Forbidden Lust

*December 29. Thursday.*

"Dad. Dad. Dad!" Emily's voice was like a distant echo to my ears. I didn't even register she was talking to me, my mind was on autopilot.

"Steven!"

Now that did get my attention. Hearing my daughter use my actual name - even if she was 18 and technically a grown up - would always be a shock. I shook my head out of the trance and looked up from my plate of food. Emily stood across the kitchen island from me, phone in hand, and bundled to the nines for the cold Nebraska winter. I had to do a double take, she looked just like her mother. Well, the memory I had of her mother anyway. Brown hair, blue eyes, freckles lining peachy skin. It was uncanny how much she looked like her mother.

"Sorry, I'm here. Where are you going?" I asked, blinking away the confused look I was positive I had all over my face. Emily groaned, her blue eyes rolling with annoyance.

"I said I was headed out to go pick up Mandy." She stated. I tilted my head to the side and looked past Emily as I tried to remember.

Mandy.

Mandy.

Mandy.

Then it clicked.

"Oh, Mandy!" I blurted out with a smile. "Yeah, she's back in town today? I thought that wasn't until tomorrow."

"No, dad, she's coming today. Spending the rest of the holiday break with us, remember?" Emily looked down at her phone, her thumb dexterously responding to a text with all the practiced ease only her generation could have.

"Of course I remember." I didn't remember. Not until just now when Emily had mentioned Mandy again.

"Uh huh. You're old now, so I have to make sure of these things." Emily smiled at her joke and it was my turn to roll my eyes.

"I'm not old." I mumbled back. Thirty-six was far from old, except to those in her generation.

"Sure you're not." Emily walked around the counter and planted a kiss on my cheek. "Love you daddy, be back in an hour or two. Mandy wanted to go shopping before we come back here. And shave your beard, it's gross and prickly!"

"Love you too, drive safe! It's..." Emily was out of the door before I could finish my sentence. "Icy." I managed to finish as the door latched shut behind her. The house grew uncomfortably silent as I stared at the door. My right hand ran across the stubble growing across my cheeks and chin and I frowned. My beard wasn't gross, I took the time to actually take care of it.

Truth be told, at 36, I was the most confident I had been in over a decade. I was 18 when Emily was born, the product of many bad decisions that her mother and I made in tandem during our high school days together. Too much drinking and smoking and partying, to put it simply. The moment the pregnancy was announced, I was all in on making sure Emily would be taken care of. Unfortunately, her mother did not feel the same. She ghosted practically the moment Emily was born, leaving just me and a daughter to figure out life together at the same time. I had help of course, my parents were more than happy to be active grandparents, and supported me as I dropped out in my senior year of high school and focused on working to support my daughter. But growing up, and yes I was still growing up at 18, as a single dad didn't leave much room for self-improvement.

Emily and I had a great relationship growing up. She was more than just my daughter, she was my best friend, and that much was obvious from anyone who ever watched us together. But if it wasn't for the fact the construction job kept me active, I was sure I'd be one of the most physically unfit people in town. That all changed in the summer, when Emily graduated high school and went off to college. I took the time to change my habits, from what and how much I ate, to my daily routines, and even my own grooming habits.

Maybe I saw my newfound isolation as a new lease on life. I never saw myself as outright unattractive, but certainly didn't see myself as someone who others would want to date. I was sure the few women I tried to date during Emily's childhood picked up on that, which would explain why they always fizzled out after a month or two. But now? Well now I was actually taking care of myself. I found a barber who kept me looking right, and I was keeping my beard actually well maintained. Needless to say, my beard is *not* gross, despite what Emily might think.

After finishing my breakfast, I washed my plates and finished up the rest of my morning routine. Brushed teeth, washed face, shower, and fresh clothes. With the lack of any work coming up, I took the opportunity to dress up in the most lazy dad way possible. A black tank top and grey sweatpants is all I had put on. My life was mundane at best, but I loved it. It was my life and I wouldn't have had it any other way. I had no idea how much my life was going to change over the next week, and I only had Mandy to thank for that.

