Unforgettable

She shook her head, and then gave me a frightened look, "I don't know who you are mister, but whatever you do, please don't tell my Daddy that I was talking to you about this! He'll spank me!" Then she grinned mischievously.

I'd never spanked her. Was that some sort of hint? And why was I suddenly hard again? Goddammit! Get a grip, Chuck!

"That's my girl!" I kissed her forehead.

## ( XI ) A LOVE SURRENDERED ##

We stood, she kissed me on the cheek and we hugged. I had to maneuver myself so she wouldn't feel my raging erection.

"Thank you, Daddy. You're the best Daddy in the whole..." Suddenly she stopped, and peered around me. She grabbed a corner of fabric peeking out from beneath the sheets, and pulled out a 'Hello Kitty' t-shirt with a small bloody spot.

"Daddy! You didn't!" my daughter scolded, glaring at the bathroom door.

I looked at her helplessly, a lump rising in my throat. My God, had I sabotaged my relationship with my daughter?

She grabbed my shoulders, whispering angrily, "Did you ruin my maid of honor?" Then she broke into a grin, kissed me on the cheek, and whispered in my ear, "Well, it's about damn time!"

I was befuddled by my daughter's sudden about-face. "What do you mean?" I asked, keeping my voice low like hers.

"C'mon, Daddy. Don't tell me you never noticed."

"Noticed what?"

Still whispering, she said, "Only, like, the most major crush in the world. You're the only man she was ever interested in. I mean, like, e-ver, since we were in, like, sixth grade. She would never admit it to anyone, but the sparkle in her eyes when she looked at you? The way she became tongue-tied whenever you were around?"

"What do you mean, 'when I was around'? She's not like that all the time?"

"No! Sophie's brilliant, except when she's near you, and then something happens and she goes all stupid. She was elected valedictorian, and declined because she knew you'd be in the audience at graduation. She was afraid she would freeze up in the middle of her speech."

"Seriously?" My thoughts were reeling. "Wait, you - you knew how she felt?"

"Everybody knew. Well, apparently, everyone but you, my oh-so-dense Dad."

I was stupefied. If I were to believe my daughter, Sophie had waited all this time, for me. No men, only women. Including my daughter, apparently.

We'd been lovers for less than an hour, and I suddenly felt embarrassed at my feelings for her. She was so lovely and enticing, and making love with her was unlike any woman I'd known. I could easily fall for her. But she was so young. And me? I was her father's age, divorced - her life was waiting to be written, and mine was a sad tale of moral decay.

Gazing at my daughter, I pondered how would I feel if one of my old friends had ripped her virginity away? How would Sophie's father handle it when he found out? First the mother, and now the daughter - what sort of old satyr was I? I would be lucky if he didn't castrate me on the spot, and then shoot me.

"Does - does everybody know?" I asked Kelly weakly. "Your friends? Her family? Cece?"

Kelly nodded. "I think it was a headline in the newspaper one day," she smirked.

"But - but I thought she liked women. She had lovers..."

The reddened glow of my daughter's cheeks and the down-turned eyes were the icing, affirming Sophie's allusion to their intimacy. I realized I had only part of the story, however. There could be others. This could be so much more complicated than I'd assumed.

I pulled my daughter into the hall. "How close are you to Sophie?" I whispered urgently.

With a coquettish grin, she asked, "Do you want details, Daddy?"

Oh, shit! Just when I was beginning to soften again, the disgraceful scenes began playing out on the back of my eyeballs.

"No! No, that's not what I mean, Kelly. Do you know if she is in a relationship with anyone? I don't want to make any trouble. Is there anybody else in her life?"

Kelly paused, weighing her words. "There was someone, a few years ago," she said softly, staring distantly at the floor. "She - she loved Sophie, with every beat of her heart." My little girl looked up and forced a smile, her eyes glistening in the corners. Her soft voice cracked when she said, "But you don't have to worry about that, Daddy. It's over now. She's moved on. She figured out that there was only one person Sophie would ever truly give her heart to."

I pulled my beautiful, brokenhearted daughter to me and held her tight, and she hugged me, sniffling. What a bizarre universe this night was unfolding.

My daughter stepped back, wiping her eyes with the back of her arm. "Why do you want to know, Dad? Is everything okay?"

"I - I don't know, Kelly. It's all happening so fast."

Her voice quietened, and she nibbled excitedly on her lower lip. "You're falling for her, aren't you?"

