CONTENT: Age gap, daddy, family, step family.
CHAPTER 1
Are you kidding me?” Missy screamed at her Mother through the black cordless phone.
“How dare you talk to me like that? Her Mother replied, seething with anger. “You spoiled little bitch.”
“I’m staying for the rest of the weekend, whether you like it or not,” Missy replied nonchalantly. “I don’t care if you two hate each other, I like spending time with him.”
“He’s not even your real father!” her Mother shouted.
Missy heard the ringing slam of the phone in her ear as her Mother hung up on her. It was nothing unusual, her Mother was always angry at something these days, especially now that Missy was spending more time with her stepfather Matt.
Missy’s Mother had a tendency to feel jealousy towards her beautiful, young daughter and Missy knew how it drove her crazy whenever Missy received a compliment from someone in front of her Mom. It was as if her Mother wanted to live her life through Missy, and whenever any attention was directed away from her onto Missy, her Mother clenched her teeth in anger, rolling her eyes as if every compliment was made believe.
Missy and her Mother had a strained relationship, that’s for certain, but it wasn’t Matt’s fault. He had married Missy’s Mother after only a short time dating, and he was hardly prepared for the drama-filled days that his new wife would create out of jealousy and spite.
Missy stared down at the phone, her eyes filled with fury. Why her Mother always had to treat her like such garbage, she’d never know, but she no longer cared to try anymore. She had given her Mother countless chances to turn things around, yet she always managed to do something to upset Missy. She had enough.
Missy walked into the kitchen, her eyes lighting up instantly as she saw Matt frying bacon, his muscular legs squeezing out of his khaki shorts. He had a black t-shirt on that fit snug against his thick chest. Missy thought her Mother really fucked up this time, ruining a relationship with such a nice guy, and good looking at that.
“Is everything okay?” Matt asked her, looking across the kitchen at his chestnut haired daughter. He had obviously heard the brief conversation between Missy and her Mother and as usual, he was concerned.
“Yeah, everything’s fine,” Missy replied, shrugging her shoulders. “You know how Mom is, she’s always upset about something. There’s no pleasing her.”
Matt nodded. He knew full well just how difficult and contrary his ex- wife was, but he was fed up with her pointing her anger in Missy’s direction. She was such a sweet girl, and she did nothing to deserve her Mothers wrath.
“I’m sorry,” Matt replied, flipping the bacon over into the frying pan. “I really wish your Mother would let up on you. You’re a good girl.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Missy replied, walking over to the kitchen table. She sat down, resting one foot on the chair, her right leg dangling down to the floor. She grabbed an apple from the tan colored basket, and took a bite.
“She doesn’t like me spending time with you since you two split. It’s as if she thinks I’m taking your side just by being here.”
“Well, you know, ” Matt began, taking the cast iron pan from the red hot burner. “Your Mother never really wanted me to have a relationship with you, though I’m not sure why.” He grabbed two plates from the nearby cupboard and flipped a few pieces of bacon onto the ceramic.
“You hungry?” he asked, looking back at Missy who was still chomping away at her apple. “Oh, looks like you already started breakfast,” he chuckled.
“Yeah, I have to head out in a few with some friends,” Missy replied, watching as Matt headed her way with two plates stuffed with bacon and eggs. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were cooking for me.”
Matt grinned, his perfect white teeth peeking through his rose colored lips. “Well, you’re a growing girl,” he replied, handing Missy a plate of food. “Eat up, you have time.”
Missy beamed at Matt. He was such a good guy, she thought. I just wish my Mother could see that. Missy took a bite out of a strip of bacon; it’s crispy edge crumbling in her mouth.
“Mmm, I don’t know how you manage to cook your bacon so that it stays straight like this,” she giggled. “Every time I cook it, it ends up in small little clumps.”
“Experience,” Matt chuckled. “So, what are you and your friends up to today?”
Missy picked up the paper on the table and scanned the current headlines. “Oh, nothing much,” she replied in between bites. “Just heading to the mall for a couple of hours and then maybe we’ll come back for a swim.”
Matt had an amazing condo that looked like something out of a magazine for “Home & Style”. He definitely had good taste and even as a bachelor, he kept the place in pristine condition.
In fact, it was cleaner than Missy’s Mother’s house. Matt had a private pool that overlooked the white sand beach that stretched for miles, and he was always more than happy to let Missy host pool parties with all of her friends.
