New Daddy

Chapter 1: Crossing Rivers

Damn, the word 'Eviction' looks even scarier when it's in all caps, Jordan thought, nudging the white page which was decorated from top to bottom with various numbers; none of them were in his favor.

Jordan's wooden chair creaked as he turned to the kitchen window behind him, above the sink. The curtains danced in the spring breeze, while heavy rain outside speckled along the windowsill. When one couldn't afford air conditioning, they accepted any form of cool air they could get.

Well, there's no rain in hell. I'll take it while I can, he thought.

If humor could pay the bills, Jordan's pathetic teacher's salary wouldn't be that much of a problem. But, alas, it was microwave dinner again for the thirty-year-old man. At least the microwave was being positive, it even let out a happy 'ding' when it was done making up for Jordan's lack of money. He walked over and pried the Microwave door open hungrily.

"A daily dose of cholesterol," Jordan sighed as he was about to pull his less than gourmet feast out of a less than functioning machine. A funny statement considering he was pretty well built for someone his age, especially someone who spent most of his time grading papers; empty papers, mostly.

A gust of wind rushed into the house as the front door swung open, and along with it was a soaking wet figure. She panted, gripping her knees with her hands as she bent over. "I'm -- here," she sighed, yet tried to maintain that sweet 'Honey, I'm home!' voice.

"I can see that," Jordan sighed, slamming the microwave door shut and rushing to her side. The door hinge hissed as he fought with the wind for a good three seconds before being able to close it shut. He looked at the not-so-mysterious figure before him and pulled back the veil of its small, black hoodie. It revealed the golden-brown face of a teenage girl, drenched with water that curled over her upper eyelids - a soft film of protection for her hazel-brown eyes -- and dripped down to her small, rounded nose and firm cheeks.

While her face was usually a smiling portrait, one thing, in particular, broke the symmetry of her expression; and that was the cut on the bottom right side of her chin. It seemed like the rain washed away what would have been a heavy bath of crimson running down her neck, but the wound still needed to be tended to. "Don't-- worry about it, okay?" she said, rolling her petite upper body up straight from her leaning position. She grabbed a handful of her long, silky, jet-black hair and wrung out enough water to fill a cup, maybe two.

"You keep bringing home a couple more of those and we'll have enough scars for the whole neighborhood," Jordan tried to say without chuckling.

Jordan dabbed a cloth, which he grabbed from the nearby basket on top of the washing machine, on the girl's face. When one lived in a house that small, everything seemed to be nearby.

"I stayed for track practice, but then I had to deal with a couple of guys who wanted more than my money this time. And of-fucking-course it decides to rain when I miss my last bus and..." she moved her soft lips vigorously as she ranted about probably the worst thirty minutes of her week. "Sorry. I know. 'Language'."

Jordan laughed, pulling away from her.

"What's so funny?" she asked, with her hands on her small, curved hips.

"Those guys-- did you deal with them?" he asked, in an almost concerned voice.

"Psh, what do you think?" she said with a confident smile. Despite being small, Mia was a five-foot-two ball of energy that wouldn't go down without a fight.

"Mia the perv-slayer. The neighborhood is forever in your debt," Jordan laughed, wiping her face dry.

"Yeah, right. They'll probably be back tomorrow," Mia replied, gently clasping around Jordan's fingers before removing his hands from her face. "I'm fine, thanks, Mr. Rivers."

"At home, it's Jordan, alright? The last thing I want to think about is school, especially on a Friday."

"Said the teacher," she laughed; a sound that brightened the barely lit living room and momentarily drowned out the sound of rain. "Sounds like they don't pay you enough."

Good guess, Jordan thought.

"Absolutely not," Jordan sighed, taking his sweet time getting back to the hazelnut brown chair in the kitchen. He sat down and nudged the blue frame of his slim glasses over his nose as he took a second look at the pile of papers and paperclips. It would have been easier for him if those paperclips were actually on the papers, but what would life be if it were easy and organized?

Jordan glanced over at Mia, who was taking off her shoes; nothing unusual. She then quickly removed the drenched hoodie and tossed it into the laundry basket. The rain had soaked her to the very bone; her light teal tank top clung to each curve and crevice of her upper body. The bulging outline of the upper rim of her bra showed just how well her hand-full sized breasts were cradled. Now that was unusual, and Jordan's pants agreed with him. Well, not exactly his pants, but something he never thought about using again, especially after what happened a month ago.

