by B. B. Hamel
But the glow between my legs, the sweat still drying on my skin, it tells me one thing for certain: I need to feel that again.
I need my Daddy to get me off again.
10
Julian
The next morning, I get into the office before anyone else. I sit down at my desk and I stare at the floor, picturing exactly how her body felt.
It was everything I wanted and more. God damn, her tight pussy, her moans, her sweat, her lips… it was all perfect. It drove me fucking insane.
I can’t stop thinking about her. I know it’s fucked up, without a doubt a big mistake, but I can’t help myself.
There’s something else on my mind, though. Something deeper, something darker… something more important.
I don’t know why. But the second I came inside of her, I started thinking about my future.
It’s not just some fucking mid-life crisis. It’s practical and honest. Her father and I are the same age, or we were, at least. He’s gone now and I’m still here, but one day…
Well, I need a plan in place. I need something to ensure that everything I’ve built will outlast me.
I’ve always thought I’d have a family by now. Well, I used to think that, at least. I guess I gave up on the fantasy ten years ago, in my thirties. Now, I wish I had settled down all those years ago, pumped out a few babies, created something stable and happy for myself.
Doesn’t matter now. I didn’t do any of that and I can’t change the past.
But I can change the future.
People start to file into the office. Avery comes in a few minutes early and I head right over to her desk.
She looks up at me and instantly blushes. I know what she’s thinking. I’m sure she’s imagining last night, my cock deep between her legs. She’s probably remembering the orgasm she had, long and slow. Her moans are still ringing in my ears.
“We’re skipping today,” I say to her.
She arches an eyebrow. “What?”
“We’re taking the day off. I want to talk to you about something.”
“I don’t… what?” She frowns and leans toward me. “If it’s about last night—”
“It’s not,” I say quickly. “Last night got me thinking, but it’s not about that.”
She looks interested now. “Okay then. Where are we going?”
“I want to show you something.” I stand up and gesture with my head. “Come on.”
She grabs her bag and follows me to the elevator. We ride it down and I order an Uber on the way.
“I thought you’d have a private driver,” she says, grinning at me.
I shrug. “I get the expensive one.”
“Oh, of course. Can’t ride with us peasants.”
“Absolutely not,” I agree.
The black car appears, and I give the driver an address on the west side of South Philly. Avery frowns at that as we start driving.
“Aren’t there just a bunch of warehouses and stuff over there?” she asks.
“Used to be.” I say. “More houses are getting built, but there are still a few left.”
“What’s over there?”
“You’ll see.”
She sighs and pretends to be annoyed but I can tell she’s interested. We cut across the city and, after a few minutes of navigating the little one-way streets, the driver drops us off in front of one of the last remaining warehouses in the area.
It’s a big, gray metal building with a fence all around it. There are no signs anywhere, and as far as anyone outside can tell, the place is entirely abandoned.
I walk over to the single gate and pull a key from my pocket. I unlock the padlock and pull it aside for Avery.
“You’re showing me this?” she asks, confused.
“I’m showing you what’s inside. It’s a warehouse, you know. They’re for storing things.”
She glares at me. “Thanks, asshole.”
“Just come on.”
She sighs and I shut the gate behind her, locking it again. We hurry to the front door and stop as I enter a pin code into a number pad next to the handle. It unlocks with an audible click.
I pull it open. “It looks abandoned from the outside,” I tell her, “and that’s on purpose. People are less interested if they think there’s nothing inside.”
“Oh, really?”
“I actually put a ton of money into securing this building.”
“Why?”
We step into a little entrance room. I flip on a light and we’re greeted with a comfortable carpet, wood paneling on the walls, couches, and a fireplace. It looks like a living room from some rich guy’s dreams.
Because that’s exactly what it is.
Avery laughs a little. “What the hell?”
“Not what you were expecting?” I smirk and walk over to a bar set against one wall. “Drink?”
“No, thanks. It’s like… nine in the morning.”
I shrug and pour a little whiskey. I always have a drink when I come here. “Not many people get to visit this place.”
“Oh, yeah?” she asks, looking around. “You should let people come in here more often.”
“It’s more like a private space,” I say.
“So you needed a whole warehouse for that?”
“Well… no. I needed a warehouse for all the stuff I wanted to store.”
“What could you possibly have that needs so much space?”
I grin at her and sip my drink. There are three doors along the opposite wall, and Avery follows my gaze.
“Pick a door, any door,” I say.
She groans. “If I pick the wrong one, am I going to get thrown in the river or something?”
“Nope, there’s no wrong choice here.”
“Is there a right choice?”
I laugh but don’t bother answering.
She sighs and chews on her lip. “Okay, fine. Let’s go in the middle room.”
“Good choice.” I walk over to the door and enter the pin into the number pad. The door unlocks and I push it open. “Come on.”
