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She laughed against him and continued to work her way downward, placing hot wet kisses against his skin. He groaned as he watched her messy hair making its way toward his erection. He reached down to run his fingers through it but froze when he heard knocking on the front door.
She said, “It’s only 8:00 a.m.,” as she lifted her head from his stomach. He watched her get out of bed and move to the window, then curse. She closed her eyes for a minute and then slid into her robe.
“Uh, my parents are here,” she said apologetically. “Jesus. This is so awkward. They blocked your SUV in.”
Jim laughed and said, “No way. Really?”
As if in answer, he heard another louder knock on the door, followed by the disembodied ringing of her cell phone. She buried her face in her hands for a moment and groaned.
“I am so sorry, Jim. My mom will be okay, but my dad is going to hate you,” she said with a look of concern on her face.
He tensed slightly and asked, “Why?”
“Um. Because you’re here and it’s really clear I just got out of bed,” she said with a grimace. She pointed to herself and added, “Daddy’s little girl. Shit. I have to answer the door or they’re gonna call the cops. I’m so sorry about this.”
He watched as she fled the room, closing the door behind her. He got out of bed, and got dressed, feeling bad about leaving her out there alone to take the heat. He heard voices now, one of which sounded slightly angry.
He didn’t bother with his belt, and just pulled his sweater over his head, then moved down the hallway to the living room. He blanched when he heard her say, “No, Daddy. I didn’t pick him up in a bar. Jesus!”
Stepping into the living room, he said, “Hello. I’m Jim,” as he reached a hand out to her mother, who just blinked at him for a second.
She shook her head and said, “Hi, Jim. Nice to meet you. I’m Irene. Elle’s mother. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too, ma’am,” he said, shaking her hand.
He turned to face Elle’s father who was looking at him with absolutely no expression on his face. Jim extended his hand anyway and said, “Nice to meet you, sir.”
After a moment, her father shook his hand and said, “Earl. Good to meet you.”
They all sat awkwardly in the living room for a moment until Jim looked at Elle and said, “Go get dressed, honey. I don’t think they’ll kill me while you’re gone. They won’t have time to hide the body before you get back.”
Elle grinned at him and then said, “Behave, Daddy,” as she walked down the hallway to her bedroom.
Jim saw her Irene’s lips twitch, but surmised by his glare that Earl was definitely not a fan.
“So,” Earl drawled, “how exactly do you know my daughter?”
“We met about a year ago when she started doing some catering for my company.”
“Oh?” he said, eyebrows raised. “And what is it that you do?”
“I run a public relations firm. We mostly represent athletes,” Jim answered, assuming that this was about to turn into an interrogation.
“When some peckerwood cheats on his wife, you make him look good?” Earl asked, with a look of disgust on his face.
Jim cringed and said, “Not my favorite part of the job, but yes. We also help young athletes become socially relevant so they have a life after sports. I enjoy that part much more.”
Earl nodded now, loosening up slightly.
“What about yourself, sir?” Jim asked.
“Retired last year from the county. Thirty-eight years in the parks and rec division,” Earl said.
“Congratulations,” he said. “It must be nice to be able to relax.”
“Bored out of my skull,” Earl said, finally cracking a smile. “Retirement ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
Turning to face Irene now, he asked, “And you, ma’am?”
