Official Choices

Turning eighteen is supposed to be some big damn thing.

You might not feel any different, you might make the same stupid mistakes, but now you have to take responsibility for your mistakes because that’s what an adult does.

They take responsibility.

For most people though, the day you turn eighteen doesn’t actually turn out to be that big of a deal. You might drink, you might party, but for the most part it ends without anything changing your life.

Triss wished that she’d had a normal fucking eighteenth.

Instead, after having a party with some of her friends where they’d had some fun teasing games, she played around with some blowup dongs and condoms whilst everyone laughed at her, she was now in tears.

She wasn’t crying because of the party, that had been fun.

She was crying, because of her mother.

After everyone had headed home, her mum had pulled her aside and told her that for the last ten years of her life, she’d been lying to her. That she didn’t mean for it to get out of hand, but didn’t know how to tell her.

The massive sequence of expletives that had left Triss’ mouth and been directed at her mother had definitely been adult-like. Maybe not the tantrum itself, but Triss thought she should get a pass on that.

It wasn’t everyday that someone came back from the dead.

“Ten fucking years.” Triss muttered angrily, lying on her back with her feet against the door as she stared sightlessly at the ceiling and cried.

Ten years ago, her mum had told her that her dad was dead. That he died in a freak accident at work, when she was even younger, and that was the reason he wasn’t around and she didn’t talk about him.

Triss could only vaguely remember him.

Shadows of someone tall, who used to hold out their hands, and she’d grab on, and walk right on up their legs before falling into a cuddle.

On the other hand, Triss couldn’t remember the last time her mother had given her a hug.

Not entirely true.

Right after to confessing to have made up a bullshit story, and lying to her for a decade, her mum had tried to hug her to say sorry. To apologise for making Triss think her dad was dead and fucking buried.

Her mum didn’t know if he was dead.

Didn’t know where he lived, just that she’d fallen out of love with him. Instead of going through with a divorce and maybe having to share Triss, the woman had packed up her things in the middle of the night and disappeared.

Which really only left Triss with a name, and a ten-year out-of-date address in another city.

Screw it.

If this is what adulting had to be, then Triss was going to make her own decisions, even if they were bad ones.

She rolled over onto her stomach, and pulled out her phone. She pulled up the public transport site and checked the timetables. She could catch a train early tomorrow, and be back at that old address by lunch time.

It was a hell of a long shot, but it was the only place to start that she could find.

She’d tried searching her dad’s name on social media, and got absolutely nowhere. It was as if he’d never had an account, which he might actually not have.

Triss knew her dad had been a techy of some sort. Some of her geek friends were weirded out by the privacy on some platforms and refused to get on board.

She didn’t even have a clue what he looked like.

Triss took after her mother.

She had long blonde hair down to her waist, that was kind of curled but not exactly curly. The kind of look that most girls her age would spend an hour making with a straightening iron, but just happened naturally for her.

Bright blue eyes, just like her mother’s. Eyes that she could blink prettily, and people would believe whatever shit fell out of her mouth. Just like she’d believed when her mother told her that he was gone.

She was relatively short, too.

That she’d always resented and blamed her mother for. It wasn’t fun having guys always asking if she needed their help to reach a shelf… And actually needing their help.

Triss figured that her dad was probably a blonde, too. That seemed to be how genetics worked. She couldn’t be sure, but it was something she put in the probably pile.

She’d asked to see pictures of her dad for fucking years, and her mum had always said that she’d lost them. That she’d put them away somewhere for safe keeping.

When she’d asked, after the fucking lies came out, it turned out her mother had actually burned them.

Which was when Triss had stormed off, unable to talk to her, anymore. She just couldn’t do it.

She wasn’t sure if she was running away from home, tomorrow. She might come back. She might not. All she wanted for tomorrow was to find some tangible proof that her dad existed.

Worst birthday, ever.

Triss dropped her head onto the ground, and found herself crying again.

—

Sitting on a train filled with people in suits, all of them as freezing as she was, and all of them cradling a coffee like she was, Triss finally took a moment to realise how insane she was being.

She was going to another city, to try and meet a strange guy, in a place she could never remember going, before. All by herself.

She should have arranged for one of her friends to go with her, especially one of the jocks. That would have been the intelligent thing to do, the adult thing to do.

She sipped at the boiling liquid of her coffee, tasting the burned grinds that were somehow part of the brew despite it being one of the first of the day, and made a face.

She was fine.

She could do this, because she was an adult, now. Nobody could tell her what to do, and nobody would try and tell her what to do. She was just going on an adventure.

Triss pulled out her phone, and text one of her friends. Letting her know where she was going, and asking them to call her if she didn’t let them know she was home at the end of the day.

The phone rang.

“Hey, Kirstie.” She picked it up.

Her friends voice was groggy, “Why are you taking off? This early in the morning. And why should I care?”

“Um… So it’s a long story… But… I might be about to meet a guy.” Triss swallowed.

Kirstie sounded anything but impressed. “The fuck, Triss! Please tell me that you’re not trying to lose your virginity to some dating app hookup.”

“What? No!” She protested, and cringed as people started to look her way. “Look, I’m on the train. People are staring. It… It’s a long story, but it isn’t like that. Not a romance, and not a date.”

“Just tell me.” The girl said gruffly.

Triss blinked back tears, “Mum lied. Dad… Dad’s alive. Maybe. I’ve got his old address, and nothing else. So…”

“So you ran off to see if you could find him, before realising you were running off to a total stranger’s house.” Kirstie said tiredly, “Wow. Also, your mum is a total bitch. Can I hate her, now?”

“Yes.” Triss said angrily, “I… He probably won’t still live there. And I don’t think I’ll find him. But…”

“Gotta try.” Kirstie sighed, “Wish you’d told me, earlier. Would have come with you. If you don’t find him this time, let me in on the hunt. What’s his name?”

Triss smiled sadly, “Don’t bother looking him up online. You won’t find him. Mateo. She kept his last name.”

“Wow. I hate that name.” Kirstie laughed, “I’d stick to calling him Daddy, if I were you. Where’d he live?”

Triss sniffled, “Torquay. Thanks, Kirz. I… I’m sorry.”

“You’re trying to find your dad. Your mum was a bitch, but at least she finally told you.” Her friend replied, “Just… Text me. A whole bunch. I’m going to be worried. ‘Kay? Send me the actual address, too.”

“Yeah.” She swallowed, “My bad. Um… I should go. Before people do more than glare at me.”

“See ya, babe.” Kirstie hung up.

Triss bit the edge of her phone for a moment afterwards. What if she got there, and she thought the guy was her dad, but he wasn’t. And what if he tried to use that?

She could handle a guy.

She’d been fending them off for years, keeping herself for herself. Her first time wasn’t going to be some handsy guy, it was going to be someone she cared about.

Whilst Triss might be short, and everyone might assume she was weak because she had a skinny little waist, she was about as far from defenceless as she could be.

She might be crying and upset over her dad, but that didn’t make her usually a mess, either.

Triss had even proved it, just last year. Some ass had snatched her purse at a footy game, and she’d run him down. Sprinted after him for a full three city blocks until he was winded, and she wasn’t.

After which she crash tackled him, took back her bag, and made sure he didn’t go anywhere until the cops arrived to deal with the dick.

That story had even made the paper, though it thankfully hadn’t gone viral.

The paper had nicknamed her Tenacious Triss. Which had somewhat stuck around when they had come back to doing a feel-good piece on one of the local charity runs.

Triss always ran in them. She never felt as free as she did when she was running. She preferred running through the forest to the urban jungle, but she ran almost a dozen marathons a year.

She’d be fine, whatever she found where she was going.

Triss sipped at her coffee again, and relaxed into the chair. Leaning into the uncomfortable seat and taking a deep breath.

She should be able to try and enjoy herself, if she didn’t find him. Torquay had an awesome movie theatre, but more than that, it had a great beach and half-decent surf.

She’d always wanted to rent out one of those beach-side cabins for a long weekend. Fall asleep listening to the sea, wake up to go running along the shoreline. She might see if she could afford to do that, after.

Her dad’s old place wasn’t that far from the shore. The map on her phone said it was about a five minute walk. Ten minutes from the indie movie place she’d been to a couple times, too.

Triss smiled to herself.

Even if today was a total disappointment, she was going to enjoy the hell out of herself, afterwards.

—

The early morning cold was even worse in the city. The wind ripped right through Triss’ jacket like it wasn’t even there and made her tits so cold that they were numb and hurting at the same time.

She chewed on the edge of her coffee cup for a full minute, as she stood outside the house on the hill. Staring at the doorbell, and wondering what she was going to say.

The people inside, if there was anyone, would probably have not a damn clue who she was. It was just going to be… Awkward.

“Can I help you?”

Her heart leaped into her mouth, and Triss spun around nervously. Seeing a guy with short and fiery red hair, leaning on his knees and puffing from a run he’d obviously been on.

He looked older, but not that much older than her. One of those deceptively young looking stereotypes. She couldn’t really tell exactly how old he was. He could be anywhere from his late twenties to early fifties.

She swallowed nervously, “Um… This is going to sound… Weird… But… Um… Do you… Know who lives here?”

“That’d be me.” He said, still catching his breath. He leaned up, stretching his back. “And yeah, live alone. So. How can I help?”

Triss’ mouth went dry, “Um… How long have you lived here? I… I’m looking for someone.”

He eyed her with suspicion, and then his eyes widened, “Holy shit. You look just like your mother. Holy fucking shit.”

She gasped, staring at him, “You… You know who I am?”

“Fuck.” He said, dumbfounded, “Uh… I doubt she kept your name. At the end, she said she hated it. Your mum, she was Ruby, right? Ruby Connor, before she married me.”

Triss burst into tears, “Mateo? That’s… Your name?”

“Mateo Phillips.”

She breathed a sigh of relief, and then found herself dizzy and leaned against a column of the verandah, “Mum kept your name. I can’t believe it. I found you. I… I really didn’t think I would… I… I’m Beatrice. Triss.”

“I guess… Come inside?” He said, fishing his keys out of his pocket, and staring at her in wonder.

As he walked passed her, Triss tried to drink in the sight of him. Memorise everything about him. She didn’t want to forget a single detail.

Which meant that she noticed that he was fit.

His legs, and arms, weren’t exactly well toned. It wasn’t like the muscle was obvious, but it was there, all the same. His ass, especially, was right up there with any surfer that Triss had flirted with.

She followed him into the house with trepidation, chewing on the edge of her cup.

He tossed his keys into a nearby bowl on a bench, and waved a hand around. “This is my place. Uh… Sit wherever. I want to grab something. Box of papers.”

Triss felt too awkward to sit.

She continued looking around his open-plan house. The kitchen bordered onto a loungeroom, with a white-tiled floor. The house entrance opening into the joined space.

There was a sliding glass door leading out of the lounge and into a backyard that looked like it was mostly concrete, but was under some kind of sail cloth.

There was a swinging chair out there, too.

She’d just noticed that there were photos hanging on the wall when she heard the man come back.

He was carrying a box, just like he’d said he would. He put it down on his couch, gesturing to it, and then headed into the kitchen. “I need a coffee. You need a refill?”

“No… Um… Trash?”

He held out his hand, and she passed him the empty cup, before she approached the box. She opened it slowly, and found it was filled to nearly overflowing with paper.

She picked up the top one, and scanned it.

