Her screen goes dark. She’s closed her laptop.
I groan, looking down at my hard dick.
But there’s no way I’m just going to stand here, jacking off, when the woman of my dreams is a thirty-minute drive away.
“Steve,” I whisper, pulling up my pants. “Goddamn it. Why does she have to be your daughter?”
Chapter Thirteen
Madelyn
My phone was on the bedside table when I bent over, my body buzzing with lust at what Max and I were about to do, and then the screen lit up with the word Dad. It was like he knew what we were doing and wanted to stop it.
Seeing his name, in that context, makes it all seem so real. I can’t hide behind the game, not even the screen when we shared a real-world connection.
I think about not answering it. But what if something is wrong?
I’d never be able to forgive myself if I abandoned him in a time of need.
Grabbing my phone, I swipe to answer, lying back on the pillows completely naked.
“Hey, Dad,” I say, trying to make my voice sound normal.
I’m not sure how I can, though, after I was about to have video sex with his best friend. And knowing we’ve already done intimate things in real life. I can still taste Maxton’s lips on mine, remembering how ferally he snarled through the kiss.
And he wants me the same way I want him.
“Maddie.” I can hear the smile in dad’s voice. “I hope I’m not calling at an inconvenient time.”
“Don’t be silly. You can call whenever you want.”
Just please try to give me thirty minutes next time. I was about to put on a show for your oldest friend.
I bite down, genuinely worried I might blurt that out by accident.
“Is everything okay?” I ask.
“Oh, fine, fine. I just realized we hadn’t spoken in a while. How’s school?”
We chitchat for the next fifteen minutes, making small talk about my programming course. Dad tells me a little about work, how the latest release is performing overseas.
And then he asks me a question that sends a lightning bolt smashing into my chest.
“How’re things with your online boyfriend?”
“Ha, ha,” I mutter sarcastically.
At least I try to sound sarcastic. Dad knows I’ve been spending time with a man online, but he doesn’t know any of the details. Normally when he brings it up, I fire a few jokes his way, we banter, and that’s that. But right now I can’t think of anything funny to say.
All I can think is, It’s Maxton, Dad. It’s your best friend. And it’s way more than an online fling. We want to be together forever.
I almost wish I could convince myself Maxton is tricking me in some way. But I trust dad, and dad trusts Maxton implicitly. Weirdly, it’s through dad I know I can rely on Maxton no matter what. He’s always singing his praises.
“I’m only kidding,” Dad goes on.
Is there a hitch in his voice or am I going crazy?
“I know, Dad.”
There’s a pause, and he sighs. “I want you to be happy, Maddie. That’s all I ever want.”
“Okay…”
I leave it hanging, waiting for him to fill in the blanks, far too aware of the stickiness on my thighs.
The lust with Maxton has dried now, leaving me feeling dirty… and yet part of me regrets it, ending it, and wishes I’d ignored dad’s call.
I feel like screaming. This is such a tangled mess.
Dad chuckles. “That’s it, Maddie. There’s nothing else. I just want you to be happy.”
“Have you been drinking?” I ask.
“No, why?”
“I don’t know. You sound sort of emotional.”
“Me? Emotional?”
He laughs, but it seems a little forced. Does he somehow know what Maxton and I have done, or what we were going to do?
“No, I just wanted to say that, that’s all. I love you, Maddie.”
“I love you too.”
We end the call and I see I’ve got a text from Maxton.
We need to talk about this. But somewhere we can’t go crazy with one another. I’m taking you out tomorrow night. I’ll pick you up at seven.
My thumb hovers over the reply icon. The idea of a date with Maxton is like a fairytale becoming reality.
And yet I can’t stop thinking about how dad sounded when he said he loved me. There was so much genuine emotion there, so much affection.
He’s a good man. He doesn’t deserve this.
Navigating from Maxton’s text, I find Jess contact and fire off a text, Are you busy?
No, why?
I need some advice. Can we talk?
A moment later, my phone lights up with her picture. I swipe to answer.
“What’s up?” she asks.
“I’m not sure you’re going to believe me.”
“Let me guess. You broke the world’s jumping jack record? You’ve made a cake out of condoms? Um… you’ve come to the realization you want to be a nun and you’ll be moving into a convent soon?”