Lena 2022

"You are late again, where have you been all night?" Ames's voice was slurred and hoarse.

Lena knew he was drunk since he was acknowledging her presence. A bit tipsy and stoned herself, she certainly was not ready to hear his nightly TedTalk. After locking the front door, her blond dyed curls pressed against the door frame and she sighed in frustration.

"I gave you a curfew for a reason, I don't understand what I did wrong. Maybe I gave you too much growing up." She could hear his sign of defeat and mumbling curses.

"Lena!"

"Yeah, I'm listening," Lena rolled her eyes at his loud voice waiting for his rant to die down, so she could explain herself.

"I know you think you're grown and don't need discipline, your curfew is for your safety, not mine. And if you're going to live back in this house. You're going to start following rules, rules I should have had a long time ago."

"I was at a friend's house. By the time I looked at my phone, it was already 10 o clock then I asked Kelly to drive me home." Lena called out from the small foyer.

She sat her bag down, took her shoes off, and seized another deep breath before joining Ames in the living room.

"It's not even eleven," she muttered, entering the room.

He was reclined back with a glass in his hand, his long arms hung off the arms of the massive leather chair. Looking over at his small oldest child, he gave her a grimace and shook his head for the articulation of his letdown.

"Hmph, the way you dressed, seems like you wanted to stay out all night," he noted.

Lena looked down dumbfounded at her outfit. It was far too relaxed, to be 'clubbing' if that's what he thought. Her jean shorts were a bit too tight but the large t-shirt hid all of her upper body.

"I thought I had time but... If I would have driven the car this would never have happened, Kelly had to drive 20 minutes here."

There was something about explaining herself at age 19, that made her more irate at being questioned. It was also blowing her high. It was only 10:40 and she was too old to not be out after 10 pm.

"Well, you can't drive my car without a license, you could have taken the bus," he reminded her.

"A bus? Seriously, I wouldn't be home right now, the bus takes longer."

"Where's this attitude coming from Lena? Man, I don't know what's going on with you. You used to be calm and cool as hell, I can't even..." Ames trailed off and went back to ignoring the fact she was back home.

She walked toward her bedroom door, passing Ames and his sacred recliner on the way, she stroked his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Ames," she looked at him. They were eye to eye as he sat in his big chair. She didn't wince but her expression fell when he removed her hand from his shoulder.

"You need to get it together and fast," he ruled. "I ordered pizza. Me and your brother already ate."

"Cheese?"

Ames scrunched up his nose, "You can pick the meat off. A little protein won't hurt you."

Lena had once been her stepdad's favorite. He loved them both but he always preferred her and her interest in sports over his real son and his fondness of the Arts. Now, after getting kicked out of college for selling a bit of weed, it was different. She was back under his roof and living by his strict rules, which seemed to only apply to her.

James or Ames, as his friends and her mother used to call him, was never a violent drunk. Instead, he loved to talk when he was intoxicated. He had never hit his children when they misbehaved. But he would scold and voice his criticism, especially when he felt they needed a lesson.

Only thing was, she didn't need a lesson, her punishment was the fact she had gone from sugar to shit in 6 months. She didn't need a memento of how she had fucked her life up before it even started. Yet he had reminded her the past seven days of how much she ruined her life.

"You need to get it together, fix your mess before it's too late," he told her.

"I will, I promise," she assured, touching his broad shoulder yet again. He moved his shoulder away, "Go on, eat your food, you haven't eaten hardly anything this whole week."

Lena was more disturbed at how he was behaving toward her, she had never seen him furious at her before. When he was sober, he refused to talk to her, giving her the coldest shoulder. "I'll go to community college next semester and I will find a job before then," she explained yet again.

She smiled at him and he returned with a serious expression, rolling his eyes. He was drunk and talking which was better than him sober and ignoring her. No matter what he did, she could never change what happened.

"I'm really sorry, Daddy."

Lena usually called him Ames and so did his son but when she was this deep in trouble, she felt the title would soften the verbal blows. She was wrong.

"You got that right, sorry as hell messed your whole life up over a little money. Goddamnit, if you needed money you know good and well you could have called me. I would have flown up there before I let you do some stupid shit like that!" He shouted.

"I know, it was stupid."

