All characters are above the age of 18 unless otherwise specified.
This story was originally written as part of a different story already published before I cut it and reworked it as a standalone; you can still think of it as a spiritual prequel if you desire.
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"What should we watch?" Ashlie asked, plopping herself down on the other side of the couch from me.
I took a brief glance at my watch; 8:32.
"Nothing too long, it's already kinda late."
"Are you kidding me?" she asked, stretching her long legs out and giving me a gentle shove on the thigh with her foot. "The night's just beginning."
I chuckled. "Maybe when you're 19. Come back when you're 47 and try telling me that."
Ashlie curled herself back up on the couch, pulling her knees up to her chest. She had the TV remote in-hand and was flipping through Netflix or HBO Max or something.
"So no Endgame then?"
"How long is it?"
Ashlie sighed. "Three hours. But you still haven't seen it! It's been years. You haaave to watch it," she pleaded.
"Uh-uh," I replied. "Put on a TV show. Or a movie's fine if it's like an hour and a half. I'm gonna be tired soon."
"Ugggh," Ashlie groaned. "You're fucking boring!" She feebly tossed one of the throw pillows at me, sailing it two feet over my head. Another reminder why she did cheer and gymnastics, and not softball.
"Hey you need to respect your elders. Besides, I'm not even a quintagenarian, you're gonna be in my seat sooner than you realize."
"I don't even know what the fuck that word means," she replied.
I pushed myself up from the couch and let out an exaggerated sigh. "You need to read more books," I said as I made my way to the kitchen from our living room. "Find something to watch, I'm grabbing a glass of wine."
"Wine, dad, really?" Ashlie asked. I looked back and saw her head peeking over the back of the couch, a very judgmental look adorning her face.
"It's good for your heart," I reasoned.
"Well can you get me a glass too?" she called back, a hint of both desire and insecurity in her voice, unsure if I would oblige her request. We hadn't raised our daughter to be a prude or anything; we certainly didn't encourage a party lifestyle but we also wanted to make sure she wasn't coddled and was prepared for the inevitable time when parties would happen and guys would be flinging themselves at her. Ahh, the struggles of having an attractive, popular daughter.
Still, this was the first time our baby girl had ever actually asked to drink, at least at home. And now I had a big decision to make. Of course it was just me at home, I couldn't defer to my wife.
"Uhh, sure," I answered, forcing myself to go with my gut reaction. I did always try to be the cool parent after all. "Red okay?"
"Yeah, whatever you're having," she responded.
"Sounds good," I yelled back from the kitchen as I poured two glasses of Cabernet. I added a little bit of water into Ashlie's glass, just to make the taste a little more palatable; it's the way her mother took her wine (except with sparkling water).
"Any reason for the sudden change?" I asked as I made my way back from the kitchen.
"What do you mean?" Ashlie responded, taking her glass.
"You've never asked for a drink before."
"Well I'm leaving for college soon. You guys already know I'm not gonna be a big drinker or anything, but I want to have at least a little experience. Just so I know my limits better."
That sounded like reasonable enough justification for me. I was far more of an alcoholic at her age, so I wouldn't complain about just a baby step.
Ashlie took a sip of her wine. Her face twisted up initially and she forced herself to swallow it. I smiled, remembering the days before I acquired the taste for wine.
"Did you find us something to watch?" I broached, changing the subject.
"Yes!" she said enthusiastically. "It's a rom-com, and you're going to hate it!"
"Ahh fuck," I grumbled. "Seriously?"
Ashlie giggled, taking joy in my displeasure. "It's only an hour and twenty minutes, and that's all you said!"
"Fine!" I begrudgingly relented. I took a long sip of my wine. I was a little surprised, it actually tasted a little sharper than usual. I typically preferred my wine smoother and less acidic.
Ashlie pressed play on the movie, and the production logos started to play. I stood up, drawing her attention to me.
"What're you doing? I just started it."
"I need something a little different," I answered.
"Well can you leave your glass here then? I'll finish it."
"Uhh, sure," I said, seeing no harm in it. That would actually be a good transition from her anyway, going from the watered-down version to the standard Cab.
I returned to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of Bulleit, the one type of liquor my wife never liked to share, making it my own special treat. I poured two fingers; it had been a long week.
"Not beer?" Ashlie inquired when I came back. The opening credits had just started to play.
"Nope. One of my favorite life lessons: beer before liquor, never been sicker; liquor before beer, in the clear."
"So bourbon now lets you maybe transition to beer later but not the other way?"
"Exactly."
"Good to know," she said and took another sip of her wine. I noticed that one of the glasses was already empty, back on the coffee table in front of the touch. I raised my eyebrow a little, knowing she was on her second glass.