Triss put it aside slowly, and picked up another, her eyes picking out the dates on the invoices. She reefed through it, and looked up at him as she threatened to burst into tears, “Every month? Since…?”

He nodded, smiling at her sadly, “I tried… So hard… To find you. Everything I could think of. Private investigators, after filing police reports went absolutely nowhere. Trying to find either of you.”

She sat down on the couch, and rubbed at her face, “I don’t normally cry. I just… It was my eighteenth, yesterday.”

“I know.” He grinned lopsidedly, “Happy birthday… Triss.”

She bit her lip, “That’s when mum told me. She… Lied about you. Lied to me, for so long. She told me you were dead. That my dad died on a construction yard.”

“Oh, Ruby.” He said sadly and shook his head, “Things… Ended badly, between us. If you dig to the bottom, you’ll find some legal papers. She refused the divorce. Didn’t want to acknowledge things were over between us.”

Triss blinked, “Huh? Mum lied about that as well? She said she just fell out of love with you, packed up and left.”

“That’s partly true.” He nodded, “She did pick up and leave, overnight. You were only three years old, at the time. My little Lorelai.”

Triss instantly went digging.

She found what he’d mentioned. Legal documents, including an order to hand over one Lorelai Phillips, with her birthday, to Mateo. He’d said something about that, her mum not liking her name.

“Lorelai? I’ve got a birth certificate. It doesn’t say Lorelai on it.”

Mateo came over, reefing through the box and pulled out one of the reports from one of the people he’d hired. She took it, reading over it. The man had found a record of a name change request, but hadn’t got what the name had been changed to.

She would have been only four, at the time.

“I don’t mind Triss, it’s cute. Suits you.” He said, smiling at her nervously.

She shook her head, “Fuck mum. Lorelai. That’s what you should call me. I… I still can’t believe I found you.”

He sat down on a nearby chair, giving the couch to her, and leaning his elbows on his knees. She could see her own eyes in his face. His nose, was hers. Her jawline, was his. She’d found her dad.

Mateo shook his head, “I’d given up. I kept paying and trying… But… I gave up five, six years ago. I’d never got close to finding you. And then… You just turn up on my doorstep.”

“Why does mum hate you so much?” She asked cautiously.

He winced, “I partly deserve it. Our relationship fell right into the toilet, not long after you were born. She went through postpartum, and I didn’t understand why I was basically raising you on my own. Resented her for it.”

She nodded slowly, “That’s a dick move. But… I get it, kinda. You both needed therapy, or whatever.”

“Exactly. I take part of the blame.” He nodded, “But… Your mum’s coping strategy… That was rough on me. I don’t exactly blame her for it. I blame myself for part of everything going to pot, and then there’s a whole heap I blame no one for.”

Triss… Lorelai, bit her lip, “Coping strategy?”

“I guess you’re eighteen. It shouldn’t be… Too big of a shock.” He said slowly, “Your mum slept around. A lot.”

She rolled her eyes, “Are you trying not to call her a slut? How many boyfriends did she have, behind your back?”

“She went to parties. Sex parties.” He shrugged, “Behind my back. One of her friends felt guilty, and sent me photos she’d been posting on her social media pages.”

Lorelai winced, “Gangbang?”

“Yeah.” He shrugged, “Coping strategy. Not the healthiest, but at least she was trying to cope.”

“You… Don’t hate her.” She said, her voice taking on a hint of anger, “She fucked around behind your back, when you were alone with a kid. Then she stole your kid and ran the fuck away. Lied about it for a decade. And you… Don’t hate her.”

“No. I don’t.” He shrugged, “Don’t ask me to explain, can’t. I’d never consider getting back together with Ruby, never consider trusting her, but… I loved her. I might, still.”

“The. Fuck.”

Mateo smiled at her, “You swear, a lot, don’t you? Guess that’s not a big deal. Just surprising to hear coming out of your mouth, for me.”

Lorelai blushed, “Mum hates that, too.”

“Don’t hate it. Just surprises me.” He shrugged, “I… Missed everything. But, I guess, I should introduce myself, first. To start with, I’ve never worked construction a day in my life.”

She rolled her eyes, “Of course, mum fucking lied about that, too. So, what do you do?”

“I’m in advertising. Product design.” He said, and went to the cupboard, grabbing out a bag of lollies and tossing them to her. “You’ve probably seen that animal design on a few of the homebrand things?”

She nodded, “I like the gummy worms. Wait. This is your design?”

“Yeah.” He smiled, sitting down again, “I can bring up the originals on my laptop, if you want. But that’s what I do for a living. Also a few wine labels, beer.”

Lorelai turned the bag over in her hands, looking at all the cute little creatures, and then up at him, “So… You can draw, then?”

“Yes and no. Takes me a while.” He shrugged, “I’m good at it, but it takes me a lot of effort. I’m not a natural. But… The client doesn’t need to know that. It looks good by the time I’m done with it, and that’s enough.”

She grinned, and held up the bag, “Can I?”

“Huh? Oh. Sure. Knock yourself out.” He shrugged, “I’ve got a few dozen of those lying around. I’m proud of them. So, you finished high school, yet?”

“Mmm.” She nodded, “Basically waiting to hear what my ATAR was, but I’ve already got into the uni course I wanted, for next year. Sorta. Not sure I… Wanna stay, where I was. Not with mum.”

“You could cut her a little slack. Just a little.” He suggested politely.

She glared at him, “I know you’re being nice. Being a dad. But fuck you if you defend her, again. Ever. I hate her fucking guts.”

“Acknowledged, Triss.” He gave a faux salute.

“Lorelai.” She corrected him quickly, and grinned, “I… That name is really fucking pretty. You chose good.”

“It’s your grandmother’s name. My name is a family name, too.” He smiled and then pointed over to a wall, “That’s your family… Lorelai.”

She skipped to her feet, walking over and looking at a photobox. There were several generations. Even a girl her own age, who looked similar, but was a redhead. “Who’s this?”

“Hannah. She’s your cousin, by my brother. That’s him and his wife standing behind her. Jonah and Celia.”

She smiled and tapped his photo, “And you. All by yourself. You never dated, after mum?”

“I did, eventually. But, I never really found anyone.”

Lorelai turned around, “I want to meet them. Everyone. Like… Grandma Lorelai. And Hannah.”

“Your grandmother’s gone. I’m sorry.” He said sadly, “That’s why we did the photo, when we did. She was, getting close. About two years ago, now. Hannah’s actually the same age as you, embarrassingly enough.”

She grinned cheekily, “Oh? You and your brother make us on the same night, or something? Complaining about mum going to sex parties.”

“Ew.” Mateo responded quickly, “I… Eugh. Oh well, open secret. You were both conceived on New Years. Had a family party here, for it. Ten months later, two girls.”

Lorelai giggled and sat down on the couch, “I know you said mum was a slut, but I’m still having a hard time picturing that. I should probably be glad, scar me for life.”

“Don’t call her a slut.”

She raised an eyebrow, “I don’t think you get how much I hate her. First time she hugged me, that I can ever remember, is after she told me that my father wasn’t actually dead. That she pretty much kidnapped me from him.”

“She probably had her reasons. Being a parent is hard, complicated.” He said calmly, “We all make mistakes, and with a kid, mistakes last forever. It’s terrifying. And kids… Well, they’re either trying to kill themselves, or make you cry.”

She crossed her arms, “I. Hate. Her.”

“Okay. Message received… But don’t call your mum a slut.”

Lorelai rolled her eyes, “Sure. Whatever. So, you’re a kind of artist. That’s what I want to be. I’m going into film, editing. I know that it isn’t a well paying thing, and getting it as a career is going to be hard, but I like being creative. Guess… I get that from you.”

He burst into a huge and proud smile, looking at her like she was the only thing in the world. Making her flush hotly, and she bit her lip and shrugged, “Mum hated me doing stuff like that. Waste of time. She wanted me to be an accountant.”

“Wow.” He said in surprise, “Bleeding out your eyes, boring. Comparatively.”

She nodded, “Totally! But with mum, it was all about making sure I was earning money. Just, money, money, money. That was all she cared about. Not if I was happy, doing stuff.”

“I should bring you by my work, one day.” Mateo said suddenly, “Introduce you to the team. It’s advertising, but we’ve got some editing teams who do stuff for TV. They’d let you sit in, see what they do.”

“Really!?” She said in surprise, “I could… Just rock up, and they’d be okay?”

He nodded, “Oh, yeah. We’re a chill bunch. Me bringing along my long-lost daughter would go down fine. Advertising isn’t exactly film, though. Not quite as exciting as movies.”

“I don’t care. I get to see the professionals.” She said quickly, grinning at him, “That’d be amazing. But, on meeting people… I know grandma’s… Gone… What about your brother and his family? Where do they live?”

Mateo grinned and checked his watch, “Well, I was trying to keep that a surprise. Can you hang around for… About another hour or two?”

“Yeah…”

He smiled up at her, “Jonah, Celia, and Hannah, are coming over for lunch. They live within walking distance.”

Her stomach did backflips, and she stared at him, “I’m going to meet the other side of my family. Oh my god. Oh my god. I… Wow. I have good timing.”

“Radically good.” He smiled, “If you hadn’t been there, when I got back, I would have headed into work for an hour or so. We would have completely missed each other.”

“I… I’m happy.” She said quietly, wiping at tears that began to roll down her cheeks again, “I… Can I call you… Dad?”

He shrugged, “Sure. Or Mateo. Or whatever you like. Totally up to you. I know I wasn’t there for you, but… You’re my daughter.”

“Daddy, I love you.” She found herself saying, wanting to jump across the room and hug him. She hadn’t meant to say it. Felt like it was too much, way too soon. But… She did.

His own eyes watered, as he tried to hold back his tears, “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to hear that. You’re going to break me.”

She sniffled, and then put the box of paper on the floor and patted the couch, “I… Can I hug my dad? Please?”

He walked over and sat down beside her, and she wrapped her arms around him. He was firm, solid. There was absolutely nothing about him soft, anywhere. Like hugging a brick wall.

Still, she’d never felt so comforted before.

“Lorelai.” She whispered, and squeezed him tightly, “I’m Lorelai, your daughter. Holy fucking shit. I’ve got my dad back from the fucking grave. And he’s awesome.”

He nervously hugged her back. Almost afraid to touch her. He was probably still feeling like a stranger to her, too scared to know what was appropriate or not.

She shifted in closer to him, “So… No girlfriend to make mum jealous, then? Um… I give up. My mind’s blank. Just… Tell me. Tell me everything about you.”

“Not much to tell.” He seemed to relax a little, “I see my brother and his family, every other weekend. I go running most days, like you saw before. I work.”

“How old are you?”

“Thirty seven.”

She ran a quick calculation in her head, “Oh, wow. So you were only like a year older than me, when you had me? You don’t look it.”

“Thanks.” He said sheepishly, “I try and stay in shape. Take care of myself… Oh! Your birthday was yesterday. We should do something, for you. Do you want to surprise the others, or should we give them a chance to grab you a present?”

Lorelai leaned back, “I had a party, yesterday. Don’t think you would have approved. Drinking games, dick balloons, and condoms.”

“Depends. How many guys saw you naked?”

She flushed and looked down, “I’m… A virgin.”

“Nothing to be ashamed about. Nothing to rush, either.” He replied calmly, “Seriously. You can be forty, and it wouldn’t be a problem. Don’t rush into things.”

