“Can you pick Jazzy up at dance class?” Jay asked me over the phone.

“What time?” I looked at my watch and headed towards the checkout of the boutique I stopped in on my way to put flowers on my mother’s grave. There was a cute little romper in the window calling out my name. I couldn’t help the impulsive purchase. It felt good to have expendable money again now that I was working at Rucker Records. It’s amazing the little things you didn’t realize you missed until you had them back.

“Half hour. Her bitch of a mother flaked.”

It seemed Monica was flaking more and more lately. Jay didn’t like not knowing why she was suddenly doing an about face regarding his time with Jazzy. I had to admit that I shared in his concerns. Not that I complained though. I loved having more time with the little girl.

“Text me the address and I’ll head over there.”

“Thanks,” he murmured low into the phone and I felt a zing go through me. Since the Nessy incident, things were finally back to normal with us. I froze him out for a while afterwards. I couldn’t spread my legs for him knowing where he’d been.

Eventually, I made him get tested for STDs and once the results were in, I finally caved and let him have sex with me. It still hurt like hell if I thought about it, so I was choosing not to. It wasn’t that I forgot. Just that I had to forgive or else things weren’t going to work. And since I had chosen to stay with him, it was my cross to bear.

“Is she staying with us tonight?” I handed the clerk my bank card as she rang up my purchase. She smiled and went back to her business.

“Probably. Monica is going to need to explain herself. I’m over this shit.”

“I don’t blame you. Jazzy needs stability. What time are you going to be done doing whatever it is you’re doing?”

“We’re laying tracks, baby. But I should be done by dinner.”

“You don’t need to explain where you are.” That was another thing. He was constantly explaining his whereabouts to me lately. I liked it on one hand, but loathed it on the other. The last thing I wanted was him feeling like he needed to check in. That could spell trouble if he ever came to resent me for it. “I figured we could take her to that hotdog stand she likes and then maybe to mini-golf or something.”

“I’d like that. I better go get this done so I’m not late.”

“Okay. I’ll see you later.”

I pocketed my phone and took my card back from the clerk. Exiting the shop, I pulled my sunglasses on and hauled ass to my car, so I wasn’t late getting Jazzy. It would look really bad if Daddy’s new girlfriend couldn’t pick her up on time. Even though Monica hadn’t set the bar too high, I wanted to make sure I surpassed it.

My phone buzzed and I pulled it out, immediately recognizing the address of the dance studio. I knew the place well actually, having spent lots of time there as a child taking ballet lessons as part of my pageant training. Nostalgia filled me on the way over. I glanced over at my mom’s flowers in the seat next to me and gave them a sad smile. I missed her so damn much.

Navigating into a parking spot on the side of the building, I checked my email to kill a few minutes before turning off the car and heading inside. I thought it would be fun to see Jazzy do some moves before the end of class. I hoped she would be excited to see me.

The hallway was mostly empty as I made my way to the room at the end of the hall where the front receptionist directed me to. I could hear the dance music pumping and a woman’s loud voice as I rounded the corner into the room.

There were ten little girls shaking their hips and jumping around with a plump, older woman standing in front of them. Jazzy shined as she moved to the directions being shouted to her. Her sassiness and bubbliness really came through when she danced. It was definitely something I enjoyed seeing. Pride filled me when she flawlessly executed what I knew was a hard move. She had so much raw talent.

Not long after I arrived, the music abruptly stopped and the only remaining sound was that of the instructor losing it on the little girl next to Jazzy.

“It’s one, two, three, and four!” She shouted. “Not one, two, three!”

The little girl began to cower, but the woman wasn’t done berating her. “Do you hear me you little brat?”

The girl nodded and tears filled her eyes.

“Are you going to screw up again?”

The girl then shook her head and a tear spilled over and down her cheek.

“No tears! Remember what happens if you cry?” The woman threatened and at that point I had seen enough.

“What happens?” I stepped forward and looked around at the few parents who were actually allowing this type of treatment to occur.

“This is none of your concern,” she said instead of answering the question. A brush off? I did not think so.

“I beg to differ. It’s very much my concern.”

“None of these children belong to you,” she pointed out.

“That’s where you’re wrong again. Jazzy does.”

“You aren’t her mother.” Her face twisted and began to grow red with what I assumed was annoyance.

“No, I’m not. Rather than focus on my relationship with her and her father, maybe you should focus on explaining your poor temperament with these children.”

