Reiko Amanda

I returned home from work to find my young daughter enjoying what was quite likely her final swim in the pool before heading to college the following morning. As she swam laps in the cool water, I lingered in the cool car, watching her, still mesmerized at her skill. Four years of high school swim team competition had certainly honed her abilities, and that had definitely helped to hone her figure.

Eventually, she reached one of the ladders and began to climb out of the water. She was breathing hard, her chest heaving, her breasts straining against the taut blue swimsuit, the band of rainbow colors making her waist appear even thinner than I knew it was. Her wet hair seemed plastered to her cheeks, yet she did not bother to brush it aside, opting only to remove her swim goggles and hold them by the strap as she approached the car, smiling with genuine happiness at seeing me even though she had just expended a fair amount of energy in the pool.

I had become quite accustomed to seeing her like this. In competition, the only differences would be the color of her swimsuit and the addition of a swim cap. On this Wednesday evening, however, instead of smiling at a teammate following a race, she was smiling at me.

The water cascading down her body further emphasized my daughter's curves. She may as well have been sculpted, chiseled into the form before me, the living statue slowly approaching the low wooden patio table where she had left a towel. As she set the swim goggles aside and picked up the towel, I finally shut off the engine and emerged from the car, closing and locking the door in time to turn around and have her standing before me.

"Welcome home, Daddy," she said sweetly, her breathing slowing a bit, her eyes beaming lovingly.

Despite the fact that I was wearing my work clothes, I took my daughter into my arms. Our hug was strong as usual, definitely heartfelt. The fact that she called me "Daddy" and I thought of her as "my daughter" really sometimes caught me off-guard, such as in this instance, given that she looked almost nothing at all like me.

Reiko Amanda was the offspring of some very close friends, a British man I had known in college and worked with early in my career and a Japanese woman he had met and bedded the night before our college graduation. The Japanese grandparents were not at all happy about the interracial relationship and marriage, and it was clear that Reiko Amanda and her mother Azumi were not welcome in Japan ever again. Given that Henry was an orphan, my friends had asked me to be Reiko Amanda's godfather, to which I enthusiastically agreed, and they had also asked that if something were ever to happen to them both, that I adopt her and raise her as my own daughter.

Unfortunately, I did indeed need to adopt her. She was practically a daughter to me anyhow given how much time she and her parents had shared with me at their home and mine. That was good, because when it was time to move Reiko Amanda into my home, the physical and mental transitions were easier than they could have been.

Through smart investing and hard work, while they had been taken from us rather early in life, Henry and Azumi had definitely set things in place so that Reiko Amanda would be fine financially. When she had turned eighteen, that money was officially turned over to her, and through her consistent excellence in school, she would barely needed to touch it to pay for college in full, meaning that she could devote much of her time to studying and swimming, even though the college was too small to have sports beyond a fledgling women's volleyball team and men's and women's basketball teams.

Although we had visited the pool on campus, I wondered just how often my daughter would be able to swim. As she looked up at me with her narrow hazel eyes bright with love, I wondered if she truly realized that her swimming "career" was officially over, that most likely her best opportunities to swim would be when she came home for a weekend or for vacations.

We separated, and we both looked at her wet imprint on my clothes. She and I were both quite familiar with this circumstance, and we simply grinned as she reached for my hand to lead me inside, barely allowing me time to retrieve my laptop bag from the roof of the car.

*****

Throughout the evening, Reiko Amanda wore the same swimsuit. This was nothing new, as she often wore a swimsuit or sometimes a bikini at home, especially during the summer, to save time when she wanted to return to the pool. While she definitely looked good in a bikini, the swimsuits helped her to remain in the competitive mindset, which had been quite important for four years.

...but not anymore.

"Glen arrived in Frankfurt today," she announced as she returned from the laptop in her bedroom. "He'll be heading to the university tomorrow to get things started."

Glen was certainly a good guy. His grades were only so-so, but he had a heart large enough to encompass several of the Great Lakes with room to spare. I had been quite happy when he had finally asked Reiko Amanda on a date, and even happier that they had stayed together for the two years until high school graduation. They did not so much break up as find themselves far apart, for his summer job was in the Alaskan wilderness, and he was home only for a few days before flying to Los Angeles and then on to Frankfurt.

Using the remote, I turned down the talking heads on the television, then patted my thigh. Eagerly, my daughter took her place in my lap, one of the traces of girlhood which remained. She leaned against me as I gently rubbed her side, enjoying the opportunity to hold her again. All too soon, I would only have this chance during vacations, or maybe a long weekend when she might come home.

"You miss him, don't you?"

"Yeah..." She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed my cheek, just as she had done countless times over the years. "I'll miss you, Daddy."

"So will I," I admitted. "I miss me already."

She fortunately giggled at the old joke and buried her face in my neck. Her hair was still slightly damp, but it felt rather good.

"How do you see me, Daddy?" Reiko Amanda asked softly.

"What do you mean?"

She seemed to hesitate for a moment before answering. "Do you see me as truly your daughter, as if you'd made me yourself? Or do you see me as the little girl you adopted?"

Strangely, she had never asked me this in the six years we had been living together. "To be honest," I admitted, "I see you as both. You may as well be my blood-related daughter -- I've known you practically since the moment you were born."

She made a soft, semi-sad sound, which surprised me.

"Why do you ask?"

She did not answer. Instead, my daughter kissed my cheek again, a bit more forward, and rested her head on my shoulder, with neither of us saying nothing for a long time, with the talking heads filling the air for us.

*****

I paused in the doorway and watched as my daughter packed a few more things. In the morning, we would load the car and begin our final journey together.

She must have felt my eyes on her, for Reiko Amanda turned around and gave me a soft smile. "It's not an empty nest yet," she noted.

"I know," I responded, "but it may as well be since you're nearly done packing."

She shrugged and returned to her packing as I lingered in the doorway a moment longer, missing her presence already.

*****

As the sun broke the horizon, I stood at the edge of the pool, watching as my talented daughter took one final swim in the pool. An hour later, still wearing the swimsuit under her clothes, she closed the trunk with a sound of finality.

We shared the drive, trading off about every ninety minutes since that was the longest she had ever driven in one direction. I was not at all surprised by the many interested looks she received when we refueled the car and ourselves at a truck stop.

When we finally arrived at the first hotel, we both emerged from the car. I turned toward her to ask her something, but the words were caught in my throat.

During the afternoon, Reiko Amanda had taken off her t-shirt. She stretched, her arms behind her head and her back arched beautifully, her head tipped back to allow her hair to freely flow toward the asphalt, her torso's straining position within the taut swimsuit making her breasts quite prominent.

Seeing her as a woman for the first time reminded me that I was definitely a man. There was a stirring within my jeans, and I had to quickly avert my eyes.

Do you see me as truly your daughter, as if you'd made me yourself? Or do you see me as the little girl you adopted?

Her inquiry suddenly made sense.

"I'll go check us in and get some restaurant recommendations."

"Okay, Daddy." She straightened again and turned away from me, looking across the street toward the shopping mall. I could finally look at her again, yet for a moment the stirring continued regardless.

Soon, we had our overnight bags in the hotel suite. The view from the living room was not spectacular, showing another part of the hotel ten stories above the small courtyard. The view from the bedroom, however, was once again of the shopping mall.

I knew that before we went to bed, we would be in the mall. I was fine with that, although I had not planned on us doing any shopping on the way to the college.

"Hmmm..."

"What is it?" I asked.

"There's only one humongous bed."

"Not a problem," I assured her. "I had planned to sleep on the sofa."

"No! Don't worry, Daddy. I won't bite you while you sleep!"

If I had not suddenly seen my daughter -- adopted or not -- as a woman when we were in the parking lot, I probably would not have thought anything about her "while you sleep" comment. On the other hand...