“Like you did.”

He laughed, “Yeah. Like I did, with your mother.”

Lorelai smiled up at him, “I’m happy you did, though. Because I’m here. And because I get you. I… I’m not in a rush. No boyfriend. S’pose that’s good, you don’t need to intimidate him.”

“Ah, screw that.” He turned up his nose, “Best way to make sure he takes care of my daughter, is to make sure the both of them trust me enough to tell me anything.”

She frowned, “I don’t have a boyfriend… But if I did… I would get so mad if he ended up best friends with my dad. That’s so much worse than getting embarrassed.”

Her daddy just grinned at her.

She rolled her eyes at him, and then looked around the house, “So, um… Birthday. I don’t really want another party. I… My birthday was finding out mum lied. That still really fucking hurts. But… Could we do a family photo? Like that one?”

“Of course.” He squeezed her for a moment, “That probably was going to happen, anyways. Hannah took the photos. She wants to start her own photography company. Art is in the blood.”

Lorelai frowned, “Jonah… Uncle Jonah. What does he do for a living?”

“Nothing. He’s a stay at home, dad. Which is to say, he takes care of the house, and helps Hannah out with everything, and cooks, and does a ton for Celia.” Her dad informed her, “Celia is the breadwinner. She’s a researcher and tour guide. Mostly in it for the science. Those two are… Well off.”

She frowned, “I know it’s a bit taboo… But you’re not too badly off, yourself, are you?”

“That’s… True.” He acknowledged, “I own this house, for one. More than I can say for most people my age. I lucked out, career-wise. I started working at an agency before I was even halfway through my degree. Saved most of it.”

Lorelai smiled at him, “I’m not meaning to pry. Especially if you don’t want to tell me.”

“Let’s just say that I can help get you started in life.” He said with a small smile, “And maybe that I’ve had a bank account for you, since the day I found out Ruby was pregnant. Uni isn’t going to be a hassle.”

She stared, “Wasn’t expecting that.”

“I’m your dad. I’m going to take care of my princess.”

Butterflies filled her stomach as he called her a princess. Just hearing how proud he was of her, made her feel… She wasn’t sure what she felt.

Her brain and heart had been doing cartwheels since she’d found out that he was still here, and that he’d been looking for her ever since she disappeared from his life.

“I don’t want to go home.” She realised.

He sighed and squeezed her, “I don’t want you to, either. But you disappeared on me. Don’t do that to her, even if you hate her. Let your mum know that you’re okay. She still raised you, without me or anyone else.”

“I guess.” She said glumly, and pulled out her phone.

Then an idea occurred to her, and she held it up, and took a selfie, excitedly. She caught him looking kinda goofy, smiling at her. She took the picture and fired it off to Kirstie, and to her mum.

She also set her lockscreen to the picture, before putting her phone away. She looked up at him, staring at his smooth-shaven face, trying to memorise every hidden little pock mark.

“Problem?”

She shook her head and nestled it onto his shoulder, “I… I found you. I’m never going to forget what you look like, again. Never, ever.”

Her phone began to ring. She checked the caller ID, and shoved it back into her jacket angrily.

“Your mum, huh?”

She nodded, and ground her teeth together, “Don’t think she realises I’d rather piss on her than talk to her, right now.”

“Gross.”

She shrugged, “She lied to me. She’d deserve it.”

“Being a -”

“Stop it!” She snapped, and looked at him, “Okay? I get it. She’s my mum. She did raise me. Take care of me. But right now, I don’t want to hear it. I want my dad. That’s it. I hate her. I just want to be with you.”

“I’m not exactly sending you home, am I?” He said reasonably, “I’m showing off my wonderful daughter to the rest of her family. I won’t bring up Ruby, again. I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”

She winced, and fell against him. “I know, I know. I… I’m sensitive. It’s still raw. So… How much longer, until I meet them?”

“About ten minutes. Probably.”

She snuggled in, “Can I just hug you, until they get here?”

“Sure.”

“Call me, my name?”

“Sure, Lorelai.” He sent shivers through her whole body.

—

She hated the doorbell, when it went off.

It was exciting to be meeting her uncle, aunt, and cousin. Crazy exciting. At the same time, though, it meant that she needed to detach herself from Mateo’s side, and there was nothing she wanted to do less.

He stood up, stretching, and then smiled at her, “Stay here. Stay quiet. Let’s surprise ’em.”

She grinned, tucking her legs up onto the couch as he went over to answer the door. Watching him in anticipation as her palms began to sweat.

“Mateo!” Jonah announced, grabbing him in a hug and patted him roughly on the back, “How have you been?”

“Not bad, not bad.” Her daddy answered, letting them in. He kissed Celia’s cheek as she entered, “You three?”

Her aunt shrugged tiredly, “It’s been a week, Teo. It’s been… Oh, hello. You’ve got company?”

Her cousin poked her head around the corner, as all three of them suddenly noticed her sitting on the couch. The redhead stared for a moment, and then her jaw dropped, “Fuck!”

“Language, Hannah!” Jonah snapped at his daughter.

The woman shook her head, “But, Dad! It’s her! That’s Lorelai!”

Celia smiled nervously towards her, “Hello. Sorry to barge in. We’re a bit of a noisy bunch… Are you really, Lorelai? He found you?”

“She found me.” Her dad answered proudly, “I came home, and there she was, waiting.”

She stood up, and walked over to them, holding out her hand to shake Jonah’s. He grabbed her in a quick and rough hug, “That’s no way for family to treat each other. And you’re family.”

“You’re so embarrassing, dad.” His daughter complained, crossing her arms, “I’m Hannah.”

She smiled sheepishly, “Yeah, dad’s been telling me about you guys. Wanted to surprise all of you. I… Well, I only just found out he was… Here.”

Hannah frowned, and rolled her jaw, “Your mum said he was dead, didn’t she? Total bitch.”

“Hannah.” Jonah said gratingly.

Lorelai shrugged, “It’s true. And that’s my sentiment, as well. But, anyways… You guys came for lunch? Sorry, haven’t set the table. Been too busy catching up on years of hugs.”

“Why don’t you two head outside and sit on the swing?” Celia suggested, “Leave us old folk to deal with the food.”

Hannah grabbed her wrist before she could complain and dragged her outside, and into the smell of sea salt.

The redhead half-jumped onto the swing, tucking a leg up beneath her. “Wow. Sorry, I’m probably embarrassing you, but, fuck. You disappeared when I was still a toddler.”

“You’re my age, aren’t you?” Lorelai said carefully, sitting down beside her, “We were both young.”

“Few weeks apart… Oh my god. It was your birthday. Recently.” The girl realised, “Your eighteenth. How did it go? I got grounded, because of mine. Can’t go out, unless it’s with dad or mum, at least until I move out. Not that I want to.”

Lorelai smiled sadly, “Yesterday. Which was when mum told me dad wasn’t dead. So… Yeah. It sucked. What did you do to get grounded as an adult?”

“Oooh.” Hannah chuckled nervously, “Eh… You’re going to think I’m a slut. I lost my virginity. To… Like… Six guys.”

“That’s why dad said that!” Lorelai said, understanding. “No wonder he was worried about me. The hell! What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t.” Hannah confessed and shrugged, “Total regret. Don’t do a me. That was the worst fucking way to lose my cherry. Kinda happy to be grounded, to be honest. I don’t want to see any of those guys again. it wasn’t… Planned. I got drunk, they took advantage. I mean, they were drunk, too, but… Still.”

Lorelai squeezed the woman’s shoulder, “That’s gotta hurt.”

“Don’t remember it.” She shook her head, “But… Let’s just say I’m happy to be home with just my family around. I’ll get over it. Especially if my fucking goddamn cuz is sticking around! You’re here!”

She laughed nervously at the excitement, “You’re going to make me try and live up to some kind of legend, if you keep that up. I’m nobody special.”

“As if.” Hannah scoffed, “Your dad spent years looking for you. Crazy cash, too. Nada. Zilch. Completely disappeared off the face of the planet. And then, after a single day, you find him? You’ve got the luck of the devil, cuz.”

“Mum changed my name.” She said quietly, “Named me Beatrice. Triss, to my friends. And… Well… Lorelai. That name is way cuter. Not cute, actually. It’s the name of a princess. I love the shit out of it. I want it back.”

The redhead smiled at her, “Lorelai. Yeah, that suits you. You are a total bombshell. Sexy little siren to tempt the sailors to their deaths.”

She flushed in embarrassment, “I’m sexy?”

Hannah glanced towards the glass doors for a moment, and then shocked her by kissing her. She sucked in her breath through her nose as a tongue briefly played across her teeth.

The woman leaned back, grinning at her, “Fuckin’ sexy, cuz.”

“Oh my god. You’re bi.” She whispered, still shocked.

The woman scrunched up her nose briefly, “And you’re still sexy… Oh. Don’t tell dad I did that. Please? I was just trying to make a point. But we’re family, so he’d probably hit the roof, and I’m already trying to make up for being a total slut and disappointing him.”

“Close with your dad?” Lorelai tried to remember how to breathe.

Hannah nodded, “Yeah. I… I hate how often I hurt him. I make dumb choices, all the time. But now I’m supposed to be an adult, and I’ve got no idea how. My first official choice as an adult was basically an orgy. So… Yeah.”

“I wish I knew it.” She smiled sadly, “I wanna know my dad, like that. He… He’s not that comfy to hug, but he makes it feel special. Makes me feel important. Mum made me feel like I needed to pay rent just to breathe.”

The redhead shook her head, “Bitch… So… You’re not mad at me, either, are you? For making the point, that way? Just realised. It was weird, even if we weren’t… Cousins.”

“You do like calling me cuz.” Lorelai said slowly, “Not sure how I feel about it. You often do that?”

“Not think things through? All the time.”

She rolled her eyes, “Kiss strangers.”

“No.” Hannah said innocently, “I just… You’re like a sexier, hotter, version of me. I wanted to do it since I saw you. Sorry.”

“I’m the sexier one?” She said in confusion, “Have you seen your hair? I wish my hair was that sexy. How long do you spend on it?”

“Long enough that dad always complains.” Hannah laughed, and then she frowned, “Though, you think redheads are sexier? I like blondes, more. Wish I was one.”

Lorelai giggled at the irony, and then the glass door slid open, and Celia stepped out, carrying three trays. “What are you two gossiping about?”

“Oh, just tastes in girls.” Hannah said casually.

She flushed, “Hannah was. I was just getting around to telling her, I’m not like that.”

Celia laughed, setting down the food on a table, “Don’t mind her, Triss. Our Hannah has always been very forthcoming. She’s an open book, when it comes to romance.”

“You’re really bi?” Lorelai whispered to the girl next to her.

Hannah shrugged, and whispered back, “Dunno. Only girls I’ve kissed are you and mum. And she doesn’t count.”

“You kissed her.” Celia overheard and shook her head, “Don’t let your father hear. He’s already worried about you.”

“She didn’t think she was cute!”

Lorelai flushed, “Can we… Drop the subject? You’re the photographer, right, Hannah?”

“That’d be me.” The woman nodded proudly. “Why?”

Celia chuckled, “Obviously, she wants a family photo, darling. We’ve got your emergency camera kit in the car. I’ll bring it in, after lunch. Which, girls… What do you think?”

The stomachs of both girls growled noisily as they dragged themselves away from their embarrassing thoughts and towards the trays.