I stood, transfixed, unable to answer.

She smiled, nodding knowingly. "Yeah, you are." She drew up on her toes and kissed my cheek. "Good," she said, with a tone of finality.

"You - you're okay with - with me and Sophie?"

"Just make her happy, Dad. That's all I ask. Don't half-ass it. All, or nothing. Promise me?"

"I - I don't know if I can, Kelly. I'm still trying to make sense out of everything."

She gave me a stern look. "If you gonna' hurt her, do it quick. Don't flip-flop around like most guys do. If this goes to shit, you'll have to deal with me, Dad."

"Okay, sweetie," I smiled, and kissed her forehead. "Now I think you need to go find that slutty little driver inside you."

She grinned and hugged me again. "Thanks, Dad. For everything." She kissed my cheek, and sashayed down the hall.

I watched, dazed, as she disappeared into her room.

## ( XII ) BAD SHOWER TIMING ##

When I stepped back inside the room, a light knocking sounded on the bathroom door. I opened it. Sophie came out with a towel wrapped around her, her skin still pink. She hugged me.

I apologized, "Sorry for keeping you in there so long."

"That's okay. I enjoyed listening to everything. I kept myself busy."

"Busy?"

She painted her moist fingers across my lips. I licked, tasting the fruits of her business. "Mmmm..."

"I may need another shower," she quipped, plopping cross-legged on the bed.

I joined her. "I guess it didn't matter whether you came out of the bath after all. She figured it out." I gestured toward the t-shirt.

"That's okay. Our gowns are strapless. She would've known tomorrow, anyway." She twisted her head, eyeing the bright hickey on her shoulder.

"Oh, fuck, I'm sorry." I said.

"It's okay. Actually, I'm a little proud of it." She kissed me again. Showing concern, she said, "I heard some whispering. Was she - was she okay with - you know...?"

I nodded. "Yeah. She has other things on her mind right now."

"That was so sweet, what you did for Kelly," Sophie said. There was a short pause while she gathered her thoughts - click, click, click.

I remembered what my daughter had told me - she acted this way only around me. Did she really have feelings for me going back over ten years? Was I the only one she would ever give her heart to for all this time? The possibility gave me butterflies - good butterflies.

Finally she spoke. "Was all that true, what you told her? Is that really the way men think?"

"Most of us, yeah."

Another moment - click, click. Staring down at the sheets, she asked, "So, if a man found a woman who could drive his car like that, he might be able to get over any 'trust' issues he had with other women?"

Her eyes swung upwards, gauging my response from underneath her brow. Could she be seriously thinking...? I searched her face, looking for some sign. What I saw was admiration, mixed with anticipation and just a hint of anxiety.

"Yes, Sophie," I answered carefully. "I think that any man would be lucky to find such a woman, someone who understood him that way. If a man found someone like that, he would be an idiot to ever let her go."

Her eyes sparkled - just like Kelly described - and she tucked her lower lip between her teeth, grinning joyously. So it was true.

In an excited whisper she said, "I'd like to take some driving lessons, Chuck. Would you - would you show me how?"

"Sure, Sophie." I pulled her to me for a long, loving kiss. She smelled divine, so clean, while I was reeking. "I should get a shower first," I told her, wrinkling my nose.

She scrunched her brow. "No, you don't have to." She leaned forward to kiss my chest, then tiny smooches across the top of my breast, and up to my shoulder. "I like the way you smell. Sweaty and musky, like a man."

We kissed again, and I felt her searching through the fabric of my sweats for my erection, finding it, and tugging on it.

She looked up at me. "That thing that Mrs. Lyman - I mean Cece - that thing she did for you? You know, with her mouth. Do men really like that?"

"Did you like what I did to you with my mouth?"

She nodded vigorously, grinning.

"Same thing. Maybe even better. Remember what I told Kelly about power and control? For a man, he feels powerful when a woman takes him that way. But the truth is that a woman has total and absolute control over him when she has him in her mouth. He will do absolutely anything for her."

"I've never done it. Can you show me how?"

My heart thumped wildly, and if possible, my dick grew even harder.

"I'm covered with all sorts of yucky stuff, Sophie. I should clean up first."

"I don't mind. Really," she said.

"I'd rather you enjoyed your first time," I said. I gave her a peck and jumped up. "Let me grab a quick shower, and I'll be right back."

"Okay," she said with a disappointed shrug.