~

I heard the familiar whine of Emily's brakes as she pulled into the driveway two hours after she left to meet her friend and instinctively looked up from the Netflix show I was watching. Peeking out the window, I saw the old Impala come to a stop and spotted the figures of Emily and Mandy step out of the car. They took their time getting in and I returned my attention back to my show. A few minutes passed by and I looked back as the duo walked into the house, shopping bags and luggage in hand. My eyes widened at the sight of Emily's best friend. I hated to admit it, but she looked good, damn good. Olive skin, an athlete's figure, brown eyes and dark curly hair. She had grown up in more ways than one.

A pang of guilt shot its way through my body. I had known Mandy since she was in diapers, she and Emily literally grew up together. Having been friends since pre-school, Mandy had become something akin to an unofficial daughter of mine. It felt wrong, dirty even, to think about her as being attractive.

"Hey Mr. de Santa, merry late Christmas." Mandy greeted me brightly, flashing a smile. The guilt only grew.

"Hey Mandy, merry late Christmas to you." I paused my show and stood up to move towards her luggage.

"Ew, Mandy, you're grown, you don't have to call him that." Emily said with a laugh.

"Okay, but calling your dad Steven just feels... I don't know..." Mandy shrugged as she paused, unable or unwilling to find the words to finish her thoughts. I simply smiled, knowing that Emily was trying to push my buttons and get a rise out of me. It was a trait she got from her mother. Whoever says personality isn't genetic is a liar.

"It's fine. We're all grown here." I said as I grabbed Mandy's deceptively heavy luggage bag. "Steven is just fine for you." I locked eyes with Mandy and watched as she looked me up and down with her own eyes. Or maybe I imagined it? I wasn't sure, it happened quickly and I turned to face my daughter. "It's still just Dad to you though, missy." I remarked. "You may be 18 but I'll still ground you if you call me by first name again."

I laughed and began walking away, rolling Mandy's luggage towards Emily's room. Mandy had spent the nights plenty of times in our small sized, two bedroom one bathroom house. I knew the routine. I pushed Emily's door open and set the bag against the wall. Despite her being an official college student, her room remained largely unchanged. She had a bed that was too big for her room against the wall by the window, a sliding door closet, a dresser next to her bed and a small desk with a laptop and rolling chair on the wall next to the door. I had always planned on making improvements to the house, adding some extra space, but I never got around to it and Emily never once complained about her room. Maybe I'd make it my next project once Emily went back to school.

I heard the girls talking in the kitchen and made my way back towards them. They were digging through their shopping bags and talking among themselves with joy in their voices.

"Thanks for letting me stay, Mr. De Santa." Mandy said as I made my way towards the fridge to grab a drink for myself.

"Please, Steven is fine. And you're always welcome. You know that." It was God's honest truth. I grabbed a bottled water for myself and heard the clink of bottles, followed by giggles. Turning around, I watched as the girls set down two bottles of wine on the counter and shook my head. Living in a small town in the middle of Nebraska meant everyone knew each other, and exceptions to certain rules were always made so long as nothing ever came back around to bite them in the ass. Still, I couldn't help but feel a certain way at the sight of the alcohol in my daughter's hands.

"I'm not going to ask." I stated, my way of telling them it was okay without outright giving them my expressed consent.

"We know, daddy." Emily responded. "Besides, it's not like we're going to go out and get drunk or anything." I watched as a mischievous smile spread across my daughter's face and knew I was going to regret hearing what she was about to say next. "I'll save that for when I get back to college."

"You better not be..." I started.

"Oh you have no idea." Emily continued. "Beer and boys. It's all I did this semester." The girls burst out into laughter as my face went red hot. I could feel my eye twitching and my hand squeezed the bottle of water tight enough for it to crinkle loudly in my palm.

"She's lying, Steven." Mandy interjected. "I Facetime this girl every night and she's literally always studying." I held back my words and chuckled.

"You better be." I said to Emily.

"Of course, daddy." Emily responded. I then looked over at Mandy and opened my drink.

"And you too, Mandy." I said. "Nothing but good grades over there I hope."

"Of course, you know me." Mandy framed her hands around her face and flashed a smile during her response. I nodded like the approving dad that I was and walked back towards the couch to finish my show.