Hannah bounced over, snagging a couple sandwiches before retreating back to the swing. She handed one to Lorelai, speaking with her mouthful, “Warm chicken salad. Favourite.”

“Me, too.” She said more politely, and took a tiny bite out of hers. Tasting a sweet mayonnaise, and enjoying the watery crunch of the lettuce.

Celia headed back inside, to get something else.

Hannah glanced at the door again, and then whispered, “Umm… Sorry. That I kissed you. I shouldn’t have.”

“It was… Nice. Surprising as shit. But nice.” Lorelai said carefully, “Your mum seems nice.”

The redhead sighed, “You’re trying to avoid talking about it.”

“You’re my cousin.” She hissed.

The woman shrugged, “Yeah. Kissin’ cousins. I meant what I said about wanting to, the moment I saw you. And I meant it, when I say sorry. I shouldn’t have.”

“You want to steal my sandwich right out of my mouth, don’t you?” She glared.

Hannah shrugged, “Maybe not a sandwich. Gum would be fun. I… Wait. You’re not utterly repulsed at the idea of it?”

“Not… Repulsed.” Lorelai said carefully, “But it’s also never happening, again. So just drop it.”

The woman breathed a sigh of relief, “Awesome. And there I was, thinking that you’d go and hate me. Wow. And again, sorry.”

“What are you apologising for?” Jonah set down some drinks on the table, before grabbing a sandwich of his own and sitting down on a nearby chair.

“Nothing.” Lorelai and Hannah answered simultaneously.

Hannah’s dad shook his head, “Thick as thieves, already. I think I should be very afraid, right about now.”

“Well, she has an interesting way of breaking the ice.” Lorelai teased Hannah, who went white and quickly shook her head. Begging her not to tell on her.

She held up her sandwich, offering a bite to the woman. “So, Uncle Jonah. Dad says you come over a lot. You do much? Family games or something?”

Hannah stole half the sandwich with a ridiculous bite, before grinning at her, and speaking through it. “We could play Twister!”

“No.” Jonah said flatly, and shrugged, “Ah, mostly Hannah plays on the computer. Whilst I and Teo sit out here with a quiet drink. Celia joins us sometimes, other times she plays piano. There’s one in the spare bedroom.”

Lorelai felt her stomach flip into butterflies as her dad emerged, whilst also feeling a massive amount of guilt for flirting with her cousin, no matter how little it was.

He set a beer down in front of his brother, and held up another towards her, “Feel like joining us?”

She shook her head sheepishly, “I… Don’t really like beer. Sorry.”

“Wine? Got plenty of that, too.” He offered her.

Lorelai shook her head, again, “I’m fine. But, thanks. Daddy.”

“Daddy. You’re adorable.” Hannah said, and then seemed embarrassed and looked away.

Jonah made a disapproving grunt, “Nip that in the bud.”

“Oh, honey. Of course that’ll happen. They’re total strangers.” Celia sat down nearby, balancing a glass of sparkling white. “They’ll learn they’re family, in time.”

Mateo glanced around, “Hmm. Well, this feels awkward. So, something about board games?”

“No one wants to play your complicated four hour RPG stuff.” Jonah said to his brother, “Well, not right now. Still on, for next week, though?”

“Yeah. Only Paul pulled out.” Mateo said, “And I wasn’t going to suggest it. I was thinking five-card draw, or something like that. You know that one, Lorelai?”

She nodded, and then stared at the crust of her sandwich as Hannah stole another bite from her with a giggle. She glared at the woman, and grabbed another sandwich, sitting further down the couch swing to protect it. “Yeah, I know how to play. Sounds like fun.”

Mateo ducked inside for a minute, to grab the cards.

His brother leaned forward, “Hannah. Seriously, not appropriate. Keep yourself to yourself.”

“Whatever.” The redhead rolled her eyes. “I’m just playing around. It isn’t serious.”

“I am, though.”

Lorelai could tell that her cousin was behaving brattily towards her dad because she was hurting. She was trying to cover up how much it hurt to be a disappointment.

“It’s my fault, too. Sorry.” She whispered, “I… May have encouraged her. Things just feel a lot awkward, right now. I’m in a house full of total strangers, and I feel safer than I do at home. More relaxed.”

Celia looked at her, “That is very mature of you, Triss.”

“Please don’t call me that.” She winced, “I know it’s my name… But I like the other one, more. I wanna change it.”

“Changing your name is a big deal.” Her aunt replied, sensibly.

She shrugged, “I know. I like it more. I don’t like my mum. It’s… Beautiful. Makes me feel beautiful. And it makes me feel closer to my dad. So I want it. Don’t call me, Triss. Please.”

“If that’s what you want.” Celia nodded.

Hannah scooted closer to her, suddenly, and pulled out her phone and held it up, “Cousin selfie!”

The phone issued a snapping sound, and the girl showed her the picture, “We look adorable, together. What’s your number, so I can send it to you.”

That was about as subtle as a brick through a window.

Lorelai tapped her number onto the phone, and shook her head. Smiling as she realised that her dad, she, and Jonah, all had the same head shake when they were feeling exasperated.

When she got the photo, she fired off a copy to Kirstie.

“Who’s that?” Hannah asked, intrigued.

She shrugged, “My best friend. She was a bit worried about this whole… Running off to meet a strange guy, thing.”

“She cute?” Hannah asked, cautiously.

Lorelai rolled her eyes, and pulled up her gallery, showing off the black-haired goth. “Depends by what you think cute is. I reckon her chokers are always sexy. But they don’t look as good on me.”

“Damn. She is hot!” Hannah exclaimed, “You ever kiss her?”

“No.” Lorelai said tightly, “I don’t swing that way.”

They were spared an argument, when Mateo returned with the cards. He made some room on the table, and began shuffling the deck out with a practised hand.

Hannah sat up, excitedly, “We should make a bet. Something interesting.”

“Oh no.” Jonah complained.

Mateo flicked through the cards, “Last time, it was who was going to pay for dessert. What do you have in mind, Hannah?”

“If you hadn’t realised, honey, these two are extremely competitive.” Celia interjected, “Don’t deal me a hand, Teo. I’m not playing, if you’re taking it seriously.”

Lorelai took her five cards, shielding them from Hannah, who was biting her lip and thinking. The redhead mused for a bit, and then shrugged, “I dunno. It should be your thing, cuz. Your birthday, yesterday. Your choice. Name something you want. Winner has to treat you.”

“That doesn’t seem fair.” She whispered nervously.

Jonah frowned, “No, that’s a good one, Hannah. Very mature. I like it. Whoever wins, has to treat Lorelai.”

She nibbled nervously on her sandwich, not sure if she liked all the attention… But at the same time, feeling like she really wanted Mateo to win it.

She wanted her dad to have an excuse, to treat her. “What if I win?”

“Then you get to choose who has to treat you.” Hannah shrugged, “Come on. We’re all excited to have you back. Just play along.”

Lorelai nodded slowly, “Sure. First round of betting then?”

“Gummy worms.” Mateo picked up a bowl off one of the trays, handing them around, “I bet two.”

He tossed them down into the middle of the table.

“Three from me.” Hannah said, mirth suddenly vanishing from her voice. Her mum was right, the girl was absolutely determined to win.

“Fold.” Jonah sighed, “Lorelai?”

She considered for a moment, “Five.”

Hannah glared over at her, rolling her jaw, “Call.”

“Call.” Mateo agreed, and spread out his cards, “And… Full house.”

“Fuck.” Hannah swore angrily, tossing out a two pair onto the table.

Jonah shook his head, “Language.”

Lorelai smiled over at her dad, and laid out her cards, “Read ’em, and cry in a corner. Straight flush.”

“Luck o’ the devil!” Hannah exclaimed. “You didn’t cheat for her, did you, Teo?”

He shook his head, staring, “I can’t believe I got a full house on the first round, and I still lost. Wow. Your turn to deal, Lor.”

She shoved her food into her mouth, and picked up the cards. She couldn’t deal like her dad, so it took her a bit longer until everyone was sitting around tensely.

Hannah glared at her cards, and then whispered, “I hate this. Fold.”

“Wow. Already? Not even going to try and bluff?” Mateo said in surprise, and then put two more gummy worms onto the pile.

“When the cards are shit, they’re shit.” Hannah shrugged.

Jonah shook his head, “I hate what this game brings out in you, daughter. Call.”

“You only call me that when you’re mad.” Hannah’s jaw practically cracked.

Lorelai glanced at her cards, and looked up at her dad and grinned sheepishly, “Raise.”

“No way. Not again.” Mateo said with disbelief, “Call.”

“Fold.” Jonah said from the side, “She’s inherited your luck, Teo. I wouldn’t tempt her.”

She laughed and showed her cards.

Her dad shook his head, “Not even a pair. That’s a dead hand. Too bad for you, I’ve got three of a kind. My pot.”

Celia frowned, “Oh my. She’s got quite the poker face. Not even a hint that you were trying to bluff it, honey.”

She shrugged casually, “Well, I was raised by my mum.”

Mateo’s face briefly looked disapproving, but he managed to bite his tongue, this time. Hannah, on the other hand, looked at her with an overwhelming sense of concern.

Jonah put a finger to his lips, glaring at his daughter.

Mateo dealt out another series of cards, “What do you say, we make this the last round? Got to pick your treat, Lorelai.”

“‘Kay, Daddy.” She replied as she took her cards.

Hannah giggled, and whispered to her, “That’s still adorable.”

“Three.” Jonah made his bet first.

The redhead glared at her dad, fingered her cards grimly, and then issued her bet, “Five.”

“Fold.” Mateo said with disappointment, making Lorelai’s heart drop like a stone. He couldn’t win, now. Which meant she wasn’t going to end up with him being the one to treat her.

She was tempted to fold, just because he was out.

“Cuz?” Hannah elbowed her, “You there?”

She shook off the funk, “What was your bet, again?”

“Five.”

Lorelai took a glance down at her cards, and looked up and over at her uncle’s confident poker face. Confident, but flawed. His cards were actually decent.

Hannah, beside her, would do basically anything to annoy her dad. Her cousin felt some kind of innate need to try and rub him up the wrong way. Lorelai wasn’t sure if it was instinctual, or conscious, but it was there.

Hannah’s cards were dead.

“Call.” She sighed.

The redhead looked over, “Well, Dad? In or out?”

“In.” He replied, and matched the bet.

Hannah tossed her cards onto the table, “Fuck.”

“Language!” Jonah said louder, and shook his head, “Oh well. A three and a pair. Lorelai?”

She looked at the cards he was displaying, and smiled slowly and showed her own. “A three. And a pair. And higher.”

“What the shit?” Hannah said in amazement.

Jonah shook his head and sipped at his drink. Showing his disappointment for his daughter’s language in a way that would hurt her more than telling her off.

Mateo tried to be diplomatic, “Guess you win, daughter. So, who is treating you, and what are they treating you to?”

“You.” She said quickly, and then bit her lip, “Um… I wanna sleep over. Tonight.”

“Sleepover!” Hannah said excitedly, “Can I, dad? I know, I’m supposed to be grounded. And I deserve it. But… Please?”

Lorelai wanted her uncle to say no. It was selfish, but she wanted her dad all to herself. She wanted to curl up on the couch with him, not the fiery explosion of a woman.

Jonah caught the expression, and considered it, “Maybe another time. I think they might have some catching up, to do.”

