“Kate, did you pack the camping stuff yet?” Mom yelled from the living room.

“Almost!” I shouted back, even though I was mostly staring out the window instead of folding clothes.

My stepfather David was in the driveway, bent over the car as he rinsed soap off the hood. No shirt. Just tanned skin and muscle. Water slid down his back in slow lines, and my heartbeat jumped the way it always did around him lately.

Broad shoulders. Defined arms.For someone in his thirties, he looked like he had no right to look that good.

My biological father ran away when my mom was seven months pregnant and never showed up again. David married my mom when I was six, and from that day on, he became my only dad.

My mom has a short temper and was always swamped with work; she also hardly did the ordinary things most mothers do. When I got my first period and panicked, it was David who awkwardly explained it all to me. The first time a boy rejected me, it was him who held me and let me cry myself to sleep in his arms without a single word of blame.

And now I was staring at him shirtless through a window, feeling something I absolutely shouldn’t.

When he glanced up, I tore my eyes away, pretending to zip my bag.

“Ready to be an adult?” Mom winked at me, stepping into the hallway.

I rolled my eyes.

Yeah, tomorrow’s my eighteenth birthday—that’s exactly why we were going to camping. Mom sweared no sunrise on earth can beat Grand Teton, and she was dead set on making it the backdrop for my “coming-of-age” moment.

But thirty-degree heat, swarms of mosquitoes, and sweat-soaked clothes? I’d rather stay home in the AC and blow out candles on a damn cake.

If Daddy weren’t just as excited about it, no way would I ever agree.

David looked toward the house and gave me a conforting smile, as if he knew what I was thinking. I looked down at the floor instead, trying to hide the flush crawling up my neck.

It would take three hours to get to the Grand Teton National Park. The whole way, Mom kept talking from the front seat.

“And then Jessica had the nerve to tell me the report was late. Jessica. The one who can’t even file her own paperwork,” she said, rubbing her forehead.

David laughed under his breath. “You two are always at each other’s throats.”

“She started it,” Mom muttered.

A strong gust of wind blasted through the cracked window. Mom sneezed three times in a row, then rolled the glass up and sniffed. “Ugh. I swear I’m getting a cold.”

David reached over and touched her forehead with the back of his hand. “You’re warm,we can go back if you’re not feeling well.” I watched his arm as he leaned in. I wished that he’d show that kind of affection only towards me.

“Of course not! There’s no way I’m letting my daughter turn eighteen without watching the most beautiful sunrise of her life.”

“Mom, it’s okay. We can come agin next time.”

“Easy, I just didn’t sleep well last night. I’ll be fine after a quick nap.”

Fine. I shut my mouth. No way around it—she was always that stubborn.

By the time we reached the campsite, mom looked worse. Her eyelids drooped, and each breath sounded heavier than the last.

“This is ridiculous,” she said, pressing her fingers to her temple. “My head feels like it’s full of sand.”

David stepped toward her and held her elbow. “Sit by the lake,” he said. “In the shade. Don’t stay in the sun.”

He guided her to a folding chair near the water and helped her settle. Mom sank down with a tired grunt.

“I’ll help Daddy with the tent,” I said, stepping beside him.

Mom waved a hand without looking up. “Go ahead. I’m useless right now. Just wake me if something explodes.”

“Alright.” David exhaled and looked toward the gear piled in the car. “Let’s get this up fast so she can rest properly tonight.”

I nodded and followed him. David dropped the empty bag on the ground and bent to untie the rope. I crouched next to him to help with the lever. When I reached forward, the back of my hand brushed his lower stomach.

His skin was warm. His muscles tightened under the touch. A rush of heat shot through my fingertips, and I pulled back too fast. He didn’t react. He only murmured, low and steady, “Pass it here. I’ll thread the rod.”

I tried to focus. When I lifted the pole toward the sleeve, he stepped behind me and reached around to guide my hand. His palm wrapped over mine, steady and firm. His chest pressed into my back, solid and close. His breath moved against the side of my neck in slow waves. His heartbeat hit my shoulder blade one beat at a time.