I turned on the water and peed, looking down at my dick. Having a pretty good night, tonight, aren't you boy? And it's only gonna' get better. I thought about Sophie, how absolutely beautiful she was, how lucky I was to have someone like that fawning over me. It was like a fantastic dream. While I bathed, I stroked myself lazily, imagining what it was going to feel like with her sweet, luscious lips gliding up and down.

I came out of the bath wearing only a towel around my waist, hard and ready for action. The TV was on, and the old man was fucking the woman in the ass while she and the girl twiddled each other's clit. Sophie was curled on the bed, naked. And fast asleep. I switched off the TV. It was a little disheartening, but I was too much the gentleman to awaken her. It had been such a special night already, the clock said 2:30, and we had a long day ahead. Besides, if Kelly was right - and I had an idea she was - this was not the only time that we would enjoy each other.

I snuggled in behind Sophie, pulled the covers over us, and turned out the light.

## ( XIII ) WEDDING DAY ##

The click of a door closing woke me. I was alone, and it was still dark. The clock read 6:15. It took about five seconds for the exhilarating madness of the night before to sweep through my memory. I touched the indentation in the pillow where Sophie's head had been. It was still warm. I smiled. Sophie had dozens of things to prepare for the wedding - they had a bride's breakfast, and hair and nail appointments early. I'd see her later.

I closed my eyes.

When I awoke again, it was nearly 10AM. The wedding was at two. I jumped out of bed, and got dressed. The TV said a record snowfall had shut the city down. Temperatures were warming during the day, but they expected more snow tonight. The airport would be closed for a few days. So much for getting back to Atlanta by Monday.

I found Brian in the lobby, talking on the phone, frantically trying to pull things together.

"Is she okay?...Yeah, I called them - they're stuck at the airport...I don't know, Sophie, maybe we can get Santa Claus to deliver the goddamn string quartet to a church, if we can find one, that is...She's what?...Tell her I said don't cry, and I love her, and that's all that matters...I know you did...Hey, Mr. Lyman's here, let me talk to him and I'll get back to you...Okay, I will...Bye." He hung up and turned to me. "Sophie said to tell you 'Hi'."

That's all I get? A 'Hi'?

I got the scoop on the situation. His parents had decided to stay at the hotel instead of driving home, and the preacher's car was stuck, so he had come back to the hotel, too. That was two major obstacles out of the way. The church was three miles away, and there was no way that everyone would make it safely there and back for the reception. The hotel manager had told him that only a few cooks and waiters would be available, anyway. Brian was looking for a church close by that we could use, but most of them were now shelters for homeless people trying to get out of the weather.

The sun reflecting off the snow filled the elegant three-story lobby with brilliant light. The arching design of the narrow, beveled three-story windows left me with an impression of a soaring pipe organ. In a few hours, the sun would be coming from... I did a few quick calculations in my head and grinned.

"Come with me," I told Brian. I explained my idea to him and the hotel manager. It was going to cost me, but this was for my only daughter - of course I would cough it up. Brian called Sophie and explained to her - she told him that Kelly was depressed, but agreed to go along, feeling she didn't have much choice. Next, he got on the phone, texting and calling everyone who might be able to make it to let them know about the changes.

The next time I saw Sophie was just before the ceremony, in a small meeting room which was doubling as the bridal room. She was gorgeous, as were all of the bridesmaids. Sophie's delicate neck and shoulders were especially accented by the sleek, wine-colored strapless gown. Her pouty lips wore a decadent red lipstick like the other girls, and they all sported matching diamond chandelier earrings with a simple diamond necklace. They had done their own matching nails and hair, each of them wearing a different braid - Sophie's was a French braid that Kelly had woven for her. It gave her sweet round face a look of charming innocence.

Only a hint of dark shading was visible where Sophie's hickey should be. I assumed she had applied some concealing makeup. Also, I noticed, curiously, that none of the girls' close-fit dresses showed panty lines. Perhaps they were wearing some sort of body glove. Yeah, that had to be it.

Kelly was enchanting in her creamy flowing gown covered in lace. It contrasted nicely with the satiny bridesmaid's dresses. Sophie was constantly fussing with the veil and the long train, making sure each tuft of hair was properly in place, and ignored me completely. Kelly was anxious, and kept looking at me, to which I always returned a smile and blew her a kiss. Sophie talked to her incessantly, calming her, reassuring her. At one point, I looked up just in time to see Sophie give Kelly a small peck on the lips. Then Kelly leaned over and returned one a bit longer. With obvious tongue. My heart fluttered for her, and my pants suddenly felt tighter.

