The Daddy Dilemma

by Tia Siren

  Still, Stacy was my best friend, and I knew she needed my support, so I’d decided to go along with her wishes and let her handle the situation however she wanted.

  People crowded into our joined backyard and beverages were poured quickly. My father had practically bought up the entire ABC store down the road. He made sure everyone had multiple drink options and enjoyed mixing various cocktails for his friends. Food was brought in by the truckload when Stacey and Brad finally showed up. Stacey complained about having a headache and blamed it on all the noise. I gave her a kiss on the cheek and watched while Brad ushered her back to the car. I told Stacey to call me later and we would talk.

  So much for being rescued from this party.

  My dad brought me a plate of food, and we stood off to the side together. I told him they really didn’t have to go through all this trouble, and he kept telling me they were celebrating something special: the Marx’s and the Rendon’s hadn’t had all their children together since Kason had left for San Francisco all those years ago. Now that everyone was home, we needed to celebrate and enjoy it. Up until this point, I hadn’t seen Marcus or Kason, and I figured they were off doing their own thing.

  There was a part of me that was excited to see Kason again. I still wasn’t sure how I was going to seduce him, but I knew it started with tight clothing and a splash of makeup. So, I had found a dress that hugged me tight and put on one of my push-up bras. Then I’d slapped on a pair of heels that flexed my legs just right and painted my lips with a ruby red lipstick. Dad fawned over how wonderful his daughter looked, and Mom kept teasing me about how I was on the prowl even though I was supposed to be home to relax. What I didn’t tell them was that Mom was right. I was on the prowl, and the person I wanted was Kason.

  After an hour and a half went by, I settled on the fact that they weren’t coming. I figured Marcus had pulled Kason off to some bar or something, not wanting to bother with the party at all. I was kind of pissed they hadn’t invited me. I mean, I couldn’t legally drink yet, but we all could’ve gone to get food somewhere or something.

  Just when my disappointment hit its peak, Kason and Marcus walked around the house and into the backyard.

  Kason looked absolutely stunning. Every inch of his 6’1” stature was painted with rippling, pulsing muscles. He was wearing another short-sleeved shirt that showed off the sleeve tattoo that cascaded up his arm. A few times, I brushed by him just to see if I could figure out what it was. His jet-black hair was styled with gel that glistened in the afternoon sun. When his light blue eyes caught the sun just right, they sparkled like diamonds set in a ring. His smile never quite bloomed fully, making it seem as if he had a secret he was holding back from everyone. Eventually, I tried to interject myself into his and Marcus’s conversation.

  “Wasn’t sure you two were gonna show,” I said.

  “Eh, we weren’t sure if we were at first, but we decided to come and leave our energy for tonight,” my brother said.

  “Oh? And what’s tonight?” I asked.

  “There’s a new speakeasy that opened up downtown. Marcus and I went a couple nights ago, but we’re thinking about heading back.”

  Marcus smirked. “Yeah. Some bunny there likes to shove her tongue down Kason’s throat.”

  A twinge of jealousy ricocheted around my stomach, especially when that dumbass grin Kason was dawning bloomed on his face. What woman was this? I wondered what she looked like. I bet I could have looked like her if I’d tried. She’d be a wonderful person to model myself after if Kason was chasing her.

  “Oh? And what does this special woman look like?” I prodded.

  “Oh, you know, the usual: big tits, short spiky hair, shorts that show her ass cheeks,” Marcus said.

  “So she’s a whore,” I said in a matter-of-fact tone.

  Kason choked on his drink, and I could feel Marcus’s eyes bore into my temple, but I didn’t shift my glare from Kason. I wanted him to know I disapproved, that he could do better, that he was so much better than that.

  I wanted him to know he could have the likes of me if he wanted.

  God, our babies would be so beautiful. They’d have my bubbly personality and his intense eyes. They’d have my smooth tongue and his tall stature. Maybe my chin and his strong jawline. They’d be gorgeous and well-off because of the money we could make together. They’d love me for the energy I had and the things I’d be able to take them to do.

  I’d protect them and keep them safe, loving them with everything I had. The late nights would never tank the energy stores I could replenish in a hurry with how young my body was. Sick nights would always flow into days full of cuddling because I’d have the strength to hold them close to my chest. I wouldn’t have to depend on a bed to hold them like my mother had to with me.

  Didn’t every child who came into this world deserve that kind of love?

  I sure as hell thought so.

  One by one, everyone left the party. The few of us who were left ventured inside for a few drinks, and I was kind of shocked that Marcus and Kason hadn’t left yet. The adults were talking in the other room, and a few of the straggling guests were pouring themselves another drink in the kitchen. I found Kason and Marcus in the living room, sitting around and talking.

  Then Marcus got up to go do something and Kason was all alone.

  He was sitting on the couch next to the empty fireplace, so I slowly made my way into the room and sat beside him. His body heat radiated toward me, and when he cleared his throat and crossed his legs, I knew I had him where I wanted him. He looked so sexy in the shadows of the room, and I just wanted to reach out and place my hand on his knee. God, his legs were so long and his arms were so strong. Part of me wanted to straddle his hips and plow my ruby red lips right into his. My heart rate sped up and my palms began to sweat. When I turned to look at him, I saw he was staring right at me.

