Amor Prohibetur Ch. 12

The Story Of Two Mels

Some things are just too hard to swallow, no pun intended. That's what Melanie thought, as she used her keys to let herself into her dad's house. She scanned the living room and what she could see of the kitchen, relieved to find the TV and radio off and no trace of her dad. It was entirely too uncomfortable to be in there with him now.

Because she'd just gotten home from school, Melanie, or Mel the Lesser, as her dad liked to call her, marched off to her room with her backpack half full of books. Melanie decided to put off from doing homework just yet, because she hated algebra and biology. She simply dropped her bag on the floor close to her bed. Just in case her dad came home and found her there alone, she went to shut her door.

Mel shouldn't have been so nervous, but she hadn't lived with her dad for very long. In fact, Mel 2 had been living with her mom, right up until she'd turned eighteen. Her dad had been paying child support for years by then. The moment Mel 2 became an official adult that alimony stopped. Suddenly, her father had five hundred dollars more in expendable income per month. So what does her dad do but move into a bigger place, because now he could afford it. It was a nice place too, with three big bedrooms, and it was a lot closer to Mel's high school that where her mom lived. Since her mom had less money, and a boyfriend that refused to work until the next president went into office, it made sense for Mel the Lesser to move in with her dad.

Her sister Melissa, who was two years older than her, had moved in also. She was a blonde, just like Melanie, but she had one of those figures that guys can't help but look at. Melissa the Greater probably wasn't going to live there long, as she'd been applying for grants to out of state colleges and taking test after test of entrance exams. The reason Mel 1 had abandoned their mother's house was the same as why Mel 2 wanted to get out; there was just too much drama there, and in that neighborhood in general.

Mel 2 got along fairly well with her sister, but she was insanely jealous of her older sister's figure. Melissa could throw on anything she wanted to and look good. She could even wrap herself in garbage bags and she'd still be gorgeous. And here was Melanie, with breasts that were too small and hips that were too big, looking like a hippo next to a starlet whenever she stood by her sister. Oh, how she hated that! Melissa always got the best looking guys, too, while Melanie got the assholes who wanted to hump for five minutes before they went to smoke weed and play video games.

Still, it was a good change for both siblings to move in with their dad. Melissa could study for her tests and hang out as late as she wanted to. Melanie could do her homework without having to listen to a racket from her mom, her mom's boyfriend and her lousy neighbors. It was even strange sometimes, for her to kick back in her room nowadays, with either straight silence or her dad's soft jazz playing from the living room.

Her dad made decent money. He'd worked at some place by the airport for something like sixteen years by then. Melanie knew her father had paid nine hundred dollars a month in alimony, up until her older sister turned eighteen. He still paid five hundred for her for a couple of years, but now he didn't pay anything. Because the divorce had been so bad for him, her father had never remarried. Mel heard that he dated women occasionally, and maybe he had a girlfriend or two sometimes, but he wasn't in any hurry to get serious with anybody.

Mel's jealous mother said she should have gotten more money than she did, but Mel thought she'd gotten enough. Whatever judge had ruled over their case had pretty much reamed her dad. Most of her parents' savings had gone to her mother, plus most of their belongings. Her father had to pay off the credit cards all on his own, and on top of that he had nine hundred bucks a month being sucked out of his bank account each and every month. Still, her dad had weathered through all that. Whenever some woman even hinted that she was trying to get closer to his wallet than she was to his heart, her dad would basically kick that bitch to the curb and keep going.

He wasn't bad looking either, if Mel looked at him like any other guy and not like her dad. He was fit, sort of handsome if she hadn't been looking at him most of her life, and he dressed well. He drove an Infinity that never gave him trouble, while her mom drove a Honda that had parts of three or four of those cars put together. Mel could never figure out why her parents had split up. Her mom didn't even know how to catch a bus, let alone manage her life well. Mel thought of all the setbacks heaped on her dad's head by the court people. He'd weathered through them and after half a dozen years he'd come out on top. Whatever, she decided; her parents' divorce was old news and not her problem.

