"Find me when your school work is done," Daddy said, setting a cup of tea down.
"Yes, Daddy," she said, turning a page in her book.
When she turned the last page, she glanced at the clock, starting. It was nearly 5:30 and she was going to be late making Daddy's dinner.
When she came downstairs, Daddy was in the kitchen, cooking, even though it was her night to make dinner.
"Sorry, Daddy, I read more chapters than I needed to, I got sucked into the book," she explained.
"It's no problem, honey," he said. "Tell me about the book. How did Elizabeth and Jane end up?"
She launched into a descriptive ending of Pride and Prejudice, describing her favorite parts in great detail for him.
"I'm glad you liked it, sweetie," he said. "Now, taste this sauce and tell me what you think."
He dipped his finger into the plum sauce for the pork. She sucked his finger off, making sure not to miss any on his finger. Daddy would be cross with her if she left any on his finger. He grunted and she thought about the flavors.
"What do you think?" He asked.
"It's delicious, I wouldn't change a thing," she said.
"You sure? Try it again. I think it's a little runny," he said, getting another scoop on his finger, letting it run down. She had to take more of his finger in her mouth, sucking it clean.
"I think it'll be nice, it means you can soak it up with the bread," she said.
"Alright," he said, taking the sauce and pouring it over the pork, then plating up some homemade mashed potatoes and green beans.
She frowned at the green beans, but she didn't want to be in trouble with Daddy, so she didn't complain.
"I know the green beans aren't your favorite, but if you're good and eat them all, I'll let you have some ice cream after your bath tonight," he promised.
Allie nodded eagerly.
"Want to eat out on the deck? We only have a few more weeks of warm weather like this," he said.
"Yes, please!" She said.
"Grab our plates, and meet me out on the deck," he directed.
She grabbed their plates while he poured himself a glass of wine.
"So, what are we doing to celebrate your birthday, kiddo?" He asked as they ate dinner on the covered porch, looking out over the hundred acres her Daddy owned. "Turning nineteen is a special year!"
"I was thinking instead of cake this year, we could do a fruit tart," Allie suggested.
"Alright, I'll add the stuff for that to the grocery list," he said.
"And maybe I could stay up late and watch a movie?" She asked, biting her lip.
Her Daddy tilted his head, considering. Daddy was very strict with her rules: making sure she went to bed on time, and making sure she always ate and slept enough. Some Daddies made their girls grow up, but her Daddy let her stay his princess, always taking care of everything she needed.
"I know it's important to have an early bedtime," she said, biting her lip as she plead her case. "But maybe just for my birthday I could stay up? Pretty please?"
"Alright," he conceded.
"Thanks!!!" She exclaimed. "Can we go swimming now and do the dishes after dinner? Please?"
"The sun's getting low," he said, frowning a little.
"Oh, we can turn the lights on!" She begged, jumping up and down, clinging to his hand.
"Asking for an awful lot tonight, aren't you?" He teased.
"Swimming is good for me," she said. "It's good exercise! I'm just trying to take good care of my body, like you do, Daddy."
"Alright, but we should get your hair wet before you get in, you know how sensitive your hair is to the chemicals in the pool. Remember last summer when your hair got green?" He said.
"Oh, okay Daddy!" She said, standing and stripping her t-shirt off.
"Not gonna et your swim suit?" He asked, his voice suddenly deeper.
"Nah," she said. "It's no different than a bath, it's just colder outside."
"Mmhmm," he said. "I'm glad the pool is heated for you, baby girl."
She stripped out of her clothes and skipped over to the hose, turning it on and dousing her dirty blonde hair, shivering and wiggling when the water dripped onto her warm, bare skin.
"Is this good, Daddy?" She asked.
He shifted in his seat, nodding.
"You look fine, baby," he said.
"You sure? You made a face," she said, frowning.
"It's nothing," he said. "Go swim, baby. I need to take care of a problem inside, but I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Okay! Will you watch me jump in first?"
"Sure thing," he said, his smile strained.
She ran and jumped into the pool, coming back up for water, looking for his smile of approval.
He winked.
"See you in a few," he said, standing up with his back to her.
She swam laps, enjoying the last of the warm summer weather while it lasted, eventually settling into the pool lounger her Daddy sometimes used. While she waited for Daddy to come back, she felt her nipples tightening. She dripped water on them, enjoying how they got tight and little when they got cold.
"Allie! Time to come in!" Daddy called. Allie started guiltily, knowing Daddy didn't like it when she played with her body.
She wrapped herself up in a towel and walked in the house, gathering her clothes in her arms. She deposited them in the laundry room and made her way to her Daddy's bathroom.
"Bath time?" She asked.
"Mmhmm," he said, tossing a hand towel in the laundry basket.
She let him run the water, checking to make sure it was the right temperature for her like he always did.
"Alright, climb in," he said.
When she climbed into the deep water of Daddy's extra-big tub, she sighed happily.
"Today was a good day," she said.
"It was," he said, but his face didn't say that he agreed.
She frowned.
"Daddy? Is something wrong?"
"Well, I think tonight you should wash yourself," he said.
Stunned, Allie could only stare at her Daddy in confusion. Daddy always washed her, to make sure she was totally clean.
"Why?"
"Because soon you're going to be a big girl and you'll have to take care of yourself," he said.
"But... you're my Daddy. It's your job to take care of me," she said, her lower lip trembling a little as tears pooled in her eyes.
"After your birthday, you'll be a real grown up, and it'll be your job to take care of yourself," he explained.
"You won't take care of me anymore?" She asked, her voice small.
"Well, you might want to move out and live on your own," he said.
Allie's eyes went wide, and tears spilled over. She couldn't imagine living without her Daddy. Daddy did all the grown up things so she didn't have to.
"You mean, I won't be able to live with you?" Allie whispered.
"No, honey. Grown up men and women don't usually live together. When you're not a little girl anymore, things change," Daddy explained patiently.
She nodded, looking at the bottles Daddy usually used to wash her body and her hair, her breath coming in little gasps as she tried to stay calm. She grabbed the body wash, but it slipped from her fingers and fell into the tub. She started to cry harder.
"Oh, honey," he said, reaching for the bottle, fishing it out.
"I don't want to be a grown up," she whispered. "I don't want things to change."
"Well, we don't have to do everything tonight. How about you can do your hair and I'll wash your body?"
"Yes, please," she said, not meeting his eye.
She took care of her hair, then he washed her body, moving over her body with practiced ease.
"Thank you, Daddy," she said.
"Of course, baby. Now, let me wash your titties," he said.
"Daddy," she whispered, guilt rising in her as she remembered how she'd played with her nipples outside by the pool.
"Hm?" Daddy asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I did a bad thing," she confessed.
"What did you do?" He asked, his hand pausing with the wash he used for her titties and her special girl place.
"When I was naked in the pool, I..." she sucked her cheeks in, biting them.
"Allie?" Daddy prompted, his voice low and stern, a puddle of the special wash in his hand.
"I played with my nipples," she said. "I didn't mean to! The wind blew and it made them all hard, like they get sometimes, and it was fun. It made me feel nice, sort of tingly and kind of hot in my special girl place."
Her father was silent, his expression unreadable.
"Show me what you did," he ordered.
"Well, I used the cold water, and-"
He grabbed the cup he kept to help rinse her hair, filling it with cold water and holding it hot for her to demonstrate.
"I dripped it like this until they were all hard and small," she said, showing him. Her nipples puckered at the cold water, just like they did outside.
"Mmhmm, and did you do anything else?" He asked, his voice tight.
"No, Daddy," she said.