Brent, Male, 34

	- Narrator, father of Orchid, Dahlia's fiance

	- Tan white skin, 5'10, 175lbs, shoulder-length curly brown hair

Maria, Female, 19

	- Employee at Maria's Guest House in Key West

	- Mocha-brown skin, Latina, 5'8, 150lbs, shoulder-length dark-brown silky hair

My flight to Key West stayed on time all day. I was thankful. It meant less time that I had to stew over what was going to happen with Maria. I went through everything, from me paying for her to have an immediate abortion up through moving her into our home and making her part of our family. It was all a bit surreal to think about. I had spent no more than a handful of hours with Maria, most of that spent naked and sweaty, and she now had a starring role in my future plans, whatever those were.

I landed early that evening, messaged her that I'd arrived. She pulled up to the terminal in a small two-door, waved once and then popped the trunk from inside. I slung my single bag inside and closed it, slid into the passenger seat. Maria was staring forward, knuckles white on the steering wheel.

“Hey.” I said.

“Hey...”

I wanted us to get to a place where we could both breath and be honest quickly. Before she pulled off, I said, “Maria... look at me.”

Her head turned, her eyes had dark circles under them. She looked older than her nineteen-years. I said softly, “everything's ok, alright? We have a lot to talk about, but I promise you... by the time we're done, you'll feel better and we'll have a plan that we can both live with, ok? I promise you that.”

She bore a weak smile. “Ok... can we grab some dinner? I haven't been eating much lately...” She did look thinner than I remembered, not a good sign given the small ball of cells growing inside her and needing her to take care of herself.

“Absolutely. I could use a meal.”

She drove mostly in silence, and I decided that I'd let her worry about driving and not become distracted by the bigger issues we faced. There'd be time for that, so I sat back and tried to enjoy the beautiful island scenery.

Maria drove me to a tiny little restaurant, no more than a half-dozen tables inside, two occupied. It was a Mexican-Cuban place, and as we sat at a table near the back, isolated away from the others, she told me she knew the owner and all of the staff. I ordered coffee and Maria did the same. I looked over the menu briefly, said, “suggestions? What do you like?”

“Nothing on the menu. They make me Colombian empanadas like my grandmother used to make, back before she opened the guest house. They're the best.”

I agreed that they sounded good and Maria ordered for me. We sat in silence a moment, each of staring at the drinks in front of us.

Maria spoke before I did. “What do I do? I'm freaking out...”

I wasn't quite sure what to say, realized how little I knew about her. “Maria... let's step back a minute... Look. We're in this together, ok? Both of us. And... I don't know you at all. How about we talk... not about... this,” I said, holding a hand over her abdomen, “but... like... what do you like to do? Tell me about your family in Colombia, what do you want to do in your life? Just... let's just talk, okay?”

Maria tilted her head, said, “yeah... yeah, that'd be nice. Well,” she sipped her coffee, drinking it black. “Umm... I graduated high school early, at sixteen. I spent two years going to the University of Miami before I came back to Key West to help my grandmother when she was sick.”

Nineteen and two years of college already? Maria was clearly above-average in more than a few ways. “That's amazing. What were you studying?”

“Education. I want to teach. Now, though... first my grandmother became ill, now...”

I kept her focused on describing her life. “How'd you manage to finish high school so early?”

“I was a grade ahead before I got to high school, from there, lots of studying and summer classes. I worked at the guest house in the evenings, but there was usually downtime to do homework. I read a lot, so that helped. I took all the college prep courses that I could, and I graduated at sixteen.”

“Had to be a shock, heading off to college that young. Stay in a dorm?”

“Yeah. A girl I knew who graduated with me, she was my roommate both years. We...” A smile came to her face, “we had a lot of fun together.” I wondered if the roommate was why she'd had so little time for men in her life. “She's still there. I miss her a lot, talk to her often.”

“Tell me about Colombia?”

“What's there to tell? My family was poor before my grandmother came here illegally, married my grandfather, who was legal. They scraped together money from their cousins and uncles to buy the original guest house and made it her own. She still sends a lot of money back to our family there.”

