Meeting Olivia’s father.

Olivia’s house is a surprise. She’s the daughter of the owner of a highly profitable chain of hotels and has made it clear she has money to burn with her expensive hobby of collecting airsoft weapons and equipment. Yet her house is a small, compact two story building of contemporary style. It has white walls with a slightly slanted roof and big, black-framed windows to let a lot of light in. And while the garage looks big enough to fit two cars, Olivia parks in front of it for the moment.

She takes a deep breath before she unfastens her seat belt and gets out of the car. You follow her and she stops at the door. She turns around to look at you directly with a small smile.

“You’re probably the last person I’d need to say this to,” she says, “but be nice to my dad, okay?”

…huh? That goes without saying. You’re the one worried you’ll get chewed out.

“Of course,” you answer.

The inside of the house is coherent with the exterior design. It’s kind of like a bigger version of Julia’s apartment with its modern aesthetics. Minimalist furniture to allow for a lot of space and lots of natural light.

“We’re here, dad,” Olivia calls, her eyes going directly to the living room. A man rises from the four-seat corner sofa in front of the fireplace. He looks at you and Olivia with a welcoming smile.

“Welcome! You’re David, right? It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” he says, walking up to you and offering his hand. You take it and he gives you a firm, good-natured handshake.

It’s no wonder that the first time you saw this man, way back on that date with Mia, you thought he looked familiar. Though Katherine and Lilian bear a striking resemblance to their mothers, Olivia takes after her dad, though it’s mostly in the eyes. The man is tall and has a slender frame; he has a 5 o’clock shadow beard, short brown hair and he’s wearing thin-framed glasses.

“Likewise, Mr. Hughes,” you return the smile. “I’m sorry it took this long.”

You feel like you’re repeating the same introduction speech with every parent you meet, but just because you apologized for your late introduction to someone doesn’t mean you don’t have to apologize to everyone else as well.

“Yes, I’ve been a little restless knowing my daughter is seeing someone and not knowing how he is,” Mr. Hughes laughs. “Please, you two, have a seat!”

You sit on the corner sofa with Olivia next to you and her father diagonally opposite to you. He then introduces himself.

“I’m Benjamin Hughes, Olivia’s father.”

“David Walker,” you answer. “Though… I suppose we’ve technically seen each other once before,” you say with a wry smile.

“Right,” he mirrors your expression. “There’s a lot of things I’d like to talk about. But I assure you I have no intentions of telling the school about your rendezvous with the English teacher. I would, however, be thankful for an explanation.”

“Of course,” you nod. “I owe you that much, at least.”

He chuckles. “Olivia did say you were a reasonable young man.”

You look at Olivia, who shrugs it off and doesn’t say anything.

The start of the conversation is very simple. You’ve had to answer these questions several times already. General plans for the future, goals, family matters and all that. But Mr. Hughes seems to be avoiding the more delicate subjects on purpose. That is, until he asks Olivia if she can leave you two alone for a moment.

“I still don’t understand why you need to talk without me here,” she complains, yet she still stands up from her seat. “I’m gonna get him to tell me everything eventually.”

“That’s fine,” Mr. Hughes chuckles. “It’s not like I’m going to reveal any deep secrets. I just want to have a more personal chat with him.”

“Fine. I’ll be in my room,” she says, giving you a final look before she leaves the living room.

“I suppose you want to ask me about more delicate matters?” you say with a small smile.

“Yes, but before that, I’d like you to hear me out on a few things,” he says with a shy smile. “Olivia had an unusual burst of honesty with me last night. You see, I’m a widower. Olivia’s mother passed away when she was only three years old,” he sighs. “As a result, I’ve… not been a great father to her. She’s my everything. Everything I do, I do for her. But sometimes, parents can love their kids so much it ends up hurting them.”

Your heart skips a beat at those words, and the image of your own father flashes through your mind.

“I’ve been too lenient with her. I spoilt her too much. I let her do anything she wanted and bought her everything she asked for because I feared making her unhappy,” Mr. Hughes closes his eyes in silent regret. “She told me everything about how you met.”

“O-Oh…”

“I heard everything from her own mouth. The things she did to you, the rumors she spread, her attempts at getting you expelled…” Mr. Hughes’ lip quivers slightly. “I am truly, truly sorry for everything my daughter put you through.” He bows in his seat, holding his knees.

It’s this that makes you understand what Olivia meant by what she said before you entered the house. Her father is a huge softie and honest to a fault. Given, you’ve only just met him, but it’s the same for him and yet he’s already apologizing.

“Those were very rough times. I don’t look back on them with any fondness, but if they were necessary to lead us to where we are now, I can accept it,” you tell him with a reassuring voice. “Thank you for your honesty, Mr. Hughes. It means a lot to me. I’ll be sure to answer in kind.”

“It relieves me so much to hear that,” he smiles. “Last night, Olivia and I spoke at length. After she told me everything she’d done, she told me how much you mean to her. I’ve seen her change in attitude, and it really is amazing,” he chuckles. “Some people say love brings out the worst of us, but I believe the opposite. I need no further proof than seeing my daughter put her best qualities, her laser-like focus and determination, into bettering herself. I’ve seen her new commitment to work and her studies, and she said, and I quote ‘my boyfriend seems like the type who’d hate a girl who has no idea where her life is going’,” Mr. Hughes laughs heartily.

