have a YouTube hit for sure.”
She wiggled in his lap to make her point.
“Brat.” He smacked her ass and she yelped, giggling.
“I love it, Daddy.” She turned in his arms, straddling him, running a hand through his dark hair. “This is the one. I’m sure of it.”
“How can you be so sure?” His eyes searched hers.
“Because I put everything into this song.” She bit her lip, wishing she could tell him, it’s about you. It’s all for you. “I can’t wait to make the video for this one.”
“Tomorrow.” He sighed, glancing at the digital clock on the desk. “Your mother’s right, we have to get you to school, and I need to get some sleep.”
“Wish I could stay home.” She cocked her head at him. “In bed… with you…”
“Brat,” he said again, smiling, his eyes darkening. “No playing hooky for you.”
“You’re amazing,” she told him softly. “A genius. This mix is perfect. Once we make the video, it’s going to go viral. I just know it.”
“You do, huh?”
“Our big break, Daddy.” She wiggled in his lap. He was even harder now and she couldn’t hide her own excitement. Her nipples were hard under her t-shirt. “Record companies will be calling us day and night. Our phone will be ringing off the hook.”
“You ready to be wined and dined by Hollywood?” he chuckled. “I hear they eat little girls like you for lunch.”
“I’ve got you,” she reminded him, kissing his cheek, the prickly stubble there. “With you as my manager, we can go all the way.”
“All the way,” he said faintly, then sighed, slowly pushing her off his lap. She didn’t want to go, but she stood, sighing too. “Go get in the shower, get ready for school. We’ll make the video tomorrow.”
She saw him glance at her in her t-shirt, at the way her nipples poked out. His gaze dipped to her boy shorts, how they rode up her behind, exposing a bit of her rounded, firm ass. She wondered if he was thinking what she was thinking—she hoped so. Did he dream about making it big, the way she did? Not just being rich and famous, but of doing it together, the two of them, a team.
Did he want her, the way she wanted him? He’d never said anything, had never hinted at it, but his body told a different story. His body didn’t lie.
She shivered at the thought.
Qesa did as he asked—she always did—and went to get ready for school, the memory of his hard cock warming her for the entire rest of the day.
Qesa came out of the only bathroom in their tiny apartment, hearing the low rumble of Rafe’s voice. So he was home from work then. It was still very early in the morning, the windows black with darkness. He was talking to Qesa’s mother. Their door was open just a crack and she took a step forward, listening.
“Rafe, stop, I have to get ready for work.”
“Come on, ti amo, mi amor,” he crooned.
“Oh yes, you love me when you want to fuck me.” Mariana snorted a little laugh. “When it’s something you want, you’re sweet. But when it’s something I want?”
“What is it you want?” Rafe sighed. “I’m doing my best, Mari, I really am…”
“You know, we could afford a castle back home for what we pay for this apartment,” she told him. Like it was news. They had this argument all the time. Qesa just silently shook her head. Her mother didn’t understand. “Why can’t we just go home?”
“This is home,” Rafe said, a hard edge to his voice. Then it softened. “Come here, let me make love to you. Let’s forget about all of his for a few moments…”
“I told you, I have to get ready for work.”
Qesa hear her mother’s footfalls and scampered back to her own room, hiding behind her bedroom door. Her mother grumbled and groused as she went into the bathroom. Qesa heard the toilet flush, the shower go on. She waited for her stepfather to come wake her, to tell her it was time to go to the studio, but he didn’t come.
Curious, Qesa checked the hallway, making
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni