Neighborhood Dad

Thanks to everyone who read chapters 19 and 20. Thanks for the votes and all the nice comments (almost 50 positive remarks as I submit this chapter). Plus, there were another six or seven that sent emails through Literotica to my Yahoo account.

When you're not getting paid, compliments are your tips. And I'm feeling well compensated today.

Chapter 21

I didn't see Randi again over the next month. Work was hectic, so I barely saw my own daughter. And maybe I threw myself into my work even more than usual to avoid thinking about her.

Were things over between us? We hinted around about calling things off, but neither of us ever said anything. Can it be considered breaking up if the relationship mainly consisted of stolen kisses and secretive conversations?

Finally, the furniture market was behind me. I had a whole new stack of business cards I'd collected on my rounds. I'd be spending weeks making phone calls and getting to know more movers and shakers.

During the market, I worked out of the company's makeshift office downtown, but it was time to move back in the home office.

I was opening the trunk when Paige's car pulled in. She climbed out with Lori and Tessa.

"He's back, ladies and gentlemen," Paige called out. "Fresh out of the coat and tie and soon to be back on the sofa in sweat pants and a T-shirt."

"Don't listen to her, coach," said Tessa. "You look good in a suit."

"Thank you, dear. Anybody wanna give me a hand?"

"I like the catalogs and tear sheets, especially Bernhardt," said Paige.

"What's a tear sheet?" asked Lori as she came around from the passenger side.

"In the old days, it was when you would literally tear out an ad from a newspaper or magazine," I explained. "In this case, though, they are copies of photos and information about the new products that can be used in advertising. Keeps me informed of trends."

I grabbed my laptop bag and a tote that contained office supplies. Paige and Tessa grabbed up the catalogs, tear sheets and other information.

Lori came up next to me and bumped me with her hip. "What can I help you with?"

"That's everything but the Rolodex."

"A Rolodex? Seriously? Is this 1987?"

"I get a dozen or more business cards a day at market. They add up over time."

"You do know there are devices now that can scan a business card and transfer all that info to your laptop?"

"Really? I've wanted to have all that stuff digitized, but I thought I'd have to type all that data in."

She picked up the circular device. "Good god no, that would take forever with all this. I'll find you a couple of examples online and email the links to you."

"That'd be great," I said as she headed for the house and I shut the trunk lid.

Lori finally seemed to be back to her old self. Joking with me, bumping me with her hip. I was glad that we'd put all that awkwardness behind us and gone back to the way things were.

If that's true,

said a little voice in my head,

then why are you ogling her ass all the way to the house?

I guess it's still a work in progress.

As we dropped all my stuff around the computer desk, I tried to remember what life was like away from work.

"Okay, I'm a little market-lagged. Is it a week from Saturday that you have the prom?"

"Yes, and aren't you glad that we already have a dress and you can just vegetate in front of the TV all weekend?" answered Paige.

"Praise glory."

"And then once we get past the prom, we can focus on your birthday, old man," Paige said with a smile.

"Yeah, 39. If you were a woman, it could be the last birthday you ever have," joked Lori.

"Or Jack Benny," I added. "He was famous for celebrating his 39th birthday 39 times."

"Who's Jack Benny?" asked Tessa.

"Just another old geezer who's probably dead by now," answered Paige. "Now the more important question is 'What kind of birthday bonus are you getting this year?' Nice as last year, huh?"

With the furniture market being such a big deal around the world, there were a lot of newspapers and magazines that wanted information about the new products. Because of my employment, I wasn't allowed to write for any other magazines, but I did have some daily papers that routinely paid me for a market wrap-up story.

"You've already been using it," I said and nodded toward the back of the house.

"You mean the hot tub? I thought that was separate from this," she said, while her classmates looked clueless.

"I was able to afford the hot tub because I signed a contract with a newspaper group to distribute a weekly column from me. While that's great, this group of papers includes several of the editors who usually buy a market story from me."

Now Paige looked as dumbfounded as her friends. "That means I'm only going to get about 20 percent of my usual spring bonus this year. So there won't be any big purchase or vacation now."

"We can still celebrate your birthday though," said Tessa.