  His hungry stare puckered my nipples.

  I moved closer to him and felt the fuzz of his hand against mine. I reached out my pinky and lightly brushed it against his skin. I was so close I could see the black of his eyes double in size. My legs grew weak and my body slowly collapsed into his. But just before I closed the gap between us, Kason shot up off the couch.

  “Good talk,” he muttered before he turned and walked out of the room.

  Good talk? Good... He hadn’t even fucking said anything! What did he mean ‘good talk’?!

  I watched him walk out of the room and felt my heart drop to my feet. He called out for Marcus, probably eager to go find his floozy whore or something. When the front door opened and then shut, I knew exactly what had happened.

  Kason had left and hadn’t even told me why he’d jumped away from me in the first place.

  “Shit,” I murmured.

  “Hanna, sweetheart?” my mother asked. “You all right? The boys left in a hurry.”

  “Yeah, I’m good. They’ve got plans tonight, I think.”

  “Oh, that’s wonderful! Best friends catching up. I hope they always stay that way. It’s good to have friends like that. By the way, how is Stacy? I didn’t get a chance to say hello before she and Brad were gone again!”

  “She’s doing well, Mom.” I smiled tightly.

  “Well, if you want to go do something, you can. You look fabulous, like you’re about to go paint the town or something!”

  “Sure. I suppose I could go find something to do.”

  “Good! Wonderful! Well, we won’t wait up!” she said with a wave of her hand.

  “Great…” I sighed. I didn’t want to paint the town or whatever the hell she was talking about. I wanted to sit close to Kason and talk. I wanted to see how he was doing and ask him about his business. I wanted to learn about his hobbies and hold his hand while we walked through downtown Seattle together. I wanted to hang off his arm, doting on him and marveling at his intelligence.

  Then, when that was done, I wanted to ride his dick and create the most beautiful babies this world had ever see
n.

  I didn’t want to paint the town. I wanted to paint Kason.

  Chapter 6

  Kason

  Mason and I hit up the speakeasy again, and I was happy when he handed me his proposal for the website. He proposed three different tiers: I could pay $10,000 for an entire redesign and information update that came along with a monthly maintenance fee of $500, I could pay $7,000 for just an information overhaul and a $300 monthly maintenance fee for just the information, or I could simply contract him out for hourly work at $100 an hour to redesign as necessary, update the information, and work with us on different plugins we could use for our website.

  “It would save me time, it would give you the best value for your buck, and it would give me a way to advertise what I can do without having to put a logo on the website. You could just add me to the employee directory and that would be that,” he said.

  We negotiated the terms over drinks and talked about compensation beyond the hourly wage. If I was going to create an entirely new position for him, he was going to be a legitimate employee. What he chose to do with that position in terms of marketing himself was on him. I wasn’t going to make him sign a non-compete agreement or anything. He wasn’t getting unfettered access to my developments; he was just maintaining the website and keeping it up to date.

  We talked about starting a company blog, and he said he could maintain something like that as well. I told him I’d write it all into his job description if he took $150 an hour plus medical benefits, three weeks of paid vacation, and the ability to work fully remote for eight weeks out of the year. I didn’t think the man could hug me harder than he did, but really, he was doing me a fucking favor. I was tired of spending days updating that useless website, and he was talking about moving some of our products to sell online and keeping an updated blog of the company’s ethics and policies and adventures in the technological field. He was rattling off the difference between a static and an active website and what an active website could do to increase revenue. I tried to listen, but my thoughts drifted elsewhere.

  I knew I’d hired the right man for the job, but I couldn’t get my mind off Hanna. Christ, she had looked good at that dinner party. When she’d sat down next to me, I had practically smelled what was cookin’ between her legs. I figured if I came to this speakeasy and shot the shit with Marcus, I could find that little bunny of mine and get another suck off to distract me from my filthy thoughts of Hanna and her insane body.

  The girl wasn’t there, and I couldn’t keep my dick in check long enough. I kept thinking about how hot that dress had looked on Hanna and how high her tits had been shoved up onto her chest. Her ruby red lips had practically made my back sweat, and she’d known she was laying it on thick.

  God, I was a fucking sucker for a woman who knew exactly what she wanted.

  I woke up the next morning knowing I needed to apologize for the way I’d left Hanna. She’d been obviously looking for a quick little romp and I’d just left her before grabbing her brother and slamming the door in her face. It had been rude and not the way to treat anyone, much less the girl I considered a little sister. I was also sure my parents had wanted me to stick around longer than I had to shoot the shit with their friends.

  So, when I woke up that morning, I decided to sit them down and hand them a proper apology.

