February 14th
It was going on just over two and half years now since her mother's death in July of 2022, and Tasha's father, Blake, was still mourning the loss of his beloved Dark Queen. This mourning especially showed itself on Valentine Day's.
This would be Blake's third Valentine's Day since his wife's death and for the past two years, Tasha had watched her daddy drink himself into oblivion on what was supposed to be this special day for love.
Tasha had just turned eighteen three weeks ago and she now felt it was time she did something to try and ease her father's suffering. Determined to do just that, she came home early from her shift as a bus girl at a local restaurant, hoping she would be home before her father was too wasted.
She was going to suggest they go out somewhere, anywhere for a late Valentine's Day dinner and after arriving home shortly after eight to a dark and quiet house her hopes started to fade.
The house being this dark and this quiet could only mean one thing: her father was locked away upstairs in his bedroom getting mournfully drunk again all by himself.
Tasha, resisting the urge to go to him right away, instead make a hurried trip to her bedroom. Still having some hope he might not yet be too drunk to go out to dinner, she changed into a tight pair of jeans and a pretty crème coloredblouse before touching up her make up.
After exiting her bathroom, she started to make her way across the room, meaning to hurry down to his bedroom when she suddenly stopped. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the small white bear sitting there in the middle of her bed. She hadn't noticed it when she first entered her room as she was in a hurry and had made a beeline directly to her walk in closet to change.
Smiling, she walked over to her bed. Sitting in the bear's lap was a pair of elegant red roses, along with a small jewelry box and a large blue envelope.
Opening the envelope first it contained a nice Hallmark Valentine's Day card from father to daughter. Her father had not wrote much on the inside of the card, but what he did write touched her deeply.
To My Dearest Daughter:
Just as your mother was, and always will be, my most beloved and most beautiful Dark Queen, you are and always will be my most beautiful dark princess.
Tasha possessed a lovely mix of her Caucasian father and her African American mother seemingly taking the best from both races. Her skin tone was a light brown, her eyes dark and smoldering, and her smile bright and infectious and with black wavy hair framing her angelic face Tasha truly was a thing of beauty.
As for her body, it was a work of pure splendor with curves in all the right places as she owned a pair of sizable breasts, nice toned legs, and a full sculpted ass.
Sniffling, Tasha picked up each of the roses one by one, admiring their beauty before smelling them. She loved the smell of fresh roses and it made her smile as she dropped the second one on the bed before picking up the small jewelry box. After prying it open, let out a loud gasp. Inside were a pair of diamond earrings.
Tasha quickly made her way to the bathroom where she put on the earrings and after touching up her makeup again she hurried back out. Exiting her bedroom, she was now more than ever determined to get her daddy out of his funk.
Pausing at his door, she listened closely: all was silent.
She quietly rapped her knuckles on the door as she called out, "Daddy, it's me . . . can I come in."
Receiving no reply, she knocked louder. Still nothing. Sighing, she grasped the doorknob before attempting to turn it.
She had half expected it to be locked but thankfully it turned easily in her hand. Letting herself inside the nearly dimly lit bedroom, the only light on was a small lamp on the nightstand to the left of his bed, she scanned the room quickly. There he was, sitting in his office chair at his work desk, slumped over.
Her pulse quickened, seeing him slumped down on his desk like that, but as she approached, Tasha could see he was OK—except for the fact he was probably passed out.
There was a small flask sitting on the desk along with four crumpled and mangled empty beer cans.
Picking up the flask, it was empty, she brought it up to her nose; it reeked of whiskey. Sighing, she reached out and began to shake him.
"Daddy, wake up," she said.
Shaking him harder, she barked at him again, "Daddy wake up . . . it's your daughter."
Blake raised his head up, mumbling, "My daughter . . . my dark angel."
"Yes, yes, all one in the same, now wake up please."
With a mighty effort, Blake raised himself up and off of the desk before reaching for the flask.
Tasha quickly scolded him. "It's empty and before you ask . . . no I'm not going to go downstairs and refill it for you with more whiskey."
"I'll . . . I'll go myself," Blake mumbled as he slowly climbed to his feet before half staggering, half stumbling toward the bedroom door.
"You will never make it down the stairs, Daddy," Tasha said as she quickly moved to his side—just in time to catch him as he started to fall sideways.
Leaning heavily on her, he mumbled, "Yeah, you're probably right . . . then take me over to the bed . . . let me lay down."
