Gray
“I told you, you don’t have to do this.”
“And I told you that I want to.”
I huff behind the blindfold. We’re in Harlow’s tiny Audi sedan on what I can only guess is a backroad by all the bumps. I swore I wouldn’t cheat, but I’m dying to look. Usually, I’m the one in control, so this is different. It’s so weird to have the shoe on the other foot and I’m not sure if I like this.
She told me to wear jeans and a t-shirt, but it pales in comparison to her outfit. She’s got on a retro halter dress with polka dots which emphasizes her curves. Her breasts overfill the tight corset top, and her hair is done up in curls, with sassy peep-toe shoes that make me pant. I can’t wait to get my hands on those lush assets.
We pull up somewhere, and the car stops. I can hear motors running, and my ears perk. Where the hell are we, some kind of car show? Finally, Harlow says, “You can take off the blindfold, Gray.”
I do, and I’m at a complete loss for words. I have no idea where we are exactly because it feels like we’ve been driving for hours. But more importantly, there are teenagers and motocross bikes everywhere. I see the signs for a motocross stunt riding competition, and I’m astonished.
“How?! What?!”
She giggles, “Surprised?”
“Yeah, sweetheart. I had no idea you were into this.”
Harlow is undeniably pleased by my reaction while giggling to herself. We get out and the riders are warming up, doing laps on the track and the occasional whip. I ask her, “How did you know that I’m into motocross?”
“Don’t be mad.”
“I couldn’t possibly be mad about this,” I say before dropping a kiss on her shoulder. “This is the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me.”
“Good. I asked my dad about what you used to like to do when you were my age, and he told me you used to ride motocross and do stunts. I looked up motocross, found this competition, and here we are,” she says.
I drop another kiss on her bare shoulder.
“I am beyond touched by this, Harlow, and when we get home, I am going to show you just how much I appreciate it.”
“Promise?” she flirts.
“I guarantee it. I’m going to make you walk crooked for a week,” I growl. She giggles.
“There’s a restroom around here somewhere, in case you can’t wait.”
I laugh. “Oh, no. I get to watch the stunt riders, and then I fuck you silly.”
She grins. “You’ve got yourself a deal, Mister.”
We take our seats, and I shade my eyes from the lights.
“I’m surprised Brent even remembers my old hobby because I’d almost given it up completely by the time we met.”
Harlow nods.
“No, Dad remembers. He said you rode a bike around campus, but it wasn’t like anyone else’s bike, and when he asked you about it, you freaked him out by doing some sort of flip. Apparently, that made an impression that he hasn’t forgotten to this very day.”
I smile. “I guess so.”
“How did you get into motocross by the way?”
I grin at the memory.
“Like anything else. You get a bike, and your friends dare you to do something stupid. You do it, they’re impressed. One thing leads to another and soon you’re obsessed.”
“Yeah, but a lot of it looks as scary as hell,” she says while gazing out at the riders.
I smile, lost in thought.
“I wonder if I could still manage a heel clicker.”
“A what?”
It’s my turn to explain the finer points of motocross, and I enjoy it. I tell Harlow the names of a couple tricks and how the riders are judged. She listens with real interest and asks smart questions. Part of me is reliving the past, but a bigger part of me is focused on my future, with Harlow by my side.
As I go through the files on my computer, I’m only half paying attention. After the motocross exhibition, we spent the rest of the weekend in bed because I can never keep my hands off Harlow. In fact, she came into my office this morning, and I can still feel her mouth on my cock. Her lipstick ring is still at the base, come to think of it. That girl really is an artist, not to mention her watercolors are good, too.
Unfortunately for us, this week Brent is in town, so we have to be well-behaved. It fucking sucks. I wish we could just be out in the open about everything, especially since Harlow leaves for school soon, but we both know better than that.
My eyes glaze over while I scroll through another PowerPoint presentation of data no one actually cares about. My fingers drum by themselves. I don’t even realize it until I hear that I’m tapping to the beat to a song Harlow sang in her sleep three nights ago. She was so cute with her mangled lyrics. “Relax, said the nightmare. We are programmed to be seen …” I had to stop myself from laughing, just so I could hear her butcher Hotel California.
Come to think of it, I should take Harlow to California one day. I bet she’d love the art scene there, not to mention the beauty of Napa. We could do a wine country tour, and then I’ll take her to a boutique hotel where we’ll …
Suddenly, my office door bursts open and it’s Brent, shouting and red.
“What the fuck is this?!”
He shoves his phone into my face and forces me to watch a camera feed of the basement bathroom from two weeks ago. Harlow is on the countertop, her legs spread. I’m on my knees, using her thighs as earmuffs as she tosses her head back in a silent moan. Oh shit. We didn’t think anyone would find the footage, but obviously, her father has. I hold my hands up in a placating manner, even as my heart pounds. Shit!
“Brent, calm down-
“The fuck did you just say to me? Calm down?”
“Just listen.”
“I am three seconds from kicking your ass, Gray.”
“Let me explain.”
But my friend is too enraged to hear and cuts me off again.
“I will knock you into next week if you don’t say this was all some sort of prank! But what kind of fucking prank is this?”
I buzz my secretary quickly. “Can you ask Miss Marshall to come up?”
“Right away,” Priscilla says grimly before clicking off. Meanwhile, Brent looks like he’s about to explode, his face is so red.
