Off-Limits Daddy

I never expected to see him again.

It was a one-night thing, a fling with a man I barely knew. My preferred connection.

God, I didn’t even know his name back then.

He noticed me, too—more than once. The way his gaze lingered, it felt like he could see right through me.

We exchanged glances, and then I was outside with him, the air between us buzzing with unspoken energy.

It was intense. There was no small talk, no awkward silences. Just… need. And we both gave in to it.

Then I found out who he really was.

Next morning, I met Jen for coffee. She was rambling about her father coming to town for some medical conference. I was barely paying attention until she mentioned his name.

Dr. Richard Hayes.

Her father. The man I had just spent the night with.

He keeps creeping into my mind. A PhD in psychology and I can’t even figure myself out. How can an off-limits, older man—my best friend’s father, for God’s sake—take up so much space in my head?

And now… now he wants to see me again.