*****

After dinner and shopping, we returned to the hotel, and I was soon left on my own in the suite as Reiko Amanda went to use the outdoor pool. I was a bit tired from the long drive that day, so I was not at all surprised when I awoke on the bed.

I was very much surprised, however, when I awoke on the bed cuddling with a damp daughter.

In that moment, something happened. Something simply clicked.

We kissed, and although sleep still has a slight control over me, I responded to the way her lips moved against mine, the way her breasts were pressed against my chest, the way her fingernails grazed along my spine.

I responded in kind. As the final vestiges of sleep faded away like dissolving steam, I rapped gently at her teeth with my tongue, and her mouth truly opened to allow me entrance into her. My arms tightened around her.

I began to grow against her.

In the hotel suite, the natural light was fading, replaced with a new light which had the potential to outshine the sun.

I have no idea of when the kisses and the touches and the soft whimpers finally ended. I only know that we both fell asleep in each other's arms, awakening just after midnight because of multiple emergency vehicles passing by the hotel. Only then did we finally get officially dressed for bed.

*****

Our Friday drive was relatively short, needing only four more hours of driving to reach our second and final hotel. That allowed us to sleep in.

...and allowed me to awaken to my daughter atop me. There was no time for any feelings of guilt, for her gentle kiss aroused my desire in unexpected ways and with unanticipated speed. Reiko Amanda's long hair curtained my face so that I could only look up at her before she dipped her head again to kiss me with a love I had not anticipated.

Thoughts of the journey ahead were banished as underneath the thick, warm covers, my daughter gently rocked against something thick and warm. I was more than half her age, yet the age gap between us meant nothing at all as we kissed and hugged and touched.

...and traded position, rolling so that I was upon her, our pajamas adding additional friction in just the right places as my thickness was aligned just right with her clitoris.

The same inexplicable force which had awoken us to this new dynamic was also responsible for the way we rocked against each other. It caused me to touch my daughter's chest for the first time, a hand closing on a breast and squeezing, my palm quite sensitive to the pert nipple poking through the pajama shirt.

Yet something held us back. Something prevented us from undressing each other and taking the next step. As I showered and thought about how the morning had begun, I was thankful for that something, because I do not know if I could have faced the most important person in my life if I had violated her in a hotel far from home.

*****

We shared the driving for the final major trek of the journey. Our second hotel was about ten miles from the college: close enough to get there with great ease yet ideally far enough away to avoid the crowds of families coming to drop off their children to start their four-year educational careers.

I had made reservations with the same hotel chain, and this time, I believe Reiko Amanda and I both assumed that we would share the lone large bed. We arrived in mid-afternoon, which gave her plenty of time to spend in the outdoor pool while I handled some work e-mails and watched some auto racing.

Eventually, I went down to the outdoor pool, and I was not surprised to see a pair of young men passing by and openly admiring my daughter. She stood beside the pool, bent over to pick up a towel, and I once again saw her in profile, the curves of her breasts captivating my eyes and causing me to remember how they had felt against my chest that morning at another hotel, how my palm had felt almost aflame at feeling a stiffened nipple.

She saw me and waved. "Hi, Daddy!"

Both the young men turned and saw me, and hurried along. After all, what young man wants to try hitting on a beautiful young woman with her Daddy -- or at least someone she calls "Daddy," given that she and I look and sound almost nothing alike -- in the immediate area?

"No need to stop because of me," I assured her. "I just thought I'd come watch you for a while."

"Yeah, well I thought I'd head upstairs," Reiko Amanda said as she began to dry herself. "The chlorine content's a little high. I definitely need a shower."

"Okay. By the way, any thoughts on dinner?"

"Room service."

"Room service?"

"Sure. I've never had room service before."

It was a good point. I had traveled more than enough to have sampled room service at many hotels, but for her, it would be a first.

Her shower was also a first for her. "Join me?" she offered as she headed into the bathroom.

