I felt as if I’d won the lottery.

When my new bride said, “I do,” I thought I was the luckiest guy on the planet. Melinda was beautiful and rich and fifteen years younger than me. Best of all, she got along really well with my daughter, Kylie. The two of them hit it off from the instant they met, and I was so happy knowing my little girl would have a mother again.

We met Melinda a few weeks before Kylie’s freshman year of high school, when my daughter was trying out for the junior varsity cheerleading squad. I drove her to the high school for tryouts.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked when we were in the car. “You’ve never shown any interest in cheerleading before.”

“Yes, Daddy, I’m sure. Everybody knows cheerleaders are popular, and I want to be popular for a change.”

“Okay, honey,” I said. “If you’re sure that’s what you want. But all you really need to do is be yourself and everyone’s going to like you.”

Her response was a roll of her green eyes.

She insisted on going through with the tryout and I tried to be encouraging. But Kylie was sort of coltish and awkward, and she wore glasses. I didn’t have high hopes for her making the team.

When we got to the school, Kylie went into the gym while I took a seat near the main entrance. There were about twenty other parents there waiting for their kids to perform. And then there was Melinda. Once I saw her, all the other people faded into the background.

Melinda stood out from the others in lots of ways.

For one thing, there was her blonde hair, which looked natural yet sophisticated. Then there was her face, which might have graced the cover of Vogue. But it was her figure and the way she moved which really got my attention. She was very shapely, and wore a dress that hugged all her curves. The waiting parents in their shorts and T-shirts looked shabby and dull by comparison.

Melinda was introducing herself to everyone and shaking a lot of hands. I wondered what she was up to as I checked her out, trying not to stare. When she got closer I attempted to guess her age. She was not as young as I first thought, but she still looked damned good. I guessed mid-thirties.

“Hello,” she said, offering her hand. “Melinda Lunsford; pleased to meet you. I’m running for county council chairwoman.”

I told her my name, and explained that I was an English teacher at that very school.

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” she gushed. “Was that your daughter I saw with you? Is she trying out for the cheer squad?”

I told her my daughter Kylie was indeed trying out, and she took a seat next to me. She smelled heavenly.

“Kylie’s adorable,” Melinda said, and of course I agreed. The time passed quickly as we chatted. This lovely woman spoke to me as if no one else existed, and I was charmed. I found myself telling her all sorts of personal things, even the story of how I came to be a single father. She told me that she was recently single again as well.

Much too soon, girls began to stream out of the gym. Melinda stood and greeted them with smiles and high fives. I was surprised that she took such a keen interest in the J.V. cheer squad, but I supposed she did this with all the school teams. Politics, right?

When Kylie emerged, I introduced the two of them.

Melinda shook my daughter’s hand and gave her a dazzling smile. “Your dad’s been telling me lots of good things about you,” she said. “Don’t you worry about making the team. The cheer coach and I are old friends. I’ll put in a good word for you.”

Kylie seemed to be just as charmed by Melinda as I was. “She’s awesome, Dad,” my daughter said on the way home. “You should ask her out.”

“What? Why do you say that? And when did you start giving your father dating advice?”

“It’s obvious she likes you,” Kylie said. “And you haven’t been on a date in years. You should totally go for it.”

It was true that I hadn’t dated much since Kylie’s mom had run off. I was too busy trying to be a good parent to think much about dating or sex.

I took my kid’s advice and asked Melinda out to dinner the next Friday. To my amazement she accepted. Naturally, she lived in a fabulous house in the most exclusive neighborhood in the district, near the country club. When I complimented Melinda on her beautiful home, she explained that she got to keep the house when she and her husband divorced.

Melinda agreed to a second date, and a third. It wasn’t long before she invited both me and Kylie over to use her swimming pool.

“I’ll have to close it up for the winter in a few weeks,” she said. “It would please me very much for both of you to enjoy it before then.”

The first time we swam in Melinda’s pool I noticed that Kylie’s one-piece bathing suit was much too small for her. I guess I’d been remiss as a parent for not buying her a new one. But I hadn’t realized how much she’d grown in the last few months, and I wasn’t comfortable shopping for stuff like that.

