Under His Eye: Falling for Stepdaddy

Dress-up

When I awoke to find Jack staring at my naked body, I shrieked.

"Get out of here!" I said, throwing my pillow at him.

"Wow, you're even hotter than I remembered from last night," said Jack with a lascivious chuckle, unfazed by my pillow attack.

"What are you even doing in here?" I said as I frantically scrambled to cover myself with the sheets.

"Relax, Alice," said Jack. "My father sent me to fetch you for breakfast. Just a quiet thing, family only, you know, before all the craziness begins."

"Fine!" I said. "But just get out of here, will you?"

"Sure," said Jack, grinning as he got to his feet. "Oh, by the way, the servants put some clothes over there for you to wear. Your mom said you didn't bring anything?"

"Whatever," I said, trying not to sulk. I had plenty of clothes and could dress myself just fine, thank you very much.

"Hey, if you want, we got time for a quickie," said Jack. "You know, before it becomes scandalous."

"Arrgh!" I shouted, throwing my pajamas at him, the only thing I had close at hand.

Jack just laughed and then turned around and left my room. Once I was sure he was gone, I dashed out of bed and ran over to the door and locked it. It was only then that I let myself take a deep breath.

Examining the clothes that had been picked out for me, I discovered that it was a simple yellow sundress. I really loved the color, but the hemline was surprisingly short when I put it on, revealing quite a lot of leg.

It was an odd garment, something that seemed more appropriate for a little girl, but I did have to admit it looked quite fetching with the white sandals that came with it, which were gorgeous.

After a quick refresh in the bathroom, I made my way down the hallway until I found the sunny nook where everyone was gathered for breakfast. Jack gave me a big grin as I entered, but Malcolm was lost in a newspaper, the old-fashioned kind made from real paper, which I didn't know still existed.

"Darling, there you are. Wow, you look gorgeous," said my mother, smiling and happy.

The table only seated four, making it quite cozy. After I sat down, Malcolm looked over the top of his newspaper and gave me a warm smile, which made me feel more at ease.

Looking around, I saw that each place setting had two plates stacked on top of one another as well as three different glasses.

Even this simple "family breakfast" was fancier than anything I'd experienced before, and there were several servants standing by, dressed in immaculate black and white uniforms.

"Doesn't Allison look lovely in that dress?" said my mother.

"Ah, yes, she certainly does," said Malcolm, his eyes twinkling in such a way that I couldn't tell if he was mocking me or being genuine.

As for me, I kept my legs locked tightly together, afraid that the darn dress was going to ride up and expose my underwear. I still couldn't believe that they'd had the temerity to dress me up like I was some kind of doll or something.

"Let's have a toast," said Malcolm, gesturing to the servants, who rushed over to pour us all a glass of orange juice. "To our families uniting!"

I raised my glass and clinked it with the others before taking a sip. I was certainly no expert, but it was definitely fresh-squeezed, not frozen, which was only to be expected.

After that, the servants started bringing out the food, and we all ate in companionable silence for a while. I still had some lingering misgivings about my mom marrying us into the Kent family, but I was definitely getting used to all the delicious food, and the coffee was simply amazing.

At some point, Malcolm turned to me and said, "So, Allison, any plans for today? The ceremony doesn't begin until five."

"Um, no," I said, not sure why he cared. "But I brought a book with me, so..."

"Oh my," said Malcolm, chuckling. "Well, I'm no expert in the tastes of young women, but I thought you might like to go visit the beach. Better than being cooped up on some balcony, wouldn't you say?"

"Beach?" I said, confused. I didn't have a car, and I had no idea where there was a beach nearby, so it seemed like a strange suggestion.

"Oh, you'll love it, dear," said my mother. "And you could use some color. You see over there?"

I followed where my mother was pointing and nodded. Way on the far side of the back lawn was what appeared to be some white wooden railings.

"That leads to a staircase. Follow it down and you'll be at the Kent family beach," said my mother. "I've only visited it once, but it's gorgeous. The sand is so fine, it's like sugar. You'll love it."

"Yes, it is quite lovely," said Malcolm, looking straight at me which sent a tingle racing down my spine. "And very private."

At that point, I felt cornered, but what could I do? I didn't want to be underfoot during the wedding preparations, and it would be kind of cool to check out a private beach. And maybe my mother was right. I had gotten a little pale what with all the time I'd been racking up in the library, studying for finals.

"All right, sounds good," I said.

"Wonderful!" said my mother, quite pleased with my answer. "Malcolm, honey, do you think your people could rustle up some swimwear for Allison?"

"What? Ah yes, of course. Of course," said Malcolm.

Once again, those two were conspiring to pick out my clothes, but there wasn't much that I could do. I had no idea there was a private beach on Malcolm's estate so I hadn't packed any of my bikinis.

"Well then, it's settled," said my mother, grinning as she resumed picking at her fruit salad.

Despite Crestwood being in Florida, the truth was that I hadn't yet made the trip out to the beach, so I was starting to look forward to a little alone time with just me, the sun, and some waves.

After all the craziness of the night before, it would do me some good to get some alone time. Then I'd be rested and refreshed for all the hullaballoo of the wedding and my mother's era as a single woman coming to an end.

So my plan was to chill at the beach, get a little color on my skin, and read my book. But, of course, that isn't what ended up happening.