Chapter Six: "The Haunted House"
The afternoon sun blared down unrelentingly. It was the type of mid-July heat that made your body warm and in a state of constant semi-arousal, a hypnagogic state where everything seems cloudy yet vivid, and both real and not. Nick and Sarah were hyperaware of one another's presence. Familiar touches on the small of his daughter's back or the brush of her father's hand against hers felt sensual, and almost dangerous. Unspoken thoughts and desires were electric and hung in the air between father and daughter.
The precarious balance of familiar father-daughter roles and the unfamiliar taboo roles of lover to lover teetered as the afternoon wore on. Nick struggled with feelings of fatherly love and protection with the kind of longing and desire one feels for a lover while Sarah felt herself tossed between seductress and little girl.
Sarah had always been able to talk to her father about anything, and felt he was her confidant. She trusted him implicitly and had always told him her friendship, boyfriend and school woes. He had even given her the birds and the bees talk a few years ago when she started dating.
"Dad?" she asked him, while they were waiting on line for the haunted house.
"Yes, honey?" he answered.
"Do you still miss mom?" she asked.
Nick's expression grew serious and he answered her in a grave voice. "Yes, Sarah. I miss your mom a lot. Not a day goes by that I don't think of her."
She nodded and looked down, her eyes glistening. Nick pulled her close and hugged her. "You miss mom, too, huh kiddo?" he asked her. Sarah nodded.
"You know, she would be very proud of you if she were here today, Sarah. You have grown into a very beautiful and smart woman," he told her.
"Do I remind you of her at all, dad? Do I look like her at all?" she asked him.
Nick looked at his daughter and again marveled at how beautiful she had become. She did have a striking resemblance to her mother. He nodded and reached out to stroke the curve of her face. "You take after your mother very much, Sarah. You look a lot like her when she was young. She was just a few years older than you when I met her."
Sarah nodded and then was quiet a moment. She appeared to be thinking, chewing on a thought she was struggling to get out.
"Do you love Carly as much as you loved mom? Do you wish she was here right now? Are you sorry you didn't take her with us?" The questions came in a barrage as she was able to find the courage to ask about what had been very much on her mind.
"Hold on, honey," he said and held her at arms length to look her directly in the eye. "I never said I was in love with Carly. And no, I am not sorry she is not here. This is our time together, baby."
She looked at him dubiously.
"I am serious, Sarah. I like Carly well enough but she is not your mother and YOU are my number one priority. No one will ever take the place of my girl. Understood?" he asked as he squeezed her upper arms.
Sarah nodded. "Promise me you'll never leave me, daddy?" she asked.
"I promise", he responded solemnly.
"Will I always be your little girl?" she asked.
He nodded. "Always," he answered.
"I hope I find someone one day who loves me as much as you do, daddy," Sarah said.
She was so beautiful, he thought to himself as he looked into her deep brown eyes. He found himself wanting to kiss her, but not in a fatherly way. He wanted to show her what he thought of her, how much he loved her and wanted to be with her. If only she knew that it was her he thought about as he was thrusting his bursting cock into Carly. It seemed every day he could not get his mind off the scent of his daughter's luscious pussy. By the time he saw Carly, he was beside himself and just wanted to find release. He berated himself silently for the prurient thoughts about his own daughter. He must be a pervert.
Sarah wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tight, as a small child would, dismantling his irreverent thoughts. Nick stroked the top of his daughter's head, running his fingers across the silky blonde hair at the crown of her head and down her long pony tail, losing his fingers in the soft strands of thick hair. Sarah sighed deeply. She had always loved her hair being stroked.
He felt her hot breathe in the crook of his neck where she had rested her head. The hands that were caressing his back in the way she had when she was a child suddenly felt like the hands of a woman exploring the muscles of her lover's back. He felt his skin tingle and when she placed a small kiss that turned into several small kisses on his neck; he found his hands wound tightly in her hair, pulling her pony tail the way a lover in the throes of ecstasy might.
"Come on! Move it, lovebirds!" called out someone from the back of the line, eluding the father daughter lubricious embrace. A space had cleared in front of them during their hug. They pulled apart reluctantly.
The pair waited in silence, avoiding one another's eyes. Nick didn't know what he should do at this point. He had clearly enjoyed his daughter's touch, as he was certain would have been evident to her. Yet, she was his daughter and it was wrong.
Sarah knew she had turned her father on, and if that damn guy in the back hadn't interrupted them, who knows what would have happened next. She knew she was playing with fire, but her desire for her father had won out from any practical thoughts she might have had about the situation. She was determined to drive her father to the point where he was beside himself and wanted only her. What was more, she wanted to hear him say it aloud, and not just show her.
When they finally were able to get in the car that would take them on the tour of the haunted house, Nick felt relieved that there would be some reprieve from the heavy silence that had been between them and that they would be distracted during the ride. His daughter had always liked the haunted house, and always managed to get a scare, no matter how many times they had been through it.
"Isn't it funny that guy thought we were lovers?" she asked.
"Yeah," he managed to say, caught off guard by his daughter using the word 'lover' to describe them.
I have an idea," she said. "Let's pretend to be girlfriend and boyfriend."
"Sarah," he began, "I don't think that is a very good idea."
"Why?" she asked.
"First of all, I am much older than you. No one would believe you would be seen dating a guy like me. Second of all, I am your father," he said.
"Dad," she said, "You look like you are in your thirties and it would not be so strange for a girl my age to be with a man your age. Plus, you're hot. And, anyway, no one has to know we're father and daughter."
He laughed and looked at his daughter. "You're just saying that because I am your father and you have to be nice."
"No, I'm not," she said with emphasis, "All my friends think so too," she added. "Besides," she continued, "It isn't like we are actually going to DO anything. We are just going to pretend. It will be fun! Plus, I will feel older and it is my birthday after all. You did say we could do anything I wanted to, right?" With that, she took his hand and laced her fingers into his own. "Come on. Please?" she begged.
Against his better judgment, he agreed. "Ok. Just for fun and just for make-believe," he said. It couldn't hurt anything to pretend, he reconciled with himself. Inside though, he knew they were playing with fire. But, he just couldn't stop himself. Or perhaps he didn't want to. The more honest thought came floating forward, unwanted, from his conscience. He decided to ignore it. Just for the moment.
Sarah grinned at her father and he grinned back as the car moved forward. They entered complete darkness. She instinctively moved closer to her father and went to reach for his hand, which she found resting on his lap. He wrapped an arm around his daughter and drew her closer to him as he had always done when she was frightened. He felt her small hand rest on his leg and then grip his pants when a bloody man with an axe through his skull jumped out from the darkness.
A banshee-like ghoul came screeching above their heads, and she let out a scream, buried her head into the space between his arm and chest covered her face with two hands. They both laughed and he squeezed her. She relaxed into him and took the hand that was in his lap. Her hand pressed against his crotch and she left it there.