"Don't give me a reason to call Mrs. Whittaker and put you two on the banned list." I sat down, knowing that the girls took my nicely spoken threat seriously. Mrs. Whittaker was a nice old lady, even if she didn't always card people when buying alcohol. She always had a soft spot for Emily, but never crossed a line that I set. One phone call and a new line would be set.

"We won't daddy." Emily moved towards me and wrapped me up in a hug from behind. I smiled and patted her arm. "We'll be in the room, let you finish your Stranger Things or whatever this is." Emily stepped back from the hug and ran her hands through my brown hair to mess it up, giggling as she walked away.

"Thanks again for letting me stay." Mandy said. She also hugged me from behind, draping herself over the back of the couch and wrapping her arms around my chest. It caught me off-guard, but wasn't unwelcome. Mandy pressed her cheek against mine.

"By the way," She started softly. "I have a thank you gift for later. Don't let me forget about it tonight."

I turned my head to look at her, confusion on my face, and she quickly sauntered away towards Emily's bedroom. I heard the door close and looked down the hallway with a furrowed brow. What the hell did that mean? I was curious. Was it a shirt? A thank you card? A hat from her college? There was no way I was going to guess what the gift truly was.

The rest of the day went by rather plainly. Lunch was made, and we all ate together. I was initially taken off guard by the girls as they had come out of the room changed into stuff more comfortable. Once again, I felt guilty as I eyed Mandy in her Grinch themed shorts that just barely covered her cheeks, and the low cut v-neck that generously revealed her cleavage. Cleavage she used to not have. Or perhaps she always did and I just never noticed until now? I felt my pants tighten with the threat of a growing erection and was thankful for the fact that I stood behind the counter, out of view from them. It didn't help that in my secret glances over Mandy, I'd sometimes catch her eyeing me the same way. Or maybe I was just imagining it? God I hope it was just my imagination.

"How was your Christmas, Mandy?" I asked, wanting to get my mind away from any lecherous thoughts that were knocking at the door.

"Oh it was... fine." Mandy answered. I noticed the hesitation in her voice and looked at her. "My parents wanted Vegas and I'm only eighteen, so I couldn't do much but stay in the hotel room. It kind of sucked actually." I nodded my head as Mandy explained and looked down at the rest of my sandwich. "But, I did get some fancy presents!"

She flashed a smile that I immediately spotted to be fake and smiled back in response. I had seen Emily flash that same faux smile plenty of times before, especially when times were tough. Hell, I had flashed that smile myself over a hundred times before. I chose not to press it, knowing full well that it was an emotional subject. Clearly her transition to college had changed something in her household, but that wasn't any of my business to dig into.

The girls finished lunch and cleaned their dishes before walking back into the room. I forced myself to not look at Mandy as she walked away, though I swore I could feel her eyes burning into me for a brief second. Or maybe that was my own guilty conscience playing tricks on me. I wasn't sure, and I wasn't sure that I even wanted to be sure.

I was thankfully able to move on from lunch and continued the day relatively uneventful. Despite it being icy, the girls wanted chinese food for dinner and I didn't hesitate to order. I was never a good cook, and they both knew that. Dinner arrived, the wine popped open, and we all sat down to watch a movie while we ate. I let the girls pick and instantly regretted it as they picked some random romance movie. We finished eating and kept the wine out. I finished one glass and found myself getting more relaxed than I intended. Emily sat next to me, one arm hooked around my arm like she had been doing since she was five. Mandy sat beside Emily, eyes glued to the screen. Between the wine and "itis" that came from such a heavy dinner, I felt my eyelids grow heavy halfway through the movie. Before I knew it, I was out.

I woke up some time later, still on the couch, alone and with the TV turned off. The house was dark, with only the Christmas tree lights that I had yet to take down lighting up the living room. The bottle of wine that had been opened was gone, probably snatched away by the girls and taken to their room. I just knew they were laughing at me. The "old" man was unable to hang out past eight pm. Thirty-six isn't old, I'd keep telling myself that until it stuck.

Standing up, I stretched and felt my shoulders pop. I put away my own dirty dishes and slowly shuffled my way towards my bedroom. I could see the light from Emily's bedroom shining through the crack on the bottom of her door. The movement of shadows told me they were still awake, and the sound of giggling as I passed by informed me they were well into their bottle of wine at this point. I paused, smiling. It felt good to have my daughter back home for the holiday break. As fond as I was to finally have an empty nest, everything felt so much better with my day one around, even when she was giving me hell. I made my way past and froze at the sound of their voices, curiosity getting the better of me.

