but I'm not something that can be taken away or given away, I'm a human being. Just like Gina. And I'm an adult, I can make my own choices in life,” I said. “But unlike Gina, I'll always be in your life. I'll always be your daughter. No matter who I fall in love with. I'm your daughter, we're family. That doesn't go away just because of who I choose to give my heart to.”
I glanced over at Marcus whose eyes softened as I spoke. I did love him, I'd loved him for some time, but until recently, I hadn't been able to acknowledge it, let alone say it. But now, I knew how he felt and I could tell him. I could be open with my feelings for him.
“I love you. Both of you,” I said, embracing my dad and hugging him tightly. “And nothing will ever change that, okay?”
Tears welled in my father's eyes and Marcus let go of his arm so my father could hug me back. And just like that, the tension in the air dissipated. I knew my father was going to have a hard time accepting my relationship with Marcus.
ooo000ooo
“My father will come around,” I said.
After the confrontation with my dad, we retreated back into Marcus' house. His kids were asleep and the house was quiet. It was just the two of us in his bed. I felt drained and emotionally wrung out after the scene earlier. But Marcus held my hand and placed a gentle kiss on my knuckles.
“I hope so. For your sake,” he said, stroking my cheek. “I don't want to complicate your life any more than I already have.”
“You could never complicate my life, silly,” I said. “You can only make it better. And that's exactly what you're doing”
After a few moments of silence, Marcus turned to me and asked, “Are you sure this is what you want? To be dating a thirty-five-year-old man with two kids? Are you sure you wouldn't rather be out with somebody your own age, exploring your crazy twenties together?”
“I love your kids,” I said. “You know that. And I've told you a million times that guys my own age annoy me.”
“Yeah, but you know it's different when you're dating someone with children opposed to babysitting them,” he said. “If things were to get serious – ”
“I'd be willing to step into the role of stepmom, if that's what you're asking,” I said, propping myself up on my arm to look down at him. “I've always wanted children, lots of them actually. I feel like that's my calling in life. I want to teach children, maybe work in a daycare setting, and be a mother.”
“It's too soon to really be thinking about all that,” he said, a touch of fear in his voice.
“Oh, I know. That's not what I meant,” I said with a laugh. “I just want you to be assured and to know that not only am I fine with you having kids, I love your kids. And I only want what's best for them too.”
“They love you too,” he said. “And I can understand why.”
“So, are we doing this?” I asked, “Meaning we're going to be together?”
He looked away and was quiet for a few long moments, which made me nervous. Whatever he decided, however, I'd be able to live with. Whatever we did, I'd survive. “Yeah, I'd like that,” he said softly. “I mean, as long as you're okay with it?”
“I'm more than okay with it,,” I said, curling up against him and resting my head on his chest. “I want to be with you. I've wanted to be with you for a long, long time, in fact.”
“And I want to be with you too,” he said, kissing the top of my head.
I couldn't help but touch him, to run my hand down the length of his torso. It had only been a day since we'd had sex, but I craved him, and when my hand grazed his lower half, I could tell he wanted it too. I could feel him growing harder as I brushed against my hand against him. That familiar fire ignited low in the center of me and I felt myself growing wet just thinking about everything we could do together; everything I wanted to do, and everything I wanted him to teach me.
But the kids were home, in bed down the hall, but they were still home. And I wasn't sure how comfortable Marcus would be with us having sex with his kids home.
I looked up at him and he smiled mischievously.
“How quiet can we be, you think?” he asked.
“I dunno,” I said, “Judging by how much and how loud you made me scream last time, I have some concerns. But we can try. I'm always willing to try.”
“These walls are pretty soundproof, I think,” he said, rolling over to face me.
We were now staring deep into each other's eyes, and I couldn't believe this wasn't another fantasy. Not only was I sleeping with the man I'd loved since I was a kid, he loved me back. Marcus leaned in and kissed me, stroking my face softly as he pulled me into him. I worked at his pants as he slipped my shorts off. As soon as his hands touched me, a shudder ran through me as that fire inside of me burned even higher. We hadn't even started yet and I was already worried about how quiet I was actually going to manage to be.
Marcus rolled over, and this time, he was on top of me. As he stared down into my eyes, our bodies pressed together and I felt truly happy. I felt complete. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I lifted my body up until he was pressing against me. All it would take was one movement and then we'd be joined together again. Reaching down, I took hold of his stiff cock, drawing a soft moan from him, and guided him into me. He still moved slowly, carefully stretching me open as he entered me.
I could see he was struggling to stay in control of himself and not give into the primal need I saw in his eyes. He was doing his best to move slowly and not just thrust his hard cock into me. His jaw was clenched tight as he slowly entered me, sliding himself into my hot, wet pussy inch by glorious inch. I squeezed my eyes shut and cried out softly once he was sheathed inside of me, and he looked at me with concern in his eyes.
