My Daughter's Friend

It was a little after three in the morning and someone was banging away on my doorbell. I pulled up the ring cam and saw a woman standing there holding a toddler. Lightning lit up my window followed by a thunderous boom as I raced down the steps. I opened the door, and the woman said, "Can we come in Jack?"

She obviously knew me, but I was having trouble recognizing her as my attention was drawn to the black eye, bloody nose and fat lip. Even though I didn't recognize her I invited her in. Once she was in the light I recognized Stephanie, an acquaintance of my oldest daughter Emily, which would mean she was probably 24.

She was never one of my favorites partly because she always called me Jack instead of Mr. Adams like I insisted with the kid's friends. Also, Stephanie always had an uppity air which put off a lot of people. Somewhere in those early college years she and Emily had a falling out although I believed Stephanie was at Emily's college graduation party.

"Is Amy home Jack?"

"Amy and I have been divorced for over two years now. What happened to your face?"

"My baby's daddy went to town on me."

"Let's go," I said.

There was a disagreement, I was insisting that she go to the hospital, Stephanie didn't want to cause trouble. Eventually she caved and I drove them to the hospital in Stephanie's car which was stuffed with stuff. I took the baby as the admitting nurse took Stephanie's info. She said the baby's name was Jackie who looked at me when Stephanie handed her to me. Jackie put her head on my shoulder and fell back to sleep.

I missed most of the disagreement between the admitting nurse and Stephanie, but it seemed the Stephanie's lack of insurance was the crux of the problem. I handed the nurse my credit card and Stephanie put her forehead on the counter.

We were fortunate that it was a slow night in the ER because they were able to take Stephanie back right away. As expected, the police were there shortly later.

They were having trouble believing that this badly beaten woman who I haven't seen in years would show up on my doorstep. I told them she probably came looking for my ex-wife who was a physician's assistant and Stephanie was unaware that we were divorced. I showed them the ring camera recording of Stephanie's car pulling up and her walking up to my doorbell. They seemed satisfied and went to talk to Stephanie.

During all of that, Jackie didn't stir. It was so relaxing holding her that I fell asleep in the lobby while holding her. It was four in the morning after all. And then Stephanie was there waking me up. She grimaced in pain as she went to take Jackie from me.

"I have her Steph, let me guess, a couple of broken ribs?" She nodded.

"I am sorry I dragged you into this Jack. I threw a bunch of shit in my car and started aimlessly driving. But I knew I needed some medical help, and I thought of Amy."

Stephanie's blank stare out the car window scared me; I wasn't sure if it was shock or maybe some pain meds they gave her. We went back to my house, and I led her to Emily's old room.

"Emily left a ton of her clothes here when she moved out, hopefully you can find something to sleep in. I'm assuming the diaper bag you were carrying has any baby stuff Jackie may need if she wakes during the night. Where will she sleep?"

"She usually sleeps with me anyway Jack, thank you for letting us spend the night."

After pulling the bedroom door shut, I headed back to my room. I was always a light sleeper, but it seemed like Jackie was crying as soon as my head hit the pillow, but in reality a couple of hours had passed. Stephanie was still deeply asleep, so I took Jackie downstairs, changed her diaper and fed her a jar of baby food. Feeding a toddler without a highchair should be an Olympic sport.

I sent a text to Emily saying that Stephanie and her baby were here after her boyfriend beat her up. Emily was shocked and said she hadn't spoken to Stephanie since her graduation party and didn't even know she had a baby. Emily also said she would stop by after work.

In the few minutes I was texting Emily, it became very clear that my house was not toddler proof as Jackie seemed to find everything breakable in her reach. I went through Stephanie's car and found some baby clothes, a booster seat for the kitchen table and a portable playpen which I set up in the living room.

Jackie wasn't happy there for long and I started playing with her. I felt like I had traveled through a time machine and was playing with Emily or her sister when they were that age. Then she blew a load in her diaper which I changed using the last clean diaper and the last of the wipes. Realizing we were in a crisis situation, Jackie and I headed to Walmart to grab a bunch of baby supplies and baby food.

