Chapter Eight
Jason
“Daddy, I’m hungry.”
“Well, what would you like to eat, princess?”
“Soup?”
I went to rummage through the kitchen and realized we were pretty bare. I’d filled the house with furniture and stocked the kitchen and bathrooms with essentials, but in the flurry of it all, I’d forgotten to do a grocery trip. I had a few things here and there I’d picked up along the way, but nothing I could turn into any substantial meal, much less soup, for my daughter.
I opened the fridge where there was about enough milk for one last cup for her. That wasn’t going to last long. We’d have to go out. I could take her for a treat, and then we could go grocery shopping afterward.
“How about we go out tonight, hm? My treat.”
“Can I get pie?” Jenna asked.
“You can have whatever you’d like,” I said.
“Race you to the car!”
She ran out the door, and I heard her slap her hand down onto the car. She loved racing me in everything she did. If I could do it, she could do it faster. If I could cook it, she could add something to cook it better. If I was cleaning, she could clean it better. She was a competitive little snot, and she got that trait from me. I always had to be the best: the best mechanic, the best man, the best father, the best lover, the best pussy eater. I had to excel at everything I did so no one had a right to complain when they were around me.
That was another thing that had drawn me to Jenna’s mother. She was better than me at almost everything.
She could sympathize with people when I’d just brush them off, and she took her pregnancy like a champ. I worried over every damn step that woman took while she was still stormin’ full steam ahead into everything she loved. She swam until she couldn’t fit into her bathing suit anymore, and then she just up and got another one so she could keep swimmin’. I wanted sex with her to be gentle so we didn’t disturb her pregnant belly or pop her water or some shit, and she was still wantin’ me to throw her back against the wall and fuck her senseless.
That woman trumped me in everything I thought I was good at, and she pushed me to be better because of it.
“Dad, where’re we going?”
“I don’t know. I thought we’d drive around town until we saw something we liked.”
“Can we find somewhere with soup?” she asked.
“Soup and pie. Got it.”
I backed out of the driveway and took in how pretty our neighborhood was. Many of the trees were still turning and hadn’t dropped their leaves yet, and Jenna kept calling out their colors as we rushed by them. Old couples were walking hand in hand through the small town, and a couple of shops offered free samples at tents set outside their establishments. One day, I wanted to walk Jenna through town. There was a snow cone shop and a frozen yogurt place I knew she’d love, and there were several thrift shops I’d enjoy walking through.
There was nothing like picking out a ratty piece of furniture and fixing it up nice. Plus, I was still looking for materials for the house, so it wouldn’t hurt to come in one day and look around.
“Look! Sign!”
I looked to where Jenna was pointing, and a colorful, albeit rustic, sign that said, “Kevin’s Place” stood tall and proud. I didn’t know why that place sounded so familiar, but when two of the three words on the sign were exactly what Jenna was asking for, I knew I’d found the right place.
“Soups, burgers, and pies. Sounds good to me, princess.”
“Me, too,” she said.
I got her out of her car seat, and we strolled on into the diner. The place was a little more than rustic, honestly looking more poorly maintained instead. But the booths were almost full, and there were no free tables, so the food couldn’t be that bad. A bubbly waitress with full, red cheeks and jet-black hair got us seated, but when she scurried off, she seemed all too happy with herself.
“I want soup and pie,” Jenna said.
“I know, princess. Now, let’s figure out what Daddy wants.”
“Fancy seeing you here.”
I whipped my head up at the familiar voice, and I realized why the restaurant name sounded so familiar. Lucy had mentioned she worked as a waitress here, but I had probably been too distracted by the tits that were now eye level with me while she stood beside our booth with a notepad in her hand.
“Hello, Lucy,” I said.
“Hey! It’s the girl that lives beside us,” Jenna said.
“And how are you doing?” she asked Jenna. She crouched down so she was eye level with my daughter, and I couldn’t help but take in the slope of her ass. It was jutted out all perfectly, and I wondered if she liked it from behind. I’d make that ass bounce while she cried out for mercy. She struck me as the kind of girl that never did butt stuff with any of her other partners, and the mere idea of taking that part of her virginity made my balls curl up into my body.
“I’m good. Do you guys have pie?” she asked.
“We do, and I think I heard something about soup?”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
“What kind of soup do you want?” she asked.
“Creamy soup. And chocolate pie.”
“Do you like potatoes and corn in your soup?”
“Yes, please. And lots of whipped cream!”