Melinda made a big deal about Kylie’s figure, and I suppose she had developed quite a bit recently. She was still very slender, but her rump had filled out and she was starting to get boobs. My little girl was growing up.

We were invited back the very next day, though Kylie was not happy that she’d have to wear the same old bathing suit.

“I’m sorry, honey,” I told her. “It was too late to go to the mall when we got back yesterday. We can go shopping tomorrow.”

She pouted for the entire drive, but that changed in a hurry when we got to Melinda’s house. My new girlfriend had a surprise for her. Three surprises, actually. Melinda had bought three new bathing suits for my daughter, and they went inside to try them on while I lounged by the pool.

I got quite a shock when they came out. Looking rather pleased with herself, Kylie wore a very skimpy bikini which allowed me to see exactly how much she’d grown lately. The top was nothing more than some string and two small triangles. I got another shock when she lay down on her stomach. The bikini bottom was tiny, and my daughter’s newly rounded rump was almost completely exposed.

“Uh ... wow, you look nice honey,” I said. “But I’m not sure if that suit’s appropriate for a girl your age.”

“Daddy, stop! I think it looks really cute. You should just thank Melinda for buying it, since you couldn’t be bothered to take me shopping.”

“Yes, of course,” I mumbled. “Thank you, Melinda. That’s very generous of you.”

“Think nothing of it,” Melinda said. “Kylie is welcome in my home anytime. She’s such a lovely girl. I wish I had a daughter just like her.”

Melinda and I sat in deck chairs while Kylie lay on a towel by the pool. Seeing my little girl’s nearly naked body right in front of me all afternoon was a discomfiting state of affairs, let me tell you. It didn’t help that Melinda kept drawing my attention to it by making comments such as, “Her waist is so tiny,” or “What long legs she has!”

I thought it was a little strange that my girlfriend should buy my daughter such provocative swimwear, and even more strange that she would point out to me, her father, the various attractive features of my little girl’s figure.

But when Melinda and I went to bed together the first time, my misgivings were quickly forgotten. Sex with this beautiful woman was everything I hoped it would be. She often spent the night at my place because I didn’t want to leave Kylie alone. Melinda didn’t seem to mind, even though her house was three times the size of mine and way more luxurious.

It sometimes made me uncomfortable when we were having sex, knowing that Kylie was in the next room. Melinda could be pretty vocal, especially when I was eating her sweet pussy. She would cry, “Fuck yes! Keep licking me just like that! I’m going to cum...”and so on. I was sure Kylie could hear it.

Melinda said I should lighten up and not worry about it. “Kylie is a teenager now,” she told me. “I bet she knows a lot more than you think. Hearing her dad have a little fun is not going to hurt her.”

It didn’t feel quite right to me, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to refuse her. I was still dumbfounded that this smart, sexy woman had chosen me, and I took advantage of every opportunity to make love to her.

Just as my new girlfriend had predicted, Kylie made the cheer squad. Melinda was free most afternoons so she often picked up my daughter after practice. It was a big help to me since I usually had to stay late at school. While I graded papers in my classroom, they’d go to Starbucks for those expensive drinks with the whipped cream on top.

Sometimes when I got home, I’d find the two of them chatting away like the best of friends. I couldn’t imagine why a wealthy, sophisticated woman like Melinda would want to spend her time with a silly teenaged girl, but I was grateful just the same. It was obvious that Kylie adored her.

They went shopping a lot too, which was fine with me because I hated going to the mall. Kylie would come home with two or three big shopping bags, all thanks to Melinda. It didn’t seem right accepting so many gifts from a woman I’d only know a few weeks.

“What did you get at the mall, honey?” I asked my daughter after one of these trips.

“Oh, Daddy, you wouldn’t be interested. Pajamas and underwear, and other stuff you don’t like to buy for me.”

It’s true that I didn’t feel comfortable buying garments of an intimate nature for my baby girl now that she was an adolescent and her body was changing. I was indebted to Melinda for that reason, more so than for the money she spent. It didn’t worry me too much, at least not right away.

Kylie was all smiles when I got home from school one day in mid-September. She even kissed me on the cheek, which she hardly ever did. Melinda and I had been seeing each other about a month by then.

“Hi Daddy. How was your day?”