“Oh. Yeah.” Hannah winced, looking down sheepishly, “Sorry, cuz. Guess I forgot you rediscovered your dad. I didn’t just discover you.”

She patted the woman’s knee, “Hey, I’ve got a cousin. I’m pretty ecstatic about that, too. But… Yeah. I just want my dad… If… I can sleep over.”

“I’ll make up the spare bed, on one condition.” Mateo said slowly, not sounding as excited by the idea as she was.

Lorelai swallowed, “Please don’t make me talk to mum about it.”

“Oh, you don’t have to ask her. You’re an adult.” Her dad replied, “Just… Tell her. And then you can ignore the phone call, like before.”

She ground her teeth together, but pulled out her phone and sent a text message. Her phone immediately started ringing. She muted it and tucked it away.

Jonah sighed heavily, “How is Ruby?”

“Don’t ask.” She said angrily.

Celia bounced to her feet, “Can you help me cut up the watermelon for desert, dear?”

The two headed inside, and Lorelai leaned back on the swing glumly. She took a deep breath, “Sorry, dad. I… Probably making things annoying for you, aren’t I?”

“I figured you might ask, actually.” He said and shrugged, “Not an issue. I get to do something I’ve never done before, and always wanted to.”

She frowned, “Really? What?”

“Make you breakfast in bed.”

Lorelai grinned excitedly, “Aw. That’s sweet.”

Hannah looked between them, and whispered to her, “Can I talk to you, for a minute?”

She glanced at her, “Sure?”

The redhead stood up silently and walked out from under the verandah and around the corner. Lorelai glanced at her dad, who just shrugged, not knowing.

She sighed and walked up, hoping she wasn’t in for another kiss ambush.

Hannah was leaning against the back of the house, looking up at the bright sky, with a grim expression on her face. The redhead had the same expression on her face that Lorelai wore when she had to break up with a guy.

She swallowed, “So…”

“Closer. Don’t want your dad to hear us.” Hannah whispered.

She rolled her eyes and moved closer, leaning beside her, “Are you going to make this awkward, again? I told you it wasn’t going to happen a second time.”

“Yeah. And I get why, now. Just not sure that you do.” Hannah whispered, “But I was watching you, that whole game. Did you realise you were staring at Teo?”

“I was what?”

The redhead nodded grimly, “That’s a right mess, you got, there.”

“What the fuck are you suggesting?” Lorelai hissed quietly. “He’s my dad.”

“Exactly.” Hannah whispered back, “But your body doesn’t know that, does it? Tell me you don’t want to sleep in his bed.”

“I don’t… Want…” She hesitated, and her cheeks flushed, “Oh, fuck. Oh… Oh, that’s bad. Fuck. How did you notice that?”

“You look like I do, when I get a crush.” Hannah shrugged, “Sorry, cuz. I thought it’d be better to hear it from me, than to work it out at three in the morning.”

“What the fuck do I do?” She hissed.

Hannah gave a sheepish little shrug, “Hell if I know. He is cute, and kind. But he’s also family.”

“He’s also older than me.” She said and kicked the ground, “Why the fuck?”

The redhead chuckled, “So? Older guys sound fun. Experienced. Oh. Not helping.”

“No.”

She winced, “Look… I don’t have answers. I’m like two weeks older than you. I just recognised the way you were watching him. Maybe you just have to watch yourself, and you’ll get over it.”

“Fuck.” She took a deep breath, “If you weren’t such a flirt, I’d want you to stay the night.”

“Yeah. Bad idea. You’d just make me jealous, and I’d make some other stupid mistake that’d make my dad more pissed at me.” Hannah said bitterly.

Lorelai’s eyes widened and she turned to stare at her cousin. “Say that, again.”

“Oh, shit.”

Her jaw fell open, “No way.”

“Please. Please don’t ruin my life.” Hannah begged her, even putting her hands together.

Lorelai laughed pathetically, “Well, don’t we make a pair. Fuck.”

“At least you didn’t grow up with him. You’ve only just met, yours. I’ve got no excuse.” Hannah winced.

She frowned, thinking, “Your mum picks up on things. Do you think that… She knows?”

“She does.” Hannah swallowed nervously, “Notice how she tries to make sure I’m never alone, around him?”

Lorelai frowned, “I didn’t. But… Wow. Awkward. You’re right. We’re a pair. I… Have no idea what to think, right now.”

“My advice? Get a boyfriend.” Hannah stated firmly, “The only way to move on, is to move on.”

“You first.”

The redhead winced, and rubbed a hand at her head, frizzing up her hair. “Do you remember what happened at my eighteenth? I got so disappointed I couldn’t have him, and my dumb dream and… Yeah.”

“You wanted your dad to be your first.” Lorelai barely managed to breathe as she said it.

Hannah cringed, “I’m a piece of shit, aren’t I?”

“Nope. Now I want mine to be my first. Fuck.” Lorelai cursed, and kicked the ground, again. “It’s like having a sexier mirror of myself. I can’t judge you. Not even a little.”

“Guessing you didn’t do something fucking stupid yesterday.” Hannah smiled, “At least you’ve got that, on me.”

“I put condoms on balloons with my mouth. That’s as crazy as I got.” She shook her head, “Oh, fuck. I shouldn’t stay here tonight. I’m going to do something I’ll regret. I just know it.”

Hannah leaned in and softly kissed her cheek, “Don’t waste your first. Not like I did. Make it mean something. Can’t mean much, if you can’t have him.”

“Stay over.” Lorelai said suddenly, “Please. We can keep each other honest.”

“I’ll end up hurting you. I already wanna do… Everything… To you.”

She shrugged, “Better than me fucking up my second chance to have a dad. Please. I might even let you kiss me, again.”

Hannah hesitated and winced, “Yeah. Shit. I guess my dad can get over me being stupid. Yours doesn’t even really know you… I didn’t even think about that, you already feel like a part of the family.”

The two of them went quiet as they heard footsteps approaching, both just looking down at the ground with the exact same face of guilt as they struggled with the emotional toll of their revelations.

Hannah’s mother looked concerned as she saw them, “I was going to ask what you girls are up to. But, I think I can guess what you were talking about.”

“What the hell am I meant to do?” Lorelai whispered.

Celia glanced backwards to make sure the boys weren’t listening in and stepped closer, putting a hand on each of their shoulders and smiled at them, “No matter what you do, we’re family. We love you, even when you misbehave or act irrationally.”

Hannah rolled her eyes, “Like you’d say that if I did it, mum. You’d be so pissed at me.”

“You really want a solution?” Celia asked, addressing Lorelai more than Hannah, “Well, I don’t want to say anything I’ll regret… But I can tell you about something I found out when they legalised gay marriage.”

Lorelai made a face, “I’m not that into her. Hannah’s the one with the bloody crush.”

“Cousins are allowed to marry. First cousins. It’s only parents and siblings who can’t, under the Act.” Celia said quietly.

Hannah’s jaw dropped, “Mum… Did you just…?”

She shrugged, “Food for thought. And a distraction from our gorgeous men, who wouldn’t have a clue what to do if you tried to get their attention. Lord knows, Jonah has a hard enough time when I give him hints, and we’re married.”

Lorelai looked up at her aunt sheepishly, “You’re telling me to date your daughter.”

“I’m saying that you can. I’m not telling you what to do, Tri… Lorelai.” Celia smiled at her, “We don’t do that, honey. Even before Hannah was an adult, we didn’t tell her what to do. Some of her choices hurt us, but they’re still her choices. We’ll always be there to help dig her out of any mess. And to support her when the choice is hard.”

She bit her lip, and glanced at Hannah, “I… I’ve never dated a girl. And you’re way too forward. But… Fun.”

“So… What you’re saying is…” The redhead hesitated.

Lorelai shrugged, “I’m saying, I’m not promising shit. But I do need someone to distract me. Especially if I’m staying the night.”

“I’ll let our men know, that Hannah is staying over.” Celia said sweetly, “But, you should set up a camera for our family photo. And then we’ve got a surprise for Lorelai.”

The blonde spun back to her, “A surprise?”

“Yeah, that’s mum.” Hannah said and stepped forward off the wall, “She’s the one you go to, if you want to be spoiled absolutely rotten. Um… I’ll set up over there, see that slight rise? Perfect for photos.”

As the redhead moved off, Lorelai smiled at her aunt, almost bursting into tears. “I’m not a sick, gross, monster?”

“You’re eighteen, sweetie.” Celia rolled her eyes, “You are a bag of hormones. And you’re not allowed to tell Hannah, but she’s not the only one who lost her virginity to something excessive that she regretted. That’s why it hurt, so much. I don’t want her walking down my path. Her father set me straight. Taught me love.”

“Why wouldn’t you tell her that, then?” Lorelai said in confusion, “She’s so lost, right now. She hates herself for disappointing Uncle Jonah.”

Celia nodded, “I might have. But I’ve got something better than all the motherly advice in the world.”

“And… What’s that?”

“A best friend for my daughter, right in front of me.”

Lorelai flushed, “I’m a terrible choice.”

Celia hugged her, leaning her chin into her shoulder, “That you think that, and understand her, is exactly why the two of you are perfect for each other. It might not be what you want, right now… But I will be rooting for you.”

With that, the two of them walked over to where one of the concrete slabs had lifted, and waved at the other two to join them.

Mateo smiled nervously as he approached, “You okay? Hannah’s not doing anything to make things uncomfortable, is she?”

“I’m fine, Daddy.” Lorelai grinned at him, feeling her stomach turn into butterflies. “I love my family. I can’t… Thank you, enough.”

As she said the last bit, she felt a tear slip down her cheek.

She’d basically been a total stranger, parachuting out of the sky, and not only had her family immediately and instantly accepted her, they had accepted her with all of her flaws.

Lorelai has known her mother had been distant, and that the two of them hadn’t really been a family. More like two people living under the one roof.

This, however, had taught her that she’d never had a family. That she’d never known what it was like to be unconditionally loved, before.

Her mum would have screamed bloody murder at her, and then sent her to her room without dinner. Then would have forced her to go see some quack of a doctor who believed in magic water.

That would have been the way she was treated.

Instead, to be told that her opinion mattered, that she was going to be supported… Especially if she ended up making a mistake… It just about broke her.

“We love you.” Mateo said, smiling at her, and then proudly took up his position beside her.

Lorelai felt giddy as he took one of her hands in his, and Celia took the other in hers. Her daddy, and her aunt, both making it clear that she was theirs.

Jonah stood beside his wife, an arm around her shoulders. The two of them whispering to each other, and beaming.

Hannah came back, setting up a tripod, and a long cord with a clicker button on the end of it. The redhead’s face was like when she’d been playing cards, dead serious and focused.

She mounted the camera, adjusting a whole heap of settings, and spoke gruffly to them, “Dad, to the left. More. More. Move and die. Teo, could you look at the fucking camera? Lor’s not going anywhere.”

“Please stop making me sound like a broken record player.” Jonah addressed his daughter.

“Shut the fuck up, dad.” Hannah shot back, “You just moved. I said to stay still. Half a step backwards. Okay… And, everybody hold it!”

The redhead ran over, tucking the cord behind her as she snuggled into Jonah’s side, “Everybody look at the lens, and say `Cheese’!”

Lorelai heard a rapid-fire series of clicks, and Hannah ran back, “Everybody hold! Let me just check, and… Perfect! You can relax.”

