This is a self-contained one-off story. It's perhaps not as prolonged and hardcore as some might like, but I'm happy to finish a story with some of the action still to come and left to the reader's imagination. Nor do I feel the need to fill in a detailed backstory as to how certain things came to pass - you may disagree of course. Feedback and votes always welcome.
*****
BACK IN THE GAME
There she was, striding her way through the terminal, waving and smiling at me. My daughter Lisa. It had been two long months since I'd last seen her. Now she was home for the Christmas holidays, three weeks of her all to myself.
Well, almost to myself. Walking alongside her was a smaller blonde girl. Her friend Tess.
"Can she come and stay with us, Daddy? She doesn't get on with her parents and I've told her how great you are."
I hadn't been sure. But I supposed it was all part of her growing up now, I had to expect now to share her with others. Going off to college was the first step in that. Now she was bringing back a friend who would probably monopolise most of her time and I'd be on the periphery. But it seemed petty to be selfish about her, so I said of course she should bring Tess back with her.
They were leaving quite a trail behind them as they moved across the airport. Men stared at them, some women too. They were both so full of life and energy, and they were both, in different ways, stunning. Lisa was dark and curvy, not chubby, but rounded where a woman should be - full breasts and a curvy, firm backside. Tess, from what I could see, was smaller and leaner but still had an aura about her that oozed confidence and youthful sexuality.
I whistled slowly through my teeth. If nothing else, at least I'd have myself something to discreetly ogle for the next few weeks.
"Daddy!" she reached me and flung her arms around me. We hugged for a long moment and then she pulled away and turned to Tess.
"And this is Tess."
I was just about to proffer a tentative handshake when Tess too leaned in and hugged me.
"I've heard so much about you," she said in my ear. "Lisa says you're the best man in the world."
The best man in the world smiled at her, and tried not to think about her perky breasts that were rubbing agreeably against my shirt.
"Come on," I said. "Let me take those bags."
**
The drive home consisted mainly of Lisa pointing out local landmarks and teasing me about various shortcomings of mine for Tess's benefit. Tess was very comfortable with us very quickly, even coming to my defence on occasion. I liked her.
There was an easy intimacy between her and my daughter that set off a slight alarm bell though. A few times I saw Tess pat her on the arm, and pull Lisa's hair out of her eyes, and the way Lisa responded seemed... playful? Flirty? Loving? In that ballpark, anyway. And I wondered if maybe my daughter was actually a lesbian. If that was the case - and I was by no means certain - I wasn't sure how I felt about that. If she was happy, I supposed that was fine. I just thought maybe the path to happiness would be that much harder for her.
"Dad!"
"Sorry, what was that?"
"He's going a bit deaf in his old age," Lisa informed Tess.
"I am not. I was just thinking... deep thoughts," I told her loftily.
"Yeah, right. So, I was asking you about your love life."
"What? You were?"
"Come on Dad. Now that I'm gone, you could bring home a new woman every night."
I was genuinely quite shocked at the idea.
"Well... I haven't!"
"Why not?"
I made some vague, desperate gesture with my hands. "I've been too busy."
"Huh." It was remarkable how much scorn she could get into one syllable.
I decided to retaliate. "And what about your love life?"
"I can't tell you about my love life, Dad, you'll freak out."
"So... you can ask me about mine, I can't ask you about yours?"
"Spot on, Daddy-o."
"Does that seem fair to you, Tess?" I asked, peering at her in the rear-view mirror.
"Sorry, Mr D, I have to be like Switzerland on this. Strictly neutral, you know?"
I sighed.
"Poor Daddy," beamed Lisa. She reached over and kissed me on the cheek, a real smacker.
Then, to my surprise, Tess put her arms around me from behind and leaned forward and kissed the other cheek, equally enthusiastically.
"Whoah," I said. "I'll crash the car."
"Yes," said Lisa. "We need to get you home in one piece, Dad. We have plans for you. Big plans."
Both girls giggled.
**
"No," I said firmly.
"Oh come on Daddy, don't be such an old... middle aged... fuddy duddy."
"I am not a fuddy-duddy, whatever that is, I just am not prepared for you - her - to do that."
"She's really good, Dad."
"I'm sure she is, but I'm not comfortable with it."
"Come on Dad! I dare you."
I wasn't falling for that. "Nope. No. Absolutely not."
Lisa changed tack.
"When was the last time you went on a date?"
"I... don't exactly remember."
"I do. It was fourteen months ago, Dad, and it was with Kim's mother, and it went really well and she super liked-you but you never called her back."
Kim's mother, I remembered, had given me a quite agreeable hand job in the car when I'd driven her home. I had hoped for a little more, but I hadn't liked her enough to arrange a second date.
"How do you know all this?" I was more than a little appalled.
"Girls talk, Daddy."
"Yeah... well, they should mind their own business."
"We need to get you back out on the scene, Daddy. Back in the game."
"We really don't."
"You just need a bit of sprucing up. You're out of practice, you need a new wardrobe, and there are a few basic... presentational things we need to take care of."
"Are you hearing my side of the conversation at all? No. Not going to happen."
"So, Tess, who is FANTASTIC at this sort of thing, is going to give you a haircut, a wax and a massage."
"I can sort all that out myself," I said.
"But she's here, and she's great, and it'll be fun!"
"I have never," I said. "Had a haircut that I considered to be fun."
"Well, it's about time they were."
She looked plaintively at me. It was her puppy dog look, quite ridiculously over the top with her big eyes and pleading face.
"That face doesn't work," I said. "You think it does, but it doesn't."
"It totally does," she said, still gazing mournfully at me.
I sighed. "Just a haircut," I said. "OK?"
She squeaked and gave me another one of those smacking kisses on the forehead. Then a tiny little peck on the lips. Unexpected, slightly naughty, and sweet.
"Good boy," she said.
**
I was expecting Tess to just trim me at the kitchen table, but I should have known better than that.
"I want to do a wet cut," she said, examining me critically. "Your hair's quite curly, it'll be easier wet."
"Can't you just damp it down," I asked hopefully. "Get a glass of water, or something?"
Tess tutted dismissively. Lisa, who was sitting across the room flicking through a magazine, looked up.
"Use the shower in his bathroom," she said.
So now I was leading Tess upstairs, through my bedroom (I was glad I'd made the bed and put my laundry away) and into my bathroom. I gestured vaguely towards the shower.
"Um," I said. I had no idea how this would work.
"OK," said Tess. "Best if we take off your shirt. Then stick your head under the shower for me, get yourself really wet, and then rub this in for me."
She showed me a bottle. It was some kind of conditioner, I think.
I considered protesting, but she was so matter of fact and expectant that I just went with it. I unbuttoned my shirt and slipped it off. Then I got my hair wet under the shower like she said and rubbed in her conditioner or whatever it was, and then rinsed that off too. It was a bit awkward, leaning forward to do it all without getting my trousers wet, and I wasn't entirely successful.
I emerged, blinking, and Tess was waiting for me with a towel. I was expecting her to hand it to me but she rubbed my hair vigorously with it instead, then dried off my upper body. I felt very self-conscious as she did this. I'm not in bad shape for my age, I think, but I was sure I couldn't measure up to a typical college boy.
"Hmm," she said. "Do you need to change your trousers? They're a bit wet."