** My stories have recently crossed the one million views mark, and I want to dedicate this story to all my readers to mark that. Nice to know there are so many of you out there just as twisted as I am. - TJ**
*** All characters are over 18 years old***
I'm kind of an asshole. It's not something I do on purpose. Rather, it's a side effect of not caring about many people. I didn't care about my parents, and I barely ever called them, and even more rarely visited. After I turned eighteen, I never spent a holiday with them. It didn't help that my old man was a violent drunk, and my mom a helpless victim who failed to protect her own children, but my lack of compassion wasn't limited to them. I didn't care about the beautiful woman I married out of college, and this caused her to run out on me a decade ago. I didn't care about the people who used to work for me, and it nearly cost me my business. I managed to sell it for a couple of million before my lack of people skills sunk the whole operation.
The only person I can say I truly care about is my teenaged daughter, Katie. Katie (short for Katelyn) has lived with her mom in Georgia for so long that she has picked up a bit of the local drawl, which I love listening to. She is a tall, athletic girl, who crushes her tests in school like they were written for second graders. She runs track, dances hip hop and has dated the same boy -- Tom -- since she was fourteen. Living out in California's central coast, I rarely see her. A couple of weeks during the summer and against during the winter break is about it. Maybe because of this, I still tend to think of her as a little girl. I still call her Katie-Bear a lot of the time, and she always calls me Daddy. Despite this, or maybe in part because of it, I look forward to her visits all year long.
If you've never visited California's Central Coast, you owe it to yourself. Covered in rolling hills dusted with oak, grass, and dramatic patches of bare rock, it truly is a blessed area of the world. Free of all the traffic of San Francisco or Los Angeles, and gifted with the mildest weather on the planet... well, it's an area I love to call home. Katie loves it too. She may have the southern accent, but she's a west coast girl at heart. I looked forward to when she left home for college. I had high hopes she'd choose Cal Poly, almost literally right in my backyard.
This year, Katie had flown in for her annual winter visit. She was all mine till the end of the year. As was our tradition, I greeted her at the baggage area with her first Christmas present. This year, it was a gold necklace, hung with a diamond studded heart made from a combination of white and yellow gold. It had set me back a couple of grand, but my Katie was worth it.
"God, Daddy, it's beautiful."
"You like it?"
"I love it."
"You don't seem too happy about it."
Katie smiled in weak but honest fashion and stood on her tip toes to kiss me on the lips.
"Daddy, I love it. It's not the necklace or you. You still strong enough to carry my bags, old man?"
I raised an eyebrow at her as I easily hoisted one of her suitcases. I didn't spend two hours a day in the gym to throw my back out on a piece of luggage. Katie shouldered her carry on bag, and even through her jeans and sweater she was a picture of athletic grace. There were a lot of jocks in my family, and Katie had obviously inherited some good genetics.
We made the short drive home without talking about what was bothering her, but Katie was unusually quiet. Usually when she first arrived she couldn't wait to tell me anything and everything that was going on in her life.
When we got back to my house though -- a custom designed five bedroom place sitting on three acres -- Katie didn't last long before opening up. We had just gotten her bags to her room when she turned around and hugged me tight. It felt great, like always. However, unlike always, Katie had apparently begun to grow more fully into her woman's body. I could feel her generous breasts pressing into my diaphragm. I didn't know quite how to feel about that. Being aware that my five foot six brunette daughter was a beautiful young woman was one thing. Being aware of how firm and well shaped her tits were was something else entirely.
"What is it, Katie-Bear? What has you so upset?"
"Daddy... Tom broke up with me."
"What? You guys have been together for years!"
"I know, but he says he found someone else. I don't even know who, he wouldn't tell me. I don't even know what I did wrong!"
And with that, the tears started gushing out. I shushed my little girl and rocked her and held her tight, but her heart was broken and the flood went on and on. We ended up lying on her bed, with the left side of my shirt soaked through and Katie sobbing till she didn't have anything left. She fell asleep with her head snuggled into my chest.
After laying there and listening to her breathe for an hour or so, I got up and made us some lunch. After a moments thought, I made us a couple of screwdrivers and served them up with the meal. I was in the kitchen about thirty minutes before Katie came out, still rubbing the sleep out of her swollen eyes.
"Daddy? How long was I out?"
"A couple of hours tops, angel. Want some lunch?"
"Definitely, I'm starving."
We feasted on some tri-tip sandwiches and fruit slices, and Katie seemed in better spirits. She was surprised though, when she took a sip of her drink and discovered what it was.
"It's got booze in it!"
"Sure it does. If my baby's old enough to get her heart broken she's old enough to drown her sorrows. If you don't like it, I can get you some regular juice."
Katie took another swallow. "It's gross!" Despite her protests though, she drank the whole thing and asked for another one, which I made her.