What was her problem started up a couple of weeks after she and her older sister moved in. Mel 1 would walk around the house in a normal top and normal shorts, no big deal, but still she was pretty enough to draw attention to herself. Mel 2 would fume at her sister's body because it was so perfect, while hers was a disaster. Maybe it was because she always compared her body to her older sister's that she initially noticed when her dad started looking at Mel the Greater. These were quick glances at first, but as time went by they became lingering gazes. More than once, Mel's father would look at her older sister's butt, then turn and see that Mel was looking at him. He'd turn his head away quickly because he knew he'd been caught.

Her older sister noticed his stares, too. Mel remembered when her sister had come into her room one day. Dad's been looking at me a lot lately, she said. No shit, Mel told her, anybody can figure that out! Well, what do you think I should do about it? Her sister asked her.

Mel didn't understand what she meant by that question, and so her sister had spelled things out for her. Dad had no girlfriend and he had a lot of money now. Maybe if she wore some tighter shirts and shorts, her dad would take the two girls out to the movies, or out to the mall or other places like that. Mel 2 didn't know what to say. Melissa, on the other hand, did exactly what she'd hinted at. She wore smaller shorts so she could show off her legs, and she didn't wear a bra under her shirt so her nipples would stick out like little laser beams.

Oh, daddy, they're showing this new movie over at the mall, and why don't you take the two of us out, Mel 1 would ask. If we went by ourselves, we'd have all those pesky guys bugging us and then we won't enjoy the movie at all. Here, daddy, will you look on my phone so we can see the show times? And the older girl would stand real close to her dad, with her nipples poking out of her shirt and her shorts running up the crack of her ass while she held the phone up between them. Obvious suck-up was obvious, but her little ploy worked. Nine times out of ten, her dad would say yes and off they went to the movies. Her dad would buy them nachos, popcorn, candy, drinks and whatever else Mel the Greater asked for. It was ridiculous, but it didn't seem to bother either of them.

Then her older sister started getting closer to their dad. Maybe it was an accident at first or maybe not. Mel couldn't figure that part out. Her sister started sitting next to their father all the time. She might have leaned her head closer to him every so often, and then it seemed as if she always had hear head leaning on his shoulder. Her dad had a habit of stretching out his arms along the backrests at the movie theater. And then wow, what a coincidence. Every time, his arm ended up around her older sister's shoulders.

Somebody was seducing somebody, Mel figured, but she couldn't tell who was doing it to who. They both smiled and laughed at each other a lot, and they were both pushing each other with their elbows. It sort of matured to a point where they were acting less like dad and daughter and more like boyfriend and girlfriend. Mel had front row seats to all of that weirdness.

Everything came to a head, one afternoon when both girls were out tanning themselves in the backyard. Both Mels were wearing bikinis, just lying on the grass and chatting. Their dad was walking around watering the bushes and the grass. To be funny he sprayed both of them with cold water. Well, wouldn't you know it, there goes Melissa to try and wrestle the water hose away from him. They both got all wet and ended up rolling around on the lawn together.

Mel saw the exact moment when it happened. Her dad and her sister had their arms and legs flailing around, when they both suddenly stopped. Mel 1 pulled her body over her dad's, with both of them wet and the water hose still going off. Mel saw how her sister was looking at her dad, and how her dad was looking back at Melissa the same way. Her dad put his hands on her sister's shoulders, her sister lowered her head and just like that they were making out.

Mel was too stunned to speak.

Her sister got up first, glancing at Mel for like half a second before she walked into the house. Her dad sat up but he avoided looking at Mel. He went to finish watering the lawn, but he looked really nervous. He went into the house too, and he didn't say a word to Mel 2 for the rest of the day. That night... That night Mel heard noises coming from her father's bedroom.

The next day was one of the most awkward days of Mel's life. Something had happened the night before between her dad and her sister. Neither of them was saying anything to each other, or to her.

When Mel caught her sister by herself, she demanded to know what happened. Nothing, her sister said. Bullshit, Mel shot back. Mel the Greater only had three words to say to her before she went to her room. They were: Don't tell mom.