"Yeah, and even 20 percent means we can throw a party. Maybe get a local caterer out here so you're getting a real meal instead of pizza and cake," said Paige.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I don't even know how all that work stuff is going to pan out. And right now I'd just like to sink down into my recliner and put my feet up."

I took my jacket off and laid it over the arm of the love seat, suddenly remembering the afternoon I'd bent Randi over that arm and pounded into her from behind.

Before I became lost in thought, Paige came over and kissed me on the cheek, "Okay, we'll be upstairs."

Tessa gave a quick wave and headed for the stairs, too.

Lori stepped up in front of me and reached up toward my face. I reflexively started to pull back in surprise, but she took hold of the knot of my tie and pulled it left and right so that it loosened.

"There. Now you can be a proper couch potato." Then she brushed past and joined the other two.

Being back home didn't mean the workload lightened just yet. I had lots of work to churn out, and I buried myself in it.

Once the computer was turned off, however, the brain didn't get to unwind. I was thinking about Randi and how much I missed her smile, her laugh, her petite hands gripping my upper arms when I was on top.

The prom was nigh upon us. Was Randi really going to go with another guy? And if she did, would I be okay with this or would I have a jealous freak-out and storm the school with a crow bar?

And what about my own kid? There is a cliché about losing your virginity on prom night for a reason – it happens to a lot of girls as they get all caught up in the experiences. Would I need that crow bar for Ricky instead?

Did any of my advice to Randi apply to Paige as well? This is her first boyfriend. She's never dated anyone else, but now she's been going out with him for half a year. Is she getting too serious for her own good?

Probably, I argued with myself. But perhaps not. She asked about dating before Ricky, but she never really pushed the topic. She is a beautiful young woman; she must have had other boys interested in her before him, but none of them turned her head enough to fight me over dating. With Ricky, she got both Lori and Randi to argue on her behalf, so she must have been pretty sold on the boy before they ever went out.

When that Saturday rolled around, I felt quite certain I needed a tranq gun. There were girls all over the house, plus someone's cousin who was a professional stylist, and lots of parents. I guessed that since the girls have a reputation for hanging out at my place, their folks decided to meet here for photos. But there was just too much excitement for me. I wanted to taser a couple of moms long before the girls were ready, so I retreated to my rocking chair behind the house.

It was a bright, sunny day, but there were some shaded areas in the back that would be great for photos, I thought.

Not too surprisingly when the back door opened next, it was Lori's dad escaping the house.

"Have a seat, Charles."

"Days like this I wish I were a drinking man."

"I hear ya."

We made a little small talk, but mostly just enjoyed Mother Nature. The reverie was broken when a tornado of fancy dresses blew through the doorway, chased by lightning – or at least the many flashes of digital cameras and smart phones. That reminded me that I didn't have my camera on me at that moment.

I stood up, turned and almost ran over my assistant coach.

"Heather! When did you get here?"

"A while ago," she said, thrusting a camera at me. "Paige said you'd forget to bring it out."

I'm no Ansel Adams, but I've been at enough work parties to know how to shoot people. Still, I felt more like a member of the paparazzi fighting for space on the red carpet as several parents banged into me trying to get the perfect shot.

I was vaguely aware that there were some seriously attractive females in front of the lens, but the competition for photos was just too distracting to take in the many fine female forms.

Someone nudged up against my left side and didn't pull back, which made me want to give this person a healthy shove and remind him or her whose house this was.

Then a silky voice purred near my ear, "Excuse me, Henry. Didn't mean to wallow all over you."

I looked to my side and saw Autumn's mother. The grin she was giving me told me that she'd like nothing better than to wallow me for a good long time.

"You're tall enough to see over me," Gina said. "Let me just squeeze in front of you." She moved around, sliding her hip across my own and then over my belly. She turned toward the girls, which happened to park her rear right up against my crotch.

Suddenly all this crowding didn't feel like such a bad thing anymore. It had been more than a month since I last had sex, and after getting laid fairly regularly with Randi, a month seemed like a very long time.