In fact, Katie had three more screwdrivers throughout the course of the evening. I paced them out a bit, so she stayed only a little drunk. Her nap kept her from getting too sleepy, and the vodka kept her laughing and smiling and most importantly not thinking about her ex-boyfriend. We listened to Christmas music and wrapped some presents she'd brought for her girlfriends Shanna and Lauren, and basically had a great time.
It's hard to explain the feeling of peace I get around my daughter. I'm not an unhappy man, despite my asshole status. I belong to a couple of social groups for local professionals, and I get out, travel sometimes, go to my gym and date a variety of young, attractive women. I'm always restless though; always ready to move on to something else. Always except when Katie is around. When she's home with me I wish I could just stop time so that she'd never have to leave.
Unfortunately, time stops for no man. So it was that the day and evening wore on into night, and the night eventually came to an end, with the ruins of a pizza dinner on the coffee table and our movie of the night rolling credits.
"That was a good movie." Katie said.
"Yeah, I liked it."
"I'm so tired, Daddy. I think I might turn in early. Thanks for the drinks, and for such a great night, I feel a lot better."
"Of course. If you need to talk, I'll be here for you, one hundred percent."
Katie leaned over and placed a soft kiss on my mouth. I couldn't help but notice that she tasted fresh and delicious, the way only a teenaged girl can. I savored her in my mouth.
"Goodnight, Daddy."
"Goodnight, Katie-Bear."
I woke the next morning to the smell of breakfast, and I tossed on my robe and headed to the kitchen. It wasn't unusual for Katie to make some eggs for me in the morning, but today was a little different.
Katie absolutely looked like crap. Her eyes were swollen and red, her face pale. She didn't look like she'd slept more than an hour or so all night. I went to her and wrapped my arms around her, and she started in with the crying again. I turned off the burner on the stove and took her back to her bedroom, where I lay with her and cuddled her like I had the day before.
"I went to sleep so easily," she told me, "but I woke up really quick, and it all hit me again. I think I cried all night."
"Shh, Katie-Bear, it's going to be okay. I know it doesn't feel like it, but it will be."
"I love you so much, Daddy. Thanks for taking such good care of me."
"I love you too."
Katie pressed herself to me more tightly, and threw her legs over mine. When she did it, her firm young thigh brushed my cock, and I felt it begin to thicken. I hoped she didn't notice. I silently willed myself to be less of an asshole, and more of a good dad.
"Mom says you don't love anyone." Katie said quietly, "she says you don't know how."
"Your mom shouldn't be telling you things like that."
"Did you love her?"
"I... no. I'm sorry, Katie. I don't... I don't feel things very easily. I just don't care about most people. I never really loved your mother. That's why she left."
"Did you cheat on her?"
"No."
"Did she cheat on you?"
"Probably. I can't really blame her if she did. I didn't give her what she needed."
"You mean sex? I know you guys used to have sex, I could hear you guys."
I laughed and kissed my little girl's head. "No, I didn't mean that. We had a good sex life --"
"I know it, I used to think you were hurting her because she screamed so loud when she... I snuck in one time to see if I could save her, and I saw what you were doing."
"You did?"
"Only when I was really little. Then I got all excited because I thought you were making me a baby sister."
This time both of us laughed. It seemed so long ago, me being married. It had been such a ridiculous thing for me to do. I hadn't been in love; I had never been in love. I thought for a while that if I went through the motions of marriage, love would grow. Later on I learned that the problem was inside my own shriveled heart, and that no wedding band was going to change it."
"Daddy... do you really love me?"
"Oh yes, baby. I love you with all my heart. You're the only person I've ever loved."
Katie lay there and absorbed that for a moment. "Do you think maybe Tom is like you? That he can't love anyone?"
"I don't know, baby. I never really talked to him that much. I know he's an idiot for giving you up, but young guys are like that, they do stupid things."
"It hurts so much. I feel like I can't breathe. I guess you wouldn't understand."
I wanted to object, but she was right. I'd never had my heart broken because I'd never been with a woman I cared about. They went in and out of my life. Some were nice to spend time with, they'd all been attractive, but they were never anything more than sex partners.
"My heart would break if anything ever happened to you." I said, finally. That got me a kiss on the cheek.
"Maybe you'll fall in love someday," she said, "but not if you're lucky."
After a few minutes, I got up and finished breakfast, and we ate together. Afterward, Katie took a long nap. It was in the afternoon by the time she woke up. It was too late to do much by then. I took her to a movie, then shopping for a nice dress so I could take her out for dinner. My Katie-Bear picked out a tight little black number than only came down to mid thigh, and some heels to match.
"Do you like, Daddy?" She said at the store. The sales lady beamed at me as she'd helped to pick the outfit for her.
"You're stunning, baby."
Katie went to a mirror to check things out for herself, and the sales lady came over to my shoulder. "Your daughter is gorgeous." She said.
"Yes," was all I could manage.
