“My daughter!” Blake said, greeting her. “Sit down; have some breakfast before you have to leave.”
He saw Stephanie behind Tiara, but he didn’t say anything about it. When she didn’t sit down, Blake looked up again.
“I’m not hungry, Daddy,” Tiara said and then looked back at Stephanie who did a “shooing” motion with her hands, urging Tiara to continue. “I have something I want to ask you.”
Cat stopped eating her oatmeal and tuned into the conversation at hand. Blake set his paper aside and gave Tiara his undivided attention.
“What is on your mind, Princess?”
“You see, uh . . . I . . .” Tiara searched for the words. She couldn’t believe that she didn’t practice that part at all. Finally, she just said forget it and spit it out. “There is this boy at school who I like, and he seems to like me just as much back. His name is Mario, and he asked me to go on a date with him on Saturday. I told him that I would love to go, but I would have to ask you first. Can I please go?”
Blake looked at Tiara as if he had never before seen her a day in his life. He was at a loss for words because that was definitely the last thing he expected her to say. He had done good and lucked out for almost four years, but now, there he was with the inevitable staring him in the face. He should have known something was up by the way Tiara carried herself lately. He was forced to see her as a beautiful young lady and not as his baby girl. Still, he would try to prolong it for as long as he could.
“What about our agreement, Tiara?” he said evenly.
“What about it, Daddy?” Tiara asked. “It’s not like I’m about to have sex with him; it’s just dinner. I really want to go, Daddy. Please?”
Tiara couldn’t remember the last time she begged anyone for anything, especially her father, and that should have showed him that she really wanted to go.
“I will not allow it,” Blake said and then picked up his paper again. “Tell him that I said no.”
“What?” Tiara asked incredulously. “Why?”
She knew he might say no, but not just flat-out like that. He didn’t even have a reason.
“Because I said so,” Blake said. “It is not up for debate. That boy isn’t looking at you for you. He’s looking to get into your pants or to get in good with me. Like they always do.”
“He’s not like that, Daddy! Just give him a chance,” Tiara tried one more time. She then looked to Cat for help, but she shook her head. “I don’t understand what is the point of having a kid when you don’t let me do anything! You don’t even have a real reason to not let me go, and, Mom, you are just going based off of what he says because I don’t think you have a mind of your own. You’re just trying to control me, and it’s not fair to me. If I can’t go, I won’t have anything to say to you this weekend, so don’t come knocking on my door!”
Tiara ran out of the kitchen to the waiting car that was to take her to school. Stephanie put her hand on her hip and looked at Blake like he had shit on his face. Blake looked at her venomously, daring her to speak out of turn. Stephanie was bold enough to step out of line and talk crazy to Cat, but she would never have enough guts to do the same to Blake. Instead, she bit her tongue, taking her leave and went to find some work to do. She wanted to busy herself to keep Tiara’s hurt voice off of her for the rest of the day.
* * *
“He said no,” Tiara told Mario the second she saw him in the hallway. “He didn’t even care to hear me out. He just said no.”
Mario used his hand to gently brush against Tiara’s cheek. “It’s OK, beautiful. I will see you this weekend one way or another.”
There was something about the determination in his voice that made her want to draw closer to him. He was looking extra fine that day too. She placed her hands on his chest, forcing Mario to lean against a locker behind him, and she leaned on him. She moved her hands so that her breasts could press into his chest as she gazed up into his sexy eyes.
“But how?” she asked.
Instead of answering, Mario leaned down and kissed her softly, something they had been doing quite often lately. Tiara slipped her tongue in his mouth, and she felt one of his hands put pressure on the small of her back while the other cupped her chin. It was Tiara who finally broke the kiss because she had to come up for air. She was sure she was about to faint because everything about Mario was so perfect. She felt her clit throbbing and wished they were somewhere more private so she could ask him to kiss her down there too. She had to see him on Saturday, even if it meant going against her father’s wishes.
“I’m going to sneak out.” It was like a lightbulb was flashing in Tiara’s head. “I’m going to sneak out on Saturday night! I’m going to give you my address, and I want you to wait outside the gate for me to come out at midnight, OK?”
Mario looked down at Tiara trying to read her face. At first, he thought she was joking, but seeing the seriousness in her expression, he knew she wasn’t.
“Are you sure that’s the best idea? I’m sure all he needs to do is meet me and he will be open to me dating
