When I woke up the first thing I did was roll over. My heart stopped. There was a warm body next to me. A naked, warm body.
It was my daughter Amy.
The events of the night rushed back to me.
Oh my god. What had I done?
Amy stirred and I held my breath. I didn't want her to wake up. I didn't want her to also have to face the horror of what had happened. How could I have done that to her... with her?
I tried to make some sense of it. It was supposed to be a simple awards ceremony. My wife, her mother, couldn't come so Amy had agreed to be there for me. Awards ceremonies weren't my thing, but the company was presenting me with a 'Salesman of the Year' trophy and my family felt someone should be there to support me. Amy was thrilled to do it. She had recently been divorced and looked for any way to take her mind off of it. This short, overnight trip to the city would be fun. We'd have dinner, attend the ceremony, and be back to the hotel room to sleep and leave in the morning.
The dinner and the ceremony had gone as expected. Things were normal. Amy was beautiful, as always, and I was proud to introduce her to everyone who came by our table to congratulate me. Some, who didn't know me well, assumed she was my wife, and I was quick to correct them, which Amy found hilarious.
Like I said, it was all normal.
And then the ceremony was over and we decided to walk back to the hotel instead of calling an Uber. It was a bit cool so I put my arm around her as we walked.
When we got back to the hotel Amy suggested we have a drink first at the hotel bar. After all, how often is it that we got to spend time together in the city?
We ordered martinis and talked. The conversation soon found its way to her divorce and I listened as she told me about how she'd suspected her husband, Dan, been cheating on her. She eventually found out he had and that led to the end of their marriage. They'd only been married two years.
We had a second martini and talked about what she would do next. She was looking for a place of her own and would only be staying with us for a few weeks, a couple of months at the most.
While we talked I couldn't get over how much she reminded me of her mother when we'd first met. Amy was a spitting image. The only difference was her blue eyes. They sparkled when she smiled. It was intoxicating at times.
After the second drink she was obviously a bit tipsy so I suggested it was time to call it a night. When we stood to go she seemed a bit unsteady and, so she wouldn't be embarrassed to walk, I held onto her arm lightly to help her to the elevator.
When the elevator doors closed she laughed, kissed my cheek, and called me her 'knight in shining armor".
For the briefest of moments I didn't see her as my daughter. I think it was the kiss on the cheek. Her lips were soft. I hadn't felt soft lips like that in years.
I helped her to the room and she held on to me as I unlocked the door.
Amy went into the bathroom and I climbed into bed. I took the bed nearest the door and had forgot to close my suitcase, which lay on the floor at the foot of the bed. I usually sleep in the nude but, being that my daughter was in the room, I opted to at least wear boxer shorts in case I had to get up during the night to use the bathroom.
I dimmed the light so Amy could see her way to her bed and settled in.
A few minutes later she came out of the bathroom. I glanced at her.
She really was a beautiful woman. What had her husband been thinking???
She was wearing a long t-shirt and her long, bare legs were uncovered. I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable so I closed my eyes.
And then I felt a weight on the mattress. I opened my eyes. Amy had her knee on the bed and was climbing over me.
"Sorry," she giggled. "Still a bit tipsy and you left your suitcase all open. I can't get by it so I have to crawl over you."
And then she paused, she was poised halfway over me and was just about to swing her leg over to get to other side. She looked down...
"Do you mind?"
"Of course not."
She swung her long leg over and, for a second, she was straddling me.
"You sure?"
I didn't know what to say so I said nothing.
She laughed. "When was the last time there was another woman in your bed who wasn't mom?"
"Amy!"
This caused her to laugh heartily which made me laugh as well.
Pretty soon we were both giggling and Amy had her forehead pressed against my chest.
"Your chest hair is tickling my nose," she giggled. And then she lifted her head and looked at me. "When was the last time?"
"What?"
"That someone else was in your bed?" she smiled mischievously.
"None of your business little lady." I laughed and tried to push her off and to the other side. To stop me she pressed down and gripped the covers. What began as innocent play soon turned a little weird as we both realized she was pressing herself down on me to prevent from being tossed aside.
It had been too long, I realized. Way too long..
Our giggling stopped. Amy lifted her weight off of me and brushed a lock of hair over her ear.
