Darren, Male, 53

	- Narrator, retired, father of Gwen and Victoria (Vic)

	- 5'11, beige skin, 195lbs, cropped greying brown hair

Audrey, Female, 16

	- High school senior, daughter of Duncan and Theresa

	- 5'9, pale skin, 140lbs, light-green eyes, straight auburn hair over her shoulders

Gwen, Female, 16

	- High school sophomore, daughter of Darren, sister of Victoria

	- 5'6, beige skin, 135lbs, shoulder-length wavy black hair

Victoria (Vic), Female, 14

	- High school freshman, daughter of Darren, sister of Gwen

	- 5'4, beige skin, 120lbs, wavy neck-length light-brown hair

Rainey, Female, 47

	- Night nurse

	- 5'8, 155lbs, beige skin, blue eyes, shoulder-length auburn hair

The rest of Thanksgiving day, I had honestly felt a little better. Rainey's open interest in me was warming. She seemed like a very kind person, well-meaning, polite. She was quite pretty, just above average height, maybe a few extra pounds. I wasn't really thinking sexual thoughts about her at that point, just observing. I thought it might be nice to have a friend to do things with again. It might even help me move past my longing for Audrey.

And on Thanksgiving, after we ate, I didn't see much of my young ex. She and Travis disappeared at some point, perhaps to her bedroom. I tried not to think about what they might be sharing behind closed doors.

The next day, I spent the morning checking out the possibility of going to Japan for Christmas. Vic's schedule was free, and it looked like Gwen's would be as well. Herman had given me the details of their trip before I'd left the holiday party, and there were still seats available on the same flight as well as room at the hotel where they planned to stay. Thanks to our travel over the years, me and my daughters all had valid passports, so other than the concern about being close to Audrey on the trip, I saw no reason not to plan to go. I waited to book our travel, though, wishing to be sure it was the right thing to do.

Rainey met me at the theater. She wore a simple dark-blue dress which was flattering on her curvy hips and full breasts. When I saw her, I found myself sexually attracted to someone for the first time since Audrey.

I'd picked out a silly comedy about three forty-something friends on a road trip to see a private museum dedicated to the porn star they all adored when they were younger. It had sort of a Harold and Kumar feel to it with silly sidetracks and raunchy jokes. I wasn't sure of Rainey's sense of humor, but she laughed as much as I did, and when the movie was over, we went next door to eat pizza and drink beer.

"I never understood women who don't like beer," she told me, finishing her second pint and ordering another. "I can't stand much of anything else, but I love beer."

"Ever tried scotch?"

She laughed, "Twice. Not my thing."

"Shame. It's my favorite," I told her.

"I'll remember that for Christmas..."

Hmm. On our first date, Rainey was already suggesting our relationship would extend more than just a day or three. I felt like that meant she was enjoying my company. To be honest, I was enjoying hers, as well.

"I don't know about you," Rainey told me as the waitress sat her cold beer in front of her, "but I could use a long walk after this. Up for it?"

I shrugged, "Sure."

"There's a great park nearby. I love walking there from time to time. It's a great place to take photos."

"Sounds good," I replied. "Say... how do you keep on a regular schedule working nights?"

Rainey said, "It takes practice. I've done night shifts for so long I just adjust. I still stay up late and sleep in most days, even when I'm off, so I can't get fully out of sync. But if I have a few days off, I can often switch it around without too much of a problem. I guess I just get used to it."

"Sounds complicated."

"Nah, not really. Night shifts are the best, to me. It's generally quieter and there's less hustle and bustle at the hospital. I can really focus on my patients at night. Day nurses have it much harder. Doctors coming around constantly asking for this or that, one after another going in and out of the rooms. At night, there are usually just a handful around and they tend to let us do our hourly checks and stay out of our way. I like it enough that the odd hours don't really affect me."

We finished our drinks and I paid our tab, then Rainey rode with me to the park. We walked a distance down a path which followed a meandering stream, benches and water fountains spaced out along the way. We talked about her family and mine. I told her about being a widow and a father, and she listened with a sympathetic ear.

Rainey had been married twice, but neither lasted more than two years. The last ended almost a decade earlier. I didn't ask about why she'd not had kids. It wasn't really any of my business, and she didn't explain.

We sat on a bench to rest, and I leaned back, stretching my legs.

Rainey's hand slid onto mine and she just held it, smiling at me but saying nothing. I enjoyed the warmth of her skin. "I like you a lot, Darren."