“Grandfather's not around?”

“No... he died when I was little.”

“Ah... sorry.”

“No need. I didn't really know him.”

The waitress brought our empanadas and refilled our coffees. “Was the guest house clothing-optional when the elder Maria bought it?”

“Don't think so... Never really thought about it.”

I smiled, “I'd be curious how that came to be. Really love that place.”

“Me too... I love being naked... just feels... natural.”

“Same, though outside of my home, I don't usually go nude, unless it is bathing in some remote campside river.”

“So... tell me about you, Brent. What about your life?”

I told her about my ex-wife and how we'd separated, how I'd come to meet Dahlia and Lily, hushed tones filling in some of the more intimate details.

“You took her panties? Geez, guess you and I do have a lot in common...” She was smiling at the thought. I'd caught her after she snuck into our room in the guest house and had started sniffing Orchid's panties.

I went on to describe how I'd gotten custody of Orchid, how we'd slowly, slowly worked toward more than just a typical father-daughter relationship. I let her know how I'd fallen in love with Dahlia, how Orchid had given me her virginity.

Maria's empanadas were half-eaten and long-forgotten by that time as she watched my face, hanging on the details of my relationship with my daughter. I told her of my conflicting thoughts, how I tried desperately to keep from harming Orchid, how we'd found a mutual attraction that was founded on love and respect and on pleasure.

“I'm so jealous... I told you... I've... I've thought about my father like that... wished so many times that he'd be with me. I guess I still kinda do... but not like when I was younger.”

“Where is he now?”

“Prison. In Colombia.” She looked sad.

I asked, “want to tell me how he ended up there?”

She let out a breath. “Human trafficking. He's not a good man, Brent. I... I didn't know that when I was a girl, but he got busted when I was fifteen. Nearly broke Gramma's heart. I see now how many red flags there were that he was violent, angry all the time. He mostly ignored me. Maybe that's why I fixated on it... I wanted him to love me... and the more sexual urges I had... guess I directed that at him.”

“Wow... I'm so sorry, Maria. But from the sound of it... maybe it's a very, very good thing that you and he never went there.”

“Yeah, I know. I still fantasize about it sometimes... but... well, I guess he doesn't deserve me, anyway. He's a pendejo, to do that to women and girls. I kinda hope he never gets out.”

We were both quiet a moment, and then I asked, “what about your mom?”

“Dunno... she was never around. No one ever really told me why she left Dad. Suppose his criminal activities were part of it. He kept me but mostly pawned me off on my grandparents. I think about her sometimes, don't remember much. She left when I was very young.”

“Again... sorry...”

“No, it's ok... I had to grow up fast like that. Dad was gone most of the time, and Gramma and Grappa did their best, I had to figure out a lot of things on my own. That's why I want to teach. I want to be able to help kids who might not be getting everything they need at home. I had some great teachers who looked out for me, and I want to do that for someone else.”

I sat forward, glanced to see if anyone was watching. Satisfied that the few other diners were distracted and the server was nowhere in sight, I took Maria's hand in both of mine, stroked it, smiled at her. “Maria... I think this helped... I know so much more about you. I understand you better. I hope you feel the same.”

Her fingers slid gently into mine, and she replied. “I feel better right now than I've felt in days. Thanks...”

“So, why don't we head back to the guest house and find somewhere to talk in private. I think we can both deal with this a lot better than if we'd have tried before.”

“Yeah...” she smiled, a genuine bright smile, “thanks, Brent...”

- - -

I relaxed in the pool, half of my third daiquiri consumed, idly watching others come and go. They were all older folks, well into their sixties, men and women both. Maria had to take care of some things for the guest house and it was late that evening before she found me floating with my back against the concrete wall of the pool.

“Done for the night,” she said as she slipped naked into the water. She paddled out and back, and the server brought her a glass of soda. Maria sipped it, leaned her head back, and stared up at the stars overhead.