—

Celia disappeared back inside, after the photos, and the other three played a few more hands of cards.

Lorelai was distracted, sending a copy of the family shot off to her best friend, and then sitting on the swing beside Hannah. Her mind was reeling from the day, so she didn’t play.

She could see it clearly, now.

The way Hannah always antagonised her father, before stealing guilty glances at his reactions. Barely restraining herself, but wanting to do things she wasn’t allowed to.

The girl was using being a brat as a substitute for wanting to climb into her dad’s pants.

Lorelai could also see what Hannah had seen in her. Any time her thoughts began to drift, her gaze would as well. Seemingly accidentally ending up fixed on Mateo.

Her dad was… Fire.

His short red hair, his firm chest. The casual way he spoke and sat, all full of smiles and jokes. He didn’t feel like there was a massive age gap. He felt like he was full of life experience, but respectful.

Celia had said that the family didn’t make anyone do anything, and it looked like Mateo was right there with her aunt. He wasn’t going to ever force Lorelai to do something she didn’t want to.

He could still be disapproving, but it was a quiet thing.

The more Lorelai thought about her dad, the more uncomfortable on the swing she got. She could feel her thin cotton panties, hidden away beneath her jeans, doing a poor job of containing the way she was beginning to leak.

She was a virgin, but she was also eighteen. She wanted, desperately, to be lying down on a bed. To have her arms lifted above her head, and her daddy’s cock pushing down slowly into her.

Taking her as a present to him, taking all of her, inch by fucking inch.

Hell, Lorelai would even give him her ass, if he wanted it.

Anything at all, to feel him ever so gently make love to her. To let her be his special something, and fill her up to overflowing with his cum.

She almost wished Hannah hadn’t pointed it out.

Which was another thing that was stuck in Lorelai’s fantasies. The perfect way to lose her virginity, in her sick and twisted mind, would be the two girls lying across the bed.

Holding hands, and moaning, as both their daddies claimed them. Fucked their pussies raw, until they were cumming together, all four of them at once.

Lorelai picked up one of the gummy worms out of the pot, and snapped it in half. She stuck one piece in her mouth, before tapping Hannah and distracting her from the game.

The redhead turned, “Huh?”

She popped the other piece into the girl’s mouth lightly, and then went back to sitting cross-legged and glum on the couch. At least that was fun, feeding her.

Hannah sidled up to her a bit closer, and whispered, “Come on, help me beat your dad.”

“Hey, no fair! No teaming up.” Mateo complained.

Lorelai shook her head, “Not right now. I’m tired.”

Hannah looked disappointed, and made a sad face, but went back to concentrating on the game without much more ado. “So, Uncle Teo, you set up the spare room for Lor, right?”

“Yeah. Just fresh sheets.” He replied, and dumped some more worms, “Two.”

The redhead frowned, “I usually stay in the bed. That mean that I’m crashing on the couch? Not that I mind. But that doesn’t make for much of a sleepover. We should camp out in the lounge, together.”

“But then I can’t get breakfast in bed.” Lorelai said quickly, interrupting the redhead’s plans. “I’ve never had that.”

Hannah stared at her, “Your mum never gave you breakfast in bed?”

“Never.” She shook her head, “Not even when I was recovering from pneumonia, in year eight.”

“You got pneumonia?” Mateo said with concern.

Lorelai smiled sadly, “Yeah. School trip to the snow. We got caught out in it, and the teachers got lost. About half the class ended up violently sick. Not a fun year.”

Hannah put her head on her shoulder, “Three. That really sucks. Well, now your dad and I can fight over who gets to treat you in the morning, then.”

“No.” She said firmly, and then sighed, “Just, sleep in the bed with me, Hannah. I want my dad to be able to do dad things, ‘kay? This isn’t going to be the last time you see me. But it’s the first time I get to see him.”

The redhead grinned, and Lorelai realised that had been her plan in bringing it up, all along. She whispered under her breath, “Brat.”

Hannah bit her lip, crinkling her nose, “Call. And, that’s a full house, boys.”

“Crap.” Jonah dropped his cards, and leaned back in his chair, “You about done, honey? Need any help?”

“Almost!” Celia called back.

Mateo smiled over at Lorelai, “Don’t worry, you can get some rest after this, if you want. The rest of us might head to the beach for a bit, but you can crash out on the bed.”

She shook her head, “No, that sounds like fun… I’m just… A lot to take in. I love you, daddy. And my cousin. Uncle and aunt. I just… Never had anything like this, growing up.”

“Then we’re going to make up for lost time.” Jonah said firmly, “You live far away, Lorelai?”

She winced, “Other side of Melbourne. So it’s three trains to get here. Sucks. But… I dunno if I wanna go back. I’ve got friends, and stuff. Uni. But… I dunno.”

Jonah looked over at his brother, pointedly.

Her dad rolled his eyes, “You’re as subtle as ever. Jonah wants you to move in with me. I don’t want to push. And I really don’t want to give Ruby an excuse to turn up here and scream at you.”

“I’ll talk to mum, eventually.” She shrugged tiredly, “I just don’t know what I’d say to her, at this point. Thanks for raising me, but I hate you for lying, so now I’m running away?”

Hannah shrugged, “Just say that you want to find out about the other side of your family. Don’t mention whether or not you’ve thought about moving away. You can just pretend it’s for a few weeks to start with, whilst you figure things out.”

“Mmm. I was thinking that.” Lorelai said and smiled, “Sorry. I’m bringing everyone down, aren’t I? So much for Tenacious Triss.”

“Fuck!” Hannah suddenly exclaimed and sat up, “That’s where I’ve seen you! I mean, obviously it’s easy to tell you’re my cuz, but that was bugging me.”

Lorelai looked at her in surprise, “Say what?”

The girl grabbed her phone and tapped away for a moment, and then showed her a news article from when she’d tackled the guy who took her purse. “This is you, isn’t it?”

“Yeah…” She said hesitantly.

Hannah bounced over, sitting on Jonah’s knee, “Look, dad! She’s the girl who ran down that asshole. Three blocks. She’s as sporty as Teo.”

He nodded nervously, “Yeah, isn’t that… Something.”

Lorelai shook her head. It was abundantly clear that Jonah knew exactly what his daughter wanted to do to him. Her handsy approach to things wasn’t making him comfortable.

Teo reached over, taking the phone gently and looking at the picture, “Tenacious Triss. I can’t believe we missed this. I tried the facial recognition thing on a bunch of newspaper sites. But, it’s hard when you’ve only got baby pics. Didn’t know you and Hannah would grow up to look so alike.”

“You have baby pictures, of me?” Lorelai said in terror.

Mateo smiled slowly, “Oh, I got all kinds of embarrassing things from back then. Guess what your first word was?”

“Da?” She shrugged and made an educated guess.

He grinned at her, “Pee.”

She went bright red and buried her head behind her knees, “Noooo!”

“Mum was actually your second word. You didn’t get dad until late.” He said with a sigh, “I spent a year being called mum. Though, if Ruby answered when you called for mama, you tended to scream at her. You were still a daddy’s girl.”

Lorelai laughed, but refused to show her face, “Sorry.”

“It was cute. And kids are kids.” He replied casually, “But, speaking of cute things…”

Lorelai looked up cautiously, and stared in shock and wonder as Celia emerged from inside, carrying a cake decorated with sparklers that were spraying all around.

The three of them suddenly began singing, “Haaaapy birthday, to you.”

She felt her heart leap into her throat and nearly started to cry as her family made damn certain that she knew that they loved her.

The cake was some kind of rich chocolate cake, from what she could see. The top lined with twisted conicles of chocolate cream, and strawberries.

In the middle of the sparklers, visible as Celia set the cake down in front of her, was a plastic topper with the number eighteen, and some quarter-cut strawberries arranged around that in the shape of a heart.

“Dear Lorelai, happy birthday to you.”

She flushed nervously, and looked up at her dad. At his beaming smile, and the way he was proud of her even though she hadn’t just done nothing, he knew nothing of anything she had ever done.

He was still proud.

“Hip hip, hooray!” Hannah clapped excitedly, “Cut the cake!”

Celia passed her a knife, and Lorelai pressed it down into the moist surface. She cut out a slice, and served it onto one the plates. “Who gets the first piece?”

“You.” Hannah laughed, and took the knife from her, “This is for your birthday. Always spoil the birthday girl, rotten. That’s like… A family rule.”

“That you take far too much advantage of.” Jonah said to the girl still sitting on his knee. His voice reminding Lorelai’s cousin that she’d made a mess of her own birthday.

She could practically watch the redhead’s soul shrivel up and die at his words.

“I’m sorry, dad.” Hannah said, her voice shaking.

Jonah put an arm around her waist and hugged her lightly, “I know, and I love you. But just because we’re letting you stay over, does not mean that you’re not grounded, anymore.”

“I know.” Hannah said quickly, “I’m not fighting you, dad. I want to make it up to you.”

“Enough.” Mateo interrupted, “This is Lorelai’s birthday party. So, daughter, what do you think of this side of the family?”

She looked around at all four of them, and burst into tears. “I’m home.”

Mateo smiled at her sadly, “I can’t tell you how much that means, to hear you say that. I hope we can live up to your dreams and expectations. We love you.”

“I know.” She sniffled and wiped at her cheeks, “That’s… You don’t even know me. I can be a total bitch. And all of you just… Love me. Not even a question in it. God. I never cry this much.”

Hannah relinquished her dad’s lap, and walked over to sit down beside her. The woman grinned at her, and took the little cake fork, picking up a piece and lifting it to Lorelai’s mouth. “Your dad just came back from the dead. If you weren’t crying, I’d be freaked.”

Lorelai took the fork from her, trying to make a point. Unfortunately, her shaking hand meant she left some cream behind on her lower lip.

Hannah ignored the point she was trying to make by leaning in to kiss it clean, her tongue briefly trying to gain access to her cousin’s mouth.

The blonde glared and pushed her back by her head, “God! You do not take a hint. I told you, I would only think about kissing you, if you behaved. Shit.”

“Yeah. Time for some space.” Jonah said and stood up, signalling to his daughter, “You and Lorelai look about the same size. Run home and grab her a change of clothes for tomorrow morning, would you? I’ll be behind, shortly.”

“I’ll talk to her.” Celia said, a little forceful edge to her voice. “You stay here.”

Hannah winced, and looked down. She mumbled, “Sorry, cuz.”

“Personal space. Let me have some.” Lorelai whispered, and took a deep breath, “You’re still sleeping over. You’ll get the closeness you want, later. Maybe.”

Her cousin barely seemed to register the offer, just glumly heading for the front door. The same expression that Lorelai found herself wearing after she disappointed herself.

She took another bite of the cake. Had to acknowledge, it tasted good. Moist, sweet, and left a chocolatey taste all over her tongue but no residue.

Mateo moved over to sit beside her after the women left. “So, want a drink, now?”

“I wanna sleep for about a week.” She confessed, “I dunno when it hit me. I just… Suddenly got tired. I’m not stressed. And all of you are still being sweet and… Honestly, Hannah is growing on me. She’s just a handful.”

Jonah laughed softly, “My daughter is a ladykiller. You’ve got Hannah’s heart wrapped around your finger. Probably be able to get her to do anything you wanted.”

“Except stop trying to steal kisses.” She laughed softly, and then frowned, “You’re… Not grossed out? She’s my cousin. And a girl.”