A couple of days later, Mel heard those same noises from her father's room. A couple of weeks after that and her sister was comfortable enough to come out of his room every morning. Unbelievably, her father was giving the sausage to her sister!

They still went to the movies together and to nice restaurants. Mel I wouldn't dress the same way as before. She wore nice evening dresses and jewelry, which her dad would always buy for her. He paid for everything: for her hair, her nails and her nice purse. And every night, they would go into the same room together to sleep.

After all that, her sister got a letter in the mail. An out of state college had accepted her application. To Mel's eyes, her sister agonized over that letter for a couple of days, before she asked her dad for money to go out there. She wanted to take a good look at the college before she committed to going there permanently. At least Mel's dad didn't try to hold her down or anything. He gave her sister the money and she set up the trip. Mel 1 waited a couple of days before she left.

Before her dad took her to the bus station, the older Mel had come into the younger Mel's bedroom. She sat on Mel's bed while the younger girl was doing her homework. Do you think I'm a slut? Melissa asked.

Mel really had to think about that. She said the truth, or the truth as she saw it anyway. Part of her did think her sister was a slut, because she thought her sister was using her dad to buy her things. Another part of her could admit, and this was weird, that her dad was happy and her sister was happy, despite this unbelievable thing they were doing together.

Mel 1 told her she didn't love their dad like a boyfriend. It was more like a fling for both of them. She did like it when their dad bought her stuff and what girl wouldn't? She would give it all back, Melissa said, if their dad thought she was some kind of gold digger. It wasn't about that at all. It was like Mel said; they made each other happy for a while. No strings attached on either side.

Her dad called out saying it was time to go, and that was it. Mel 1 would be gone for one whole week to explore this new college she might be going to.

The first day without Mel the Greater wasn't so bad. The second day, dad was moping around the house. It was obvious that he missed her older sister, although he didn't dare say it. Nobody had ever said a word about the incest and sausage-slipping that had been going on in there, but it hung over the house like that pink elephant that people are always alluding to. Her dad tried to make small talk with her. It wasn't awkward, but it was, like, how could she explain it? Like he was avoiding talking about how much he missed Mel 1, but deep down his heart ached for her.

He asked Mel if she wanted to go to the movies, but she said no. He wanted to take her to dinner but she refused that too. Her excuse was that she had a lot of homework to do, and she had to stay in for the rest of the day to do it.

Mel texted her friends from school. There is an older guy that might be hitting on me, she revealed, but she kept her father's identity out of it. Her friends' answers were typical. Was he hot? Did he have a nice body? Is he married? One of her friends even asked if her admirer had another older guy buddy, so Mel could introduce them. Are you serious, thought Mel. Since they wanted to know what he looked like so much, Mel found a picture of a model that looked like her dad, more or less, from a Target clothing ad. All three of her friends said she should go for it. They wanted the juicy details of anything that happened later. That, Mel did not expect.

She didn't expect either that when she smelled food and went into the kitchen, her dad was lingering way too close to her. He'd cooked a pot of chili to make chili dogs or chili fries and he asked Mel to have a taste of it. As she tasted the chili, her dad sidled up next to her. Casually, his hand went to her shoulder first. While they were talking, his hand went across to her far shoulder, and then slid down her back to end up on her waist. Okay, that might have just been an accident, but when her dad's hand started slipping down over her butt, she had enough. Mel pulled away from the counter, wondering what she would about this unbelievable situation.

Her dad went back to stirring his pot and tried to sound casual as he asked her if she liked the chili. The chili was fine, she said. Either chili dogs or chili fries would be fine with her. Her dad gave her a quick glance. I'll just go back to my room, Mel said.

As she strode away, she had the feeling that her dad was trying to get a reply out of her somehow, over how he'd put his hand on her body. It was like the chili was some kind of fucking metaphor for sausage-slipping. What was she supposed to answer, when he asked if the stupid chili was good or not? It's not good at all, maybe. Or it needs more goddamn seasoning. Or how about, don't ever put your hand on my butt again? Instead, Mel said the chili was fine, when only a moment before her dad had dropped his hand too low for comfort.

