Pictures at an Exhibition

When it passed, Michael stepped away to retrieve her discarded dress. Bethany looked around to see the crowd slowly dispersing, though some lingered to watch the happy couple appreciatively. There was a far bigger audience than she'd remembered there being at the beginning - but she didn't mind at all.

"You did great, honey," Rachel said as Bethany toweled her body off as best she could. "You both did fantastic."

"Thanks, I guess," Bethany said with a giggle. "I don't really know what to say."

Rachel nodded knowingly. "Don't worry about it. No one ever does."

***

And then, just like that, it was pretty much over.

Bethany finished cleaning herself up, and her father helped her back into her dress. The crowd wandered away. Rachel cut them a check, including the "bonus." Michael insisted on the check being made out to Bethany, over Bethany's vocal but not-too-strenuous objections.

After all, she needed the money... even if she hadn't done it for the money.

Then, by unspoken agreement, Bethany and her dad walked back through the park to his car.

Neither of them spoke. Somehow it felt comfortable instead of awkward. They simply walked, each in their own thoughts, but still together.

At some point along their walk, he reached out and took her hand. She squeezed it affectionately, and they walked all the way back to the car in silence.

On the way, Bethany tried to fully process what had happened. In some ways, it felt unreal, as if it had never happened. But then there were the vivid memories, the smell of him still on her skin, his comforting presence next to her, now subtly but irrevocably shifted. He was not just her father now, but her lover - even if they never did anything like this again.

The coming weeks, she expected, would bring a lot of changes. The video would get out into the world. Someone she knew would almost certainly see it. There would be questions - a lot of them.

Nothing Bethany felt she couldn't handle. In one afternoon, she'd solved her financial problems and fulfilled one of her most secret and cherished wishes. That was more than enough.

They returned to the car and got inside. The thunk of the closing doors seemed to break the silent spell between them.

"Well," her father said. "What now?"

Bethany folded her hands in her lap. "Do you mean in the immediate sense, like getting lunch, or in the greater sense, like what this means for our relationship?"

He breathed a soft laugh. "I suppose both, sweetheart."

"In that case, definitely lunch," she said. "I'm starving."

"McKinley's?"

She smiled in delight. "You read my mind."

He put the car into gear and they pulled into traffic. Another amiable silence fell.

"As for the greater picture," her father said, and trailed off.

"Do you regret it?" she asked.

"No."

"Me neither."

"I'm glad, Bethany."

"I love you, dad. And I'd really like us to... to stay close. I'd never want this to be something that drives us apart."

He nodded. "I feel the same way."

"Are you sure you don't want half the money? I don't feel right taking it all."

He smirked. "Consider it a birthday gift, if you like."

A number of smartass raunchy replies came unbidden to her mind. She pushed them all away.

"I had a really great time," she ventured, somehow feeling nervous all over again.

"So did I."

"I could tell." She couldn't repress a giggle. "My god, you made a total mess of me."

"And I'd do it again," he said as they came to a stop at a red light.

She glanced at him sharply. He looked back, somewhat abashed, as if he hadn't meant to say it out loud.

"Would you?" she asked.

Her father seemed to consider, then nodded. "I would."

"Even without an audience?"

"Especially without one."

She reached across and took his hand. He held it as the light changed and they started moving again.

"I'm glad to hear that," Bethany said. "Because there's something I've been wanting to tell you for awhile now."

He nodded attentively. "What is it, sweetheart?"

"After lunch, I'd really like to go back to your hotel room and have you fuck your daughter's brains out."

There was a pause, just long enough for worry to start pecking at the edges of Bethany's mind. Then her dad laughed.

"I have a counter-proposal. How about we go to the hotel now... and get room service after?"

She grinned and squeezed his hand. "Sounds amazing, dad."

"Good," he said, and signaled his lane change.

Sitting back, Bethany relaxed and watched the view outside go by, feeling content but eager to see what these new changes would bring. She had a good feeling about it.

It felt like a day where anything could happen.