"I like you too," I told her honestly.

"Good, cause... I know we barely know each other, but I've got a really good feeling about you."

I smiled happily for the first time in what seemed like months. "I know that feeling."

Rainey met my eyes and we drew together, sharing a soft kiss. She giggled when we separated and said, "That was nice."

"Very nice."

- - -

I dropped her off at her car and we kissed again. "I've had a lovely day with you," she smiled. "Let's do something tomorrow."

"I'd love to, but my daughter Gwen has a dance competition to go to. Unless you'd like to come?"

She shrugged, "Sure, sounds fun!"

"It's a date, then," I grinned.

Rainey kissed me again and I let her go, returning to my car and heading home.

My daughters were both out for the night, Vic going with Gwen and some friends to play miniature golf. I sat alone, watching an old western, slowly sipping my scotch.

It was a moment of reflection, and what I found was encouraging. Rainey's company that day had raised my spirits, and much more importantly, the longing I felt for Audrey was much more distant. Maybe there was some hope for me after all.

The girls came home around ten and Gwen went off to shower. Vic plopped down beside me on the couch and leaned onto my shoulder. "Have fun, Sweetie?"

"Yeah. I did," she giggled. "Gwen had more fun."

"Do tell..."

"She kissed this boy she likes. Maybe did more than kiss, I don't know."

I raised an eyebrow. "The Wilson boy? What was his name..."

"Pete."

"Right, Pete. I hadn't heard much about him for a couple of weeks."

Vic shrugged. "Well, she likes him and they were kissing all night. They disappeared for a while, too."

I chuckled. "Well... your sister is old enough to know how to be safe. That's all I can ask of her."

"I suppose," Vic replied. "He is super cute. Not like his brother."

"Who's that?"

"Andrew... err... Andy. He's my age. Nice enough, I guess, but just..." Vic shook her head and shuddered.

"And what's not cute about him?" I asked.

"I dunno... He dresses all ragged like he's homeless or something. He doesn't shave, so he has this ratty-looking hair on his face. His hair's always tangled."

"That's an awfully detailed set of observations about a boy you don't think is cute..."

Vic laughed.

I added, "Perhaps you like him a little bit anyway?"

"Dad!" Vic laughed again, "God... I dunno."

"Well... just promise me you'll talk to me if things get serious with... Andy." I'd given Vic the same talk about birth control I'd given to Gwen earlier that year. Vic said she wasn't interested in anyone and not ready to have sex, so she had turned down the offer of birth control. I was fine with that. Vic was only fourteen, though she'd be fifteen in January. I hoped she'd be honest with me if things changed for her."

"God, Dad," Vic said in the fax-exasperated tone I knew so well. "I just said he's not cute."

"True, but you didn't deny that you might also like him."

Vic grinned. "I dunno... maybe..."

I kissed her forehead and turned back to the movie.

"How did your date go?" she asked me moments later.

"Better than expected."

"She's pretty, Dad. I think she likes you."

"I agree. And... she does like me..."

"Do you like her back?" Vic asked, giggling.

"I do."

"So... when will she be staying over...?"

I laughed. "We've only been on one date, Vic. Cart and horse and all that."

She giggled again, "But you want her to stay over, right?"

I admitted, "I might like that, yes. But we just started dating..."

"I'm happy for you, Dad," she said sweetly. "I prayed you'd start dating again. You deserve to be happy."

"Thanks," I replied, "it's still new to me, but so far, given that i've only known her for little more than a day, things are going well. She's going with us to your sister's dance tomorrow."

"Oh, good. I was afraid I'd be stuck with just you all day."

I lightly pinched her shoulder and she yelped with a laugh. Gentle, carefree moments like those with my daughters made me get up in the morning when things were at their darkest. I loved them so much, and I wished, one day, they would understand how important they were to me, especially when it was hard for me to see the beauty in other moments.

"I'm need to shower," she told me, leaping off the couch. "I'll push Gwen out if I have to."

"Make sure she doesn't hit anything too hard when you do."

Vic grinned and skipped out of the living room.

- - -

Gwen's outfit was always a bit of a concern for me when she danced. It's like the designers were going out of their way to ensure that teen and preteen bodies were presented as maturely as possible. Gwen's breasts were obvious and to anyone who had watched her growing up, clearly still getting larger even when squeezed hard by the purple leotard. The tight material down lower left even less to the imagination, often forming camel toes or wedgies as she moved. As her father, it was hard to realize that everyone watching her could see those things, and I knew more than a few men were actively fantasizing about her.

