“Come in.”
She opened the door and stepped in, stopping, her eyes widening. “Um, Daddy?”
“Yeah, kiddo?”
She bit her lip and looked down. “I just wanted to talk about what happened.”
I put my hands on my hips. “What about it?”
“I just can’t believe you did that.”
“Did what? The whole thing was Ben’s idea.”
“I know, but you could have said no.”
I wanted to teach him a lesson.”
“The lesson being?”
“Don’t gamble anything you’re not prepared to lose.”
“Still, I can’t believe you kissed me like that.”
I looked at the laundry basket. “Well, look, I wasn’t even trying to win. The stupid kid didn’t even shuffle the deck well, and I played the hand I was dealt.”
“You could have folded.”
“And you could have not embarrassed me by sitting me down and asking to make out with your boyfriend.”
“I didn’t ask to make out. I asked to kiss once. You’re the one who thinks the moment I start kissing a boy my clothes will fly off and my legs will fly open. Don’t you trust me?”
“I trust you. It’s the boys I don’t trust. I know you’re a good girl.”
“I am, Daddy, and I’d never disobey you or do anything without permission.”
“Why do you even like this kid?” I asked. “You two have nothing in common.”
“Well, it’s not that I like him so much. If you remember last year, when I turned 17, I begged you to finally let me to go on dates. You agreed only if you met the boy first, and approved. I brought home so many boys to dinner so you could meet them, and you said no to all of them. Remember, we got into that big fight, and you said the only boy you’d ever approve of was Ben?”
I folded my arms. “I remember.”
“Well, I’m not stupid. I know you said that because you didn’t think I’d go for him, but we’ve been friends since I was a kid, and he was always the sweet boy in the neighborhood, so I figured why not?”
“But you’re not attracted to him?”
“Well, I mean, a little, I guess. He has some cute qualities.”
“Why would you want to kiss him if you’re not even attracted to him?”
“God, because you won’t let me kiss anyone. Like, yeah, I’d rather kiss a sexy boy, but you won’t let me.”
“Sexy?” I said, raising my voice.
“Daddy, come on, I’m a girl. I can tell a sexy boy when I see one. Is that so wrong that I want a boy in my life?”
“No. No, it’s not wrong. I just want you to focus on school, and I want you to be responsible at this age.”
“Yeah, you say that, but it’s not as if studying and school are all I can do in life. Can’t I have friends and boyfriends and a little bit of romance?”
“Yes, a little bit, that’s why I agreed to let you date.”
“Date Ben.”
“Yes, Ben.”
She rolled her eyes and left. I sighed and undressed and got into bed, thinking about the kiss I shared with my daughter. My dreams were filthy that night.
The next evening over dinner, Zoey was quiet. She was giving one word answers about her day, and just as we were cleaning up our plates, she told me why.
“Ben wants to come over again tonight.”
I smirked. “Why, he wants to lose another card game?”
“Actually, yes. He thinks it wasn’t fair last night.”
“Oh, come on.”
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