“It's beautiful here. If I wasn't so in love with the mountains, I could see living in a place like this.”

“Hmm...” was all she replied.

I let out a breath, said, “Maria, let's talk, then. I want to say again, whatever happens, whatever we decide, it's not the end of the world, ok? We're both adults capable of dealing with this maturely and responsibly.”

“Agreed.”

“So... what are you thinking? Do you... do you want an abortion?”

She was silent a moment, then said, “no... no, I want to keep it. I... I like the idea of having a baby. When I first found out, I was really scared... guess I still am... but... I want to give my child the life I didn't have, you know? Someone I can spoil and love, someone who can know a parent's love... I never got that... and I kinda think it would be great to wake up each day to be that for someone who needs me.”

I nodded, “that's wonderful.”

“Do you... want me to abort?”

“Not particularly. Look, if you wanted to end it and thought that was the best thing for you, I'd back you and pay for it, all that... but... if you want a baby, if you'll love it and care for it... I like the sound of that...”

She let her hand find mine under the water. “So I'm going to have our child, then... That is such a strange thing to think about...”

“Agreed... I suppose I never told you... Dahlia is pregnant, too. She's also having my child.”

Maria turned to me, mouth open, “seriously? Oh, wow... uh... congratulation...”

“We'd been trying for a while. We're going to get married later this year, and we were both excited by the thought of having a child together.”

“Oh... guess I screwed that up... is she mad at... me? Or you?”

“No... she's been great about the whole thing. In fact, she let me know clearly that whatever happened, I was to be responsible and respectful with you... to make sure you knew that you were part of our family, now... however that played out. She's been great...”

“Ah... I'm glad...”

I did math in my head, said, “suppose it is possible that you both got pregnant that same night. The timing is about right...”

Maria smiled, squeezed my hand, said, “nice.” She let out a sigh, “so what do I do, Brent?”

“Well...” I debated not mentioning what I was thinking since I hadn't talked to Dahlia or the girls about the idea, but I went ahead anyway. “You could come live with us.”

“Live with you... just like that?”

“I think it would work. I'll need to talk to the others, but... look, I like you Maria, and I meant it when I said you are part of our family. You're having my child, and I want to be part of that. To take care of you, and the baby, and that would be hard to do with you here and us moving into a new house in Virginia.”

“I... I never thought about that. I figured... I figured, best case, you'd help pay for things and come visit sometimes, but, to be a family...” she trailed off, didn't finish her sentence. “I'm going to have to think about it, Brent. Seriously think about it. Might work. Gramma's back in good health, and she just hired a new woman full-time, just keeps me on because I'm family.”

I was still holding her fingers, stroking the back of her hand idly. “I suppose I shouldn't let you get too far along that path without talking to Dahlia. Obviously, if she and the girls aren't ok with it...” It was my turn to trail off, but Maria understood.

“Oh, yeah, of course. I'm just... really surprised you'd even consider it. It's... more than I hoped for.” She squeezed my hand again, yawned, kissed my cheek and let me see her smile once more. “I really need to go to bed. I haven't slept well lately.” She brought her lips closer to mine and we shared a small kiss. “Will you have breakfast with me in the morning?”

“Absolutely. I'm all yours while I'm here.”

Her eye sparkled just a second, said, “Hmm...” then she rose out of the pool, dried off, and disappeared into the guest house.

I was wrinkling by then, and soon did the same. I closed myself in my room and tried to get my thoughts to slow long enough to fall asleep.

- - -

Breakfast included peach muffins along with coffee and orange juice. Maria and I sat outside on the guest house patio, enjoying the warm morning. We kept the talk light for a while. I told her more about my last job, some of the details of the house we were building. She let me know that she'd played soccer in high school and had been offered a few scholarships to play collegiately, but she'd turned them down to stay closer to home.

She had to work all day, so I took the time to stroll down Duval and have a few drinks along the way. I called Dahlia.

“So, how are things going?”

