Chapter 12

On Friday, I made a point of getting home early. Sia had promised to straighten up the house after school but I didn’t have faith. I was right. Sia, aside from a welcoming smooch, was going through her closet. Why? Who the hell knows.

As I finished cleaning the bathroom, the front door bell sounded. I went towards the door. Sia breezed by me hobbling fast and had it open before I got there. Some squealing ensued.

I’d only seen Alia Sanderson in passing; enough to nod to. While Jasmin and Sia hugged and seemed to perform some dance of joy together, I smiled at Alia and extended my hand. Removing a glove, she took it, her hand slender and icy cold.

“Do you have some time?” I asked. “I’ve made coffee and would appreciate any words of wisdom you might have for my coming purgatory.”

She laughed and nodded.

Sitting at the old oak kitchen table, I finally studied her. I recognized her from the school events we’d both attended but this was the first time I could observe her closely. She had her hands wrapped around a steaming cup of black coffee to warm up. Her fingernails were manicured with pale pink, pearlescent nail polish. From somewhere the sound of giggles drifted in.

Alia was a lovely lady. About my age or a couple of years younger, her skin was the color of ebony, her hair jet black and straight-looking yet formed by small tight waves. Her large, exotically shaped, dark ebony eyes were captivating, but her other features were almost Caucasian; a slender nose, nice mouth, perfect lips with a hint of pale lipstick, and an almost delicate jawline. She wore her hair shortish, cut just below her shoulders and pulled back into a small ponytail.

I liked her looks. She was an ebony version of Soraya; surprisingly petite in stature, her slenderness making her appear younger. But, like Soraya, it was the way she smiled. It was full and open, eyes sparkling, white teeth; powerful enough to light up a dark room. I’d always had a soft spot for world-class smiles. In a smart, light grey ladies business suit and a pale blue silk blouse, she was very elegant.

She tilted her head towards the kitchen door. “Are you sure you’re prepared?” she asked, as squeals of laughter erupted followed by an ominous thump.

“I’ve been well trained by Sia. But two teenage hormonal girls is a bit daunting,” I admitted.

Alia smiled in sympathy. “The secret is don’t try to understand them. They’ll confuse you with their logic and you’ll find yourself agreeing to something you have no understanding of. That’s when it gets dangerous.”

“So, if I keep saying no, I’ll be safe?”

She laughed. “I don’t know about Sia, but Jasmin’s never demonstrated an understanding of the word no.” She added, “My advice is stick to I’ll think about it.”

Our conversation flowed easily for the next half hour or so. Alia, a financial planner, was articulate and sharp with a dry sense of humor. I liked her.

When Sia appeared in the doorway, Jasmin right behind her, and asked if they could sleep in the living room tonight, I said, “I’ll think about it.”

Alia nodded and smiled. “Well handled,” she commented, after both girls left. Glancing at her watch, she exclaimed, “Oh my goodness. Look at the time! I’m late.”

“Thank you so much, Philip. I owe you,” she reiterated as she stepped outside.

“I’ll make you pay,” I threatened with a grin. “Drive safely.”

The next three days were confusing. Two teenage girls make a lot of noise but suddenly go silent. The silences worried me the most. What were they up to? Why did some of their conversations need to be conducted in whispers and giggles?

Jasmin was a shy girl. Every time she was in my presence, she seemed to hang back. She was polite enough, but subdued. Slightly taller than Sia, with masses of long black hair that fell in tight waves, she was physically slender but further along in pubescence than my daughter; her bust a bit more noticeable, her waist beginning to narrow. Her eyes were huge, dark and intense, and she was observant, quietly studying me when we were all together. I had the feeling she was wary of me.

It took a while for her to call me Philip and not Mr. Hicks, only agreeing when Sia insisted I was serious.

However, life took a strange turn on Saturday. Sia must have missed physical contact with me because, as I washed breakfast dishes, a hand groped my ass before sliding up under my T-shirt to rub my bare back. The plate slipped from my soapy fingers and shattered in the steel sink.

Glancing behind me, Sia grinned. “Sia!” I exclaimed, looking around to check for Jasmin.

“Don’t worry. Jasmin’s in the bathroom. You’ve got a nice tush, Dad! Miss me?”

Warning her not to do it again while we had a guest, Sia seemed unfazed. “So, no kiss?” she asked impishly.

My frown only made her laugh. She left the kitchen. I tried to calm my heart and shrug off the momentary panic I’d felt. What if Jasmin had seen that? I needed to have a word with Sia in private. How could I get her alone?

The day progressed without further transgressions. When listening to some deaf-threateningly loud music in the living room, music that crackled in my ears, both girls laughed at me when I suggested we listen to real music, “Like U2.”

“That’s not real music,” Sia claimed. “And you can’t dance to it.”

“You can’t dance to this, either,” I yelled over the loud noise.

“Yes you can! Look!”

Sia stood and started something she claimed was a dance. It involved thrusting her hips, shaking her butt, squats, and other movements I associated with an adult only club; the ones with dark walls and cigarette smoke and raised stages with poles and a lecherous male audience. Jasmin observed from the side with a slight smile.

