Chapter 5 Unflattering glance

April, my four-year-old daughter, was standing in the open doorway clutching her favorite teddy bear while wearing unicorn pyjamas.

Oh my God, "Fuck," and "Fuck," I'm so sorry!" Immediately getting off of me, Clara grabbed the closest blanket to cover her bare body.

"Hi, sweetheart. What on earth are you doing? I muttered, trying to cover my rapidly fading erection with a pillow as calmly as I could.

Clara was frantically searching the room for her clothes. All of a sudden, the random way we were distributing them seemed very foolish.

"Dad's good. Okay, why don't you wait in your room?

April grumbled but did as she was told, giving Clara one final unflattering glance before turning around and going back to her room.

Though she had finally located her pants and was getting dressed more quickly than I believed was humanly possible, Clara didn't appear to notice. She was so close to setting a new record for dressing.

I sighed deeply as I raked my hands through my hair. What the heck, why didn't I think to lock the door? If we awakened April, we must have been noisier than I anticipated. She usually slept quite well.

Clara, I'm so-" "Listen, Clara, I'm so-"

She left the room before I could continue, and 20 seconds later, I heard the front door open and slam after her.

My face was buried in my hands as I sighed. Just fucking beautiful, in every way. Being a single father destroyed yet another brief fling.

I was accustomed to the occasional disastrous date, such as when the babysitter called to say that your daughter had just puked, but this? I had never experienced anything like this before. There wasn't a single bad area of Clara, and I was really displeased that I wasn't given the opportunity to view every perspective. I had actually been caught in the act, performing the act, and bumping uglies.

It was a formality. My four-year-old has cock blocking tendencies.

I sighed again and went to get some sweatpants and a t-shirt from my closet, then I gathered the rest of my clothing and put them in the closet. I cleaned my hands in the lavatory and looked in the mirror while running my fingers through my hair to hide the fact that my kid had just caught me in the act of boning a stranger.

Very elegant.

I was a father. I had to be capable of more than this. Stronger. Keep an eye on my priorities. My daughter was unquestionably my top priority.

April was curled up in her bed as I opened the door to her room, looking at me with big, perplexed eyes.

What did that woman do to your father, dad? She questioned herself while using her tiny hands to massage her eyes.

"All Daddy and that lady were doing was having some adult conversation. Okay, when you're older, I'll tell you more about it. And when you've just experienced something that will unavoidably leave you scarred for life, but it's not the middle of the night,

April scowled but nodded, and I knew it was something she would remember to bring up in the morning. I mentally reminded myself to consult my parenting books to learn what is appropriate to say to children her age about sex since I hadn't anticipated having this conversation with her for at least another 10 years. When she was fifteen, I didn't want her to be one of those kids who still thought storks left babies on doorsteps. Four looked a little too young to be an expert on bees and birds.

April laid over and shut her eyes a short while later. After giving her a kiss on the forehead and tucking her in, I left her room to get ready for the night. My mind began to race as soon as I finished brushing my teeth and spraying cold water on my face before going to bed.

I couldn't believe how awful things turned out after beginning so darn fantastic. I couldn't even tell you if I'd ever envisioned something like what occurred tonight actually happening because it had been so long since my last casual fling. Reject that. I never would have thought that my daughter would see me having sex with a complete stranger.

It only made sense that the one time I exposed myself, I suffered a setback. There were reasons why single fathers didn't act in such a way any longer. Such absurd events occurred.

I sighed and turned my pillow over in an effort to unwind and feel comfortable. But I was already aware that I wouldn't be getting much sleep that night. I was unable to stop rehearsing that particular moment in my memory, experiencing the total shock of being in utter bliss one second and then in utter disgrace the next.

The hardest part was that Clara appeared to be a really cool lady. We had a strong chemistry, and even if she wasn't the love of my life, I wouldn't have minded if our casual hookups had become more frequent.

I struggled to get to sleep, but there was at least one idea that helped me feel better.

I won't ever have to see Clara again, at least.