Mateo shrugged, “Not like she’s ever met you before. And people have been marrying their cousins for thousands of years. It’s only really become a big deal, recently. Darwin came up with his theory, partly because he married his cousin.”

Lorelai nodded slowly, “Um… What about the girl bit? I’ve never had a girlfriend. Never wanted one. Not even a little. Would my dad… Be awkward, if I got a girlfriend?”

“Your dad would squee excitedly.” Mateo said in amusement, “I dunno. Every time I see two guys, or two girls, and they’re giving each other a tender kiss, I get excited and happy. Giddy.”

She took a deep breath, “I… I’m definitely straight-ish.”

“Celia mentioned it to me. I’m trying my best to make sure that it won’t be a problem.” Mateo replied and shrugged, “You never knew me. So of course you’re not going to have that psychological block. It’s my job, as your dad, to look out for you.”

She creamed her panties.

He knew that she was interested in him, and he wasn’t reviled by her. Didn’t even seem the least bit disturbed by her. His response was to act more like her daddy, and that she found fucking hot.

She swallowed nervously, and pulled her phone out of her jacket, “I… I should call Kirstie. Talk her through everything and let her know I’m okay. Do you mind?”

“Sure, honey.” He smiled and patted her knee, “Your bedroom is the one on the left, at the the end of the hall, if you want the privacy.”

She stood up, barely resisting from kissing him on the cheek. Knowing that if she did that, she wouldn’t be calling Kirstie, she’d end up working out some frustration instead.

She could feel his eyes on her, as she left the space. Not like she could usually feel it when a guy stared. He wasn’t looking at her ass, he was looking at her.

All the respect in the world.

—

By the time Lorelai had finished giving Kirstie all the details, and her friend had cautioned her, but agreed that things were probably fine, she couldn’t stand it anymore.

Her head was too full of thoughts of Mateo to deal. She’d barely hung up the phone before two fingers were discovering how juicy she was, and her eyes were rolling back into her head.

She imagined him, as she leaned back against the door, her jeans around her knees and feet spread wide. Imagined his head down between her legs, kissing at her gently.

Lorelai bit her lip, trying to stay quiet, as she curled her fingers around inside. Rapidly friggin’ herself and silently begging her daddy to eat her.

Her thumb worked at her tiny little clit, toying with the sensitive button, as her middle finger found her other spot. Pressing lightly but firmly to trigger the waterfall.

She imagined her daddy standing up, kissing her. His mouth tasting like her insides, as his cock rubbed against her outsides. Thinking about him asking permission, asking to fuck her.

She pictured him picking her up by the waist, and pushing her into the door. Taking away her virginity as he pushed his tongue into her mouth. Making her want to scream out for more.

“Fuck.” She whispered into the air, unable to stop herself, “Fuck me, daddy.”

She pictured herself looking over his shoulder and seeing Hannah on her hands and knees. The redhead grunting from the bed, as her dad pile drived himself in behind her.

Hannah grinning up at Lorelai between each stroke, eyes filled with lust and pride. The two of them sharing this moment, as their dad’s filled them right on up.

She shifted her fantasy, putting them both onto the bed in doggy style. Kissing her cousin lightly, little pecks on the lips with each forward thrust of her dad into her naughty pussy.

Hannah was louder, thanking her dad with each thrust. Telling him that she loved him, over and over again as he slapped at her ass. Giving her something a little rougher.

Lorelai took it more gently. Whimpering as he split her in half. Thinking of his hands on her hips, holding her tightly, as his balls tapped her pearl with every invasion.

She could feel a second orgasm building, somehow, as her pussy became even wetter. Imagining herself looking back over her shoulder to beg him to cum with her.

Seeing Mateo’s proud face as he drove her into the bed with a lunge and groan. Feeling Hannah suddenly grabbing at her hand, “Oh yes! Oh, daddy. Now. Cum for me. Fill me up!”

Lorelai’s legs shook, and then collapsed.

She slid down the door and onto the floor, her entire body shaking at the freight train. She put her clean hand to her chest as she tried to remember how to breathe.

A real whimper escaped from her mouth, despite her biting down hard enough she was pretty sure she’d made her lip bleed.

She blinked, and took a deep and calming breath, before slowly pulling her hand out of herself. Dripping a thick a semi-clear mucous everywhere.

It didn’t usually look this way, or come this hard.

She smiled in amusement at herself, and then realised she had no way to actually clean up. She’d actually sprayed, or at least leaked heavily, so there wasn’t really any concealing it.

But… No tissues or convenient towels.

“Whoops.”

—

“Hey, you.”

Lorelai slid onto the edge of the couch where her daddy was lying down, before she put her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. “Hey. I… Do you mind if I do this?”

He looped an arm under her, pulling her into his side and holding her so she didn’t need to make an effort not to fall. “Big day, huh? Jonah went for a walk. Just us.”

“I love you.” She whispered, “Searching for me. Welcoming me. Giving me so much… I just… I love you. This feels right. It does feel like you’re my dad, not awkward.”

“I love you, too.” He whispered, “My perfect, Lorelai.”

She snorted, “Oh, I’m not perfect. Have I mentioned I can be a bitch? I get real catty around… That time.”

“Just like your mother, then.” He chuckled, “She used to bite my head off both for asking if she was okay, but was worse if I didn’t. Sometimes I could do nothing right.”

Lorelai flushed, “Yep. That can be me, when things are… Happening. So… You going to take me into work, tomorrow, still?”

“Yeah, if you want.” He agreed, “I do need to go in early to make up for today, but you can come over whenever you get up. Back to sleep, after breakfast, if you want.”

She frowned, “I was curious about that. Do you usually take a half day, or something? Because you have lunch with Hannah’s family?”

“No, we usually just have lunch. Sometimes we head to the beach and hang out. Most times I go back to the office. Depends how much under the crunch I am.” Mateo replied, “But, I just text the office which it is going to be. So long as I hit my targets, nobody is much fussed. We’re chilled.”

Lorelai smiled, listening to his steady heartbeat, and hugged him tighter. “You… Don’t mind. Do you? Me staying? It isn’t just something you’re saying. Not something you’ll take back when you realise I’m just an eighteen year old girl, and that’s not fun roommate material?”

“Probably mind if you bring a guy home, without talking to me first.” He shrugged, “Or throw a party. I’ll probably annoy you by asking you to clean up or something like that.”

She bit her lip, and regretted it when she found it still stinging from earlier. “I mean… Do you really mind if I stay here? You can say no. You don’t know me, and here I am, cuddling you.”

“I love you.” He whispered to her, holding her a little tighter, “Honestly, I wanted to ask you to stay. I didn’t, because I am terrified I’m going to do something wrong, and lose you, again. I don’t want to push.”

Lorelai took a ragged breath, “One more thing. Whilst I’m still feeling brave and everyone else is out. I know we almost mentioned it, but, we need to be clear. I know I shouldn’t feel it… But you don’t just make me feel safe, like this.”

He turned his head, “We’re going to talk openly about this?”

“When we’re alone.” She swallowed, “And… I say drop it, we drop it. Come back to it, later.”

He nodded, “Sure. Lor… You look a lot like your mother. Your personality, though, that is miles above. So you are a hotter, more attractive, more brilliant, young lady, than someone I actually married. You’re not the only one with internal struggles.”

“God, I want you to fuck me.” She whispered, feeling her pussy begging. “I know it’s wrong. So wrong. I… This is just my fantasy. Making things clear. But… I want you to make love to me. Be my first, and be loving.”

Mateo breathed in raggedly, “That is… Honest. Very honest. I… Am going to have dreams like that, Lorelai. The guilt is going to suck. But I suppose if we’re open about it, we can get over it, easier.”

He was hearing her, but he wasn’t understanding her.

Talking about something just made it harder to get off your mind. It wasn’t going to make it easier to move on.

She shifted her weight a little, “Dad… I invited Hannah to stay, because she’s into me. Because if I was busy with her, I wouldn’t be as tempted to do things with you.”

“I know.”

She nearly screamed in frustration.

Lorelai turned her head to look up at him with her beautiful eyes that could usually get her whatever she wanted, “Should I fuck my cousin? My first time be a first time with a girl? Or… Or can… Maybe… Once she’s asleep…”

“That’s a bad idea. The regret would hurt too much.” Mateo said, as she watched his adam’s apple bob. “It might be unconventional, but there’s no issue if you and Hannah became an item. Even have a public wedding, one day. I think you should explore that.”

She rolled her jaw, “I want you to kiss me. Stop lying that you don’t think we should.”

“I’m not lying. We shouldn’t. I want to, and I’ve admitted that.” He said quietly, “But we shouldn’t. You should at least explore an idea that won’t burn your world to the ground, first.”

Lorelai pouted, and yanked her head back down onto his chest. “Fine. But I’m not going to be quiet about it. You’re going to hear the two of us.”

“Seriously? You’re going to punish me for keeping my hands to myself?”

“Yes.” She snapped, and then winced, “Shit. Oh, I’m so messed up. Blame mum for making me think you were gone. You feel more like a boyfriend than my dad. And that you are my dad just… Makes it stronger. I don’t know what a dad is supposed to be.”

“Well, he isn’t supposed to fuck his daughter.”

She giggled, “You don’t swear much, do you? Sounds weird, when you say it.”

“Oh, I can keep my pace with a sailor.” Mateo suggested, “I’m just trying to keep it under control. Trying to figure out how to be your dad, again.”

Lorelai whispered, “How long do we have until Hannah comes back?”

“The others are probably five or ten minutes away.” Mateo said cautiously, “Why?”

She stood up quickly, “So, I want to do something I have never done, before. Because I know you will keep your hands to yourself. Okay, daddy? Not an invitation to touch.”

He frowned, looking at her, “Do… What?”

She yanked her jacket and shirt over her head before she lost her nerve, dropping them to the ground. She reached behind herself as he sat up, staring, and unsnapped her bra.

It fell away, and she swallowed nervously, “No one’s seen me before. What do I look like, daddy? How do I… Compare? Against other girls.”

“I want to touch.” He said breathlessly, and shook his head, “You’re fucking gorgeous, Lorelai. Damn.”

“What… What do you want to touch?” She tried to prompt him.

He looked up at her red-cheeked face, and smiled proudly, “Everything. But, I guess you want me to say how you’re driving me crazy. I want to suck your tits. Bury my face between them. Hell, you’re big enough that I want to try putting my cock between them, too.”

She looked down at his pants, and saw he wasn’t lying. The tent growing in his pants made her wetter. He had to be bigger than most guys her own age. It looked… Thick. Like it’d stretch her.

She grabbed her bra from the floor quickly, turning around, and moving her hair to the side, “Help me out? Don’t want to get caught like this. Hannah’s already jealous and handsy.”

His hands were shaking, making her grin, as he clumsily got the clasp back in place.

She was tempted to spin around and kiss him, when they both heard the front door open. Lorelai gasped and grabbed her tops from the floor, frantically slipping them.

She was red-faced and falling into a sitting position on the couch when she heard Hannah calling out, “We’re back, Uncle Teo! Cuz!”

Hannah paused as she saw the two of them, glaring at Lorelai. The woman rolled her jaw, and then walked over a dumped a pile of clothes unceremoniously into her lap. “Hope you like ’em. Need the bathroom.”

She’d made her jealous, insanely jealous, and now Hannah was going off to cry, alone. It was what Lorelai would do, in her position.