As she said, I could still take photos right over top of Gina, but the light rubbing against the fly of my jeans was starting to have an effect. Blood was pumping into my rapidly expanding tool. I tried to shuffle back a few inches, but I stepped on someone's foot. After a quick apology, I knew I was stuck for a moment.

Maybe she won't notice, I hoped. Then one of the dad's moved closer to Gina, and she was bumped backward against my chest.

"Oops, sorry," she said with a chuckle. In order to get back upright, Gina pulled her upper body forward, which momentarily pushed her hips back harder against me. The pressure felt so good that my cock pulsed strongly, and I knew there was no way she could have missed that.

Embarrassed, I called out, "Okay, girls. Enough shots right here. Let's move to a different spot."

"How about we go over to that hydrangea?" suggested Gina.

"I'd like to try some shots with that snowball bush," I said.

"That would be a hydrangea," Gina said, turning to give me a big smile.

"Oh, okay. Well I guess great minds think alike."

Different parents were calling out instructions to their daughters, which was creating mass confusion. The coach in me stepped forward and took control. The girls were used to responding to my commands and quickly got into the positions I wanted.

As I turned and took a few steps back to check my composition, Gina said, "Wow, they sure listen to you. Maybe you could come over and order Autumn to clean her room."

"I think housework is beyond the scope of my superpowers."

I gave a couple of directions to tweak the girls' spots, then the parents again surrounded me for photos. Gina slid right back in front of me like it was her assigned spot. Before I could even get the aperture dialed in, she was leaning back against me with a rear that was pleasantly firm. Rather than paying attention to the lighting conditions, I found myself wondering what kind of workout routine she must have to give those cheeks such nice tone.

Through the lens I saw Autumn lean over and whisper something into Paige's ear, then they both burst out giggling.

As the other girls huddled closer to find out what was so funny, the parents complained.

"Come on, girls," said Charles. "Stand up straight."

I heard Autumn mutter something softly that sounded kind of like, "I bet it already is." Paige gave her a soft bank-handed slap on the arm, and I noticed all the girls were staring at me.

Ah shit, they saw what Gina was doing and they can tell I'm blushing.

"Enough pictures!" complained Lori. "We need to get going, and it's getting warm out here. Coach's face is beet red." That brought a fresh explosion of laughter, and the girls broke rank and headed for the backdoor, despite the protests of a couple of moms for "just a few more."

Soon the girls' dates showed up to escort them to the dance.

Before she left, Autumn came into the kitchen where I was hiding to give me a hug. She whispered, "I hope you like my dress. I was thinking of you when I picked it out." She took a half-step back, then bounced on her heels slightly, which caused her breasts to quiver at the top of the gown. I couldn't help but notice, and her smile grew wider when she saw me watching. Then she turned and headed toward the front door.

Damn, I might have to zoom in some on those photos and get another look at Autumn,

I thought.

Soon Ricky arrived in his dad's SUV and picked up several people. Before leaving, Paige gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. I saw Lori heading for the vehicle.

"Lori is going with you? Doesn't she have a date?"

"No, she had a couple of boys ask, but she said she was going stag. She and Randi had talked about riding together, but then Randi agreed to go with some guy from her history class."

We said our goodbyes, but my mind was retreating from the crowded house, wondering who this boy was. I felt pangs of jealousy, even though I knew it was my insistence that she date that caused her to accept this invitation.

This is what we talked about: Randi going to the prom, maybe finding someone her own age to date, possibly even love one day. Emotions were threatening to overwhelm me, but I knew I had to be strong. This is for the best, I kept saying to myself.

Soon all the girls were gone, and the parents followed. I closed the door, wondering what to do with myself for the next several hours. I could just sit in my recliner and brood all evening, but that was a bad idea.

Maybe I should hit a bar and flirt with some women, try to take my mind off of Randi. Hell, she's the one who insists I get laid.

That won't work, I countered. No one is going to measure up to her.

Then I heard a racket coming from the kitchen. Not everyone was gone after all.

I walked in to see Gina tying a knot in the drawstring of a garbage bag.

"Hey, stop that. I don't let guests do housework here."

