The Single Dad: Girl’s Sexual Awakening

I needed more time to think this through.

I needed distance to do that.

And I probably needed to stay far, far away from her.

Because that woman was fucking dangerous.

I’d felt that the second I touched her.

But my hands were aching to run up and down her body. My lips yearning to kiss her. My cock fucking throbbing to be inside her.

What the hell is happening to me?

Texting would start a dialogue; it would open something that surely needed to stay closed. And despite telling her that I wanted to see her again, I wasn’t sure if that was really the best idea.

Not when things with Eve were in such a good rhythm.

But as my heart pounded away, my fingers found Sydney’s name in my Contacts, and I pulled up a message. My thumbs pressed the letters, typing a text, and I hit Send before I could stop myself.

Me: Everly asked if you were coming to breakfast this morning. I thought you’d find that cute.

Me: It’s Ford, by the way.

Sydney: Hi! Awww. She’s adorable. I really, really loved meeting her-and hanging out with you, of course.

Me: It was certainly a good night.

I waited for the bubbles to appear, telling me she was replying.

But they didn’t.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

Maybe I needed to write more, to engage her.

Fuck me. Why was I even contemplating this?

But I was.

And just as I was about to send another message, I heard, “Daaaddy, I can’t find my pink tutu. Where did Linda put it?”

Her pink tutu.

That my housekeeper had washed and hung in her closet-I was positive of that, so I shouted back, “Check your dress rack!”

“I already looked. I need it for the pancake party. Can you find it?”

My thumbs hovered over the screen, and as I was about to type another message, Eve shouted, “Hurry, Daddy. We have to fix my hair. I want extra braids today. And lipstick.”

“You’re not wearing lipstick. You’re four.”

“I’m almost five!”

I glanced toward the doorway and yelled back, “That doesn’t change my opinion!”

“But it’s pink and sparkly, like my tutu.”

I looked back at my phone, not even remembering what I was going to write to her.

“Daddy!”

Damn it.

I set the phone on my nightstand and climbed out of bed, heading upstairs to help Eve.

“To one delicious pancake party, my little one,” Dominick said as he held Everly in his arms, clinking his Bloody Mary against Everly’s lidded plastic cup of orange juice.

Since Jo, Kendall, and Hannah were drinking mimosas, she wanted to be just like the girls-even if orange juice wasn’t her favorite.

“Uncle D, you didn’t hit my cup hard enough. I wanna feel the slosh inside.”

“Let me fix that,” Dominick replied, making a new attempt, which caused a few drops of his Bloody Mary to splash on the lid of Everly’s cup.

“Maybe that was a little too hard.” Eve giggled.

Our breakfast had been perfect. Everyone had shown up when they’d promised, even Craig, our chef-giving me a chance to hang with my family rather than spend the whole morning in the kitchen.

The smile on Eve’s face told me how happy she was.

“Eve, your uncle is hogging you,” Kendall said as she sat next to Dominick on the couch. She held out her arms and added, “When is it my turn to snuggle with you?”

“Now,” Eve sang, climbing onto Kendall’s lap. “Yippee!”

Kendall straightened the bottom of Everly’s skirt, fluffing it even higher. “I’m obsessed with your tutu.”

Man, I was so lucky to have Kendall, Jo, and Hannah in my family; they were such amazing motherly figures in Everly’s life.

“Hannah gave it to me. Isn’t it the bestest thing ever?”

“It sure is,” Kendall agreed.

My family spoiled her rotten. I couldn’t keep track of all the gifts and purchases. Even today, Dominick had bought Everly pink roses-her favorite. Jenner had brought some fancy hot chocolate to go with her pancakes that had colorful marshmallows and sprinkles. I had no idea where he’d found that shit before ten in the morning, but leave it to my brothers.

My daughter relished in the role as the only kid in our family. But I would make sure, as she got older, that this position didn’t affect her personality. That she didn’t just expect everything to be handed to her, that she appreciated what came her way instead.

Above anything, my child was going to be humble.

And even now, as she got almost everything she wanted, there was such kindness inside her, such generosity when it came to the people she cared about. The way she gazed at Kendall, how she hugged her with all the strength in her tiny body, how she played with Kendall’s hair.

That was the way Eve showed love.

And when she loved, she loved hard.

“So …” I heard Jenner whisper behind me, pulling my attention away from Eve. “Did you ever invite her over?”

I turned around to face him. “Who?”

“You know exactly who the fuck I’m talking about.”

My hand went into my hair as I sighed loud enough for him to hear. “Yeah. I texted her.”

“And?”

“Jesus, you’re really starting with me? Again?”

“If roles were reversed-and they were-you’d be doing the same thing. For what you put me through with Jo, I owe you a lifetime of shit, so, yes, I’m starting, and I don’t plan to stop.”

I shook my head, remembering, preparing myself for the amount of pressure he was about to lay on. “We exchanged a few texts, but I didn’t invite her over.”

“She’s already met Everly, so what’s the problem?”