Summer With My Dad’s Best Friend

After a while of scrolling, she says, “Let’s get out of here. This is boring. I want to meet real boys.”

“I don’t know …” I say hesitantly.

“Come on, Jenny, it’ll be fun,” Annie says. They both look at me with pleading eyes.

“Fine, but first I need to go get the rest of my clothes from the car. I need something to wear.”

I go down to the car to grab the rest of my things and see Ben doing the same. He’s carrying a box up the porch steps. He’s wearing a short-sleeve t-shirt and long board shorts. The ropes of muscle in his calves flex with each step and his arms bulge with the strain of the weight of the box. I try to pick my jaw up off the floor. He’s so fucking hot, it’s hard not to stare. But I try not to when he sees me standing near the front door. He’s better looking than any guy on Tinder, and I’m far more attracted to him than any of the eighteen-year-old boys flooding my inbox.

“Hey there,” he says, and sets the box down. He wipes the sweat from his brow and smiles his big beautiful smile. My heart leaps every time I see it. It makes me want to throw myself into his arms and beg him to kiss me.

“It’s been a while since I saw you last,” Ben says. “You get more and more beautiful every time I see you.” I blush profusely and can’t help the shy smile that comes to my lips. “I bet you have the boys falling all over you.”

I shrug. “A few of them, but I’m not into immature boys.”

He raises an eyebrow and smiles wider. If I didn’t know better, I’d say there might be a hint of attraction. But I’m too afraid to read into it. He’s the same age as my dad; their birthdays are just weeks apart. I doubt he sees me the same way I see him.

“I’m sure your dad is happy to hear that.”

My lack of enthusiasm after thinking that he may not have any attraction to me shows in my voice. “Yeah, probably.” I smile to try to make up for it.

I walk out to my car to get the rest of my things. I don’t even want to go out to look for boys anymore. My mood has completely changed and I’m feeling dejected. When I go into my room, Tulip and Annie are looking through their own Tinder apps, trying to find their perfect summer matches.

I need to stop moping over Ben. It’s never going to happen with him, as disappointing as that is. Even though I don’t want to hook up with anyone my age, I don’t really have a choice. And I’m ready to lose my virginity. Maybe going out is exactly what I need right now.

“Let’s do this,” I say, fishing out my sexiest summer dress. It’s more of a cover-up for my bikini than it is a dress. And it’s totally see-through. I put my new bikini underneath and Tulip and Annie start to whistle and catcall as I strut around, showing off the new curves I earned with all the time I’ve been spending at the gym lately.

Suddenly my bedroom door swings open without a knock. Tulip and Annie fumble with their phones to shut off their Tinder apps as my mom comes in.

She looks at me and frowns at my outfit with confusion. “Are you guys heading to the beach?”

“We were thinking about it,” I lie.

“Could it wait for an hour or two? The boys want to have a game of flag football, and I was hoping we could all have a nice dinner together for our first night together. I’m sure with everything that’s happened, it would make Ben feel comfortable and a little more welcomed since he seems to think he’s intruding.”

Annie rolls her eyes. She’s not getting along with her dad all that well, but Tulip and I agree. I don’t know anything about football, but my dad and Ben played in high school and college. They’re very competitive. This should be interesting.

“Get downstairs then, everyone is ready to play,” Mom says.

I stay in my bikini and cover-up since it’s comfortable and easy to move in. We go down stairs and when I see Ben standing next to my dad without his shirt on, I literally stumble down the first two stairs before I catch myself.

“Careful, clumsy,” Annie teases.

I smile and wave her off as I try to get my heart under control. Ben has the body of an athlete, all lean muscle and smooth skin. Nothing like my dad’s actual “dad bod”, that’s soft and doughy in the middle. Ben even has a six pack that ripples beautifully when he laughs.

I want to reach out and touch him, run my fingers along his wide shoulders. Touch his brown wavy hair, run my fingers through it.