The police were pulling into my driveway as we pulled in. I was trying to carry Jacky and the Walmart bags into the house when one of the officers took the bags, the female officer took Jackie, and I led them into the house. They needed to talk to Stephanie again but also wanted to talk to me.

I basically retold them the little I knew about what happened and that Stephanie came here hoping to find my ex-wife Amy. Then they wanted to talk to Stephanie, so I went to wake her. As I hit the steps, one of the officers looked at the menagerie now occupying the upper shelves as the bottom ones were bare.

"It looks like someone was doing some emergency childproofing," she said with a smile on her face.

I had made coffee and Stephanie, and the two officers sat in the kitchen while I played with Jackie in the living room. Jackie and I moved through her toys in the diaper bag and then ended up playing peek a boo with Jackie in the playpen and me crawling around outside. Jackie's guttural laugh was priceless, and I looked up to see the two officers and Stephanie watching us with big smiles on their faces.

After the officers left, Stephanie and I sat down at the kitchen table with Jackie in the booster seat. A lot of things needed to be discussed but I waited for her to begin.

"I am truly fucked Jack; baby daddy was already so far behind in his support payments he would have never caught up. Now he's going to jail and since I'm not the first woman he beat up he'll be there for a long time. He was supposed to bring me money last night so I could catch up on my rent and avoid eviction but instead he showed up broke, drunk and horny. Thank you for taking us in last night, I'm not sure what I would have done if a complete stranger answered the door. Am I making you miss work?"

"No, Steph, my company offered me a buy out last year so now they pay me more to be a consultant which I do at my convenience and usually at home. We should start a list, like immediate needs, long term needs and any important wants. I picked up some diapers, wipes and baby foods this morning at Walmart."

Jackie started fussing so I picked her up as Stephanie started generating her lists.

"She usually doesn't like men Jack, I can't remember a man she ever let hold her. She never connected with her baby daddy, and he never did anything to help it. He certainly wouldn't be on the floor playing peek a boo with her. He was mad that she wasn't a boy, like I made some kind of choice."

"Where's your parents Stephanie?" What's the saying? A cloud crossed her face when I asked the question. I had met them a few times, they were much older than me. Stephanie was their late-in-life baby.

"They retired and moved to an over 55 community in Florida before Jackie was born. They never met Jackie. I was adopted from an unwed mother that my father knew. When I announced I was unwed and pregnant, they concluded I was a whore like my mother and cut off contact with me. But they still go to church twice a week."

"How long are you going to let me stay here Jack?"

"You shouldn't worry about that Steph, I may not go to church twice a week, but I certainly will not put a mother and her baby on the street."

"I could provide other services Jack for letting us stay here."

"I am not sure what bothers me more about that statement, that you would think I would demand sexual favors from a family friend or that you would be willing to provide them."

"Jack, I'm penniless and homeless with a two-year-old that needs food and shelter. There is nothing I wouldn't do for her."

"Let's take a step back Stephanie. Everything will work out. I'm going to bring the rest of your bags in unless you have any objections."

"That would be a good idea, I was just throwing stuff in bags when I left so I have no idea what I packed or didn't."

After last night's excitement, I needed a nap. Stephanie suggested I take Jackie with me. She fell asleep as soon as I laid down on the couch and then I was out. It was almost an hour later when the sound of Emily and Stephanie talking woke me up. The tone of their conversation was not pleasant, more on Emily's part. Jackie woke up at the same time and distracted the women from their conversation.

I asked Stephanie about what she packed, and she said she didn't pack any of her clothes, just all of Jackie's stuff so Emily took Stephanie upstairs to see if any of her old stuff would fit Stephanie. While they were up there, I heard more harsh words, almost all of which were from Emily. When they came back down it was obvious that Stephanie had been crying or was upset.

There wasn't much food in the house, there usually wasn't so I ordered some pizza for the four of us. Emily was unusually quiet, Stephanie doted on Jackie while Emily didn't pay any attention to Jackie which I found odd, women are drawn to babies.

As we finished eating, Emily said, "Stephanie needs clothes dad, most of my stuff outside of some sweats and shorts won't fit her."

