Summer With My Dad’s Best Friend

This time I use all of my strength to push him away and glare at him so he knows I’m not trying to play hard to get.

“I’m done,” I say and run toward the back of the building before he can grab me again. I don’t know if Tulip and Annie saw what was happening, or if they’re following me. I don’t think they did because they had found their own guys to dance with last time I checked and they looked like they were having a blast. All I know is I have to get out of this place, and I don’t want to ruin their fun, so I don’t go looking for them.

I bust out of the back door into the empty alleyway and my tears start to fall. This is all so fucked up. This isn’t how the summer was supposed to be. No matter what I do, I can’t get Ben out of my head. He’s all I want despite how much he hurt me. I just wish he was here.

I look behind me when the back door to the club opens. I hope it’s Tulip and Annie so I can beg them to go home. But it isn’t them. Standing in front of me is the guy who’d groped me, and he doesn’t look happy. Judging by his pissed off expression, I have a feeling he doesn’t like taking no for an answer. Fear rolls through me, and my hands begin to shake when he steps toward me. I know if I run, I won’t get far before he catches up with me. These damn sandals I wore are made for looking cute, not escaping a potential predator.

He backs me into the wall of the building next to the club. When he reaches for me and grabs my arms, I scream.

8

Ben

I leave the fishing trip early. I can’t get Jenny out of my head, the look on her face when I yelled at her. Even though I did it for her own good, I went about it all wrong. I’m still worried that my ex will destroy the both of us if she finds out we’re together, but I can’t let her rule my life forever. She’s already done enough damage as it is.

I need to find Jenny and apologize. But when I get back to the cabin, I see that she’s not home. None of the girls are. Annie told me she’d stay and watch the boys.

I search the cabin, finding the boys playing with their hand-held video games in the living room.

“Where are the girls?” I ask.

They look at each other, then look at me and shrug. Clearly Annie had made some threats about telling on her because they aren’t very forthcoming with the information.

“Whatever Annie threatened you with, you better believe I can do worse. And I’ll start by taking those video games from you,” I say.

I reach out to take them, but my son is quick to spill. “I heard them say they were going to some club in town to meet boys.”

My stomach drops. Not at the idea of my daughters going out with boys; they’re over eighteen and that’s a given. But the thought of Jenny finding someone else kills me. It’s probably what would be easier for her in the long run, but the selfish part of me wants to keep her all to myself.

My mind starts to wonder about all the trouble the girls could be getting into and worry and jealousy take over. Thinking that my daughters and the girl I love are out there alone with no one to take care of them when this is a town full of horny kids looking to have a summer fling has my blood boiling. I have to find them.

Luckily it’s a small town and there can’t be too many clubs. Except it turns out there are more than I thought, and some of them are more secretive than others. I look in several places and don’t find any trace of them. As I’m driving down the road in my truck, windows down, I hear a scream and I know it’s Jenny’s voice.

I speed toward the sound of the voice and find myself in a sketchy alley behind a dive bar. Jenny is standing in the middle of the alley looking terrified. A boy twice her size is moving toward her and he doesn’t look too happy. When he grabs her by the arm, I throw my truck into park and flash my high beams, getting his attention. When the kid looks my way, holding his hand up to block the glare, I grab him by the throat and pin him against the wall. The piece of shit looks ready to piss his pants. He has no problem picking on a young girl but doesn’t have the balls enough to stand up to a man.