I head down a long hallway. Avery hurries to keep up. The carpet continues, and lights turn on as we move forward, illuminating the path ahead.
The hallway ends in another door. I enter yet another code and push it open.
We step into blackness. Well, it’s not complete blackness. Some light streams in from the windows up above, near the roof of the warehouse.
I clear my throat and the lights start to come on, illuminating row after row of cars.
Avery whistles and steps forward. “Holy crap.”
“This is my car collection.”
We walk forward. There are fifty-three cars in here from all different years, including a beat up old Model T that probably belongs in a museum.
“Why do you have so many?” she asks.
“Honestly?” I run my fingers over a Porsche two-seater. “I don’t know. I got bored a while back, and I have so much stupid money, I figured… why not collect something absurd?”
“And you landed on cars?”
“Pretty much.”
She laughs and shakes her head. “Have you driven them all?”
“At least once,” I say. “All the ones that can drive. A few are too old.”
We walk along among the cars. Avery runs her fingers over them. I have trucks, sports cars, old muscle cars, rare cars, that sort of shit. Lots of classics, lots of expensive pieces that only exist in a few other collections. I probably have several million dollars’ worth of cars in here, at least.
“So you brought me here to show off your car collection, huh?” She turns to me, a little smile on her lips. She leans against a classic Mustang and crosses her arms.
“Not at all,” I say softly. “I just wanted to show you…” I reach for the words, but I have trouble finding them. I feel stupid, silly, absurd. I feel like a dumb old man embarrassing myself in front of someone much younger.
Someone that can’t really understand what I�
��m thinking about.
“What?” she asks, cocking her head.
I turn away. “Nothing. It’s stupid.”
“No, come on. Don’t be like that.”
I grumble a little and walk back to the far door. There are three doors in this room, and I lead her to the one on the right. “Come on, let’s check this out.”
She follows me, but this time there’s no long hallway.
We step into a smaller room full of tables and metal racks. There are electronic components on each rack, and on closer inspection, they’re all old computers.
Avery looks around. “Another collection?”
“Yep,” I say. “What do you think?”
She hesitates. “I think… I don’t know what to think, honestly.”
I laugh. “I know. Most people see this and wonder what the hell I have all this junk for. But look, some of these are the first consumer computers ever made. They’re rare pieces of our history.”
I walk her through some of it, talking about how hard they were to acquire. I show her the parts I keep on one workbench, parts specifically to repair certain models. I have several workbenches, tables with soldering irons and other equipment, specifically for restoring old computers.
“I come in here sometimes when I’m having a tough day,” I tell her. “I find it weirdly therapeutic, fixing old junky computers. Like if they can get working again…”
She nods a little. “I get that. I like to crotchet.”
I bark a laugh. “Really?”
“Sure. Is it any weirder than having a warehouse full of cars and old computers?”
“I guess not.”
She bites her lip and leans up against a table. “So why are we really here, Julian?”
I take a breath and slowly let it out.
“I’ve been thinking about all this stuff,” I say slowly. “And about your father.”
She nods a little. “I think I know where this is going.”
“I’m thinking about my future. I don’t have a wife or kids.”
She turns a little red. “Julian—”
“No, just listen. All this stuff, it’s just stuff. But one day I’ll be gone, and I have no idea who will get it all. I want a plan in place. I want to know that someone deserving is going to get it. Or at least someone that isn’t a total asshole.”
“Julian—”
“I’m not offering this to you,” I say quickly. “And I don’t want you to marry me and have my babies, although that’s an option, if you’re into it.”
She blushes. “Why, then?”
“I want to offer you a partnership in my publishing business.”
She stares at me, eyes slightly wide. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.” I step closer, heart beating fast. “I know it’s stupid and fast and strange, but I can’t help myself. I keep thinking about my future, about your father, and about you… and I want you to have the business one day. Hell, I don’t even have to die. I’ll probably just get bored and want to move on.”
She laughs a little nervously. “I don’t know anything about running a business.”
“I’ll teach you,” I say. “It really isn’t all that hard once you have the capital to get started.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
I grin at her. “Okay, so maybe it isn’t easy. But I can teach you.”
“I don’t know. That sounds…”
“Scary? All the best things in life are scary.”
“What are people going to say?”
“Fuck people.” I step closer to her, my heart beating fast now. I’m not sure if I’m nervous or just excited to be alone in a room with her. “I know it’s sudden. But you’re smart and you’re capable. I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather trust.”
“I couldn’t even make a single author happy, and now you want me to run your whole company.”
I chuckle a little. “I don’t think anyone could’ve made her happy, but at least you tried.”
“Come on, Julian. This is nuts.”
“I’m offering you the future here. If you can make Haylee happy, I’ll let you have a piece of the business. You’ll own it, free and clear.”
“Why?” she whispers. “I don’t deserve this.”