"Are you sure?" I queried, a bit leery about sharing a shower with her, even after the intimate moments we had shared at the previous hotel.

"I'm sure," she confirmed.

I went to the bedroom first and began to undress, noting my reflection in the mirror on the wall. I had a little bit of a belly, but nothing severe. There were a few gray hairs showing, but nothing too prominent. My nose appeared slightly larger than usual, but I had come to accept that. What I really could not understand, however, was what Reiko Amanda saw in me, what made her want to become intimate with me. Perhaps it was something invisible. Perhaps it was simply our long history together which was the underlying cause.

As for the young woman in the bathroom, she was definitely attractive, definitely beautiful. Her mix of Japanese and British features gave her an unusual appearance, but one which combined the best of her photogenic parents' genes. Her voice was beautiful as well, not a true full Japanese or British sound when she spoke but definitively not the Texan accent of our hometown.

I also knew that her heart was immensely beautiful. That was part of her charm over the years, part of what had endeared her to me from a very, very young age. Her large heart combined with her mixed voice and her interracial beauty probably should have attracted me to her much sooner, but social conditioning had prevented me from thinking of my daughter in that manner even though she was adopted and not related to me by blood.

She may have been adopted, but until a few hours earlier, I had thought of her as truly my daughter. She may have lived with others -- with her biological parents -- for most of her life, but I had still thought of her as truly my daughter. That had prevented me from seeing her as the mature young woman she had already been for many years, but since I finally recognized the girl in my midst as a woman with a lot of love to share, I was beginning to find it difficult to think of her as my daughter -- adopted or otherwise.

As I heard the water begin to run in the shower, I thought for a moment about what would be taking place in a few seconds. I would be naked as I stepped into the bathroom, and I would join Reiko Amanda in the shower, and I presumed that she would be naked as well -- although even if she was just wearing the swimsuit, it would still be a most unusual situation for any two people with such a vast age difference between them. I figured that I would close the shower door behind me and take her into my arms, and just let things happen as she desired.

And, a few seconds later, I stepped into the bathroom, and the frosted glass separating the shower itself from the rest of the bathroom was not opaque enough to prevent me from seeing her short form, still clad in the swimsuit, as she stood beneath the spray of the shower, her long black hair cascading past her shoulders as she faced away from me. If she had heard the bathroom door open and reclose, she did not give any such indication.

I hesitated and took a deep breath -- in part to center and calm myself -- before I opened the shower door, for I knew that once I stepped into the shower with her, with my daughter, with this wonderful young woman, she and I would never be able to see each other in the same way ever again. The shower door was a point of no return, a line which could only be crossed once, and we would both be forced to live with the subsequent consequences.

I pushed the shower door open, and still she faced away from me, giving me no indication that she knew of my presence. Only when I had to nudge her backside with the shower door did she step forward and turn around, her eyes half-open as she looked at my face and then seemed to realize that I was naked. Her eyes quickly descended me, and a smile spread across her lips as they rose again to my face.

The shower door closed with a noticeable sound as the magnets reengaged. I accepted her proffered hand and allowed her to draw me to her, and a heartbeat later, the hug we shared was warmer than the water befalling us.

For some time, we simply touched, caressing each other. It was enough to arouse me noticeably, and it was a little embarrassing to become erect in the presence of the person I had helped raise over the years. But when Reiko Amanda's hand slid slowly down my chest and stomach and brushed the sensitive tip of my manhood, I shuddered with delight and with desire, my arms tightening around her and encouraging her to embolden her touch.

"Lean back," she requested, her sweet voice almost lost in the sound of the falling water. I did as she had asked, leaning against the frosted glass of the shower door, and for the first time since my college days, a woman knelt before me and took me into her mouth. With my eyes closed and my hands curling in her hair, I rode the waves of pleasure which rippled outward from her warm wet mouth and her small adoring hands, and the many, many years without the enjoyment of such explicit gratification soon brought my pleasure to a peak as I held her head in place and rutted into her small mouth, growling as my primal need was satiated.