“Come on, Dad! You try,” my daughter urged.

Feeling absurdly ridiculous, I stood and joined in. Sia collapsed to the floor in a fit of giggles at my spirited effort. Even shy Jasmin burst into laughter. Before I knew it, I had two teenage girls dancing, demonstrating, laughing their heads off, and trying to force my body into impossible moves, trying to make my hips twitch, my ass shake. It didn’t work ... at all. But, somewhere in my embarrassing effort, Jasmin completely relaxed. She seemed to lose her shyness, her exotic eyes sparkling; as if she’d shed a coat of insecurity.

Falling back onto the couch, I was treated to two girls dancing in an outrageously suggestive way. Their bright smiles and pure pleasure was lovely to watch. They played off each other, their moves becoming more provocative, salt and pepper dancing. Thoughts turned slightly erotic at their movements. How couldn’t they? Sia, as if she knew what she was doing, grinned at me and moved her hips even more suggestively.

Ice had broken. Jasmin’s personality emerged, a slightly subdued but equally sweet version of Sia; two peas in a pod. She seemed shocked when I stood and drew both of them into a tight hug, but an engaging smile emerged on her pretty face.

At dinner I inquired how, exactly, did the whole shopping online together thing work?

Sia looked puzzled. Explaining to her idiot father, she said, “We look at stuff.”

“So how does it work? Who surfs the Internet?”

“Daaaad, don’t be dumb. We find stuff on our iPhones and text each other!”

“But, aren’t you together? In the same room?” I asked, becoming more confused by the minute.

Jasmin laughed. Sia rolled her eyes. “We talk about other stuff. That’s why we text.”

I ceded defeat and shut up. Is this what technology had brought us?

THREE HOURS LATER, IN Sia’s bedroom and lounging together on bed, darkness outside, Jasmin laughed with Sia as they watched a puppy chase blowing autumn leaves, tumbling over big paws.

“Have you ever wanted a dog?” Jasmin asked.

“Yeah. But Dad says it’s unfair on the dog if we’re out all the time. Do you want a dog?”

“Uh-huh. But Mom says the same thing.”

“So get a cat,” Sia suggested.

“No way! I don’t like cats.”

“Me neither.” Sia rolled onto her front and tapped on her iPhone. “Did you see the amazing skirts they have at Hollister? There’s one I absolutely have to have. I’ll find it online and show you.”

Jasmin put her iPhone down. “How come you grabbed your dad’s ass this morning?”

Sia gasped. She rolled onto her side. “Oh m’God! You saw that?” she exclaimed. “You can’t tell anyone. Promise me!”

“When do I ever gossip?” Jasmin asked. “Doesn’t it bother your dad?”

Heart racing, Sia tried to calm herself. She hadn’t known Jasmin was out of the bathroom. Shoot! “You promise you won’t tell?” she asked again.

Jasmin nodded.

Relieved, Sia answered. “He’s got a great ass and, yeah, it bothers him. That’s why I do it.”

“You really like your dad, don’t you?”

“Of course. Don’t you like yours?”

When Jasmin remained silent, Sia suddenly remembered and felt guilty. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. Your dad’s gone?”

Jasmin looked down at the bedspread and picked at it with her fingers. “Uh-huh.”

“Where? Do you see him?”

“No. He’s dead,” Jasmin replied.

A minute of silence followed, Sia studying her friend. “Want to talk about it?”

Both girls chatted long into the night, Sia shocked and disbelieving at first, then sympathetic. Their friendship strengthened as the hours passed.

SUNDAY, LATE AFTERNOON, I found myself regretting Jasmin’s departure. When her mother arrived, she amused me as soon as I opened the door.

“So, you’re still alive,” she observed with a wry smile.

I laughed. “You’ve raised a wonderful girl,” I commented. “You must be proud.”

Alia nodded. Something flitted through her eyes. With a smile, she said, “Very.”

“Come on in. Jasmin’s getting her things. By the way, do you understand this shopping online together and texting thing?”

Jasmin entered the hall with her small overnight bag dragging behind her. “Thanks for having me,” she said, pausing to give me a tight hug before pulling her parka on. I noticed Alia’s surprise at the hug. Why?

“It was a real education,” I informed Jasmin. “It was great having you here.”

As we waved goodbye, Sia, standing next to me, groped my ass. “Bye! See ya tomorrow,” she yelled and in a lower voice, “Nice tush, Dad.”

The minute the door closed, Sia leapt up at me wrapping her legs around my waist. She kissed me and sighed, satisfied. “I missed that,” she announced extricating herself.

Later, in bed, Sia cuddled up to me, gloriously naked and sexy. After a couple of sweet kisses and me groping her wondrous naked butt, she casually announced, “I want a dog.”

I loved dogs. But, who would look after it with Sia at school and me at work? “It’s not that easy, honey.”

“Will you think about it?”

I nodded. Sia, with a full body wiggle, snuggled close. Her eyes twinkled, full of charm and something else, her hand fishing down my body, finding my erection and gripping it gently. I kissed her, a soft press of lips and caressed the stupendously sexy shape of her buttock, trailing my fingertips down her butt crack. I adored her ass.