It was worse than just feeling cheated on. The jealousy extended from being jealous of anyone spending time with Lorelai, to being jealous that Lorelai had been doing something she shouldn’t have with her dad, whilst Hannah couldn’t touch her own.

Lorelai slid the clothes beside her onto the couch and stood up slowly, “Um… Can you and Celia give us some space, for a bit?”

“We’ll head down to the beach.” Mateo gave a proud smile, and stood up, “Hannah knows where to find us, if the two of you decide to join us, but if you don’t, that’s fine, too.”

Hannah’s mother was also smiling from the doorway, and Lorelai couldn’t help but roll her eyes at what Celia was silently suggesting she should do.

Even if it was exactly what she was planning to do.

Lorelai waited until everyone was gone and then went and knocked on the bathroom door.

Hannah’s voice was cracked when it came back, “Occupied.”

“Open up. Cousin Inspection.” She tried some fake levity.

There was a sniffle, and then the sad voice sounded through the wooden door, closer, “I’ll be fine, cuz. Go have some fun with your dad. Chase him on the beach or something.”

“That’d be hard seeming I just kicked him out of the house. Your mum, too.”

The door cracked open a little, “Are you stupid? Your dad is way into you. This is your -”

Lorelai forced the door all the way open, revealing the red-eyed woman, and put her arms together, under her breasts. “Hannah. You and I have got some shit to talk about.”

“If I hadn’t interrupted you -”

“Bedroom. Now.” Lorelai growled, grabbing her wrist and dragging her into the room that Mateo had said was hers. The two sat down on the edge of the large double bed.

She couldn’t help but notice that even though this had technically been a spare room, it was clear that Hannah actually did sleep over in it fairly regularly.

There was a hairbrush and hair straightener on top of the chest of drawers, and the desk had a pile of clips and ties as well. A couple cans of deodorant lying here and there.

Hannah winced, “I’m sorry I screwed up. Should have known dad would take off and leave just the two of you together.”

“Shut up. It wasn’t like that.” Lorelai tried, and then frowned, “Actually, it was exactly like that. But nothing was about to happen. I’m still bringing his guard down. But, I was more worried you were about to get jealous. Which you did.”

“I’m happy for you, cuz.” Hannah whispered.

“Dad told me to fuck you.”

Hannah breathed in so fast she snorted, “Say what? I mean, mum was pushing you, but -”

“I said I would, as well.” Lorelai cut her off.

The redhead stared up at her, “Huh? But… Your dad…”

“Is going to take some convincing. And your dad is going to take even more convincing.” Lorelai replied.

Hannah cocked her head, “Yep. You’ve lost me.”

“I want my first time… With a guy… To be my dad.” Lorelai said slowly, taking deep breaths like she was at the start line of a race, “But, more than that, I want you there. Having your first time with your dad.”

The redhead gave a weak laugh, “What, you wanna stay a virgin forever?”

“You might not have been able to convince Uncle Jonah to come around to your way of thinking, by yourself.” Lorelai agreed, “But that’s before he had two hot-as-fuck girls all over each other in front of him. I wanna pact. You and me. We’ll break our dads, together.”

Hannah smiled slowly at her, “He did get nervous when I kissed you. And was just about as annoyed that I like you, as he acts when I show I like him.”

The blonde nodded, “Exactly. Those two don’t have a chance if you and I are putting in a coordinated effort to take ’em down.”

“Cuz, I think you just ruined my panties.” Hannah grinned.

“Then take them off.”

The redhead started. “Eh… The guys aren’t here to show off for.”

“I said my first time with a guy. My first time with a girl… Right here. Right now.” Lorelai tried to be firm as her stomach butterflied. “I like you, Hannah. I do like kissing you. No idea if I’m actually into girls, or if it’s just you, or I’ll end up telling you to stop because I don’t like it. But I wanna try.”

Hannah swallowed, “You told your dad you were going to fuck me.”

“Yep. He also suggested I think about dating you, because you and I can actually get married.” Lorelai put the idea into her head, “Dating you. Dating my dad. I… I can kinda see myself doing both. Is that… Something… You’d be okay, with?”

Hannah frowned, “Cuz… I do want to kiss you. I do want to feel your tongue all over me, down there. But I don’t want to share my dad with you.”

“Wasn’t thing of a love… Square.” Lorelai shook her head, “But maybe… Like a square bracket? Uncle Jonah loves you, who loves him back and also loves me. Same for me and my dad.”

“I have literally never thought if I’d like to be shared, before.” Hannah said breathlessly, “But cuz… I am creaming myself, right now. You’re fucking fire.”

Lorelai smiled at her, “Not so much a brat now, are you? Not when you might get what you want. So… You’d be okay sharing me with my dad?”

“Convincing the guys to go along is already going to be hard. Convincing them to share us -”

Lorelai grinned, “Is going to be easy. Half of our relentless teasing to them is going to be us making out in front of them. Sneaking little panty grabs, when we’re pretending not to notice that they’re watching.”

“Shit. Okay.” Hannah nodded.

She swallowed nervously, “So… That’s a yes, then?”

“I’ll share you, if you share me, and help me fuck my dad.” Hannah nodded, and then reached for her panties, “Also, on the condition you do something about this mess you just made.”

Lorelai bit her lip in anticipation, “God, yes. Though, got no idea what I’m doing. Might need some direction.”

Hannah slid her black panties down, holding them up so that her cousin could see just how soaked they were, “This is all your fault. Going to do something about it?”

Lorelai scooted down onto the floor, on her knees in front of the woman. She rested her hands on Hannah’s thighs and slowly spread them. She stared as the musty scent hit her, and she saw the engorged pussy lips showing partially through a red bush.

“I… Eh… Don’t shave.” Hannah said nervously, “You don’t mind, do you?”

“No idea.” Lorelai laughed nervously and looked up at her, “Um… What do I do? Just kinda… Try and lick it?”

Hannah leaned back, spreading her legs wider, “I’ve never had anyone go down on me, cuz. I lost my virginity two weeks ago when I was blackout drunk. I’ve got as much idea as you.”

“When you masturbate, how do you do it?” Lorelai took a stab in the dark, “I kinda get a couple fingers in myself. Three, if I’m horny as fuck.”

Hannah gave a quiet moan, “Love the image. I don’t know. I’m sensitive as shit, right now. Just try and flick my clit or something, but with your tongue? God. Just taste me, already.”

She leaned into the space between Hannah’s legs, and gave a cautious and tiny lick up the slit and towards the hood. She felt her cousin’s thighs tighten up, and heard a satisfied sigh.

The liquid was sort of salty, sort of tangy, and sort of musty, on Lorelai’s tongue. She had tasted herself before, but it was different than that. Not bad, just… Different.

Lorelai tried again, but pushing her tongue in deeper, working it along the slit to try and get more of that taste into her mouth. Hannah gasped and grabbed at the top of her head, “Oh, yeah! That’s the ticket. Fuck!”

“I love how you taste.” Lorelai said, wincing at how embarrassing the words sounded in the air.

Hannah pulled gently on her head, “Uh… Can I taste it?”

“Hmm?” Lorelai was confused.

“Kiss me. Please?”

She stood up and lay down beside her onto the bed, where Hannah quickly grabbed her whole body and dragged the two of them together, hooking one leg around Lorelai’s waist.

Hannah’s tongue pushed into Lorelai’s willing mouth, and she felt the taste swirl between them. As she was busy focusing on that, the redhead grabbed Lorelai’s hand and guided it back down to the exposed pussy.

“I’m only one finger. Gently.” Hannah gasped out before resuming trying to climb inside Lorelai’s mouth.

Her cousin moaned loudly as Lorelai ran her finger up and down the slit, playing with her juices and making sure the pussy was good and ready. Then, she pushed her middle finger all the way in.

“Fu-fuck!” Hannah half-yelled, “Gently, I said! Shit. Sensitive, cuz.”

Lorelai grinned, bending her finger around inside someone else’s tightness for the first time, “Sorry, you’re just… So tempting. Oh, I wanna hear you cum.”

“Just did.” Hannah said with a crooked smile and pushed her hips a little, before sucking Lorelai’s tongue back into her mouth.

Lorelai experimented between thrusting, and curling, until she found a gentle rhythm of both that had Hannah moaning so much that kissing her just wasn’t working anymore.

Hannah still had her basically in a bear hug, their tits pressed together, as she shook from the assault on her pussy. Spilling cum all over Lorelai’s hand as she flowed even more than the blonde did.

Her own pussy was wet, hot, hungry and frustrated. Whilst still trying to concentrate on Hannah, she used her other hand to start working her panties off, getting them down to her knees before trying to kick them flying.

Hannah’s hand found her instantly and unbidden, “This… Fuck. What you… Want, cuz? Want me… To fuck you?”

“Fuck me.” Lorelai whispered urgently, “Please. Oh, please. Make me cum, Hannah.”

Her cousin only teased at her entrance some more, “Mmm. Think about Teo, as you fingerfuck me, cuz. Think about him fucking you. Ooh! Oh! Fuck. Think about him, fuck, fucking you, as you… Fuck me.”

“Jonah’s cock, in your twat.” Lorelai whispered as she more frantically pushed into Hannah, “Moaning… For his daughter.”

“Shit.” Hannah cursed, shivering and shuddering.

Lorelai growled a little, “Come on. Stop teasing. I’m making you cum. Fuck. I’m the virgin.”

“Not anymore, cuz.” Hannah said, pushing the first knuckle of her finger into Lorelai. “Not anymore.”

It wasn’t like Lorelai hadn’t masturbated inside herself. That was her preference. All the same, having someone else do it to her, changed absolutely everything about the experience.

She moaned loudly, and thrust herself against Hannah instinctively. Trying to get more inside her, “Fuck. Oh, fuck. Make me cum. Make me cum, just for you. You, Hannah. Not daddy.”

Hannah shuddered, “Fuckin’… Adorable.”

“Say my name?” She asked weakly, struggling to continue jilling her cousin as the woman played with her opening.

“Lorelai…” Hannah whispered into her ear, “I love you.”

With that, Hannah finally finished pushing a finger deep into her wet snatch. It felt tight, tighter than she usually did, but the confession had Lorelai flooding.

“Fuck, I love… You… Hannah.” She whispered back, “I… Fucking… Love… You.”

Hannah stopped moving, and then gently kissed her lips, “You mean that, don’t you? You love me. Not just as family.”

“I don’t even know what a family is.” Lorelai whispered back to her, “But I love you. My heart hurts. I do love you, Hannah. We’re not just fooling around. Not just trying to get our dads. I love you, as much as I love daddy. You don’t have to be jealous.”

Hannah kissed her again gently, and then pushed Lorelai onto her back and snaked down the bed, “I’m going to lick your pussy now, Lor. ‘Cause I want to. And I wanna hear you telling me how much you love me.”

“Fuck, yes.” She shivered, feeling her legs spread nervously. “You love… Me?”

Hannah looked up, “Yeah. Hell yeah. I love you, the same way, cuz. If mum and dad weren’t okay with this, I’d be running away from home. I want to feed you icecream, dress you up. I wanna… I…”

Lorelai grinned and bit her lip, “Scared it’s too soon to say that one? I’ll say it. I want to see you in a wedding dress.”

“God, fuck.” A tear rolled down Hannah’s cheek, “I’ve never fallen for anyone this fast or hard before. I wanna walk down the aisle to you.”