Well I guess dinner is out of the question, Tasha sighed quietly to herself as she steered him toward his bed.
He fell heavily on the bed in a sitting position as Tasha tried to hide her disappointment about how they wouldn't be going out to dinner after all.
Looking at him, she said, "So are you going to be alright to get in bed and under the covers?"
"Sure, Tasha. I'll manage," he replied quietly. "Thanks."
Staring at him for a long moment, he was just sitting there, staring off into space, she figured he was probably thinking of her mother. Sighing deeply, Tasha turned away, saying, "Well g'night then I guess."
She sighed again as he didn't even bother to respond. Feeling wholly depressed over his non response, over his being too drunk to go to dinner, over everything, Tasha started to cross the room toward the door.
She was about halfway across the spacious bedroom, when he finally called out to her. "Happy Valentine's Day, sweetie . . . sorry about dinner . . . I . . . I know I promised you."
Turning, she gave him a soft smile. "Yes you did. I guess you can make it up to me later."
"It's not my fault though," he said lamely. "I mean I thought you would be home by seven and when you weren't here . . . I started . . . yeah drinking as I figured you forgot about me."
She crossed back to him. "Of course I didn't forget about you, Daddy. I was supposed to be out in time to be home by seven but they were busy and my relief was late so Mr. Collins made me stay an almost an extra hour."
"Oh, well, we can go out to dinner tomorrow I suppose."
"OK, sure, tomorrow," she said as he looked up at her.
"Did you get your Valentine's Day gifts? I left them in your room. You . . . you didn't say anything."
"I did and I was going to thank you during our dinner but then . . . you know."
She shrugged her shoulders despondently before crossing back over to him.
"But really they were nice, especially the ear rings." Moving even closer she tilted her head to one saying, "See I'm wearing them now."
He peered up at her for the longest time saying nothing before finally climbing to his feet.
Moving closer to her, he whispered, "They look beautiful on your, Tashy."
Hearing his cute little nickname for her from days gone by, he usually only used it when he was feeling frisky so maybe he was sobering up some, she smiled inwardly at this small little positive sign.
Tasha smiled as he reached out and stroked the side of her face softly. "Then again everything looks beautiful on my lovely dark princess."
"Oh Daddy stop with the flattery," she whispered back while secretly loving it.
"But it's true . . ." Using one finger he carefully ran it along her cheek as he dropped his voice to a quiet whisper, "With every passing year you grow more and more lovely . . . just like your mother."
"I do?" she whispered.
"You do . . . for sure . . . sometimes . . . sometimes I just wanna . . ."
He looked down then before adding very quietly. "Kiss . . . like I used to . . . her."
Then it happened. Without warning, he looked up before leaning in and giving her a nice kiss . . . directly on the lips. It only lasted for a brief second or two before she pulled back quickly in half shock and half surprise.
"Oh God, honey . . . I'm so sorry. I . . . I can't believe I did that."
"Daddy it's alright . . . you were thinking of her and you said I remind you of her so . . ."
He slumped down onto the bed before looking up at her with a miserable look on his face.
"I know you must be so grossed out . . . having your father kiss you on the lips like that. I'm so sorry, baby. It's just you, like I said, remind me so much of her and I miss her so much . . . I just lost my head there."
He dropped his head in wretched shame then as something deep stirred inside of Tasha.
Reaching out, she ran her fingers through his hair as she whispered, "It's OK, Daddy . . . really it is."
After a quiet moment, he looked up at her again with a look of abject pain and horrible misery deeply etched on his handsome face, causing her heart to wrench with pain.
Dropping his voice down to the quietest of whispers, he said, "No it's far from OK. I mean, the way you pulled back . . . like you had been bitten by an ugly old dog tells me it's not OK."
His shoulders slumped then, as his head lolled downward. It was as if someone stuck a pin in him, letting all the air out.
Knowing she could not leave him like this, Tasha struck out on a bold path then, taking the first step when she told him the truth, "Daddy I only pulled back so quickly because . . . because you caught me off guard."
Reaching down, she touched the side of his face lightly before whispering, "Look at me."
After a long pause, he looked up at her.
"I wasn't grossed out."
"You weren't? Really?"
Knowing what she was about to suggest might be considered a little wicked, Tasha regardless felt she needed to do it . . . if only to make him feel better.
"No . . . stand up . . . let me prove it to you."
She watched him stand up as she screwed up her courage to do what must be done next.