“No, you're not hurting me,” I answered before he even asked. “You are driving me crazy though.”
“Good,” he said, adjusting my legs and sliding himself into me a little deeper. His head fell forward as he started to move his hips and he groaned, softly.
Our bodies moved together, in perfect rhythm, and it felt amazing. He was so soft, so gentle and thoughtful. He kissed my neck, my collar bone, my lips, making me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world as he made love to me.
We were as quiet as possible, which wasn't easy. The bed rocked back and forth on the frame, squeaking with each movement. There was no screaming out of his name this time, just my soft groans as he moved in and out of me, filling my body with such pleasure. The feeling of having him inside of me was so intense that I had to bite down on the side of my hand to keep from crying out loudly.
I felt my orgasm gro
wing inside of me, and it was coming on strong.
“I'm going to come,” I muttered softly.
My moans were growing louder, and as the first wave of pleasure hit, I was overcome with bliss. To prevent myself from crying out and waking the kids, Marcus kissed me, silencing me with his mouth. I felt him tremble above me, and my body tightened around his cock, spasming as I came.
He pulled away from my mouth, and said, “I love you, Emma,” as sweat dripped down from his forehead.
He continued to move his hips, to thrust himself deep into me as his head fell forward and an animalistic groan came out of him as he buried himself deep inside of me. The sensation of him driving his cock so deep inside of me made me climax again, this time even harder than the last.
My body writhed and bucked beneath him and I felt his body stiffening, trembling. I knew he was on the verge, so I squeezed my muscles tight around his cock as he thrust into me one last time. He groaned and said my name softly as he exploded deep inside of me. Marcus gave me one more long thrust and he stayed inside of me, his body trembling as he fought to control the noises escaping his mouth.
And when it was all over, he fell beside me and held me close.
“I love you too, Marcus,” I said, whispering it softly into his ear. “I love you too.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
MARCUS
I hadn't seen Dan for a few days after the confrontation, though I knew he and Emma were talking about everything that had happened. She told me things were tense, but that they were working themselves out. It wasn't pretty at the moment, but she tried to assure me that eventually, he'd come around.
I was skeptical, but she promised me a million different times in a million different ways that I no longer had to worry about him making a scene at my place again, which was good. The last thing I wanted was to be any more of a spectacle around the neighborhood than I thought I already was.
So, it was with a healthy dose of surprise when I came home from work, kids in tow after picking them up at daycare, to find Dan Taylor sitting on my front porch.
He stood up the moment we approached and I felt the knot in my stomach constrict painfully. The look on his face told me this wasn't a warm and fuzzy neighborly social call. Not knowing what I was walking into made me nervous.
I kept my kids close to my side, didn't get too close to him, and kept an eye on him, just in case things got out of hand.
He was the first to speak, “Marcus, we should talk,” he said, his voice surprisingly calm – a calm that didn't exactly match the dark look upon his face.
I nodded. “That would probably be a good idea,” I said. “Come inside.”
Once we were inside my home, I turned to the kids, “Why don't you head out back and play? Let daddy and Mr. Taylor talk for a bit, okay?”
They were more than happy to do that, as I often had them do chores when we first got home, so it was an unexpected and very welcome break in routine for them.
As soon as we were alone, I motioned for Dan to join me at the kitchen table.
“Would you like a beer? Some wine?” I offered.
“No thanks,” he said.
He was still calm and his tone was still very pleasant, which gave me some small spark of hope that maybe I was just being paranoid and that this little discussion was going to go well after all.
I thought briefly about grabbing a beer, but opted against it and sat down across from him, folding my hands on the table in front of me, waiting for him to speak. He stared down at his hands which were also folded on the table in front of him – almost like he was trying to find the words to say. I gave him all the time he needed.
“Listen,” he said at last, “I'm sorry about the other night. I overreacted. I admit that I was out of line and out of control. I'll gladly pay for any and all damages.”
“No worries,” I said. “My car will be fine. I'm insured, I just told them some neighborhood kids went a little wild. They've covered everything. It's not a problem.”
Dan looked up at me. “I appreciate that,” he said. “You could have turned me in. You had every right to call the cops and file a report. I wouldn't have blamed you.”
I shrugged. “And you had every right to kick my ass, so I think we're even.”
There was a hint of a smile. “No, I don't have a right to act like that,” he said. “No matter how upset I am with you. It's just hard, Marcus. She's my daughter.”
“And I promise you, I love her dearly,” I said. “I'd never hurt her. Not in a million years. She's just this amazingly bright light that I couldn't help but be drawn to, Dan. Emma is an amazing woman.”
