Perverted Step-Dad System

I looked at her for a moment longer.

The pout was still there, but her eyes had finally shifted toward me, waiting.

"A date," I repeated, letting the word settle between us.

Jane’s pink cheeks became a little deeper as she gave a small, stiff nod, arms still folded.

"Alright," I said. "Where do you want to go?"

She hesitated, clearly not having thought that far.

Her fingers tightened against her own arms as she replied.

"Anywhere is fine... as long as it’s just us."

I stepped closer and rested a hand lightly on the porch railing beside her.

"Then we’ll go this afternoon. I’ll take you somewhere quiet. Somewhere we can sit and talk without anyone interrupting."

Jane’s pout softened slightly.

She still didn’t smile fully, but the tension in her shoulders seemed to have eased a little.

"You promise it’s only us?"

"I promise."

She finally let her arms drop to her sides.

For a second she looked like she wanted to say something else, then simply nodded again.

"Okay. I’ll go change."

She turned and walked inside without waiting for a reply.

I watched the door close behind her, then followed at a slower pace.

The house was quiet. Avery was still at work, Sophie at school, Evelyn at the office. Only the two of us remained.

I went to the kitchen and poured a glass of water, listening to the faint sounds of Jane moving around in her room. Drawers opening. The soft rustle of clothes.

After a few minutes the footsteps returned, echoing from the hallway.

When she appeared in the doorway she had changed into a simple light dress that stopped just above her knees.

Her hair was brushed neatly, and she had put on a small pair of earrings.

She stood there a little awkwardly, as if unsure whether the effort was too obvious.

"You look nice," I said.

Jane glanced away, looking slightly embarrassed at the comment.

She opened the door and stepped outside again. I followed, locking it behind us.

The afternoon sun was warm on the porch as we walked to the car.

Jane waited by the passenger side until I unlocked it, then slid in without a word.

I started the engine and pulled out of the driveway.

For the first few minutes neither of us spoke.

Jane kept her hands folded in her lap, her eyes on the road ahead.

The earlier pout had faded, replaced by a quieter kind of nervousness.

"You’re still thinking about this morning, aren’t you?" I asked eventually.

She didn’t deny it.

"It just... looked different. Seeing Mom like that."

I kept my eyes on the road.

"Does it bother you?"

Jane was silent for a few more minutes, then she spoke in a low voice.

"I don’t know. It made my chest feel tight. And then I got angry, and I didn’t even understand why."

I glanced at her briefly then joked in a light tone.

"Jealous?"

I noticed her facial expression changed slightly and her face coloured briefly.

"I’m not a child," she said in a low voice.

"I didn’t say you were," I replied with a shrug.

She turned her head toward the window, but I could still see the faint pink on her cheek due to her embarrassment.

We drove in silence for a while longer until I turned into a quieter part of town and parked near a small park that sat beside a café with outdoor tables.

The place was nearly empty at this hour.

"This is fine," Jane said after looking around.

Of course it had to be.

It was one of the interesting places I usually visited in the past whenever I needed to clear my head and gather my thoughts.

It felt interesting in its own way, involving my daughter in my own little world.

We got out and walked to one of the tables under a tree.

A waiter immediately approached us the moment we got down from the car.

With a polite smile, I ordered two drinks and he quickly went to bring them.

Before long, Jane and I could be seen seated on the seats.

Jane wrapped both hands around her glass and stared at the ice inside for a moment.

"So," she said eventually, "is this what a date with you feels like?"

"This is whatever you wanted it to be."

She looked up at me then, properly this time.

The earlier anger was gone and what remained was something more complicated, an emotion she couldn’t quite seem to name yet.

"I just... wanted time with you. Without everyone else around," she finally uttered in a slow, quieter voice.

"You have it."

Jane held my gaze for a few seconds longer, then looked down again, a small, almost shy smile touching her lips for the first time since the morning.

The afternoon stretched quietly between us.

Jane kept both hands wrapped around her glass even though the ice had already begun to melt.

Every now and then she would glance up at me, then look away again as if the simple act of holding my gaze for too long made her restless.

The earlier pout was gone, replaced by something softer and more uncertain.

I let the silence sit for a while before speaking.

"You’re still thinking about this morning."

It wasn’t a question. Jane’s fingers tightened slightly around the glass.

"I keep seeing it," she admitted finally. "Mom’s face. The way she was holding your hair. The sounds she was making." Her voice dropped lower. "I’ve never seen her like that before."

"And it unsettled you."

She gave a small, reluctant nod.

"It made my chest feel strange. Hot and tight at the same time. Then I got angry, and I didn’t even know who I was angry at."

I watched her carefully then asked coolly.

"Were you angry at me, or at her?"

Jane opened her mouth, closed it again, then let out a quiet breath.

"Both. Neither. I don’t know. It just felt like something that should have been private was suddenly right there in front of me, and I couldn’t look away even though I wanted to."

She finally set the glass down and folded her hands in her lap.

"When you asked if I was jealous, I wanted to deny it. But the more I think about it, the more I realise that word isn’t completely wrong."

The honesty sat between us for a moment.

A light breeze moved through the leaves above the table, carrying the faint scent of the nearby café.

"Jealousy isn’t always a bad thing," I said. "Sometimes it just means you want something for yourself."

Jane’s cheeks turned pink as she looked down at her hands.

"I don’t even know what I want. I just know that when I saw the two of you, something inside me twisted. And then when you left with Sophie this morning I felt it again, even stronger."

I leaned back slightly in my chair.

"So you asked for this date."

"Yes." Her voice was quieter now. "I wanted time that belonged only to me. Not shared with Mom or Avery or Sophie. Just... us."

I studied her face. The afternoon light softened the lines of her expression, making her look younger and more open than usual.

"You have it," I said. "For as long as you want."

Jane finally lifted her eyes again. This time she didn’t look away so quickly.

"Can we walk for a bit?" she asked. "Sitting still is making me think too much."

I nodded and stood.

She rose as well, brushing imaginary dust from the front of her dress.

We left the table and stepped onto the path that wound through the small park.

The place was almost empty at this hour.

Only a few distant figures moved far ahead of us.

Jane walked close enough that the side of her arm occasionally brushed mine.

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