  The truth was, I had to leave. There had been a legitimate passion that had vibrated between Hanna and I when she’d sat down, and I had told Marcus I wasn’t going to cross that line. Honestly, I just didn’t think I could do it. Yeah, Hanna had blossomed into this thick little goddess with curves I wanted to sink my teeth into, and god knew she had smelled incredible last night when she’d scooted closer to me. She was at the top of her class at Stanford, which meant she was fucking intelligent and wasn’t just a bimbo prancing around in tight clothes. She was also mature for her age. She held herself with a poise I’d never seen in another woman, and she constantly batted off her mother’s insistence that she settle down and start a family.

  Dear god, it was gonna kill me to stay away from her.

  Still, I had to. This was Hanna Rendon! I’d grown up with her! I had fended off bullies on the bus and walked her to school when the bully followed her home! I had held her hand while she’d cried because she had to get her braces readjusted. I had laughed at her while I’d helped her get her fucking contacts out because they had hurt. She was Marcus’s little sister and she was practically mine as well.

  Fuck. She was perfect. But she was little Hanna Rendon and I wasn’t fuckin’ with that. I couldn’t.

  “Mom. Dad. Can I talk to you guys for a second?”

  “Hey there, sport!” my dad said. “Want some coffee?”

  “Sure. I actually wanted to apologize for dinner last night.”

  “Why, honey?” my mom asked in her usual soothing voice.

  “Well, I just sort of shot off with Marcus without saying anything or really talking to anyone. I figured that probably angered you guys.”

  “Oh, Kason, it’s fine,” my dad said. “Here. Have some coffee.”

  “We know you and Marcus haven’t run around like this in a while. Though you should think about inviting Hanna sometime. She looked really distraught when you left her like that.”

  “Shit. I-I-I mean, you saw that?” I asked.

  “Yeah. You just shot up without a word and left. She was probably hoping you’d invite her to go out with you guys. You know Hanna always looked up to you two—ever since she was little.”

  “Yeah. She was always wanting to climb the trees like you boys did and play ball like you boys did,” my father said as he slid my coffee over to me.

  “Isn’t that how she almost broke her neck? Falling out of the tree because she was too young to get up there?” I asked.

  My mother sighed. “She’s always been a go-getter. When she knows what she wants, she takes it.”

  “Cream? Sugar?” my dad asked.

  “Sure.” I sighed.

  “Oh, and what about the time she jumped in the pool after you two because she wanted to swim without her floaties?! Damn, I thought she was gonna drown,” my dad said.

  “It was a good thing you were there, Kason,” my mother said.

  I remembered that day like it was yesterday because it had scared the shit out of me. Hanna had been only seven years old and Marcus and I had just finished swimming in the pool. We were babysitting and we told her she couldn’t get in unless she could find her floaties, but that was just Marcus’s way of getting her out of our hair so we could hang out. We ate snacks all day while Hanna played inside, and when Marcus finally went in to order us pizza for dinner, I got out of the pool to dry off.

  Before I knew it, Hanna had taken off for the pool and jumped in. I turned around and tried to see what happened, and when Hanna didn’t surface, I jumped in and pulled her out. She was coughing up water and tears were streaming down her face. To this day, every time I looked at her, I can’t help but remember the fear in her eyes as I slapped her back to try to get her to choke up all that water.

  Yes, Hanna was grown, but to me she was still that seven-year-old girl half-drowning in a pool she couldn’t yet swim in.

  “Anyway, you don’t owe us an apology. You’re a grown man! Though you might owe one to Hanna.”

  “I think so, yeah,” I murmured.

  “Well! Your mother and I are off for most of the day. I promised her a day on the town today before we knew you were coming in. Wanna join us?” my dad asked.

  “Nah. I think I’m gonna stick around here and rest. I actually just hired Marcus on as a new employee, so I’m probably gonna walk him through some things.”

  “Oh! That’s fabulous! Do you think his parents know yet?” My mother squealed.

  I smirked. “I’m sure they’ll know soon.”

  “Oh, hush now. Well, don’t forget to have fun while you’re working.” My mom smiled.

  “You guys have fun.”

  I sat th
ere and drank my coffee while my parents gathered themselves up and left. I wasn’t sure what I was going to get into today, but I knew I had to apologize to Hanna before I did anything else.

  Then, like clockwork, the doorbell rang.

  “Got it,” Maria called out.

  “Maria?! Shit. I didn’t even know you were here! Lemme go get changed. Hold on.”

  I figured it was Marcus coming over to talk shop, and I never talked business in my pajamas. I told Maria to seat him at the kitchen table and get him some coffee. She kindly reminded me that she was the housekeeper and not the maid. I took a quick shower and dressed myself in a pair of slacks and a polo shirt, but when I came down the stairs, it wasn’t Marcus I saw.

  When she turned around, I was met with the beautiful green eyes of Hanna Rendon.

  She was here. Alone. In my parents’ house. And damn if she didn’t look wonderful. Her hair was up in a messy bun and her yoga pants framed her pert little ass just right. Her T-shirt gave her this homey feel while still teasing the beautiful rack beneath the fabric. I slowed my walk as I moved down the stairs, and she smiled up at me. I figured this would be as good a time as any to apologize.