I forced myself to keep my eyes on the tent instead of on the way his body held mine.

“Right there,” he said quietly. He pushed the pole forward with me, sliding it all the way in. The motion pulled me back against him for a second. I heard a soft laugh behind my ear.

“It’s stuck tight. Did that scare you?”

I shook my head quickly. “No Daddy. I’m fine.”

He kept his hand over mine for a moment longer, then let go and adjusted the fabric. The tent stood clean and straight when we finished. He stepped back and looked it over.

“Good work,” he said. “Let’s do the second one.”

We searched through every bag, every compartment in the trunk, and every box around the site. Nothing. The second tent wasn’t here.

Oh, shit. I had set the red bag on the sofa at home when Mom called me earlier. I must have forgotten it in the rush.

“Sorry Daddy, I think I left it,” I admitted in a small voice. “On the sofa.”

He turned to me with a smile.

“Well, it’s okay” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, “looks like we’re squeezing together tonight. All three of us.”

Thinking of we needed to sleep together, my heart jumped fast, but I kept my face calm. David checked the trunk again, lifting bags and shifting gear around.“Besides the tent” I asked. “we’re short one sleeping bag?”

“Yeah,” he said, shutting the trunk halfway. “And looks like a couple sets of clothes too. But it’s fine.”

He waved it off like it was minor. “We’ll unzip the rest two slepping bags we have, lay them flat, put a blanket on top. It won’t get cold tonight. We’ll manage.” There was something warm in my chest. He didn’t complain or didn’t blame me. He just handled it like David.

Then he had the inside of the tent all set up in less than ten minutes.

“Oh god.” I turned, and saw Mom shuffling toward us, holding her forehead and squinting.

“Mom, are you okay?” I asked

“I‘m not feeling well.”

David opened the supply bag and pulled out a small bottle. “Ibuprofen. And here. Cold medicine too.”

Mom groaned. “I hate taking pills.”

“You’ll hate the fever more,” he said gently, handing her the water bottle.

She took the medicine, swallowing with a wince. David pressed the back of his hand to her forehead again.

“You’re warm,” he murmured. “Go lie down for a bit.”

Mom mumbled something about being fine, but she still went into the tent. Before lying down, she told us not to worry and that David and I should go enjoy ourselves,just waked her up tomorrow morning.

Even sick, she had no idea what those words did to me.

Dad started grilling meat over the small fire pit, I grabbed my toiletries and walked to the pop-up shower tent Dad had just set up. My skin felt sticky from the wind and sweat. I quickly wiped myself down with some water. and peeled off my bra, which clung too tightly to my body after the long day, and from being around David more than I could handle.

I shoved the bra into my toiletries bag before I could think too hard about it. The thin pajama top I brought slid over my skin and rested loose across my chest.

I tied my hair back and walked back toward the glow of the campfire.

David stood over the grill, the fire lighting the shape of his arms, his jaw, his chest. He had swapped into a thin shirt, one that clung to him in places and left little to the imagination.

I sat beside him as he finished brushing sauce over the last piece of meat. My mouth began to water.

When dinner was ready, he grabbed the champagne and poured himself a glass. I reached for another and told him I wanted a drink too.

He gave me a slow look. “Hey now, you’re still a kid.”

“No, I’m 18 tomorrow,” I said. “I can legally drink now.”

He paused for a second. I leaned my head on his shoulder, letting myself rest against him. My voice dropped to something softer and playful.

“Just a little. Daddy please?” I looked up at him with my best puppy-dog eyes, pouting and pleading.

He let out a helpless breath, the kind he used when I cornered him into giving me something he didn’t want to give. Then he poured half a glass and handed it to me.

“Only half,” he said.

I was so happy that I threw my arms around him, pressing my face into his chest, and letting out a small squeal. It wasn’t just because he let me drink. It was because his body pushed back against mine, solid and warm, and I could feel every bit of his heat through my thin pajama top.

My nipples hardened under the fabric, and I prayed he hadn’t noticed.