"Okay," I said, "We can go in the morning, where would you like to go, Target, Macy's or the mall."

"Jack, I do my clothes shopping for me and Jackie at Goodwill, actually most of my shopping there and I saw one on my way to your house last night."

I said okay but thought that they should also have some new things. However, I didn't want to have that conversation in front of Emily for some reason.

On her way out, Emily insisted that she needed to talk to me in private and that I should call her when I was alone.

The following morning, I gave Stephanie my credit card so she could run over to Goodwill. While she was gone, I called Emily.

"Dad, do you remember the sleepover I had right around my graduation party. It was a chance for us to relive all the sleepovers we had before and during high school. We were out back by the pool, having a few drinks and joking around. The conversation turned to our high school crushes who we thought were so hot and many of them were already past their prime. The football jocks were already approaching obesity with minimum wage jobs with zero future. We were laughing about this guy or that one. Stephanie sat there and started saying how she didn't have a crush until after high school and the guy just kept getting hotter. Unfortunately, he was already married, and she would never come between him and his wife. But someday maybe, she hoped she would get her chance. You were out back, tidying up and as Stephanie was talking, she was staring at you, and I realized you were her crush. I confronted her about it the next morning and that's why we had our falling out. That's what we were arguing about again yesterday. You know she named her baby after you."

"I'm not sure what to do about that Emily, she needs help, and I can't say no to that. She offered special favors if I let her stay here which I flat out refused."

"I don't know what to do about it either Dad, but you should be aware that she was crushing on you at one point. Right now, I think she's suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Her life is in the shits, and she has her baby to take care of. I don't blame her for offering special favors to keep a roof over her baby's head."

Stephanie was upset when she came home because everyone was staring at her, the black eye and her swollen lips. I offered to do the grocery store run if she gave me a list. Stephanie offered to do the cooking while she was staying here. I knew how to cook but cooking for one was not worth the effort.

Stephanie and Jackie both needed doctors, Jackie could continue seeing the pediatrician she had been seeing but Steph wanted someone closer. Outside of the ER, Stephanie hadn't seen a doctor since she gave birth.

So, I called Amy. Her affair with one of the doctors in her office was the reason we divorced but that had been years ago. She married the guy after our divorce was finalized. Amy would never be my best friend again, but we remained civil, mostly for our daughters' sake. I enlisted her help with Stephanie. Amy said Stephanie would definitely need a follow-up exam to make sure her injuries from the beating were healing, especially the broken ribs. Amy was able to get Stephanie an appointment for the next day and also recommended a pediatrician nearby.

Over dinner that night, Stephanie asked me about Amy, and I explained her affair and the demise of our marriage. I also told her it was old news as far as I was concerned.

And our lives went on, Stephanie's bruises healed, and she was less reluctant to go out in public. I convinced her to go shopping for her and Jackie anywhere besides Goodwill. She was always reluctant to spend my money, but I insisted that they both have nice things to wear. She did buy a crib at Goodwill, and it was a challenge to get Jackie to sleep behind bars as some cultures called it. We figured out that if either Stephanie or I laid down on the floor next to the crib Jackie would fall asleep and usually stay asleep.

Stephanie joined some 'mommy and me' classes at the YMCA which gave me more time to get work done. She also started talking about finding a job so she wouldn't be freeloading forever and eventually found a part time spot in a day care center. In the meantime, she took over all the household chores including dinner, food shopping, laundry and assorted cleaning.

Emily became a frequent guest at our dinner table. Her current boyfriend worked weird shifts so she would join us instead of eating alone. It didn't take long for Emily to fall in love with Jackie.

I sat back one day and realized I was happy, probably the happiest I've been since long before my divorce. Emily was around much more often, her sister Jan stopped by every weekend, and I had a loving family to share my dinner table with. And I was madly in love with Jackie.

Generally, every evening over dinner I would ask Stephanie if she or the baby needed anything. I figured out early on that she would rarely ask for anything but if I asked her what she needed she would come out with things like socks or sneakers for herself or Jackie. I didn't want them to go without anything they needed.

It was during the third month that I woke up with my very hard cock in Stephanie's mouth.