Lena dropped her head and kept her stride toward her room door as he loudly kept on voicing his opinions.

"I busted my ass 18 years for what? Nothing, because you're right back here where you started," he went on, clenching his drink.

Lena held her door knob as she listened, more entertained by the wood marks on the door than his boisterous scolding voice.

The door behind her opened and her brother, Jr glanced her way and then back toward his dad on the chair.

"Just go in, let him talk to himself," he advised. His deep rich voice made her turn around.

"I fucked up," she admitted to him.

He gave her a weak smile and nodded his head in agreement. He was sure his dad would be on her ass for a while.

Lena wasn't as rebellious as her brother; he could tune out the man's dissatisfaction. Lena had never raised her voice or even caught an attitude with Ames before this. Jr had always been criticized, Lena had once been his favorite girl.

After her mother's death, instead of shipping her off to her deadbeat father's family, Ames stepped up and was a real father to her and his son. He worked hard each day and some nights to provide for both of them. Ames had told his children of his girlfriends and they had met a few. However, he had never remarried or brought a woman home to replace their mother. He focused his time on rearing his two children, he enjoyed being a father and he was scorned that he had failed.

Jr got lost back inside his room and Lena let go of the knob to walk back inside the living room.

"Weed," he laughed to himself. "They know good and well college kids smoke weed. When I was in university I stayed high. Now look at me, I got a good job but I could have been something. A lawyer or a doctor or something."

Lena smiled to herself, glad he had now dropped her failures to talk of his own. She found it funny he always claimed he could have been a doctor but he was squeamish at the sight of blood. It was Lena who had to care for her and Jr's cuts and bruises as a child.

"Don't get me started on my NBA career, if I would have held on to that scholarship, I would have been playing with Allen Iverson. Believe it or not, white men can jump too, damnit," he babbled.

Lena laughed out loud and Ames gave her a grim look, "Sorry, but that was funny, daddy,"

Ames chuckled grudgingly, "Both of you are funny alright. You, you are smart as hell and stupid at the same time, and that boy," he pointed toward Jr.'s closed door. "He's 6'5, and can't dribble a ball to save his life, can't catch a ball, all he wants to do is sit in that room and draw." He shook his head and gulped his drink.

Lena watched him sip, becoming a bit envious, she needed another drink herself. She plopped on the couch and stared at the television screen.

His brows were furrowed as he gulped the remainder.

"Lakers lost tonight, thank god," he remarked with a chuckle.

"Good," Lena laughed.

She wasn't sure why he despised the team but it was something they could agree on at this moment that wasn't about her.

"Thought you would be home earlier, we could have watched the game together," he remarked.

The comment gave Lena a bit of hope, she was starting to think he hated her. Ames stood to pour himself another drink and Lena looked his way.

"Can I have one?"

He gave her a sharp glance and she veered her head quickly and apologized for asking the foolish question. He strolled back over to his chair with two glasses and he sat the bottle of tequila on the glass coffee table and continued to watch the TV.

"Might as well, you're already selling drugs," he frowned, cradling in the recliner.

Lena smirked and took the bottle to pour her a shot of the burning liquid.

"How much can I drink?" she chuckled.

"I'm not counting, but I'd go slow if I were you. If you get sick, I'm not cleaning that shit up," he scrunched his nose and shivered behind the rim of his glass.

The pair watched the sports updates then he changed it to a sitcom they had both enjoyed years ago. They laughed together, and Lena was glad he was no longer so angry. The liquor was calming her a bit and it felt good to try and forget the past few weeks. She went and changed into a big shirt to get comfortable and went back to the couch to laugh at the humorous program. Just happy to be spending a peaceful time with Ames again.

Jr joined them in the living room around midnight with a bag in hand. At 18, Jr was just as tall as his dad and other than his darker skin, which came from his Dominican mother, he looked as if he could be his father's twin. Lena was even darker, her caramel skin and curly hair were naturally black and had been thick and long down her back like her mother's. Now it was cropped in a shoulder-length bob and blond, a stylish look her stepfather had disapproved of. She shook her head thinking back to when that was her biggest fuck up in his eyes.

"I'm heading out," Jr informed, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Alright, be careful," Ames responded and Jr patted his dad on his shoulder as he passed.

