Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. It involves elements of sex, humiliation, and questionable consent. All characters are at the legal age of 18 or older.
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Can you imagine the problems that come with being a single parent? I thought I knew, but being the father of a precious little girl is a whole lot more difficult than taking care of a pet. The problems didn't start until much later, of course. In the beginning, things worked out fine. Way back. When I was still young and experiencing everything for the first time. I met my wife in college actually, stumbled into her on the campus and we hit it off immediately because of a few common interests.
After dating for a few months, we decided to get married and had the perfect honeymoon just a few weeks later. I can still vividly remember the day when she returned to the bedroom with a positive pregnancy test. A family. We are starting something big! For someone who thought he had it all, I quickly learned that life can sometimes end up showering you in unexpected gifts.
Of course, the higher you get, the further you can fall. It was a few years into the marriage when I learned that she had cheated on me. How I learned about it? It's not like she came up to me and confessed, or that I managed to catch them in the act. No I got the surprise when after months of forced celibacy, she stormed off into the bathroom to throw up and shortly after announced being pregnant again. By someone else, obviously, there's no mistaking it. At least the divorce worked out in my favor since infidelity is frowned upon.
It's also how I managed to get custody of our little girl - Sara. Cheerful little angel. It's probably because she spent most of her life with me that she turned out a lot like me, with an open mind and an even brighter personality! Bit of a computer geek, too. Though she's more into PC games while I was mostly part of the Atari and Sega generation, years ago. I did manage to get her addicted to Star Trek at least. So that's a win. Watching her grow up and helping to shape her into a good person is the highlight of raising her. Without her I'd probably not even manage to get out of bed sometimes.
It's not cheap to support a child on your own. Because we ended up living in a single income home, I got stuck with the same job in construction that I've been in pretty much my entire life. A dead end job, but it paid well. All things considered, I was lucky to have it since it allowed me to keep mine and Sara's lifestyle going even after the divorce.
My evenings were often spent with a colleague of mine, Carl. Since he was pretty much my best and closest friend for as long as I can remember, he was a big part of our life. He's been in the company for as long as I have. We're like opposites of the same coin, though. While I had been married, had a kid, and attempted to have a normal family life, he was more of a womanizer. It's no big deal when a teenager spends his weekends getting drunk, partying and having one night stands with random girls...but when a grown man does it? That does make you ponder.
It was routine for Carl to hit a bar around midnight when the ladies are already drunk as hell, and walk back out within a matter of minutes with his arm around a cute girl he picked up. More than once he's offered to bring me along, but I don't put nearly as much time or effort into getting laid. He was, however, obsessed with it--always finding new prey.
The years went by quickly. On one day I routinely have to lift little Sara up just to help her on a chair, on the next day she's suddenly spending half her allowance on bras, makeup and casually spending a hundred bucks at the hairdresser because her long brunette hair didn't feel glossy enough. It's completely nuts how differently a teen behaves! She grew up so damn fast that if I had blinked, I would've missed it.
At least I was spared the heart attack that would've followed if she had ever brought a boyfriend home. It's possible that she never got into a relationship because her mother wasn't around to give her any kind of dating advice or to reassure her that sexuality is a normal thing. Over the years I learned that those were simply things my daughter would never approach me for, out of insecurity or just shyness. Not like I mind. Her current lifestyle prevented her from dating a dozen different boys and becoming more like her mother. The less she knows, the better! At least that's how I thought things would be.
I didn't even notice it at first, but over time, Carl got into the habit of complimenting her whenever he came over for a drink. It started out subtle at first. While there were things I'd ignore, he would happily point out whenever her curves became more pronounced or when her bra size grew. Which was an impressive feat by itself since she usually wore loose shirts at home instead of walking around exposed. Sweat pants also helped to conceal her lower half.
She wasn't very confident in her looks, but he praised her all the same. Before long, she started wearing snug tank tops. And on the days when she knew that he was visiting, she would forego wearing pants altogether and walk around in little more than her white undies. I figure she didn't have any boys at school to compliment her, so this was her opportunity to fish for compliments. To have someone boosting her self-esteem, maybe.
Things got even weirder with him during the weeks that followed. During those long evenings when we drank a beer and chatted and watched some football, I'd often have Sara sitting between us. She had always been somewhat affectionate towards me, so it was easy to tell whenever she started behaving unusually. Whenever that happened, I would look over and see Carl's hand on her leg, sometimes her thigh. That sure seemed to be pushing her boundaries.
She's my precious little angel, so why I didn't just shout at him or kick him out the first time that happened is a small mystery to me. At least the way I see it, maybe I just wanted to know if she truly was a lot like I am? Or if perhaps she was more like her cheating and instinct driven mother than I thought? It was reassuring to see her resisting, so I simply kept inviting him over. If it's something that truly bothers her, she can speak her mind and demand that he stops touching her. It had never even occurred to me that after all these years she had grown to see him as a person of authority, someone she has to respect. Someone who can't do wrong.
"Dad?" His little game didn't progress beyond that.
"Dad, hey? Earth to father-ship?" Shaking my head, I tear myself out of those thoughts.
"Sorry, what? I uh—" A quick look around the dinner table helps to remind me of what's going on, I had been so caught up in thoughts that I hadn't even paid attention! A large strawberry cake, layered in cream, was standing right in front of me, waiting to be cut. Sara's birthday! Right! It was a small and private party. Just her, Carl and myself. None of her friends from school showed up which goes to show you that teenagers can be just the worst.
"Right! I'm sorry, lemme just..." the knife glides through the cake with ease, and I quickly give a slice to both of them. Man, how long had I been staring at the cake like that? I always get a bit sentimental when I realize she grew another year older.
"Daydreaming again, huh?" she teased me with a smile and I couldn't help but laugh.
"Yeah. Happy birthday!" Slow music played in the background, the distinct scent of strawberries lingered in the air, and for a moment I completely forgot about all the problems on my mind. It's meant to be a day of joy, right? A day for fun!
Carl had a few bites before directing his attention back at my daughter. "I heard you're about to finish high school. Do you already know what you will do after? Study? Work? Become a housewife to someone? Pretty sure you'd make a good wife, education is overrated anyway. Then you could stay at home all day, wouldn't that be nice?" He laughed, but sounded genuinely curious... and serious. Of course the idea of becoming a housewife would never even cross Sara's mind, she was determined and often top of her class!
She was amazing and had a bright future ahead of herself! I had to work my butt off to make it happen but it was worth it. She's got chances that I never had! Still. It hadn't even occurred to me that she's already at such an important point in her life. She's pretty much got one foot in college already...
She pondered his question for a moment. "I uh... I dunno? Maybe something that has to do with construction, too. I like the idea of helping people, you know... to do things that are beneficial to everyone? That could be cool. Or maybe just take some time off, stay at home and chill! Play some games of course, have a good time and all. Before I start studying and do all the serious stuff. Yea that'd be real nice I think." She took another bite, savoring the cake. It wasn't often that I could afford to splurge on something as festive as this, but birthdays are only once a year.