Page 19 of Daddy's Best Friend

“Him and Mom finished dinner and went home, I guess.” She gave me a strange expression.

“I meant, what was he being obnoxious about?” I tried to let my concern show so she didn’t think I was just being nosey. Todd and Elaine had Ella all wrong. I wasn’t superbly happy that she was a little over the top at times, but I understood she was just experimenting with life. Nothing near what Todd feared.

“He just controls the purse strings, you know?” She sipped more juice then continued. “If I could just make more money, I wouldn’t have to deal with his lectures about how I’m spending my time. Right now, he pays for the dorm and my food, my Ubers, you know?” She chomped on a bit of eggs and swallowed them hastily. “He just thinks I’m only partying. All I know is I need to make a little more so I can just pay my own way and not have him breathing down my neck. I also told him that I wasseeing someone, to which he replied that I was throwing my life away again.”

I cringed, wondering how much she’d said, and she must have seen my face.

“Don’t worry. I didn’t say who.” The way she said it alleviated my concern, until I saw the sparkle in her eyes.

“Ella, you realize that we can’t keep doing what we’ve been doing. Right? A few weeks ago, that was a mistake.”

She pushed the tray aside and folded the covers back again. The way the t-shirt hid everything but a hint of the blue panties she wore was such a tease. And when she crawled over to me and straddled me, I felt my resolve waning.

“Alan, you and I both know you’re just saying that.” Ella wrapped her arms around me. “So, I’m not going over that with you again. A few weekends ago, I proved my point.” She kissed me, and I tasted a hint of toothpaste. I draped my arms around her waist, feeling wrong about being so brazen with the display of affection.

“Hire me.” She leaned back and looked me in the eye. “If you hire me full-time to replace Rene, I will make enough to pay my way and I won’t have to deal with my dad. I’m in my senior year. I just have one semester left and I’ll have the degree. I’m already outperforming all your current staff. It makes sense.”

“Oh, Ella,” I practically whispered. “I wish I could. I can’t… Rene needs that job right now. She’s almost back on her feet.”

Ella shrank back, frowning before she climbed off my lap and stood a few steps away. She looked around the room as if shewere searching for something, and I watched her eyes lock on her clothes, draped over an armchair the night before.

“Yeah, okay.” She sounded hurt, and with her back to me as she tugged on her jeans, I felt horrible. I thought I heard her sniffle.

I rose and walked over to her, hugging her from behind. She stopped moving and let me hold her, and I turned her in my arms. I knew exactly how strained the relationship between her and her father had been. I heard it from both sides. If Todd saw her supporting herself, he’d believe she was improving. If Ella had a way to get away from him, she’d see him as a caring parent—not a control freak.

Then an idea occurred to me. “Hey, what do you think about living here? In this guest house.”

She peered up at me and smiled. “Really?”

“Yeah. I can’t hire you until you’ve graduated, but I can let you live here—charge you a nominal rent or something. It’s a win-win.”

When I offered it, I hadn’t thought for a second about the ramifications for our strange sexual dynamic. I only wanted to make the smile return to her face. But the moment she nodded, I somehow felt my heart soar—and then my dick rouse.

“So, that means I’d come home with you every night.” She rose up and kissed me. Then as she lowered back to flat footed, I felt her body grind against me.

This conversation had not gone at all how I planned, and I was in way over my head, but if it meant making her happy, then I was pleased to oblige.

15

ELLA

The last box had been unpacked, and I had tossed it out the door onto the pool deck. I stood by the door of my new place—Alan’s guest house—taking in all the tiny details. My bedding looked so much better than that bland tan shit Alan had on the bed. And the small breakfast table I’d taken—Wendy was pissed—served as a bit more furniture in the mostly bare room.

I was proud of myself. I had no decorating skills whatsoever, but I had impressed myself with how chic I made this tiny space look. It was only slightly bigger than the dorm room I had escaped, but it was mine. And as an added bonus I didn’t have to share it.

“Weird.” Trevor’s voice made me turn around on my heel. He stood holding a soda, looking around the guest house as if it were his.

“What do you want?” I walked away from him, not wanting to get into shit. I hadn’t even taken time to properly think out what my move to Alan’s house would mean for me. Trevor was like abad fungus I couldn’t get rid of, and now I had to tolerate him living on the same property as me.

“Rude.” He sipped his soda and followed me into the room. “Why did you call my dad for help last weekend?” He set the soda on my nightstand and picked up a shirt I had left lying on the foot of the bed. Beneath it were a pair of my lacy panties. I secretly was thankful I had my sex toys put away at that moment. Trevor didn’t need to see those. “Oh... what’s this?”

He picked up my panties and dropped my shirt. His wicked grin as he held them to his nose and smelled them disgusted me. “Sexy.” I rolled my eyes and scowled.

“You’re a perv.”

“Didn’t realize my childhood bestie was so sexy.” His eyebrows wagged.

I yanked them out of his hand and picked up the t-shirt and took both to my dresser—a small, two-drawer thing—and shoved them in the top drawer. Chuckling, I turned around to snap at him playfully and tell him to mind his own business, but he was on top of me in a flash, pulling my hips against his and getting a little handsy.

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