Watching Gwen and her competitors dance had never been sexual to me. Other than Audrey, and the brief moments of weakness when my daughters were younger, I'd never had any attraction to girls my daughter's age. Even after Audrey, that held true. But I knew many men had other experiences, and it did bother me somewhat to know my daughter might be one of those they were watching for more than being wonderful dancers.

Regardless, it was the way things went. Gwen's outfit was no more revealing than the other dancers. The leotard fit in a way that made her dancing easier to perform. I knew Gwen was becoming a knockout. I wondered, briefly, just how far she had gone with that boy Pete.

Rainey and I held hands as we watched one girl after another move through individual jazz routines. We sat close together, our sides and thighs touching. Even with Vic so close on my other side, it was easy to feel somewhat aroused by the heat of Rainey's body on mine.

We talked about seeing musicals and how, as a teen, she had a 'this one time, at band camp' experience she'd tell me about later. We laughed at each other's jokes. Her sense of humor varied from witty to naughty, though the latter were being whispered so that Vic and the other spectators couldn't hear her.

Gwen took second place, once again outperforming expectations. She really was advancing up into the top tier in her age group. She took it seriously. For a long time, it was pretty much the only thing Gwen put effort into. As she matured that year into a thoughtful young woman, the dancing success only highlighted how much she was growing up.

The four of us went out to eat an early dinner to celebrate. I let Gwen decide where to go, and she chose a nice Thai restaurant not far from the dance hall. Rainey loved Thai, and so did I. Vic wasn't as happy with the choice, but she managed to find a rice dish to her liking. Rainey was thoughtful throughout, bringing my daughters into the conversation easily. They even seemed eager to talk about their hobbies and school.

I'd picked Rainey up at her place that morning with the girls, so I drove over after dinner. She got out of my car and so did I, my daughters staying in the back seat.

"Thanks for another fun day, Darren," Rainey told me, wrapping her arms around my neck. We kissed briefly. I was too aware that my daughters could see everything to fully commit to the kiss. Rainey smiled and whispered in my ear, "Would you like to come over for a drink tonight? Just you..."

I hesitated only briefly. "I'd really like that. Let me drop my girls off and get a shower..."

"Wonderful. I'll pick up some beer. Say... seven?"

"Seven sounds good."

- - -

"I'm going over to Rainey's in about an hour or so," I told Vic and Gwen as I drove back home.

"Oooh," Gwen teased me, "Dad and Rainey, sittin' in a tree..."

"Ha-ha," I said, chuckling. "You're one to talk."

Gwen blushed.

Vic chimed in, "Dad has a girlfriend. Dad has a girlfriend." Gwen joined her for a couple of repetitions, then Vic said, "I like her, too. She's cool."

"She is cool," I replied.

"Are you sleeping there tonight?" Gwen asked.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. She only asked me to have a drink with her..."

"I bet she wants you to stay over..."

"If she does, then I'll let you know. Otherwise, I'll be back late tonight. I expect the house to be intact when I get home, too."

"We'll try," Gwen said with a grin. "You know how hard that is for us..."

- - -

Rainey met me at the door. She'd changed clothes, now wearing a dark, loose blouse and a pair of dark-red yoga pants. Her auburn hair was shiny and still a bit damp. "Come on in!"

I stepped through the door and she closed it behind me, then she spun me around and wrapped her arms around my neck. We shared a much longer, more passionate kiss than the one in front of my daughters. "Mmm... you feel so nice," she said in a soft voice. "Want a beer?"

"Sure," I replied, following Rainey into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and brought out two bottles of dark lager, popping the top and then offering me one.

I took a long swallow, then another.

"I want you to see something," she told me.

I followed her again, this time into the living room. She sat on the couch and I did the same. Rainey grabbed an old photo album from the coffee table and opened it, quickly flipping through the pages until she stopped on one.

The photo on the left size was a full page. It showed a young woman, perhaps in her early teens, in a leotard much like the one Gwen had worn that day, her pose suggesting she was in the middle of a spin. "That was me, so many years ago," she said. "I only danced for a short time. Was never very good. That's why I didn't bother mentioning it. I had fun though."

"An amazing photography. Really nicely done."

"My mother took that one. She was a professional photographer. That's where I got it from."

