Two

Maya just stood there staring at me like I’d grown a second head.

My mouth opened. Closed. It opened again.

“No,” I said too fast. “God, Maya, no. I was just… watching something. Some dirty videos. The guy’s name was Dominic. Coincidence.”

She kept staring. Her eyes dropped to my still-shiny fingers, then back up.

“You were moaning *Daddy*.”

My stomach twisted. I forced out this weird little laugh and wiped my hand on the sheets like that would somehow make it less real.

“People say that in p**n all the time. It doesn’t mean anything. I swear. I would never......Maya, he’s your dad. That’s disgusting.”

The lie tasted awful, but I shoved it out anyway.

Maya’s shoulders dropped a little. She still looked unsettled, but the sharp edge in her voice softened.

“Okay… okay. Just don’t ever say that again. Even as a joke. It’s weird as hell.”

“I won’t,” I said quietly. “I promise. Never again.”

She dragged a hand down her face and sighed.

“Good. Because we’re leaving in twenty minutes and I refuse to spend the whole week at my dad’s house thinking about you touching yourself to his name. Gross.”

Right. The vacation.

I’d almost forgotten.

Every summer her dad opened the lake house for two weeks. Same guest room down the hall from his. Same kitchen. Same long evenings where he walked around in those low sweatpants looking like he didn’t even know what he did to me.

“Yeah,” I said. “Twenty minutes. I’m ready.”

We packed in silence. I shoved clothes into my duffel with shaky hands, still throbbing between my legs, still tasting his name. Maya kept glancing at me like she was waiting for the lie to crack. It didn’t.

By the time we pulled up the long driveway, the sun was already low. The house looked the same as always, glass and dark wood, quiet and expensive against the water.

His black truck was already there.

My pulse kicked hard.

Maya hopped out first.

“Dad’s home. Come on.”

The front door opened before we even reached it.

Dominic stood there in a plain black T-shirt and jeans, sleeves tight on his arms, hair a little damp like he’d just showered. His eyes landed on Maya first, soft the way they always got with her. Then they shifted to me.

Something unreadable flickered there.

“Hey, kid,” he said to Maya, pulling her into a quick one-armed hug. Then, looking past her, “Lila. Good to see you again.”

The way my name sounded in his mouth made my thighs press together.

“Hi, Mr. Torres.”

His mouth curved just slightly.

“Dominic is fine. You’re not twelve anymore.”

Maya rolled her eyes and pushed past him.

“I’m dumping my stuff and then Jason’s picking me up. We’re going into town. Don’t wait up.”

I followed more slowly, feeling his presence like heat at my back. He didn’t say anything else. Just watched me climb the stairs.

Twenty minutes later Maya was gone, kissed her dad on the cheek, waved at me, and disappeared into Jason’s car.

The front door clicked shut.

Silence settled over the house.

I stood in the hallway outside my room, heart loud in my ears. I could hear him moving around downstairs, the soft clink of a glass, the fridge opening.

I should’ve stayed in my room.  

I should’ve kept the promise I made to Maya.

Instead I changed.

I pulled on the shortest sleep shorts I owned and a thin white tank top with nothing underneath. The fabric clung to my nipples the second I moved. Hair down. Lips are a little shiny. Then I walked downstairs barefoot.

He was in the kitchen leaning against the counter with a glass of whiskey. Late light cut across his face, highlighting the silver at his temples. He looked up when I walked in....and went still.

His eyes dropped. Slow. Over the thin tank, the hard points of my nipples, the long stretch of bare thigh. His fingers tightened around the glass. When he finally looked back up, there was heat in his eyes he didn’t bother hiding.

I walked closer than I needed to, stopping just inside his space. Close enough to smell soap and whiskey on him. I leaned one hip against the counter, letting the tank stretch tighter across my chest.

“Maya abandoned me already,” I said, voice soft. “Guess it’s just us tonight.”

His throat moved as he swallowed. He set the glass down carefully.

“Seems that way.”

I tilted my head, hair falling over one shoulder. Reached past him for a glass in the cupboard, stretching on purpose so my body brushed his arm, so the hem of my shorts rode higher. I felt the heat of him, the way his breath caught for half a second.

“You always drink alone when we’re here?” I asked, glancing up at him. “Or do you just wait until the house gets quiet?”

His voice came out rougher than before.

“I like the quiet.”

“Do you?” I turned to face him fully, close enough that if I leaned forward another inch my chest would touch his. I let my eyes drop to his mouth, then lower, to the way his jeans sat on his hips, before dragging them slowly back up. “I always wondered what you do in this big house when it’s just you.”

His jaw flexed. His gaze flicked down to my mouth again, then to my nipples pressing against the thin fabric. He didn’t step back.

“You shouldn’t wonder about things like that,” he said, low.

I smiled, slow.

“Why not?” I took a tiny step closer. “I’m not a little girl anymore, Dominic. You said it yourself.”

His eyes darkened.

For a moment the only sound was the clock and our breathing. I could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his hand curled into a loose fist on the counter like he was fighting the urge to reach for me. I shifted my weight, letting one thigh brush lightly against his, and felt the sharp inhale he tried to hide.

“You’re playing a dangerous game,” he said, voice almost growling.

My pulse hammered between my legs. I kept my eyes on his.

“Maybe I like dangerous.”

Something raw flickered across his face .... lust, restraint, the heavy knowledge of exactly how wrong this was. His gaze dropped once more to my mouth, then lower, lingering on the way my tank clung to my breasts with every breath.

Outside, gravel suddenly crunched under tires.

A car door slammed.

Maya’s voice, bright, unexpected, too close ... called out from the driveway.

“Forgot my charger! Be right in!”

Dominic’s eyes locked on mine.

Neither of us moved.

The front door handle turned.