“Well, he said he’d come over after dinner, if it’s okay with you.”
I chuckled. “Why not? If he wants to watch me kiss his girlfriend again, so be it.”
“Daddy! Don’t be gross.”
“Gross?” I said, acting offended. “Was kissing your daddy so bad?”
She seemed to blush and bite her lip. “Well, it wasn’t bad. I mean, it was nice. But I want to kiss my boyfriend, not my daddy.”
“Well, then I hope your boyfriend learned how to play cards overnight.”
An hour later, Zoey let Ben in and he was once again sitting at my table.
“Sir,” he said.
“Yes, Ben?”
“Thanks for letting me come over again.”
“Get to it, Ben. It’s late. I work early.”
“Oh, yes, sir. It’s just, I realized I wasn’t very respectful yesterday.”
“Oh really?”
“Yes. I’m sorry about that. I wanted to tell you how much I care about Zoey.”
“I’m glad. I care about her too. That’s why I’m protecting her from boys like you.”
“Daddy, I don’t need protecting,” she said.
“Hush, Zoey.”
She gulped. “Yes, Daddy.”
“It’s just, sir,” Ben continued, “I didn’t want you to think I was trying to break your rules.”
“You just wanted me to think you were bending them by challenging me to a card game?”
“Uh, well, I thought it might be fun. But you’re a pretty good poker player. And I’m better at blackjack.”
“Blackjack?”
“Yes, you know, 21?”
“What’s that? You count to 21 with the cards or something?”
“Huh?” Ben said.
“He’s hustling you, Ben. He knows what Blackjack is,” Zoey said, rolling her eyes.
“I thought I told you to hush,” I said.
“Daddy,” she whined.
I smirked. “So what, now you want to play blackjack for a kiss with Zoey?”
He gulped. “Well, it’s more fair, less skill, more chance.”
“And I want to play too,” Zoey said.
“You too?” I said. “Two players against one?”
“Yes, and I’ll be dealer,” she said.
I laughed. “Okay, so two of you playing, odds aren’t in my favor, huh? Are the stakes going up? What is it this time, two kisses?”
They looked at each other. Ben sat up in his chair. “We want 15 minutes cuddle time and kissing time… in bed.”
I threw my head back and laughed loud. “You’re joking.”
“Clothes on, Daddy,” Zoey quickly added. “Just kissing, cuddling, touching.”
“Oh, touching too?”
“On top of clothes!” she said. “Daddy, it’s not so unreasonable, and just in my bed.”
I was still laughing. “You really thought I’d agree to this?”
“And if I lose,” Ben said, “I’ll mow your lawn for a month.”
“Oh, not so confident tonight, are you?”
“Well, I’m sure you don’t want to kiss and touch and cuddle with your daughter.”
“It’s you who I don’t want kissing and cuddling and touching my daughter.”
“Daddy, it’s innocent,” she said. “Really. We’ll even leave the door open. I promise clothes on.”
I folded my hands. “You know, maybe you two didn’t learn your lesson yesterday if you’re back here betting against the house again.”
“Can’t win if you don’t play,” Zoey said cheerfully.
I looked at Ben. “Fifteen minutes, no sex, clothes on, only cuddling, kissing, and very mild touching.”
Ben quickly nodded. “Okay, yes, sir.”
“Great!” Zoey said. “I’ll get the deck.”
“But,” I said just as Zoey stood up. I was staring at her. “Only if we all play for the same stakes.”
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