“But put yourself in my shoes,” he said. “Imagine if this was Zoey.”
I sighed. “And while I can make no promises for how I'd react, I'd like to think I'd let her make her own choices. As long as I knew she was safe and he was being good to her,” I said. “I'd let her date whoever she wants. But I know, sometimes emotions get in the way.
“As a father, I absolutely understand where you're coming from, I do. But Emma isn't a child anymore, Dan. And I'm not the guy I used to be in college. I haven't been for a long, long time, even though some people can't seem to see me as anybody but that guy. I screwed up back then, yeah. I screwed up big time. But I've learned. I've grown a lot. I have kids who are my whole world. I've been married and loved a woman more than life itself. I'm no longer afraid of commitment. You can't hold it against me that I was an asshole in my younger days. You were no angel yourself, from some of the things Gina told me.”
Dan winced. “Gina talked about me?”
“Yeah, she did. As soon as she realized we were living next door to you, she mentioned that the two of you used to be together back in the day,” I said.
I wasn't going to bring up the reasons Gina left him, it was petty and would likely be hurtful. Even now. It was a long time ago and I knew Dan wasn't the same man he used to be, and neither was I. Which is what made this all so incredibly maddening. I could accept the fact that Dan had grown and changed as he got older, shouldn't I be afforded the same consideration?
“I've known, for some time,” I said, “but I figured that was in the past. You're not the same guy you were back then, Dan. You seem happily married now.”
“I am. Very happily,” he said, sounding a little defensive. “Don't ever doubt that. Meredith is the love of my life.”
I nodded. “I know. I'm not doubting that,” I replied. “I know love is complex. It's a complicated thing and that you can love, truly love, multiple people in your lifetime. I loved Gina with my whole heart. I still do. But I also love Emma. It's no less genuine or intense. It's just different.”
“It's hard, letting go. She's my little girl, Marcus. She's always going to be my little girl,” he said with a deep sigh, putting his head in his hands. “But what choice do I have? She's old enough to make her own decisions now. And I guess I need to find a way to come to terms with that, but I'm finding it nearly impossible. I know that I need to let her live her life or risk losing her completely.”
“So, does that mean you're okay with me dating Emma?” I asked.
“Would you stop dating her if I asked you to?” he asked.
“If I'm being perfectly honest, then no. I wouldn't,” I said flatly. “If Emma wanted to end things, that would be different. But I'm not inclined to end things because it makes you uncomfortable, Dan. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh or rude, but I'm just trying to give you the respect of being honest with you. That, and I'm just trying to make things easier on the woman I love. And I know that having her father's approval would mean the world to her.”
Dan didn't say anything for a while. He just sat there staring down at his hands, his mind quite obviously, swirling in a thousand different directions. “You know, I might take one of those beers now,” he said. “I think I might need one.”
“Coming right up,” I said.
After he popped open the bottle and took a long swig, he
looked over at me. “I may not be completely okay with it, but I won't get in your way,” he said. “I don't want to lose my daughter and I want her to be happy.”
“You're a good father,” I said. “And you've raised an amazing young woman. You should be proud of her.”
He looked up at me and I saw the shine of tears in his eyes. “I am, Marcus,” he said softly. “I really am.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
MARCUS
“Can we surf in the water now?” Zoey asked, hands on her hips.
She was getting tired of all these classes up on the beach and it showed. She was eager to take to the water, to see about getting up on her board and riding the waves. My little Zoey was adventurous like that. She was fierce, fearless. It was sometimes difficult to rein her in, even when it was for her own good, especially when it was for her own good.
“I don't want to go in the water yet, Zoey,” Zack said, staring at his sister with big, scared eyes.
It was becoming more and more obvious that Zack was not cut out for surfing. He didn't like it and wasn't overly fond of the water in general, which was fine. He gave it a shot, it wasn't for him. No big deal. We'd find something that he was into at some point. He was young and there were a million different things he could do with his time. I knew he would find something that lit a fire in him.
Zoey was another story altogether. She loved the water, she couldn't get enough. She and Emma had the time of their lives at these lessons and it was becoming increasingly obvious that the two of them were going to be surf buddies before too long. Zoey, though a little awkward at times still, was taking to surfing like she'd been born to it, like it was in her blood and bones, just like Emma.
And I for one, was glad to see that Zoey had found something that really stoked the fires and passions inside of her. I wanted my kids to be active, to have hobbies that inspired them, that motivated them. That made them want to get out of the house and do something. I was an athlete by nature, and I didn't particularly enjoy being cooped up inside all of the time. I enjoyed being active, and I was more than happy to see Zoey following in my footsteps that way.