Mia's toned arms swayed forward as she walked toward the table and pulled out a chair. She was just close enough for Jordan to admire the fine lines of her defined, feminine abs; firm, yet curved hills than dipped into a valley where her bellybutton rested. She gave him a quick, but tired smile as she sat down, fanning herself.

"How am I soaking wet and still hot? They didn't teach me this in physics class," Mia sighed.

"With your grades, you probably didn't listen anyway," Jordan laughed, trying to distract himself from the unbelievably fit girl before him.

"Shut up," Mia laughed, stopping when she glanced at the papers on the table.

"Oh, it's..." Jordan mumbled, pulling the papers away from her.

"My grades are shit, but I can still read," she said, leaning forward to snatch the bill at the top of the stack. Jordan grunted but knew it was futile to hide the truth from her any longer. She gripped the bill tightly and squinted at it. "Damn. Big letters."

"Tell me about it."

"I might not be good at math, but even I know that this minus sign next to this large number is never a good thing," she said, dragging the 'never' on for a good two seconds.

"I figured I could cover it this month, but that school is as reliable as trying to get T.V reception in this part of town."

"Right? God knows where I'd be without that track scholarship," she sighed. Jordan knew exactly where she'd be, and that's exactly why he tried to help. "Dad would have been able to help. You guys were best friends."

"Best is an understatement. Who do you think I shoplifted my first bit of candy with?" he chuckled, reminiscing about the dreadful years before he decided to get his shit together. "We picked up girls together. He even dressed up like me and took my ID when I was too hungover to take an exam." He paused to take a deep, sad breath. "Yeah, he would have been able to help."

Yeah, I probably shouldn't have brought that up. Especially when the wound is still so fresh for both of us, Jordan thought.

Mia went silent, biting her lip lightly. She shook her head and smiled.

"Yeah, he would," she whispered. "I really wish I could help, too."

"Don't worry about it. I'll just..."

"No, I'm serious," she raised her voice, yet it remained sincere. "I can't stand ungrateful people. My mom took and took from my dad and left. He raised me to never be like that bit--. Woman. You're either really kind or a special kind of stupid for letting me live here, but I honestly can't thank you enough," she explained; the passion in her voice contrasted her tomboyish appearance and personality.

"Mia. Really. It's fine. Let's just say I'm doing a friend a favor."

"Yeah, and he's not even alive to pay you back," Mia sighed with pouty lips.

Jordan looked at Mia's glistening brown eyes as they strayed down in sadness.

"Fuck death," Jordan chuckled. "Sorry. Language."

"No, you're right," Mia replied, reviving her award-winning smile once more. "Fuck death."

The two laughed over the saddening stack of bills. Let's just hope the grim reaper wasn't around to hear them. Jordan stopped to admire Mia's voice of joy; it was a nice change of pace from the dreary, creaking sounds he'd hear around his home. He was a good teacher in a mediocre school and an even worse neighborhood. His days contrasted from the clean marble floors of the school to the unkempt front garden of his house.

"But for real. I'm gonna help okay? I'll figure something out," she said, rising from her seat. "I'm going to take a shower and study. You sure you're okay with doing my laundry? You really don't have to."

"Yeah, it's fine. You've been through enough to last the year. Just take it easy, alright?"

"Alright," she said, feeling helpless about the situation. "Just don't do anything weird with my teenage panties, okay?"

"You probably wear boxers anyways. I'll just throw them in with the rest of the pillowcases," Jordan said with a playful grin.

Mia snatched a handful of paperclips and tossed them at Jordan. "Shut up!" she shouted playfully.

She turned and walked down the hall toward the bathroom, leaving a wet imprint of her back on the chair. Jordan gritted his teeth, but just for a moment.

It was just a surge of emotion, it must've been, right? What man wouldn't react to a sight like that? On the bright side I shouldn't need Viagra for another decade, he thought.

As Jordan walked over to the washing machine, he felt a ball of cloth hit the back of his head.

"Sorry! I was aiming for the basket!" Mia said, covering the intimate bits of her dazzling tanned body behind the corner wall of the hallway. She displayed a small preview of the smooth curves around her hips and the soft, round semi-circle of her left tit pressed against the wall. "I also don't have a towel, so just dry one for me really quick?"