"There's one thing I need Jack that I don't know how to ask for it," she said and then lowered her pussy onto my cock.

I was barely all the way in when she started coming and collapsed on top of me.

"Do you feel that Jack, I'm still coming, jeez Jack."

Steph began to slowly rock back and forth as she pulled her sleeper off. Her tits were perfect, and I began sucking on her nipples. The more I sucked on her tits, the more her pussy vibrated and faster she started fucking me. I couldn't remember the last time Amy and I had sex. My orgasm was coming and Stephanie asked me to come with her. We laid there spent for a few minutes. Then Stephanie thanked me for not rejecting her and she went back to her room.

From the moment she moved in I always tried not to look at her that way. As she walked away, I watched that ass move, and I would never be able to look away again.

In the morning, Stephanie came into the kitchen as I was feeding Jackie. She had been crying.

"Are you okay Steph? You look like you're upset."

"I can't believe what I did last night Jack, maybe I am a whore like my mother. I hope you're not mad at me."

"Definitely not mad Stephanie. Emily told me you had a crush on me years ago. I'm flattered but I certainly don't want to take advantage of you or your situation nor would I even want the appearance of taking advantage of you."

"But last night was the opposite of you taking advantage of me Jack, I took advantage of you and your generosity to have something I always wanted, to have you inside me like that. I'll make plans to leave if you want."

"That's not what I want Stephanie, I am worried that last night was more of an act of gratefulness than anything else, anything long term."

"Jack, I have always loved you and I needed last night, I wanted last night for a long time, long before a battered woman showed up on your doorstep."

I went over and hugged Stephanie, "Sometimes you realize that you really didn't want something once you have it. I am old enough to be your father, where do you think our relationship will go and do you really want that. You're a beautiful young woman who deserves more than me. Let's both think about this before we let last night happen again."

Stephanie was crying again. I kissed her forehead, held her tight, and she said okay.

She was pretty quiet the rest of the day and didn't visit me that night. But I began to more frequently notice how beautiful she was. Maybe she was dressing different, but I never notice how she dressed before, now I was noticing how her shorts hugged her ass, the beautiful long thighs, or the cleavage revealed by her shirt, or the swing of her breasts when she wasn't wearing a bra.

The following day, she was the bright and chipper person she had become since her injuries healed. After we got Jackie in bed, she sat down next to me on the couch, and I mean next to me. Normally we watched TV from opposite ends of the couch.

"Jack, I thought about what you said. I don't care if you're old enough to be my father. Take me to bed Jack and let me show you how much I love you, how much I want you, how wet you make me."

"But I want more than that Jack, you keep asking me what I want or what I need. I'm telling you Jack, I want to spend every night with you for the rest of my life. To fall asleep in your arms and not head back to my room after sex ever again. I need you to love me as much as I love you. It may not be easy to stop thinking of me as your daughter's friend and instead view me as the woman you love, but I can be patient. Even when the ghosts of Amy interfere, I can be patient."

Stephanie offered me her hand which I took and led me to my bedroom. Her nipples were rock hard and poking through her sleeping shirt as we began to kiss. I nudged Steph to sit on the edge of the bed, knelt between her legs and kissed my way up her thighs. I loved her thighs almost as much as I loved looking at her bald pussy. She was wet, I could see it and her scent filled me. I licked her lips and sucked on her clit, as my finger played inside her pussy. Stephanie came twice, pulled me up and started licking her juices off my face.

"I need you to fuck me now Jack," she said as she pulled my cock to the entrance of her pussy.

Every so often while fucking her, I would look at her beautiful young face and couldn't believe how lucky I was. Maybe to drive it home, Stephanie kept telling me how much she loved me, how much she loved my cock and how good it felt to have my cock in her cunt. Then she pushed me onto my back while keeping me inside her. She began slowly rocking back and forth and began playing with her tits while I watched.

"I'm supposed to be showing you how much I love you Jack. I remember how much I loved after turning 18. How you occupied my dreams at night. I would lay in bed at night, all these fantasies of you would play through my head as I masturbated. Sometimes I would be sunbathing nude by your pool, and you would take me over your knee and then take me with that beautiful cock. Or you would notice I wasn't wearing a bra and would take my nipples into your mouth. My fingers would be all wet with my juices and I would lick them for you. I coming again Jack, come with me."