I knew Rainey's mother had died several years earlier. Her father was living with Rainey's older sister in Milwaukee. "She had an eye for capturing you in the moment."

"She did."

We both drank from our beers a moment, then Rainey sat the album aside and turned to face me. "I really like you, Darren. I didn't just invite you over for a beer..."

"I kinda thought that might be the case..."

Her hand slid onto my thigh in a smooth motion. Rainey's lips met mine and we collapsed into a tight embrace. Whatever doubts or lingering jealousy or anything related to Audrey and my life without her melted out of awareness for me. Rainey's lips made me buzz with excitement and I pressed myself against her tightly, her large breasts against my chest. Her hand steadily moved higher until it was on my crotch.

Rainey slid down onto her knees and massaged my thighs and groin. She unbuttoned and unzipped me, then uncovered my erect penis, pulling my pants and underwear down to my thighs. Rainey smiled, eyes narrowed, "Lovely..."

Her mouth provided silky, soft, wet suction down my shaft. I gasped in pleasure. Her fingers cradled and massaged my balls while she sucked me. It felt amazing. It had been so long since I'd orgasmed, weeks probably, that I was ready to blow just a couple of minutes in.

"I'm getting close," I whispered.

Rainey didn't slow down, instead taking me deeper down her throat. She hummed around my cock, milking me with her lips.

"So close..." I warned her.

Her lips drew tighter as she sucked harder. It felt like she was pulling the semen from my body with her mouth. I moaned, "Ohhhh... Ohhhh... Oh, Rainey... Oh, Rainey... Ohhhhhhhhhhhh." I ejaculated as she hummed, burning with pleasure, unleashing weeks of pent-up frustration in several strong spurts of my cum.

Rainey stilled as I finished, then let the semen flow back out of her mouth and down over my throbbing penis. She smiled at me with a spermy-grin. "Mmm... nice."

"So nice..."

Rainey wiped her mouth with the back of her hand then slowly returned my pants to their original state.

"I'd love to do that to you..."

Rainey shook her head. "Not tonight, I'm... I'm on my period and I'd rather not have the first time with you be like that..."

"Can I at least play with your clit?"

Rainey stood and shrugged, "Okay... I'd like that..."

She leaned back on the couch and I drew over her side, kissing her, tasting my sperm in her mouth. I pushed a hand down into her tight yoga pants and underneath the cotton panties she wore. Her pubic hair felt trimmed but was widely spread over her genitals. I could feel her menstrual pad in the crotch just as my finger found her hard clit. Rainey moaned, "Mmm..."

I drew my hand out, wet it with my saliva, then pushed it back down between her thighs. She moaned again as I slid the wetness around her hard little nub. One of her hands grabbed my neck and she pulled me into a kiss. Rainey moaned into my mouth as I circled her clitoris, her hips rising and falling.

She felt so good against me. Bringing Rainey to orgasm that night was one of the most enjoyable experiences I'd had in a long time. She came in long, rolling movements, cries of joy loud and unashamed, "Uhnnnnnnnn... Uhnnnnnnnnn... Uhnnnnnnn... Oh... Oh, yesss... Uhnnnnnnn..." Her climax lasted a full minute, my finger slowly twirling around her throbbing flesh. She held me tight to her as she came and I could feel the way she quivered in pleasure.

Slowly she slowed and told me, "Sensitive now..."

I withdrew my hand and briefly smelled the strong metallic scent of Rainey's menstruation. Two of my fingers had small smears of her menstrual blood, so I held my hand aside as we kissed and held each other in a long, breathless embrace.

"That was so nice..." she said with a smile.

"I loved it," I told her, "you cum so beautifully..."

"Mmm... you do, too. That was quite a mouthful you gave me."

"I'll be right back," I said after another long kiss, "Uh, bathroom?"

"Just through the dining room, down at the end of the hall."

I went to pee, first washing Rainey's menstrual blood from my fingers. It never grossed me out the way it did some people. I could understand Rainey not want my first taste and sight of her to be bloody, but beyond that, I was never turned off by fingering or licking, or even fucking, a woman who was menstruating.

That said, I couldn't wait to have the chance to eat Rainey's pussy, and if things proceeded further, to put my penis inside her.

I returned to the couch after grabbing two more cold beers. Rainey smiled and said, "Thanks. Feel like watching a movie?"

"Anything, so long as we get to kiss some more," I said with an easy grin.

"Oh, definitely. Don't think I'm done kissing you tonight."