“I don’t have to answer to you. Molly here kept screwing up the steps. I was merely correcting her.” She lifted her chin at me, and her eyes dared me to continue. I loved dares.

“I can think of far more constructive ways to critique a five year old that doesn’t involve the child breaking into tears. Do you agree?” I looked around again at the other parents who were studiously looking at their shoes or anywhere but at me. Real nice.

“Class is dismissed. You tell Jazzy’s mother and father that she isn’t welcome here again as long as you’re going to be involved. I will not have my teaching methods criticized. Especially not for a brat like her.”

“Excuse me?” I asked with a sinister tone. Score one for me channeling Jay on this one. “A brat like her?”

I stormed across the room and got right in her face not even caring that there were numerous gasps behind me. This woman was a monster and for some crazy reason, everyone let her get away with being.

“My little girl is not a brat. She’s a sweet, loving kid who is damn good at dancing. She will be here at the next class and you will treat her with respect. If I find out you’re not, I’ll have words with Mrs. Merchant, the head of the board. I’ve known Mary personally since I was Jazzy’s age and I think she’d love to hear about the poor quality of teachers being employed here without her knowledge.”

Her face blanched and she attempted to recover, but I had seen it and knew I had her number. “There’s no need for that. This was all just a misunderstanding,” she hurriedly said.

“You’re right. It was. But don’t misunderstand this. I catch wind of your attitude resurfacing and I will bring you to your knees. And I’ll laugh the whole time I do it. Now apologize to these girls.”

“I’m… I’m sorry girls,” she stumbled over her words. I felt like laughing at her, but there was nothing remotely funny about people abusing their position of authority over poor, defenseless children.

I grabbed Jazzy’s hand and started for the door. At the last minute I turned back and addressed the parents still trying to blend into the woodwork. “And shame on all of you for allowing your children to be treated so poorly. I truly hope they grow up to be well adjusted adults despite each one of you.”

As I made it to the door, I realized Jay was standing against the doorjamb with his arms crossed. And boy he did not look happy in the least. I bit my lip and waited for the fallout.

“We good?” He asked me, and I saw his lips twitch. I sighed in relief that he wasn’t upset with me for going off on everyone in front of his daughter.

“Yes,” I answered and waited for him to move out of the way. He didn’t though. He looked past me and spoke to the vile woman I had just put in her place.

“I ever hear you talk to my daughter like that you’ll have more than your job to worry about. You feel me?”

The woman nodded furiously and looked ready to shit her pants. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep the hysterical laughter from bubbling out of me. My man could be scary, but he was really just a big teddy bear. Or so I liked to think.

Done with the scene, Jay took my hand and we walked out—the three of us together—almost like a family.

* * *

Jay

“Tori was so cool. Wasn’t she, Daddy?” My daughter asked yet again as she retold the story of Tori telling off that bitch of a teacher.

“She was,” I agreed and took a bite of my burger.

We were sitting outside Voss’, a hotdog stand that Jazzy loved to go to because they also sold ice cream. Give her ice cream and she was a happy child. Then again, she was always a happy child. So far nothing in her young life had really fazed her, and I hoped to keep it that way.

Which meant I had to deal with the latest shit her mother was pulling. It wasn’t anything I was looking forward to doing. I divorced that bitch for a reason.

“Tori, will you bring me to dance again? To make sure Ms. Kopiec doesn’t yell at me again?” Jazzy asked.

“Anything you want, sweetie,” Tori answered her and went back to picking at her fries.

“Not hungry?” I asked, and she looked up at me to give me a small smile that told me absolutely nothing. She had been too quiet since we left the school. “T?”

She shrugged and threw down the fry she was holding. “I don’t like having to be mean to people, but that woman deserved it. Right?”

“Damn fucking straight. That bitch deserved more if you ask me. I think you handled yourself well, baby. I was impressed.”

“You were?” I could see the hope on her face and shit it made me feel horrible knowing she was worried about my reaction. I thought we were getting back to good after my fuck up with Nessy, but now I wasn’t so sure.

“Of course I was. Defended my girl today. That means something.”

“I didn’t do it for your praise,” she quickly defended. What was that all about? I would never think that. She didn’t even know I was going to show up. I’m glad I did though. She took my back by taking Jazzy’s, and I was grateful to her for it.