Later that evening, she'd been lying on her bed doing homework, when her dad had come to stand at her doorway. Can I come in, he asked. She didn't even think about it, because it didn't sound like something with a hidden motive behind it. Sure, she said, and in he comes and takes a seat on the bed next to her. He made some small talk, and there goes his hand again coming down on her lower back.

It hit Mel then. Just like with the chili, her dad was basically asking if he could get to first base with her. She went into a near panic, with a million things running through her head. Mel liked how close the house was to her school and she liked her room a lot, compared to her ugly old room at her mom's place. If she straight rejected her dad, maybe he'd kick her out or maybe they wouldn't talk anymore. This was too much, too fast and so she rolled away, trying to get as far from that hand as she could. I have to take a shower now, okay? That's what she asked him, the first thing she could think of, as if she had to ask his permission for that.

Did you need any help with your homework later, her father asked. Well, this time Mel did catch the double meaning behind his question. No, I'm almost done. I don't need any help at all but thanks anyway. I'm going to shower now and then I'm going to bed, because I have a big day at school tomorrow. While Mel was in the bathroom, she had some very negative thoughts about what her older sister had started up by sleeping with their dad.

Mel did take her shower, but she didn't go to sleep right away. Her dad was watching some action movie when she went by on her way to the kitchen. All of a sudden he started talking to her, more animated and happier than he'd been ever since her older sister had gone.

That was weird, Mel thought, as she went to the fridge for a cold drink. She'd rejected him, right? So he was happy about that? It didn't make sense. Whatever! Maybe he wanted Mel to reject him, and maybe he thought it was a game like she was playing hard to get. She thought he might follow her into her bedroom, but no, her father stayed on the couch and watched his movie. She went to her room in peace.

Her friends had a lot to say to her the next day, when Mel gave them some of the details. Her admirer probably felt powerful, one girl told her, because he could put his hand on a high school girl and get away with it. It didn't matter if he got to first base or not, because just knowing he could touch a teen probably made him feel better about his life. Another girl said her admirer was probably working up to try something else with her, because when guys want pussy they'll jump through all sorts of hoops to get it. A third friend told her basically what Mel the Greater had said, if he has money and he's handsome, shake that ass and make him earn your pussy. The advice was hilarious at first, until the walk home when Mel figured out that none of her friends her told her to reject her secret admirer. They were pretty much telling her to let herself be seduced if that's what she wanted.

But this was her dad she was talking about! That's why she was hiding in her room now. Maybe her dad did feel, what was the phrase, when you do something stereotypical because that's what you think people expect? She couldn't remember the right word anymore. Justified? Validated?

Her father got home at five that evening. The first thing he did was to take a shower, and the second was to come to her doorway and ask if he could come in. This time, Mel said no. While this did catch her dad off-guard a little, it made her feel empowered to know she still had some control over things. What do you want, she asked.

Oh, I just wanted to know if you wanted to go out to eat tonight.

Where?

Chinese, pizza, anything you want.

Mel thought, oh, no, I'm not a cheap date. She smirked, but then she realized he'd said those places only because those were the places Mel favored. Maybe it was her turn to test the waters. How about one of those fancy places that Melissa likes? Let me get dressed and we'll head out right now, because I'm hungry. That's all she said, and then he was gone from her doorway.

Well, that was fast, Mel thought. She started to piece things together in her head. Her father had just jumped at the chance to take her out. His life seemed to be on track when her older sister was around, and now it was off track because Melissa was gone. By taking Mel out, maybe he was going back to the routine he had before and he could pretend that Mel 1 wasn't so far away. Or maybe, Mel 2 would be expected to put out later after their so-called 'date.' Wow, she considered, maybe she should have said no.

Mel did dress up, though. She did her hair up nicely, and she wore her nicest blouse out, which showed off her shoulders and her modest cleavage. She didn't have much in the way of jewelry, but she wore some engraved silver bracelets and earrings that were silver with blue opal inserts. Because she didn't want her dad to get any ideas, she sat across from him at the table.