After we came, Stephanie rolled off me and then took my cock in her mouth. "I would read porn stories and dream of you, in some of the stories, the woman would suck her lover's cock clean, and I swore I would always do that for you."

And that began our sex life. Stephanie and I would have sex almost every night and sometimes multiple times. As soon as Jackie was asleep, we would be at it some nights and on some of those nights we didn't make it to the bedroom before we started fucking. She was intent on fucking in every room in the house plus outside on the deck or in the pool. Unless she was working, she rarely wore anything more than panties and a T-shirt.

The following weekend, Emily came over for dinner and looked at us both weirdly.

"You guys are fucking," Emily said.

Stephanie looked horrified for a minute, and I smiled.

"It's okay Stephanie. I assumed you would and at first, I was horrified by the idea. But the more I thought about it, I saw more of the positives. I haven't seen my father look this happy since the shit with my mother started and that was years ago. And I worried about him being alone. I was afraid in the beginning that you were taking advantage of him, not as something evil but to provide for Jackie. And I saw how happy Jackie made him, how contented he looked when he held her and realized just having you two here was good for him. But Stephanie, where do you see this relationship going."

"As I said years ago and when your father first took me in, I hope that he falls in love with me, I pray he asks me to be his wife, and maybe someday we'll have a child of our own."

"And just to be clear from the beginning Steph, even though my mother has been a great disappointment, she's the only one I'll ever call 'mom' when you guys get married."

"I can't imagine calling you anything but Steph or Stephanie. But I would like Aunt Emily to be in your future for Jackie."

"Jackie can call me that as soon as she could say it. And what about my father?"

"That is a conversation your father and I should have in private first."

Over the next few weeks, Stephanie began moving her things into the master bedroom, but it bothered me that she was putting her clothes into Amy's old dresser. Not as disrespect to Amy but as disrespect to Stephanie. So, I insisted on a complete overhaul of the master bedroom. New paint on the walls, new carpet on the floors, all new furniture and most importantly a new mattress. Stephanie balked at the cost. I argued that if we were going to start a life together, we should start clean.

And over those weeks, I started getting a clearer picture of Jackie's father in response to my questions. Steph was reluctant to talk about him but would not refuse to answer my questions. In sum, he was an asshole. She dated a number of guys in college and met this guy towards the end of her senior year. One night he was drunk and initiated sex, it wasn't until he came that she realized he hadn't put a condom on. She refused to get an abortion, but he let her move in with him. Then their relationship started to fall apart. She caught him cheating on her early on in her pregnancy and refused to have sex with him because he might give the baby a disease. After that he would come home drunk sometimes and rape her.

It was three months after our conversation with Emily, that we discussed what Jackie should call me. She was really beginning to talk by then and usually called me 'Ack.' Stephanie wanted her to call me daddy instead. The night we had the conversation with Emily I realized I did want to marry Stephanie. Sometimes I would see her cooking dinner or playing with Jackie and she would take my breath away. She always caught me looking at her those times and would smile at me. I wondered if she knew what I was thinking.

But the horrors of Amy scared me. Financially I made out ok, Amy and my earnings were equal and so were our 401k's. That left the house as the largest financial asset. At one of the meetings with the lawyers, my lawyer started talking about Amy's company's policy about relationships between employees. Her lawyer caught onto the veiled threat quickly and Amy released any claims on the house. Since Stephanie had no assets, she could take me to the cleaners if we divorced. What bothered me more, she could be cheating on me and still take me to the cleaners if we divorced.

It was going to be hard to talk to Stephanie about marriage and a prenup, but I had to do it.

"Stephanie, would you be willing to sign a prenup if we got married?"

"You'll have to give me some details Jack, I heard the term but I'm not sure I know what it means and does this mean you want to marry me?"

"As you know, Amy left me devastated emotionally and I know you're not Amy. She could have also left me financially devasted if our incomes weren't so even," I paused to check her reaction.