The movie had started. It was some paint-by-numbers thing from the 2000's with terrible acting that I vaguely remembered having seen on a plane a long time ago. Another one of those "unreasonably attractive people doing scandalous things to each other repeatedly" stories.
"I've definitely seen this before," I said a little bit in, once parts of the plot I remembered re-assured me.
"Really? When? Not the type of movie I'd have pegged you for watching."
"Uhh it was on a flight a long time ago. I want to say you were 5 or 6 and I was going out to visit Uncle Steve in Delaware."
"Wait Steve used to live in Delaware?" Ashlie asked.
"Yeah for a few years, his company's headquarters moved there."
"Why? What's in fucking Delaware? I don't think I could tell you a single thing about that state," she said as she rose from the couch. "Want a top-up?"
I looked down at my nearly-empty glass. "Sure, why not? It's a weekend night."
Ashlie went back to the kitchen, and I focused on the movie. It was considerably less tolerable without a glass of alcohol in hand. At least the lead actress was pretty.
Speaking of, Ashlie returned just in time to be my salvation.
"I wasn't sure exactly how much to pour you, so...." she admitted as she handed me my glass.
"Holy fuck," I exclaimed, as she handed me back a very full tumbler. "That is wayyy too much."
"Oh, well it'll be fine," she said dismissively, lying back down on the couch. "Who cares? It's a Friday night, Mom's away for the weekend." She stretched her legs out and let her feet rest in my lap.
"I mean you're right, but I don't want you thinking your dad's an alcoholic."
"I won't," she said, smiling back at me before taking another sip of her own larger wine glass, filled almost to the brim. Those were the pours her mom did after a long day; we called them "Mom pours" specifically for that. Ashlie was now carrying on the tradition evidently.
The movie continued playing, and I found myself in a bit of trance. My eyes were on the tv but I wasn't really paying attention to anything happening on it. I was mindlessly sipping my bourbon while my mind was wandering to just about anything else: when the next car payment was due, how the Bears were looking in training camp, what I should make us for dinner tomorrow with my wife, the real cook, out of town.
Movement on the couch next to me was enough to finally catch my attention. Ashlie had grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and had spread it open so she could lie all the way underneath it, covering up my lap in the process. As she squirmed to get comfortable under the blanket, her feet pressed into my thighs, and the balls of her feet gently nudged against my dick.
I felt a small stir in my cock, just the littlest bit of attention enough to start turning me on, even if unintentional. After having been married for 20 years, the sex started to get a little more stale and far less frequent, so it felt good getting any amount of stimulation. And even if it was from my daughter, it was totally harmless and unintentional, so I didn't necessarily have to feel bad about it, even if a little weirded out.
My bourbon was almost half empty (half full? my wife always said I should be more optimistic), and I could feel a little buzz coming on. Ashlie was almost finished with her glass, and I could already see a rosy glow building in her cheeks. It brought me back to the first time I had ever gotten drunk. It was at a friend's house in 11th grade, and I puked my guts out after drinking too much vodka swiped from his parent's liquor cabinet. Ashlie was right that she needed to get a feel for her tolerance and know what it felt like, and if I was here to supervise her, that was the safest environment for her anyways.
The music on the TV began to swell. Between all the shitty acting and dialogue, the score was actually pretty solid. I doubted they got Hans Zimmer to do some terrible rom-com, but it didn't sound too far off in quality (except for the lack of deafening brass).
I started paying attention again as the loud music signaled the lead-in to a dramatic scene. A very handsome man who I'm pretty sure was the main guy character's best friend, was dramatically professing his love for the main female character in public, saying how much he adored her and how alive she made him feel (little did she know he was also trying to fuck her sister, but I knew that she would find out in about thirty minutes).
"Is that how you and Mom first got together?" Ashlie asked.
I looked over at her and chuckled. "No," I responded with a grin. "We were never that spontaneous."
"Really? I feel like that's the key to maintaining a relationship for so long."
"Well yeah it's important," I mused, taking another small sip of Bulleit. "And we were more spontaneous when we were younger. Just not quite like that."
"What do you mean?" Ashlie pressed the subject.
"You really want to psychoanalyze our relationship three glasses deep?" I asked.
Ashlie smiled and let out a loud, decidedly un-ladylike burp on cue. "Yeah, that's the perfect time."
I couldn't suppress a laugh. "Alrighty then. Your mother and I have always been best friends. That's what's helped us stay together for so long, even when that initial burning passion dies down."
"I think I know what you mean," Ashlie said. "But wouldn't you want to find someone where that passion doesn't die down?"
"I mean, in theory of course, but that's like finding the end of a rainbow, or a woman named Karen who