“Good so far. Mostly... we've just gotten to know each other.” I gave a synopsis of Maria's life, let Dahlia know that Maria had calmed down and was doing ok. “What do you think of inviting Maria to come stay with us. Live with us... in the new house?”

Dahlia was quiet on the other end of the line. “I could live with that.” I couldn't read her voice.

“Talk to me.”

“I have reservations, I'm sure you understand. I mean... it's one thing to share a bed with someone, you can always kick them out or leave. But moving in... we don't know much about her. That's a big move.”

“Agreed.”

“On the other hand, I do like her. Plus, I'd love to have someone to talk pregnancy and babies with. I'm gonna be sorta isolated out there... I'd really like Maria to be around so we can watch our babies grow up together.”

I smiled, “sounds nice. Dahlia... I want to be part of this child's life as well. Both of them. They're both mine. Maybe... maybe if we did that, then Maria's baby would be part of your life, too. I worry, you know? That we'll have issues... favoritism... that sort of thing. I want to be fair to everyone.”

“We'll have to work on that, true.”

“You come first, Dahlia. I won't risk you over any of this, but... I don't think you'd respect me much if I turned aside from my responsibilities here.”

“You're right there. I know you're better than that. Let me think on it today. I'll call you when I have done so... and talked to the girls. They miss you already, and so do I. You still coming back in a couple of days?”

“As planned.”

“Good. Lily's tenth birthday is on the 8th. We should do something special for her.”

“Wonderful. I'll be there for sure.”

“I love you, Brent.”

“Love you too.”

- - -

Maria finished up around six that evening and I asked if I could take her to dinner. She agreed, and we got dressed separately in our rooms. I wore a pair of blue slacks and a tie-dye. Key West was a place you could dress up, but you really didn't need to with very rare exceptions. I waited on the patio.

Maria stepped out wearing a loose white strapless top which showed off her mocha stomach and a pair of tight black shorts which fit her perfectly.

“Wow. You look great...”

“Thanks,” she smiled. If she wore makeup, I never saw it. Her skin was smooth and had natural highlights and shadows. Maria wore only a single stud earring in each ear.

I took her hand, kissed it, and walked with her down to an upscale seafood restaurant where I'd made reservations earlier that day. She was too young to drink, and pregnant as well, so I ordered hot tea for us both after the server suggested that it was a local favorite.

The room was full and it felt too confining to go deeper into things than we already had. I hadn't heard back from Dahlia since our earlier call, which was fine. Though I wanted to hear her decision as soon as possible, she deserved all the time she needed to consider such a major change in our lives, one which not without risks.

So Maria and I had a date night, and it was a lot of fun. The nineteen-year old was intelligent, quick witted, and had a very humanistic view of the world. She claimed she was Catholic, but she whispered, almost as if someone would overhear her and care, that “I never go to church or even think about it much.”

We strolled the drag, people watching. I picked us up drinks from time to time, hers always juice or soda. Maria loosened up as the night went on, letting go of some of her fears. We walked to the beach and stared out at the water, watching the lights on boats slowly bounce and move against the horizon.

There were a few people doing the same, holding each other, talking softly. I cradled Maria in my arms, her back to my chest. Just held her. I wanted her to know she was loved and cared for, that it was not just a one-night stand for me, or any of us. She was a special person, someone now sharing a major experience with me, and as a romantic, I found it hard not to want fall in love with her.

It was strange to think about. I was in love with Dahlia. No question about it. She above all others, perhaps my daughter excluded. But that was different. Dahlia was my partner, my equal in all things.

I worried that it might be a betrayal to feel that way about Maria. Dahlia hadn't gone over much about how we felt, or would eventually feel, about the young woman. The more time I spent with her, the more I recognized the growing new relationship energy. It did not diminish what I felt for Dahlia. It moved in beside it, made my love for Dahlia grow warmer, larger.

It is hard to explain. But with my arms around Maria, rocking slowly in the warm night air, I could easily have let myself fall in love with her that night.