“Never thought that, T. I know bullshit when I see it. You weren’t thinking of me, yourself, or those pansy ass parents. You were thinking about those kids. It’s a beautiful thing knowing I can trust my child in your hands. To know that you would go to bat for her without question. That’s the kind of woman I want in her life. The kind I want her learning from and growing up to be like.”

She bit her lip, but not before I saw it trembling. Fuck, but my girl’s compassion ran deep. She never hid her light from anyone. She shined it on anyone around her. It wasn’t just me that noticed it either. Anyone who got to know her felt it and relished in knowing it was there for them to draw strength from.

“Come here.” I reached out and grabbed her so she had no choice but to shift onto my lap.

“Jazzy,” she reminded me in a soft voice.

“It’s good for her to see a woman getting treated the way she deserves.” I kissed her lips once, twice, and then ran my tongue along the seam in a promise for later. “Tonight I’m going to show my appreciation. You like that?”

“Yes,” she whispered. Her eyes closed slowly as my hands ran up her sides, stopping just below her breasts. My thumbs brushed the bottom swells of each globe, and I knew if I didn’t stop I’d be giving everyone a show.

“Good. I want to watch you come. You going to be a good girl and give that to me?” I whispered in her ear so Jazzy couldn’t hear us. My words were sure to get her primed. Without fail, they always did.

Tori whimpered, and I smiled against her cheek. “Want to be my dirty girl tonight?” I added and felt her shiver. Her head nodded in assent. Fuck, but I couldn’t wait to get home and put Jazzy to bed.

“Daddy, can I have ice cream now?” Jazzy broke our moment. I pulled back and looked over at her. She had mustard on her cheek and a light shining from her eyes just like Tori’s.

God, but I loved my girls.

I was officially fucked where Tori was concerned. There was no denying that connection between us that kept growing tighter and deeper. She had wormed her way into my life and there was going to be no extricating her. Not that I wanted to. I liked her right where she was.

“Climb off me, baby. Got to get my girl some ice cream.”

“Okay,” she reluctantly agreed and settled next to me on the bench.

“You want some?” I asked her and she nodded.

“I want some chocolate,” she said with an undertone of desire in her voice. My cock jerked at her innuendo. I had some chocolate right here for her. That was for damn sure.

“You want it hard or soft, T?” My meaning wasn’t lost on her. I bet if I dipped a finger in that golden pussy of hers it would come out soaking wet.

“Hard. Most definitely. The harder the better.”

“Fuck,” I muttered and walked away adjusting myself. “You won that round,” I shouted over my shoulder at her and heard her answering laugh. I bit back my smile and got my girls their ice cream. She’d pay for that later.

* * *

“That’s it baby. Fuck yourself harder.”

“Jay,” Tori whimpered as her vibrator was thrust in deeper. Fuck. My girl really did like it dirty.

When we got home from dinner and miniature golf, Jazzy had a bath while I did some work. As soon as she was down, we locked ourselves in our room. My goal was to show my appreciation by making Tori come as many times as I could.

She had other plans though.

My little vixen wanted me to jerk off for her, so I propped myself on the bed against the pillows and gave her the show she wanted. With legs cocked, my hand stroked my dick in a leisurely manner as she watched with rapt attention.

After a few minutes, she surprised me by stripping bare and then crawling between my legs. Once in place, she leaned over and sucked the tip into her mouth as my hand worked the shaft. Not long after that I came down her throat with a hoarse shout.

You’d never know it from her polished exterior, but deep down she was an uninhibited wildcat in the bedroom. Even with Tori, jerking off was anything but tame. She was a perfect match for me.

Now my girl was returning the favor by fucking herself with her vibrator. I had stayed back and allowed myself to be an innocent bystander, but the sounds she was making had my cock roaring to life with a need to completely consume her.

“You need more?” I asked when I saw her legs trembling and her toes curling. I knew she was close to coming. I could tell her signs. I also knew she was holding back, wanting to enjoy it as long as she could. I admired that, but it kept me from burying myself balls deep inside her, so she was going to need to let go already.

Lost in what she was doing, she didn’t answer, so I positioned myself between her legs and used the wetness leaking down between her ass cheeks to tease her puckered hole. Her eyes flew open, and she moaned when I dipped the tip of my finger in.

Yeah, she liked it dirty.

“Oh!” She cried out, and I decided I couldn’t hold back any longer.

My finger pulled out, and I grabbed the vibrator from her hand. I turned it off and tossed it to the side. Then I grabbed her knees, spread her legs wide and drove in hard.