“On your soup or your pie?” she asked Jenna.
“On the pie, silly.” The giggle that came from my daughter while she interacted with Lucy wasn’t something I’d heard in a long time. Up until recently, Jenna had always been wary of other women. It’s one of the reasons I never tried to date or even hook up with someone. I never wanted to bring someone into our home that she wouldn’t be comfortable with. And, I sure as hell wasn’t gonna leave her with some dude babysitter while I dated. Call me shitty for it all you want, but I watch the news. That shit doesn’t always go over well.
“And what would you like?” she asked me.
“I think I’m gonna take the double cheeseburger with bacon and all the things that come with it. Double fries, and an Orange Crush. I’ll also have a strawberry milkshake whenever Jenna gets her pie.”
“Hearty appetite,” she said.
“I just like to eat big, is all.”
She held my gaze for a second before she turned back to Jenna, and I knew what was going to come flying from Jenna’s lips even before she asked.
“And no, Jenna. You can have a milkshake or pie, but not both.”
“Daaaaaad,” she whined.
“We’ve got milk,” Lucy said.
“Could I have chocolate milk?” she asked.
“Dad, can she have chocolate milk?” She threw those innocent green eyes over at me, and my dick practically sprang to life. She was ganging up on me with my own daughter, and the only thing I wanted to do was wipe my arm along this booth and thrust her back upon it. I held her gaze and saw her falter ever so slightly, and when I knew she was squirming just like I was, I relented.
“Chocolate milk is fine,” I said.
“Yay!”
“I’ll be right back with your drink orders,” Lucy said. “Oh! Jenna, do you like to color?”
“Yes.”
“Do you like to color princesses?” she asked.
“Princess! Princess! Princess!”
“I’ll bring you some crayons and a princess to color when I come back with your drink.”
“Thank you so much, Miss Neighbor Lady!”
“It’s Lucy,” I said to Jenna.
“Thank you so much, Miss Lucy Lady!”
Lucy threw her head back and laughed, and I could swear her pulse point was begging to be devoured. Her smooth skin was shining underneath the poor lighting of this diner, screaming for my touch while my tongue lightly licked at the outer edges of her lips.
“I get to color,” Jenna said.
“I know you do, princess.”
I was also taken aback by how wonderful she naturally was with Jenna. Most women ignored her, and some had even been rude to her, and it was just another reason for me to put things on hold. The last thing Jenna needed to see was a revolving door of rude ass women just because her dad had urges he wanted to fulfill. Jenna deserved better than that from me.
And it was refreshing to see someone kind and gentle be so accepting of my daughter.
Lucy came back promptly with our order, and that’s when it hit me. I needed to tell her that I glanced at her car this morning and noticed something was leaking out of the bottom. If she wanted me to, I could get the hoses for her and fix it up in no time. Her car was a heap of junk, but it was obvious she couldn’t afford anything relatively new with the job she was working.
“A double cheeseburger with bacon and all the accouterments with double fries, and a creamy potato and corn soup for the beautiful princess.”
“Oh. Do you speak French?” I asked.
“Not a lick. Did it make me sound smart?” she asked.
“Nope. Just French,” I said with a wink. “I meant to tell you, I might have taken a look at your car this morning.”
“How could you have done that without my keys?” she asked.
“Well, there was something leaking out of the bottom. It caught my eye when Jenna was running around outside. I hope you don’t mind, I dipped down to see what was going on, and I think it’s just a bad hose. If you’d like, I can pick up the hoses on the way home and get it fixed for ya.”
“Oh, you don't have to do that. I can bring it by the shop you work at or something, so you can at least get paid for it,” she said.
“It’s really nothing. It’s a quick fix. I won’t even need a lift for your car,” I said.
“But I still don’t feel right not paying you.”
“We can come up with something, then,” I said. Her eyes hooked onto mine, studying me. Her emerald gaze made its way down my chest before she whipped her eyes back up to my view, and it wasn’t hard to imagine the thoughts that had sprung to her head when I mentioned some form of payment.
And it honestly wasn’t a half-bad idea.
“This soup is really good!” Jenna exclaimed.
“Thank you, baby,” someone said.
“Who was that?” I asked.
“That would be Fred, our chef. He keeps this place afloat with how good his cooking is,” Lucy said.
“Then, I guess I better try this burger.”
“Yes, you should, honey,” Fred called out.
