"How many times have I told you not to slam that door?" Chris shouted, wincing as he heard the familiar earth-shattering bang that announced his daughter's return home.
"Sorry!" Hazel called out in reply, blushing a little in embarrassment. Her friends often teased her for being an airhead, but she was just so often caught up in a daydream that she forgot about her surroundings. Pulling off her shoes, she walked over to the fridge to grab a bite to eat and sat down on one of the two fragile wooden chairs at the small kitchen table.
Gazing around, she knew her home certainly wasn't the most luxurious... but then, single parent households didn't tend to be. She'd lost contact with her mother years ago, and her dad didn't earn all that much as a contracted builder - especially since he'd been struggling to find work lately. That's one of the reasons she'd decided to go straight into work at 18 rather than financially burdening her dad even more by enrolling in college. Though she'd never admit that to him.
"So how was your first week?" Chris asked kindly.
Hazel jumped, and her dad couldn't help but laugh. No matter how loud his footsteps were, she never seemed to notice.
"Lost in thought again?" he asked, smiling and gently ruffling her soft brown hair as he walked past her to the fridge.
"Maybe..." Hazel sighed, embarrassed again. "Sorry. I'm trying not to be so ditsy, honestly!" "You don't need to apologise, lovely," Chris assured her. "What is it you're always thinking about?"
Hazel shook her head, refusing to answer. For one thing, most of her daydreams were dumb cheesy romantic things about falling in love and having sex for the first time, and the last person she wanted to admit that to was her dad. For another, she often worried: about her dad being lonely, about their financial situation being difficult... if he knew that, he'd be upset. He always put her first.
"Nothing, don't worry! And work is going okay. I still can't believe I got such a decent position." Hazel smiled proudly. "My boss seems nice. I think he really respects my work ethic. He's been asking me to do lots of odd jobs around the office."
Chris glanced across at his daughter as he drank a glass of orange juice and couldn't help but frown slightly as he noticed what she was wearing. Her white shirt was a little translucent and he could see the outline of her bra through the fabric. When she stood up to move to the sink, he noticed that her skirt barely covered her rear, and the thought made him uncomfortable. The last thing he wanted was for his daughter to get any unwanted attention.
"When did you buy that outfit?" he asked, concerned.
"My boss gave it to me on my first day," his daughter cheerfully replied. "It was really nice of him to pay for a new set of work clothes for me!" Chris frowned uncertainly.
"You need to be careful, Hazel... don't ever let someone take advantage of you, okay? I don't want anything happening to you..." His voice trailed off, his brow furrowed.
Hazel smiled warmly when she saw the look of concern on his face, and laughed a little, gently wrapping her arms around him and hugging him.
"I'll be fine, Dad," she told him. "Don't worry."
"I know, I know... it's just, with you having gone to an all girls' school and everything... you're just so innocent, Hazel. The last thing I'd want..."
"Dad. Seriously." Hazel looked up into his concerned eyes. "I'll be fine. I promise!" Her warm smile soothed his fears.
"Sorry. Ignore your silly old man." Chris smiled and gently rested his cheek on her soft brown hair, holding his precious daughter in his arms for a long moment. She fit so perfectly in his embrace, her slim pale body protected by his tanned muscular arms. In appearance, she certainly resembled her estranged mother more than him, with his large body and rugged features. But he could see his own bright blue eyes reflected in hers.
"You're only just turned 40, Dad. That's not old," Hazel objected, squeezing him gently.
"Thanks, sweetie." He gently kissed her hair then pulled away reluctantly; it felt like she was made to be held in his arms. "Right. I need to go make some phone calls about work. Let me know if you need anything, Hazel." "Thanks Dad!" Hazel replied, her usual beautiful smile on her face.
Once Chris was back in his room, he couldn't help but notice that his cock was slightly stiff in his pants. Mortified, he assumed that her outfit must have triggered thoughts about sexy secretaries or something similar - it couldn't possibly have been his daughter that made him feel like this. No, that would be wrong. He loved her so much, but not in that way.
Getting out his phone with a sigh, Chris ignored the feeling and made his work call.
*
Things didn't change much with Hazel working at a new job. Chris did, however, find that his daughter was on his mind a lot - probably because he missed having her around the house as much now that she was busy more hours.
Or at least, that's what he told himself.
He wasn't sure whether it was the outfit her boss was making her wear, or the fact he'd finally realised his little girl was no longer a little girl, but Chris was struggling to keep his mind off his daughter's body. Her cute little butt in that tight skirt, her perky breasts behind that translucent shirt... as much as he didn't want to admit it, she'd grown up to be a very attractive young woman. He couldn't help taking sneaky glances at her chest, but worst of all, he was pretty sure she'd noticed; every now and then their eyes would meet and her cheeks seemed a little flushed.
Of course, if she had noticed, no doubt it was embarrassment that coloured her skin. What kind of perverted dad looks at his daughter that way?
Chris tried hard to take his mind off it, and there were plenty other things to think about. For one, he was worried about her staying safe. If her own father found her attractive, without a doubt many other men would want to take advantage of her. More than anything, he wanted her to be safe and happy.
For another, he was struggling to find any work at the moment. Chris thought it was best he focus on that for the time being, and suppressed the many thoughts swirling around his head about his daughter.
A few weeks later, however, it all came bubbling back to the forefront of his mind when Hazel arrived home in tears.
"Hazel, sweetie? What's wrong?" Chris called, concerned, when he heard muffled sobbing coming from the living room.
Hearing no response, Chris walked in and saw Hazel curled up on the sofa in her nightdress, tears streaming down her face. Her work clothes had been chucked hastily into a pile on the floor, and it looked like the skirt was torn.