You, however, laugh nervously because it’s kind of true. Kind of.

“Hate is a very strong word,” you say, scratching the back of your head.

“Hey, but it’s not like I don’t get it,” Mr. Hughes says. “I guess that’s what attracted you to your teachers?”

“Guh,” you flinch at that. “She told you about that, too?” you ask nervously.

“She did,” he says with a easy smile, “and was very adamant in telling me she’d never forgive me if I said a word to the school about it. If fact, she said that back when I told her I’d seen her English teacher with a young man at the hotel.”

You let out a heavy sigh. “I… have nothing to say to defend myself. Things happened, and I care about every single one of them every bit as much as I care about Olivia.”

“I’ll believe you,” Mr. Hughes says, nodding approvingly, “because I’m eternally thankful for what you’ve done for my daughter. I might be rushing things, but I do hope things work well between you all.”

“As do I, Mr. Hughes,” you chuckle. “and if you have anything you want to ask me, feel free to do it.”

And Mr. Hughes does. He asks a few more details on how you handle so many relationships and how Olivia is getting along with the rest of the group. He seems very happy to hear how welcoming everyone has been, saying how it’s always worried him how she would close herself to anyone who wasn’t Lilian and Jessica.

Really, the more you speak to him, the more you confirm your first impressions. This man is truly honest, caring and goodhearted. Perhaps even too trusting, considering how welcoming he’s been of you. It’s a very different first impression from the one you got from his daughter.

“So it’s always been just the two of you?” you ask him.

“Yes. I never remarried, and I don’t find doing house chores a bother, so I try to be home as much as I can. I don’t know how she may seem to others, but at home we always eat together, even if she doesn’t tell me much of her private life,” he chuckles shyly.

“I think that’s enough for now,” he says. “If we keep talking, Olivia’s going to yell at us for leaving her out.”

“Yes, I can see that,” you laugh.

“Why don’t you go see her in her room?” he offers.

“Um… are you sure?”

“Of course. Just remember you’re under my roof,” he says with an easy smile and a knowing tone. Which is, more than anything else, a relief. He’s being understanding of what it means for you to have a relationship with his daughter, acknowledging it, but still asking for respect when in his house.

You guess the man still remembers what it was like to be 18 years old.

Olivia’s door opens only seconds after you knock on it. Her face lights up when she sees you and she pulls you in by the arm before closing the door behind you.

“What did you talk about?” she asks with curiosity, leading you to sit on her bed with her.

“Nothing particularly secretive. He told me how it’s been just the two of you since you were three years old.”

“Oh,” she says. “Well… yeah.”

“You really care about your dad, don’t you?” you say, moving some of her hair behind her ear to see her face clearly.

“…Yeah. Though I know I haven’t been the best of daughters.”

“He really cares about you.”

“I know,” Olivia sighs and leans on your shoulder. “I wish he didn’t worry so much.”

“You’re asking the impossible,” you chuckle. “Parents will worry about their children, no matter what they do.”

“I guess,” she purses her lips. “We’re gonna go through that eventually, huh?”

“We are,” you nod, putting an arm around her shoulders and rubbing her arm comfortingly. “Hopefully quite a few years from now, though.”

“Agreed,” she groans. “I’m seriously not ready to be a mother.”

“None of us are,” you chuckle. “Well… perhaps Mia is.”

“Oh yeah,” she realizes. “What did dad have to say about that?”

“He was happier hearing you had more people around you than questioning my choice and quantity of relationships.”

“Of course he was,” Olivia groans. “But I suppose that’s good.”

She snuggles against you, sighing contently.

“You’re the first guy to ever come into my room, you know?” she tells you with a grin.

“I’m honored,” you laugh and look around. It’s a very simple room, with her single bed, a desk where she has her laptop and a huge closet taking most of the space. “I thought I was going to find an armory here, thought.”

“I have a separate room for that,” she notes. “What to see it?”

“Sure.”

“Can we have quickie first?” she casually asks, setting her hand on your crotch and kissing your neck. “When else am I gonna have the chance to have you here and all to myself?”

“As tempting as that sounds,” you start, taking her hand from your pants and kissing the back of it, “I’d sooner die before betraying your dad’s trust.”

“Dammit. Alright, fine. Let’s go see my weapons. But you owe me a good fuck tomorrow.”

“As I owe, Katherine, Jessica and Lilian. Julia too, but for different reasons,” you chuckle nervously.

“Oh. That’s gonna be fun. Are we doing it together?”

“If you want to.”

“Of course I want to. Megan already let it slip that Katherine is a huge nympho and it got me curious.”

“I don’t know if that girl does it on purpose or not,” you groan, shaking your head.

You leave Olivia’s room with her leading you by the hand. For the rest of your stay, she gives you in-depth dissertations on as many weapons as she can. You leave her house with her father’s full approval and a degree on airsoft weaponry.