“It was fine, sweetheart. How was practice?”

“Good. Coach says I’m getting better all the time.” She smiled at me some more and batted her eyelashes.

“Do you notice anything different about me, Daddy?”

“Hmmm. Well, you are looking especially pretty today.”

“Really? Anything in particular?”

“Oh,” I said, finally catching on. “You’re not wearing your glasses.”

“Yes!” she said, jumping up and hugging me. “Melinda took me to the eye doctor and bought contact lenses for me.”

“But ... I thought we agreed to wait until you’re sixteen.”

“Daddy! Don’t ruin this for me. I’m old enough to be responsible. Besides, it won’t break your precious budget because Melinda’s paying for everything.”

I didn’t want to fight with her about it, so I let the matter drop. “I’m glad you’re happy about it, sweetheart. I can see your pretty green eyes much better now.”

She was all smiles again, and gave me another hug. “Thanks, Daddy. I knew you’d be cool about this.”

I confronted Melinda about it later, but she just brushed it off. “Relax,” she said. “Don’t you want Kylie to be happy? I like being able to do these little things for her, so you should just accept it and give me a kiss.”

“Thank you,” I said, kissing her. “It’s very sweet of you.”

It was about that same time that I started to get a little concerned about some of the clothes that my girlfriend was buying for my daughter. Kylie had always dressed pretty conservatively up until then.

But after shopping with Melinda one day, she came out of her room in very revealing pajamas. They were pink and silky-looking, and consisted of a camisole top and very short shorts with lace edges. So much skin was exposed that I hardly dared look at her. I couldn’t imagine why she’d want to wear something like that around the house, especially since Melinda was there at the time.

She started wearing different clothes to school, too. Nobody said anything to me, but I’m sure the staff was scandalized by some of Kylie’s new outfits. If her dad hadn’t been a senior member of the faculty, she probably would have been called down to the principal’s office and sent home.

Kylie began to wear makeup as well, which was a new thing for her. Melinda had taken her to one of those posh department store makeup counters where she was given a “makeover.” For goodness sakes, she was fourteen years old! She certainly didn’t need any makeup, in my opinion.

Anyway, all these changes didn’t trouble me much at the time. I was too much in love with my sexy new girlfriend to consider how my daughter was being influenced. It was only in retrospect that I gave them much thought.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this narrative, I was thrilled when Melinda accepted my marriage proposal. Thrilled, but not surprised. I knew she would say “Yes,” because she’d been hinting about it for weeks. I could hardly believe she was serious at first. After all, she was a wealthy socialite who spent most of her time at the country club. I was a lowly public school teacher who struggled to pay the bills.

Kylie and I agreed to sell our house and move in with Melinda right after the wedding. My daughter was excited about the impending nuptials, too. I didn’t see much of her during school hours, but it was obvious that my little girl had moved up several rungs on the social ladder of high school.

With her position on the cheerleading squad, her new clothes and contact lenses, my Kylie was no longer the sweet nerd she’d been her whole life. She seemed very happy, and naturally I was happy for her. It wasn’t until much later that I started to wonder about the sort of person she was becoming.

Melinda and I were married on the Saturday after Christmas. It was a small ceremony at the courthouse with just a few close friends and family members attending. The two of us flew to Cabo San Lucas the next day for a short honeymoon.

It was wonderful to have Melinda all to myself at the resort. The weather was perfect and we had a great time swimming, snorkeling, and soaking up the sun. The food was delicious and the tequila was strong. In bed, though, the first week of our married life was not all that I might have wished. My new bride seemed to have a headache every night, or was just too tired.

It was disappointing, certainly. But I chalked it up to the unfamiliar surroundings and the stress of travel. I was so deliriously happy about the marriage that I wasn’t going to let one week without sex spoil my good mood.

Sure enough, when we got home my wife’s libido revived. We had fantastic sex on the very night of our return. We fucked in several different positions and Melinda practically drenched my face when I ate her.

Earlier that evening, Kylie and Melinda sat together on the sofa and giggled as if both of them were teenagers. My wife sure has a way with kids, I thought. It did my heart good to see my little girl so happy. For the hundredth time I wondered how I got so lucky.