Before I could continue, she said, "So, you're concerned that I might cheat on you like Amy and if I you wanted a divorce, I could wipe you out financially?"

"Yes," I said unsure if she was angry or not.

"And what if we divorced for any other reasons, for example you cheated on me?"

"Then the prenup would not come into play and the no-fault divorce rules would govern the divorce. Basically a even split of the assets accrued during the marriage."

"If I sign, will you marry me?"

"If you'll have me Steph."

Stephanie dragged me into our bedroom and fucked me nearly to death.

"Does that answer your question Jack?"

We spent the next month trying to plan a wedding. Stephanie wanted nothing but a simple wedding at the courthouse or wherever. She had no family so her guest list would only include my daughters. We talked about honeymoons, and she didn't want to leave Jackie for any length of time. I had been through all the hoopla before including a two-week honeymoon in Hawaii and it all seemed like a big waste. Emily and her boyfriend were our witnesses while we honeymooned at a nearby resort with Jackie.

A year later we were having a rehearsal dinner for Emily and her boyfriend's wedding. It was the first time I would see Amy in years. Jan was Emily's maid of honor, but Stephanie was in the wedding party leaving me to tend to Jackie. I was feeding Jackie when Amy sat down next to me.

"Cute little girl Jack, who's the mother?"

"Stephanie is her mother."

Amy noticed the ring on my finger, "You remarried Jack, congratulations. My husband was cheating on me, can you believe it. I asked Emily about us getting back together and she said she would kill me first. She didn't say you had remarried, just walked away. God she was always daddy's girl, not that her sister is any different."

Jan was calling us for pictures which rescued me from talking further with Amy. I could be polite to her but there would always be an underlying level of hate. I couldn't believe she would consider us getting back together, was she that unaware of the pain she caused me.

Amy and I did have to pose together with the happy couple. She seemed to be following me around. I also had the photographer take a picture of Stephanie and me with the happy couple along with Jackie.

Jackie was getting tired and was mostly resting her head on my shoulder when I found Amy standing next to me again, "So who is the lucky woman, Jack?"

Jackie poked her head up and said, "my daddy' as she wrapped her arms around me. I looked over at Stephanie who gave me a smile.

"You and Stephanie Jack, she's young enough to be your daughter. Are you taking advantage of her because she was homeless?"

"I'm sure if you asked Stephanie that she would break your jaw, but go ahead, it would make Emily happy."

"I'm sorry Jack and I take back what I said. She is beautiful and I wish you the best of luck. I know I made some mistakes, there was some hope I could undo them, but I can't compete with a woman half my age."

"Even if Stephanie wasn't my wife, you would never get past your betrayal."

"Did it bother you that much Jack?"

"I'm guessing you have no idea. Have you rationalized it to think it wasn't that important? Have you minimized the venomous looks your daughter's give you for betraying them, for destroying their family. Even after all these years they hate you and we were surprised when Emily invited you, maybe she just wanted you to know we've moved on. It must be nice to fuck over the people who loved you and have no remorse."

"Believe me Jack I have remorse, maybe not in the beginning but I've felt everything you felt when my husband started cheating on me."

"You're a fool Amy, you didn't have children with him, you didn't have a family with him, and did you really have dreams of growing old with a man who would cheat on his wife."

Amy stood there staring at Stephanie. I think I saw a tear in her eye.

"I am truly sorry Jack for the pain I caused. I do wish the best of luck to you and Stephanie. I love the way you two smile at each other. And I'm sorry I gave that up because I'm reminded how you used to look at me that way. Jack, is that a baby bump."

"Yes, but don't say anything. We didn't want to distract from Emily's day."

I turned around and Amy was gone; I caught a glimpse of her leaving.

Then Stephanie was by my side, taking Jackie into her arms. "You've been holding her all night, your arms must be exhausted. You'll have to tell me what Amy said but not until I'm out of this dress and shoes. I saw her following you around the room like a stalker."

After Jackie was in bed and so were we, I told her about my conversations with Amy.

"If I wasn't here Jack, would you have gotten back with her?"

"I can't imagine any scenario where I would. I do feel sorry for her. We had everything and she threw it all away on someone who cheated on her.