I remained off to the side, staying out of their way while the bridesmaids groomed Kelly and each other. I was appalled at how thin Missy was. Buxom Tara came across the room to me and we hugged. Her soft curves were a comfort to hold, but still nothing like perfect Sophie.

"Mr. Lyman," Tara said, "will you be at the breakfast tomorrow morning, or - do you have other plans?" Her tone suggested that I might be otherwise engaged.

I smiled, "Yes, Tara, I plan to be there. I don't think anybody here will be leaving anytime soon."

"Good," she said. "Kelly and Sophie told me I needed to talk to you."

"About what?" I asked.

"They didn't say exactly. They said you could tell me something I should know about a car and a driver...?"

I laughed. "Sure. Tara. We'll sit down tomorrow and have a long chat."

"Okay, great!" she said with a satisfied smile. Then she surprised me with a not-so-short kiss - and not on the cheek. She held my jaw between her hands and pressed her bountiful lips to mine, flattening her equally bountiful chest against me. With a finger, she wiped her lipstick off my lips, giving me a coy smile. She told me, "Thank you for the great idea, too, Mr. Lyman. It's so - so naughty!"

"Huh? What idea?"

"The panties." She winked, as though I should understand. When she saw my confused expression, she whispered excitedly, "We're not wearing any!"

I looked at each of them, and my mouth dropped open. "None of you?" I asked Tara.

"Nope," she replied with a wicked grin that brought out the cute dimples in her cheeks. "Of course, with these tight gowns we all had to shave. You know. Down there. It feels so sexy."

My pants grew a sudden and obvious bulge. That was the last thing I wanted to show while walking my daughter down the aisle.

We heard the first processionals. The hotel had rolled the bar piano into the lobby and enlisted an otherwise-idle parking valet who played jazz on the side. Everyone lined up. Sophie still had only barely acknowledged my presence. Mistrustful old feelings, hard feelings, were rising to the surface. Had she been using me? Had Kelly been wrong about her infatuation with me? What was last night all about?

Kelly was on my arm. There was no other word for her but beautiful.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

She nodded. "Thanks for everything, Dad."

"I know that getting married in a hotel lobby isn't your dream wedding, but we did the best with what we had."

She shrugged. "It'll be something to tell the kids about."

My mouth dropped. "You don't mean - are you...?"

She smirked. "No, Dad. Not yet. We decided it won't be long, though." Then she whispered, "What about you and...?" She nodded toward Sophie, waiting for her entrance a few feet in front of us. "Am I getting a little brother or sister soon?"

The thought hadn't even crossed my mind. "Um, I don't know, Kelly. Don't get your hopes up. I'm not sure if she wants this to go any further."

"Oh, I'm sure," she winked, nodding.

I wasn't convinced, but that was a conversation for a different day. "How did it go last night, on the phone with Brian?" I asked.

Standing there in her five-thousand dollar wedding dress, holding her bouquet in one hand, my lovely daughter rocked her fist in the air in the classic jack-off motion. "Both of us," she said with an impish grin. She sighed, "Best I ever had."

We laughed quietly.

The valet started the bridesmaid's processional, a lighthearted, playful piece. I watched my daughter's friends dance down the aisle, one-by-one. The high heels slimmed their calves, raising their delightful rumps, and giving each of them a slippery, seductive sway when they walked. Sophie was the last to go, right in front of us, and the sight of her perfectly delicious rear end gave me another hard-on. I had to close my eyes and think about stewed brussels sprouts to make it go away.

The bridal march began. That valet was pretty good - I'd make sure he got a decent tip. Kelly hooked her arm through mine, and we started down the aisle. Brian beamed as he watched his bride approach. The hotel staff and groomsmen had done a miraculous job of re-arranging the lobby. They had pulled the flower arrangements from the elevator lobby on each floor and outlined the wedding area. Crepe streamers were woven into the guest chairs. Someone found a long, deep red carpet for the aisle - a little worn, but it nearly matched the bridesmaid's gowns.

Most thrilling were the windows. Outside, the snow covered everything in a pristine white blanket. The rays of the afternoon sun were shining in from an angle that caught the bevels on the glass and became dozens of long, elegant rainbows that sprayed over the whole lobby.

Kelly caught her breath when she saw it. "My God!" she whispered reverently, her fingers covering her mouth. I spied a tear.