"Sure," Jordan said, swallowing a small knot of saliva that built in his mouth from looking at her longer than he should have.

Mia smiled, unknowingly, and disappeared around the wall. Jordan sighed, kneeling to pick up the wet clothes that were tossed at him. They were so soaked that if Mia was walking back home covered in detergent, they'd be ready to try. In the pile, he noticed a lacy blue string of cloth folded tightly between the jeans and tank top. The moment he pulled it out of the pile, the object itself pulled a small gasp from his mouth. A delicate set of small, lacy blue panties sat in his palm; a stark contrast from the boy-like underwear he teased her about wearing. He tucked them away into the pile and smiled, shaking his head.

You never really know someone until you see their underwear. Or something like that, he thought.

His hands sank into the machine after lifting the cover. Doing chores like that was a familiar feeling for him, but what made him feel so awkward was the fact he was doing them himself. Looking at the machine reminded him of the times he and his wife would turn it to the highest setting and commence to make even stronger vibrations on top. While they would wait for the load to finish, he would have her pinned on top of the machine with her legs spread, pounding into that familiar little hole while he delivered her another particular load; several. She had a high sex drive, and Jordan had an even higher one to match, but it still didn't justify what she did to him.

It was the beginning of his new life without a wife and a best friend; a life he'd have to share with a daughter that wasn't his own.

Will I be able to fight the demon of temptation while also fighting the battle of debt? Find out on the next episode on 'My Fucked-up Life', he thought. Little did Jordan know that Mia was indeed going to deliver on her promise and eventually get them both exactly what they wanted.

**

The next Monday, Mia burst through the front door and slammed her fists excitedly on the kitchen table. The force almost toppled the cup of coffee Jordan had in his hands.

"You're not going to believe this!" an excited Mia shouted.

Jordan didn't make much of a reaction; he simply stared and smiled at her as she entered.

"You going to get me another coffee?" he asked, gesturing to the breakfast on the table he made for her.

"What? No. That's your problem," she laughed. "Remember what I told you before?"

Jordan sighed with a smile, facing his cup, but with his eyes pointed at Mia. "Yeah, and I also remember telling you not to worry."

"Just shut up and look!" she said, shoving her hands into the pockets of her navy-blue, butt gripping, short shorts.

Thankfully, Jordan wasn't drinking his coffee at the time. If he was, he would've spit it out all over the bright green and white bills Mia had in her hand. The bold numbers written with a 'one' followed by two 'zeros' were enough to make anyone's heart race, and they were written on every bill.

"H-huh?" Jordan said. He was speechless; It was a surprise he managed to even say anything at all while Mia waved the stack of money closer to his hands.

That's the reaction I was looking for, Mia thought.

"See? What did I tell you?" she said with a gleaming smile. However, that smile started to weaken with each moment Jordan didn't return one. "Aren't you happy?" she asked with her newly formed frown.

"Yeah, but," Jordan said, finally able to choke a few words out. "You got all that on your own? In just a week?"

"Yep, four big ol' figures," she said, flicking her tongue playfully. "Come on! Take it! This'll cover the eviction warning cost! And you can even buy yourself something! I don't know. Fix the car or something! Then we can finally get you out of the house when you're not in school," she said, practically shoving the money toward Jordan.

"You do know what I'm about to ask you, right?"

"Well, don't."

"Well, no," Jordan sighed. "Where the hell did you get this?"

"Can't tell you. Not yet at least."

"Well, that isn't ominous at all," Jordan said, finally accepting the money in his hands.

"Just a little more and maybe we can finally fix the hole in the bathroom window. How did that even get there?"

"What do you mean a 'little' more?" Jordan asked. "You don't plan on doing what it is you did again do you? It isn't anything like drugs or treason, right?"

"No drugs, no one was hurt, and no government was disbanded," she laughed. "Trust me. We both keep doing what we're doing and it's gonna be okay, right?"