Now tipsy and a bit relaxed, Lena scoffed at the interaction. Ames knew exactly what his daughter's issue was and gave her another hard look.

"He's a man. You are a girl, you don't need to be out all night," he verified.

"He's taking a fucking overnight bag and you didn't even ask where he is going," Lena pouted.

Ames chuckled, "Where are you going?" He asked in amusement, looking up at his lanky son.

Jr gave his dad a sly smile and patted his shoulder playfully. They shared a laugh because he knew his son was off to get some pussy.

"Don't be stupid, wear a condom," Ames smiled giving another hearty laugh.

"I'll wear two," Jr cracked up.

"Oh, y'all are nasty as fuck and this shit is not fair. I'm older than him," Lena sneered.

"Watch that mouth, that liquor got you forgetting who you're drinking with," Ames chastised.

"Sorry, I just want to go out and use condoms too," Lena replied, taking another small sip to hide a giggle.

She glanced to see both Jr and Ames glaring at her for her sexual remark.

"I'm joking," she frowned.

"Don't play like that, Lena, if you get a boyfriend, he's gonna have to be approved by Ames and me. Cause if he doesn't act right, we whipping his ass," Jr announced.

Ames slapped his son's hand in confirmation and laughed.

"I got my gun polished the moment he walks in," Ames added, smiling.

"If I had a boyfriend, I wouldn't bring him around you two assholes anyway."

"Lena, what did I just say!" Ames denounced, pulling the bottle closer to him. "Stop all that fucking cursing, and your drinking all my liquor, you're gonna be sick as hell in the morning."

Lena pouted, she wanted to be sociable with Ames again and not scolded like now. Jr left the house on his quest and Lena sulked back on the couch as she focused on the TV.

"If you were in college and still living in the dorms, you wouldn't have to worry about what your brother does." He started and paused to gulp tequila. "You'd be at a party somewhere, worried about your class in the morning, had you done what you were supposed to do. But no, you would rather-"

"Can you just fucking drop it?" Lena glared at him.

"Watch it, Lena. Let's not forget who pays the bills around here. If I want to seethe over your bad decisions, I damn well can, in my house," he explained.

He rubbed his scruffy jaw, his face red over Lena's disrespect.

Lena dropped her resentment and her head in sorrow, "I'm sorry, Ames, damn, I fucked up. It's over. What else am I supposed to do?"

"Sorry. sorry, sorry, it's not me you need to be apologizing to. You'll be at a dead-end job in 20 years and then you will be sorry. Sorry, you ruined an opportunity not most people get at your age. A full ride and you jumped off before the first semester," he grumbled.

Tears didn't mean to drop down but they did and Lena sprang from the couch before he could notice. She walked into the bathroom and took a few breaths, anger and frustration at herself sent more tears to pour down. She hadn't meant to get loud but his constant berating was driving her over the emotional edge.

When she returned sniffing, Ames groaned in frustration, "Don't be a cry baby, just do better, Lena. You are a grown woman, you make your own decisions now."

"I know. I..." Lena tried to be strong but it was all too much and she broke down.

Ames looked at her with a bit of sympathy, grabbing her small hand in his. He shook her hand around, not sure what to say.

"Lena, calm down, now. Stop all the crying and control yourself."

He let his thumb brush her hand and the touch and warmth sent the built-up tears to fall faster. She was devastated by her clumsy mistakes and her breathing had heightened to hyperventilating.

"I'm sorry. I... messed. Up," she panted.

Ames pulled her into an embrace and awkwardly draped his long arms around her. Lena leaned into the hug further as she grasped his back. He said nothing as he pulled her up onto his lap and she buried her head into the crook of his neck, wetting it with tears.

He sighed, he had never seen her so depressed, usually, he would advise Lena to toughen up and grow a pair, cause that's what his immigrant Greek father had told him and his sisters. He continued rubbing her back in circles, thinking of something funny he could say to get a chuckle out of her sorrowful disposition. He was too full of grief over her bad decisions because they mimicked the ones he had made in college.

"Relax, baby girl," he mumbled, keeping his hand in motion around her quivering back.

He rocked the chair and rubbed her back until her sobs dissolved, leaving his neck damp and sticky.