I chuckled at the chef before I took a bite of my burger, and sweet mother of heaven, it was delicious. Juices poured down my chin and dripped all over my fries. I could tell the ketchup had been made from scratch and the cheese had been cooked into the burger as well as slathered on top of it. The bacon was candied and had this massive crunch to it, and I couldn’t help but moan at its taste.
“So?” Lucy asked. “How is it?”
“Fred, it’s delicious! The best burger I’ve had in years!” I called out.
“Yes, baby. Thank you.” I heard a grunt come from the corner, and it brought my head around. A balding man with a stern look was writing something in a notebook, and when he looked up at me, he simply nodded before getting back to work.
“Who’s that?” I asked.
“That’s Kevin. He’s the Kevin in the Kevin’s Place.”
“Ah. The owner. The bossman. The big cheese.”
“You gonna do that all day?” she asked.
“Do I have the time?”
“Nope.”
She turned and walked away, and I got one more nice look at the ass she was carrying behind her body. She was quick-witted and humorous, someone I could have a conversation with whenever I wasn’t face-deep between her legs. That’s important, the after-sex pillow talk, and I had a feeling hers would be electric.
Jenna and I continued to eat, but every once in a while, the waitress who sat us down glanced over. She was talking to Lucy, who eventually called her Angie, and every time they’d giggle, Angie would turn her gaze toward me. I’m not an idiot. They were talking about me, so the next time Angie looked over, I waved.
“Hey there, raven hair,” I said.
Lucy grabbed her hand, and the two of them giggled, and I couldn’t help but be entertained. They continued to chat, and Lucy tried her hardest to keep her eyes trained on her colleague, but the moment her eyes darted my way, I stuck my tongue out at her and crossed my eyes. She shook her head and crinkled her nose, and something inside of me wanted to get up and kiss her on it. I didn’t know what this woman was doing to me, but it was becoming increasingly dangerous that she was my neighbor.
Their conversation continued after Lucy brought our desserts. I tried talking with her a bit more before another customer flagged her over, and before I could get her attention again, she was back and talking with Angie. After the conversation I’d had with crazy-redhead Megan, it wouldn’t shock me one bit if Angie was telling Lucy about that Maximum rumor. If Mike was already opening that mouth of his to more than married-mom pussy, then there was a good chance the rumor had already gotten to this little diner.
Did Lucy know? Did she think it was disgusting? Some women could call me a womanizer over it, but some women enjoyed a man who was confident in his sexual prowess. Was she one of those women? Or, should I discourage the rumor? Did it impress her somehow? Was she talking with Angie about all the ways she could get me into bed because the rumor turned her on that much?
Why the fuck did I even care?
“Daddy, I’m really full,” Jenna said.
“Alright, sweetheart. You wanna get your pie to go, then we can go watch a movie at home?”
“Yes, please.”
I watched Kevin go over to the two of them and reprimand them for something, and all at once, their jovial conversation stopped. Angie turned around and started taking food to some tables while Lucy gave us a look over to see if we needed anything. Jenna was crawling into my lap and laying her head on my shoulder, and Lucy caught the signal just like I did. She came over with a to-go cup for my milkshake and a small container for Jenna’s pie, and then she did something I’d never seen another woman do to Jenna.
She slowly brushed my daughter’s hair away from her face before giving her a light smile.
“Full tummy?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Why don’t you go home and get a nap?”
“Daddy and I are gonna watch a movie,” she said.
“That sounds like a good idea. Let’s get you guys outta here. Do you wanna take your pretty picture with you?”
“You can have it. I colored it for you.”
Her eyes connected with mine, and I was startled by the entire transaction. The kind smile on Lucy’s face warmed something I hadn’t felt in my chest in a very long time, and Jenna didn’t just give her drawings to anyone. Once, she’d given one to a stranger we found crying on a bench, but that was it. She was possessive of her drawings, and her giving one to Lucy meant a hell of a lot in our household.
“Thank you so much. It’s beautiful. It’s gonna go right on my fridge, so I can see it every morning.”
Her eyes never wavered from mine, and at that moment, I knew I was done for. I would pick up those hoses, I would fix her car, I’d completely forget to grocery shop, and then we’d come back to this restaurant just to see her.
“Thanks for the to-go containers,” I said.
“Like I said, if you need anything, just ask.”
“Well, I need to fix your car, if that’s alright.”
“Then, I suppose you can fix my car, but only if you let me know how I can pay you.”
“Oh, trust me,” I said. “I will.”