"No, no," she replied. "I needed to do something. These parents came through like a plague of locusts, wiping out those snacks you sat out and drinking all your coffee. Then they leave all this mess behind."

I took the bag from her hands. "I can throw my own trash away. Don't worry about it."

I stepped outside to put the trash in the rolling container, and when I came back Gina was rinsing saucers and cups in the sink.

"I have a dishwasher for that."

"Yes, but if this residue dries on the surface, it sets up like concrete mix."

I walked over to the sink and turned the water off. Before she could protest, I took Gina's wrists and turned her away from the sink.

I was intending to tell her that everything was fine and it was okay to leave, but something about the way that I'd grabbed her arms and spun her around caused a strong reaction in the attractive single mom. Her eyes grew momentarily wider in surprise, but then the look changed to something hungry.

My taking charge – like I had with ordering the girls into poses – turned Gina on.

For some reason, I was still holding onto her arms, but she pushed forward with her body, her breasts nudging against my chest. She stretched upward and placed a soft kiss upon my lips. She pulled back and gazed into my eyes with such expectancy. It reminded me of the way the girls looked at me after doing a drill, hoping that I'd be pleased and that I might give them a sign of encouragement.

Gina wanted to please me, and the gesture made her seem so vulnerable that I felt compelled to put her at ease. Without taking the time to think, I leaned forward and gently pressed my lips to hers.

When I straightened, a big smile crossed her face. She tried to reach up to my face, but I still had my hands on her wrists. Her eyes sought out her entrapment, then traveled up my arms to my face, that hungry expression back again.

Something primal in me reared up. I pushed forward with my left arm, driving her right arm back behind her hip where I pinned it against her lower back. I shoved my torso into hers and drove her against the sink cabinet. My right hand let go of her left wrist only to reach up and grab the back of her neck and pull her into my lips forcefully.

Even as the passionate kiss continued, I wasn't thinking about Gina and what this encounter might mean later. No, all I could think about was the one I wasn't kissing.

She did it. She really went to the prom with some boy. Despite arguing with me about it, Randi went. She's dancing with someone her own age, and she may never come back to me.

That thinking made me angry, and it came out in my kissing. From the moan that Gina gave, she loved my aggressiveness.

Randi expects me to sleep with someone else. Everybody's been giving me grief for months about Gina wanting to jump my bones. Why should I resist? I'd only be doing what Randi wants.

I had already told Randi that such a request was stupid and immature. I had no intention of screwing around on the woman I loved, and yet here I was making out with a MILF who wanted nothing more than to fuck me dry.

Despite the bulge threatening to rip my zipper open on its own, I was torn. No matter what Randi had said, sleeping with someone else could hurt her, and I shouldn't risk doing that to her.

I let go of Gina's wrist and neck and broke the kiss. She immediately wanted to pounce forward and keep the moment going, but I stepped back and put my hands on her upper arms.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do this."

"Of course you can," she said like it was the easiest decision in the whole world.

"This isn't me," I said, but I couldn't explain the real reason I was hesitant. No one could know about Randi.

"And you think this is me?" she asked, throwing me off my train of thought.

"What?"

"You think I'm some floozy throwing myself at every man on the block?"

"I never said that ..." I started, but she cut me off.

"I haven't been on a date since my divorce. I have a full-time job, and I'm a full-time parent. There's always too much to do to worry about dating. You know how that is."

I nodded my head. Sometimes there just aren't enough hours in the week.

"I've been asked out a few times, but I just don't want to waste my time getting to know someone, only to be disappointed when he turns out to be a loser."

She reached up a hand and caressed my cheek. "On the other hand, I've known you for years, since Autumn was on your pee wee team. And being around you with this year's team has shown me what a great coach, great father and great guy you are. I know you aren't a waste of time."

She tried to lean in and kiss me again, but I couldn't do that.

"I'm sorry. I don't want to lead you on. I'm not sure I can do this. I still have feelings for someone else." I meant Randi, but the sudden expression of pity that crossed her face told me she thought I meant my late wife.

"I'm not trying to replace Beth; she was a wonderful woman. If you're not ready for a relationship, I understand. But, who knows, maybe what you need to get ready is to put yourself back out there."