Before I knew it, we’d polished off the entire bottle of champagne.By ten o’clock, we packed everything up and got ready for bed. Mom was already asleep, curled up in the deepest corner of the tent, wit one blanket. She didn’t stir at all when we came in.

David pulled off his T-shirt. The firelight outside caught the lines of his stomach and the shape of his chest. He was only in a pair of shorts. The alcohol was blazing in my blood, and I felt my breath stumble for a second.

I crawled into the tent first and slid into and lay beside mom, burying myself under the blanket. David followed and settled next to me. The space was tight, and our legs brushed before he pulled the blanket over both of us.“When you were little, you always slept between us,” He whispered with a yawn. “Ten years gone. You’re grown now. and here we are again. Feels strange, doesn’t it?”

The alcohol in my blood made everything more pronounced. My heartbeat felt too strong and too fast. I didn’t know where to look or how to breathe with him lying so close.

I waited until his breathing slowed and turned into a soft snore. Only then did I dare shift onto my side, my back facing him. His breath warmed the space between my shoulder blades. The sound of it was steady, deep, safe.

In that moment, it really felt like we truly belonged to each other.

--

I had a dream.

There were no faces or words, only touch. Dad’s fingertips slid up the inside of my thigh. His breath warmed the back of my ear. His palm cupped my chest and kneaded until my whole body shook. The feeling hit so hard that it pulled me straight out of sleep.

My eyes opened at the same moment I heard a faint rustle behind me.

Then David’s strong, heavy arm looped around my waist. His bare chest pressed into my back so tightly I could feel every breath he took. My sleepiness vanished in an instant.

I checked and confirmed that Mom was still sleeping.

Then I whispered “Dad”. No response. His breathing stayed steady and deep. His body heat soaked straight through the thin pajamas I wore. I felt pinned in place. I felt held.

Under the influence of alcohol, I slid my legs back until they tangled with his without thinking. The fine hairs on his calves brushed my skin, making everything under the blanket tingle.

I wiggled my hips back. A small movement at first, like I was adjusting in my sleep. Then a little more, fitting myself against the curve of his body.

I gasped. Something hot and heavy pressed right at the crease of my butt.

It can’t be, I thought. But it was, right there, straining beneath his thin underwear, the heat pulsing against me.

I pushed him lightly.

Still nothing, only that slow, steady breathing against my neck. He must take me as mom.

If he was asleep, then he wasn’t aware.

I shifted slightly, pretending I was just trying to get more comfortable. But my hips moved back on their own, the softest part of me brushing against the scorching heat beneath his boxers.

A rush of warmth shot through my entire body. Before I could even process it, my thighs clamped together instinctively.

I moved again, deliberately this time. Through the thin blanket, my pussy settled perfectly against the swollen head of his cock. The blanket hid everything, but its friction sent tingles racing across my lower belly.

Biting my lip to stay silent, I rocked my hips once more, chasing his heat through that flimsy layer.

Suddenly, Mom’s phone rang sharply. I jolted, heart slamming, and snapped my eyes shut, pretending to be deep asleep.

I heard her roll over, mumble groggily, curse under her breath, and hang up. Then she settled back down.

Just as I thought she’d drifted off again, she grabbed her phone and started playing soft sleep music—her old habit whenever she couldn’t sleep or felt restless.

Cold sweat broke out all over me; the back pressed against Dad’s chest was already soaked. Thank God he was still asleep—or he’d know exactly how wrecked I was. I didn’t dare move or open my eyes, but my pussy was still nestled right against his cock, my panties drenched. I couldn’t help the soft gasp that escaped—

And then a large hand clamped over my mouth from behind.

I froze. It was Dad’s hand.

“Shh… easy,” he murmured against my ear.

He was awake. He’d been awake the whole time. He knew everything.

Would he tell Mom? If it weren’t for the sleep music drowning me out, they’d both hear my heart thundering right now.

Shame, panic, and aching need twisted together until tears pricked my eyes. I was terrified he’d stop loving me, terrified he’d scold me—and worst of all, the sticky heat between my legs was driving me insane.

The final straw that broke me was his husky voice against my ear，“It’s alright, baby girl… you can do whatever you want.”