On the Edge
for you, daddy🖤
you ruined me for anyone else, and i wouldn't have it any other way.
this one's ours.
-- your little girl 🩰
----
I shouldn't be jealous.
But I am.
I'm not supposed to want more. I'm not supposed to feel like this when he smiles at her, touches her hand, pours her wine like he hasn't just wrecked me the night before.
Like I don't still have bruises in the shape of his fingers.
He's sitting right there--across from me, next to her--and I swear I can still feel him inside me.
And it makes me crazy.
Because he's pretending again.
Being the version of himself that still belongs to her. Still plays house.
Still acts like I'm not the one he needs.
* * *
I push the bread basket a little too hard across the table.
Make a snarky comment about something she says.
It's small. Petty. Deliberate.
But it makes his jaw clench.
And I feel it--right then--that shift.
He sees me.
And I want him to snap.
I want him to take me to the bathroom, bend me over the sink, and make me regret every word.
But he doesn't.
Of course he doesn't.
He just lets his hand drift back to her thigh. Smiles. Pretends.
And I swear I might fucking scream.
* * *
Mom tucks her credit card back into her wallet, smiling at the waiter as she sets down the receipt.
"All set?" she asks, looking between us.
I nod too quickly.
Daddy, on the other hand, moves slow--deliberate--rolling his shoulders back like he's still holding something inside him.
Something he refuses to let out.
I want to scream.
Instead, I smile.
"All set, Babygirl?"
A look from Mom. It still surprises her that Daddy calls me his Babygirl, even now that I'm a grown-ass adult. Technically, anyway.
The three of us push out into the night, the warm air thick around us, the restaurant's soft golden glow spilling onto the sidewalk.
Mom hooks her arm through Daddy's, leaning into him as she laughs.
"Thanks for joining us for dinner, baby."
My stomach knots.
Baby.
I clench my fists, forcing my expression to stay neutral.
Daddy just hums in response, his fingers flexing slightly where they rest against her hip.
Like he doesn't even realize he's doing it.
Like touching her is just habit.
Like it doesn't mean anything.
It shouldn't bother me.
I tell myself that over and over as we step onto the pavement, as we move toward the parking lot, as I watch him walk her to her car like a good husband.
Like a man with nothing to hide.
The bastard.
* * *
Mom stops at her car, leaning against the driver's side door as she looks up at Daddy.
She smiles. "See you guys at home?"
My pulse spikes.
She thinks we're leaving together.
She thinks we're all going home.
Daddy hesitates.
It's brief--just a flicker of something across his face, something tight, something unreadable--but I see it.
And I know what it means.
No, he's not coming home soon.
He's coming with me.
My breath hitches, a wicked thrill curling through my stomach, mingling with the jealousy still burning under my ribs.
Mom doesn't notice.
"Yep, just need to stop by the office. I forgot some paperwork for the Jenson file and obviously he's texting me on a Friday night for an update..."
She reaches up, smoothing her fingers over Daddy's collar like it's second nature, like she's done it a thousand times before.
Like she belongs to him.
My nails dig into my palms.
"Ugh, he's got to learn some limits. You're too good to your clients," she says softly. "Sweetheart, do you want to ride with me?"
"Naw, it's ok, I'll ride with Dad. I don't think I can manage another Shania Twain sing-along. No offence, Mom!"
Mom giggles. "I have the voice of an angel!"
"Sure, Mom. Angels."
"I sense some sarcasm! I'm headed to bed the second I get home so I'll see you guys in the morning!"
-----
I hate how easy it is for her.
How she can say it out loud, how she doesn't have to hide, how she doesn't have to beg for his attention.
How she doesn't have to fight for it.
Daddy nods, his jaw ticking as he bends down, pressing a brief, casual kiss to her cheek.
Nothing intense.
Nothing passionate.
Nothing that should matter.
But it does.
It fucking does.
My whole body goes tight, my breath locking in my throat as I turn away, swallowing hard against the sharp, ugly feeling clawing up my chest.
She gets to have him.
The world lets her have him.
And I--
I get nothing.
At least, not yet.
Mom slips into her car, waving as she pulls out of the lot.
I barely register the way Daddy watches her drive away, rolling his shoulders again, like something in him is unraveling.
I don't care.
Because the second she's gone--
The second we're alone--
I move.
I push forward.
And finally--
He lets me. I plant a big kiss right on his lips.
-----
And then--
A voice behind us.
"Oh--hey, Mr. Green"
I freeze.
A waiter from the restaurant stands a few feet away, cigarette between his fingers, clearly on a break.
Daddy turns smoothly, nodding once. "Evening."
I should say nothing.
I should stand here, quiet and polite, pretending I'm just the daughter, the good girl, the one who isn't dripping down her thighs just from watching him kiss his wife.
But I don't.
I can't.
Because the moment I feel the heat of his gaze land back on me, the moment his eyes flick down--just for a second--to where my legs press together, I crack.
And I say it.
"Daddy," I murmur. Soft. Sweet. Too familiar.
The waiter's cigarette pauses halfway to his lips.
Daddy's hand flexes at his side.
For a split second, the world holds its breath.
Then, casual as anything, Daddy exhales, shaking his head.
"She's always been a little needy," he says smoothly. "Probably still coming down from the sugar rush of dessert."
The waiter laughs, shaking his head. "I see..."
Daddy just smirks. "or something like that."
I burn.
My entire body burns.
He nods at the waiter. "Have a good night."
And then he's walking toward the truck, opening the passenger door for me, waiting.
I can still feel the waiter's eyes on me.
But I don't look back.
I just slide into the truck, my entire body vibrating, my fingers curling against my thighs as Daddy closes the door behind me.
The second he's behind the wheel, the second the engine rumbles to life, I exhale shakily.
He doesn't even look at me.
Just grips the wheel, his knuckles tight.
Like nothing happened.
Like I didn't just call him Daddy in front of a stranger. After that stranger saw us eat dinner as a family and then saw me kiss my dad. On the lips.
Like he's not about to destroy me for it.
I press my thighs together, fighting a shiver as the truck pulls onto the road.
He's still holding back.
But not for much longer.
* * *
The truck rumbles beneath us, the cab dark except for the faint glow of the dashboard.
Daddy hasn't said a word since we left the restaurant.