“Okay, so I’m back. Ready, Dad?”
“Ready… for what…?”
“For me to show you the new clothes, silly! Like I said!”
“Oh… But didn’t you already…?”
She had already run up the stairs and disappeared from view, leaving me a little puzzled. I had already seen them. On her, even. I was with her in the store, she tried them on and asked me what I thought… Oh, well. Teenage girls. I never had been able to grasp their mindset. And that’s coming from a shrink.
I started dinner while she rummaged around upstairs. Whatever she was doing took some time, so I cut up the meat and the veggies and threw them in the pot for them to simmer for a while. Just as I was tidying up, Ali came back down the stairs, wearing one of her new outfits.
“Okay, Dad – sit over here on the couch, okay? I’m gonna do, like, a fashion show.”
She smiled and practically danced over to the stereo. I shrugged and did as she asked, sitting myself down on the couch while she paired her phone to the speakers and put on her selection of songs. Typical Billboard music started to fill the room.
The first outfit she showed me was the red top, with one of her tight-fitting light blue jeans. She also wore a pair of shoes I hadn’t seen on her before; I guessed she had borrowed them from her mother’s closet. It all looked really good on her and I smiled and gave her two thumbs up. Ali smiled back and twirled for me, showing off her long legs and lovely figure. Then she turned and walked upstairs to change to the next outfit.
She looked amazing. Like her mother in her youth. A slim waist and a round behind, very much in my view as she walked up the stairs. My daughter’s hips swayed from side to side, almost as if she was showing off on purpose. I actually quite enjoyed this. Alisha seemed more confident by the day, and being ‘on stage’ in a setting like this is definitely not something you do if you’re struggling with low self esteem.
Knowing this, I decided to show my enthusiasm, giving her lots of positive feedback. As soon as she came walking down the stairs with the next outfit, I nodded and started applauding, voicing my appreciation in time with the music. This time, she was wearing a black tank top with a long matching plaid skirt that I knew she’d kept in her closet for years. It looked really good on her, edges flying out to the sides as she turned around for me.
Next, she appeared in a top with a knot tied at the front, leaving most of her stomach uncovered. She was clearly still in good shape, never having stopped her workout routines despite dropping out of cheerleading years ago. She also wore a pair of very short jeans shorts, showing off her silky smooth thighs. I whistled and clapped my hands as, fittingly, the music from the Coyote Ugly movie came on. Seemingly encouraged, she staged a bit of a dance for me, walking back and forth like a line dancer, pushing her hips out to the sides as she showed me her moves.
“Yay, go, cowgirl!” I cheered and made us both laugh.
She moved a bit closer and did a full turn before standing there, shaking her ass less than three feet away from me. I felt a twitch in my pants but I was determined not to be distracted. This was just about Ali showing me how good she looked in some of her new clothes. It was my job to focus on how good she looked, not how sexy.