“Sounds like a good day,” Matt replied, finishing up the last of his breakfast. “I’ll be out all afternoon, so just take the spare key before you go. I have a long meeting today.”
Missy nodded. “Thanks,” she grinned knowing Matt’s long meetings were what initiated her Mother filing for divorce. She was certain that he was having an affair and despite his protests, she kicked him out of the house, calling him every name in the book.
Missy had never seen Matt with anyone else, and she was certain that there was no affair. Matt was a successful investment banker, and he was always busy working on new projects and deals. Her mother was just envious of his success.
Missy got up from the table and grabbed the spare key from the key rack just inside the office door.
“Okay then, I’m heading out.” She smiled at Matt who was already busy cleaning up the dishes.
“All right, I’ll see you later,” he replied; with a wide smile that revealed his chiseled dimples.
Missy sucked in her breath. Matt was delicious to look at, with his bright blue eyes and muscular face. He had light brown hair that was cut short in military fashion.
Missy definitely enjoyed spending time with her step daddy. He was always so generous with gifts and did his best to always make her feel at
home. His place was her place, he’d say.
Missy walked out the front door and headed down the bright hallway to the elevator. Pushing the button, she waited for its arrival.
A young girl, about the same age as Missy appeared behind her, smiling and friendly.
“Hi,” she said, running her slender fingers through her long blonde sun kissed hair. She was definitely a surfer.
“Hey,” Missy replied, smiling at her.
“Do you live here?” the girl asked, having never seen Missy before.
“Oh no,” Missy replied as the elevator rang alerting the girls to its
arrival. “My stepfather lives just up the hall.”
“Matt?” the girl asked, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
“Yeah, Matt,” Missy replied curiously. “You know him?”
The petite girl smiled bashfully, and looked down at her feet as she made her way into the elevator.
“Yeah, he’s a really nice guy,” she replied giving no indication as to how she knew him. Missy’s curiosity grew, but she wasn’t sure how to dig for more information.
“Yeah, he sure is,” Missy replied wishing the girl would tell her more. The strange girl just stared at her, scanning her face as if she were looking for a sign of some kind. Missy just looked at her, unsure of what to say.
“Oh, sorry,” the girl replied shaking her head from side to side. “I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Alicia. It’s nice to meet you.”
“I’m Missy. It’s nice to meet you, too.”
The two girls stood in silence as the elevator descended. As the doors finally opened, Alicia stepped out and quickly looked back at Missy.
“Maybe we’ll see each other around,” she said with a growing smile on her face.
She was gorgeous, Missy thought, with light freckles on her face and a deep tan that spread from her heart shaped face to her long lean legs. She wore a pair of ripped jean shorts that hugged her tiny waist with a pale yellow t-shirt that said “Juicy”, spread across her small chest.
Juicy, all right, Missy thought. I bet she gets a lot of attention down on the beach.
Missy nodded, reaching out to shake the young girls hand. “I hope so,” she replied stepping out of the elevator behind Alicia. They headed in opposite directions, with Missy wandering through the front lobby towards the parking lot and Alicia heading out through the tall glass doors that lead to the beachfront.
Missy thought about Alicia all day, while out with her friends.
She wondered how Alicia knew Matt. After all, Alicia couldn’t be more than a year or so older than her, and even though they lived in the same condo, the way that Alicia said his name gave the impression that they were more than occasional acquaintances.
Missy couldn’t wait to get home and grill Matt for details, but when she arrived back at the condo, he wasn’t home. Missy remembered what he said about a long meeting.
“Argh,” she thought eager to find out more about Alicia. She hadn’t even invited her friends back to the condo for a swim because she wanted to have a chance to talk to Matt alone.
Missy wasn’t sure why she wanted to know about their relationship so badly, but she could barely sit still as she glanced up at the clock, wondering when Matt would return.
It didn’t take long before she heard the familiar sound of his footsteps outside the door. He pushed his key into the lock and walked in.
“Well, hey!” Matt’s face lit up at the sight of Missy. She grinned at her stepfather, as he came through the door. “I’m glad you’re here,” he said looking around the empty condo.
“Where are your friends? You didn’t bring them back?”
“No,” Missy replied looking Matt up and down. She suddenly realized why she was so anxious to ask him about Alicia and she caught her breath as the realization set in. Like her Mother, Missy was jealous. She wasn’t sure why it bothered her so much all day but as she stood in front of the tall, gorgeous man, she realized that she was jealous at the idea of him noticing another girl her age when he had never paid her that kind of attention.