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“Does she have nightmares often?”
She takes a deep breath, her tits straining against her tight tank top. I push my eyes up to the ceiling not wanting to get caught staring when she’s obviously not wearing a bra. My mouth goes dry at the thought of her unrestrained breasts, and what I can do with them using my mouth and hands. I take a swig of beer for something to do.
The indecision on her face has me thinking she wants to change the subject. As much as it will pain me, I won’t push it if she decides not to trust me enough to tell me her story. Being somewhat of a good guy right now will make up for my dirty thoughts. I watch as her mind goes back and forth on if she wants to explain Felicity’s nightmares. My patience pays off when she leans back on the couch, holding a pillow against her stomach.
“She just started having them.”
“And the bad man?” Just like when Felicity mentioned him, Emma winces. I reach out grabbing her hand, holding it gently.
“The bad man is her father.”
I ignore every instinct screaming inside me, demanding I get answers. I need to be patient, even if it kills me. The thought of Felicity’s dad scaring her enough to where she’s having nightmares pisses me off.
Emma squeezes my hand, making me realize I put my hand into a fist at her confession. “You asked me why I started dancing, and I didn’t answer you. The truth is I started dancing because of my own father.”
If I thought I was pissed before, I’m seething now. A father pushing his daughter into exotic dancing is incomprehensible. I’m not sure which man I want to push my fist through first.
Emma smiles brightly, taking my breath with her. “It’s not what you think. My father was a good man.”
I raise an eyebrow, but it only makes her smile more. “He was. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.”
The sadness that surrounds her urges me to want to comfort her. I take a chance and move closer to her on the couch, putting my arm around her, waiting to see if she will accept my comfort or push me away. To my surprise she rests her head on my shoulder and continues.
“He was a history teacher for the local high school. When he got sick he had to quit teaching, and even with his benefits, bills started to pile up.”
I pull Emma on top of my lap rubbing her back as she talks. Guilt swamps me for wanting to hit a man I thought forced his daughter into dancing.
“There was an experimental treatment, it wasn’t covered by our insurance. He never knew what I did to get the money, but I don’t regret it one bit. It gave us another three years with him, before we lost him. He was there for Felicity’s birth.”
“He sounds like an amazing man. And you’re a good daughter for what you did for him.”
Emma snuggles further into me at my praise. “I’d do it again. I regret nothing.”
We’re both quiet, and I wonder if she’s going to continue or if I’m going to have to prod her. She takes another deep breath answering my question for me.
“I met Felicity’s dad at the club I worked at. He was the owner. And I was an idiot.”
My arms tighten around her with the thought that she still works for the bad man who scared his three-year-old daughter enough she has nightmares.
“I left when I found out I was pregnant with Felicity. Actually, I was fired. It turns out he was married, and wasn’t too happy to find out I was pregnant.”
“What happened?” I ask torn between wanting to hold her tighter or going out to rip the limbs off the man who hurt her.
“He told me to leave the club, and if I ever came around he would do everything in his power to take Felicity away from me. I was so young. I was losing my father, and I found out the person I thought cared about me was married. It was a bad time.”
“Tell me who he is. He will never come near you.” The anger I hear come out of me shows just how much I’m willing to do to protect them.
Emma shakes her head against my chest. I want to argue with her, but stop myself. She’s confiding in me, giving me trust, which I’ve come to understand in the short time I’ve known her, she doesn’t give very often. I have to bide my time, but I will find out with or without her cooperation.
“Why does Felicity call him the bad man? If he wanted nothing to do with her, why is she so scared of him?”
“It was an accident. I was looking into daycares for Felicity, with my dad getting sicker it was the sensible option. I didn’t realize Felicity’s dad had a kid going to one of the preschools I was touring. When he saw me show up at the daycare he freaked out screaming at me in front of Felicity and scaring her. It was about four months ago. It didn’t matter though because my father passed away two weeks later, and then we decided to move out and move on.”
