This is the third, and possibly final chapter in this story. Again, I am powered by your comments, and they are what keep me writing. I hope you enjoy.
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Honestly, if someone had asked me a year ago if I thought a sex would be an appropriate way to deal with stress and depression, I would have looked at them as if they were nuts. But since then my daughter has pulled me out a many years' long funk that I didn't even know I was in, and later I somehow pulled her out of a spiralling bout of depression. Both of these were achieved using some rather forbidden means, namely some rather memorable sexual sessions. I thought that would make things awkward between us, but my daughter always was an unusual child, and she was able to completely put it behind her so effectively that I had no choice but to follow.
And the truth is that there is no sexual tension between us, which seems hard to believe. We chalked those two sessions up to something that needed to be done in the name of mental health, and moved on. We were as close as ever, and loved each other entirely, but only as father and daughter.
My work has been going fantastically, and I have found a new sense of creativity. I have even begun flirting with a couple of the ladies in my office, which pre-daughter sex I wouldn't have even considered. My daughter is going from strength to strength in her studies, after a slight hiccup now apparently completely rectified. Now she was talking about doing her doctorate in advanced science, which made me pretty damn happy. So you'd think there'd be nothing that could spoil this sunshine and light, wouldn't you?
Madeline surprised me one day at dinner time, as we sat down to lasagne, one of my signature dishes. Madeline surprising me was not a unique situation, due to her unusual nature, but this one was a doozy.
"Don't worry about me tomorrow for dinner, daddy," she said. She still called me daddy, despite the fact she was nearing her twentieth birthday. "I'm probably going to not come home until Saturday." Today was Thursday, so she was going to stay out until the day after tomorrow.
"Oh, yes?" I said, raising an eyebrow. Madeline didn't have many friends, none of whom were particularly close. She tends to put them off a little with her odd behaviour, so her staying out all night was strange, but not unheard of. "You have some big plans?"
"Yeah, I met a guy at college. An arts student I think," she grimaced a little at this, her brain more suited to the sciences. "We are going to meet up and have dinner and drinks. After that I plan to go back to his place for some sex."
I choked on my last mouthful. She had provided a little too much information for me, much too suddenly. "What?! How long have you two been going out?"
Madeline looked at me as if I had asked a nonsense question. "We haven't. This is our first time."
"Don't you think you should... I don't know... wait until you get to know him better?"
Madeline grinned at me, stood up, and kissed me on the forehead. She looked down at me, smiling. "Daddy, I know you're just trying to protect me, but you really don't have to! I am a big girl, and I can make decisions for myself now." She hugged me. "I don't really want a long-term relationship. I just don't understand how someone can want to be with one person day in, day out for months, or years, at a time. It just isn't the right time for that for me right now, I guess."
"Then why..."
"She raised one eyebrow, holding me at arms-length. She flicked a finger into my forehead. "For a smart guy, you are pretty dense sometimes. Ever since that first time we had sex I have really developed a taste for it. That second time only made things worse. I'm telling you, I have lost count as to how many batteries I have gone through for my buzzing friend! But it is still nothing like the real thing, so I plan to take this guy out, use him mercilessly, and then move on."
"But... Shouldn't you... What if he..." I stuttered, completely thrown by this whole conversation.
"Relax dad, I'll be kind to him, no handcuffs or anything. Besides, I couldn't have sex with you just because I was feeling horny. That would be wrong!"
I must have looked like a right royal idiot, sitting there with my mouth open, but luckily I was saved by the phone ringing, forcefully snapping me out of my shock. I actually jumped when it rang, and fumbled the handset. "Hi... I mean 'Hello', John speaking."
There was silence at the other end of the phone, and I had just began to think it was a prank call, when a female voice on the other end of the line said, "Hello, John."
Okay, now I was completely thrown. I sat there, eyes bugging out, wondering what had happened to my normal, happy dinner with my daughter. "Anna?"
Madeline spun around from where she had begun to tidy up the dishes, and mouthed, "Mom?" to me. I nodded slightly.
"Yes, it's me," she replied. "How have you been?"
"Good, good. Both Madeline and I have been doing pretty well lately." Anna was my ex-wife, and Madeline's mother. She left us when Madeline was very young to go live with some guy she met over the internet. She never really got on Madeline, having something against her unusual behaviour.
"How is your job? Did you finally get that promotion you were always hunting for?" she asked.
I felt a twinge of annoyance, she hadn't inquired after her daughter once! "No, I didn't. I kinda gave up on it for a long time, although I'm considering pushing for it again."
"That's good." She paused, and I could think of nothing to fill in the gap with. Finally she said, "John, could we get together soon? Perhaps over coffee, or a meal? I have a few things I would love to catch up with you about, perhaps over dinner."
"Dinner? I suppose I could do something like that..." Madeline started mouthing 'Tomorrow' at me, so I said without thinking, "How does tomorrow sound?"