Mike and Carol had known each other in High School. They had not been friends or dated, but acquaintances. So when they ran into each other more than twenty years later at a party they had lots to talk about. Both had been married, divorced and were dealing with the frustrations of raising children in split homes. Mike shared custody of his two sons with his ex-wife and Carol's two daughters lived with her ex-husband since she traveled a lot for her work as a Software Sales Rep.
Naturally when they announced their engagement the Brady Bunch jokes flew. But real life for Mike and Carol was hardly a sitcom. Mike's custody arrangement had his eight and ten year old boys living part time with each parent, alternating weekends. Carol's thirteen and fifteen year old daughters resented Mike for interfering with what little time they had with their mother so any time the mixed family was together it was usually uncomfortable and sometimes outright hostile. For five years Mike and Carol made it work, Carol still traveling a lot, Mike holding down the fort at home while the kids grew up and Carol's oldest daughter Kelly went away to college.
Things got even more challenging when Carol's now eighteen year old daughter Emma started fighting with her father to the point that Emma came to live with Mike and Carol. Emma had become a complete bitch, screaming and yelling all the time, running away to friend's houses when she didn't get her way and getting arrested twice for possession of pot. Mike, Carol and her ex decided something had to change and agreed to have Emma move the 50 miles to Mike and Carol's house and enroll her in a small private school where she would get a little more attention, but most importantly change the environment.
For the first few weeks Emma was a monster, Carol arranged to stop traveling and the house was like a prison. Mike's boys found excuses to stay at their mother's house more and more. But over time things started to settle down. The structure and limits began to have a positive effect on Emma and she became a bearable if not always pleasant teenage girl. She started doing better in school and the boys started to return to their normal living schedule. Things were improving to the point where Carol saw it as an opportunity to take a few work trips to get things going again. She and Mike worked out a schedule where Mike would be able to pick Emma up from school each day and Emma's father would be available if any problems arose. As an incentive, Emma was told that if things went well for the week she would be given some basic privileges back, like her cell phone. With that Carol left on a Monday morning for Chicago after getting Emma off to school. She would be gone until Thursday.
Mike arrived at Emma's school to pick her up at three and smiled as he saw her walking out of the school with a nicely dressed girl about her age, smiling and laughing on her way to the car. Things were looking up, the change in environment and structure was working and it looked like Emma might just get through this patch of her life. Emma jumped in the car, a big smile on her face and giggled "Hi Mike".
Mike smiled back at her. "Good day at school today Emma?"
"Yep" Emma replied as they drove back to the house.
Emma jumped out of the car when they pulled into the garage, went to her room and dropped off her book bag, changed quickly from her school uniform and came down to the family room where Mike had settled with his laptop to check some emails from work. When she walked in Mike noticed she was wearing a pair of skin tight denim daisy duke shorts and a threadbare black t-shirt that looked like she's had it since she was ten years old that showed off her tight midsection. Emma was tall, five foot seven, and thin with long brown hair that she had put up in two pigtails. She had small breasts and was not wearing a bra so her nipples showed through the tight ratty t-shirt. Her eyes were surrounded with thick black eye-liner, a holdout to her past, one that Mike and Carol had agreed not to push as it really didn't hurt anything and gave her something to have control over.
Emma lay on her side against the arm of the couch; her long bare legs pulled up beside her and used the remote to flip on the TV. From where Mike was sitting he was looking right at her tight little butt, barely covered by her shorts and could see the long contours of her legs. He tried not to stare, but it was a challenge. A couple times Emma looked over and caught his eyes...smiling and then winking, making Mike quickly look back to his laptop.
After about half an hour Emma got up and walked past Mike on the way to the kitchen...her hand brushing his arm as she walked by. She opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water, turning her head and asking "Mike, you want something?"
In his head Mike was thinking of something he wanted, but replied "No thanks, I'm OK."
Emma walked back into the room, stopping and pulling the ottoman up in front of Mike's chair, straddling it and opening the bottle of water and taking a sip, then setting the bottle on the floor. As she looked up at Mike she smiled, shifting nervously. "Mike, can I tell you something?"
Mike stopped working on the email he was writing, looked up at Emma and closed the laptop. Remembering one thing the counselor they had talked to had told them. "When Emma decides to open up, she should be given the undivided attention she is craving". He set the laptop on the end table beside him and looks at her. "Of course Emma, I hope you feel like you can tell me anything."
Emma smiled warmly and began.
"Mike, I think I need to apologize for the way I acted. I don't know why I was being like that but since I have moved in here I have been happier than I've been since Mom and Dad divorced. Thank you so much." Tears began to well up in her eyes and she suddenly moved forward, wrapping her arms around Mike's neck and climbing up in his lap, her legs straddling him, hugging him tightly.
Mike sat shocked for a second then wrapped his arms around her, feeling her tears on his cheek. Mike's big hands lay on her back, comforting her as she cried softly. "Emma, your mother and I are just so happy that you are happy again. We know how hard it can be to grow up in a broken home. All we want is for all of us to be happy together."
Emma sat back, a silly smile on her face. "You mean like the Brady Bunch?"
Mike laughed, Emma straddling him in her tiny little shorts. "Well something like that."
Emma giggled and shifted in Mike's lap, moving forward. She looked in Mike's eyes and reached up, wiping the tears away with her forearm. "Think Mr. Brady ever fucked Marsha?"
Mike laughed, trying not to react to the language that had been one of the things that had been part of the new rules of behavior in the house. "Well, it was the 60's, free love and all that."
Emma leaned forward, her lips against Mike's ear, sliding her hands down his chest to his crotch where a bulge was starting to form. She whispered "can I call you Daddy?"
Mike's hands moved off of Emma, pulling back but not able to move far. Trying not to over-react, the counselor had told them she might test them by doing outrageous things to get a rise out of them. Mike didn't think this was the kind of rise he was talking about though. Mike calmly responded "sure Emma, it makes me feel good that you think of me like a dad."
Emma grinned, her hands moving slowly over his growing bulge. She giggled softly in his ear, letting out a soft moan. "Daddy, I want you to fuck me like Mr. Brady".
Pulling back, Mike nearly shouted "Emma, what are you doing! I know you want to test us, but this is not appropriate in any way."
Emma recoiled, a look of terror on her face. Her eyes welled up in tears and she leaped off of Mike's lap, turning and running to her room, diving on her bed, her hands covering her face in shame.
Sitting confused for a moment, Mike replayed the last few minutes in his mind, trying to understand what just happened. He felt he had to deal with this head on so he got out of the chair and went to her room. Knocking on the jam of the open door he softly spoke, "Emma? We need to talk about this."
Sobbing, Emma turned away, her face buried in her hands. "Please, just leave me alone."