“Ahhh!” She screamed. “Fuck me, Jay!”

“Shhh, baby. Don’t want to wake Jazzy.”

She moaned when I twisted my hips and ground in deep. I pulled out and drove back in, bottoming out each time I did so.

Tori clawed at my back and sucked on my tongue as I fucked her over and over again. Her pussy was pure heaven. I could spend all my time balls deep in her and never tire of it. She was pure class from head to toe. I needed to remember that the next time I was presented with pussy that could barely hold a candle to her.

Letting my weight rest on her, my hips thrust again and again as Tori became more desperate for release. I could feel her cunt muscles starting to flutter, and I knew without a doubt she was going to lose it soon.

“Come for me, baby. You promised you’d be my good girl.”

“Yes,” she whimpered when I changed the angle of my hips. Her legs were wrapped around my thighs and her hips were thrusting up against mine.

“Do it, baby,” I encouraged again with the dirty talk I knew she loved. “Your pussy is amazing. Pure gold. Tell me how good it feels.”

“My pussy feels so good.” Her words were breathless and full of desperation. Her face was flushed with her arousal, and I loved every fucking second of it. It made me feel like I was her king.

“Who’s your stallion?”

“You. Always you.”

“You going to come for me? Come on my big, fucking cock?” I hoped she did and fast. My words were affecting me too, and I was ready to blow my load.

“Oh my God!” She shouted as she began to come. I slammed my mouth down on hers to drown out the rest of her cries. I continued to plow into her as she came longer than I had ever known her too. Her muscles milked me over and over again.

“Fuck. You’re so fucking wet, it’s coating my balls. Damn, that’s good, T.” I loved the fact that I was doing this to her. No one else but fucking me could make her come this long and this hard. I could tell by the way she whimpered, growled and clenched my cock like she never wanted to let it go.

When the tightening in my balls got to the point of pain, I let go of my restraint and grunted with the impact of my release. I buried myself to the hilt and came so hard, I knew we were going to need to change the sheets tonight.

“Holy shit,” she breathed beneath me. I chuckled into her neck and attempted to steady my heart rate.

“That’s an understatement.”

“You were amazing.” Her voice was shaky and full of wonderment.

I lifted up and looked down at her to see tears snaking down her cheeks. It twisted my heart whenever she cried. And not in a good way.

“Sorry.” She laughed, but continued to cry. “I think that orgasm messed me up. I’m happy as all hell but I can’t stop crying.”

“You’re so nutty, baby.” I kissed her nose and pulled out. Her face softened, and I liked that too. Knowing that she liked it when my cock was in her and didn’t want to let it go. “Don’t ever change.”

“I won’t.” I moved off her and she sat up, probably to go clean up.

“Oh, gross!” She exclaimed when she saw the damage we did to the bed. I laughed hard at the look on her face.

“This is what happens when you’re dirty,” I informed her.

She wrinkled her nose in disgust and looked so damn cute I wanted to fuck her all over again.

“They never write that stuff in romance books.”

“Wouldn’t know. Don’t read that shit. So I’ll take your word for it.”

“Trust me, they don’t. The man pulls out and then they go to sleep. Sex is never messy like it is in real life. Not once have I read a story where they had to change the sheets if they didn’t want to sleep in a wet spot the size of Wyoming.”

“Shit,” I muttered after I laughed so hard I was afraid I was going to wake Jazzy. “The shit you say sometimes is outrageous.”

She left the room with a shake of her ass and grabbed a spare set of sheets from the linen closet in the bathroom.

I helped her change the bed and noted how comfortable it was to do the domestic shit with her. Normally, that shit did nothing for me. Tonight I was enjoying it as much as I would a nice Cuban cigar.

“Done!” She exclaimed. “Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m going to clean up and then crash. You wore me right out.” She pointed to our shared juices leaking down her leg and my cock jerked. The sight of my seed on her was enough to have me getting hard again.

I willed my cock down when she was in the bathroom and then took my turn cleaning up. Back in the bedroom, I climbed into bed behind her and pulled her in my arms.

“Night, T.”

“Night, Jay.”

Tori snuggled in and almost immediately passed out from exhaustion.

Around the time her breathing leveled out, I heard her faintly say, “I love you.”

My heart stopped before it began pounding like a heavy drum in my chest. Even though I knew she was asleep and probably didn’t realize she said it, I kissed the top of her head and whispered, “I love you too.”