“Yes, you do.” I step closer to her, close enough to kiss her. “It’s not just because I want to fuck you, either. It’s because you’d be good at it.”
“I don’t think I would be.”
“Give it a shot. Keep working with Haylee. And if you want it… you can have it.”
She takes a sharp breath as I run my hands through her hair. I kiss her softly and she wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me close.
I don’t tell her that I’ve never actually brought anyone in here before. I lied when I said other people have seen this room. I’ve never brought anyone here, because I’ve never wanted to share this part of me before. But now, with her, I want to share everything. I want her to have everything.
I want to be her Daddy. I want to take care of her, make her happy… provide for her future.
And leave a future for myself.
We pull apart and I squeeze her hand. “Think about it,” I say.
“Okay. I will.”
“Good. Come on, let’s go back to work.”
She sighs and follows me back across the room. We step through a door and end up in the original living room.
We head out the main entrance. As I set up an Uber, she turns to look back. “Hey, what was in that last room?”
“Hardcore pornography,” I say.
She stares at me, shocked. “Seriously?”
“No,” I answer, laughing. “That has other collectibles like comics and video games.”
“Oh,” she says, relieved, and then cocks her head with a frown. “Actually, I don’t know what’s worse. Collecting porn or collecting toys.”
“Collectibles,” I correct, and sigh. “Never mind.”
She grins at me, gets up on her tiptoes, and kisses me gently.
God damn. This girl…
I know this is insane. It’s way too fast and way too much. I’m risking a lot by offering her a piece of my business, my fucking future.
But she’s worth the risk. I know it’s been hard for her, that Haylee’s been difficult, but I can see it. She’s not quitting, she’s sticking around, and fuck…
I like her. I really, really like her. I’ve never felt this way about a woman, not for a long time.
I trust my instincts. And right now, my instincts tell me to gamble on Avery.
11
Avery
Like always, I can’t get Julian out of my had.
But this time, it’s for a different reason.
I keep thinking about that warehouse full of cars and old computers and comic books. It’s like a palace for a rich man, and yet it felt so… lonely.
There were no people. It was just a huge, empty room full of stuff.
Looking at those cars, all lined up and gleaming and sitting alone in the dark, I think I can understand what he’s going through. I think I get why he wants me in on his business.
My dad’s death rattled him. I know he’s still grieving, even if he doesn’t realize it yet. They were friends, around the same age, and I bet he keeps thinking about that fact all the time.
If that’s the only reason he wants me in on his business, I can’t do it. I can’t go into this just because he’s having some kind of existential crisis. If he really thinks I’d be good in the role, that I’m worthwhile, I’ll go for it. Of course, it’s an amazing opportunity and it could change my entire life completely.
But I have to do it for the right reasons.
And I just don’t know.
I sit on my couch after work and sigh, legs curled underneath me. I try to concentrate on the TV, but I can’t seem to stop thinking about him. I keep seeing the cars, and then feeling his body behind mine, fucking me, taking me.
There’s so much more to
Julian than I realized at first. I thought he was just this rich playboy asshole that was doing my father a favor by hiring me. Now though, the more I get to know him, the more I realize there’s a depth to him, hidden from view, but there.
I don’t know if he’s letting me get a glimpse of that depth because he’s genuinely interested in me… or if he just wants to sleep with me.
God damn, it’s so frustrating. I keep walking myself in circles. I keep wondering if this is real, and if it’s real, why he’s picking me. If it’s not real, then I don’t know what any of this means.
It’s driving me totally insane. As I sit here, trying to work all this out in my head, I catch a glimpse of my work bag open on my kitchen table.
I get up slowly and walk over to it. The new pages from Haylee are stacked in there. I take them out, sit down on the couch, and start to read.
I’m totally engrossed. I don’t even look up until I finish it entirely through. I have to start over again from the beginning.
After my second read-through, I recognize the feeling in my pit of my stomach.
It’s dread.
I read through it again and again. Four times in total, and it’s late by the time I get up and start pacing around my living room.
The pages are bad. Like, really bad. Typos and grammar and writing style aside, the story itself is taking a dramatically insane turn. I mean, it barely even makes any sense. The main character gets killed off and is replaced by a random secondary character that was only briefly mentioned in the earlier pages. It’s totally bat-shit insane and I know people are going to rebel. I mean, the main character was so likeable and well written and deep and…
Oh, god. I stop pacing and it hits me.
I hate these pages. I hate them so much. And I’m going to have to do something about it.
Basically in a panic, I grab my phone and call Julian. He answers on the second ring.
“Avery?”
“Hey, I’m sorry, I know it’s late, but I need to talk to you.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m okay, it’s…” I clear my throat and steady myself. “It’s the pages Haylee gave us.”
He sighs. “Shit. I thought you were, like, getting robbed or something.”