Maybe I did, maybe I didn't, it really didn't matter. She turned to me, looked into my eyes, and kissed me deeply. It was a real lover's kiss, one that lets you know where this is going, and no one needed to feel any rush to get there.

We kissed and touched and held each other on the beach a long time before slowly making our way back to the guest house. Maria took my hand and led me to her room.

Inside, it looked just like mine, except it was clear she lived there. Maria was shivering by the time I pushed her onto the bed and started to make love with her.

I kissed Maria's neck, slowly pulling her top up her arms. She watched me, eyes dilated, mouth open slightly. My hands found her breasts, I kissed them gently, then with desire. I sucked on her hard, dark nipples, her hands rushing through my hair suddenly. I found a spot, just under her areolae, where she was extra sensitive. I tongued it, lapped it, kissed her flesh, dragged my teeth across it.

It drove her to moan and hump the air in anticipation. I pulled down her shorts, could smell her wetness immediately. Maria's aroma was softer than Dahlia's, less pungent even than Orchid's. It had hints of grass and honey, fresh cream and tart berries. And it was rich with pheromones which made my cock throb in my slacks.

I slid between Maria's legs, noticed, really for the first time, just how lovely her pussy was. Her pregnant pussy. Thin labia were opened slightly, her dark lips wet and sticky. Her thick pubes led down to her clitoris, the nub hard and rising. Maria panted expectantly as I stared. I eased her torture by using my full, flat tongue to lick all the fluids off her tender flesh.

Her hips rose with my movement. The flick of her clit topped what she'd been dying for. I did it again, and again. I teased her anus, licked the sweat from her perineum, pushed my tongue as deep into her vagina as I could. I knew that just a few inches inside, Maria was carrying a tiny ball which would become our child. Knowing I was licking her pregnant pussy was incredibly arousing.

She came so easily, I almost missed it. Maria wasn't loud, or particularly tense. Her body clutched, shuddered, and the low moan she made went on for some seconds before her body let go. I licked her privates throughout, sending small changes in pitch to her sounds. I lapped her stronger, licked deeper, circling her clit until she came again.

Maria pulled my head up, said, “I want to ride you.”

I rolled onto my back, pulling my pants down quickly. Maria watched my cock spring free and bounce before resting against my stomach. She took it in her hand, and apparently decided she could wait a moment to ride me. Instead, she put me in her mouth.

I groaned as Maria sucked me, the dark-haired young woman's method was slow and gentle, but damned effective. She used a lot of suction, balanced it nicely with a lot of saliva. By the time she was ready to mount me, my shaft and pubes were coated with her spit, and I was pretty close to letting go.

The Latina straddled me, resting her vulva against my genitals a moment, rocking back and forth. My cock slipped along her slit, bumping her clit. Maria ground down, her hands running freely over my chest.

She sat up a few inches, guided my penis to her hole, and slid me inside her pussy. I groaned a little too loudly, tried to control myself. Maria's pussy was smooth like soft leather, slick like butter. And hot, so, so hot. I knew I couldn't last long inside her as she slowly made love to me.

When she leaned down and kissed me, I let go and ejaculated into Maria's pregnant vagina. Semen rushed out as I groaned into her mouth, my arms around her back, holding her close to me. She took my load easily, sliding up and down, up and down, as cum splashed inside her.

I writhed through my orgasm, Maria's body hot on mine, her flesh sweaty and tasting of brine as I kissed her neck. We panted together like that a moment, then another. Neither of us wanted to move.

My penis slipped out eventually, the load of semen I'd squirted inside her rushing out. Maria stayed on top of me, straightened her legs and held her arms on my shoulders, resting her head on my chest.

“Stay with me tonight?” she said in a soft, sweet voice.

“I'd love to.”

“Thanks, Brent... for everything. It means everything to me...”

“I know, Sweetheart.”

I didn't say that I loved her, but if I had, it would have at least been honest. Maybe it was the situation, the great sex, the buzz from the orgasm. I don't know. I wondered if she felt the same, suspected she did, but as we dozed that night, she didn't voice it.