“Tell me,” my friend hisses before pulling a chair up to my desk. “You’ve known my daughter since she was born. So what the fuck is going on?”
I try to stay calm.
“Listen, buddy, I know this is a surprise, but Harlow is on her way up, and we can talk about this like adults once she’s here. But if you’re going to be a hothead and scream the whole time, nothing is going to get done.”
Brent merely grips the arms of the chair, his knuckles white.
“I will murder you for taking advantage of my little girl, Gray. I will pound you into hell and beat you into a pulp.” I’m about to reply when the door opens and closes again.
“No one took advantage of me, Dad,” Harlow says in an enviably calm voice.
He doesn’t even hesitate. Brent is on his feet in a second, raging at his daughter.
“How could you do this? Both of you! What the fuck? I told you to watch out for her, not fuck her!”
That makes me angry.
“Shut up. I’m in love with your daughter, so watch your mouth, asshole.”
Harlow gasps behind me. Meanwhile, her father’s face turns even more purple.
“What? Are you fucking kidding me? You’re a fucking dog, Jamison. You’ve fucked how many women in this town? All of them? There’s no way I’m letting some diseased STD-ridden asshole like you touch my daughter.”
Harlow’s got tears in her eyes, but now I’m seeing red.
“Shut the fuck up,” I growl. “You know nothing about my dating life.”
A vein pulses in Brent’s forehead as he rages.
“I know everything about your dating life, cocksucker! I’ve known everything about it for more than twenty years! You’re not sticking your dick in my daughter if I have anything to do with it, you fucking asswipe.”
Harlow’s sobbing now, and she collapses on a couch. It kills me to see her like this, but I can’t take it anymore. I begin advancing on Brent.
“Shut the fuck up. Take that back,” I growl.
“Take what back?” he screams in my face. “The fact that you’ve been fucking women right and left since we were eighteen? The fact that you’re twice Harlow’s age? The fact that this is my daughter we’re talking about? You’ve fucking infested her with all your STDs!”
That does it. I clock Brent hard, and he falls to the floor.
“Daddy!” Harlow screams before rushing to kneel at his side.
Brent rolls into fetal position, cradling his face while groaning.
“Unnnh,” he manages as blood trickles from his nose. “Fuuuuuck.”
I glare icily at him.
“You deserve it,” I say in a cold voice. “I love Harlow, and I don’t give a fuck what you think. She’s twenty-one, and I want to be with her. Come here, Harlow. Leave that loser alone.”
The beautiful girl looks up at me from her place by her dad. Then she looks at Brent again, then at me. I can feel how she’s being pulled in different directions, but my woman is smart. Slowly, she gets up and walks to me, as I embrace her in my arms.
Brent’s still curled in fetal position on the floor, but he lifts his head when she does that, and then lets it drop with a thunk.
“It’s true, Daddy,” Harlow says in a tearful voice. “I love Gray, and we’ve fallen in love with each other. I know this isn’t what you expected, or even what you want, but what we feel for one another is real. We’re in love, Daddy, and we’re in a relationship. Not only that, but I’m expecting Gray’s baby too.”
I turn to look at her with surprised blue eyes. My head feels light, as if there isn’t enough oxygen in the room.
“Baby, are you really?” I ask. “You’re going to have my child?”
She nods tearily, and sniffles a bit.
“I am, Gray. We always used protection, but nothing’s perfect. You’re going to be a daddy in about seven months.”
With that, nothing matters anymore. I sweep Harlow into my arms, raining kisses on her face and neck.
“Sweetheart, this is a dream come true,” I rasp. “I never thought I’d be a father, but now you’ve given me the greatest gift.”
She cries and laughs simultaneously, throwing her arms around my neck.
“It’s our gift to one another,” she murmurs. “Ours to share.”
Meanwhile, Brent lets out a loud groan from his position on the floor. We turn to look at his collapsed form.
“Unnnnh,” he moans, looking worse for the wear. “Fuck.”
“You okay?” I rasp, although I don’t go over to help him up. “You deserve it, after the things you said.”
Brent manages to lever himself to a sitting position.
“Damn, you clocked me a hard one there, Gray. But I never thought I’d be a grandfather,” he manages while pinching his nose with his hands. “With you as the father.”
Brent’s anger has evaporated somewhat, but he glares at me nonetheless.
“Don’t get me wrong,” he warns. “If you so much as hurt a hair on my daughter’s head, I’ll kill you. But if you really love one another, then fine. Who am I to say anything? You’re my best friend and a good guy, even if you are a fucking sneaky bastard,” he says grudgingly.
“And the fact that you basically just called me a flea-invested manwhore?” I ask dryly, pulling Harlow even tighter to my big build. “Not to mention an STD-infested roach?”
Brent winces.
“Yeah, sorry about that. You better not be a manwhore anymore though. Like I said, hurt one hair on her head, and I’ll …”
“I know, I know,” I chuckle, pressing a kiss to my curvy girl’s cheek. “You’ll slit my throat. But thank you, Brent,” I say with heartfelt emotion in my voice. “I appreciate your support. I love your daughter, she loves me, and this is something I never expected in life. A woman. A child. A real relationship.”
With that, Harlow turns to me.
“Always, Gray Jamison. I’ll always be yours.”
And with that, I kiss her in front of her father, uncaring of our witness. After all, I may be Brent’s business partner, but I’m so much more than that to his daughter. I’m Harlow’s lover, her partner, her boyfriend, and now, babydaddy to her child.