It concerned me a little that Kylie flaunted her developing body so shamelessly. She was wearing those skimpy pink pajamas Melinda had bought for her back in September. I had to look away a few times because her breasts were exposed, and I’m sure I gasped when I saw that Kylie wasn’t wearing any panties under the pajamas. The “girls” didn’t notice my reaction, though. They were too busy being silly and having fun.

When it was time for bed, Kylie gave her stepmom a goodnight kiss right on the lips. It wasn’t just a little peck, either. I couldn’t imagine what my daughter was thinking. Fortunately, Melinda didn’t let it bother her. And I soon forgot about it when we went to bed. The headache that plagued her on our honeymoon was gone, and my sexy wife was more passionate than ever.

My life went on in a state of bliss for several weeks after the wedding. It was incredible, really. My little girl and I now lived in a large, beautiful house in the best neighborhood. I had almost no bills to pay, so I traded in my ten-year-old car and bought a new Jaguar. Best of all, I got to sleep with a smart, sexy, gorgeous woman every night. It was a dream come true.

We’d been married only a couple of months when the dream took an alarming turn.

One Friday in early spring, I decided to celebrate the end of the school week by making a nice dinner for the three of us. I opened a good bottle of Montepulciano and had a glass or two while I was cooking. I drank a few more glasses with dinner and had no objections when Melinda opened a second bottle. We even let Kylie have a little wine.

Melinda encouraged me to have a drink after dinner, and poured me a snifter of my favorite cognac. It must have been that last drink which did me in, because I could hardly keep my eyes open long enough to finish it.

I kissed Kylie goodnight and Melinda helped me up the stairs to bed. I’ve never been so sleepy in my life. My wife had to undress me, and I was out cold the second my head hit the pillow.

During the night I had a strange dream which seemed to begin soon after I went to sleep. In the dream, my daughter was crying and moaning in the next room. I wanted to run to her, but I was paralyzed. I couldn’t manage to shake myself awake or move my limbs. The sounds went on for a long time and I was at my wit’s end. Something was happening to my baby girl and I couldn’t help her!

The next morning, I apologized to Melinda for passing out. I’d pretty much forgotten about the dream by then.

“Don’t worry about it, darling,” she said. “It was nice to see you loosen up a little for a change. You should have fun more often.”

She and Kylie were already at the breakfast table when I came down. They were both in high spirits, laughing and teasing each other. I noticed that Melinda had opened a bottle of champagne and was having a mimosa with breakfast. It seemed a little early in the day for a drink, but I could hardly object after my behavior the night before.

Kylie was especially lively and animated that morning. Her face was lit with happiness and her cheeks were flushed from laughing. It struck me that my daughter was blossoming into a beautiful young woman. Dressed in those skimpy pink pajamas, it was all too obvious that my little girl was developing quickly. I realized that other men might even think she looked sexy.

I certainly didn’t think of her in those terms. She was my daughter and she was only fourteen!

The nightmare was repeated several more times in the weeks that followed. It didn’t seem to matter what I drank or how much. My beautiful new wife would help me up the stairs, tuck me into bed, and kiss me goodnight.

The dream would recur each time I conked out. Poor Kylie would be moaning or even screaming, and I couldn’t move a muscle to save her. It was an awful feeling, let me tell you. I was beginning to think I was losing my mind, and I grew hesitant to drink anything at all after dinner.

This went on until something happened that shone through the fog of my stupidity. And eventually it caused me to doubt my worth as a father, and even my decency as a human being.

It started much like the previous nights when I’d passed out. I could hear my little girl moaning in what I thought was pain. I struggled mightily to free myself from the dream but it went on and on. The nightmare seemed even more real this time and it was agonizing to hear my daughter cry out and not be able to help. Her moaning built to a sort of crescendo and finally faded away.

I had almost settled back into a deep sleep when Melinda climbed into bed with me. Her warm body pressed against mine.

“Let’s make love,” she said. “You haven’t given me your cock in weeks.”

“Huh?” I muttered, half asleep. “What is it, honey?”

I felt her full breasts brushing my chest and her lips found mine in the dark. My wife’s tongue slipped into my mouth and I was instantly aroused. Her mouth had an intoxicating flavor that I’d never tasted before. It was exotic and yet somehow familiar.