"I saw you checking out my dad." Emily said with a slurred voice. I shouldn't have stopped. I should have kept on walking and gone to bed. Even now, I would never understand why I had stuck around.

"What?" Mandy responded. "Your dad's hot."

"Ew, don't say that to me!" I heard Mandy laugh at Emily's revulsion and I couldn't help but smile.

"Please, it's not like you haven't heard others say it. He's got like, that DILF thing going for him. Older men are in."

I felt my cheeks turning red and leaned closer to the door to listen in. I wasn't imagining things after all. Mandy had been checking me out. Of course I was checking her out too, it's how I even noticed that she was eyeballing me in the first place. But hearing the confirmation come from Mandy herself sent my mind into overdrive, and my body reacted in kind.

"I don't want to hear anymore, that's gross." Emily continued. Mandy laughed and ignored my daughter's protest.

"I'm just saying, I'd ride him until he pops any time." Emily mimicked the sound of throwing up and Mandy laughed once again.

"Okay, you're gross and I'm cutting you off the rest of the wine."

Starting to feel too much like a voyeur, I stepped away, hearing the sound of Mandy whining from the other side of the door. I entered my own room, closed the door behind me and locked it. I was out almost as soon as I hit the pillow, allowing my subconscious to mock me with the thoughts that had been threatening to take over my waking hours all day long.

Before long, Mandy was in my dream. In my room. Her perfectly round breasts bounced in my face as she rode me. She was tight, her sex a vice grip on my painfully hard erection. Her moans grew loud, and my hands pinched at her nipples. Before long, my own moans mixed with her, bouncing off the walls and sending cracks splintering through the drywall. We came together, our voices mixed, and the walls surrounding us tore down, reduced to nothing but ash.

~

*December 30. Friday.*

I woke up with morning wood so hard it physically hurt. The second thing I noticed was the silence in the house. Either the girls were sleeping off a nasty wine hangover, or they were gone. Either way, I was thankful I wouldn't have to explain why I was about to take a cold shower. The dream lingered in my head, my overactive and perverted imagination doing its best to remind me of the hot 18-year old that was my daughter's best friend. I lay in bed and contemplated what to do next. Part of me wanted relief, to grab my cock and yank it until I popped while Mandy was still fresh in my mind. The other part wrestled with the nature of the thoughts running in my head.

I debated.

And debated some more.

And debated some more again.

I couldn't do it. Much as I wanted to, the guilt overcame every horny thought I was having of Mandy. I willed myself out of bed and moved towards my door. Opening it slowly, I listened for the girls. The house was quiet, they were more than likely sleeping off their wine hangovers from last night. I took the opportunity to dash into the bathroom and take a cold shower.

I lost track of how much time I spent in the shower. I just know it was long enough for my thoughts to return to normal. Stepping out, I grabbed a towel from the bathroom closet, wrapped it around my waist and finished the rest of my morning hygiene ritual. Ready to go about the rest of my day doing absolutely nothing but being lazy, I swung open the door and stepped out into the hallway.

And nearly ran over Mandy standing right outside the door.

"Ow." She groaned as my foot stepped on top of hers and my chest collided with her shoulder. I jerked back quickly, holding onto my towel to keep it from falling as I moved to get out of Mandy's way.

"Ohmygod, I'm so sorry." I said quickly.

"You're fine," Mandy responded just as quickly. She looked down at her foot and wiggled her toes and I realized I myself was staring at her.

Her hair was a mess, and she looked groggy. But she still somehow managed to look good, even better than how she had looked in my dreams. She wore a tight fitting one-piece pajama set, with the buttons undone just up to her cleavage. The shorts of her set had ridden up, revealing camel toe and the bottom part of her butt cheeks. Just like that, I felt the need to take another cold shower.

"Damn, I thought you'd have a dad bod." Mandy suddenly remarked, tearing me from own perverted thoughts. I laughed awkwardly and stepped back just a bit more and moved my arm down enough to hide the boner that was forming beneath my towel.