Jordan didn't want to rain on Mia's parade, especially after it was rained on only a week ago. She seemed so happy to be able to help keep their household together, but he would have had to tell her sooner or later. He shoved an opened envelope toward her; a folded letter bulged from the opening. She furrowed her brows in confusion as she slowly sat down on what seemed to be her personal kitchen chair. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and began to read the letter. Mia's pupils slowly glided from left to right, then snapped back to their neutral position and she read line after line. Her eyes went cold and still, and she hadn't even finished reading the letter.

"Fuck..." she squealed.

Jordan could hear the tears welling up in voice before they did in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry. Things have been a mess and you haven't been able to keep your grades up and..."

"Fuck! No! Do you understand what losing the scholarship means?" she shouted, the trembling of her lips foretold the story of a face covered in a river of tears. She flung her right fist to the side, launching the cup of coffee Jordan had set out for her, smashing it into a set of sharp stones bathed in a sea of dark brown. Jordan tried to get a word in, but closed his eyes and turned away when Mia continued. "This is all I fucking have. This is what my dad and I trained months to get. And you're telling me that's all gone?"

"I don't like this any more than you do, Mia. I pleaded with the school every time they came to me with a warning about your grades. I held them back as long as I could. We can talk about this, but I'll need you to calm down first," Jordan said in a hushed tone, reaching a hand out to stabilize a trembling hand of Mia's. "We'll work something out, alright? I'll get a word in with the teachers; something. We'll take care of it."

Mia made an exaggerated sigh and breathed deeply before delicately placing the letter on the table. She wiped the corner of her eyes. The upper rim of her graphic, teal colored t-shirt was smothered in tears. She put on a smile, wiggling her fingers playfully in Jordan's grasp.

"Yeah. We'll have to pay out of pocket, but I guess we'll just keep doing what we're doing?" Mia said.

"Yeah. Just be careful, alright?" Jordan said, still having no idea how a nineteen-year-old girl made one-thousand dollars in less time than it took for him to even finish grading exams.

"Of course," she said with a smile, relaxed at the fact Jordan finally agreed to let her take care of herself. "Dad never let me do things on my own. I finally feel like a woman now."

Mia snatched the cup of coffee from Jordan right after he took a sip, and took a long couple of gulps. She winked while the bridge of her small throat bounced as she drank, leaving a small trail of sweat down her neck.

"I'm guessing 'women' take what they want?" Jordan sighed.

Mia took a double slurp which sounded like confirmation.

**

After sweeping up the remnants of Mia's breakdown, which was well called for, Jordan tugged a large bag of trash along the ground in the backyard. It was night time, but luckily, he knew the broken stone path well enough not to trip. As he neared the trashcan, he lifted the bottom of the bag and leaned it into the trashcan over the rim. As he did, the broken pieces of ceramic from earlier tore through the bag and allowed half of its foul-smelling contents to spill out and onto the lawn. Jordan jumped back to avoid the storm of garbage.

"Shit!" he whispered.

He shook his head, knowing there was no one else to clean that up but him. He was about to kneel and get to work when he heard music playing. Either he had some very talented trash or the sound was coming from somewhere else. He stood up and looked around, knowing the neighbors were way too old to play any sort of infectious pop music. It was upbeat, yet had a soothing baseline that blended both a mellow and happy vibe.

It almost sounds; seductive? Jordan thought.

He walked within the small space behind the house. It was near midnight and the only light on was coming from Mia's room.

"Leave it to her to exercise at this hour," he mumbled.

Jordan playfully crept up to the window, hoping to look through and startle Mia when she noticed him there. The shadow of her curtains and the small gap between them was glazed on the backyard and up the nearby wooden fence. Jordan rose from beneath the sill slowly and looked through the gap of the curtains with a playful smile. What he saw loosened that crescent-shaped smile into an 'O' of surprise.

Mia was sitting on the edge of her bed with the same blue shorts as earlier and her hair in a ponytail, but that was all. There were no clothes covering the round, softness she had cupped in her hands. The flesh seeped through her fingers as she grabbed her tits tightly as if kneading balls of golden-brown dough. The only other thing she wore was a smile that was tightened by her upper row of teeth biting down onto her soft, pink lower lip. She then let out a teeth-baring laugh, as if reacting to someone's joke. Jordan adjusted his angle, expecting to see someone enjoying the view of Mia's waist and tight athletic stomach, but only saw her laptop opened and reflecting a mirror image of her on the screen next to a wall of scrolling text.