All characters are at least 18 years old.
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Leon
It was only as I was walking to my desk after dropping Cherry off at school that I remembered today was Valentine's Day. It had totally slipped my mind.
"Fuck," I said out loud, just as I passed Jasmine's and Colette's cubicles. The two women peeked out at me, and I hurried to my office and dropped myself in my chair. My brain was swirling with thoughts of last night and tonight. It was done. Cherry knew the truth, and it had all gone better than expected. I'd have to thank Colette later for talking some sense into me. And the woman herself walked past my door on her way to the pantry. She gave me a wave with a look as if to ask if I was okay. I beckoned for her to come in, and she closed the door behind her before seating herself.
"Y'know, Jazz thinks we're having an affair with how often I come in here," she murmured, giggling.
"Does she not know about your new boyfriend?" I wondered.
She turned scarlet and mumbled incoherently for a moment before shaking her head. That was a surprise; I'd have thought Jasmine would be hounding her for details. "Well, she knows
about
him, but not much beyond that."
"And she thinks you're the type to cheat on him with your boss?" I asked with a confused chuckle.
"Trust me, I'm not happy about it," she grumbled, sighing heavily.
"Speaking of your boyfriend, are you two doing anything special tonight? It's convenient that Valentine's fell on a Friday, so it leaves the evening open for any plans."
"Hm? Oh, yeah. We're going out for some dancing. What about you? That thing... with Lexi didn't work out, so you're back to being single, huh?"
"Yeah, I..." I cleared my throat. "I'll probably just be spending the evening with Cherry."
With a smirk, she teased, "And how does she feel about her dad ruining her V-Day plans?"
I scratched my head sheepishly. "I actually totally forgot it was Valentine's. Any advice on how to make it up to her?"
"Well, gifts always work well. Or you could just let her go out with the guy she's interested in?" she suggested.
"That's a good idea," I said, apparently catching her by surprise.
"Oh. Um, okay. I thought it would take more convincing, since you're the overprotective dad, right?" She sat back, studying me. "Have you met the boy yet?"
I chuckled to myself at the thought of how I could spin the truth while still obfuscating it. "Bottom line is I'm not letting her out of my sight."
She nodded, unsurprised. "Well you just relax and think about your plans to quell your daughter's ire. The acquisition is gonna go smoothly, so you just let us take care of it, alright?"
I tried to protest, but Colette promptly left, allowing me to devote some time toward thinking of a gift for Cherry. The traditional flowers and chocolates seemed a bit lackluster, and I got the feeling Cherry would want something more unique. In her eyes, it was our first Valentine's together as a couple. I sat back in my chair. A couple, huh? What did that imply? Was it feasible? Could we really be together in the way she wanted? Was it what I wanted?
After our talk last night, I felt I had a better sense of closure with Rose. Cherry and I had affirmed that what we felt for each other had nothing to do with her mother. But then how did we act going forward? Did we date in secret? There were all these daddy-daughter events, but I had a feeling there was still an age limit to those kinds of things.
I threw my head back, exasperated. Could I bring myself to defile my daughter? It's what she'd want. The throbbing annoyance in my pants reminded me that it was what I wanted too, on a baser level. I reasoned that if it was truly her wish, then I would let her lead. Damn it, but then she would need me to guide her if she was a virgin. She
was
a virgin, right? Of course she was, my darling daughter was no slut.
I clenched my fist. God help whichever teenage boy dared take her innocence before me. I caught my own train of thought and groaned, dropping my head into my hands. Some father I was. I decided to put it out of my mind. Cherry was mature enough to pursue what she wanted. Bill would advise me to just go with the flow.
Bill. I hadn't spoken to him for a few days by this point. It was probably due time to check in on him. I gave him a call, and his overwhelming timbre blasted through the speaker.
"Damn, thought you were dead, you rich fuck," he blared. "How's it going?"
"It's been good. Busy, y'know, it's why I haven't been down to the bar," I explained.
"No shit? Guess things really kicked off with that young redhead, huh?"
I gulped. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."
"Shit," he drawled. "And you were preaching at me for dating Taylor. Now look at you, banging teenage pussy like a fucking pro."
"Okay, can you not put it that way?" I sighed, my reservations toward being with Cherry growing with every word out of his mouth.
"Ain't nothing but the truth," he said simply. "If you're ashamed of putting it into words, you probably shouldn't be doing it. Wouldn't somebody as straight-laced as you say something like that?"
"I hate when you use my own shit against me," I muttered.
"Just tryna keep you honest," he laughed. "So I'm guessing you're gonna take your girlfriend out tonight? Won't be seeing you this afternoon either, huh?"
"Afraid not."