Lena was melting, this kind of gesture was never a part of her life growing up. An occasional small hug and an 'I'm proud of you were always said to her. But never had she felt the warmth she was feeling now from him. He had portrayed his title as a cool dad letting his kids do what they wanted within reason. If they were hurt he would give them as much care as he could, if they cried he would tell them to control themselves. He was not the emotional type yet his comfort was so welcomed to Lena as she sighed softly on the side of his neck, branding a kiss to the soft flesh.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her breathing still ragged.

Ames nodded and adjusted her a bit on his lap so her knees sank into the deep leather folds instead of in his thigh.

"You'll do better," he frowned, keeping his eyes on the screen in front of him.

Lena nodded and nuzzled closer into his embrace enjoying the feeling of affection. She needed love and her stepdad was never a true sentimental man. He didn't believe he had to tell his kids he loved them. The fact he fed them and clothed them was enough. Lena relaxed and breathed in his deep musky scent and a new feeling crossed her drunken mind. She could sort of feel a slight bulge protruding from his shorts, a subtle pressure that teased her cotton-covered mound. The feeling of his strong arms encircling her body was so overwhelming. Lena rolled her hips along with the rocking the chair produced. Her breathing was now ragged with desire as she focused on the feeling below. Moving ever so slightly, she let her pussy rub up against him, searing sweet kisses on his bare shoulder.

Ames wasn't sure if she was moving or not but after bringing the chair to a stop, he noticed her hips rolling slightly around. He moved his arm from around her to instead rest on the arms of the chair. Her small upper body stayed still near his chest, yet her plump ass and full hips moved sensually around his lap. He kept rocking and thought maybe she was trying to get comfortable, then she moaned and kissed him.

Lena had thought the bulge was his erect dick but it had been soft. Upon grinding faster, it immediately swelled larger underneath her, nudging at her clit. Closing her eyes, she continued to grate, speeding her hips in motion causing delicious swipes to her hot spot, all the while her lips moved up his neck with craving. She was afraid to peep at his face, keeping her head down in his neck, she sighed softly in his ear. She wasn't sure if she was going to cum this way but her panties were soaking wet and she wanted more of him.

"Mmm, daddy," she moaned softly.

Ames took a deep breath and she could feel his heart rate increase.

"What are you doing Lena?" He finally asked.

His serious voice brought her out of her euphoric episode and she lifted her head.

"I knew I shouldn't have let you drink, are you drunk?" He asked, peering at her face.

Feeling embarrassed, she leaped up from his lap, wiping the dried tears from her cheeks. She wasn't sure what to say and didn't want to look at his face, less it be filled with disappointment or worse the same drunken desire she felt.

"It was just a hug, I'm sorry," she murmured to him.

She headed into the bathroom and stared at her intoxicated reflection, feeling a bit uncertain of what she had done. A hug from her stepfather was supposed to be innocent yet she had brought it up a notch. More than anything she wanted to be back in his lap, she would promise not to be improper with him. Now she was sure he would go back to keeping his distance once again.

Lena took a quick shower to remove the filthy notions she felt. Wrapping herself in a towel, she stepped out of the door peeping toward the chair where he sat, his eyes on the TV and his large hand clenching his glass.

"Lena," he called out.

She walked over with her head down at the pale carpeted floor.

"I'm sorry about that," he told her, his head down. "I didn't mean to make you cry," he looked toward her feet.

"I'm going to bed," she announced. "You can come upstairs with me if you want," he offered, shutting off the TV, he took another deep sip of his drink.

Lena nodded and walked upstairs to his room, keeping the towel wrapped around her body tightly, she sat on the big bed and waited for him.

Ames joined her with his full glass in hand and his tall frame filled the doorway. He handed her the glass and he cut the light off and flipped on the TV, illuminating the dark room. "I'm not mad at what you did, just let down but I know you will do better, you always do," he explained.

She pouted, taking a sip of his drink.

"I like to see you happy, not sad," he smiled and pulled her in for another hug.

Sitting on the bed, Lena wrapped her arms around his waist and his dick jabbed at her chest. He brought the towel around her head to the floor and his soothing hands roamed into her wet tresses

"I care about you a lot, Lena. You're my responsibility, so when you mess up, it feels like I messed up too," he said, massaging her scalp. She looked up at him with big eyes, and he pushed down with desire. "I know you're upset too, I'd give anything to see you happy, baby."